Didn’t we type this last year?

Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Quarterback, Tom Brady, announced on his social media that he is retiring as an active player.  Brady made the same announcement last year, only to recant weeks after, but following Tampa’s first round playoff bounce, this seems like it will stick.

Arriving as a sixth rounder from Michigan in 2000, Brady took over as the Patriots’ starting Quarterback early the season after following the injury to the incumbent QB, Drew Bledsoe.  Brady would go to the Pro Bowl, and take New England to their first Super Bowl win.

Over his nearly two-decade tenure as the Patriots' starting QB, he would not only win six Super Bowls but bring them to four others.  With New England, Brady was a four-time Super Bowl MVP, Brady won three AP MVPs, and went to the Pro Bowl fourteen times, with three years as a First Team All-Pro.  

Brady stunned the world when he signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, leaving Bill Belichick behind, and leaving fans wondering if he could win without him.  All doubters were proven wrong, with Brady winning his seventh Super Bowl and fifth Super Bowl MVPs, breaking his both of his existing records.  After two more playoff years and a 15^th Pro Bowl Selection in 2021, Brady’s career is now over.

Brady leaves the National Football League as the all-time leader in Approximate Value (326), Quarterback Wins (251), Pass Completions (7,753), Passing Yards (89,214), Touchdown Passes 649), Playoff Pass Completions (1,200), Playoff Passing Yards (13,450) and Playoff Touchdown Passes (89).

Brady is eligible for the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2028, and will enter immediately on his first ballot.  With T.J. Watt already retiring, we have a potentially loaded 2028 ballot. 

We wish Tom Brady the best in his post-playing career, but he won’t need any luck from us, as he already has a multi-million dollar broadcasting job waiting for him.

Thank you, Tom.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has put forth one of the most diverse group of nominees for the Class of 2023, and let’s get right into who they have nominated:

A Tribe Called Quest is nominated for the first time, and should the Alternative Hip-Hop group get in, it would open the doors for many of their ilk.

Cyndi Lauper receives her first nomination since being eligible in 2009.  With a barrage of 80s hits, and an activist legacy that plays well to the voter base, this is a great ballot for her, as only Kate Bush falls close to her category.

Iron Maiden collects a second nomination, but the Heavy Metal gods face an uphill climb as the voters have shown that they do not care for their genre.

Joy Division/New Order are in for a combined nomination, which greatly improves the chances for all parties in question.  This is not unprecedented, as the Hall previous nominated and inducted, as the Small Faces and Faces were put forth together.  Neither group has been nominated before, and this first nomination could be their only one as this is a very strong candidate.

Kate Bush earned her fourth nomination, and no artist has enjoyed more of an interest in her music over the past twelve months with her song, “Running Up That Hill” featured on Stranger Things.  Cyndi’s appearance on this ballot, could delay Bush one more time.

George Michael receives his first nomination after being eligible since 2010.  The mastermind behind Wham!, had a monstrous solo career generating five number ones as a solo, and two more as a duet (one with Aretha Franklin and one with Elton John).  This would be a posthumous induction, as Michael passed away on Christmas Day, 2016 from heart disease.

Missy Elliot is nominated in her first year on the ballot, and should she get in, she will be the first female rapper inducted.  Generally, we try not to equate everything to gender, but the above fact makes her a near-lock for induction, but we have had similar thoughts before.

Rage Against the Machine received a fifth nomination, and now fifth in the last six years.  Will RATM get in this year, or does Soundgarden siphon off some of their votes?

Sheryl Crow is also a first-time nominee.  Eligible since 2019, Crow was very successful in the 1990s with many hits, but she may not have the influence factor to get over some of the other artists here.

Soundgarden is now a two-time nominee, the first coming in 2020.  The Seattle group could cancel out RATM, and arguably this is a bad ballot for both.

The Spinners return with another nomination, their fourth overall and first since 2016.  Could the Philly Soul pioneers play spoiler?

Warren Zevon is nominated for the first time after being eligible since 1995, and it a long time coming for the acclaimed Singer/Songwriter.  We have seen before how the voting body reacts to a first-time nominee who has eligible for 20 years, but he is not the only one with that credential here.

The White Stripes are in the same camp as Missy Elliot, as they are nominated on their first year.  This is the type of group that the Hall drools over; successful, influential, a tad eccentric and polotically in tune with their ideals.  

Willie Nelson finally got his first nomination after decades of eligibility, and following Dolly Parton last year, does this not feel like Willie is getting in?

The Class will be announced on a date yet to be determined.

We would like to congratulate the 2023 nominees for making it to this step.

Hockey lost a legend today with the passing of Bobby Hull.  He was 84 years old.

Hull made an impact in his first season in professional hockey.  The gifted scorer was the runner-up for the Calder in the 1957-58 season and as the 60’s came calling he would win his first batch of individual awards as in the 1959-60 season he was the NHL’s leading goal scorer, the Art Ross Trophy winner and a First Team All Star.  That is a career season for most players but for “The Golden Jet” it was just the beginning.

After helping Chicago win the 1961 Stanley Cup, Hull went on a tear where he was named to post-season All-Star Team eleven years in a row (nine First Team and two Second Team).  Excelling at putting the puck in the net, Hull led the NHL in that category seven times and is the franchise all-time leader with 604 and he was the first player to exceed 50 Goals in a Season.  A large part of the story of his success was the curved stick that he and teammate Stan Mikita popularized and as the possessor of one the fastest shots in the NHL (in addition to also being one of the quickest skaters) made him an offensive juggernaut.  The Left Winger would also win the Hart Trophy and the Lady Byng in the 1964-65 season.

Like many star players of the National Hockey League, Hull felt underpaid and he jumped to the upstart World Hockey Association in 1972 when the Winnipeg Jets (who had his rights) shockingly met his asking price of one million dollars.  He helped the Jets win the Avco Cup twice, and had a brief return to the NHL when the WHA merged with the NHL.  

Hull entered the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1983 his first year of eligibility.

As phenomenal as he was on the ice, Hull was a controversial figure off it, known for a volatile temper, allegations of domestic abuse, and horrific comments in 1998 to a Moscow newspaper, though Hull denied those comments.

As each new US state passes legislation allowing online sports betting, a whole new audience gets to enjoy the pastime, and this has resulted in some staggering numbers in terms of money wagered and revenue generated by the licensed, regulated providers in the relevant territory.

Online sports betting in Louisiana went live in late January 2022, and it was not as simple a process as it has been in other states. Whereas in most states, the referendums used to dictate the possibility of legalization coming up on the docket in a state-wide referendum, in the Pelican State, the situation is broken down by county.

Of the 64 parishes that voted on the matter of online sports betting, 55 approved, and nine did not, but this led to a fairly absurd situation that meant that people in those parishes needed only to get in their vehicles and drive to a relevant neighborhood before placing their bets.

The state has eight legal sportsbook apps, including DraftKings Louisiana, which is, without doubt, one of the most popular and best available to residents, and in December, revenue hit a record $37.2 million, showing just how much potential there is in the market in the region.

This was in marked contrast to the revenue made in November, which saw the many sportsbooks take a big hit as Jim “Mattress Mack” McIngvale beat the bookies with a series of bets placed on the Houston Astros winning the MLB World Series.

He won a staggering $75 million from his bets, of which $58.7 million came in Louisiana, something that the providers in the state could not have possibly mitigated or predicted.

Over the course of 2022, the first year of legalization in Louisiana, the state broke the $30 million milestone for revenue four times, and December’s numbers were the highest of the whole year and a sign of things to come.

In 2022 sportsbooks accepted over $2.3 billion in bets, with $1.96 billion coming from mobile devices, which is evidence of a massive shift to mobile betting, which can be seen worldwide, not just in the sports betting world but also in the online casino industry.

The success of online sports betting hasn’t only been advantageous to the sportsbooks that are licensed to operate but also helped to bring in $33.9 million in tax receipts, with almost 40% of that total coming in the final quarter of 2022.

Those December numbers put Louisiana in seventh place in terms of sports betting handle, behind the following. 

• 1) New York $1.63 billion
• 2) New Jersey $1.06 billion
• 3) Pennsylvania $754.8 million
• 4) Maryland$497.1 million
• 5) Tennessee$440.4 million
• 6) Indiana$431.4 million
• 7) Louisiana$254.3 million
• 8) Iowa$229.9 million
• 9) Kansas$182 million
• 10) West Virginia$66 million

Of the sports that attract bets in Louisiana, American football is top of the list, with basketball a distant second. Baseball lies in third.

2023 promises more of the same for Louisiana, with February likely to be a big month given the end of the NFL season and the Super Bowl on the 13th of February.