by AAA Sports
Sunday, Jul 28, 2024Will the Philadelphia 76ers and their major roster remake finally have the chops to challenge the Boston Celtics and make a serious, deep run in the East next spring?
Few teams promise so much and then deliver so little, but the arrival of a mandatory third star and the addition of serious rotation depth just might be the combination that finally turns the tide.
This past season another injury to former MVP Joel Embiid buried Philadelphia into the Play-In which led to a first-round grinder of a first-round 6-game series loss to the Knicks, but that’s now officially yesterday’s news to a team that pilfered Paul George from the sleeping LA Clippers in the off-season. Assuming a somewhat healthy Embiid and a still-improving Tyrese Maxey, a Philly with George enables the Sixers to officially join an Eastern Conference Big Four along with Boston, New York and Milwaukee.
Boston remains the No. 1 choice of oddsmakers at +310 to win the title, but Philly (+800) and the Knicks (+900) are neck-and-neck, with those numbers reversed in some books.
Besides George, the 76ers have recast their bench with the addition of a handful of 30-something veterans – Caleb Martin. Kyle Lowry, Andre Drummond, Reggie Jackson and Eric Gordon. But in the end it will come down to how quickly Embiid, George and Maxey can play together, and whether Embiid is healthy next April, May and (cross your fingers) June.
Lucky lottery winner
It’s not quite the same as winning hundreds of millions on Power Ball, but a Maryland woman was still able to cash $576,900 on a bizarre play. The retired teacher bought 25 tickets with the same 5-digit combination – and hit on it. There were 26 winning tickets, overall (another person also won), so each ticket paid $23,076. The odds of hitting that were about 1 in 500,000, but the payoff was capped at 600,000, which limited the winnings (and also made her strategy of buying multiple tickets foolhardy).
Chiefs support sports betting initiative
It wasn’t all that long ago that pro sports teams were actually spending money on lobbyists to prevent the legalization of sports betting. Now leagues and teams see money to be made from wagering and want as big a piece of the pie as possible. Thus, it was hardly a surprise recently when the Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs threw their support behind a movement to add a question on the November ballot that would legalize sports wagering in Missouri. Backers of the initiative seem to have more than enough signatures to get on the ballot, but as with other grass roots referenda, nothing is guaranteed when it comes to state governments. The Cardinals, Blues and Royals also back the move. Sports betting has not yet been approved in 12 states, including Missouri.
Caitlin Clark effect on gambling
Add a dramatic increase in sports betting to Caitlin Clark’s WNBA impact. The amount of wagering on WNBA games and props (many, obviously, involving Clark) has increased three-fold over 2023. BetMGM reported that Clark hadfive times as many prop bets as any other WNBA player. Clark remains a heavy (-1200) favorite to win the Rookie of the Year award, although her rival Angel Reese (+650) has closed the gap a bit.
Harris making a move
Speaking of a tightening race, The PredictIt betting site has been turned on its head with the departure of Joe Biden and the arrival of Kamala Harris as Donald Trump’s opponent. The site is constantly changing, but Trump held a dominating lead in the wake of Biden disastrous debate performance, but with Harris in the race and Democrats energized, the numbers are nearly even – reflecting the results of several national polls.
Competitive eater passes away
The bizarre world of competitive eating got attention when longtime hot dog-eating champ Joey Chestnut was banned from Nathan’s annual July 4 competition in an endorsement squabble. Another shoe dropped in mid-July when a competitive eater died while eating during a live podcast. An autopsy on the 24-year-old Chinese woman showed that her stomach was “deformed” and filled with undigested food. Competitive eating is most popular in the United States, Canada and Japan. China has placed some regulations on the activity.
Few teams promise so much and then deliver so little, but the arrival of a mandatory third star and the addition of serious rotation depth just might be the combination that finally turns the tide.
This past season another injury to former MVP Joel Embiid buried Philadelphia into the Play-In which led to a first-round grinder of a first-round 6-game series loss to the Knicks, but that’s now officially yesterday’s news to a team that pilfered Paul George from the sleeping LA Clippers in the off-season. Assuming a somewhat healthy Embiid and a still-improving Tyrese Maxey, a Philly with George enables the Sixers to officially join an Eastern Conference Big Four along with Boston, New York and Milwaukee.
Boston remains the No. 1 choice of oddsmakers at +310 to win the title, but Philly (+800) and the Knicks (+900) are neck-and-neck, with those numbers reversed in some books.
Besides George, the 76ers have recast their bench with the addition of a handful of 30-something veterans – Caleb Martin. Kyle Lowry, Andre Drummond, Reggie Jackson and Eric Gordon. But in the end it will come down to how quickly Embiid, George and Maxey can play together, and whether Embiid is healthy next April, May and (cross your fingers) June.
Lucky lottery winner
It’s not quite the same as winning hundreds of millions on Power Ball, but a Maryland woman was still able to cash $576,900 on a bizarre play. The retired teacher bought 25 tickets with the same 5-digit combination – and hit on it. There were 26 winning tickets, overall (another person also won), so each ticket paid $23,076. The odds of hitting that were about 1 in 500,000, but the payoff was capped at 600,000, which limited the winnings (and also made her strategy of buying multiple tickets foolhardy).
Chiefs support sports betting initiative
It wasn’t all that long ago that pro sports teams were actually spending money on lobbyists to prevent the legalization of sports betting. Now leagues and teams see money to be made from wagering and want as big a piece of the pie as possible. Thus, it was hardly a surprise recently when the Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs threw their support behind a movement to add a question on the November ballot that would legalize sports wagering in Missouri. Backers of the initiative seem to have more than enough signatures to get on the ballot, but as with other grass roots referenda, nothing is guaranteed when it comes to state governments. The Cardinals, Blues and Royals also back the move. Sports betting has not yet been approved in 12 states, including Missouri.
Caitlin Clark effect on gambling
Add a dramatic increase in sports betting to Caitlin Clark’s WNBA impact. The amount of wagering on WNBA games and props (many, obviously, involving Clark) has increased three-fold over 2023. BetMGM reported that Clark hadfive times as many prop bets as any other WNBA player. Clark remains a heavy (-1200) favorite to win the Rookie of the Year award, although her rival Angel Reese (+650) has closed the gap a bit.
Harris making a move
Speaking of a tightening race, The PredictIt betting site has been turned on its head with the departure of Joe Biden and the arrival of Kamala Harris as Donald Trump’s opponent. The site is constantly changing, but Trump held a dominating lead in the wake of Biden disastrous debate performance, but with Harris in the race and Democrats energized, the numbers are nearly even – reflecting the results of several national polls.
Competitive eater passes away
The bizarre world of competitive eating got attention when longtime hot dog-eating champ Joey Chestnut was banned from Nathan’s annual July 4 competition in an endorsement squabble. Another shoe dropped in mid-July when a competitive eater died while eating during a live podcast. An autopsy on the 24-year-old Chinese woman showed that her stomach was “deformed” and filled with undigested food. Competitive eating is most popular in the United States, Canada and Japan. China has placed some regulations on the activity.
