January 23, 2024

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We’re still weeks away from spring training, but Boston fans are already turning up the heat on the Red Sox’ owners. … Clues are emerging about life after Nike for Tiger Woods. … The latest move in the Manchester City-Man United rivalry comes in the front office. … And, is something stopping the Atlanta Falcons from hiring Bill Belichick?

— David Rumsey [[link removed]]

Wicked Mad: Red Sox Fans Fed Up With Owners Amid Team’s Decline [[link removed]]

Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports

Over the past 22 years, the Boston Red Sox have been one of the best MLB teams on and off the field, if not the sport’s most successful franchise.

In those two-plus decades, the Red Sox under the John Henry-led Fenway Sports Group broke the team’s famed 86-year title curse, won three more World Series championships, saved Fenway Park from demolition with a series of large-scale renovations between 2002 and 2017, sold out an MLB-record 820 straight games, have become MLB’s third-most valuable team with an estimated value [[link removed]] of $4.5 billion, and now look to further transform [[link removed]] the ballpark neighborhood with the $1.6 billion Fenway Corners development.

But Red Sox fans are still unhappy. Very unhappy.

Three last-place AL East finishes in the past four seasons and a projected decline [[link removed].] in 2024 team payroll, extending what was a 5% drop in 2023 to $225 million, have darkened the mood around the Red Sox considerably. Team president and CEO Sam Kennedy and newly hired chief baseball officer Craig Breslow were loudly booed [[link removed]] at the club’s Winter Weekend fan event, held this past Friday and Saturday.

“I want you to know the boos, the anger, the hate we see on social media, we get it,” Kennedy told the fans at the event. “It is our job to turn things around to make you proud. There’s only one way to turn the boos into applause, and that’s winning baseball games. That’s on us.”

Last week, FSG and Red Sox chair Tom Werner was forced to walk back [[link removed]] comments from November about going “full throttle” to improve the team, as a major signing failed to materialize. At the Red Sox Winter Weekend, he denied speculation that FSG would be looking to sell the team.

“People ask that, and the cornerstone of Fenway Sports Group is the Boston Red Sox, and hopefully we’ll be stewards of this a couple more decades, at least,” Werner said.

The decline in Red Sox payroll spending, however, notably contrasts with rising activity [[link removed]] in the soccer player transfer market by sister FSG club Liverpool FC of the Premier League.

🗣️ LOUD AND CLEAR

Hoodie On Hold? 🛑

“Arthur Blank wants to hire Belichick, and all the front office people in Atlanta don’t want to hire [Bill] Belichick. … Sports franchises are like microcosms of any big company: The people that run the franchises, they just want to keep their jobs.”

—Bill Simmons, speaking on his podcast [[link removed]], about what he’s hearing around the potential for the Atlanta Falcons to hire Belichick, who has completed two head coaching interviews with the team.

Man United Scores on Rival Man City—This Time Off the Pitch [[link removed]]

MUFC

Nearly 15 years ago, Manchester City signed star striker Carlos Tevez away from its crosstown rivals—and then-three-time defending Premier League champions—Manchester United. Three seasons later, in 2012, Tevez helped Man City win its first-ever EPL title, kicking off a run of seven domestic championships since.

With the roles now reversed, United—which hasn’t won the Premier League since 2013—is taking a page out of its rival’s book, this time off the pitch, luring a key executive away from City: Omar Berrada is stepping down as chief football operations officer of City Football Group in order to become CEO of United.

Berrada has worked for Manchester City in various capacities since 2011. He’s been credited [[link removed]] with aiding the club’s recent success both on and off the field.

Billionaire’s Big Splash

With billionaire Jim Ratcliffe on his way to officially becoming a minority owner of Manchester United, and in the process taking over soccer operations as part of his $1.6 billion deal, former CEO Richard Arnold had already stepped down to make way for new leadership. An official start date for Berrada has not been confirmed, but it’s likely he may not start to make his impact felt until this summer.

United currently sits eighth in the Premier League and failed to advance out of UEFA Champions League group play, costing [[link removed]] the club tens of millions of dollars. City is second in the EPL and the betting favorite to win a second consecutive UCL title, after last season’s historic treble [[link removed]].

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New Tiger and TaylorMade Brand in Works? Trademark Filings Offer Hint [[link removed]]

Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports

Tiger Woods promised that “another chapter” is coming in the wake of his split from Nike, after earning [[link removed]] an estimated $500 million from the brand over the past 27 years. Now, clues appear to be emerging about what’s next for the 15-time major champion.

Recently uncovered trademark filings [[link removed]] from TaylorMade Lifestyle Ventures LLC hint at a potential new brand involving Woods and the golf equipment manufacturer that already supplies most of his clubs. Applications with the United States Patent and Trademark Office show that TaylorMade is seeking to trademark the term “SUNDAY RED” and an image of a tiger. The applications seek to use the new marks on everything from clothes and sunglasses to golf bags and cell phone cases.

Woods, who notably wears red and black during the final rounds of golf tournaments, uses a Scotty Cameron putter but fills the rest of his bag with TaylorMade clubs. He plays a Bridgestone ball and has worn FootJoy shoes in recent years. Nike stopped making golf clubs and balls in 2016.

Been Here Before?

In 2009, Nike submitted a trademark application for “SUNDAY RED,” according to USPTO records. The trademark was never approved and the effort was abandoned in 2011.

Woods, of course, had his own apparel line with Nike Golf, most of which featured the iconic “TW” mark. Woods, not Nike, owns that “TW” branding, and could theoretically use it with another company, like TaylorMade.

More information could be publicly announced as soon as next month’s Genesis Invitational—the PGA Tour event in Los Angeles that is hosted by Woods.

PODCAST

🎙️ They Said What?

“It’s important to emphasize that this is not a foregone conclusion. We didn’t get much of a positive reaction from the MLB … and the NBA didn’t say much either.”

—Evan Drellich, senior writer for The Athletic, on leagues’ reluctance around the deal between Amazon and Diamond Sports Group. To hear more about the deal that could make Amazon a local sports broadcaster, check out the latest episode of Front Office Sorts Today.

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

Conversation Starters The Detroit Lions have suffered more than 30 years of futility. But the 2023-24 season is proving to be a special one as the team advanced to the NFC title game for the first time since 1991. Here [[link removed]] are some added highlights. One college basketball referee is literally working day and night to officiate games. Check [[link removed]] out Jeffrey “High Knees” Anderson’s schedule for the month of January. The Houston Texans are no longer in the NFL playoffs, but star quarterback CJ Stroud has made a “major” donation to his alma mater’s NIL collective. See [[link removed]] what the former Buckeye is doing for current Ohio State players. Editor’s Picks Tuned In: Stephen A. Smith Could Command $20M in Free Agency [[link removed]]by Michael McCarthy [[link removed]]“He could do anything he wants,” Will Cain, the former First Take guest debater, tells FOS. For Grand Rapids Lions Fans, a Dream Playoff Game Included 33 Minutes of Signal-Outage Hell [[link removed]]by Margaret Fleming [[link removed]]NBC affiliate blackouts kept Lions fans in Michigan locked out of game. The NCAA’s Existential Question: Can You Pay Players and Still Call Them Amateurs? [[link removed]]by Amanda Christovich [[link removed]]The NCAA may not be able to stop the employment model.

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