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00:00But let's get started. Last night. We know the destination for the fighting Irish of Notre Dame. They're headed to Atlanta
00:06They're gonna play for the national championship. They defeat Penn State by the final of 27 to 24 an
00:12Action-packed second half in this one where Notre Dame looks like they've got a real shot here to either
00:19You would say beat one of the two teams that are left, Texas or Ohio State or at the very least cover
00:25They're probably gonna be an underdog would be my guess going into that final game
00:28But a slight underdog yesterday Notre Dame one-point favorite all week long
00:35Shifted over to PSU minus one a kickoff, but it didn't make any difference Marcus Freeman Riley Leonard
00:41They are moving on to the championship and they talked about the win that they got in the final minute yesterday
00:45Um, you know so proud of this group
00:48I mean what a gritty performance and they found a way when it matters the most to get their job done
00:55Penn State was a heck of a football team
00:57I had a lot of respect for him coming into the game, but have more after the game. It's a really good team
01:04well coached and
01:07It was a tough matchup, you know
01:09but these guys are resilient and they found a way to make a play when it matters the most and that's what
01:16again is
01:17To me what great teams great organizations?
01:20They're able to at that moment that they need to do their job or make a play
01:25And the last play doesn't matter there's unpredictable things that happen all the time and they find a way to
01:32to make it work and
01:35I'm really proud of them
01:36excited
01:38For this next opportunity
01:39we'll enjoy this thing today and tomorrow before we figure out who our opponent is and then
01:43We got to get healthy and get back to work for one less guarantee
01:47Throughout this whole offseason. Everybody would ask me why I came to Notre Dame and I'll give a lot of different answers
01:52But the truth is I came here to win national championship and you know to go to the best team
01:56That would give me the best odds to do that. And you know, obviously this is the right place and I made the right decision
02:02So, I mean, that's why I came here at the end of the day
02:06If the Irish end up playing the Texas Longhorns, they'll be three-point underdogs in the look-ahead line
02:12Buckeyes would be nine and a half point favorites over Notre Dame if they defeat Texas tonight
02:17Let's go back to last night real quick Penn State season comes to an end a really good one
02:22But an unfortunate finish James Franklin head coach of Penn State talked about the outcome and also the play of his quarterback drew Allen
02:28Yeah, I mean
02:31Drew is a passionate guy. He invests so much
02:36into his development, but also to his teammates and to Penn State and
02:42He'll handle this like he handles everything else
02:46with first with a first-class approach and
02:50With an investment level, that's as good as anybody in the country
02:55His jump is a year one starter to a year two starter was significant. He's got a chance to take another step next year
03:06But he'll handle the right way he's hurting right now right should be hurting we're all hurting
03:11you know, this ain't easy to get in here right after the game and
03:15have a conversation after you just
03:18Poured your guts out on that field
03:21And really did it all year long. So, you know
03:25He'll handle he'll handle it great. He'll be hurting tonight and he'll be hurting tomorrow
03:31He'll hurt a little bit less the next day and so on and so forth
03:36But he's a he's a committed guy that's gonna do it the right way and he said it it may not feel like it right
03:44now, but but he'll learn from this and he'll be better for it and so will we
03:49And Allah will be back with the Nittany Lions next year
03:51By the way, James Franklin head coach at Penn State won and 18 against top five opponents in his tenure
03:58They're with the Nittany Lions now history is being made in the NFL this weekend
04:02not for the right reasons because of the disaster that's been going on with the fires in Los Angeles in Southern, California
04:10The NFL saying they're moving the playoff game between the Vikings and Rams to Glendale, Arizona Monday night
04:16So that game will not be played in Los Angeles on Monday. It's the second time in NFL history. This has happened
04:23The Boston Redskins and Green Bay Packers NFL championship game went from Boston to New York in 1936
04:30None of us, of course remember that we will remember this year needless to say the point spread has been adjusted
04:36The Vikings have gone from 1 to 2 point favorites in Monday night's game
04:41By the way, the Rams and Chargers have both been practicing outside despite the fires there
04:46They're saying that the air quality is good enough to play
04:48Although a lot of the Chargers players did wear masks right now
04:52All the thoughts and prayers on the Rams side are with the people in Southern, California
04:58Obviously our thoughts and prayers are with everybody that's been affected by you know, these fires
05:02It's one of those deals that almost doesn't feel real
05:05But it certainly is real to the people that are affected and you know praying, you know
05:09that as many people are okay, and you know, you just see the amount of people that are affected and
05:14It's you know, it's one of those deals that you know, it gives you perspective
05:18And so hopefully I get this stuff, you know under control and you know, it's it's been it's been a unique week
05:25Fortunately for us, you know, there's been some people that have been affected in regards to
05:30Power outages, you know recommended evacuation a couple of our staff members that have their homes affected
05:36but fortunately to my knowledge nobody has been injured and
05:40You know for that we're grateful. I mean, I think we you know, every time we suit up, you know
05:45We're the Los Angeles Rams, you know
05:47We play for the people in this community the people that support us and this week will be
05:50you know another example of that obviously and
05:53You know, it's it's I'm sure hopefully a great escape for people who've been going through a lot of tough times
05:59You know here the last couple days
06:02Tough to lose a home playoff game, but that's the nature of what's going on right now in California
06:07Jalen Hurts is back at practice full participant. He's gonna play for the Eagles this weekend
06:12Make no mistake about it. Zay Flowers will not for the Ravens tomorrow night
06:16He is out with a knee injury and also the National Football League announced one of their international games
06:22Upcoming the Jaguars and Browns will be home teams for the London games Jets and Browns by the way
06:28We'll play at Tottenham Stadium in London in 2025 in case you were looking for an update point spread in tonight's Cotton Bowl
06:34Let me give it to you OSU five and a half point favorites over, Texas total 52 and a half the winner plays
06:41Notre Dame next week not next week the week after that for the national championship. They'll play one week for Monday night
06:46So good rest for them. All right, let's get to the transfer portal
06:49We've got Carson Beck leaving, Georgia. This should be no surprise
06:54He's entering the portal some rumors potentially that he could end up in Miami
06:57we will see Texas gets right tackle Cameron William back for the semifinals against Ohio State tonight and
07:03Boise State is reunited with ex-offensive coordinator Zach Hill. He's gonna run the quarterbacks and passing game
07:09He was with the Seattle Seahawks this past season over in the NBA the tragedies going on in Southern, California
07:16Affecting the head coach of the Lakers
07:19Everybody's safe
07:20But JJ Reddick the head coach loses his home in the fires that postponed that Hornets Lakers game as well
07:26Over a thousand structures in the area were taken out by the fires
07:30The 76ers have ruled out Jared McCain for the rest of the season after knee surgery
07:36Which he had on Thursday in Orlando Paulo Bankaro is set to return tonight against the Milwaukee Bucs
07:43He's been out since October the 30th with an oblique injury averaging 29 points 9 rebounds and 5 assists per game
07:51He had a career-high 50 points back on October the 28th and the Thunder are three and a half point road favorites
07:58So one of the big games tonight in the National Basketball
08:01Association the game will be played at Madison Square Garden against the New York Knicks
08:04In fact, OKC beat New York if you may remember one week ago today by a final of
08:11117 to
08:12107 going back to do is why here on sports grid Sam McQuillan's with us from legal sports report
08:16he's actually at the game last night orange bowl between his Penn State and Nittany Lions and
08:21Notre Dame fighting Irish Sam great game last night really a classic for you know for the Orange Bowl
08:26I know there's some disappointment there, but naturally a very hard-fought game if you'll take anything away from that
08:33Thanks a lot Craig, yeah, it's gonna be one I remember for a long long time
08:37Great atmosphere, but it's for many reasons. I'll remember it is one of the worst losses I've ever felt, but that's nothing new as a
08:44Yeah, real real tough there 10-3 early on they had a lead Penn State did but then they soon
08:51I'll sort of fell apart there in the end
08:52All right
08:52So February 4th is a target date for an update on sports betting in Alabama
08:57You guys have a column up over at legal sports report comm what do you think happens when that date comes?
09:01Do they push forward or is this just something that will be attempted and failing yet again?
09:07Yeah, it's it's a good question. That's kind of in the theme of all these states
09:11We still have left on the board, right but with Alabama ahead of their session actually the new
09:17Leader of the Senate Garland gudger apologize if I'm butchering your last name. Mr. Gudger
09:22He came out and said that he sees some optimism in the legislature this year for a gambling bill
09:29Alabama's one of those states that doesn't even have a lottery. So really when you talk about sports betting
09:34It's really hard to just get momentum in general around the idea of further legalizing gambling
09:39But he did say, you know, he thinks there could be appetite for it this year
09:42Obviously, I love it new faces in the legislature in the past. We've seen kind of these big
09:49comprehensive gambling packages that sometimes include sports betting sometimes don't
09:53Throughout several points in the process just because again about hard it is to really get any form of gambling legalized in the state
10:00but I would say the fact that the leader of the Senate kind of seems to be leaning on board or
10:06Indicating that he's at least open to pushing the agenda forward
10:09If he has more if there's more of an appetite in the legislature for it is definitely a good sign in the past
10:14I think there's been a lot of you know dissension among different lawmakers in terms of you know
10:20Not just whether we want sports betting legalized or gambling other forms of gambling
10:24But what we're gonna do with the money, I think that's been kind of a big
10:28You know caused a lot of a big roadblock there is some people want to use it on education
10:32So other lawmakers want to use it to expand Medicaid
10:36different, you know mental health initiatives as well, so
10:39But essentially once they would even get to the point where they pass a gambling bill that would include sports betting
10:45They then would have to bring it to the ballot and then the people would have to pick up they want it
10:50So it's not as simple as just are they gonna pass a bill? Is it gonna become legal? Are we gonna get it?
10:55There's still a lot of hoops to jump through
10:57But I would say this session, you know
10:59Probably has as good a chance as any out of the previous ones in Alabama and remember with this stuff
11:04You never really know what's gonna happen
11:06Sometimes we're talking about just a little momentum and then all of a sudden it snowballs into hey
11:11We have the next big state that just legalized. So I would say there's hope if you're in Alabama, but nothing super material yet
11:18Yeah, it seems like legislative sessions everywhere in February gonna open up the door for potential
11:23It's just how far it gets going now
11:25I know Minnesota is another one of those states Sam Pat Evans was on earlier in the week and said we have to keep a
11:30Close eye out on them
11:32But naturally first they're gonna hear the positives and then there's gonna be some oppositions coming in the way of Minnesota
11:38Tell us more what that may look like
11:41Yeah, Minnesota is another one of those states still left on the board. Obviously state
11:45We've talked a lot about in the past potentially legalizing sports betting and it's actually gotten pretty close unlike, Alabama there
11:52It's been sort of tribal efforts that have kind of been a roadblock
11:55But it seems to as you alluded to Craig that there are new maybe even bigger roadblocks popping up this week
12:01They had one of the first hearings that I've ever heard a state have that
12:06It hasn't had sports betting where they focus solely on the negatives of sports betting
12:10You know Congress the US Congress had a similar hearing pretty recently and that kind of seems to
12:16Be trickling down to the states a little bit some of that momentum kind of against the industry kind of looking at it from
12:22That point of view but at this hearing you had a bunch of different
12:27Folks who are not in the industry a bunch of you know, people who are pretty much against sports betting testifying
12:32Ahead of their session one of them, you know, Les Bernal who's the national director of the stock predatory?
12:39gambling campaign
12:40It was pretty vocal about
12:42What he says is a phony narrative that the legal industry has been pushing a lot of the times the industry will say
12:48Legalizing it will help bring it out of the shadows and help combat the illegal industry. Well, he said that's true
12:53It actually is does more harm when you when you legalize it then illegal gambling goes up as well
13:00yet another witness who is the lawyer of
13:03the famous X Jaguars employee who admitted to stealing 22 million dollars from the team to
13:10Play a lot of it play fantasy sports on FanDuel. He spoke out against the industry. No surprise there
13:16They're suing FanDuel trying to make them culpable for sort of all the money that he took
13:21He said, you know, the industry is predatory. They send these
13:25Specific offers and free bets to certain people they want to bet more
13:29So finally one proponent of sports betting did speak up though. Nobody from the legal industry was invited
13:36Pat was reporting that they had kind of been shut out of this whole process
13:39But finally a senator who wants sports betting
13:42He's an author of one of several bills that could be heard in the legislature when it kicks off
13:47He spoke up and said listen, the simple fact is, you know, we've heard the testimony against it
13:52But Minnesotans want it and it's kind of our duty as lawmakers to represent the people and what they want
13:58There is a poll that came out pretty recently that said that overwhelming majority of Minnesotans want it
14:04And that most will not probably fall into the problem gambling category
14:08Whether that is true or not, you'd have to let it play out
14:12But so while there does seem to be a lot of kind of resistance to it
14:15There still is a big strong growing swing of it
14:19And I think this is just gonna be one of those things you see now in states now
14:22We've had sports betting for so long that we're gonna start hearing about all the negatives too during the legal process
14:28Yeah
14:29No
14:29I mean
14:29But that's that's to come here in the next few months because as we know that this has been a very big
14:3450-50 issue in a lot of different states
14:36But the one thing that it seems to be growing, you know
14:39These online casino games all over the country and I read the column over a legal sports report that you guys wrote
14:45Philadelphia and all of these states in Pennsylvania getting ready to go live online with casino and by the way live dealer games
14:52I see here to blackjack and some VIP as well. That's new
14:57Yeah, it's another another segment that continues to grow as I gaming you see a lot of companies like Caesars
15:02They just launched their new horseshoe branded games, which as you alluded to Craig has expanded to live blackjack dealers
15:10It's beyond just kind of you know playing
15:13these old looking
15:15Pixelated blackjack games on your phone where you're actually it kind of feels like you're in a casino and companies like Caesars
15:21They've spent tons of money on building their own studios building their own casinos
15:25I believe MGM and bed MGM have something similar as well
15:29Draftkings has been pretty vocal about wanting to do the same thing
15:32But Caesars really while they've taken a backseat the sports betting if you pay attention to any of the market share reports any of the earnings
15:39Calls, they're really making inroads in iGaming and you see that here with them bringing it to another big city of this horseshoe casino
15:47It's their fifth state that they're in now. It's you know, Pennsylvania is one of the largest iGaming states. There's only a few
15:53We have New Jersey as well on their Illinois
15:55We're talking about to maybe perhaps can legalize iGaming as well this year
16:00But I think it'll be really interesting to see what sports books do if they try to copy Caesars and do more of this live
16:05dealer stuff
16:07They've been very innovative obviously with parlays and sports betting
16:10But maybe what can they do on the iGaming side to push that a little bit more get people to play it a little bit
16:16More and then at the end of the day get people to play their apps over other people's apps
16:20I think it's gonna be definitely something interesting to watch here and Caesars leading the way with their horseshoe
16:25Yeah, and a lot of the other states and companies trying to emulate do a lot of this, you know live iGaming as well
16:33We'll follow it throughout the year Sam safe travels back up to New York from Florida and we'll catch up again next week here
16:39On Newswire. Thanks again
16:41Yeah, thanks a lot Craig. Have a good one