• Tension between MLB and its players’ union is intensifying, as the league is now pointing to a March 26 email from Patrick Houlihan, its senior vice president of labor relations and deputy general counsel, as a “smoking gun” in the dispute over how players would be compensated this season if games are played without fans in attendance. The union has claimed that a March agreement between the two parties entitles players to prorated pay regardless of whether fans are in attendance, but Houlihan in the email claims that Matt Nussbaum, MLBPA deputy general counsel, acknowledged that the agreement called for the further reduction of player salaries if games were played without fans. (New York Post)

• The Belmont Stakes will be the first leg in horse racing’s 2020 Triple Crown for the first time in history, as it is now scheduled to take place on June 20, prior to both the rescheduled Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes. The New York Racing Association reduced the length of the race to a mile and an eighth from its usual mile-and-a-half distance and lessened the purse by a third to $1 million due to no spectators permitted at the track because of the coronavirus pandemic. (The New York Times)

• NFL owners tabled discussion of a proposal that would have incentivized teams to hire minority candidates for coaching and executive positions by improving their draft positions, but took several less controversial steps aimed at strengthening its minority hiring practices. In addition to requiring teams and the league office to consider minority and female candidates for certain executive positions, owners ratified a resolution preventing teams from blocking assistant coaches from interviewing for coordinator jobs with another team, or front-office executives from interviewing for assistant GM roles with another franchise. (The Washington Post)

Skip Bayless Contract Talks to Test Fox Sports and Upended TV Market
Michael McCarthy, Front Office Sports

Bayless’ original $25 million, four-year deal with Fox Sports to host the “Undisputed” morning debate show expires in September, sources said. With sports media companies slashing costs in the current economic crisis, there’s a question of how much money Fox wants to throw at one of sports TV’s most outspoken commentators.

ESPN unlikely to collaborate with Netflix again despite Last Dance success
Eoin Connolly, SportsPro Media

The ten-part series, which followed Michael Jordan’s championship-winning final season with a dominant Chicago Bulls team in 1997 and 1998, has earned outstanding linear TV ratings for Disney-owned ESPN in the US, with Netflix taking the global on-demand rights. That arrangement, however, was concluded before Disney launched subscription OTT services Disney+ and ESPN+, and it could not direct audiences to those platforms after the programme aired.

Mike Francesa show to expand to 1 hour as WFAN tweaks lineup
Ted Holmlund, New York Post

Effective May 26, Francesa — who had been on from 6-6:30 p.m. weekdays — will now be on from 6-7 p.m., and Jerry Recco and Al Dukes will be on from 5-6 a.m., an extra 20 minutes, according to a Tuesday Newsday report.

NFL is testing face masks that contain surgical or N95 material
Cindy Boren, The Washington Post

When the NFL starts up, the novel coronavirus pandemic is going to dictate changes. One such change could be the addition of surgical or N95 material to the face masks on players’ helmets. The NFL and sports equipment company Oakley are testing prototypes, and Thom Mayer, the NFL Players Association’s medical director, said “there will probably be a recommendation” to use modified masks.

NFL owners unanimously approve more financing for Rams, a landlord with big bills
Sam Farmer, Los Angeles Times

It was significant Tuesday when NFL owners voted unanimously to provide Kroenke an additional $500 million in financing, along with an extended period to pay it back. It was an acknowledgment of the risk he took in moving to L.A., and privately financing a stadium that figures to be the West Coast hub for the league.

Timberwolves, Mayo Clinic to lead leaguewide coronavirus study
Malika Andrews, ESPN

The Timberwolves and the Mayo Clinic — an academic medical center headquartered in Rochester, Minnesota — are spearheading a leaguewide study that aims to establish what percentage of NBA players, coaches, executives and staff have developed antibodies to the coronavirus. The initiative, which is supported by the league office and the players’ association, is expected to have the participation of all 30 teams.

MLBPA, Tony Clark discuss 67-page proposal in lengthy call
Joel Sherman, New York Post

More than 130 players participated in a union-run conference call Monday night mainly to go over MLB’s 67-page health and safety proposal for restarting the season. All 30 teams were represented on the call, which was led by Players Association executive director Tony Clark and Bruce Meyer, the union’s lead negotiator. 

Baseball’s Free Agents Are Heading For Whopping Salary Cuts
Barry Bloom, Variety

Baseball’s top free agents, like Mookie Betts of the Dodgers, are likely facing a non-existent free-agent market this offseason – and perhaps beyond that – if the sport can’t figure out a way to salvage at least a portion of the 2020 season. Betts was scheduled to be paid $27 million this season, which has been delayed because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

How MLB is navigating the coronavirus pandemic to play ball
ESPN

Major League Baseball’s plan to start the season by July 4 relies on a dizzying array of moving parts, including the cooperation of 27 U.S. cities and a foreign country, the availability of more than 200,000 reliable coronavirus tests and a promise not to interfere with the nationwide fight to contain the pandemic.

How LeBron James’ media empire spurred Alex Bregman to leave his agent
Ken Rosenthal, The Athletic

The involvement of James’ media platform Uninterrupted in a new docuseries on the Astros’ sign-stealing scandal was perhaps not the only reason Bregman left Brodie Scoffield, whose company last month became the baseball arm of James’ agency, Klutch Sports. But the sources said it was an overriding factor — at the very least, the last straw.

Amid uncertainty of season, Angels decide to furlough some employees
Maria Torres, Los Angeles Times

Count the Angels among the businesses that have succumbed to the financial stresses caused by the coronavirus outbreak. The team will begin furloughing some non-playing employees in June.

NHL hopeful extended border closure won’t impact return to play timelines
Chris Johnston, Sportsnet

The NHL remains “hopeful” that an extended Canada-U.S. border closure will not “materially affect the resumption of play timelines we are currently contemplating,” according to deputy commissioner Bill Daly. That comment comes in the wake of Tuesday morning’s announcement from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau that the border between the countries will remain closed to non-essential travel through June 21.

Power Five spend big on lobbying Congress
Ben Nuckols, The Associated Press

The Power Five conferences spent $350,000 on lobbying in the first three months of 2020, more than they had previously spent in any full year, as part of a coordinated effort to influence Congress on legislation affecting the ability of college athletes to earn endorsement money. The Southeastern Conference was the biggest spender, hiring three lobbying firms and paying them a total of $140,000, according to lobbying disclosure forms reviewed by The Associated Press. 

UCLA makes it official: Martin Jarmond is next athletic director
Thuc Nhi Nguyen, Los Angeles Times

With a six-year contract worth $1.4 million per year on average plus incentives, Jarmond will be the highest-paid athletic director at a public Pac-12 Conference school. Jarmond will receive $1,030,000 with a one-time signing bonus of $339,900 during the first year of his contract. Guerrero’s base salary was $984,667 this year, with another $105,000 possible in performance bonuses.

Bob Bowlsby: Big 12 needs to be ‘up and running’ by mid-July for college football season to start on time
Heather Dinich, ESPN

The Big 12 conference doesn’t have a date yet for its sports to resume, but commissioner Bob Bowlsby said Tuesday the league needs to be “up and running” by mid-July if the college football season is going to start on time. “If we’re not, we’re looking at probably having to delay the season a little bit,” he told ESPN, “but it’s too early to know if we’re going to be able to make that or not.”

Pac-12 presidents continue to say, and do, the right things for football
Jon Wilner, The San Jose Mercury News

Pac-12 presidents and chancellors held their annual spring meeting Monday under most unusual circumstances and came to the most reasonable conclusions regarding the return of football: Reaffirm the commitment to science, Emphasize the safety of students, Approve a set of return-to-play protocols, and no matter what, make no decisions. There are too many variables and too many weeks before training camp for the presidents to reach any determinations on the start of the season.

MLS cancels All-Star game scheduled to be held in Los Angeles
Jack Harris, Los AngelesTimes

Major League Soccer announced Tuesday that its 2020 MLS All-Star game scheduled to be held at Banc of California Stadium has been canceled, the latest marquee sporting event to be called off amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The All-Star game, which would have pitted all-star squads from MLS and Mexico’s Liga MX against one another, was slated to take place July 29 at LAFC’s home stadium.

NWSL is close to finalizing tournament this summer in Salt Lake City
Steven Goff, The Washington Post

The National Women’s Soccer League is close to finalizing plans for a month-long tournament this summer in Salt Lake City, a precursor to possibly returning to a regular schedule this year, four people close to the situation said Tuesday. The NWSL would become the first established U.S. professional team sport to announce a return to competition since the novel coronavirus pandemic forced sports to shut down in March.

Coronavirus: Watford and Burnley confirm positive tests
BBC

One player and two staff at Watford and Burnley assistant manager Ian Woan are among six positive Premier League tests for coronavirus. The other two are at a third club, the details of which have not been revealed.

Rain postpones Xfinity Series’ return at Darlington
Pete Iacobelli, The Associated Press

The competitors will have to wait until Thursday after heavy rain postponed the series’ first race since March, when the coronavirus pandemic shut down sports. NASCAR officials called the race about two hours after the scheduled 6 p.m. start. The event is now set for Thursday at noon.

FIA says 10 coronavirus cases wouldn’t stop F1 race
Luke Smith, Motorsport.com

The FIA is confident it would be able to manage positive coronavirus cases emerging in the paddock once the Formula 1 season resumes, avoiding the need to cancel races. The Australian Grand Prix was called off just two hours before the scheduled start of practice after a McLaren employee tested positive for COVID-19.

Monaco puts a marker down for 2021 with three race run
Reuters

Monaco plans to hold three motor races in the space of five weeks in 2021 after the principality had to cancel this weekend’s showcase Formula One grand prix due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Automobile Club de Monaco (ACM) said on Tuesday the biennial Historic Grand Prix would be held on April 25, 2021, with an all-electric Formula E eprix on May 8 and then the return of Formula One on May 23.

Colonial’s best field ever expected for next month’s PGA Tour return
Rex Hoggard, Golf Channel

Based on this year’s commitments, which include world No. 1 Rory McIlroy, No. 3 Brooks Koepka, No. 5 Dustin Johnson and No. 7 Patrick Reed, the event will feature a strength of field of 560 points, with 66 points going to the winner, according to an analysis by Golf Channel rankings guru Alan Robison.

Call of Duty League announces new playoff format, adds “Warzone Weekend”
Arda Ocal, ESPN

Call of Duty League is making major changes to how its playoffs work, and is adding a new event to its homestand weekends. Under the new playoff system, all 12 CDL teams will qualify for the postseason (up from eight in the original structure), with Call of Duty League standings determining placement.

Is Vince McMahon trying to covertly buy his own bankrupt XFL?
Daniel Kaplan, The Athletic

Is Vince McMahon trying to buy his own XFL out of Delaware bankruptcy court? The XFL’s creditors seem to think so, and sources said XFL president Jeffrey Pollack has called venues in St. Louis and Seattle about reinstating the lease agreements.

Bruin Sports Capital’s Pyne: pandemic heightens importance of core business fundamentals
Eric Fisher, SportBusiness

Despite the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, the US-based sports investment group Bruin Sports Capital remains one of the most influential and notable entities in the sports industry. The parent company of a portfolio of entities that includes streaming technology provider Deltatre, data-driven sports marketing agency Two Circles, and experiential marketing agency Engine Shop, among other entities, Bruin has direct visibility to most major components of the industry. 

Pivot or pause? With the 2020 Games postponed, Olympics sponsors are adapting their ads
Lara O’Reilly, Digiday

Some marketers are seeing a benefit in proudly trumpeting their Olympic partner status — though the experts and executives Digiday spoke to for this piece said actual advertising spending will understandably be minimal versus if the Games had taken place.

For NASCAR, sticking close to its roots might be smart even after the coronavirus pandemic
Barry Svrluga, The Washington Post

Somewhere along the road to becoming a chic mainstream sport, NASCAR lost its soul. Maybe a pandemic could help NASCAR rediscover it.

Debt-ceiling increase may mark a major shift in NFL’s business philosophy
Amy Trask, The Athletic

When I have referenced the league debt ceiling and other league rules related to debt in the past, I have been asked why teams (which are individually, not collectively owned) need league approval to take on debt and how the league knows how much debt a team (and/or its controlling owner) carries.