Sport & Story Daily December 11, 2023

Stay Ahead of the Game

December 11, 2023

Good morning! It’d be nearly impossible not to lead with Shohei Ohtani, who just landed the largest contract in the history of major North American sports.

Shohei Ohtani Makes History
The wait is finally over. As Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic put it, “Shohei Ohtani’s singular pursuit of history, one man’s quest to rewrite the baseball world’s understanding of what is possible, reached another summit on Saturday when he agreed to the largest contract in the annals of major North American team sports, a 10-year, $700 million contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers.”
^{theathletic.com}

MLB’s International Plan Takes Hit With Paris Cancellation
MLB—particularly the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox—have long had ambitions to build an international fan base. Plans to play multiple regular-season games in Paris during the 2025 season, however, are being called off due to the struggle to find a local promoter for the series and financial concerns.
^{frontofficesports.com}

6 Celebs Who Jumped Into Advertising In 2023
Within the last five years, notables getting into the ad game include Kristen Bell, A$AP Rocky, Michael B. Jordan, and Tony Hawk have all started their own advertising or production agencies. First a player in the NFL, then an actor known for his roles in “White Chicks” and “Brooklyn Nine-Nine,” Terry Crews added another job title to his resume this year when he launched Super Serious
^adage.com

T.J. Quinn Reports On The Dealmaking That Led To Brittney Griner’s Release From Russia
For more than a year, ESPN investigative reporter T.J. Quinn covered the story of the imprisonment in Russia and the subsequent release of WNBA star Brittney Griner. Today, Quinn’s reporting for ESPN.com was published.
espnfrontrow.com

The Orioles Could Be Facing Big Changes
The Orioles are in talks to sell to Carlyle Group Inc. founder David Rubenstein. Rubenstein was previously a deputy domestic policy advisor to President Jimmy Carter. He has been an active philanthropist and leader of his private equity group, and he currently holds an estimated net worth of $3.6 billion. 
^{frontofficesports.com}

Mets Owner’s Major Hire Underscores Emphasis on Media Revenue
With the New York Mets already in the midst of a significant transition after a deeply disappointing 2023 season, the club has turned to a longtime media executive to run its business side. Outgoing Bloomberg Media CEO M. Scott Havens is their new president of business operations.
frontofficesports.com

How The 18-49 Demo Became TV’S Currency
Between 2018 and 2022, David Zaslav’s compensation package was a smidge under a half-billion dollars ($498.9 million), making him the world’s highest-paid media executive. As such, Zaslav would seem to be an ideal target for advertisers looking to connect with affluent and engaged viewers. But because marketers remain adamant about the target demographic (adults 18-49), the 63-year-old Zaslav seemingly does not exist.
^sportico.com

LA, Indy Chase History And Cash In NBA In-Season Tourney Final
The Los Angeles Lakers have a tried-and-true NBA history and are tied with the Boston Celtics for the most championships with 17. The Pacers, meanwhile, have never won an NBA title. They are the upstart team of this tournament and just might hang the tournament banner in Indianapolis.
^sportico.com

Dodgers Still Eyeing Yoshinobu Yamamoto
The Dodgers are fresh off guaranteeing $700 million to Ohtani, but they still need to address a rotation that right now is pretty thin. They reportedly intend to do that with Japan's Yoshinobu Yamamoto.
^{cbssports.com}

Mike Tomlin Not Likely To Get Fired
It’s hard to find anyone in the Steelers’ organization who strongly believes 51-year-old Mike Tomlin will get fired. Pittsburgh owner Art Rooney II doesn’t make knee-jerk decisions regarding his staff, and he has proven to be one of the most loyal owners in sports.
^{theathletic.com}

How Big Noon Kickoff Turned Into a Legit College GameDay Challenger
As Barrett Sports Media John Molori says, “To use college football vernacular, ESPN’s College GameDay is the Granddaddy of them all in collegiate gridiron pregame fare, but FOX’s Big Noon Kickoff is College GameDay on amphetamines.”
^{barrettsportsmedia.com}

Pat McAfee Says He’ll Return to ‘College GameDay’
This year saw a lot of change for ESPN College GameDay, particularly with the addition of Pat McAfee. McAfee drew a lot of criticism from many of its fans, and that led to him saying at times he wasn’t sure if he would return. On Friday, however, he said this: “How about this? I’m back. I don’t love it. I don’t love that my life is just going to continue to have people telling me to run into oncoming traffic, swallow a barrel.”
^{awfulannouncing.com}

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