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 of $4.5 billion, and now look to further transform 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 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 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 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 in the soccer player transfer market by sister FSG club Liverpool FC of the Premier League. 

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 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 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.

Tiger Woods promised that “another chapter” is coming in the wake of his split from Nike, after earning 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 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.