Be on the lookout Monday morning for my latest story, which breaks down MLB fans’ sentiments toward the league’s implementation of the new pitch clock six weeks into the new season. (You’ll be able to find it here, along with all of my coverage of the sports industry.)

The National Sports Forum is Wednesday. The daylong virtual sports business summit features speakers such as Eric Tosi (Vegas Golden Knights’ chief marketing officer), Bruce Bundrant (Major League Pickleball’s chief commercial officer), John Beaven (Golden State Warriors’ executive vice president of ticket sales and services) and Mike Clough (Minnesota Twins’ senior vice president of consumer revenue). 

The PGA Championship begins Thursday. The tournament will be held at Oak Hill Country Club in Rochester, N.Y. Defending champion Justin Thomas and Masters winner Jon Rahm are among the favorites to win the second major of the season, according to the latest betting odds. 

The WNBA’s 27th season starts Friday. A four-game slate for opening night features the Connecticut Sun at the Indiana Fever, which selected former South Carolina guard and Adidas AG endorser Aliyah Boston with the No. 1 pick in last month’s draft. The league, which has TV rights pacts with ESPN, ABC and CBS Sports, recently brokered a deal with E.W. Scripps, which will air Friday night games on its broadcast network ION.

The Triple Crown continues with the 148th Preakness Stakes on Saturday. Kentucky Derby champion Mage is scheduled to race at Baltimore’s Pimlico Race Course. The second leg of the Triple Crown will air across NBC platforms, with the post time set for around 6:50 p.m. ET.

• The NFL unveiled its full 2023 schedule, with the Kansas City Chiefs hosting the Detroit Lions on Sept. 7 to kick off the campaign, while the New York Jets, led by new quarterback Aaron Rodgers, will play six nationally broadcast games, including the season’s first “Monday Night Football” matchup on Sept. 11 against the Buffalo Bills.
• NBCUniversal’s Peacock will livestream every sport and event of the 2024 Summer Olympic Games in Paris after the company’s coverage of 2021’s Tokyo Games confused some viewers of where to find events across its TV networks and multiple digital outlets.
• Fanatics Inc. named Krishna Rao its chief financial officer for its commerce division, which includes licensed sports merchandise sales from colleges and professional teams and leagues.
• Apple Inc. senior executive Pete Distad, who oversees the company’s sports and video business, which includes oversight of Apple TV+, will reportedly leave the technology giant later this month.
• West Virginia basketball coach Bob Huggins agreed to a $1 million salary reduction and a three-game regular-season suspension at the start of the 2023-24 campaign after he made an anti-gay slur during a radio interview this week, marking one of the biggest salary reductions in college sports.
• ESPN has reportedly emerged as the leading destination for Pat McAfee’s daily YouTube show, which is currently part of a broader four-year, $120 million endorsement deal with FanDuel Group that the former NFL punter is considering ending early.
• Concessionaire company Aramark Corp. said it reached a deal to sell approximately half of its stake in the San Antonio Spurs to an unknown buyer for about $100 million.
• Fox Corp. reported its third-quarter advertising revenue was up 43% year over year to $1.86 billion due in large part to its broadcast of Super Bowl LVII.
• The 149th Kentucky Derby averaged 14.8 million viewers across NBC and Peacock, an 8% drop compared with last year’s 16 million, though it was still TV’s most watched sports event since February’s Super Bowl LVII.
• The NBA aims to open many more retail stores worldwide as international sales now account for roughly 30% of the league’s merchandising business.

25.3 million 

That’s the number of total ESPN+ subscribers after the streaming service added 400,000 subscribers in the most recent quarter, according to the recent Walt Disney Co. earnings call.

1) Nick Gilbert, son of Cavaliers owner, dies at 26

Tom Withers, The Associated Press

2) What the sports broadcasting world might look like after the demise of RSNs

Andrew Marchand, New York Post

3) Analysis: Is Barstool Sportsbook Acquisition Working For Penn?

Eric Ramsey, Legal Sports Report

4) Apple Executive in Charge of TV+ and Sports Businesses to Depart

Mike Gurman, Bloomberg

5) Americans Just Want to Have Fun at Restaurants, Concerts and the Movies Again 

Wesley Case, Morning Consult

6) The NFL hopes Gen Z influencers will convince people to sign up for the NFL Sunday Ticket

Julian Cannon, Digiday

7) More investors in Josh Harris’s Commanders ownership group are identified

Mark Maske and Nicki Jhabvala, The Washington Post

8) Ja Morant Loses $39M From All-NBA Vote, While Jaylen Brown Scores Big

Lev Akabas, Sportico

9) The basketball journeyman who became a shooting coach to the stars

Mark Dent, The Hustle 

10) Mage wins star-crossed Kentucky Derby amid 7th death

Beth Harris, The Associated Press