A U.S. appeals court ruled in favor of the four major professional sports leagues and the NCAA on Tuesday, denying New Jerseys quest to legalize sports betting.The U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia found that New Jerseys most recent attempt to bring Las Vegas-style sports betting to its casinos and horse racing tracks violated the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA), the 24-year-old federal prohibition on state-sponsored sports betting.The court battle between New Jersey and the sports leagues has been ongoing for years. In January 2012, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie signed legislation that authorized the state to offer legal sports betting. The state got as far as posting sports betting regulations on the gaming enforcements website in the spring of 2012, before the leagues filed suit.A spokesman for Gov. Christies office said they are reviewing the opinion and considering their options.The sports leagues won every step of the way during a legal battle that featured an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court and deposition testimony by the commissioners for the NFL, NBA, NHL and Major League Baseball.After the Supreme Court declined to take the case, New Jersey passed a new version of its sports betting law that was once again contested by the leagues. This phase of the battle earned a rare en banc rehearing in the Third Circuit. All 12 judges heard oral arguments in February.Ten of the judges ruled in favor of the sports leagues. Judges Julio Fuentes and Thomas Vanaskie offered dissenting opinions.We now hold that the District Court correctly ruled that because PASPA, by its terms, prohibits states from authorizing by law sports gambling and because the 2014 Law does exactly that, the 2014 Law violates federal law, Judge Marjorie Rendell wrote in the courts 12-page opinion.The Third Circuit reaffirmed that the appropriate path to legal sports betting is through Congress, NBA spokesman Mike Bass told ESPN. We remain supportive of a federal legislative framework that would protect the integrity of the game and allow those who bet on sports to do so in a legal and safe manner.The NCAA said in a statement: We are pleased the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has denied New Jerseys latest attempt to allow sports wagering in the state. As other courts have acknowledged, federal law does not permit New Jerseys actions. The NCAA continues to believe that PASPA is an important law that appropriately protects the integrity of sport in America.The American Gaming Association said in a statement, Washington has a responsibility to fix a failed law that it created nearly 25 years ago. A federal government prohibition has driven an illegal, and occasionally dangerous, sports betting market of at least $150 billion annually.Law enforcement, mayors, leaders in sports, fans and many others agree that its time for a regulated sports betting marketplace that protects consumers, communities and the integrity of sports we enjoy. AGA is building a broad coalition of stakeholders that will achieve a practical, modern day solution.New Jersey is not done fighting, though. State Sen. Raymond Lesniak, who has spearheaded the sports betting effort, says he will ask the U.S. Supreme Court to hear the case and examine additional opportunities within the state.Its a long shot, but at least we have two dissenting votes on our side, Lesniak said Tuesday morning, after reviewing the Third Circuits opinion.Second, Im going to test the publics, legislatures and the governors temperature on repealing all our laws on sports betting and using the extensive police powers of the state to restrict the locations where sports betting can take place, for instance, like we do with gentlemens clubs. Ill also beef up our office of consumer affairs to closely oversee the operations to protect the consumer.Strongly supported by the sports leagues, PASPA was intended to stop the spread of legal sports betting in the U.S. and limited the activity to four states: Delaware, Montana, Nevada and Oregon. Only Nevada is allowed to offer a full menu, including wagering on single games. But sports betting has thrived throughout the country, with the vast majority of it taking place illegally with offshore sportsbooks and local bookmakers.In 2015, $4.2 billion was wagered at Nevadas regulated sportsbooks. In comparison, the American Gaming Association estimates that more than $150 billion was wagered illegally on sports in 2015.The decision of the Third Circuit was expected, but is nonetheless disappointing, said Joe Asher, CEO of William Hills U.S. bookmaking operations. It will be celebrated by illegal bookies all across New Jersey and the rest of America, as it keeps sports betting underground and on the black market for now. PASPA is clearly a failed law and more challenges to it are inevitable, both in the courts and in Congress.For decades, the sports leagues have fought expanded legalization in fear that it would threaten the integrity of their games. But the leagues opposition appears to be slowly eroding. The NBA has completely changed its position, with commissioner Adam Silver calling on Congress to create federal framework of regulations to allow states to offer sports betting.[I] believe that sports betting should be brought out of the underground and into the sunlight where it can be appropriately monitored and regulated, Silver wrote in a 2014 op-ed in the New York Times.The NFL, which once scoffed at the idea of playing even an exhibition game in Las Vegas, is open to allowing the Oakland Raiders to relocate to Las Vegas. Commissioner Roger Goodell has said the leagues view on gambling has evolved, and, at a July conference on problem gambling, NFL senior labor relations counsel Brook Gardiner said a strong contingent in the league is examining sports betting, but its not unanimous. Its not a rush to legalization.The NFL declined comment on Tuesdays ruling.An NHL franchise in Las Vegas will begin play in 2017. Nike Shox Gravity 2018 . 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CARMEL, Ind. -- One way for Tiger Woods to temper expectations as he makes his return to competitive golf is to lower his own.And that typically has not worked too well.Woods might rather share a day on his yacht with Sergio Garcia than admit he would show up to a golf tournament with anything less than winning on his mind.But considering the two back surgeries he underwent last fall (and three overall), the year he spent without competitive golf, and the issues that were apparent in his game before he shut it down in 2015 ... all of that tends to build up a big heap of perspective.And Woods seemed to show that Wednesday when he announced that he hopes to return next month at the Safeway Open in Napa, California, as well as participate in the Turkish Airlines Open in November and the Hero World Challenge in December.My rehabilitation is to the point where Im comfortable making plans, but I still have work to do, Woods said in a statement. Whether I can play depends on my continued progress and recovery. My hope is to have my game ready to go.Woods hedged, which is unlike him. He let the world know he plans to come back at those tournaments, but with conditions. If hes not yet ready to go, he wont. And the fact that he has acknowledged that he still has work to do is a good sign.Unlike just about any other player in golf, Woods cannot return in peace. He cant show up and hope to just play tournament golf, work his way around, get comfortable again. There are no minor-league rehab starts in golf, no closed-door scrimmages.There are not any tournaments, period, where Woods could go to hone his skills without every shot, every hole, every round being documented.I dont think you guys [in the media] allow for expectations to be lowered, said Mark Steinberg, Woods agent. Regardless of what he shoots or how he plays, itll be analyzed in every way.Steinberg is correct. Undoubtedly, every shot Woods hits in Napa will be noted. Even if he were to return in Turkey, the media would show up and television would show every swing. Its simply the world Woods lives in, the one he all but created with his excellence.But Woods cant worry about any of that. Saying hes looking to build back his game, stroke by stroke, tournament by tournament is the only way to execute this return.Its not going to be a straight pathway to success, said Woods longtime friend and Golf Channel analyst Notah Begay. I mean, lets be honest.The fact that he hopes to play a European Tour event as well as his own World Challenge is also a good sign. The latter event doesnt have a 36-hole cut, so it provides an opportunity to play more rounds. It gives him one tournament a month with plenty of time to rest, recover, reassess.And if Woods is healtthy -- still a big concern -- and able to practice and prepare properly, then playing tournaments is the logical next step in the process of becoming competitive again.ddddddddddddPeople are going to expect him to go out at Napa and play well and its going to take time, said Rory McIlroy at the BMW Championship. Its a process, and sometimes you have to take the bigger picture and take the longer view of things, and thats what Tiger started to do with his injury. And Im sure hes sort of thinking, Play at Napa, but the long-term goal is if he can get himself ready for the Masters next year, then thats where he wants to be.That sounds like a reasonable goal, but even that might be asking too much. Woods needs to first start putting rounds together. He then needs to make cuts, turn 73s into 69s, perhaps even start contending. How long will that take? Depending on his back, his swing, his short game ... the possible answers are wide-ranging.And then there is the other element that Woods brings to a tournament. I think I missed the buzz he creates, McIlroy said. He brings an aura and an atmosphere that no one else in golf can bring. I missed that part of it, for sure.All of that, of course, creates pressure, which not even Woods is immune to. And it is another situation he will need to control.Jason Day has sought advice from Woods over the past year or so and they communicate frequently. Although Day didnt know Woods was coming back before anyone else did, he wasnt surprised.Their conversations suggested that Woods was getting closer.I think the hardest thing for him is just to try and get the rust out and really get back to game-ready sharpness, which is obviously a difficult thing to do, Day said. Although were expecting big things from him, I dont expect too much from him, even though he is Tiger Woods.Its hard to say that, because hes been out of the game for a while. Even though hes one of the greatest of all time, its very difficult to kind of get that sharpness back.The players know that. And deep down, Woods knows that, too. Its just never been part of his makeup to approach tournament golf that way. Perhaps that is why hes won 79 PGA Tour events, 14 major titles and more than $100 million in prize money. His approach has served him well.Hes the one who knows what his body has gone through and to get back to the point of playing competitively, Steinberg said. As a group, we have big-picture talks, of course we do. But hell have his own expectations. And you kind of have to go with that.The hope is that Tiger manages those expectations -- just as everyone else should. ' ' '