June 3, 2024

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Basketball fans are gearing up for a great NBA Finals matchup on the court. But the series also carries huge implications for both franchises’ owners. … The NFL’s latest selection for Hard Knocks could offer interesting insights behind the business of building a new stadium. … The ACC’s court battle to retain its top schools is far from over. … Yuka Saso is taking home a record purse for women’s golf. … And it’s been just over two decades since the genesis of one of baseball’s biggest scandals.

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

NBA Finals Win Would Catapult Mavs, Celtics Owners in Different Ways [[link removed]]

esse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports

The stage is set for the NBA Finals, which begin Thursday, as the Celtics take on the Mavericks, with Dallas trying to accomplish the rare feat of winning a championship in the first year under new ownership. In December, Mark Cuban (above) sold his majority stake [[link removed]] in the Mavs to Miriam Adelson and her family in a deal that valued the franchise at $3.5 billion. Now, not even six months later, the team is on the cusp of its second title ever.

Most recently, the Rockets won the 1994 NBA title (and the ’95 Finals) after Leslie Alexander purchased the franchise for $85 million the previous offseason. In the middle of the 2022–23 season, Mat Ishbia bought the Suns, who made the NBA Finals in ’21, for $4 billion [[link removed]]. But despite a blockbuster trade at the deadline for Kevin Durant, Phoenix flamed out in the second round.

Dreamin’ Big in Big D

In the wake of December’s sale, Cuban—who bought the Mavericks for $285 million in 2000—notably said that nothing had really changed “ except my bank account [[link removed]].” But the reality is that while Cuban is continuing to oversee basketball operations, his equity in the team is down to 27%.

Sports betting won’t be legal in Texas until at least 2025—and potentially longer—but the big dream for the Mavericks owners is a new arena and casino complex in downtown Dallas. Cuban hasn’t been shy about his desire to re-create a Venetian-like resort, with his basketball team’s venue at the center of it. The Mavs’ lease at American Airlines Center runs through ’31.

Winning the NBA Finals would not only go a long way in creating further positive fan sentiment, but also drive Dallas’s franchise valuation even higher. The previous three NBA champions have seen their valuation grow by an average of $1.25 billion from the season before, according to annual estimations by Forbes.

Costly for the C’s

Not to be forgotten are the Celtics, who just happen to own home court advantage and are the betting favorites (around -225 at many sportsbooks) to hoist the Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy. It would be the first title for Boston since 2008, and the second under the current ownership group, which is led by Wyc Grousbeck who bought the franchise for $360 million in ’02.

This season, the Celtics paid $39.75 million [[link removed]] in luxury tax (fifth highest in the NBA) on top of a $183.6 million payroll (fourth highest in the league). For comparison, the Mavericks had the 16th-ranked payroll, $163.6 million, and did not pay luxury tax. Winning a record 18th NBA championship would certainly help Boston justify its projected $193.9 million payroll and nearly $54 million tax bill next season (both figures third in the NBA, according to Spotrac [[link removed]]).

Reluctant Bears to Star in ‘Hard Knocks’ As Stadium Issues Linger [[link removed]]

David Banks-USA TODAY Sports

Already in the midst of a significant franchise crossroads, the Bears are now essentially involuntary participants in one of the NFL’s key promotional showcases.

The league, NFL Films, and HBO announced late last week that the team will be featured in the training camp edition of Hard Knocks, the oldest and most well-known version of the long-running documentary series that has now grown into three different editions when also considering separate in-season and offseason iterations.

On one level, the selection of the Bears to fill the training camp slot this year is not surprising, particularly after the April selection [[link removed]] of quarterback Caleb Williams (above) with the No. 1 pick in the draft, and NFL Films senior director and supervising producer Shannon Forman said in a statement that the league outlet was “honored to feature such an iconic NFL franchise.”

But there’s a sizable hitch there: Team ownership has actively avoided for years being part of Hard Knocks, and as recently as the annual NFL meetings in March, Bears chairman George McCaskey said, “We’re told there is some interest in other teams being on the program, and we welcome that interest.” Hardly the first such comment, McCaskey has been a consistent opponent of being in Hard Knocks since soon after its 2001 debut, but the Bears were one of just three teams this year that the league could force to participate.

Like many other teams, McCaskey’s aversion has stemmed from a reluctance to invite distractions, both real and imagined, that come with a film crew extensively chronicling team operations during training camp.

Despite the ongoing resistance from various teams, including the Bears, there’s a reason the NFL and its partners continue to push Hard Knocks, even into its third decade of existence: ratings. Last year’s training camp version featuring the Jets garnered [[link removed]] a 13-year viewership high, averaging 4.4 million viewers per episode—a particularly strong number for any summertime programming.

Stadium Matters

The prevailing storylines of Hard Knocks, particularly for the training camp version, typically focus on roster development, rookie cuts, and overall on-field preparation for the upcoming season—and as a result don’t tend to focus as much on off-field business matters. But for the Bears, such concerns are arguably the dominant issue surrounding the team, and maybe even more than the arrival of Williams.

The Bears are in the midst of trying to develop a new $4.7 billion stadium [[link removed]] on the Chicago lakefront, but there are mounting obstacles there. Most recently, the Illinois state legislature concluded its spring session without taking up [[link removed]] any funding proposal related to the proposed facility.

But that issue could still intersect with Hard Knocks, and give the team further visibility as it pursues as much as $2.4 billion in public funding for the stadium. To that end, Bears president and CEO Kevin Warren referenced the series providing “our passionate fans across the world the ability to experience this unique and critical time in the history of our franchise.”

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FRONT OFFICE SPORTS TODAY ACC’s Fight to Survive

David Yeazell-USA TODAY Sports

The ACC is in a multipronged legal battle, all connected to its attempts to retain Florida State and Clemson. The latest wrinkle saw the other power conferences and ESPN join them in a fight with Florida attorney general Ashley Moody to keep their media deals private. Front Office Sports reporter Amanda Christovich joins the show to explain what’s at stake. Plus, FOS senior reporter A.J. Perez discusses what he found on the mysterious case of a popular NFL-focused X account.

🎧 Watch, listen, and subscribe on Apple [[link removed]], Google [[link removed]], Spotify [[link removed]], and YouTube [[link removed]].

ONE BIG FIG A Landmark Check

John Jones-USA TODAY Sports

$2.4 million

Amount in prize money for Yuka Saso (above), who won the U.S. Women’s Open on Sunday. The winner’s check represents 20% of the event’s record $12 million purse [[link removed]], which is the largest in women’s golf. That’s up from the 18% of the total purse that most other golf tournaments award, including previous iterations of the U.S. Women’s Open. Last week, USGA CEO Mike Whan said [[link removed]] that winners receiving 20% of the purse will be the new standard for all of the organization’s golf championships.

TIME CAPSULE June 3, 2003: Say It Ain’t So, Sammy

RVR Photos-USA TODAY Sports

On this day 21 years ago: Cubs slugger Sammy Sosa was found to have been using a corked bat, with the banned equipment in question infamously shattering during a game against the then Devil Rays. The embarrassing episode began what would become a much larger fall from prominence for the once-beloved star, ending what appeared to be a surefire Hall of Fame career in disgrace.

Before the corked-bat episode, Sosa had been one of MLB’s most popular players, and a highly in-demand endorser amid a historic five-year run that included three 60-homer seasons, an MVP award, and co-honor in 1998 with Mark McGwire as Sports Illustrated’s Sportspersons of the Year. But following a seven-game suspension for the improper bat, Sosa was never quite the same player for the Cubs, his relationship with the team began to deteriorate, and he ultimately was traded to the Orioles in early 2005.

Just weeks after that trade, Sosa and several other MLB stars were in a congressional hearing room in Washington, D.C., testifying about performance-enhancing drugs. There, Sosa denied having used any, but steroid rumors had surrounded him before the hearing, and then intensified following a 2009 New York Times report [[link removed]] indicating Sosa had tested positive for PEDs in ’03. Just days before that report—and exactly six years after the corked bat game—Sosa announced his retirement from baseball. Still ranking ninth on MLB’s career home run list, Sosa is now an outcast of the sport. He never received more than 18.5% in voting for Baseball Hall of Fame induction—less than one-quarter of the needed threshold—and his relationship with current Cubs ownership has been particularly distant [[link removed]].

Conversation Starters Some of the features [[link removed]] in EA Sports College Football 25 include a new and unique scorebug, home field advantage, a stadium pulse meter, revamped passing, player abilities, as well as wear and tear. The Rays have unveiled the first detailed look at their planned $1.3 billion stadium in St. Petersburg, featuring a capacity of 30,000, a fixed pavilion roof, and what they describe as “baseball’s most intimate setting” with 70% of seats in the lower levels, set to be completed by Opening Day 2028. Check it out [[link removed]]. Golf has Full Swing. Formula One has Drive to Survive. Many are wondering what the SEC football Netflix series [[link removed]] will be called. Editors’ Picks The Pac-12 Wants Everybody to Know That It Isn’t Dead Yet [[link removed]]by Amanda Christovich [[link removed]]With a broadcast studio and two schools, the league plans to rebuild. The Nostalgia Market: Michael Jordan’s Memorabilia Remains Coveted, With Caveats [[link removed]]by Alex Schiffer [[link removed]]Due to scarcity, and sometimes, items’ undisclosed whereabouts, this world has limitations. ESPN Wants More SEC Games, but Conference Eyes a Bigger Payday [[link removed]]by David Rumsey [[link removed]]Schools currently play eight football games against one another. Advertise [[link removed]] Awards [[link removed]] Learning [[link removed]] Video [[link removed]] Podcast [[link removed]] Sports Careers [[link removed]] Written by David Rumsey [[link removed]], Eric Fisher [[link removed]] Edited by Matthew Tabeek [[link removed]], Catherine Chen [[link removed]]

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