If there was ever a day for Amazon Prime announcer Al Michaels to avoid mentioning sports betting lines for a ‘Thursday Night Football’ game, it would have been Oct. 23.

Hours after the NBA was rocked by a massive sports betting scandal, Michaels was on air discussing the gambling implications of a field goal attempt in the final minutes of the Los Angeles Chargers vs. Minnesota Vikings game.

‘You know, occasionally, a game like this, you think it is over, but it’s not quite over,’ Michaels said, seemingly referencing the game’s over/under line. ‘You know what I mean? I’ll be punished again – what can I tell you? It’s close to being over. I don’t want to call it ‘over’ with three minutes to go.’

The pregame over/under line for the Chargers’ win on Oct. 23 was set at 44.5 points. Michaels started referring to the line in the final three minutes of the game as the Chargers played out their final drive with 44 total points on the board.

‘Sometimes you never know when that half will destroy you,’ Michaels said, referencing the 0.5 points still necessary at that point of the game for an ‘over’ bet to hit.

When Chargers kicker Cameron Dicker lined up for a 45-yard field goal attempt moments later, Michaels returned to referencing the betting line.

‘Meanwhile, you have a 45-yard attempt, which will draw a little interest,’ he said.

Dicker knocked down the 45-yarder, leading to Michaels’ final betting-related comment of the night:

‘And there it is,’ he said as the ball sailed through the uprights. ‘Now you can say it is ‘over.”

The NBA staged two games on Thursday night and both needed more than 48 minutes to be decided.

After Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored a career-high 55 points to lead the Oklahoma City Thunder to victory, it was Stephen Curry’s turn to put on a show in the nightcap. The longtime Warriors star scored 42 points to lead his team to a 137-131 overtime win over the Denver Nuggets.

Many of Curry’s buckets came in the clutch, including his game-tying 3-pointer with 21.9 seconds to go in the fourth quarter. The four-time champ scored 16 consecutive points for the Warriors across the end of the fourth quarter and into overtime.

The Nuggets were led by Aaron Gordon, who was red-hot from 3-point range. He hit 10 of his 11 3-point attempts, part of a 17-for-21 shooting night. Gordon scored 50 points.

Check out highlights from Thursday night’s thrilling Nuggets-Warriors clash:

Nuggets vs. Warriors highlights

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Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups is one of 31 defendants accused of helping mobsters swindle millions of dollars from unsuspecting poker players during a series of rigged games.

All this was outlined in a federal indictment that dropped Thursday, Oct. 23, leading to the arrest of Billups and others. According to the indictment, defendants allegedly used wireless cheating technology to run rigged poker games in places including the Hamptons, Miami, Las Vegas and Manhattan.

Billups, who was not the coach of the Trail Blazers at the time of his alleged involvement but merely a former NBA player, was one of the draws that helped lure victims to the illegal poker games.

‘What the victims, the fish, didn’t know, is that everybody else at the poker game, from the dealer to the players — including the face cards — were in on the scam,’ U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Joseph Nocella Jr. said. ‘Once the game was underway, the defendants fleeced the victims out of tens and hundreds of thousands of dollars per game.’

But exactly how much money did these poker games allegedly defraud from victims?

According to the federal indictment, the alleged conspiracy ’caused losses to the Victims of at least $7,150,000,’ though the amount that Billups and other alleged participants earned from the scheme was not listed in the document.

The indictment, however, does cite specific examples to illustrate the scope of the operation.

In one case, during an alleged rigged poker game around April 2019 in Las Vegas, the indictment alleges that a rigged shuffling machine was used to defraud victims of at least $50,000. Billups was listed among the alleged participants at that game.

The indictment lists other illegal poker games around June and July 2023 in Manhattan that allegedly defrauded one specific unnamed victim of around $1.8 million. Billups was not implicated in this example, which also used a rigged shuffling machine to allegedly dupe the victims.

Another alleged rigged poker game took place around June 2023 in East Hampton, New York, that defrauded a pair of unnamed victims of $46,500 and $105,000, respectively. Billups was also not listed in that alleged game, nor was he listed in a final example that took place in Miami in September 2024 that defrauded another unnamed victim of $60,000.

The indictment doesn’t list the full accounting of all the money alleged to have been earned from the operation.

Billups was arraigned Oct. 23 on charges of wire fraud conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy at the Mark O. Hatfield United States Courthouse in Portland, Oregon.

Charges in this scheme include wire fraud conspiracy, illegal gambling, money laundering, robbery, and extortion. This case is unrelated to the insider sports-betting conspiracy that led to the arrest of Miami Heat player Terry Rozier.

The NBA said it investigated “unusual betting activity’’ related to Terry Rozier in 2023 and did not find a violation of league rules. But now Rozier has been charged in the Eastern District of New York as part of a federal probe into illegal sports betting.

The outcome of the two investigations drew interest after Rozier was arrested Oct. 23.

Portland Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups and former NBA player Damon Jones were also arrested for their alleged involvement in the operation, though they are facing different charges. Rozier and Billups have been placed on immediate leave by the NBA.

The NBA had initially cleared Rozier following its own investigation. On Jan. 30 2025, news of the investigation in the Eastern District of New York first came to light. At that point, the NBA said it would cooperate with federal authorities.

“In March 2023, the NBA was alerted to unusual betting activity related to Terry Rozier’s performance in a game between Charlotte and New Orleans,’ NBA spokesman Mike Bass confirmed to USA TODAY Sports at the time. ‘The league conducted an investigation and did not find a violation of NBA rules. We are now aware of an investigation by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York related to this matter and have been cooperating with that investigation.”

NBA spokesman Mike Bass, when asked about the different outcomes of the two investigations, told USA TODAY Sports by email, ‘The NBA does not have the same authority or investigatory resources as the federal government, including subpoena power to obtain information from anyone, law enforcement surveillance, wire-tapping, and search warrants.”

Ismail J. Ramsey, a former U.S. Attorney, said the federal government’s decision to indict Rozier could be wrong. But he also stressed the subpoena power granted to governments but not private entities can prove to be significant.

Ramsey pointed out that with subpoena power federal investigators are able to obtain text messages, bank records and phone records. And so the government could know things an employer doesn’t.

‘(Federal investigators) can bring other witnesses in to talk to who may cooperate because they’re worried about their own future,” Ramsey said. ‘I mean the NBA can’t necessarily do those things. (The NBA) definitely can’t call to get the cooperation of witnesses whom aren’t NBA employees or tied to the NBA, whereas feds could subpoena someone or just ask for their cooperation.”

Rozier is accused faking an injury in 2023 as part of an illegal betting scheme when he played for the Charlotte Hornets. The scheme was designed to allow gamblers to make money off a prop bet related to Rozier’s performance in a game.

The game in question took place on March 23, 2023. Rozier played for the first nine minutes and 36 seconds before leaving the game. He cited a foot injury and did not play in the final eight games of the season.

Rozier, a 31-year-old point guard, is a member of the Miami Heat and in his 11th NBA season. He did not play in the Heat’s season opener on Wednesday, Oct. 22. He has averaged 13.9 points, 3.9 rebounds and 3.5 assists in his NBA career.

Jim Trusty, an attorney representing Rozier, said ‘Terry was cleared by the NBA and these prosecutors revived that non-case.’’

Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert targeted five different receivers in a 277-yard, three-touchdown outing in Week 8.

None of his targets were wide receiver Quentin Johnston.

Despite suiting up and playing in the Oct. 23 game against the Minnesota Vikings, Johnston did not record a single statistic in the 37-10 Chargers win.

It was the continuation of a trend over the last few weeks. Johnston had a season-low four targets in a Week 5 game against the Washington Commanders before he missed Week 6 with a hamstring injury. In his Week 7 return, Johnston had his second-fewest targets of the season – six – against the Indianapolis Colts.

At the same time, second-year receiver Ladd McConkey had begun to out-target Johnston. The Georgia product had a career-high 15 targets on Oct. 19 against the Colts to follow a nine-target outing in Week 6 – while Johnston was out – and a seven-target day in Week 5.

In Week 8, McConkey led the Chargers with 10 targets, six catches and 88 yards with a touchdown.

Here’s what to know about Johnston’s quiet night:

Did Quentin Johnston play tonight?

Yes, Johnston played throughout the Chargers’ Week 8 ‘Thursday Night Football’ win over the Vikings. He just did not record any statistics.

According to ESPN’s Mike Clay, Johnston ran 20 routes to McConkey’s 21 on Oct. 23, but the latter had 10 targets on those routes. Johnston finished the game with zero targets.

Zero targets is the lowest total in the wideout’s three-year career, which includes 39 total games. Johnston missed two games in 2024 with an ankle injury, but he never recorded fewer than two targets in a game when healthy.

Quentin Johnston stats: Week 8

Targets: 0
Receptions: 0
Receiving yards: 0
Touchdowns: 0

The Oklahoma City Thunder are 2-0, but things have hardly been easy for the defending NBA champions.

Both contests they’ve played went to double overtime, the latest coming Thursday night in an NBA Finals rematch against the Indiana Pacers. OKC can largely thank Shai Gilgeous-Alexander for its 141-135 victory.

The reigning league MVP scored a career-high 55 points against the Pacers, hitting 15 of his 31 shots from the floor. As he tends to do, he went to the line repeatedly, shooting an eye-popping 26 free throws – sinking 23. He even dished out a team-high five assists, for good measure.

Here’s a look at his highlights and full stats from the game:

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander highlights vs. Pacers

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander stats vs. Pacers

Points: 55
FG: 15-for-31 (2-for-7 from 3)
Free Throws: 23-for-26
Rebounds: 8
Assists: 5
Steals: 2
Blocks: 1
Turnovers: 2
Fouls: 4
Minutes: 45

TORONTO — George Springer can’t even remember what time it was in the wee hours Tuesday morning when he strolled into his Toronto condominium, his cell phone still buzzing, trying to not wake up his young family, when his 4-year old son, George IV, jumped up and greeted him at the door.

“I was actually trying to be quiet, my son was still awake, and he ran over and gave me a big hug,’ Springer said. “It was just an awesome moment. It’s one of the coolest moments of the whole day.

“Honestly, I wish I had the words to even describe it.’’

Well, there are about 42 million Canadians who wish they can hug Springer, too, after he delivered the most magical Toronto Blue Jays’ moment in 32 years with his homer in Game 7 of the ALCS that vaulted the Blue Jays into the World Series for the first time since 1993.

“It still hasn’t sunk in,’ Springer said, “it really hasn’t. I’m sure one day I’ll be able to look back on it, and do some reflecting on it, but not now.

“I’m not sure how long it will take.’

The rest of Canada can say the same, with Springer never having to buy another meal, let alone a Molson lager, in this beautiful city again.

“It couldn’t happen to a better person, either,’ Blue Jays outfielder Daulton Varsho said. “He’s been our captain, our leader. He’s like everyone’s big brother.

“And now he has us in the World Series.’

Cheating scandal is ‘in the past’

Springer held court for 45 minutes talking about his game-winning homer, life as a newly-crowned celebrity in Toronto, the love Canadians have for the Blue Jays, how to properly pronounce Toronto and his respect and admiration for the powerful Los Angeles Dodgers, who they’ll face Friday in Game 1 at Rogers Centre.

Well, some 2,500 miles away on the West Coast of the United States, let’s just say the feeling is not so mutual.

Dodgers fans can’t stand Springer.

He represents the 2017 Houston Astros World Series championship the Dodgers believe that Springer and his teammates stole from them.

The Astros were implicated two years later in an illegal sign-stealing scandal from that season that cost manager A.J. Hinch and GM Jeff Luhnow their jobs in Houston, Alex Cora’s job for a year in Boston, and Carlos Beltran’s new managerial gig with the New York Mets.

There was no punishment for the Astros’ players, which drives opposing fanbases insane.

It has been eight long years, but Springer is now the first everyday player from that 2017 squad to reach the World Series with another team.

He already is bracing himself for the reaction when the World Series returns to Los Angeles on Monday for Game 3, with the Dodgers and their fans vividly remembering that Springer hit five home runs in that ’17 World Series, winning the World Series MVP award.

The smile and laughter drain from his face when the subject is brought up. He doesn’t run or hide from it, but he’s visibly uncomfortable addressing the scandal.

“I mean, at the end of the day, I have a job to do and have a game to focus on,’ Springer said. “So that’s kind of the plan.’

When asked if he wears his 2017 World Series ring or has heard from his former Astros teammates during the Blue Jays’ postseason run, Springer was vague.

“You know, that’s in the past,’ he said. “This is about the now. I’ve heard from a lot of guys, you know, up and down, all over the place.’

When asked if he’s looking forward to returning to Dodger Stadium, where he has been viciously booed whenever he has returned, Springer tried to smile.

“I don’t have a choice,’ he said. “So, you know, I’d have to go back there. The focus will be on the game and to play the game the best I can. It’s an incredible team on the other side of the field. Everyone knows that.

“Let’s just see what happens.’

Springer’s current teammates gushed about how much he has meant to them. They talk about his leadership, his guidance. The Toronto community talks in reverence about his charitable support. The folks who work in organizations to support kids with stuttering problems call him a hero.

This is why they would love to see Springer win another World Series ring, this one not tainted.

“That’s why it’s so fitting with the year he had, the best of his career, that he was able to have this moment here,’ Blue Jays infielder Isiah Kiner-Falefa. “It kind of makes everyone realize that no matter what happened in the past, this version of George is probably the best version of George.

“And he did it here.’

Springer, who signed a six-year, $150 million free agent contract in 2021, hit 32 home runs this season, his most since 2019, with a .959 OPS, third-best in baseball behind only Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani.

There were no illegal signs. No trash-can banging. No alleged buzzers.

Just good ol’-fashioned hitting where Springer has established himself again as one of the premier offensive players in the game – and one of the greatest power-hitters in postseason history.

“He’s meant so much to me in my career,’ said Bo Bichette, who’s a free agent after the season, and must decide whether he wants to return. “I think he’s kind of my first veteran teammate who has seen it all, done it all, and I’ve learned so much from him.

“Obviously, I’ll be having conversations with him about how to handle a World Series because he does it better than anybody.

“That’s why there was no doubt in my mind he was going to hit a home run that night.’

Springer has hit 23 postseason home runs in his career, tied for third on the all-time home run list behind only Manny Ramirez (29) and former Astros teammate Jose Altuve (27).

“I just try to really slow things down,’ Springer said. ‘Try to kind of breathe and just enjoy the moment. I’ll spread that advice around because that’s the advice I got early in my career.’

‘You know how much it means’

As much euphoria as Springer created with his heroics in the ALCS, he can’t begin to imagine what it would be like seeing the Blue Jays win their first World Series since the famous Joe Carter homer in Game 6 of the 1993 World Series against the Philadelphia Phillies.

“Just seeing how the city, how the country responded the other day,’ Springer said, “it would be just wild. I can’t even begin to tell you how many messages I got the other day. I actually didn’t know that I knew that many people.

“This is just such an unbelievable place to play. We walk out there every day and see our fans, how they respond, at home and on the road, you know how much it means to everyone.’’

Springer, who says the most memorable home run he ever saw in person or watched live on TV was David Ortiz’s game-winning homer in Game 4 of the 2004 ALCS against the New York Yankees, says he will wait to watch his own this winter.

He’s hoping there will be at least one more that he can forever stash away in his memory book before the end of his career.

“I know there’s still a job to be done, and hopefully there’s some more memorable at-bats in front of me,’’ Springer said. “Then, I’ll look back and do some reflecting. But for me, we got a job to do. We’ve got to beat the Dodgers.’’

This time without any illegal assistance, so they can proudly wear those 2025 World Series rings.

“That’s obviously a very historic franchise,’’ Springer said. “Everybody knows that. You look at the guys who have played there. The Hall of Famers on their team now.

“To beat them, would be so special for all of us, this city, and our entire country.

“I want this as bad as everyone else wants it.’

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