Media
ESPN NY radio adds Mike Greenberg, Max Kellerman in major lineup shift
Andrew Marchand, New York Post
ESPN New York will add Mike Greenberg and Max Kellerman to its daily programming in the middle of this month, but, like when Mike Francesa returned to WFAN after his faux retirement, it now has too many hosts on-air and too many shows, which makes little radio sense in the long run. The merry-go-round has 98.7 FM taking ESPN’s new national morning show of Keyshawn Johnson, Jay Williams and Zubin Mehenti from 6 a.m-9 a.m., forgoing its final hour.
Hardball Talk, D.C. RSN Hit By NBC Layoffs
John Ourand, Sports Business Journal
NBC Sports Group let go an undetermined number of staffers across its RSNs and digital divisions. A few of the laid off employees posted messages on social media, suggesting that this is a story that will last for the next several days and weeks as more of the people who were laid off come forward. NBC would not comment on the record.
Apple’s Sports Plan Remains $200 Billion Dollar Question Among Industry Insiders
Jacob Feldman, Sportico
After a relatively fallow period, a panoply of live rights are opening up, starting with the crown jewel, NFL games. Apple could still get its foot in the door through a simulcast deal like Amazon has had with Thursday Night Football; a limited-game contract possibly built around international games; or a unique retooling of Sunday Ticket, which belongs to AT&T until 2022.
NFL
NFL owners, NFLPA reach agreement on Thursday for COVID-19 opt-out deadline
Mike Jones, USA Today
NFL players must make their decisions on whether to opt out of the 2020 season because of concerns over the coronavirus by 4 p.m. ET on Thursday. The NFL owners and the NFL Players Association agreed to the terms Monday night, and the player body was notified of the arrangement shortly after, two people with knowledge of the situation told USA TODAY Sports.
Saints renting hotel to create optional team bubble for camp
Mike Triplett, ESPN
Staying in the hotel is optional. Coach Sean Payton estimated that about 150 people will stay there among the total of 180 players, coaches and executives, plus medical, cafeteria, security and support staff. Owner Gayle Benson was willing to pay the hefty cost to help eliminate some health risks.
Vikings sign GM Rick Spielman to multi-year contract extension
Chris Tomasson, St. Paul Pioneer Press
It is believed that Spielman, who had one year left on his contract, is now locked up through 2023. Head coach Mike Zimmer, who also had one year left on his contract, received an extension two weeks ago, through the 2023 season.
Denver Broncos players walk through sanitizing spray before entering training camp practice field
Andrew Joseph, For The Win
The Denver Broncos who have gone to a length that seems awfully unnecessary when it comes to preventing the spread of the coronavirus. The Broncos are having players walk through a sanitizing spray upon entering the practice field, and the team’s Twitter account framed it as a useful step to safely get to “work.”
Patrick Mahomes Lands First Endorsement Deal Since Super Bowl Win
Kurt Badenhausen, Forbes
His first-post Super Bowl endorsement is with BioSteel Sports Nutrition, which signed the quarterback to a multiyear deal the company announced Tuesday morning. Armed with plenty of cash from his new record 10-year, $450 million playing contract with the Chiefs, Mahomes received an undisclosed equity stake in the emerging sports nutrition brand and eschewed any cash compensation.
NBA
G League Select Team to be based in Walnut Creek
Connor Letourneau, San Francisco Chronicle
The NBA G League will base its new Pro Pathway team in Walnut Creek, a league source confirmed with The Chronicle on Monday. The G League considered basing its the team in Los Angeles, but it ultimately decided on Walnut Creek, 24 miles from the Warriors’ home arena.
EBay partners with NBA’s ‘Sneaker King’ P.J. Tucker to boost shoe sales
Jabari Young, CNBC
Houston Rockets forward P.J. Tucker is partnering with eBay in a new influencer-style deal aimed at showcasing and capitalizing on his new sneaker loft. Financial terms of the agreement were not made available, but the pact is a short-term content deal that could lead to a more extended partnership.
NBA CMO Kate Jhaveri Doesn’t Want an Asterisk on This Season
Nat Ives, The Wall Street Journal
NBA Chief Marketing Officer Kate Jhaveri talked to The Wall Street Journal about the league’s time off the court, the social-justice movement that erupted during its pause and the return to play.
MLB
As the Virus Spreads Through M.L.B., So Does Frustration
Tyler Kepner, The New York Times
Jeter said the Marlins had been unfairly maligned for playing in Philadelphia on July 26 after they learned of four positive tests within their traveling party; in fact, he said, the Phillies and M.L.B. were also aware of those test results. He also disputed that the Marlins had acted recklessly in Atlanta, where they played two exhibitions before flying to Philadelphia.
MLB names Michele Meyer-Shipp as chief people and culture officer
Jabari Young, CNBC
Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred announced Monday the league has hired Michele Meyer-Shipp as its new Chief People and Culture Officer. Meyer-Shipp will oversee all league office “human resources activities, including talent processes and programs, workplace culture, and diversity and inclusion,” MLB said.
MiLB president installs new committee to handle MLB negotiations
William Weinbaum, ESPN
ESPN confirmed a report that said MiLB president Pat O’Conner installed a new committee — including Triple-A team presidents Sam Bernabe of the Iowa Cubs and Ken Schnacke of the Columbus Clippers — that is “viewed by numerous MiLB owners as having much closer ties to O’Conner and more sympathetic to attempts to save St. Petersburg’s MiLB offices and MiLB’s independence.” The pandemic has put talks on hold between MiLB and MLB over their agreement that expires Sept. 30.
How Minor League Baseball Teams Are Surviving the Season Cancellation
Amanda Christovich, Front Office Sports
Minor league teams have lost 90% of their revenue due to the cancelation, according to estimates from Joe Chamberlin, CEO of the West Michigan Whitecaps, and Jason Freier, the CEO of an ownership group that owns the Columbia Fireflies, Fort Wayne TinCaps, and Chattanooga Lookouts. All executives Front Office spoke with for this story said they have been forced to engage in some sort of furlough, lay off or pay cut structure with their countless staff.
NHL
Reaves, Seguin, Lehner, Dickinson kneel during anthem before Stars – Golden Knights
James O’Brien, NBC Sports
Two Golden Knights (Ryan Reaves and Robin Lehner) and two Stars (Tyler Seguin and Jason Dickinson) decided to kneel during both anthems before the teams’ round-robin game on Monday. This comes after other noteworthy moments where NHL players made statements against racism, particularly Wild defenseman Matt Dumba.
College Sports
The NCAA Board May Vote Today On Its Own Future In College Sports
Eben Novy-Williams and Emily Caron, Sportico
As COVID-19 cases rise nationwide, the NCAA’s Board of Governors will again meet Tuesday to discuss the status of fall sports championships. The discussion, however, may be proxy for a much bigger topic—whether the governing body’s richest members still see the NCAA as an essential part of their future.
Pac-12 Commissioner Responds to Football Players Threatening to Boycott 2020 Season
Ross Dellenger, Sports Illustrated
Pac-12 commissioner Larry Scott is open to holding dialogue with a group of league football players who are threatening to boycott the 2020 football season, according to a letter that Scott sent the group Monday. Sports Illustrated obtained a copy of the two-page letter, which Scott wrote in response to the #WeAreUnited campaign’s letter Sunday.
Big Ten in trouble: Rutgers’ coronavirus outbreak expands, Northwestern pauses workouts, Indiana lineman’s heart condition
Mike Rosenstein, NJ.com
Things are not looking good for the Big Ten playing football in 2020. As NJ Advance Media’s Keith Sargeant first reported Monday night, the number of COVID-19 cases connected with the Rutgers University football team nearly has doubled from 15 to 28 players.
How the potential Pac-12 football player boycott came to be
The Athletic
The Pac-12 player movement has been swirling around conference circles for nearly a month and gained more traction Friday when a graphic began circulating among league coaches. Multiple Pac-12 athletic directors told The Athletic that they had not been approached by those involved before the announcement and emphasized that players have already been encouraged to stay — or return — home if they felt unsafe.
Answering Eight Legal Questions From The Pac-12 Players’ Ultimatum
Michael McCann, Sportico
Among specific requests, the players want the salaries of Pac-12 commissioner Larry Scott, coaches and administrators to be “drastically” reduced. Such a measure, the players contend, would help to save non-revenue sports from being cut.
WCC introduces ‘Russell Rule’ to drive diversity hiring in athletics
Thuc Nhi Nguyen, Los Angeles Times
The West Coast Conference introduced a new diversity hiring initiative Monday named for NBA and University of San Francisco legend Bill Russell. Known as the “Russell Rule,” the initiative will require WCC schools to include a member of a traditionally underrepresented community in the final pool of candidates every time they hire an athletic director, senior administrator, head coach or full-time assistant coach.
Soccer
MLS close to finalizing plans to resume season in home markets
Steven Goff, The Washington Post
The first full weekend would occur Aug. 21-23, multiple people close to the situation said Monday. However, Nashville SC and FC Dallas — which did not participate in the MLS is Back Tournament because of coronavirus outbreaks shortly after arriving at the Disney World bubble — would be the first to restart by facing one another twice, Aug. 12-15 in Texas, one person said.
Racing
Team Penske and Brad Keselowski announce contract extension
Nick DeGroot, Motorsport
Keselowski, who just won his third race of the 2020 season Sunday at New Hampshire, has raced for Penske since the 2010 season. After much speculation, it was revealed Monday that he will remain with Team Penske.
Helio Castroneves aims for full-time IndyCar return in 2021
David Malsher-Lopez, Motorsport
Helio Castroneves says that he is targeting a full-time ride in the NTT IndyCar Series next season but that he expects this month’s Indianapolis 500 will be his final drive for Team Penske in open-wheel racing.
Golf and Tennis
John Daly won’t play in PGA Championship because of California’s coronavirus surge
Cindy Boren, The Washington Post
John Daly, winner of the PGA Championship in 1991, will skip the event held this week in San Francisco because of his preexisting health concerns, including diabetes, and the rising novel coronavirus rates in California. Although no fans will be allowed at TPC Harding Park, Daly was not comfortable with risking exposure to minimal groups of people.
PGA Tour aims to be the next frontier for rampant legal gambling despite risks
David Wharton, Los Angeles Times
As one of the earliest sports to resume play after the COVID-19 lockdown, golf has targeted bettors waiting for the football season and NBA playoffs. It has become the fourth most-popular wagering sport on the DraftKings site and, with the PGA Championship beginning Thursday, has seen a 400% increase in wagers at one Las Vegas sportsbook.
Esports
ESL, DreamHack Expand China Esports Broadcast Coverage With DouYu Deal
Trent Murray, The Esports Observer
Tournament organizers DreamHack and ESL (both part of digital entertainment group Modern Times Group) have announced a one-year streaming deal with Chinese platform DouYu. The deal makes DouYu the exclusive streaming partner for the ESL Pro Tour’s StarCraft II and Warcraft III content in “standard Mandarin and other Chinese languages and dialects,” according to a release.
General
Can You Test Positive for Coronavirus and Be at Work? Sports Leagues Say Yes
Andrew Beaton and Louise Radnofsky, The Wall Street Journal
While the scientific community is still trying to fully understand who is still infectious, the NFL and MLB say it’s safe for players to return even while they’re still testing positive and enough time has elapsed.
U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee finances in peril with Tokyo Games delayed
David Wharton, Los Angeles Times
Tax records and other financial statements show the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee operated at a $54-million deficit in 2019 — a worrisome number given the additional losses the organization will suffer from the coronavirus shutdown this year. The USOPC opened its books to the public on Monday in what leaders called a “commitment to accountability and transparency.”
Opinions, Editorials, Perspectives and Research
College football players are human beings first. Officials seem determined to ignore that.
Kevin B. Blackistone, The Washington Post
The pandemic has laid bare an unethical and immoral structure in which a cabal of adults is forcing someone else’s kids to further risk their health, this time with a deadly virus floating invisibly in the air, to keep standing a financial system that is largely beneficial only to the adults who run it as they do so mostly without regarding the concerns of those kids.
A better future for college football players? Here’s how to make it happen
Bill Connelly, ESPN
The NIL fight, by the way, is the precursor to a larger fight down the line: if we acknowledge that athletes should be allowed to make money off of their likeness, what about making money for their labor? Among the demands the Pac-12 player group made were a 50% share of conference revenues. It is a tall ask, but it is not without merit or logic.
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