Sport & Story Daily May 14, 2024

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May 14, 2024

Good morning! Tiger Still Top Dog…In Biz

Tiger Woods Is Still Pro Golf’s Top Dog … Off the Course
As FOS’ David Rumsey writes, “While Scottie Scheffler looks to match the dominance of Tiger Woods on the course, the 15-time major champion is still the key to generating business for stakeholders away from the links. Woods will be helping lead negotiations with the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia about becoming another minority investor in PGA Tour Enterprises.”
^{Front Office Sports}

Nick Saban Says Pro-UAW Ads Use His Words Out of Context, Wants Them Pulled
“I recently learned the United Autoworkers (UAW) union has taken the liberty of featuring my comments in advertisements released as part of its campaign to organize workers at Mercedes-Benz U.S. International, Inc. (MBUSI),” Saban said.

“Not only were these comments taken entirely out of context, they were also being used without my knowledge or permission,” Saban said.
^AL.com

NASCAR’s Drive for Diversity Program Marks a Milestone With Some Major Reasons For Optimism But Still Plenty of Work to Do
SBJ’s Adam Stern writes, “Research showed that last year, Black viewership of NASCAR races hit its highest levels during its current TV deal that started in 2015. But the property still has areas where it needs to catch up, in some cases dramatically, according to both drivers and industry executives. Perhaps most notably, amid spiking interest in women’s sports, NASCAR hasn’t had a female driver compete in its premier Cup Series since Danica Patrick retired in 2018, and it is facing newfound competition from Formula 1 for rising female driving talent.”
^{Sports Business Journal}

Charter Flights for WNBA Road Games Was an Early Mother’s Day Gift for Players With Children
Indiana’s Katie Lou Samuelson says life as first-time mom got a little easier with the WNBA’s announcement that players will fly on charter flights for road games. The announcement addressed security concerns, among other issues, but was an early Mother’s Day gift for the Fever wing and about a dozen other players across the league with children.
^{AP News}

Greg Olsen’s Youth Sports Platform Reels in $4.5M in Seed Money
The three-time Pro Bowler turned Fox Sports broadcaster has closed on a $4.5M seed round for his new youth sports content and commerce company Youth Inc., a platform that aims to not only entertain and educate listeners but serve as a direct-to-consumer merchandise marketplace. 
^Sportico

Ronaldo to Invest in Wearable Technology Company Whoop
Sportico’s Asli Pelit reports, “The Portuguese soccer icon will invest and become an official global ambassador for Whoop, the wearable technology company. The financial details of the investment have not been disclosed, but according to Whoop, the deal represents one of Ronaldo’s ‘most significant investments to date.’”
^Sportico

Fans Still Missing Out on MLB Games as Comcast, Diamond Impasse Stretches On
Customers of cable provider Comcast/Xfinity “still can’t watch Braves games” as the impasse with Diamond Sports, the owner of Bally’s RSNs, continues with "no end in sight," according to Chris Vivlamore of the ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION via SBJ. Bally Sports South/Southeast GM Jeff Genthner said, “It’s unfortunately something that is all too common in our industry.”
^{Sports Business Journal}

Chiefs Hosting Ravens in First Game of 2024 NFL Season
Lukas Weese of The Athletic reports: “The Kansas City Chiefs, the defending Super Bowl champions, will host the Baltimore Ravens in the opening game of the 2024 season on Thursday, Sept. 5, the league announced Monday. It’s a rematch of last season’s AFC Championship Game, where the Chiefs defeated the Ravens 17-10 to advance to Super Bowl LVIII.”
^{The Athletic}

Padres Set Single-Game, Series Attendance Marks
The Padres' series against the Dodgers this weekend brought a ton of fans to Petco Park, as the three-game total attendance came out to a record fan count of 133,970. The weekend was highlighted by the record 46,701 fans on Saturday -- "the largest crowd in the ballpark’s 20 seasons."
^{Sports Business Journal}

MLS Has a New CMO—How the Soccer Outsider Will Approach the Job
As Ad Age’s Jon Springer notes of Radhika Duggal, a former marketer for Chase and Pfizer, “Her appointment indicates MLS valued a marketer with a diverse skillset over a sports specialist.” Springer goes on to write, “MLS has plenty of momentum behind it already. It’s in the middle of a 10-year media rights deal with Apple TV, with MLS League Pass subscribers in 2024 increasing from 2023, according to the league. (Apple has not shared precise viewership figures.) So far in 2024, league sponsorship revenue is up by 17% compared to the year-earlier period, and club sponsorship revenue is up by 15%.”
^{Ad Age}

Iowa Coach Lisa Bluder Retires After Caitlin Clark's Departure; Longtime Assistant Jan Jensen to Take Over
Iowa women's basketball coach Lisa Bluder announced her retirement on Monday. Longtime Iowa assistant Jan Jensen will take over as head coach.

Bluder, 63, coached the Hawkeyes for 24 seasons beginning in 2000. She led the Hawkeyes to 18 NCAA tournament appearances and was the 2018-19 Naismith Coach of the Year. She steps down after being at the helm for the Caitlin Clark era, which put a substantial spotlight on WBB.
^{Yahoo! Sports}

Architect of PGA-LIV Framework Agreement Resigns in Frustration: 'No Meaningful Progress' Toward a Deal
"Unifying professional golf is paramount to restoring fan interest and repairing wounds left from a fractured game," Jimmy Dunne wrote in his resignation letter. "I have tried my best to move all minds in that direction.”
^{Yahoo! Sports}

Inside How College Football’s Transfer Portal Works: Coaches, Players and Agents Dish on NIL
As The Athletic notes, college football’s transfer portal has become more hectic by the year since it launched in 2018, as it’s been made more complicated by unlimited transfers and players being able to profit off their name, image, and likeness. The Athletic surveyed numerous coaches, NIL collective officials, agents, personnel staffers and players who have transferred on a variety of portal-related topics to open a window into college football’s version of free agency.
^{The Athletic}

From Jubilation to Crisis: Pausing a $237 Million Gift
“If the value of the shares increases to any amount exceeding Three Hundred Million Dollars ($300,000,000), the additional funds will be allocated as follows:1) 50 percent to Athletics of which 10 percent will be at the Vice President/Director of Intercollegiate Athletics discretion and the other 90 percent will be added to the Athletics endowment, and 2) 50 percent to the University of which 10 percent will be at the President’s discretion and 90 percent will be for student success initiatives.” As previously reported, FAMU has paused the processing of the gift to take a closer look.
^{Inside Higher Ed Via D1 Ticker}

Gene Smith Expects Revenue Sharing With College Athletes as House V. NCAA Case Nears Settlement “In the Near Future”
As Eleven Warriors’ Dan Hope writes, “While the expectation is that the NCAA’s ban on athletes being paid directly for competing in college sports will be eliminated with the impending legal settlement, Smith says he does not believe the new model will lead to college athletes becoming employees – at least not yet.”

“I don’t think it’s gonna be like employees in the near future. I think that’s always gonna be on the table because of lawsuits and things of that nature, and I hope it doesn’t get there,” Smith said.
_{Eleven Warriors}

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