Sport & Story Daily December 21, 2023

Stay Ahead of the Game

December 21, 2023

Good morning! ESPN offers live updates on 2024 football recruiting class rankings

Live 2024 College Football Recruiting Class Rankings: Top 50 Schools
College football's early signing period began Wednesday, and schools are sprinting to lock in their 2024 recruiting classes. Just 13 recruits from the 2024 ESPN 300 remain uncommitted as of about mid-day, but there will be plenty of action throughout the day. Five-star quarterback Dylan Raiola spurning his longtime commitment to Georgia and flipping to Nebraska caused ripple effects in the class rankings. Deion Sanders and Colorado also picked up five-star offensive tackle Jordan Seaton.
^espn.com

Why GoDaddy Is Still Sitting Out The Super Bowl
“We’re largely speaking to microbusinesses or people who have not yet established their business,” said CMO Fara Howard, speaking on a recent episode of the Marketer’s Brief podcast. “The way we advertise to them is through traditional B2C channels.” Despite regularly advertising during the Super Bowl a decade ago, Howard says they’re experimenting with platforms like TikTok.
^adage.com

Amazon Investing in Diamond Sports Group Makes Too Much Sense
I was shortsighted, something Amazon rarely is,” writes Barrett Sports Media’s Garrett Searight. “Truth be told, when the report came down Monday that Amazon was considering an investment into the fledgling regional sports network operator [Diamond Sports Group], I couldn’t help but think, ‘Holy cow, that’s a great idea,’” going on to note that viewers will begin to associate Prime Video with their favorite teams.
^{barrettsportsmedia.com}

Sports Media 2024 Transition May Imperil League Finances
“With bargaining agreements in place, major U.S. leagues are in a period of labor harmony. Key revenue streams including media, sponsorships and ticketing are largely contracted through the end of next year,” said Fitch Ratings Director Henry Flynn. “However, sharp declines in sports media consumption and fan engagement could lead to Fitch revising its sector outlook for sports to deteriorating.”
^sportico.com

Pro Volleyball Federation Announces CBS Sports As First Media Rights Partner
Pro Volleyball Federation – the premier women’s volleyball league in North America – has announced an agreement with CBS Sports to become an official television partner of Pro Volleyball Federation, joining the network’s deep lineup of women’s sports programming.

“This is another groundbreaking day in the history of Pro Volleyball Federation,” touted Pro Volleyball Federation co-founder Dave Whinham.
^{provolleyball.com}

Your Vision Insights: A look at MLB Fans and their intended consumption across sponsorship categories

Vision Insights looked at over 30+ product categories to see which types of products/services MLB fans were most likely to be in the market for compared to the U.S. general population. While some obvious categories like sports betting and NFTs led the way, some other categories like life insurance, Luxury Clothing and, Spirits cracked into the top 10 in terms of over-indexing compared to the general population.

Despite Reputation, Chargers Say Cash Won’t Impact Next Hires
The Los Angeles Chargers’ ownership is pushing back on a widely held perception that the club isn’t willing to spend the same amount of money on coaches, front-office staff, and team facilities as its NFL counterparts.

“I want to know where narratives come from,” John Spanos, the Chargers’ president of football operations, said in his first public comments since firing head coach Brandon Staley and general manager Tom Telesco.
^{frontofficesports.com}

SBJ College: Volleyball is Enjoying a Moment
Intersport and Fox Sports announced a partnership last week to put on a yet-to-be-named tournament to include Stanford, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and two-time defending national champion Texas on Sept. 1-2.

“This tournament is an opportunity to raise the baseline for the kickoff to the collegiate volleyball season and introduce these incredible student-athletes to a national audience,” Fox Sports EVP Jordan Bazant said.
^{sportsbusinessjournal.com}

Fisher Stevens on Getting David Beckham to Talk, That Rolls-Royce Moment and Making Athletes Emotional
“I don’t think the guy ever sat for more than 20 minutes in his life and talked about himself,” Fisher Stevens tells The Hollywood Reporter.
^{thehollywoodreporter.com}

Memphis Begins Allocation of $350M in Stadium Funds, But Issues Remain
After months of often tense debate, Memphis officials are starting to divvy up $350 million in funding given to them by the Tennessee General Assembly in April for the city’s various sports facilities, but as Front Office Sports notes, it’s “not without generating some hard feelings and additional costs.”
^{frontofficesports}

Bill Belichick or Jim Harbaugh to the Chargers? Don’t Count On It.
With each week that goes by, executives who run NFL teams continue to struggle to find a landing spot for Bill Belichick and Jim Harbaugh, but the fit with the Chargers isn’t a likely one.

“They need to make a big-name hire, don’t you think?” said one general manager, who spoke to The Washington Post on the condition of anonymity. “But I don’t think it’s either of these two. Bill Belichick and John Spanos, that won’t work. That’s not a fit. John Spanos is not going to want Bill Belichick hanging around.
^{washingtonpost.com}

Movement Update on College Coaches
D1 put together a list of all the latest comings and goings of coaches at the college level.
^coaches.wire

Noah Eagle Motivated NBC’s Change More Than Al Michaels
As Barrett Sports Media’s Moses Massena writes, “People will complain and scrutinize, but that was done to Joe Buck in two sports. Mike Breen essentially had to follow Marv Albert a 2nd time – after replacing him doing Knicks games, he had to basically do the same nationally. And at one point, many killed CBS for having Jim Nantz replace Brent Musberger on CBS for the Final Four.”

It’s the first time since 1989 that Al Michaels will not call a single NFL postseason game. As Massena notes, “That year, Noah Eagle was 8 years away from being born, his father Ian was still in college at Syracuse University, and Mike Tirico graduated from the same university a year prior.”
^{barrettsportsmedia.com}

Michigan Receives NCAA Notice of Allegations for Recruiting Violations
Michigan has received a notice of allegations from the NCAA regarding alleged violations by the football staff during the COVID-19 recruiting dead period, two university officials told ESPN.

According to sources, Wolverines coach Jim Harbaugh faces a Level I violation for allegedly not cooperating with or misleading NCAA investigators about the alleged violations, and Michigan also faces four Level II violations, which are considered less serious.
^espn.com

Sources: Florida State Discussing Future in ACC After CFP Snub
Florida State has had renewed in-depth discussions about its long-term future in the ACC in recent weeks, sources told ESPN, with talks reignited following the recent Seminoles' omission from the College Football Playoff after a perfect 12-0 regular season and the AFC championship game win.

As ESPN’s Andrea Adelson writes, the snub “angered many at the university and among its board of trustees,” going on to note, “To be clear, Florida State is not leaving the ACC in the near term but is merely weighing its options…”
^espn.com

Federal Court Trial Continues Between Former LSU Assistant Athletic Director, University
Sharon Lewis, LSU’s former associate athletic director of football recruiting, has filed a $50-million lawsuit against the university, alleging years of harassment. She says it’s tied to her reporting alleged sexual misconduct during her time at LSU.
wafb.com

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