May 29, 2024

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MLB’s integration of Negro Leagues statistics into its official records is set to have significant impacts across the sport. … The PWHL is finishing a historic debut season tonight with the decisive Game 5 of its league final, but officials are already looking ahead to building on the momentum next season. … Real Madrid shows off a pricey renovation of its home venue with a major event. … Plus: More on Dick’s Sporting Goods, the Mets, Scottie Scheffler, and Alex Meruelo.

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

MLB Integrates Negro Leagues Stats and Forgotten Stars: What It Means [[link removed]]

Syndication: Cincinnati

Major League Baseball has made a dramatic move to expand how the history of the sport is told—one that will reframe who the greats of both yesterday and today are, and one that expands its overall recognizance of the contribution of the Negro Leagues.

The league formally incorporated [[link removed]] on Wednesday the records of former Negro Leagues players into its official statistics, allowing players who were banned from MLB due to segregation to be considered in the same way as white players.

The result of more than three years of work by a league-commissioned research group, the inclusion of the Negro Leagues statistics created some immediate and dramatic shifts in MLB’s all-time leaderboards. Josh Gibson (above, in painting) now has baseball’s best career batting average (.372) and slugging percentage (.718), overtaking Ty Cobb and Babe Ruth, respectively, and top-10 lists for many key batting and pitching records have changed substantially.

Overall, more than 2,300 players competing in seven iterations of the Negro Leagues between 1920 and ’48 have been integrated into MLB’s statistical record. Since the history and statistics of baseball are integral to the overall fandom and culture of the sport, a move such as this arguably resonates much more than if it happened elsewhere. This also likely will have significant impacts on future inductions to the Baseball Hall of Fame, which also can produce a sizable influx of income for those players and the shrine itself.

“Their accomplishments on the field will be a gateway to broader learning about this triumph in American history and the path that led to Jackie Robinson’s 1947 Dodger debut,” said MLB commissioner Rob Manfred of the Negro Leagues.

More Diversity On, Off Field

The incorporation of the Negro Leagues statistics represents the third major commemoration this year of this segment of baseball’s history. The Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y., held [[link removed]] last weekend its Hall of Fame East-West Classic, a tribute to the Negro Leagues East-West All-Star Game that ran annually from 1933 to ’62. And on June 20, MLB will stage [[link removed]] a game between the Cardinals and Giants at Alabama’s historic Rickwood Field, a park that opened in 1910 and hosted Negro Leagues games for decades.

“I hope the programming around [the Rickwood game] leaves a real imprint … in terms of the history, appreciating how important that field is to the history of the Negro Leagues,” Manfred said last week at the conclusion of MLB owners meetings in New York. “I think the focus on the history of the Negro Leagues is consistent with our efforts to produce diversity on the field and in the front office.”

PWHL Enjoys Historic Debut Season, Now Must Confront Growth Hurdles [[link removed]]

Matt Krohn-USA TODAY Sports

The Professional Women’s Hockey League is ending a debut season filled with historic successes, but also one that sets up questions about where it takes that initial momentum next.

The PWHL Minnesota and Boston teams will play a deciding Game 5 of the league final Wednesday at the Tsongas Center in Lowell, Mass. The contest will cap an inaugural season in which the PWHL averaged 5,448 per game in attendance during the regular season, generated [[link removed]] further boosts at the gate during the postseason, and tapped into a broader groundswell for women’s pro sports that also has seen historic results over the past year for the NWSL and WNBA.

During the course of the season, the PWHL set multiple records for the most-attended women’s hockey game, capping with a draw of 21,105 on April 20 at the Bell Centre for a game between the Montreal and Toronto franchises. Primarily backed by Mark Walter, lead owner of MLB’s Dodgers, the PWHL has also enjoyed a significant boost in prominence from the presence of tennis and equal rights icon Billie Jean King, an investor in and adviser to the league.

Critical To-Do List

But just as the inaugural season is capped as a significant success, there are now several critical areas of focus as the PWHL looks ahead to the second year. Among them:

Team identities: The lack of team nicknames—each of the six teams this year was named “PWHL” with its respective market—added to an initial fan focus on the league name. But team names are in development and will be incorporated into a recently completed jersey deal [[link removed]] with Bauer that will take full effect with the 2024–25 season. Media rights: The PWHL enjoyed extensive national-level broadcast coverage in Canada, both in English and French. But the U.S. presence was focused primarily on regional sports networks and the league’s YouTube channel. A key initiative for the league will be to expand the U.S. broadcast profile beyond an existing deal with the Women’s Sports Network. New York: The league’s franchise there averaged a PWHL-worst attendance of 2,496, and played home games in three different venues spanning the states of New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut, complicating efforts to develop a local fan base. Shoring up the PWHL’s presence in the largest U.S. media market will be a key offseason priority. Expansion: There are several markets in both the U.S. and Canada interested in gaining PWHL franchises, but league officials are putting expansion on the back burner for the second season, choosing to focus instead on further testing of candidate cities with neutral-site games, a measure already done in Pittsburgh and Detroit.

“When the season’s over, we’re going to review everything—every city, every venue that we’re in, and we’re going to try to improve,” said Stan Kasten, another PWHL advisory board member, a close ally of Walter’s, and a key figure in the development and initial operation of the league.

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ONE BIG FIG Iconic Soccer Stadium Ready to Rock

Detroit Free Press

$1.9 billion

Amount needed to renovate Real Madrid’s soccer stadium, Santiago Bernabéu, which is hosting Taylor Swift (above) concerts Wednesday and Thursday night, representing the first international performances [[link removed]] at the venue in a decade. Real Madrid played at the stadium throughout construction, with a lower capacity than its new 85,000-seat mark.

STATUS REPORT Two Up, Two Down

Andrew Dieb-USA TODAY Sports

Dick’s Sporting Goods ⬆ The stock for the retailer surged 16% on Wednesday to a record close of $226.03 per share after the company reported fiscal first-quarter earnings that included a 6.2% jump in net sales to $3.02 billion and a heightened full-year outlook of $13.1 billion to $13.2 billion in sales. “We saw growth across all of the different areas of our business,” said Dick’s CEO Lauren Hobart. “Footwear, apparel, total hard lines, [they] all grew. The consumer is absolutely putting a priority on a healthy and active lifestyle.”

Mets ⬇ In addition to losing eight of their last 10 games and falling further out of contention—despite MLB’s largest payroll—owner Steve Cohen’s attempt to build a casino as part of a planned mixed-use development [[link removed]] near Citi Field suffered a damaging blow. New York state Sen. Jessica Ramos, whose district includes the ballpark area, announced [[link removed]] she will not introduce legislation required to advance the project.

Scottie Scheffler ⬆ All four criminal charges against the golfer (above), who was arrested at the PGA Championship [[link removed]] in Louisville, have been dropped. “Scheffler’s characterization that this was a ‘big misunderstanding’ is corroborated by the evidence,” Jefferson County attorney Mike O’Connell said at Wednesday’s court hearing.

Alex Meruelo ⬇ A plan by the now former NHL team owner to move the AHL’s Tucson Roadrunners roughly 100 miles north to Tempe has failed. Meruelo sold the Coyotes franchise to Ryan Smith in Utah but still owns the minor league affiliate in Arizona. He had sought to move the Roadrunners to the 5,000-seat Mullett Arena, where the Coyotes played in recent seasons. But local officials voted to keep the team in Tucson, where they will play at least 30 of their 36 home games each season.

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Conversation Starters Dwyane Wade will join [[link removed]] NBC’s broadcast booth for Team USA Basketball at the 2024 Paris Olympics along with Noah Eagle and LaChina Robinson. Gatorade is launching its largest campaign to revive its “Is It in You?” tagline from the 1990s and early 2000s. The new ad is narrated by Michael Jordan. Watch here [[link removed]]. The Lions’ Jared Goff just signed a $212 million extension, and Dak Prescott is rumored to be up next for one. The Cowboys star says he’s not worried [[link removed]] about the money, though. Editors’ Picks Controversial NFL Aggregator Had an Asking Price for X Account [[link removed]]by A.J. Perez [[link removed]]Dov Kleiman was seeking $75,000 for his account in December. Bronny James’s Draft Position Could Mean Boom or Bust for TV Ratings [[link removed]]by Alex Schiffer [[link removed]]Bronny could play a critical role in the first two-night draft broadcast. Ticketmaster Causes Eras Tour–Like Disappointment in Tennis, One Week After DOJ Lawsuit [[link removed]]by Margaret Fleming [[link removed]]Tennis fans struggled to get tickets during the US Open presale. 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]], Catherine Chen [[link removed]]

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