March 7, 2024

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With just a month until the Masters, golf’s current world ranking system has more and more people upset every day. … The NFL and NFLPA are finally working together on the grass vs. turf debate. … Australian rugby is making some inroads in the U.S. … And Arsenal’s Women’s Super League club is a hit at the ticket office.

— David Rumsey [[link removed]]

The World’s Top-Ranked Golfers Aren’t Happy With … the Rankings [[link removed]]

Erich Schlegel-USA TODAY Sports

PGA Tour and LIV Golf stars are gathering on opposite sides of the world this week, with a collective $45 million in prize money on the line. But the cash up for grabs isn’t what players are talking about. LIV’s abandonment of its effort to secure Official World Golf Ranking points has sparked some passionate reactions among the sport’s top players.

Ahead of LIV’s tournament in Hong Kong, No. 3–ranked Jon Rahm (above) reiterated his years-long beef with the OWGR system. “If anything, the more time that goes on, the more it proves to be wrong,” he said. While Rahm hasn’t been negatively impacted by the current rankings yet (he said he didn’t even know LIV was still trying to get OWGR points), LIV’s Joaquin Niemann needed special invites from the Masters and PGA Championship, and other league staples like Talor Gooch are out of the majors altogether.

“I don’t think the world rankings are a true representation of the golf game at the minute,” No. 9–ranked Matthew Fitzpatrick said [[link removed]] in Orlando ahead of the Arnold Palmer Invitational. “I don’t really look at them or pay attention to them anymore. I just don’t think they’re right.” Fitzpatrick said he prefers to look at Data Golf, a growing internet database that incorporates non-OWGR sanctioned tournaments like LIV’s. For example, Data Golf ranks Niemann at No. 12 in the world, 64 spots higher than his current OWGR ranking (No. 76).

“It’s inevitable that things need to be updated,” said Patrick Cantlay, No. 6 in the world. “The LIV Tour definitely has really good players,” added Xander Schauffele, No. 5. “I do believe they’re definitely top-ranked players in the world.”

Reading Between the Lines

LIV falls short of many of the OWGR’s sanctioning requirements, thanks mostly to its 54-hole tournaments, limited field sizes, and lack of substantial qualifying methods. However, the growing sentiment isn’t necessarily that LIV deserves OWGR points but rather that the system in place is not painting the entire picture of golf’s best players.

The OWGR’s governing board includes representatives from the four majors, as well as the PGA Tour, European Tour Group, and International Federation of PGA Tours. They could change their mind on how to allocate points whenever they please. For now, the big speed bump looks to be the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia’s impending deal [[link removed]] with the PGA Tour, which could be worth $3 billion. Getting that completed would most certainly be a win for the PIF-backed LIV.

Turf Wars: NFL and NFLPA Address Field Safety, but Hard Realities Persist [[link removed]]

Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports

There is potentially a new wrinkle to the ongoing debate between the NFL and NFL Players Association regarding the safety of the league’s playing fields—thanks to a pilot program of a new piece of technology.

Amid months of rising tension [[link removed]] between the NFL and the union over the widespread use of artificial turf—the relative inconsistency of that turf and the removal of several such fields for natural grass in the 2026 World Cup to meet FIFA requirements—the ’23 NFL season featured the use of the BEAST, according to ESPN [[link removed]], a mobile machine testing field conditions in extensive detail.

Short for Biomechanical Elite Athlete Shoe-Turf Tester, the BEAST is more than 15 years in the making and is capable of evaluating the specific rotation and post-impact traction of various samples of artificial turf fields. Those scientific properties, in turn, are seen as key factors in whether a player could sustain an injury due to the field conditions.

Great Debate: Grass vs. Synthetic

The NFL has consistently argued that there is a negligible difference in the overall injury rates between natural grass and synthetic fields. But many players have argued they still feel worse overall and certainly more susceptible to injury on turf fields. The testing with the BEAST is designed in part to help bridge that divide with additional sets of objective metrics.

“We want to provide surfaces that perform best for our players,” NFL field director Nick Pappas told ESPN. “We want them to be able to go out and play and execute and be able to just focus on football.”

Data from this past season is now being aggregated and analyzed for further evaluation, and it will fuel future discussion between the NFL and NFLPA. More BEAST units are also in development, and the pilot program is set to be expanded in 2024.

The field debate, however, will continue to run up against the stark reality that for many NFL teams, it’s still operationally easier and frequently more lucrative to hold nongame events when they have turf fields. Falcons president Greg Beadles told Front Office Sports [[link removed]] last month it wasn’t possible to have grass at Mercedes-Benz Stadium due to the facility’s 50-plus major events staged there annually as well as the downtown Atlanta setting.

“It’s a very tight campus. So we don’t have space to roll [out] a whole field,” Beadles said. “It’s not just our decision where we are located. … It’s just not tenable to have grass.”

SPONSORED BY MAGNIFI

What’s Next for College Athletics

The business of college sports [[link removed]] is reaching new heights.

Historic media rights deals have networks and streaming paying billions for the privilege of broadcasting college football. NIL came along, let players get paid, and changed the entire culture on campus overnight. Women’s college sports are setting attendance and viewership records in rapid succession, not to mention the transfer portal and conference realignment.

Join us [[link removed]] on March 13 at 1 p.m. ET for the Future of Sports: College Athletics virtual summit, presented by Magnifi. This eye-opening conversation includes four panels designed to dive into the billion-dollar spectacle that encompasses everything from March Madness to the College Football Playoff and everything in between.

Register now [[link removed]].

FRONT OFFICE SPORTS TODAY ‘It’s Like the NFL ... Without Helmets’

National Rugby League/nrl.com

The National Rugby League is taking a page out of the NFL’s playbook. Last weekend, the NRL held two matches at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, mirroring the NFL’s international games strategy. This was the NRL’s first venture outside Australia and New Zealand in its 108-year history, drawing 40,000 fans. NRL CEO Andrew Abdo joins the Front Office Sports Today podcast to discuss why he believes the league is poised for global growth.

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

ONE BIG FIG Packing Them In

Arsenal Women /arsenal.com

34,997

Average attendance for Arsenal this season, a figure that is higher than 10 Premier League teams. The Women’s Super League has attracted 279,974 fans this season and sold out Emirates Stadium three times. Arsenal is playing well on the pitch, too, sitting in third—three points behind Manchester City and league leader Chelsea.

SPONSORED BY WENDY’S

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This March, you can get a Dave’s Single for a dollar and a Dave’s Double for just two bucks with the Wendy’s in-app offer [[link removed]].

We know March is full of madness and we’re here to keep you fueled up and game-day ready.

Deals like this are rare. As rare as a game-winning buzzer beater. So get moving and download [[link removed]] the Wendy’s app and get the best deals on the best beef in the game.

TIME CAPSULE March 7, 1982: Bracketology Is Born

Asheville Citizen-Times

On this day 42 years ago: Selection Sunday was televised for the first time, with CBS drawing 8.6 million viewers for the unveiling of the men’s basketball NCAA tournament bracket in front of a national TV audience. That was the first year CBS had the tourney’s broadcast rights after agreeing to pay [[link removed]] $16 million annually to steal the package from NBC. Selection Sunday viewership peaked [[link removed]] at more than 12 million viewers in 1990; last year it drew [[link removed]'s%20NCAA%20men's%20basketball%20tournament,sports%20telecast%20of%20the%20weekend.] an audience of 5 million. Still, CBS and TNT Sports together are said to be paying about $900 million yearly, through 2032, for the men’s tournament’s rights.

Conversation Starters Nick Saban points to the influence of name, image, and likeness; the transfer portal; his age; and staff turnover on his retirement decision [[link removed]], highlighting that many players are primarily focused on playing time and financial compensation. Saudi Arabia has announced [[link removed]] plans for a new Formula One racing circuit in Qiddiya, which will include a Six Flags theme park and a suspended swimming pool. For the past 25 years, Invesco QQQ [[link removed]] has given access to leading innovators in one ETF. Be a part of the next 25 years of innovation, with Invesco QQQ. Let’s rethink possibility. Invesco Distributors, Inc.*† Editors’ Picks Super Bowl LVIII Scores Big With International Viewers [[link removed]]by Margaret Fleming [[link removed]]The NFL gets a 10% global boost compared to last year. Lowered Expectations? Fox’s CEO Tamps Down New Streamer Hype [[link removed]]by Eric Fisher [[link removed]]Lachlan Murdoch details a five-year projection of five million subscribers. MLS Has a Referee Problem, and There’s No End in Sight [[link removed]]by David Rumsey [[link removed]]MLS is using replacement officials due to a labor dispute. AWARDS

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