A World Cup Like Never Before

The Expanded Format of 32 Teams is Just One of Many Changes to the World Cup

December 6, 2024

Good morning! The revamped World Cup details; Trump gets involved in Olympics

The Draw for FIFA’s Revamped Club World Cup is Coming Up. Here’s What to Know
AP News’ Graham Dunbar reports: “European powers Real Madrid and Manchester City, Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami, recently crowned South American champion Botafogo and top clubs from Asia, Africa and Oceania are among the teams who are in the draw for FIFA’s revamped Club World Cup.

“The tournament, which used to be played annually in December, will take place in 11 U.S. cities from June 15 to July 13 in an expanded format with 32 teams instead of the previous seven.”
^{AP News}

Olympics Leader Bach Talks Up Working With President-Elect Trump Toward 2028 Los Angeles Games
Olympic leaders are “very confident and relaxed” about working with the incoming Trump administration ahead of the 2028 Los Angeles Summer Games, outgoing IOC president Thomas Bach said Thursday. U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has talked up his own role in helping get the games to LA in 2017, though a White House meeting during that campaign with an Olympic delegation including Bach was not a success.
^{AP News}

Toronto Tempo Revealed as Handle for New WNBA Team as Leak Accelerates Unveiling
The Canadian Press’s Neil Davidson writes, “Canada’s new WNBA franchise will be called the Toronto Tempo, a handle officially unveiled with some haste Thursday morning after it was leaked the previous day.” The name appeared briefly on a team drop-down menu on the league’s official website. Team president Teresa Resch took it all in stride, saying, “Well, nothing ever goes as planned. But yeah, we would have loved to have our merchandise ready and be able to roll that all out at once. But we’re still really excited to share the name and logo and colours.”
^{Canadian Press}

LSU’s Flau’jae Johnson is Second Women’s College Hoops Star to Get Equity in Unrivaled
LSU G Flau’jae Johnson has signed an NIL deal with Unrivaled, the soon-to-launch 3x3 basketball league, that will also give her equity in Unrivaled. It’s a deal similar to what UConn G Paige Bueckers signed back in August. Bueckers and Johnson are the only two current college hoopsters to have such deals with Unrivaled, which begins next month (both will play plan to play in Unrivaled’s second season in 2026).
^{Sports Business Journal}

Netflix Tackles Buffering Woes Just in Time for NFL, WWE Debuts
FOS’ Eric Fisher writes, “The streaming giant and the TKO Group Holdings–owned WWE are starting to trumpet the onset of its 10-year rights deal, which is estimated at more than $5 billion. Coverage of the pro wrestling property’s flagship weekly show will immediately become a key tentpole for Netflix, which says it has addressed its large-scale performance problems from last month.”
^{Front Office Sports}

‘The Michael Kay Show’ Will Move Off Afternoons, Ending an Era in New York Radio: Sources
The Athletic’s Andrew Marchand writes, “While Kay will remain on the air in mid-days, the battle between Kay and his ESPN New York cohorts against their nemeses on WFAN that have included Mike Francesa, Chris Russo, Evan Roberts and Craig Carton is now over, signifying the conclusion of what was one of the most entertaining and contentious periods in the history of the medium in New York. The afternoon Kay Show has been on for 22 years.”
^{The Athletic}

Sources: Eric Bieniemy Out After One Season as UCLA's Offensive Coordinator
The former Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator and NFL running back joined UCLA’s staff in 2024 as the offensive coordinator and assistant head coach.

As Yahoo Sports’ Nick Bromberg writes, “UCLA went 5-7 in 2024 and was 3-6 in the Big Ten. The Bruins averaged 5.4 yards a play and scored just 18.4 points per game. Only eight teams across the top level of college football averaged fewer points than the Bruins, and UCLA scored more than 20 points just twice all season.”
^{Yahoo! Sports}

North Carolina Interviews Bill Belichick For Head Coaching Job, AP Sources Say
ESPN’s Aaron Beard reports: “North Carolina has interviewed former New England Patriots coach and six-time Super Bowl champion Bill Belichick for its head coaching position, two people with knowledge of the situation [who spoke on condition of anonymity] said Thursday.

“Belichick's interview, first reported by Inside Carolina, comes a week after the school fired its winningest coach in College Football Hall of Famer Mack Brown. The school announced Nov. 26 that Brown wouldn't return for a seventh season in his second stint at the school, with Brown staying on to coach last weekend's rivalry loss to N.C. State.”
^{AP via ESPN}

X Games Taps Dual-Sport Icon Jeremy Bloom as CEO
Sportico’s Jason Clinkscales writes, “Jeremy Bloom is the new CEO of X Games, the action-sports event series announced Thursday. The event has hired someone who made his name as a unique dual-sport athlete, in skiing and football, who took the NCAA to task over NIL rights after the premature end of his collegiate career.”
^Sportico

Former Barcelona Executive Named GM of Boston’s NWSL Expansion Team
Domenec Guasch, a former executive at FC Barcelona, has been named the first general manager for Boston’s National Women’s Soccer League expansion team. Guasch will have to build a roster in Boston without the benefit of an expansion draft. The NWSL and its players’ union adopted a new collective bargaining agreement in September that eliminated both the expansion and college drafts.
^{AP News}

Proposed North Strip Resort Project Gets Green Light
The Las Vegas Review-Journal’s Richard N. Velotta reports: “The Clark County Commission on Wednesday gave unanimous approval to several use permits for the construction of a 752-foot, 2,605-unit hotel and condominium project with an 18,000-seat NBA-ready arena on the north Strip. With little debate, commissioners, acting on a series of zoning matters, green-lighted the multibillion-dollar LVXP project between the Sahara and Fontainebleau resorts.”
^{The Athletic}

Facilities: Kansas City Blueprint
SBJ’s Alex Silverman writes, “There was no fairy-tale finish to the inaugural season at CPKC Stadium, the first purpose-built stadium in the world for a professional women’s sports team.” The Orlando Pride had knocked the Current out of the playoffs a week earlier.

Silverman goes on to write, “It’s not news to anyone who follows sports business that a team controlling its own venue is key to maximizing revenue, including from ticket sales, concessions, merchandise, parking and sponsorship. Even so, the impact on the Current’s finances after just one season at CPKC Stadium — compared to the previous year at Children’s Mercy Park, home of Sporting Kansas City — has been staggering.”
^{Sports Business Journal}

In Expanded CFP Era, Are Conference Title Games on Their Way Out? 'How This Plays Out Could Shape That'
“How can it be a detriment for someone to play in a conference championship game?” ACC commissioner Jim Phillips said. “If you want to kill the conference championship games, have somebody who is within the top 12 play for a championship and have them fall out and be leapfrogged.”

Tuesday night’s CFP selection committee rankings potentially set the stage for this to happen.
^{Yahoo! Sports}

Michigan Athletic Director Warde Manuel Lands Five-Year Contract Extension
Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel has signed a five-year contract extension that takes him through 2030. The extension was approved Thursday during the University of Michigan Board of Regents meeting that Manuel attended. Manuel, 56, has been his alma mater's athletic director since January 2016.
^{The Detroit News}

^⇢ 🏈⇢🏈⇢ Yahoo Sports also featured National Signing Day: Winners and Losers

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