June 16, 2023

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Happy Friday. David Rumsey [[link removed]] here. Omaha cheerfully welcomes the start of the College World Series today, but pro baseball is making all the headlines.

My newsletter co-author Eric Fisher [[link removed]] was at MLB headquarters Thursday when Rob Manfred addressed the league’s ongoing reckoning with regional sports networks. Meanwhile, I caught up with golf architect Gil Hanse to chat about his work at the site of this week’s U.S. Open.

Bally Sports Owner Makes Rangers Payment, Other MLB Clubs Still Waiting [[link removed]]

Jonathan Dyer-USA TODAY Sports

NEW YORK — The bankrupt Diamond Sports Group met Thursday’s deadline to pay rights fees due to the Texas Rangers — but whether it will do so for three more MLB clubs by July 1 and others down the line is anybody’s guess.

At owners meetings in New York, league commissioner Rob Manfred confirmed that the Rangers received the full rights fee due to the club following a recent court ruling [[link removed]]. The deadline had been heavily anticipated [[link removed]] given DSG’s recent decision to abandon [[link removed]] its rights for the San Diego Padres.

The Rangers payment, however, doesn’t give a clear indication regarding payments due in less than three weeks to the Arizona Diamondbacks, Cleveland Guardians, and Minnesota Twins, as well as one to the Cincinnati Reds in a month.

“We’re kind of going day-to-day,” Manfred said in response to a Front Office Sports question on the RSN situation.

The league’s ongoing reckoning with regional sports networks dominated much of the discussion at MLB owners meetings this week in New York as league and club officials look to recreate one of the sport’s decades-old economic bedrocks on the fly.

But Manfred said he was pleased with initial fan response to MLB’s production and distribution of Padres games, several of which topped season-long audience averages.

“It’s really important for all our clubs, and our [DSG] clubs in particular to realize how smoothly it has gone standing the games up in San Diego,” Manfred said. “And we’ve had a really positive response on the direct-to-consumer side there.”

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🎙️ They Said What?

“We’re just trying to get the younger kids to play baseball … One kid could turn into 50, and 50 kids could turn into 5,000. They can go out there and play this great game of baseball.”

— Ken Griffey Jr., on his role with MLB as a senior adviser. Download the latest episode of Front Office Sports Today to hear more on how Griffey wants to grow the sport. And with Father’s Day coming up, The Kid also talks about what it was like playing in the big leagues with dad Ken Griffey Sr.

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

College World Series Takes Over Omaha With Top MLB Prospects [[link removed]]

Syndication: HawkCentral

The College World Series begins Friday afternoon as eight teams vie to win the men’s NCAA D-I baseball championship over the next 11 days in Omaha, Nebraska.

Unlike the College Football Playoff or March Madness, schools and conferences are not compensated for postseason baseball play — but that doesn’t mean the event isn’t big business for Omaha and media partner ESPN.

In 2019, the baseball tournament had an economic impact of $88.3 million, according [[link removed].] to CWS of Omaha, Inc. This year, around 300,000 fans are expected [[link removed]] to flock to the town to take in the action. That’s notable for a city whose population was about 485,000 in 2022, according [[link removed]] to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Across the street from the 24,000-capacity Charles Schwab Field where the CWS will unfold, Across the street from the 24,000-capacity Charles Schwab Field where the CWS will unfold, the Omaha Baseball Village features nightlife until 2 a.m. CT with food and activities [[link removed]] like baseball simulators.

The CWS’ media rights fall under ESPN’s 14-year, $500 million deal [[link removed]] for an array of NCAA championships that ends in 2024.

Last year, the CWS averaged 1.1 million viewers [[link removed]], which was on par with the last tournament before COVID in 2019.

Meanwhile, On the Diamond

The SEC leads all conferences with three teams — Florida, LSU, Tennessee — followed by the ACC’s two entrants, top-seeded Wake Forest and Virginia. The brackets are filled out by Oral Roberts, TCU, and Stanford.

Top Major League Baseball prospects [[link removed]] to watch in Omaha include LSU outfielder Dylan Crews, Florida outfield Wyatt Langford and Virginia catcher Kyle Teel. LSU’s Paul Skenes is the top pitcher in this class.

The MLB Draft will begin on July 9 at Lumen Field, kicking off All-Star week festivities in Seattle.

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The thrilling speeds and action-packed excitement of SailGP [[link removed]] return to the iconic Lake Michigan for the Rolex United States Sail Grand Prix in Chicago at Navy Pier, June 16-17!

The fan-focused, two-day spectacle of exhilarating racing will take place today and tomorrow immediately adjacent to Navy Pier as rival national teams, including Jimmy Spithill’s United States, battle it out in short, intense races competing on the F50 catamaran – a race boat that “flies” out of the water and can reach speeds in excess of 60 mph!

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Formula 1 CEO: Teams Refusing Offers Worth ‘Almost Billions’ [[link removed]]

Formula 1

Formula 1’s runaway success has reached the point where F1 officials say teams are literally turning away investment and buyout offers worth “almost billions.”

Speaking on the property’s “Beyond The Grid” podcast [[link removed]], F1 chief executive Stefano Domenicali said the rapid transformation has been seen in a variety of lucrative incoming offers to buy into existing race teams.

“There were teams in the past that were sold for £1. Now the market is offering almost billions to teams, and they are refusing that,” Domenicali said. “That gives you the perspective of what we are building as an ecosystem. We are building important structures, important dynamics. The more everyone is growing, the stronger the business platform that we are all working in.”

Part of the robust investor interest stems from an enforced scarcity. Domenicali expressed support for maintaining F1’s current 10-team structure: “I think that 10 teams are more than enough to create the show and attention that we want to see on the track.”

F1’s ongoing business boom is evident everywhere, whether it’s surging fan interest [[link removed]] for this fall’s debut of the Las Vegas Grand Prix, historic television ratings for the Miami [[link removed]] and Monaco [[link removed]] GPs, expanded media rights [[link removed]] in the U.S., and the hit Netflix series [[link removed]] “Drive to Survive.”

Regarding the Las Vegas event, Domenicali said, “We need to make sure that will be seen as, ‘Wow,’ the event of the year … it’s really an incredible challenge, but I’m sure there will be an incredible postcard that we’re going to share all around the world.”

U.S. Open Architect Sees Value in Controversial Rule Change [[link removed]]

Kiyoshi Mio-USA TODAY Sports

Rickie Fowler and Xander Schauffele shot U.S. Open-record 62s on Thursday at Los Angeles Country Club’s North Course as golfers shifted their focus from the sport’s recent turmoil to the third major championship of the season.

“It’s going to test every facet of their game,” renowned golf architect Gil Hanse told Front Office Sports as he walked the course he helped restore closer to its original design by George C. Thomas, Jr. in 1921.

Hanse’s project was completed in 2010 as part of the $60 million-plus LACC spent [[link removed]] on its two courses, which helped the club secure this major championship and the 2039 edition.

“By and large, this is still the same course,” said Hanse, who is also leading a $15 million renovation [[link removed]] of a local course alongside the USGA.

The architect hopes this week’s action makes others think twice about vast course renovations that resort to building new holes or simply adding length.

“We’re starting to see … that all these great classic courses were restored versus updated (or) renovated,” said Hanse, who has also done restoration work at recent U.S. Open venues Winged Foot and The Country Club of Brookline.

Ball Questions

Before the shock PGA Tour-Saudi Arabia merger, the USGA’s proposal [[link removed]] to roll back golf-ball technology was set to be the biggest storyline this week, and many pros still expressed their opposition [[link removed]]. But Hanse agrees with the change, which would make the ball fly about 30 yards shorter for professionals.

“There’s definitely a knock-on effect that the distance has had,” Hanse said, noting the vast expenses it takes to build and maintain longer courses.

There’s also the environmental aspect of water conservation, which becomes more difficult as a property grows larger. “That’s ultimately the most successful argument,” Hanse said.

Conversation Starters The Oakland A’s attendance jumped [[link removed]] from 4,848 on Monday to 27,759 on Tuesday thanks to fans’ “reverse boycott” — only to drop back to 7,055 on Wednesday. Denver showed up in force to celebrate the Nuggets, who brought the city its first NBA championship. Check it out [[link removed]]. On April 19, Antonio Brown assumed [[link removed]] majority control of the National Arena League’s Albany Empire football team. On Thursday, the NAL terminated the entire franchise.

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For the first time in history, off-course golfers in the United States have outnumbered those who exclusively play on traditional greens.

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Editor's Picks National Arena League Kicks Out Antonio Brown, Albany Empire [[link removed]]by Andrew Cohen [[link removed]]

The NAL is down to six teams after dropping the Albany Empire.

Michael Jordan ‘Flu Game’ Sneakers Sell for $1.38 Million [[link removed]]by Andrew Cohen [[link removed]]

The $1.38 million price is the fourth-highest sneaker sale ever.

Question Of The Day

Do you subscribe to Sling TV?

Yes [[link removed]] No [[link removed]] Not yet but I want to [[link removed]]

Thursday’s Answer

71% of respondents watched this year’s NBA playoffs.

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