June 4, 2024

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The French Open is heading toward its home stretch, but not after plenty of issues off the court. … As regional sports networks dwindle across the country, Chicago is going against the grain. … Formula One is taking some business inspiration from the NFL. … Front Office Sports Today explores what impact a reported merger of Paramount and Skydance could have on sports media. … And Seattle is celebrating a half century as an NFL city.

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

Off-Court Turmoil: Weather, Late-Night Matches Cloud French Open [[link removed]]

Susan Mullane-USA TODAY Sports

The French Open quarterfinals begin Tuesday, and even though there’s plenty of top talent still competing at Roland-Garros, it’s been a bumpy road off the court for tournament organizers up to this point.

Poor weather, unruly fan behavior, and most recently complaints over late-night matches have taken the spotlight away from the tennis, even though the top four seeds in both the men’s and women’s singles draws are still alive, setting up what should be a dramatic conclusion to the second Grand Slam of the year.

As the likes of top-seeded Novak Djokovic and U.S. star Coco Gauff advanced through the third and fourth rounds, logistical problems created match delays—and no one was immune. On Saturday, Djokovic’s match against Lorenzo Musetti was moved back more than two hours, beginning after 10:30 p.m. local time and finishing after 3 a.m. “Some things could have been handled a different way,” Djokovic said [[link removed]].

No. 7 seed Casper Ruud took to X [[link removed]] to lament his third-round match that finished after 1 a.m. “I have to cool down on the bike for 15 minutes, do press/media, ice bath for 10 minutes, shower, eat and then get treatment/massage,” he explained. Even Gauff, who did not have to deal with a late finish, sympathized with her colleagues. “I definitely think it’s not healthy,” she said [[link removed]].

On Monday, another lengthy five-setter involving Djokovic led to the Alexander Zverev–Holger Rune match, originally scheduled for 8:15 p.m., getting delayed till after 9 p.m.

All Around the World

Unfortunately for players unhappy with late-night matches, the issue is not unique to only the French Open. Each summer in New York City, the US Open routinely plays deep into the evenings and early mornings, with no plans to change [[link removed]] that anytime soon. In January, the Australian Open dealt with similar problems [[link removed]] in Melbourne.

Wimbledon is the lone Grand Slam that doesn’t have to deal with matches running too late thanks to its 11 p.m. curfew that often sees matches paused and resumed the following day.

More Problems in Paris

Some late-night matches at the French Open were a result of weather delays early in the tournament as rain soaked Roland-Garros, which has only two courts with roofs. Beyond that, organizers decided mid-tournament to ban fans from drinking alcohol in the stands after several players complained about spectators misbehaving.

As Regional Sports Networks Struggle, Chicago Bucks the Trend [[link removed]]

Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports

There are signs of stress everywhere for the regional sports network business, perhaps no more so than with the ongoing drama [[link removed]] surrounding Diamond Sports Network. But Bulls and White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf is still entering that troubled landscape with an ambitious development of a new RSN for the Chicago market.

Reinsdorf has completed a deal with Standard Media to create the Chicago Sports Network, which will become a key player in the No. 3 U.S. media market. CHSN, as it will be known for short, will show both of Reinsdorf’s teams, as well as the NHL’s Blackhawks. The Bulls and Blackhawks will begin airing on CHSN this fall, while the White Sox will follow beginning with the 2025 season. All three teams have been aired since ’04 on NBC Sports Chicago, which is now expected to shut down.

The creation of CHSN marks a pivot of sorts for Reinsdorf after more than a year of active consideration of what to do with his teams’ local media rights. He previously planned [[link removed]] to move those rights to Stadium, the multiplatform sports media network in which he acquired [[link removed]] a controlling stake last year. But instead Reinsdorf will partner with Standard Media, which is based in Tennessee and an owner of four over-the-air television stations, to create the new network, with the Danny Wirtz–led Blackhawks [[link removed]] also part of the effort.

Jason Coyle, previously the president of Stadium, will now shift over to serve in the same role for CHSN, and part of his charge will be to lead distribution efforts across cable, over-the-air, and digital platforms. There’s likely an uphill battle there as CHSN will need to negotiate with Comcast, the company that the three teams just spurned in leaving NBC Sports Chicago, and an entity already taking a hard line [[link removed]] with other RSNs.

But the Chicago effort still raises the bigger questions of why a new RSN and why now?

“As we set out to design the network, we began and ended every discussion with the simple question: What is best for our fans?” Coyle said in a statement. “What is the best approach to distribution? How can we push the limits of both in-game and studio production? We plan to serve our fans on as many platforms and in as many markets as our rights allow.”

The market’s other RSN, Marquee Sports Network, remains in operation and is centered on its coverage of MLB’s Cubs and WNBA’s Sky.

Rough Times

The formation of CHSN arrives during a collective period of struggle for the three teams. The White Sox currently hold MLB’s worst record, the Bulls have not won a playoff series since 2015 and have been in the postseason just once in the last seven years, and the Blackhawks have an active non-playoff streak going into its fifth season.

Despite the ambitious intent of the RSN effort, it’s not the only major initiative for Reinsdorf, as he’s also pursuing [[link removed]] a new ballpark for the White Sox near downtown Chicago.

SPONSORED BY WENDY’S

Wendy’s New $3 English Muffin Deal

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With Wendy’s $3 English Muffin Deal [[link removed]], you get your choice of a tasty grilled sausage or applewood-smoked bacon English Muffin Sandwich with a fresh-cracked egg and gooey cheese. But wait! There’s more!

This breakfast wouldn’t be complete without a small side of crispy Seasoned Potatoes [[link removed]], which are truly worth waking up for. Oh, and did we mention you get all that for just three bucks? So, grab a proper breakfast with Wendy’s new $3 English Muffin Deal at your earliest, literally, convenience.

Limited time only. U.S. price and participation may vary. Select or request an English Muffin Deal [[link removed]] to obtain the discount. Not valid for à la carte or combo orders. Single item at regular price. Prices are higher in AK and HI.

FRONT OFFICE SPORTS TODAY Could Merger Shift Sports Landscape?

Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports

Paramount is reportedly [[link removed]] nearing a deal with Skydance Media that would put the legacy company under new ownership. CNBC reporter Alex Sherman joins the show to explain how close the merger is to being finalized and what it could mean for sports media. While a Skydance-Paramount tie-up would represent an immense deal, it could be just one domino in a series that reshapes the entire landscape in the post-cable era.

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

LOUD AND CLEAR From the Grid to Gridiron

Peter Casey-USA TODAY Sports

“We’ve tried to take really a page out of, I’d say in some ways, the NFL.”

—Liberty Media CEO Greg Maffei, on Formula One’s strategy for its next phase of growth. In 2026, F1 will begin a new Concorde Agreement—the contract that ties together the 10 teams on the grid with the Formula One Group (owned by Liberty) and the FIA, the sport’s governing body.

In an interview with ESPN, Maffei lamented how the sport was previously run, before Liberty took over in 2017. “The prior regime really did put a lot of time in having the teams compete against each other,” he said. “In many cases, they enjoyed just getting an edge on each other, rather than thinking about how to grow the sport.” Maffei, referencing American football, added that he would like teams to “compete hard on Sunday, but on Monday [it’s] league first. We really want to grow the sport together.”

TIME CAPSULE June 4, 1974: From Expansion to 12s

Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

On this day 50 years ago: The NFL awarded an expansion franchise to Seattle, bringing the league to 28 teams starting with the 1976 season. Shortly following the league’s similar decision that same spring to place a team in Tampa Bay, the arrival of the Seahawks finalized a growth plan stemming from the landmark AFL-NFL merger completed more than four years earlier. While not as comically poor as the Buccaneers at the outset, the Seahawks won just seven games over their first two seasons—two of which were against Tampa Bay. Seattle’s first season had the team in the NFC West division before shifting to the AFC West, foretelling a move back to the NFC in 2002 and making the Seahawks the only team in the post-merger era to change conferences twice, and the only one to play in both AFC and NFC championship games.

The turbulence and relative anonymity of the early years, however, would soon change dramatically for the Seahawks, somewhat mirroring Seattle’s metro-area population growth from 1.6 million in 1974 to more than 3.5 million today. The Seahawks have missed the playoffs just six times since 2003 and won Super Bowl XLVIII after the ’13 season. More dramatically, the market and its ardent legion of fans, known [[link removed]] as the 12s (above), have solidified Seattle as one of the most passionate areas of NFL support anywhere in the world—so much so that the team has retired uniform No. 12 in the fans’ honor.

SPONSORED BY WENDY’S

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After leaving Paris Saint-Germain as a free agent, soccer superstar Kylian Mbappé has reached a five-year deal with Real Madrid. The reported annual value of the contract is worth $16.2 million after taxes, equivalent to 5.4 million of Wendy’s $3 English Muffin Breakfasts. Until now, Mbappé has played club soccer exclusively for French teams. The Oilers and Panthers are set to meet in the Stanley Cup Final. Edmonton and Sunrise, Fla., are 2,543 miles apart—that’s the farthest between two cities [[link removed]] meeting in the NHL’s championship series in history. Notre Dame football will be welcoming a walk-on receiver this fall, Tyler Buchner, who has been on quite the journey, including lacrosse at Michigan and a stop in Alabama. Check it out [[link removed]]. Speaking of unique paths: Gable Steveson, 24, will try to make the Bills’ roster [[link removed]] after wrestling at Minnesota, winning an Olympic gold medal, and becoming WWE’s first name, image, and likeness athlete.

Breakfast Fun Fact

Golf fans had no shortage of menu items at the 79th U.S. Women’s Open at Lancaster Country Club over the weekend. The first concession tent near the primary entrance at LCC offered mouth-watering breakfast options, including The Frenchie, a sausage patty and fried egg smothered in syrup and served between two slices of French toast.

Editors’ Picks Padres Infielder Could Face Lifetime MLB Ban Over Gambling [[link removed]]by Alex Schiffer [[link removed]]As a Pirate last season, Tucupita Marcano allegedly bet on Pittsburgh games. A Social Media Prankster Is Narrating Several of Dov Kleiman’s TikToks [[link removed]]by A.J. Perez [[link removed]]A nameless person appears in several clips on the NFL aggregator’s account. Panthers Propose $800 Million in Bank of America Stadium Renovations [[link removed]]by Alex Schiffer [[link removed]]The Carolina Panthers would be on the hook for maintenance and overruns. 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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