April 24, 2023

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Just as NBCUniversal was preparing to try to win back NBA media rights, CEO Jeff Shell is out after admitting to an ‘inappropriate’ relationship. FOS senior reporter Michael McCarthy predicts [[link removed]] Comcast boss Brian Roberts to pick up the reins until a successor is named.

LIV Women’s League Being Discussed, But Few Details Known [[link removed]]

John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports

Greg Norman, LIV Golf’s chairman and CEO, didn’t tamp down the speculation about a women’s golf league to rival the LPGA Tour.

“We talk about it internally, and I have had discussions with individual lady players, professional players,” Norman told reporters ahead of LIV’s tournament in Australia over the weekend.

Since the rumor [[link removed]] began floating around last year, details remain elusive. A LIV Golf spokesperson pointed to the transcript of Norman’s news conference when Front Office Sports asked for more information.

“It’s so vague,” said Lydia Ko, who entered the year as the world’s top-ranked women’s golfer, according [[link removed]] to Golf.com. “To talk about anything that isn’t really here yet is all speculation.”

Outwardly, there doesn’t appear to be nearly as much acrimony from the LPGA toward LIV as exists [[link removed]] between LIV and the PGA Tour.

LPGA commissioner Mollie Marcoux Samaan said in an interview [[link removed]] last July that she “would engage in a conversation if it would achieve our aim of promoting women’s golf, but there needs to be input from players and sponsors.”

LIV Golf is almost entirely funded by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund. Aramco, the oil company controlled and majority owned by Saudi Arabia, has sponsored [[link removed]] a Ladies European Tour series since 2020.

Aramco’s second event [[link removed]] of a five-stop team series will take place at Trump International West Palm Beach next month.

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🎙️ They Said What?

“I’m really excited to see what happens with Anthony Richardson. He’s clearly had the least productive on-field college performance, but on the flipside he demonstrated probably the highest ceiling athletically of any quarterback that’s come out … There’s a chance he could be a Patrick Mahomes-type player.”

— Former Heisman Trophy winner Danny Wuerffel on this year’s NFL Draft class during the latest episode of Front Office Sports Today.

Listen and subscribe on Apple [[link removed]], Google [[link removed]], and Spotify [[link removed]].

Cleveland Mayor Won’t Provide Funds for Browns’ Stadium [[link removed]]

Patrick Gorski/USA TODAY Sports

The Cleveland Browns may be facing a new financial hurdle in building a new stadium or making renovations to their current home.

“I’m no longer going to risk general new fund dollars for maintenance of a privately owned football franchise,” Cleveland mayor Justin Bibb said [[link removed]] Wednesday in his State of the City address. “So we’ve got to be creative.”

Browns owners Jimmy and Dee Haslam are in conversations with city officials on plans for a new stadium — but also considering renovations to their current one, which was built in 1999 when the franchise returned to the NFL.

A June 2022 report claimed the Browns wanted to build a publicly funded $1 billion domed stadium [[link removed]], which the Haslams denied in favor of focusing on renovations to the existing venue.

The team’s current lease at Cleveland Browns Stadium — which recently ended its naming rights sponsorship [[link removed]] with FirstEnergy — runs through 2028.

Bibb recently proposed using $20 million in funding from the American Rescue Plan Act to invest in Cleveland’s lakefront area— and that a new Browns stadium or renovations would have to fit “into a larger piece of making us have one of the best lakefronts in the world.”

Ravens Bank On Name

The Baltimore Ravens and M&T Bank have once again extended [[link removed]] their naming rights deal to the NFL team’s 71,000-seat stadium. The Ravens announced that they’ll keep the bank’s name outside their home for another 15 seasons.

The current agreement was set to expire in 2027.

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Saudi Arabia’s PIF Interested In Buying Another Soccer Team [[link removed]]

NUFC

Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund is looking to add to its expansive portfolio of sports properties.

The PIF is reportedly [[link removed]] in talks to buy Belgian soccer club KV Oostende. The club, which plays in Belgium’s second-division soccer league, could be bought for around $12 million.

The Saudi fund — which owns LIV Golf and paid roughly $400 million in 2021 for an 80% stake in the Premier League club Newcastle United [[link removed]] — is also “believed to be talking” to several other European soccer clubs potentially available for purchase.

The Belgium club’s current owner is Pacific Media Group, a U.S.-based investment firm that has stakes [[link removed]] in several other soccer teams across Europe.

The PIF manages an estimated $620 billion in assets globally, including investments in companies such as Live Nation, Disney, Uber, and Meta, as well as video game giants Nintendo, Electronic Arts, Take-Two Interactive, and Activision Blizzard.

The PGA Tour is in an ongoing [[link removed]] antitrust legal case with the PIF’s LIV Golf.

Oakland Soccer Teams Eye Stadium Amid A’s Possible Departure [[link removed]]

Oakland Roots SC

The USL’s Oakland Roots soccer club has proposed building a new stadium next to RingCentral Coliseum, the ballpark the Oakland A’s currently call home.

The A’s, however, have just announced plans to buy land for a new stadium in Las Vegas [[link removed]].

The Roots, who’ve made the USL Championship’s conference semifinals each of the last two seasons, currently play at Laney College. They are seeking a 10-year lease for the new site, which would host its women’s USL affiliate, the Oakland Soul, and possibly hold up to 10,000 fans.

Before Wednesday’s decision to buy land in Las Vegas, the A’s proposed [[link removed]] building a $12 billion waterfront ballpark to stay in Oakland but failed to agree with the city.

Oakland mayor Sheng Thao, who questioned the A’s commitment to staying in the city earlier this week, voiced support for the Roots’ stadium proposal.

“In just a few short years, the Roots have become a beloved institution in Oakland, and we are thrilled they will soon be joined by Oakland Soul,” Thao said.

The Roots ownership group includes [[link removed]] former NFL star running back and Oakland native Marshawn Lynch.

Weekend's Best Nobody Wanted To Show The NFL Draft. Now It Owns TV. [[link removed]]by Doug Greenberg [[link removed]] and Michael McCarthy [[link removed]]Televising it was once a preposterous idea. Now it’s the gold standard. Colorado’s Spring Game Is ‘A Reality TV Show’ Thanks To Deion Sanders [[link removed]]by Amanda Christovich [[link removed]]A sold-out crowd, national media, and a mic’d up Coach Prime. Conversation Starters In partnership with ZIYNX and Pepsi, FOS introduces Difference Makers [[link removed]] — a series highlighting how four amazing student-athletes use their life lessons and skills honed through sport to be equally successful in the corporate field.* For the first time since 1968, the NCAA has approved a running clock [[link removed]] after first downs for D-I and D-II football — outside the final two minutes of each half. The change should reduce the number of plays by an average of seven per game. The World Chess Championship is without its defending champion and world’s best player, but FOS reporter Owen Poindexter reports [[link removed]] the sport is changing to appeal to a larger audience.

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One Week Left to Nominate!

Rising 25 is back, and it’s time to nominate an up-and-coming young professional changing the game in the business of sports!

The Front Office Sports Rising 25 Award [[link removed]], presented by Anheuser-Busch, celebrates the careers of the brightest young stars in the business of sports. To date, we’ve honored 150 individuals and we’re looking for our next group of young stars.

There is only one week left to nominate! Nominations are open NOW through Tuesday, May 2. Winners will be announced in June.

Nominate [[link removed]] today!

Today's Action

MLB

08:45 PM

Cardinals (-125) at Giants (+105)

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NBA

06:30 PM

Hawks (+450) at Celtics (-600)

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MLB

08:40 PM

Royals (-110) at Diamondbacks (-110)

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*All times are EST unless otherwise noted.

*Odds/lines subject to change. T&Cs apply. See [[link removed]] for details.

Question Of The Day

Do you plan on buying a new cell phone for yourself or someone in your household in the next 12 months?

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Friday’s Answer

38% of respondents have used a personal trainer and 12% haven’t yet, but want to.

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