The NBA woke up to shock during its opening week as Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups and Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier were among 34 people arrested as part of a pair of investigations related to illegal sports betting and rigged poker games backed by the Mafia, according to the FBI. FOS writer Ben Horney joins from the Manhattan courthouse with the latest on the investigation, plus FOS editor-in-Chief Dan Roberts discusses the likelihood of new regulations surrounding “prop bets” and how this is yet another scandal for commissioner Adam Silver to deal with.
Meanwhile, the San Francisco Giants made a big splash hiring University of Tennessee’s Tony Vitello as their new manager, becoming the first time a big league team has hired a manager from college without any major league experience. Giants reporter John Shea of The San Francisco Standard tells Baker Machado and Renee Washington why new team president Buster Posey had to think outside the box in hiring Vitello to compete against the Dodgers and Padres.
Plus, FOS newsletter writer Eric Fisher is back from the NFL’s fall owners meetings with news on the Pro Bowl moving indoors during Super Bowl week, and we discuss Lionel Messi’s new contract with Inter Miami that will keep him in MLS until 2028.
