April 18, 2024

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Two congressmen have criticized ‘Spulu’—and they’re only the latest. … More majors for women’s golf means more money. … Extra cash couldn’t buy enough wins for the NBA’s worst two teams. … The Padres are getting a big payday from their former regional sports network partner. … And you wouldn’t guess which sport one NFL star is making his big bet on.

— Eric Fisher [[link removed]] and David Rumsey [[link removed]]

Questions Are Mounting for ‘Spulu’ As Lawmakers Demand Answers [[link removed]]

FOS Illustration

The hits are still coming for the streaming joint venture [[link removed]] between ESPN, Fox, and Warner Bros. Discovery, which is still four months away, at minimum, from its intended public debut.

With the much-discussed project already facing continued questions from sports leagues [[link removed]], a U.S. Justice Department inquiry on antitrust grounds, a lawsuit [[link removed]] from FuboTV, and tempered expectations [[link removed]] from Fox Corp. CEO Lachlan Murdoch, two high-powered Congressmen are the latest to pile on the still-nascent effort.

Rep. Jerry Nadler (D., N.Y.) and Rep. Joaquin Castro (D., Texas) have written a letter [[link removed]] to Murdoch, Disney CEO Bob Iger, and WBD CEO David Zaslav, demanding answers to 19 questions regarding the details of how the forthcoming service will present itself to both consumers and leagues. Within the extensive series of questions is a broad concern by the two legislators that the streaming product will create a series of negative effects across the industry. The pair have set an April 30 deadline for a response, which they also intend to have sent to the Justice Department.

“Without more complete information about the pricing, intent, and organization of this new venture, we are concerned that this consolidation will result in higher prices for consumers and less fair licensing terms for upstream sports league and downstream video distributors,” Nadler and Castro said.

The letter highlights what is still a growing confusion [[link removed]] around the streaming alliance— nicknamed [[link removed]] “Hulu for Sports” or “Spulu”—depending on the party speaking. Some have dismissed the venture as largely a non-event and something not appealing to many fans, since it will leave out roughly half of NFL games, the Olympics, and a significant amount of college sports, men’s pro soccer, golf, tennis, and horse racing, among other sports, given the lack of involvement by CBS Sports, NBC Sports, Amazon, and Apple. The service also still lacks a formal name, pricing, or a definitive working agreement among the three partners.

Others, such as Nadler and Castro, similar to FuboTV and the Justice Department, are taking a different approach and are raising concerns about squeezing out various entities through consolidated and anticompetitive market power.

“As programmers, your companies exert tremendous influence over pricing across the live TV ecosystem,” the lawmakers said.

Women’s Golf Has Five—Not Four—Majors, and That’s a Good Thing [[link removed]]

Sarasota Herald-Tribune

The Masters is over but there’s already another major championship about to tee off. The best golfers in the women’s game are gathering just outside Houston for the Chevron Championship, which starts Thursday morning and is the first of the sport’s five annual major championships.

Yes, five, not the four that the men’s game plays. Why? Let’s take a look.

Major Feel

What makes a tournament a major championship? World rankings points and money. Winning a major earns a golfer 100 points, while no other event on the LPGA Tour, or any other circuit, hands out more than 62 to its champion. Pending any further increases, the five majors will award a combined $45.4 million to its participants; that’s almost 37% of the LPGA’s $123.25 million total prize pot currently planned in 2024.

This year, the order of the majors is:

The Chevron Championship, April 18-21 U.S. Women’s Open, May 30-June 2 Women’s PGA Championship, June 20-23 The Evian Championship, July 11-14 Women’s Open, Aug. 15-18 The More the Merrier

In 2013, the Evian Championship was added as the fifth major in women’s golf. While some purists would argue that’s one too many, it actually has brought a welcomed synergy to the sport. Since then, the women’s game has become a little more unified with the men’s and continues to see more financial investments.

Each of the top five stakeholders in women’s golf is closely aligned with one of the majors: LPGA (Chevron), USGA (U.S. Women’s Open), PGA of America (Women’s PGA Championship), Ladies European Tour (Evian), and the R&A (Women’s Open). The USGA, PGA of America, and R&A, in particular, are taking more women’s majors to courses traditionally reserved for their men’s championships, like Pebble Beach, Baltusrol, and St Andrews.

Notably, there is no women’s professional tournament played at Augusta National, home of the most popular men’s major. Ahead of the Masters, club chairman Fred Ridley effectively shot down the idea of holding a women’s Masters, saying [[link removed]] it would be “very difficult” to hold another annual tournament in addition to the Masters and the Augusta National Women’s Amateur.

How About Five in a Row?

Nelly Korda (above), the No. 1-ranked women’s golfer, comes into the first major of the year having won her last four starts. (That’s an even hotter streak than Masters champ Scottie Scheffler is on.) If the 25-year-old American wins this week, she’ll pocket $1.2 million—the same amount she’s made from her four wins this year combined. Now, that’s major.

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Stadium Tech That Pays Off

In the realm of sports, Oracle [[link removed]] is spearheading a transformation in stadium experiences through innovative technology solutions.

Recognizing the importance of fan satisfaction, Oracle’s focus on efficient payment processing ensures fans never miss crucial moments of the game.

Oracle has elevated operational efficiency, offering grab-and-go options and mobile ordering to reduce wait times. Exemplified by the adoption of their technology at UBS Arena, Oracle targets sports leaders through their emphasis on speed, accuracy, and guest satisfaction.

With versatile solutions and transparent payment systems, Oracle is reshaping sports venues, promising an immersive future for fans worldwide. Read more [[link removed]].

NBA Postmortem: A Record Salary, Major Investment … and For What? [[link removed]]

Reggie Hildred-USA TODAY Sports

It’s a little easier to buy a few wins in professional basketball than it is in a sport like, say, football. And last summer, one NBA team handed out the most expensive head coach contract in league history while another received a landmark investment for major American sports franchises. And the results? Historically bad performances on the court and the two worst records during the regular season, which ended on Sunday.

After the Pistons finished the 2022–23 season with the NBA’s worst record, Detroit owner Tom Gore opened up his wallet to bring in Monty Williams, who signed a six-year, $78.5 million contract that at the time was the largest for an NBA coach. (The Spurs’ Greg Popovich and the Heat’s Eric Spoelstra have since passed [[link removed]] Williams’s deal in total value.) Meanwhile, the Wizards’ parent company, Monumental Sports & Entertainment, sold a 5% minority stake [[link removed]] in the organization to the Qatar Investment Authority last offseason for $200 million, representing the first time a sovereign wealth fund had invested in a franchise from one of the top four U.S. leagues.

But as the playoffs get underway, Detroit and Washington are staring up at the rest of the league. The Pistons again finished with the worst record in the NBA, at 14-68, which is tied for the 12th-worst win percentage in league history. The Wizards were only one win better at 15-67, the worst season in franchise history.

Time to Reinvest?

Along the way, Detroit endured the longest losing streak in NBA history (which actually led to some positive business [[link removed]] for one local vendor) and is now searching for a new president of basketball operations to oversee general manager Troy Weaver and the pricey Williams.

In Washington, D.C., as the Wizards lost game after game, owner Ted Leonsis tried, unsuccessfully, to move the team, as well as his Washington Capitals, to a new $2 billion arena in Alexandria, Va. In the end, Monumental reached a deal [[link removed]] with D.C. officials to stay and renovate Capital One Arena, and the Wizards are searching for a new head coach after Wes Unseld Jr., who was said to be making $7 million per season, was fired just a few months after the team picked up his fourth-year option for the 2024–25 season.

FRONT OFFICE SPORTS TODAY Bills Star’s Therapy: Tossing Bags

Peter van den Berg-USA TODAY Sports

Buffalo Bills offensive tackle Dion Dawkins has a second favorite sport: cornhole. He’s competing, along with seven other NFL players, in a big event being broadcast from New Orleans by ESPN this weekend. Dawkins joins the show to discuss his cornhole love, where he sees the sport going (hint: the Olympics), and why he thinks the bags are “like therapy.”

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

TIME CAPSULE April 18, 2008: Sonic Boom

Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports

On this day 16 years ago: The NBA board of governors approved the relocation of the Seattle SuperSonics to Oklahoma City by a 28-2 vote, setting up what remains one of the most combative team moves in modern sports history. There were many key moments leading up to this vote, including the 2006 sale of the SuperSonics by former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz to a group of Oklahoma City investors led by Clay Bennett, and Bennett’s stated intention a year later to move the team to his hometown. Once the vote happened, dissenting votes arrived from Mavericks owner Mark Cuban and Trail Blazers owner (and Seattle native) Paul Allen. The outspoken Cuban in particular argued unsuccessfully against the league allowing the team’s shift to a much smaller media market.

Even before the vote, the city of Seattle sued Bennett to force him to honor the final two years of his KeyArena lease. Schultz also mounted a legal challenge to force Bennett to return the team to Seattle. But a $75 million settlement ultimately was reached between Bennett and the city, killing the lease, and Schultz dropped his litigation soon after, paving the way for the SuperSonics to become the Thunder starting with the 2008-09 season.

Now, the Thunder have solidified their own standing in Oklahoma City, and recently won [[link removed]] a public referendum for at least $850 million in public funds for a new arena. Memories of and love for the Sonics, however, still run deep among many fans, and Seattle remains a much-discussed [[link removed]] candidate for NBA expansion when the subject is addressed [[link removed]] by the league following the completion of new national media rights deals.

ONE BIG FIG The Cost of Doing Business

Michael McLoone-USA TODAY Sports

$78.9 million

Amount of money that Diamond Sports Group agreed to pay the Padres in a settlement for terminating the team’s contract with regional sports network Bally Sports. According to a court filing cited by Awful Announcing [[link removed]], the deal “stipulated an initial payment to the Padres of $10,496,366, and then a second payment totaling 62.5% of the assets of the liquidated San Diego RSN, a sum not to exceed $68.3 million.” This season, Padres game broadcasts are available [[link removed]] via a variety of streaming and cable options.

SPONSORED BY PROFESSIONAL BULL RIDERS

The Biggest, Most Exciting Weekend in Western Sports

Western sports’ biggest weekend will open with Kid Rock’s Rock ’N’ Rodeo [[link removed]], the first modern-era team rodeo with live music. This reimagined rodeo, mashed-up with a Kid Rock concert inside AT&T Stadium, is a brand-new presentation of rodeo and rock ’n’ roll in an all-American, hotly competitive Western sporting event.

Following the $1 million team rodeo, the biggest event in bull riding storms into the NFL’s biggest indoor stadium: PBR World Finals Championship [[link removed]], which puts the world’s best cowboys on top of the rankest bulls. One tough and determined cowboy will be the last man standing to grab the coveted gold buckle and million-dollar bonus.

Don’t miss the epitome of cowboy sports in an experience like no other inside the home of the Dallas Cowboys. Tickets available now [[link removed]].

Conversation Starters Bill Belichick’s first post-Patriots foray into broadcasting might surprise you: The legendary coach will join [[link removed]] the Pat McAfee Show’s NFL draft coverage on ESPN. Should the MLS buy the USL? One former USMNT member thinks so. See what he said [[link removed]] on the FOS Today podcast. Despite the speculation, Baylor men’s basketball coach Scott Drew didn’t end up becoming John Calipari’s replacement at Kentucky. Check out [[link removed]] what one local business did as a thank you for staying in Waco. Editors’ Picks NCAA Made Empty Threats to Jim Harbaugh over Lawyer’s Twitter Posts [[link removed]]by Margaret Fleming [[link removed]]The attorney kept criticizing the NCAA on social media after the October warning. Mythical Knicks Pitch to LeBron James With ‘Sopranos,’ Trump, Weinstein Leaks 14 Years Later [[link removed]]by Alex Schiffer [[link removed]]Video shows Tony and Carmela Soprano recruiting LeBron James to the Knicks. WNBA Draft Fashion Has Come a Long Way From ‘Most Athletic Accountants’ Era [[link removed]]by Margaret Fleming [[link removed]]The WNBA draft used to have a strict dress code, a former top pick tells FOS. Advertise [[link removed]] Awards [[link removed]] Learning [[link removed]] Video [[link removed]] Podcast [[link removed]] Sports Careers [[link removed]] Written by Eric Fisher [[link removed]], David Rumsey [[link removed]] Edited by Matthew Tabeek [[link removed]], Adam Duerson [[link removed]]

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