Sport & Story Daily May 20, 2024

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May 20, 2024

Good morning! More T-Wolves Ownership Drama

Taylor Declines A-Rod, Lore’s ‘Loser Pays’ Offer in T-Wolves Arbitration
As Sportico’s Eben Novy-Williams writes, “Alex Rodriguez and Marc Lore recently proposed to Glen Taylor that the loser of their battle over the ownership of the Minnesota Timberwolves cover the legal costs of the winner, according to multiple people familiar with the details.

“Lawyers for Rodriguez and Lore broached the topic last month, said the people, who were granted anonymity because the matter is private. Taylor’s team has chosen to instead continue with the binding arbitration as laid out in the purchase agreement, where parties are responsible for their own fees, one of the sources said. That process is slated to happen in the coming months.”
^Sportico

WNBA Investigating Aces Players' Sponsorship
Per the Las Vegas Review-Journal via SBJ, the WNBA is “opening an investigation” into the Las Vegas Aces one day after the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority announced it was sponsoring the team’s 12 rostered players and agreeing to pay them $100,000 each. LVCVA President & CEO Steve Hill insists they “did this the right way” and they are “happy to answer any questions” the WNBA may have.
^{Sports Business Journal}

Rubenstein to Own 97% of O’s After Sale’s Next Phase
Per SBJ, the partnership led by David Rubenstein "will own about 97% of the Orioles when it completes the sale’s second phase" in a transaction that "could occur as soon as the end of May." Rubenstein noted his group "originally structured the deal so that we would own about 40%," but the death of former owner Peter Angelos in March "accelerated when the partnership would obtain the balance" (Angelos owned roughly 70% of the team at the time of his death).
^{Sports Business Journal}

Fanatics Filed Lawsuit Against Harrison Over Contract
Fanatics filed a lawsuit against Cardinals WR Marvin Harrison Jr. on Saturday in N.Y. Supreme Court for “breaching a contract” Harrison signed with the retailer in May 2023. Fanatics said that Harrison has “refused to fulfill his obligations to the deal while he also ‘publicly asserted’ that the contract does not exist.” Details of what Harrison's contract with Fanatics required from the No. 4 pick in the NFL Draft were “redacted, as were the details of the financial agreement between the two.” Earlier this month, the deal was for at least $1M and that the contract was for "autographs, signed trading cards, game-worn apparel and other marketing opportunities."
^{Sports Business Journal}

Golf Channel PR, NLU Feud Over Scheffler Coverage
AWFUL ANNOUNCING wrote via SBJ, “In any other sport, it would be inconceivable to think that networks without live game rights can’t discuss a major off-field story while a game is going on." But that "seems to be what Golf Channel is claiming is the case here." It is "notable to see Golf Channel PR wade into the fray here," and it is "interesting to see them do so with a claim that a NLU broadcast airing on ESPN platforms is 'important context' for what seemed like quite a fair criticism of Golf Channel, and one that’s been brought up by many other people and sites." 
^{Sports Business Journal}

Crypto’s Rebounding Crawley Town a Win Away From League One
As Sportico’s Jacob Feldman writes, “Crawley Town F.C. owner Preston Johnson has a lot at stake on Sunday. Two years ago, he helped lead a takeover of the League Two soccer club 30 miles south of London with Web3 group WAGMI United. They minted NFTs that would give fans a say in team decisions and help fund a stronger squad. The new club directors made a promise, too: If they didn’t achieve promotion by 2024, the fans could vote them out. They estimated a move up was roughly a 50-50 proposition.

“They had no idea what they were in for.”
^Sportico

Jurickson Profar Has Been the Padres’ Biggest Surprise. Location Has Everything to Do With It
The Athletic’s Dennis Lin writes, “You could start in Arizona this past spring training, when Profar went hitless in six of the 10 Cactus League games he started. Or in the Dominican Republic during the 2023-24 winter ball season, when Profar hit .206 in 21 contests for Estrellas Orientales. The results then did not matter as much as they do now. To hear Profar tell it, the people he was around made the most impactful difference — people like close friend and Padres teammate Fernando Tatis Jr. and Tatis’ father, former big leaguer and current Estrellas manager Fernando Tatis Sr.”
^{NY Times/The Athletic}

Pep Guardiola 'Closer to Leaving Than Staying' at Manchester City After Next Season
The Bleacher Report notes that Pep Guardiola's time with Manchester City may be coming to a close in the near future. Guardiola has been Manchester City's manager since 2016 and has led the club to four consecutive Premier League titles. Despite this, he said that he is not sure about his long-term future with the club.

"The reality is I am closer to leaving than staying," Guardiola said, per Rob Dawson of ESPN. "We have talked with the club and my feeling is that I want to stay now. I will stay next season and during the season we will talk. But after eight or nine years, we will see."
^{The Bleacher Report}

What to Know About EA Sports CFB 25: Dynasty Mode, Road To Glory, Ultimate Team and Game Trailer
EA Sports College Football 25 is one step closer to its grand return after an 11-year absence, as EA Sports on Friday revealed additional information about the game by announcing game modes, gameplay details and other features to go along with a trailer.
^{The Athletic}

NCAA’s Settlement Proposal Facing ‘Strong Objection’ From Big East
Yahoo! Sports’ Ross Dellenger reports: “On the brink of a historic settlement decision, the NCAA is facing pushback from one of its most prestigious basketball conferences.

“In an email Saturday to her members, Big East commissioner Val Ackerman expressed ‘strong objection’ to the NCAA’s proposal on how it is determining back damages related to the consolidated settlement in the House, Hubbard and Carter antitrust cases. And she is seeking ways to ‘alter the plan that the NCAA and A5 have orchestrated,’ she writes in the letter, a copy of which was obtained by Yahoo Sports.”
^{Yahoo! Sports}

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