Sport & Story Daily January 29, 2024

Stay Ahead of the Game

January 29, 2024

Good morning! It’s a Chiefs/49ers Super Bowl, but most of the talk is about the Taylor Swift Effect

Clash of the Titans. Super Bowl LVIII to Feature Modern-day NFL Dynasties
As Front Office Sports’ Eric Fisher writes, “Two of the NFL’s modern-day dynasties will meet in Super Bowl LVIII as the league will likely look to a certain pop icon to help pursue another viewership record.

The San Francisco 49ers, playing in their fourth NFC Championship Game in five seasons, clinched the conference title with a 34-31 win late Sunday over the upstart Detroit Lions. The 49ers will face the Kansas City Chiefs, who won their fourth AFC title in five years with a 17-10 win over the Baltimore Ravens and extended a historic run of success over the past six seasons taken to new heights of popularity this year thanks to tight end Travis Kelce’s romantic relationship with pop star Taylor Swift.”
^{frontofficesports.com}

Watch the NFL’s Super Bowl Ad Teaser, Set in Ghana’s Capital
According to Ad Age, The NFL will focus on its growing global initiatives in its 2024 Super Bowl commercial, with a teaser breaking Sunday showing three of the league’s top stars running, jumping, and catching their way through downtown Accra, Ghana.
^adage.com

Steve Kerr Calls for NBA to Change These Rules Amid Unprecedented Scoring Bursts
“I think there are absolute changes [to be made],” Kerr said on Saturday, per The Mercury News. “You’re not going to make changes to the scheme. Where you’re going to make changes is with the defensive positioning rules that are in place.”
^si.com

Watch Ford’s Tribute To Detroit Lions Playoff Run
“We have to reach and grab and fight because there are no shortcuts here,” Daniels says against black-and-white Detroit scenes, including an overhead view of the Lions’ home stadium that carries that automaker’s name. Voice rising, Daniels ends the video with a hopeful nod to next season: “We are Detroit. We aren’t going anywhere. We are knocking at the door again and again—made for January and February. We will be back.”
^adage.com

SBJ Unpacks: Marie Donoghue Joins DraftKings’ Executive Team
Marie Donoghue, who left Amazon on Jan. 4 as its No. 2 sports exec and the highest-ranking women in sports broadcasting, joins a company that already has a relationship with her former boss at ESPN, John Skipper, and his Meadowlark Media outfit (DraftKings back in 2021 struck a $50 million deal to distribute Dan Le Batard’s eponymous podcast.
^{sportsbusinessjournal.com}

Sources: NBA Commissioner Adam Silver Finalizing Extension
NBA commissioner Adam Silver is finalizing a contract extension that is expected to take him through the end of the decade, sources told ESPN on Saturday.

As ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski writes, “The completion of formal negotiations with the board of governors on a new deal keeps Silver -- nearing his 10th anniversary as commissioner -- on course to pursue the NBA's next set of major objectives: a new media rights deal and league expansion.
^espn.com

Olivia Dunne, Angel Reese and LSU Athletes to Star in New Docuseries on Prime Video
Olivia Dunne, Angel Reese and more LSU athletes will be the focus of a new docuseries streaming on Prime Video, Amazon announced Thursday.

Campfire Studios, Shaquille O'Neal, and Axios are the producers.

As Axios reports, "‘The Money Game’ is an "all-access pass" to the 2023-2024 season for LSU Athletics, according to Amazon.”

The show follows LSU's star gymnast Olivia Dunne, Heisman winner Jayden Daniels, and LSU women's basketball stars Angel Reese and Flau'jae Johnson.
^axios.com

MLB Rumors: Dylan Cease Trade Talks Continue, A's Sign Potential Trade Candidate, Mets Still Eyeing Relievers
As CBS Sports’ Mike Axisa writes, “Spring training camps across Arizona and Florida open in roughly two weeks. Despite that, 20 of our top 50 free agents remain unsigned, including four of the top 10. Teams and free agents are playing a high-stakes game of chicken.”
^{cbssports.com}

Sherrone Moore Contract, Salary Details: Michigan Football Signs New Coach for Five Years
As Detroit Free Press’s Kevin Skiver writes, “In what ultimately ended up feeling like a formality, Michigan football has promoted former offensive coordinator Sherrone Moore to the head coaching job after Jim Harbaugh vacated the job for the Los Angeles Chargers.

Moore, who coached Michigan for four games last season — including the final three games of the year in wins over Penn State, Maryland, and Ohio State — was the heavy favorite to earn the top job after Harbaugh left, and he was named approximately 48 hours later.”
^freep.com

Control at Issue in Falcons Hiring Morris Over Belichick
Bill Belichick spent 24 years as Patriots coach but the Falcons hiring Raheem Morris as coach still came as good news for many people in the Falcons camp who were concerned Belichick would move in and push them out.
^{sportsbusinessjournal.com}

Caitlin Clark Powers Doubling of Revenue For Iowa Women’s Hoops
As Sportico’s Daniel Libit writes, “The University of Iowa women’s basketball team brought in over $3.8 million in total revenue in 2022-23, more than doubling what it had raised in any prior recent year. The spike came as the Hawkeyes have taken flight with National Player of the Year Caitlin Clark, who led her team to the NCAA Final Four while averaging 27.8 points a game.

The latest financial figures come from the school’s most recent revenue and expense disclosures to the NCAA, which Sportico obtained through a public records request. Behind UI’s revenue increase was a near doubling in reported ticket sales, from $767,069 in 2021-22 to $1.44 million in 2022-23.”
^sportico.com

As College Sports Faces More Change, is Private Equity Money Coming In?
"It's been obvious the whole college sports system has been a dead man walking for three years, driven by legal developments," Syracuse chancellor Kent Syverud told ESPN. "What's going to come out of it is the thing that hasn't been clear. The current system can't continue, it's a dead man walking."

As ESPN’s Pete Thamel writes, “There's the disruption of name, image, and likeness, grumbling over essentially unlimited transfers and million-dollar portal acquisitions. There are Hall of Fame coaches in football and men's basketball sprinting to retirement. There's a yawning gap between the SEC and Big Ten and the rest of the leagues, with those Power 2 commissioners beginning to realize the power of leveraging their ascension above the fray.”
^espn.com

Babcock: Hokies Football 'On Schedule' After Pry's Second Season
“It’s nice to be in a department with high fan expectations coming up. It’s been a few years since we had that,” Virginia Tech AD White Babcock said in an interview at his office this week. “As much as we try to tamp it down, I’d much rather be in that situation. We’ve kind of been wandering the desert here for four years in football. Seeing it bounce back is what we’ve been waiting on. That was very rewarding. Now we’ve got to do it again. Now we’ve got to do it again.”
^roanoke.com

Iowa State Athletic Director on Spying Allegations Against T.J. Otzelberger: ‘It Absolutely Did Not Happen’ (Exclusive)
In an exclusive phone interview with The Messenger on Saturday morning, Iowa State athletic director Jamie Pollard emphatically denied the suggestion that Otzelberger or anyone else from Iowa State was spying on Kansas State’s huddle. “It absolutely did not happen,” Pollard said. “It’s a ridiculous allegation that is not fair to our coaches, our student managers and our players. I’m extremely disappointed that the Kansas State basketball staff has allowed this to fester, because it’s not right.”
^{themessenger.com}

USC AD Jennifer Cohen Talks About NIL, the Transfer Portal & More on the Peristyle Podcast
On NIL, via D1 Ticker: “I think we’re going to get more clarity on those rules and enforcement on those rules moving forward. [...] The reality is that we are serving our current student-athletes well & if we are providing not only great coaches and great facilities, but also opportunities through NIL, we are going to retain our student-athletes and recruit the best of the best. [...] We are really competitive in NIL when it comes to our donor collective and we’re even more competitive when you combine that with brand opportunities in LA. [...] It’s my job as the Athletic Director to develop the best services and programs for all of our student-athletes and NIL has been a top priority for me since I got here…”
^{Youtube.com/D1ticker.com}

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