Sport & Story Daily March 8, 2024

Stay Ahead of the Game

March 8, 2024

Good morning! Tyson, Paul Fight - Can We Not?

Jake Paul, Mike Tyson Netflix Fight Raises Questions About Oversight
Jake Paul and Mike Tyson will face off in the ring this summer in a boxing match streamed live on Netflix from AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, the streamer announced Thursday.

Netflix is co-promoting the event with Most Valuable Promotions, cofounded by Paul in 2021. The 27-year-old social media personality and rising boxing competitor will face the 57-year-old former world heavyweight champion, who last fought in ’20.
^{frontofficesports.com}

AWS, IBM, Google Talk AI Uses at SBJ Tech Week
Veritone’s Gary Warech welcomed onlookers to the “obligatory AI panel” on Wednesday at SBJ Tech Week -- called Generative AI’s Applications Across The Sports Industry -- but the joke yielded way to three key sports AI activations by the three tech giants represented: AWS, Google Cloud and IBM. 

The newest of them came from Julie Souza, AWS’s Head of Sports, Global Professional Services. The company is demoing multi-lingual commentary generation for the Bundesliga in the next couple of weeks. Leading to the next difficulty that comes with auto-generated play-by-play: capturing the emotion. 

“What I love about sports is there’s emotion in sports, right?” Souza said. “And so you have to be able to convey that, you have to use the colloquialism of that culture, of that country, in that language.”  
^{sportsbusinessjournal.com}

NCAA Gymnastics Check-In
Bridget Sloan—host of the popular Flipping Out podcast on all things college gymnastics—and Big Ten Analyst Olivia Karas Big Ten Analyst discuss all things NCAA Gymnastics in this mid-season check-in edition.

The pair discuss the current state of the NCAA Gymnastics landscape after week eight and provide a preview of what four seeded teams in each regional would be as of the date of the episode.
^spotify.com

Formula One Team Values Are Surging. How High? That’s Debatable
As FOS’ Eric Fisher writes, “Already boasting one of the fastest-growing sets of franchise valuations in the industry, Formula One is reaching another milestone as every team is worth at least $1.3 billion, or £1 billion, according to McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown.

Speaking at Bloomberg’s Power Players event in Jeddah ahead of Saturday’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, Brown credited a surge in American popularity and overall revenues under the leadership of Liberty Media, which purchased the motor-sports circuit in 2017.”
^{frontofficesports.com}

Broadcasting Can Be a Cold Business for Legendary Voices
As Barrett Sports Media’s Andy Masur writes, “Vin Scully also comes to mind in a guy knowing it was time to leave. He seemingly could have worked a few more years, but after 67 seasons with Brooklyn/Los Angeles, Scully stepped aside with grace and dignity. Scully called his shot and deserved to do so. He is probably the exception more than the rule, since he was still calling games at a very high level late in his career.

Sometimes the truth is something that needs to be said and heard. It’s not an easy talk to deliver or hear. There are organizations that allow a broadcaster to work a few more years than maybe they should. Either due to the power the broadcaster holds, due to longevity or just not wanting to have a talk due to fear of blow back from the announcer or fans. That can’t be the way to approach it. Many organizations, like noted above with the Twins, will offer an outgoing broadcaster a ceremonial, ambassador type role with the team. Sometimes these positions require the person to make appearances, or sign autographs at games. It usually pays fairly well making it worthwhile. Though it’s not the same as calling a game, the broadcaster is still around the ballpark and fans.”
^{barrettsportsmedia.com}

Phoenix Awarded 2027 NBA All-Star Game
Phoenix has been awarded the 2027 NBA All-Star Game, concluding a whirlwind first year for Suns and Mercury majority owner Mat Ishbia. Since he formally purchased both franchises for $4 billion in February of 2023, Ishbia has won a bid for the 2024 WNBA All-Star Game
^{sportsbusinessjournal.com}

Titans Pick Sodexo for Coveted F&B Role at New Nashville Stadium
Sodexo Live has been selected as the food and beverage provider for New Nissan Stadium in Nashville, replacing the two providers in the existing stadium, Legends and Levy. Both Sodexo and the Titans confirmed the deal.
^{sportsbusinessjournal.com}

5 NFL Teams Who Will Likely Sit Out 2024 Free Agency (Yikes, Cowboys)
As USA Today’s Robert Zeglinski writes, “For some teams, NFL free agency is a boon. It’s an opportunity to open that checkbook wide and start throwing out those dollar signs without hesitation. For others, the cost of doing business eventually catches up to you. At a certain point, you can’t stay in the red forever.

As 2024 NFL free agency looms just around the corner, let’s examine a few teams who will probably spend very little, if anything, during this year’s open-market period. While some stars and potential franchise players find new homes, these squads will probably have to sit out and bide their time for the draft to address any pressing needs for the upcoming season.”
^{ftw.usatoday.com}

Jim Rushton Eyes Another Rebuild in D.C.
Jim Rushton sold sponsorships for the Dolphins at the start of the Stephen Ross era, and he did the same for the Chargers when they moved from San Diego to L.A. This week, the Commanders hired him as their chief partnerships officer.
^{sportsbusinessjournal.com}

NIL Has Some Colleges Foregoing Upgrades in Favor of Spending on Players
As Travis Goff tweeted, “Ole Miss is slowing facilities upgrades to buy players, while Kansas is spending $448M on a stadium upgrade. Will be an interesting case study in the coming years. (Despite my personal convictions against it, I think buying players is the logical choice).”
^twitter.com

Ten Key Issues For Dartmouth Men’s Basketball Moving Forward
As Sportico’s Michael McCann reports, “Dartmouth College men’s basketball team finished the 2023-24 season Tuesday with a 6-21 record on the court, but the team is 1-0 as a team of unionized employees.

Hours after the 15 players voted 13-2 in favor of union representation by SEIU Local 560, the Big Green defeated NCAA president Charlie Baker’s alma mater, the Harvard Crimson (14-13), 76-69, at Edward Leede Arena. SEIU Local 560 covered the cost of tickets for all union members and supporters as part of ‘Big Green Union Night.’”

McCann goes on to name 10 things to watch as that future unfolds.
^sportico.com

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