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A DraftKings Sportsbook bettor has been sweating out a parlay that pays $1.7 million for almost a year. The gambler placed a $100 three-team futures parlay in May 2023 on the Texas Rangers to win the World Series (22-1), the Kansas City Chiefs to win the Super Bowl (6-1) and the Oklahoma City Thunder to win the NBA championship (70-1). The Rangers won the World Series on Nov. 1, defeating the Arizona Diamondbacks in five games. The Chiefs beat the San Francisco 49ers 25-22 in overtime in the Super Bowl on Feb. 11 at Allegiant Stadium. Now the bettor needs the Thunder to win the NBA title to cash the 17,145-to-1 long shot and collect $1,714,500. The bet would normally pay 11,430-1, but the bettor used a DraftKings promotion for a 50 percent parlay boost.
So ... what will ultimately happen when Diamond's plan is presented? Likely something along the lines of what happened with Major League Baseball, with Diamond continuing to work with the teams that it has a profitable situation with and extricating itself from the ones with which it does not. In baseball, that meant the San Diego Padres and Arizona Diamondbacks. It is unclear exactly how many NBA teams could be impacted at the moment, as much of this ultimately hinges on the outcome of this lawsuit. In the meantime, teams are both figuring out if they'll have to receive a reduction in their fees -- and how much of one they might have to accept -- while also preparing for a local over-the-air alternative in case their RSN deal disappears.
The 49th-annual Arizona Sports Hall of Fame induction ceremony took place at the Scottsdale Plaza Resort on Friday night, with six new inductees being enshrined. The inductees are: former NBA great Tom Chambers, Olympic swimming gold medalist Amy Van Dyken-Rouen, Olympian and world boxing champion Michael Carbajal, Arizona Diamondbacks President Derrick Hall, University of Arizona football coaching legend, the late Dick Tomey and longtime Northern Arizona University athletic trainer Michael Nesbitt.
Bogdan Bogdanovic was drafted by the Phoenix Suns with the 27th pick a year ago. He wanted to come to the NBA that year, but wasn't ready yet and agreed to get seasoning overseas with one of the best teams in Europe until he was ready. Now, he's developed so quickly that he can make big money overseas until he's free of the rookie-scale contract terms of the NBA. But here he is, Suns fans. In the Valley. Taking in a D-Backs game. With potentially his future head coach Jeff Hornacek and the Suns Assistant GM Pat Connolly.
It means they're not going to make the same mistake as the Diamondbacks, a team that overvalued their playoff team in 2011, badly misjudging their proximity to a championship. "I would take the fifth, generally, on any of these specific trade rumors," Suns President of Basketball Operations Lon Babby said. "What I would say is I expect us to be active. And what I mean by that is we're not going to just sit here and wait for the phone to ring. "We'll be initiating calls to every team, and taking the temperature of what's out there and what's available. And it wouldn't surprise me at all if we do something between now and next Thursday."
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The Suns are building a farm. Much like how Reno serves as the Diamondbacks' Triple-A minor-league affiliate, the Suns will start a hybrid affiliation with the D-League's Bakersfield franchise this year. In an agreement that is expected to be finalized next week, the Suns will finance and run the basketball operations of the D-League franchise while Bakersfield's ownership will continue handling business operations, community relations and other non-basketball functions.
The New York Knicks introduced Phil Jackson as team president Tuesday, and during a wide-ranging news conference, he spoke positively of his relationships with Bulls Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf and former general manager Jerry Krause. Given the occasionally acrimonious relationship with Krause, particularly as the Bulls' dynasty neared its end, the words resonated. And they reached Krause in Arizona, where is employed by the Arizona Diamondbacks. "I appreciate what he said," Krause told the Tribune by phone. "I appreciate he understands the difficulties of the job."
This time it’s among the 122 professional sports franchises in North America, as rated by ESPN the Magazine in its annual assessment. It’s an unofficial competition the Spurs have long dominated, earning “Franchise of the Decade” honors last year after becoming the only team to finish in the top 10, including twice in first, in each of its first 10 years. This year, the rankings are: 1. Memphis Grizzlies (NBA) 2. San Antonio Spurs (NBA) 3. Indiana Pacers (NBA) 4. Oklahoma City Thunder (NBA) 5. Green Bay Packers (NFL) 6. Arizona Diamondbacks (MLB) 7. Pittsburgh Penguins (NHL) 8. Anaheim Ducks (NHL) 9. Ottawa Senators (NHL) 10. Baltimore Ravens (NFL)
If the Suns hadn’t been in the Finals, and Jerry Colangelo hadn’t attended that game, who knows whether he would have warmed up to an idea that led to the expansion Diamondbacks? Michael Jordan’s 55 points led to a Bulls victory in Game 4 and left the Suns on the brink of vacation. An incident during the game left Colangelo with a double-dose of ill feelings. He was sitting with his son, Bryan, when he heard a commotion behind him where his wife, Joanie, and mother were. “What’s going on?” Colangelo asked. “The guy behind us told your mom to shut up and sit down,” Joanie said.
The Seattle Mariners topped the list with a 51.4-percent decline. The other teams on the list are the Cleveland Indians, Houston Astros, Arizona Diamondbacks, Dallas Stars, Oakland A's, New York Mets, Baltimore Orioles, Columbus Blue Jackets and Miami Dolphins. Entering Monday night's game against the Los Angeles Clippers, the Pistons ranked last in the 30-team NBA with an average attendance of 12,488.
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Krause turned 73 in April. Nine years have passed since the general manager for all six Bulls title teams left the franchise under the softening caveat of health reasons. He has scouted for the Yankees, Mets, White Sox and Diamondbacks since, running his resume total to eight baseball and four basketball teams. Fifty-one years after leaving Bradley University to take a $65-per-week job as a glorified gofer for the Cubs, Krause's excitement for scouting remains — on most days — as bright as the yellow polo shirt he is wearing atop blue chinos. "What the hell else would I do?" Krause says. "If I didn't work, I'd probably go goofy." Krause has kept a low profile since his successful and polarizing Bulls run ended. He has stayed mostly silent as he gets alternately vilified or praised. But he accepted the Tribune's request to revisit his Chicago roots, to be watched plying his trade, to tell his story.
Jerry Krause, the general manager for six Bulls championship teams, and Johnny Bach, assistant coach for three, are first-time nominees for the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame's Class of 2012, league sources said. Krause, currently a baseball scout for the Diamondbacks, spent 18 seasons with the Bulls and earned NBA Executive of the Year honors following the 1987-88 and 1995-96 seasons.
If the Hawks are sold, some of the current owners likely would retain minority stakes in the franchise. Moores, who made his fortune in the computer-software business, bought the Padres in 1994. He sold the baseball team in 2009 to a group led by former player agent and Arizona Diamondbacks part-owner Jeff Moorad.
Al McCoy, the "Voice of the Suns" entering his 39th season, said he has decided to miss about 12 road games this season to take breaks like baseball announcers do. "I think it's about time I slowed down a bit," he said Wednesday. McCoy said he likely will hand over his duties on two long East Coast trips to Jeff Munn. Munn, the Suns' public-address announcer from 1991- 2003, also fills in on Diamondbacks radio play-by-play in addition to hosting pre- and postgame shows. Munn has called Arizona State women's basketball since 2004. McCoy said he never pondered retiring. "It isn't any indication of when I'm going to completely retire," he said.
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