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LAS VEGAS -- Nevada lawmakers are going out of their way this week to give a casino owner worth $32 billion a stadium funded on the back of taxpayers.Soon we will find out if longstanding hypocrisy of the NFL has a price tag, too.The guess here is that it does, because theres nothing like a $750 million gift to pry NFL owners off their moral high ground. Sure, some may still view Las Vegas as a decadent place teeming with undesirables, but the idea of the city being the new home of the Raiders isnt nearly as far-fetched as it may have been just a year or so ago.Give Sheldon Adelson credit for that. The casino moguls scheme to fleece the public for a new stadium has so far worked to perfection. Nevada lawmakers have been falling all over themselves in a special session to pass a new tax for the project, even while schools are overcrowded and the state is facing a $400 million budget shortfall.With that piece of business all but wrapped up -- a vote by the Nevada Assembly is expected by the end of the week -- the biggest remaining hurdle is for NFL owners to approve the move of the team from Oakland. Such a vote would have seemed laughable just a few years ago because of the leagues longstanding opposition to sports betting, but the times are changing.Commissioner Roger Goodells protestations aside, NFL owners are realizing they have little to fear from sports betting. Many already are invested in some form of gambling and dont see it as a threat or even a moral roadblock.Plus, theres nothing like a glittering new stadium to make NFL owners a little giddy.Thats exactly what Adelson wants to build near his casinos just off the Las Vegas Strip. Its his legacy project, a gift to the community, his envoys claim, even if others will be picking up a good piece of the tab and he will reap the profits.Just how much that piece is isnt exactly clear. Neither are many of the details of the stadium plan, carved out with the approval of Raiders owner Mark Davis.What is clear is that Adelson and his minions demanded $750 million from new tourism taxes to pay for part of a stadium -- that could cost $1.3 billion, $1.4 billion or $1.9 billion, depending on what figure is thrown out -- or they would walk. Davis and the Raiders will put in $500 million -- mostly through seat licenses and an NFL loan -- and Adelson will cover the rest.What is also clear is that the Raiders moving to Las Vegas would be a game changer in many ways. Not only would it give Sin City the prestige of an NFL team, but it would further soften attitudes toward sports betting that were once absolute.This is a league, after all, that for years refused to allow Las Vegas to air commercials during the Super Bowl lest the thought there are casinos somewhere might somehow contaminate the sport.There are some issues with an NFL team in Las Vegas, mostly because it is a small television market and a city that already has NFL teams on both sides in Los Angeles and Phoenix. The city has never shown it can support a professional sports team, though it will get an NHL team next year.But while the stadium will increase hotel room taxes for 30 years, the expansion NHL team and arena were both privately funded. Billionaire owner Bill Foley is also putting up the money to build a practice facility for the team, while the Raiders will get $100 million in the stadium deal to build one of their own.Count Foley among those who know a bad deal when they see one.Im not going to be politically correct here, Foley said at a fan fest a few days ago. But I believe if youre going to spend $750 million of the publics money, it should be on policemen, firefighters and teachers.None of that made much of a difference to members of the state Senate who on Tuesday rubber-stamped Adelsons tax plan. They figured out quickly which way the wind blows and it blows in favor of Adelson, a big political contributor who also owns the newspaper in Las Vegas.So now the focus turns to the NFL, and securing 24 votes among 32 owners for the move. Though Goodell is opposed to the Raiders leaving Oakland, two owners believe it would be good for the league -- and the Dallas Cowboys and New England Patriots carry some weight.Jerry Jones and Robert Kraft have told me the NFL is ready to do it, casino owner Steve Wynn told legislators.What Adelson ends up with other than a stadium for his legacy hasnt been fully explained. Dont be surprised, though, if he gets a piece of the Raiders, or eventually ends up owning the team.Hes a casino operator who became incredibly rich by being incredibly good at finding ways to separate people from their money.And hes found a perfect companion in a league that operates on the same basic principle.---Tim Dahlberg is a national sports columnist for The Associated Press. Write to him at tdahlberg(at)ap.org or http://twitter.com/timdahlberg Wholesale Jerseys Authentic . Ibaka equaled a career high with 20 rebounds, adding four blocked shots and 15 points as the Thunder smothered the Milwaukee Bucks offence in a 92-79 victory Saturday night. Wholesale Jerseys 2018 . The All-Pro lineman got the leg bent under him while trying to make a tackle during the first half of a 22-20 overtime loss at Miami on Thursday night. The medical staff initially thought hed torn the ligament, and the test a day later in Cincinnati confirmed it. http://www.wholesalecheapjerseysauthentic.com/ . - Chris Tierney snapped a tie with a power-play goal late in the third period as the London Knights rallied from a 3-0 deficit to beat the Erie Otters 5-3 in Ontario Hockey League action on Wednesday. Cheap Jerseys 2018 . Clarke was injured while practicing on the Doha Golf Club range after the pro-am on Tuesday. The Northern Irishman arrived at the course on Wednesday hoping to start, but after hitting a few balls on the practice putting green Clarke advised officials he was not fit to play. Cheap NFL Jerseys 2018 . Westbrook has missed 27 games since having a procedure on Dec. 27 to deal with swelling in his injured right knee — the third operation on the knee in nine months. Its been too easy so far this year, so a day like Wednesday was inevitable. Fantasy hockey owners lost three monsters, each for a significant length of time. You dont just replace Steven Stamkos, Taylor Hall and?Johnny Gaudreau; you simply try to get by without them and hope your opponents dont get out too far ahead.That said, fantasy value is responsive, and it will move around somewhat within the vacuum these superstars leave behind. Some of it will be lost in the ether, but some of it will stick to other NHLers who may serve a purpose with your fantasy squad. While you cant replace Stamkos, Hall or Gaudreau, you have to pick up the pieces and find the best alternatives.Tampa Bay Lightning: This is by far the most significant of the injuries, as surgery on a torn knee will mean a minimum of four months on the sidelines for Stamkos -- and as many as six. Yes, that means he could have played his last fantasy-relevant game of the season. First off, do you stash him? Yes, but only if you have the convenience of an injured-reserve spot. Otherwise, cut him loose and hope you are in a position to play the waiver-wire game with your league when his return edges closer.As for the remaining Bolts, we know precisely how the team succeeds without Stamkos, because they did well in last seasons NHL playoffs without him, when he was out with a blood clot issue. Look for coach Jon Cooper to get back to the trio of Tyler Johnson, Alex Killorn and Nikita Kucherov as his top unit. They were dominant in the playoffs last season, with Jonathan Drouin, Ondrej Palat and Valtteri Filppula making up the other top-six line. If we see an argument for including Vladislav Namestnikov in the top six this time around, its Filppulas spot that makes sense. Those arent the lines they used Thursday, but they are the lines that got them within one goal of the Stanley Cup finals last season.For fantasy value, this skyrockets Johnson up our rankings, as he is at his best when he gets to play the No. 1 center role. Drouin also flourished without Stamkos presence in the playoffs last season, so he should be scooped back up in the 40 percent of leagues where he has been dropped since the start of the season.New Jersey Devils: While Hall suffered a similar injury to Stamkos, mainly a torn meniscus in his knee, the Devils new catalyst comes with a timetable of three to four weeks. Thats much more manageable, and for anyone who has owned Hall in the past, its almost a relief to get the inevitable injury out of the way early in the season (if only this guaranteed his health the rest of the way!). While Beau Bennett will slide into Halls role on a line with Travis Zajac and P.A. Parenteau, the trio itself is relegated to fantasy irrelevance. While Hall is out, youll want to look at Kyle Palmieri?and?Adam Henrique, and perhaps give Pavel Zacha a test drive. This line gets promoted from second scoring line to top unit with Hall out. Palmieri is already owned in most formats, but Henriques ownership is slipping, and Zacha is well behind. Henrique has four points in his past three games.Calgary Flames: Gaudreau will be out four to six weeks with a fractured finger, but fantasy owners might not have noticed his absence. Thats a dig at how slow the start to his season has been. In fact, Gaudreaus numbers look way better than they did, thanks to four points in his final four games before the injury on Tuesday. This is an opportunity for a fresh start with his owners when he comes back. The good news is that he can stay in top-notch shape because its a finger injury as opposed to a lower-body issue, so in theory, he can hit the ground running in 2017.In the meantime, the Flames used the injury as an excuse to shake up their lines. Sean Monahan now joins the duo of Troy Brouwer and Sam Bennett, while Matthew Tkachuk should draw back into the lineup on a consistent basis to play on the second scoring line with Michael Frolik and Mikael Backlund. The first hope here is that new surroundings will spark Monahan. He is not expected to score at quite the rate of Gaudreau, but six points in 18 games is still unacceptable production from a No. 2 center. The second hope here is that some consistency on a scoring line and some power-play time can help Tkachuk find a rhythm and make him more of a factor for fantasy owners. Hes not there yet, with just seven points in 14 games, but hes played more than 17 minutes in the two games this week with Gaudreau injured, so there is hope.Fantasy Forecaster: Nov. 21-27The Los Angeles Kings are the only NHL team not playing either three or four games next week. And, no, the Kings arent playing in our third five-game week of the season; they only have a pair of games next week.Download the forecaster chart PDF hereFor those new to the Forecaster chart, here are some explanations: O (offense) and D (defense) matchup ratings are based on a scale from 1 (poor matchup) to 10 (excellent matchup) and are calculated using a formula that evaluates the teams season-to-date statistics, their performance in home/road games depending on where the game is to be played, as well as their opponents numbers in thoose categories.dddddddddddd The Ratings column lists the cumulative rating from 1-10 of that weeks offensive (O) and defensive (D) matchups.Team notesMinnesota Wild: They arent scoring a ton of goals lately, but they dont need to the way Devan Dubnyk is playing. That said, this Wild team is now primed for some offense with the return of Zach Parise this week. Interestingly, coach Bruce Boudreau opted to leave Nino Niederreiter with Charlie Coyle and Eric Staal, playing Parise with Mikko Koivu and Mikael Granlund. Its a nice balanced attack and has the potential for returns for both unites. Granlund is probably the most interesting of the group, as his stock has fallen big-time this season, but would be aided by playing with Parise on a regular basis. The Wild have a four-game week on tap that includes matchups against the less-than-elite defenses of the Dallas Stars and Winnipeg Jets.Dallas Stars: Big changes are coming for the Stars offense prior to next weeks contests. Jason Spezza returned this week from a five-game absence.?Cody Eakin played his first game of the season on Thursday. And Patrick Sharp is eyeing a potential return on Saturday. Watch the lineup on Saturday, as any number of role players could step up to fill the top six for now. The shortlist includes Eakin, Radek Faksa and the continued use of Patrick Eaves. The Stars have some tough opposing goaltenders to start the week with in Dubnyk and Pekka Rinne, but depending on how the lines are shaped on the weekend, any player skating with Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn should be worth using.Goalie notesWe feel bad for doubting Pekka Rinne after a very slow start to the season. He finished October with a 3.22 goals-against average in six games. So far in November, he has a 1.12 GAA in seven games. Hes definitely a No. 1 fantasy goaltender, and were sorry for bemoaning his earlier struggles. Rinne has more than made up for the bad numbers.Jonathan Bernier has now started three of the past six games for the Anaheim Ducks, appearing in four of them. Only one of those starts was part of a back-to-back set. Coach Randy Carlyle, familiar with Bernier from their days in Toronto, clearly still trusts him. If he continues to get 50 percent of the workload, thats enough to make a fantasy impact in all leagues.Tuukka Rask played the most recent back-to-back set on his own, but thats unlikely to occur again this coming week. If you need a cheap, one-off goaltender, Zane McIntyre is likely to draw either the punchless Ottawa Senators or Gaudreau-less Flames.Corey Crawford is close to matchup-proof, but owners might want to have a second look at their plans for next week as the Chicago Blackhawks are on a western road swing against the offenses of the Edmonton Oilers, San Jose Sharks, Anaheim Ducks and Los Angeles Kings.Conversely, Sergei Bobrovskys schedule has him primed for a potential Player of the Week nod, as the Columbus Blue Jackets take on the Colorado Avalanche (potentially with no Matt Duchene or Gabriel Landeskog), Calgary Flames (sans Gaudreau), Tampa Bay Lightning (without Steven Stamkos) and Florida Panthers.Player notesThe search for a sixth and final winger for the Blackhawks top lines continues. While Vinnie Hinostroza had a shot this week, Tyler Motte is expected back from a leg injury this weekend. If he does return, that could put him in prime position for a four-game week with Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane as linemates.A positive sign for Rickard Rakell:?When the chips were down and the Ducks were down 2-0 to the Devils on Thursday, Nick Ritchie was booted from the top line in favor of Rakell. He played out the game there with Corey Perry and Ryan Getzlaf, setting up Getzlaf for the first goal of the 3-2 comeback victory.Martin Hanzals return to the ice this week sparked Radim Vrbata to a nine-shot performance on Thursday against the Vancouver Canucks. The line of Hanzal, Vrbata and Max Domi is about as good as it gets for the young Arizona Coyotes, so watch for this chemistry to improve.Its never a good sign when your star finishes pointless and minus-3, but the Oilers switched up their lines on Thursday to promote Milan Lucic and Jesse Puljujarvi alongside Connor McDavid. As mentioned, the results werent great, but this makes Puljujarvi a short-term must-add for deeper leagues and someone to watch closely this weekend for all leagues.We are probably going to regret this recommendation, but medium to deep leagues should scoop up Ryan Strome. The New York Islanders, who continue to be lost on offense, are throwing Strome onto the top line with John Tavares for Fridays game. We still think the talent is there for something good to happen with this opportunity.Hello, Kevin Labanc! The OHLs leading scorer from last season was tearing up the AHL as a rookie so far this season. Now up with the Sharks, he played a few games buried down the depth chart. Then on Thursday Labanc skated with Joe Pavelski and Joe Thornton on the top line and potted his first NHL goal. Give him a look. ' ' '