Indiana Gov. Mike Braun says he isn’t sweating Porter County leaders’ opposition to raising food and beverage taxes for a new Chicago Bears stadium the next county over, because really it’s Porter County that would be missing out on all the fun of taking part in shoveling money at the Bears owners:

Under the law, Porter County would have to approve a one-percent food and beverage tax to have representation on the stadium authority. The governor said if it doesn’t get approved, the biggest impact would be on Porter County itself.

“If they choose not to put any skin in the game, they’re not going to have any say-so for what happens from all the economic benefits we’re going to get from it,” Braun said.

Maybe you’re the one up a stump, Porter County! Does a county get a chance to fund a stadium deal every day?

The whole Porter County kerfuffle points up one of the weirder things about the Indiana Bears stadium deal: Though it was passed by the legislature back in February, it didn’t precisely spell out who would be spending what on a stadium, or even where exactly it would be. A newly created sports authority will be able to offer the Bears owners money from a whole bunch of taxes, only some of which actually exist yet:

• All new property tax, income tax, and sales tax for the next 35 years from an omni-TIF district encompassing the stadium and an undetermined number of square miles around it. This could certainly amount to billions of dollars, much of it potentially cannibalized from spending that has nothing to do with the Bears, but just as we saw in Kansas, it’s impossible to say exactly how much without knowing the size of the district.
• A doubling of the Lake County hotel tax from 5% to 10%, which would provide at least $90 million.
• Those 1% food and beverage tax surcharges in Lake and Porter counties, which would be worth about $250 million each, if approved.
• A 12% ticket tax, which would be worth about another $200 million, though as established ticket taxes are unlike other taxes in that they tend to come out of team owners’ revenues.

The best guess at the total public cost is “easily past $4 billion,” but that could go up or down depending on what gets approved in terms of that tax diversion district plus the new taxes. And a quarter-billion dollars from Porter County seems like a significant amount of money, though I suppose Braun is right in that if county leaders balk at that, the state could always compensate by running the omni-TIF district all the way to the Ohio border.

All this makes Indiana’s bid for the Bears a bit of a moving target in the state’s bidding war with Illinois, which is no doubt very much to Bears owner George McCaskey’s liking. (“You’re willing to give us $1.5 billion in property tax breaks and infrastructure money, you say? Well, what if I told you Indiana was offering a TIF district the size of the entire Local Group?”) Right now you have a three-way — or more, given the various Illinois factions — game of chicken going on, and nobody’s showing each other their cards, and … okay, maybe it’s too early in the day for me to be writing extended metaphors. If anyone says they know how much money Bears execs could get out of either Indiana or Illinois, they’re lying, that’s the upshot here.

(WISH) — Coming off a week’s rest, the Indiana Fever traveled to Las Vegas and beat the defending champion Aces, 84-68. The Aces’ 68 points scored marked the fewest points Indiana has allowed in a game this season.

On Sunday, the Fever were without Caitlin Clark for the second straight game. In her absence, center Aliyah Boston and point guard Kelsey Mitchell powered the offense to secure Indiana’s second straight win.

Boston recorded her sixth double-double of the season, finishing with 18 points and 10 rebounds. She also knocked down three triples, matching a season high last set on June 4 against the Atlanta Dream.

Although Mitchell shot 39 percent from the field, the ninth-year Fever guard posted a game-high 27 points and hit three triples.

As a team, Indiana shot 43 percent from the floor and 39 percent from three. The Fever also handed out 18 assists, compared to the Aces’ 14.

Indiana controlled the glass as well, outrebounding the Aces 39-30, and forced 13 Las Vegas turnovers compared to the Fever’s 7. Sunday’s win also marked the Fever’s first-ever win in Las Vegas after 11 previous losses.

With the win, Indiana improves to 12-8. Sunday’s matchup was the first of four straight road games before the Fever return to Gainbridge Fieldhouse to face the Golden State Valkyries on July 15.

Indiana is back on the road Wednesday, July 8, against the Los Angeles Sparks at 10 p.m. ET.

Two WNBA Finals contenders are set to square off on Sunday night in Las Vegas, but both teams are down their best player. 

Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark (back) and Las Vegas Aces forward A’ja Wilson (right leg) have been ruled out for this game, taking some of the shine away from this matchup.

Still, there are a ton of great players to watch – including guard Kelsey Mitchell and Jackie Young – and oddsmakers are expecting a close game, as the Aces are favored by just 3.5 points at home.

Las Vegas is coming off an overtime win against the Chicago Sky, but it’s just 1-1 since Wilson went down with this leg injury. Meanwhile, the Fever are 2-0 without Clark this season, beating the Los Angeles Sparks by 27 points without her on June 27. 

These are the No. 1 (Las Vegas) and No. 2 (Indiana) offenses in the league, so we should still see some fireworks on that end of the floor. 

After a long layoff, the Fever are looking to remain hot as they set their sights on the top spot in the Eastern Conference. 

Let’s check out the odds, a player prop to bet and my prediction for Fever vs. Aces in a standalone game on Sunday night. 

Fever vs. Aces Odds, Spread and Total

Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook

Spread

• Fever +3.5 (-112)
• Aces -3.5 (-108) 

Moneyline

Total

• 181.5 (Over -115/Under -105)

Fever vs. Aces How to Watch

• Date: Sunday, July 5
• Time: 7:00 p.m. EST
• Venue: T-Mobile Arena
• How to Watch (TV): ESPN, Disney+
• Fever record: 11-8
• Aces record: 15-5

Fever vs. Aces Injury Reports

Fever Injury Report

Aces Injury Report 

• Janiah Barker – out
• Dana Evans – out
• A’ja Wilson – out

Fever vs. Aces Best WNBA Prop Bets

Fever Best WNBA Prop Bet

• Kelsey Mitchell OVER 23.5 Points (-116)

Fever guard Kelsey Mitchell is one of the best scorers in the WNBA, and she had a massive 2025 season with Clark (groin) missing most of the campaign. 

Now, she’ll handle the No. 1 duties on Sunday against an Aces team that is just eighth in the league in defensive rating and ninth in opponent points per game. 

Mitchell has 22 or more points in five of her last six games, including a 26-point showing on June 27 with Clark out of the lineup. She had 21 points in the only other game Clark has missed in 2026, and Mitchell is averaging 21.6 points per game overall.

She should handle a few more touches on Sunday, and the star guard has been ultra-efficient this season, knocking down 49.5 percent of her shots from the floor and 40.2 percent of her 3-pointers.

I’m buying her in this matchup, especially since the Aces won’t have Wilson protecting the rim. 

Fever vs. Aces Prediction and Pick

Earlier today, I shared in my WNBA Best Bets column – Peter’s Points – why I think the Fever can cover on the road, even with Clark sidelined: 

The Aces are 1-1 since Wilson went down, losing in the WNBA Commissioner’s Cup Championship Game to the New York Liberty before beating the Chicago Sky in overtime on Friday. 

The fact that the Aces needed overtime to beat the Sky is a little concerning since Chicago ranks 10th in the league in net rating, 11th in offensive rating and 12th in defensive rating so far this season. The Las Vegas defense (eighth in defensive rating) is clearly worse without Wilson on the floor, which is a concern against a high-octane Fever attack.

Indiana is 2-0 this season with Clark out of the lineup, and star guard Kelsey Mitchell is more than capable of carrying this team to a win on Sunday night. While I’m not going to bet on an upset, I do think there is value in taking the Fever to cover as road underdogs.

Las Vegas is just 4-5 against the spread at home in the 2026 season, and while these are the two-best offenses in the league, losing Wilson is a huge downgrade for the Aces, as she’s averaging over 25 points per game. 

I wouldn’t be shocked if the Fever are able to hang around in this game, especially since they’ve fared pretty well without Clark over the last two seasons. After all, Indy made the WNBA semifinals in the 2025 season with the star guard playing just 13 games. 

Pick: Fever +3.5 (-112 at DraftKings)

Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

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Find Peter Dewey’s WNBA betting record here (futures included). You can also follow my daily plays on  BetStamp here.

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