Ahead on W R A L Triangle and Two UN C hoops recruit recruit, Elliott Cade has reclassified. He'll enroll early in Chapel Hill. We'll also discuss the expectations for the Carolina Hurricanes next season, but we start. Welcome to W R L Triangle Two. I'm your host, Mark Birkin, joined by W R A L sports investigative reporter, Brian Murphy. He's filling in for Luis Fernandez today and Murphy, I'm happy to have you on here today because we're gonna be talking about an issue here. Uh, that lawmakers are set to take up this week. Online sports gambling, something that lawmakers will consider here in the state legis legislature in Raleigh here just this week. Welcome in. Thanks. Thanks for having me. Glad to be here and you're right. Yes, sports gambling is gonna be in the news here all week. So, what is happening this week? Because I know that this is something where it's been going back and forth between, uh, both the House and the Senate. What happens this week here, Murph? Yeah, I think we're gonna see senate passage this week. The Senate, a couple of Senate committees are gonna consider this early in the week and then later in the week the Senate will have two days of voting on sports gambling. Um, we've seen lots and lots of changes to the bill. I think we'll see a few more changes to the bill before it gets through this process. But when it's all said and done, I, I think that the Senate will vote for it and then it'll go over to the house. I was worried, uh, you know, as someone who's been covering this, that, that the House wasn't going to agree to the changes that the Senate made. But it does seem like the House is on board with some of the changes that the Senate's made, that includes increasing the tax rate, you know, getting rid of, of deductions for promotions and, and credits that, um, the sports gambling operators often use to, to get people to sign up on their sites. I mean, I think one of the other big changes is that you will be allowed to do in person cash betting. Um, previously there were these sports lounges and that's what I have referred to them as because you could go and watch television, but you'd have to bet on your phone. Um, now you'll be able to actually go to P N C Arena when they create a sports book and bet with cash on, on the game that you're watching. And I think that will bring in a lot of casual bets who are going to the Hurricanes game and want to put a little bit of money down, but don't want to download an app, fund it with their credit card. You know, what is this? I don't really know what I'm talking about. Um, but you know, if you just go to the window and you say, hey, I wanna put $20 on the Hurricanes, that, that's easy enough. So when this comes to fruition, assuming it goes through Murph, um when they talk about the number of licenses that the state will distribute, would that be considered to say? Ok, P N C would have one of those 12 licenses. Could you explain how that works? Yeah, that they're still a little bit up in the air about that, but there will be 12 licenses and the sports gambling operators will have to apply for them because you're gonna have to show a, a demonstrated history of being able to do this, right? And P N C Arena doesn't have a demonstrated history of being able to do online mobile sports gambling. However, there may be, there are criteria in the application and criteria in the process that the lottery commission has to evaluate that. Talks about your partner uh in, in a place of public accommodation. That's what they're calling sports books, a place of public accommodation. And so the way that the bill is currently written, it looks like the, the mobile operators that have partnerships with the venues or with the teams are gonna move to the head of the line. Um And so P N C Arena may not have one of the, the licenses, but the partnership with P N C Arena will be critical in whatever, you know, whether it's fanduel or draftkings or Caesars or, or you name it, uh getting that license. And so, uh, this is, you know, teams really can't hold these licenses. You know, the NFL doesn't allow their team to hold a sports gambling license. But if partnering with Bank of America Stadium is the way for an online operator to get one, then in essence, you know, their relationship with the Panthers becomes very, very important. Do you know where the number, whether it's 12, whether it was 14, how do lawmakers decide on that number to say the, we're gonna give away X amount of licenses? How do they decide on that? I, I don't know, it's a great question because some places have done 30 or dozens or, you know, up to 60 of these licenses. Um, I think 12 is, you know, from my understanding, the operators were involved in some of this and, and I think 12 is enough to hit all of your main, you know, that this is an industry that has lots and lots of operators. But, but I think 12 is enough that everybody is satisfied. It's not so small that you're fighting over these, uh, it's not so large that the, that the, um, the, the marketplace is saturated and no, and no company can make any money because, you know, everybody has such a small share of the market. I think 12 is a, is a number where the operators think they can make money. Um, but not so small that they, they think they can still get a license. Yeah. And one thing I wanna point out to anyone listening or watching this right now, if this does, in fact become a law, January 8th would be the effective date. So there's gonna be a lot of people who are in for a rude awakening where New Year's Day birth where you've got the Rose Bowl and you've got all these great college football playoff. You, you get the CFP in college football, you've got a lot of great late season, uh, NFL, regular season action. You're gonna have to wait till January the eighth if this does, in fact become law in the state of North Carolina, but we are moving closer to that and this was, you know, something that lawmakers considered a year ago, it did not come to fruition. And so here we are again in, in 2023 again, considering this as law and again, I know there's gonna be a lot of action here this week, uh, as lawmakers continue to debate and discuss and I have even worse news for, for fans that January State may be the soonest date that this happens. I mean, we're pushing now into June. This is not going to get passed until at least the middle of June, maybe the maybe late June by the time it gets back through the house. Um, my understanding is that the bill may be, may be tweaked slightly to say that they would have up to a year from passage of this bill in order to get sports gambling up and running. Um, I know they're going to push for it as soon as possible and I think January 8th will still be the earliest date that it could happen. Um But that date may have some flexibility in that date. You, you think about it. We just talked about 12 licenses. All these people have to apply. All these companies will have to create partnerships with Charlotte Motor Speedway and Bank of America Stadium and P N C Arena and you name it and all the teams, then they're gonna have to apply to the lottery commission. The lottery commission has a whole, um, list of criteria that they're gonna have to evaluate these applications on before deciding which 12 get them and then they'll have to put some rules and regulations about what exactly you can bet on. Can, can you bet on the NFL draft? Um You know, some states allow you to bet on things like the draft. Some don't. Um So, so there is a lot of back end work that the lottery commission will have to put into place. Um, and they don't want to give anyone a, uh, you know, first mover status. So they want all 12 applica, you know, all 12 to go live at the exact same time. Nobody, just because you, you operate this in, in 25 other states doesn't mean you're gonna get a jump on, on the people in North Carolina. So January 8th is the, is the, is the first date I think, I think when it's all sent on January 8th may be the first date that this could happen, but be prepared for it to drag on a little bit longer. Too good insight there. And I know that the front offices for the Pros supports teams, whether it's the Carolina Hurricanes or the Charlotte Hornets from an ownership standpoint, they want to make every penny nickel and dime on the dollar that they can. So if they have sports books available at the stadiums and arenas where they participate, that's yet another way that the teams can't create revenue for themselves. So I, I've noticed that Murph and we'll see how all this shakes out this week. But speaking of the Carolina Hurricanes, we've got the Stanley Cup final. Uh, Hurricanes get swept in, uh, in the conference finals and I couldn't help but wonder, you know, when I was watching this entire series where it's like, you know, Andre Veni Cov, you could borrow my AC L would he have made a difference? Uh I have a few thoughts about what to expect for this upcoming season. Murph. But, um I, I, I really wish we could have seen him play because it was like the Canes fulfilled their goal quota in the round before against the Devils. Uh Yet they struggled to put the pa the puck in the net uh in the conference final. Yeah, I mean, I think that's the big lament of this season, right, that, you know, Don Wade told me before the season that this was the best team that the Hurricanes had on paper. You know, he'd have to see how they perform, but it was the best team that he'd put together, he thought on paper. Um, and they never really got to see that team Paretti gets hurt, you know, misses most of the beginning of the season, comes back, gets hurt again and he is out for the rest of the year, obviously, Skov and not being available for the stretch run in the playoffs, you know, is something that I think is a big what if, um, they finished with the second, best record in the league, the second most points and Boston got knocked out. Uh, it really felt like the path was there. They were the favorites to win the Stanley Cup and in the Eastern conference final. Um, and, and, and it ran into a juggernaut in the Panthers, not not necessarily a regular season juggernaut, but at least for four games between Matthew Chuck, you know, scoring every time he needed to score and, and Sergey Borowsky, you know, stopping every puck he needed to stop. That happens in hockey sometimes. But I, I think the big question for the Hurricanes is do you need to go out and get someone like a Matthew Kuck? Obviously, he's not gonna be available but, but, but a difference maker or do you have enough difference makers on your roster if everybody's healthy, uh, that's gonna be the, the big storyline. I think all offseason, you take away the all-star forward and again, the goal production I thought suffered somewhat in, in, in the matchup with the Panthers. I, I'm gonna go from the other side though, uh, whether it's Freddie Anderson and Ti Ron, neither player is under contract for next season. So you might have a new goaltender in that as well and we see what happens when you get a hot goaltender in the playoffs. How that can propel a deep postseason run and whether it was luck whether it was skill. Uh, Sergei Bobrovsky for the Carolina or for the Florida Panthers there. I did it, I knew I was gonna do it. I knew I was gonna do it for the Florida Panthers. Uh I really thought was the difference in the series. Yeah. And you know, he's been the best goaltender in the NHL two times. I mean, he two times he's been awarded, you know, the, the trophy for the, for the best goaltender in the league. Now, that was a while ago. Um, but he certainly has that in him. Uh, and I, I didn't think I did not think goaltending was, was the hurricane's problem in this series. I mean, these were all one goal games that they weren't letting in a ton of soft goals or anything like that. You know, Kyko is under contract and I imagine he's gonna be a part of a job share. How do you fill those other 41 games? Let, let's assume it's a true job share. And that Kukoff gets 41 games. So how do you fill the other 41 games? You need a goalie who's, who's, you know, comfortable only playing half the time able to perform when he does get in there and who can be your starter if Koyo gets injured or, or doesn't play well. So it's a very specific need. I, I wouldn't be surprised if they try to bring back Anderson or Ron. They're certainly not going to bring back both of them or do you go, go find somebody else who, who can be a little bit more of a mentor role for someone like Kok. But this nucleus really is only together next year. I mean, if you look at the contract structure, they've got one more big run in them before a lot of hard decisions have to be made. Obviously a salary cap league. So, so that's gonna start to play a factor. But, uh, this is the offseason, I think where the Hurricanes, you know, can take their next best shot at trying to win the, win the Stanley Cup. Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. And, um, we'll see, can they make it six consecutive playoff appearances under head coach Ron Brenda Moore and Company. And, uh, Petty Mark is gonna come out here on the podcast today, Murph. I actually do hope the Florida Panthers end up winning the Stanley Cup because then you can say, hey, you lost to the team that won the Stanley Cup. Yeah, I, I think it's a big offseason in other ways too, right? Uh You know, I cover a lot of what's happening at P N C Arena. There's a lot of talk about P N C Arena getting a massive upgrade, massive renovations that's gonna be decided this summer. Um The Hurricanes are right now negotiating a lease extension with centennial authority to stay at P N C arena longer. And I think, you know, things like the stadium series really prove that ra is a hockey market and a place that, that a team can thrive. Uh, you, you mentioned, you know, some of the ancillary income that might come from a sports book. I mean, it seems like things are going in the direction that the hurricanes want. Um, but it will be a big offseason, not only for what they do with the roster, but, but some of those improvements to P N C arena and, and whether they can nail down a long term lease agreement with the Hurricanes too, from the ice to the hardwood, final topic of today's W R L triangle in two. And we go to Chapel Hill where Elliott Cade will reclassify and enroll early as a member of the Carolina. Uh the Tar Heels in Murph. This is welcome news because the Tar Heels had a loaded recruiting class for 2024 but they're getting help and reinforcements earlier on and now that Cadeau has decided to reclassify. Yeah, this has been, you know, long simmering. There's been a lot of talk about Cadeau moving to the class of 2023. Um They can certainly use the help. Obviously, this is a team that didn't make the NCAA tournament last year. Uh and they lose someone like Caleb love to the transfer portal. They've lost most of their roster to the transfer portal. Let's be honest, they got, they got and RJ Davis back, that's my big question. How does this work with RJ Davis? Um Who I thought was your point guard. You know, I thought the team was better when RJ Davis was the point guard last year and Caleb Love played off the ball. Now you get a true point guard in Cadeau seen a lot of comparisons to Kendall Marshall, a guy who really can pass, you know, really set up teammates really be that, that, that pass first point guard that, you know, quite frankly, basketball doesn't have all that often these days. But, but Carolina has had those guys in the past go to Kendall Marshall. Um, a whole host of them does, does the team function better with a, with a pass first point guard? And Cade has certainly lit up the, the A A U circuit and the high school circuit and he's played a lot of international basketball. Um I think Hubert Davis, you know, and in a lot of ways, faces a critical season here. Is this gonna be a third straight year where they're on the bubble maybe making a tournament, maybe not? Or is it gonna harken back to those great six weeks that they had last season where they, they beat Duke in the final home game for Mike and went on a run to the final four this year. May tell us a lot. It's, it's Hubert Davis's roster. He constructed almost entirely through, through recruiting and through the transfer portal. So these are davis' players now. Yeah. And for me, it's not so much the offensive end but the defensive end Murph where you've got both RJ Davis and Cade are both listed at six ft. So how do you defending, defend opposing team if they have a bigger backcourt? Do you, can you play both Davis and Cadeau on the floor at the same time together. And then if you do, are both of them accustomed to playing with the ball in their hands, with the ball out of their hands. I'm very curious to see how all that shakes out and I would think that RJ Davis would get the first crack at it as someone who has been a member of the tar heels and played in a lot of big games through the years. Whereas Cade as an incoming freshman just doesn't have as much experience at the collegiate level. Yeah, a great point on the defense. They, because they don't have a rim protector either. It's not like they have, you know, Derek lively behind them. Armando Bacot, a very good player, all AC C caliber player but not a rim protecting big man. Uh, like you'd like to have behind two small guards on to your other point. I don't think Elliot Cadeau reclassifies if he's not getting the starting job, if he's not guaranteed a spot on the roster. I mean, you know, there's no need for him to come in if he's gonna, if he's gonna, you know, sit the bench at all, I think. And so I think, you know, there's, uh, we, we'll see, you know, Davis has played off the ball, you know, with Caleb Love a lot of times, you know, one of them was off the ball, one of them was on the ball. Love was a little bigger though too, to your defensive point. Um You know, one of these guys are gonna have to guard a shooting guard who's probably gonna be 6364. And, and how does that work? But I, you know, I don't think Elliot Cao is coming to, to, to sit on the bench behind R D Davis. I assume that he's coming to, to both play at the same time as RJ Davis. All right. All right. And Caleb Love is still out there in the transfer portal right now. So it's like I don't expect him to be back at Chapel Hill, but I'm very curious to see where he winds up as well as we move closer and closer to where it's like we're gonna be in the summer, in the summer months, the longer this goes on, the more and more I'm just gonna speculate about all of this. You know, Arizona has seemed to be a front runner for, for his services and, and we'll see if he ends up there. I think it's been an interesting offseason for all three triangle teams in the AC C Duke is gonna be the preseason number one. I mean, they, they got, you know, pretty much everybody that could come back is coming back. Phillipos Proctor, um the Jeremy Roach, I mean Mitchell, I mean, combine it with another great recruiting class. They're, they're gonna be in the, in the role of North Carolina was last year preseason. Number one. Can they live up to it? And I think, you know, N C State fans will think that they had a great offseason as well with the transfer portal. So, you know, a lot of excitement, I think around both, all three teams at this point. Absolutely, Brian Murphy. Uh Do you have anything that you need to plug this week for your coverage? You are fantastic. I would encourage any listeners and viewers to go look at his work, consume his work, read his work because it'll tell you what's going to happen before it happens. But anything you wanna plug here before we go? Well, I appreciate that. I, I think the sports betting thing, I'll, I'll be covering that all week and, and we'll get a good sense by the end of the week, if this is gonna pass. And I know it's probably the primary question I get. When are we gonna get sports gambling? When are we gonna get sports gambling? And, uh, again, as you pointed out, not till January, but this may be the week that, that it really falls into place as they sprint to the finish line. Murphy. I appreciate your time. I'll go ahead and sign off for the both of us for Brian Murphy. I'm Mark Bergen. Thank you so much for taking the time to listen and watch W R A L Triangle in two. We'll see you next time until then take care and so long everybody.