Media
Jim Nantz wants ‘Tony Romo money’ with CBS contract drama looming
Andrew Marchand, New York Post
Jim Nantz, the face of CBS Sports, is looking for “Tony Romo money” in what is shaping into a potential showdown between the network and its longtime star, The Post has learned. Sources said Nantz is seeking to top the $17.5 million yearly salary Romo received on a new contract signed right before the pandemic hit as everything perfectly aligned for the standout NFL analyst.
Q&A: Mike Golic Sr. Talks TV Free Agency and Breakup of ‘Mike & Mike’
Michael McCarthy, Front Office Sports
Mike Golic Sr. is embracing something he hasn’t grappled with in 25 years: free agency. The ESPN mainstay is considering his career options after the network canceled his “Golic and Wingo” radio show with Trey Wingo this summer.
NFL
Las Vegas Raiders put 7 more players on COVID-19 list ahead of Kansas City Chiefs game
Paul Gutierrez, ESPN
The Las Vegas Raiders placed seven more players on the reserve/COVID-19 list on Wednesday, bringing the number of players on their list to 11, four days before the Raiders are scheduled to host the Kansas City Chiefs.
Rodgers explains why he’s no longer Packers’ player rep
The Associated Press
Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers said he “wasn’t real, real happy” about the negotiations leading to the most recent NFL labor agreement as he discussed why he’s no longer a team player representative. The NFL Players Association sent out a tweet last week noting that kicker Mason Crosby was the Packers’ new player representative, with linebacker Oren Burks, guard Lucas Patrick and cornerback Jaire Alexander as alternates.
Steinberg’s Super Bowl Party Imperiled as Tampa Bay Clings to Peak Sports Year
Barry M. Bloom, Sportico
Leigh Steinberg’s iconic Super Bowl party may join the growing list of canceled festivities in the week leading up to the big National Football League championship game. The big bash has always has been a must-attend for high rollers, sponsors, media, celebrities and some of his former and current football-playing clients.
NBA
NBA Extending $1.2 Billion Borrowing Program After 2020 Losses
Brendan Coffey, Sportico
The National Basketball Association is seeking to extend its $1.2 billion league-wide borrowing program out two more years than originally structured, to October 2023, according to a Fitch ratings note on the transaction. The planned extension comes as franchises experienced a 16% drop in their revenue from tickets, suites and other team-generated revenue, compared to the 2018-19 season.
Golden State Warriors guard Klay Thompson, injured in workout with other NBA players, will undergo an MRI on Thursday
Nick Friedell, ESPN
Golden State Warriors guard Klay Thompson suffered a right leg injury during a workout on Wednesday in Southern California and will undergo an MRI on Thursday morning, the team’s general manager, Bob Myers, confirmed Wednesday night. Thompson was playing with several NBA players in Los Angeles and felt pain in the calf area when he landed on his leg, sources told ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne.
Forget Free Flights, This Card Could Make You an NBA Benchwarmer
Jennifer Surane, Bloomberg
A startup is hoping to bring the same co-brand card enthusiasm that consumers have for hotel points and airline miles to the world of pro sports, starting with the Cleveland Cavaliers. Instead of flights and resort stays, perks could include basketballs autographed by the team or the chance to be an “honorary benchwarmer” as players warm up before a game, according to Nic Barlage, president of business operations for Cleveland’s National Basketball Association franchise.
MLB
World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers latest MLB team to implement layoffs amid pandemic
Ramona Shelburne, ESPN
The Los Angeles Dodgers are among the latest baseball teams to implement layoffs as MLB faces the possibility of a second season with limited fan access amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The team informed employees throughout the franchise of layoffs on Wednesday. The Houston Astros, Chicago Cubs and Boston Red Sox are among the teams that have also recently announced layoffs.
Kim Ng Has Been Ready for Years
Tyler Kepner and James Wagner, The New York Times
When the moment arrived — when a major league team finally hired a woman to run its baseball operations — Kim Ng found a fitting way to tell her mother and four younger sisters. She gathered them all outdoors, at a gazebo in Wanaque, N.J., where her mother lives, and took them back in time.
Cano Drug Test Destroys Millions in Memorabilia Value and Hall of Fame Bid
Barry M. Bloom, Sportico
Robinson Cano’s second drug suspension from Major League Baseball on Wednesday may have cost him any shot at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and millions of dollars in memorabilia sales, two of the top members of that industry told Sportico. “Over a 20-year period, it’ll cost him over $5 million,” said Ken Goldin of Goldin Auctions in New Jersey. “But he may not care.”
NHL
NHL angers players with shocking attempt to renegotiate CBA
Larry Brooks, New York Post
Contract renegotiation has been forbidden under the NHL CBA since adoption of the hard cap in 2005. That is one of the core tenets of the unyielding system. Except, apparently, when it comes to renegotiating the CBA itself.
Panthers hire Peterson, NHL’s first Black assistant GM
Stephen Whyno, The Associated Press
The Florida Panthers on Tuesday hired Brett Peterson as an assistant general manager, making him the first Black executive to hold that position in the NHL. Peterson’s hiring comes days after the nearby Miami Marlins hired Kim Ng as the first female GM in Major League Baseball.
College Sports
Potential for healthy teams to be left home alone forces Pac-12 to rethink ban on non-conference games
Jon Wilner, The Mercury News
The Pac-12 is hurtling toward a significant policy reversal after the athletic directors agreed this week to allow non-conference games if a league matchup is canceled because of COVID-19 issues, according to multiple sources with knowledge of the discussions. However, the change requires approval from the presidents and chancellors, who had previously banned non-conference games for the 2020 season.
Amid injuries, COVID-19 concerns, Saturday’s game between Kansas and Texas moved to Dec. 12
Chris Low, ESPN
The Kansas-Texas football game, scheduled for Saturday in Lawrence, Kansas, has been postponed due to a combination of injuries and COVID-19 issues in the Jayhawks’ program. The game has been rescheduled for Dec. 12.
Ohio State refusing family members amid rising COVID-19 cases, to reevaluate prior to Michigan game
Tom VanHaaren, ESPN
Family members of Ohio State coaches and student-athletes are no longer permitted to attend sporting events for teams playing this fall due to a stay-at-home order in Columbus, Ohio. The decision is immediate and means Ohio State will not have any family members in the stands for its game against Indiana on Saturday.
Women’s hoops coaches find creative ways to fill schedules
Doug Feinberg, The Associated Press
Louisville women’s basketball coach Jeff Walz knows it’s likely games will be scrapped at the last minute this season because of the coronavirus. So he set up a group text with fellow coaches at about a dozen schools within driving distance.
Soccer
Sources: MLS Cup playoff teams could forfeit if COVID outbreaks occur
Jeff Carlisle, ESPN
Teams that suffer from an outbreak of the coronavirus during the MLS Cup playoffs will likely be forced to forfeit their match, and thus exit the postseason, sources have told ESPN. Major League Soccer has completed its protocol for the playoffs, and included in that document is how it handles outbreaks of COVID-19 within one of the participating teams.
FIFA proposes mandatory maternity leave for women players
Simon Evans, Reuters
FIFA is to introduce new regulations to protect the rights of women players, including mandatory maternity leave, world soccer’s governing body said on Thursday. The reforms have been put forward by FIFA’s Football Stakeholders Committee (FSC) and will go to FIFA’s Council next month for approval.
Africa’s Top Soccer Official Faces New Ethics Investigation
Tariq Panja, The New York Times
FIFA ethics investigators have asked the top soccer official in Africa to explain why he agreed to revise a television contract in a way that appeared to benefit a commercial partner over his own organization — the latest ethical concern for a governing body that was subject to direct FIFA oversight as recently as February. The official, Ahmad Ahmad, the president of the Confederation of African Football and a FIFA vice president, and Constant Omari, CAF’s powerful vice president, have been asked by FIFA to provide details about amendments to a television contract with the marketing company, Lagardère Sports.
Racing
NASCAR trucks won’t return to Eldora Speedway for Dirt Derby in 2021
Shane Walters, Racing News
A legendary chapter in the history of Eldora Speedway and NASCAR will come to a close.
Golf and Tennis
Johanna Konta sounds alarm over coronavirus threat to Australian Open
Kevin Mitchell, The Guardian
Johanna Konta shares the anxiety of everyone in tennis as desperate administrators and nervous politicians argue over the viability of holding the Australian Open in January, as the country continues to wrestle with coronavirus. Plans to spend Christmas with her sister, Eva, in Sydney – where she was born 29 years ago – before heading for Melbourne for the start of the tournament on 18 January look like being shelved, and the prospect of playing any tennis is equally uncertain.
Osaka’s personal apparel collection underscores star power
Jack Tarrant, Reuters
As the world’s highest paid sportswoman and a three-time Grand Slam champion, Naomi Osaka is no stranger to the spotlight, but ahead of the release of her personalised range of apparel made with sponsors Nike, the 23-year-old was nervous. “My Nike collection drops tomorrow… nervous is not enough to describe this feeling,” Osaka tweeted before the collection launched on Monday.
Esports
NRG Esports Opens ‘The Castle’ Space in L.A. for Gaming and Entertainment
Todd Spangler, Variety
NRG Esports, the pro esports organization with notable investors including Shaquille O’Neal, Alex Rodriguez, Jennifer Lopez, Jimmy Rollins and Tiesto, is opening a new content space in downtown Los Angeles called “The Castle.” NRG describes The Castle as “a cutting-edge space for influencers and creatives to connect and enjoy one-of-a-kind installations, elevating gaming tournaments and content creation.”
General
Betting Has Been a Rare Bright Spot for Sports Biz in 2020, Says Action Network CEO
Patrick Keane, Sportico
Even those of us in the sports betting space could not have predicted how 2020 would unfold. Yet, with stadiums closed and sports TV ratings declining all fall, betting has, in fact, been the sports biz bright spot of 2020.
Athletes’ Village must be safest place in Tokyo, IOC official says
Jack Tarrant, Reuters
The purpose-built Athletes’ Village must be the safest place in Tokyo during next year’s Olympics, a senior International Olympic Committee (IOC) official said on Wednesday after meetings with the Tokyo 2020 organisers. IOC President Thomas Bach and other officials have been in the Japanese capital this week as a show of support for the organisers as they try to arrange the Games despite the COVID-19 pandemic.
A New U.S. Law Would Target Doping’s Enablers. International Watchdogs Don’t Like It.
Matthew Futterman, The New York Times
New legislation that would expand the ability of law enforcement officials in the United States to prosecute people who participate in doping is garnering criticism from an unexpected quarter: international doping watchdogs. Backers of the bill, the Rodchenkov Act, say it would serve as a major deterrent to doping and provide an important weapon in the battle for clean sport because it would enhance prosecutors’ efforts to charge networks of cheaters, including the coaches, trainers, scientists and sports officials who enable it, with federal crimes even if they did not take place in the United States.
UK sports set for £300m government bailout
Murad Ahmed and Samuel Agini, Financial Times
Rugby, horseracing and women’s football are among the UK sports set to benefit from a £300m government bailout, with emergency funding provided in response to lockdowns preventing fans from attending stadiums. Nigel Huddleston, sports minister, will announce the rescue package on Thursday, with financial assistance for 11 sports hard hit by the pandemic — although some groups, such as those that represent professional men’s football and cricket, will miss out.
Opinions, Editorials, Perspectives and Research
NBA Ban of Prep to Pro Jump Draws Scrutiny From Congress
Michael McCann, Sportico
In a different world, the top handful of players selected in tonight’s 2020 NBA Draft would include a couple of names that won’t appear: Oklahoma State freshman guard Cade Cunningham and NBA G League Ignite guard Jalen Green. Both have been talked about as potential No. 1 picks in the 2020 draft if they were eligible.
|
