• ESPN reportedly fired Executive Vice President Rob King after nearly 20 years with the Walt Disney Co.-owned company over harassment allegations related to social media posts. King, who reported to ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro and was most recently in charge of the direction of ESPN’s journalism, declined to comment to the New York Post but later said on Twitter, “the time is right for me to leave the company.” (New York Post)
• Sports-focused streaming platform FuboTV Inc. rebranded its service as Fubo via a new ad campaign co-produced by actor Ryan Reynolds’ advertising and production agency, Maximum Effort, a Fubo investor that has a first-look deal with the streaming company. NBA Hall of Famer Kevin Garnett and former NFL quarterback Mark Sanchez star in Fubo’s 15-second and 30-second spots, which are being shown across national TV and digital media and feature the tagline, “If Sports Fans Built a Streaming Service.” (Variety)
• SlamBall, a mixture of basketball and football played on trampolines that saw short-lived success in the early 2000s, closed a $11 million Series A funding round, led by IA Sports Ventures and Miami Marlins limited partner Eberg Capital, ahead of the sport’s upcoming summer relaunch. Other sports stakeholders who invested included David Blitzer, founder of Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment, Fanatics Inc. CEO Michael Rubin and Boston Celtics player Blake Griffin. (CNBC)
• Japan defeated the U.S. 3-2 to win their first World Baseball Classic title since 2009. Shohei Ohtani, who batted .435 with one home run and eight RBIs and finished with a 2-0 pitching record en route to MVP honors, called the championship “the best moment in my life” via a translator. (The Associated Press)

Baseball squeezed by RSN fallout

Axios

Chris ‘Mad Dog’ Russo signs new deal with ESPN

Ryan Glasspiegel, New York Post

Sources tell The Post that talk radio legend Chris Russo has signed a new deal with ESPN to continue appearing on “First Take,” where he’s developed excellent chemistry with host Molly Qerim and fellow high-volume broadcaster Stephen A. Smith.

Monumental readies $20M overhaul of D.C.’s regional sports network

Sara Fischer, Axios

Monumental Sports & Entertainment, the owner of the Washington Wizards, Mystics and Capitals and Capital One Arena, is planning a major rebrand and investment in NBC Sports Washington, the regional sports network it fully acquired from Comcast last September, a top executive told Axios.

If RSNs like Bally Sports go dark, what happens to the non-major sports they broadcast?

Bill Shea, The Athletic

The major-league teams have contingency plans in place if Bally Sports and other RSNs go away. But what about the countless smaller teams?

XFL hits new lows opposite tournament

Paulsen, Sports Media Watch

The XFL had its least-watched week yet opposite the NCAA Tournament. Week five of the XFL season averaged just 264,000 viewers across ESPN, ESPN2 and FX, down 48% from the previous week (506K) and easily the least-watched week of the season.

World Baseball Classic leading to social media explosion for baseball

Jessica Kleinschmidt, Awful Announcing

According to MLB.com, “there was +564% more total engagements on World Baseball Classic social media accounts during the first round of the 2023 tournament compared to the 2017 event.”

Brett Favre ‘Knew’ Mississippi Funds Transfer ‘Was Illegal’

A.J. Perez, Front Office Sports

Brett Favre wrote in a text that the former head of Mississippi’s state welfare program deserved an overpriced Ford pickup. “Surprise him with a vehicle. … We could get him a Raptor,” Favre wrote in a January 2019 text. 

How one cognitive test could help NFL teams find the next elite quarterback

Nicki Jhabvala, The Washington Post

Quarterbacks are priceless in the NFL, and the difference between a pretty good one and an exceptional one can be the difference between a playoff drought and a Super Bowl run. Moving up in the draft can improve a team’s odds of choosing a superstar, but that’s only half the challenge.

NFL poised to beat players’ bid to revive lawsuit over painkillers

Daniel Wiessner, Reuters

A U.S. appeals court on Tuesday seemed unlikely to revive a proposed class action lawsuit accusing the National Football League of allowing teams to over-prescribe painkillers to players so they could stay on the field while injured.

New York Knicks legend Willis Reed dies at 80

Tim Bontemps, ESPN

Willis Reed, who won two NBA championships during his legendary career with the New York Knicks, has died, according to the National Basketball Retired Players Association. He was 80.

MLB plans to announce rules tweaks, week before opening day

Ronald Blum, The Associated Press

Major League Baseball’s new pitch clock is going to undergo some timing adjustments before it is turned on for games that count. Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred called the changes “significant” but also described them as “clarifications” based on input from players. 

Mets launch Citi Field Cadillac Club, $25K for top seat

The Associated Press

New York announced Tuesday it will open a membership only speakeasy behind Citi Field’s right field fence this season called The Cadillac Club at Payson’s, in honor of founding owner Joan Whitney Payson. Memberships in the first row cost $24,999 per seat, team spokeswoman Katie Agostin said.

Everything you need to know about the NHL-Fanatics jersey deal

Greg Wyshynski, ESPN

The NHL announced on Tuesday that Fanatics, its longtime e-commerce and fan apparel partner, will become its new outfitter of on-ice uniforms and authentic jerseys beginning in 2024-25.

Capitals’ Alex Ovechkin Breaks NHL Record for 40-Goal Seasons

Karl Rasmussen, Sports Illustrated

Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin notched his 40th goal of the 2022-23 NHL season Tuesday night against the Blue Jackets. In doing so, Washington’s captain set himself apart in league history, breaking the record for most 40-goal seasons ever.

Pitino returns to big stage at St. John’s: ‘I’ve earned it’

Ralph D. Russo, The Associated Press

The video banner above the entrance to Madison Square Garden on Tuesday read: “Welcome Rick Pitino.” More like welcome back for the new St. John’s coach.

We got questions: Tobin Anderson’s whirlwind week ends with new gig at Iona

Pete Thamel, ESPN

Anderson caught America’s attention with Fairleigh Dickinson; now he’s set to replace Rick Pitino at Iona.

How Las Vegas became a host city for the NCAA West Regional

David Purdum, ESPN

David Purdum explores the story behind how one of the biggest events in college basketball was brought to the American epicenter of sports betting.

The Football Play That Sent Two College Basketball Teams to the Sweet 16

Andrew Beaton, The Wall Street Journal 

With their seasons at stake in the NCAA tournament, Kansas State and Florida Atlantic used plays inspired by football to beat the press—an idea that has been stolen a few times. 

March Madness 2023: Financial Upsets Erase Chalk In Women’s Bracket

Emily Caron, Sportico

A pair of No. 1 seeds—Indiana and Stanford—were knocked out of the women’s NCAA tournament in the opening weekend, the first time two top-seeded contenders failed to reach the Sweet 16 since 1998. Yet only one of those surprise goodbyes doubled as a financial upset, and it was No. 8 Ole Miss’ stunning victory over No. 1 Stanford on Sunday.

College athletes get NIL education in Cash App’s new campaign

Gillian Follett, Ad Age

The four-part video series stars athletes including Olympian Jordan Chiles and rising basketball stars Juju Watkins and Jared McCain

College hoops staffs specialize to meet roster, NIL demands

Aaron Beard, The Associated Press

Kelvin Sampson has been around college basketball long enough to remember when preseason practices started in October following a true offseason, teams remained largely intact for multiple seasons and players weren’t permitted to pursue endorsement deals. It might as well be a different planet now.

Manchester United sale: Where we are before Wednesday’s deadline

Dan Sheldon and Laurie Whitwell, The Athletic

Interested parties must lodge another bid by the end of play on Wednesday, March 22.

NWSL Unveils Kickoff Spot For 2023 Season As Excitement Builds In A Women’s World Cup Year

Tim Nudd, Adweek 

CMO Julie Haddon on seizing a cultural moment through the theme ‘We Play Here’.

A lot of money is on the line for women’s pro soccer in the U.S.

Jessica Golden, CNBC

The National Women’s Soccer League, fresh off a year of scandal and huge growth, kicks off its season this week.

Wave’s Barcenas becomes youngest-ever contracted NWSL player at 15

Hritika Sharma, Reuters

Washington Spirit midfielder Chloe Ricketts’ reign as the youngest ever NWSL player lasted less than three weeks as she was dethroned by fellow 15-year-old Melanie Barcenas, who beat her record by 145 days after joining San Diego Wave on Tuesday.

Djokovic has ‘no regrets’ about missing US events over COVID vaccine status

Shrivathsa Sridhar, Reuters

Novak Djokovic said he had no regrets about missing tournaments at Indian Wells and Miami due to his COVID-19 vaccination status but hoped that he would be allowed into the United States later this year for the U.S. Open Grand Slam.

Shaq, Durant, Dwyane Wade Invest In Tiger’s TMRW Sports

Eben Novy-Williams, Sportico

Shaquille O’Neal, Dwyane Wade, Kevin Durant and Rich Kleiman have invested in TMRW Sports, the latest prominent celebrities to back the platform launched last year by golfers Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy.

WBC returns in March 2026, retaining spring training slot

Ronald Blum, The Associated Press

The World Baseball Classic will return for its sixth edition in March 2026, with organizers concluding spring training remains a better time than after the World Series or in the middle of the major league season.

Olympics – Paris 2024 plans Games relay changes, fewer torches, source says

Karolos Grohmann and Julien Pretot, Reuters

Paris 2024 Olympic torchbearers may not all get to keep their torches as a cherished memento of the Games because organisers plan to cut down on the number made in the name of sustainability, a source told Reuters.

Nike’s holiday quarter plagued by bloated inventory, weak China sales

Gabrielle Fonrouge, CNBC

Nike easily beat Wall Street’s estimates for its holiday quarter earnings and revenue, although its bloated inventory continued to weigh on its margins and sales in China fell short of expectations.

How insurance brand Acrisure used stadium naming rights deals to spark new marketing approach

Jon Springer, Ad Age

CMO Elliott Bundy on how the insurance and fintech player jump-started awareness by putting its name on Pittsburgh Steelers stadium and other venues.