data-mm-id=”_rnl4f9y04″>The battle for future NBA media rights continues as the sports media world stands at rapt attention while tweeting out clips of the Roundball Rock song. One eventual possibility is that Turner Sports is left out of the new deal, which would mean Inside the NBA, widely recognized as the best sports show on television, would need a new home and its superstar cast would be incredibly attractive targets for the new rightsholders. Michael McCarthy of Front Office Sports spun that story forward today by flagging that Charles Barkley, who confirmed that he has an escape clause in his current contract that would allow him to seek greener pastures should TNT lose the NBA. “I just signed a 10-year deal two years ago,” Barkley said in an interview with ESPN Cleveland on Wednesday, “but one of the things I did was I put an opt-out after a couple years because I wanted to cover my ass when it comes to this situation.”"I wanted to make sure that if we lost the NBA in 2 years, I could be a free agent," – Charles Barkley on if TNT loses the NBA TV rights. Charles also talks about the future of 'Inside the NBA' pic.twitter.com/hyDIVcUapy— ESPN Cleveland (@ESPNCleveland) May 1, 2024McCarthy's sources tell him that Barkley could command $18-$20 million on such an open market. ESPN, Amazon and NBC are all vying for future hoops broadcasts and all would conceivably be interested in Barkley and his other castmates if possible. At least on paper. But it does seem like the general public, or at least the niche section interest in media movings and shakings, is overestimating just how seamless and easy a plug-and-play situation would be. For one, networks have tended to want to create their own thing when they get a shiny new toy and put their own stamp on it. Barkley is also 61 and hasn't been shy about dreaming about an eventual retirement. Then there's the price tag and, dare I even say it, the possibility that Barkley works best and is most impactful because he plays off a set with unrivaled chemistry. Just having him, Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smith and Shaquille O'Neal parachute into new digs seems like a complete pipe dream and if there's any combination of that, it'll be great television but decidedly not quite the same. Obviously Turner could be part of the next package. There's plenty of moves on the chessboard before networks even begin the process of putting pens to paper. But that's kind of the point. That there's a lot to be determined, which is why just assuming Barkley is going to easily be transferred to whomever has the NBA may be a bit of a premature assumption.Time will tell. As it always does.
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The touchdown market has become one of the most popular and potentially profitable props in the NFL betting world. Each week, we’re going to throw down three to five units as we try to uncover some of the best weekly NFL TD props and dig into the matchups that surround them.
Week 11 has us looking at two possible running backs with expanding roles and a double-dip on the New Orleans tight end depth chart.
Without further ado:
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A Monday so nice, they’re doing it twice with the Minnesota Vikings visiting the Philadelphia Eagles in the second of two Monday Night Football matchups in Week 2. I’m here to break down the point spread and total and give my best NFL betting picks and predictions for Vikings at Eagles on September 19.
These teams were offseason darlings among sharp NFL bettors, drawing money and forcing notable adjustments on their NFL futures odds. Minny and Philly made good on those projections in Week 1, both starting the season with victories.
Philadelphia hung on for an uncomfortable win at Detroit, giving up 21 points in the second half, while Minnesota staked its claim in the NFC North with an impressive win over Green Bay. That has kept this spread tig…
Two teams that appear to have rock-solid defenses will face off in Denver with the Commanders in town to take on the Broncos on Sunday afternoon. Despite losing as a home favorite vs. the Raiders in Week 1, Denver comes in as a 3.5-point favorite, while the game has the lowest total of the week in the NFL odds at 38.5 points.
Each offense is expected to take a step forward this season with Sean Payton in to fix Russell Wilson, while Washington’s Eric Bieniemy is out to prove he’s more than just Andy Reid’s right-hand man. Each failed to get off to a strong start in Week 1, with the teams combining for just 36 points despite facing poorly-regarded defenses.
Let’s see how the teams match up for their Week 2 faceoff. Here are my free…
The Baltimore Ravens had a long break for Thanksgiving after last playing on November 16. Now they get a prime-time matchup on Sunday Night Football in Inglewood, CA against the struggling Los Angeles Chargers.
The Ravens are slight favorites in Week 12 odds and will be looking to move to 9-3 on the season before their bye week behind the play of Lamar Jackson.
I’ve taken a closer look at the Lamar Jackson odds to give my free NFL picks for the Ravens vs. Chargers on November 26.
Be sure to keep up to date on the SNF odds and check out our Ravens vs. Chargers predictions, along with our SNF prop picks.
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UPDATE: The Kansas City Chiefs won Super Bowl 58 in Overtime on Sunday and soaked Andy Reid in Purple Gatorade during a commercial break! Purple was the Oddsmakers’ favorite and was used for the second year in a row by the Chiefs.
Winning the Super Bowl is the goal of every NFL coach, and entrance into this elite club of champions is celebrated with the Gatorade bath – a surprise baptism of icy, colored sports drink. Not only has this tradition become a staple of Super Bowl Sunday, but betting on the Gatorade bath color is one of the most popular props available.
As the San Francisco 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs prepare for their Super Bowl rematch, the odds have hit the board.
Odds for the color of the Gatorade bath at the S…
Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals offense put up a blazing 38 points last week, but it wasn’t good enough to get the win, and they now find themselves at 1-4. They will travel to take on Brian DaBoll and the sneakily stout New York Giants defense, which has held opponents to 21 or fewer points in four straight games.
Who will Joe Burrow lean on to keep the Bengals’ postseason hopes alive?
I dive into the Joe Burrow odds and deliver my NFL picks for Sunday Night Football on October 13.
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It s nearly four years since Didier Deschamps became only the third man to win the World Cup as a player and coach, as he guided France to their second success on football s grandest stage.
The target now for Les Bleus is to become the first nation since Brazil in 1962 to retain their crown, and that journey begins on Friday with the draw for the group stage of Qatar 2022.
Four years is a long time to wait for anything, but the draw for the World Cup is always a milestone event that sees the anticipation taken up a notch.
The eyes of the football world will be on the Doha Exhibition and Convention Center, where the eight groups will be drawn and potential routes to December s finale can start being plotted.
But there is a little more to the draw than that…
Christine Sinclair, the all-time record goalscorer in international football, will retire at the end of the National Women’s Soccer League in November.
Sinclair, 41, has 190 goals in 331 appearances for Canada, making her the top scorer across both men s and women s football.
She has played for the NWSL s Portland Thorns since 2013, helping them to win the inaugural title that year. She added further league crowns to her collection in 2017 and 2022.
The Canadian great has had similar success with her national team, winning a gold medal at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. She is also one of three players to score at five World Cups, alongside Brazil s Marta and Portugal s Cristiano Ronaldo.
An icon of the game. A leader on and off the pitch. has announced she w…
Benjamin Sesko has signed for Bundesliga club RB Leipzig, although he will not officially become their player until July 2023.
Sesko has been highly sought-after following the 2021-22 season, in which he scored 11 goals in all competitions – including one in a Champions League qualifier – for Austrian side Salzburg.
He previously spent time on loan at second-tier Liefering, scoring 21 goals in 29 league games, while he netted Salzburg s winner in a pre-season friendly against Liverpool in July.
Seen as the next potential star off the Austrian club s production line after Erling Haaland and Karim Adeyemi, Sesko had reportedly been drawing interest from Premier League clubs including Manchester United, Chelsea and Newcastle United.
Yet the 19-year-old S…
Luka Modric says he is not thinking about any international retirement call ahead of Croatia s Nations League clash with Denmark.
The Real Madrid veteran is looking to skipper his country through to next year s finals in their last major pre-Qatar 2022 World Cup run-out.
Four years on from reaching the final at Russia 2018, Modric is among the elder statesman of the world game on the pitch, at 37, with many wondering if this year s tournament will be his international swansong.
But speaking ahead of their Group A1 encounter at Stadion Maksimir, the playmaker has poured cold water over any imminent exit talk and suggested whatever decision he makes will likely wait for the new year.
I m not thinking about that, Modric stated. I haven t made any decisions.…