July 8, 2024

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Diamond Sports Group is cutting another team from its rights portfolio as a critical confirmation hearing in bankruptcy court approaches. … The upcoming Paris Olympics are disrupting the traditions of the Tour de France. … Wave president Jill Ellis responds strongly to accusations of abuse within the NWSL franchise. … It’s the anniversary of one of the most controversial moments in NBA history. … And Front Office Sports Today looks ahead to some burning questions for the second half of this year.

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

Bally Sports Parent Drops NHL’s Stars: RSN’s Future More Uncertain [[link removed]]

Perry Nelson-USA TODAY Sports

Diamond Sports Group is making another cut to its portfolio of pro teams, just weeks before a crucial court hearing, as the bankrupt Bally Sports parent continues its efforts to tailor its operations to a fast-changing market reality.

The regional sports network operator has petitioned the U.S. Bankruptcy Court to drop the final year of its contract with the NHL’s Stars. DSG had been tied to the Stars in this current deal since 2014, when Bally Sports Southwest was still Fox Sports Southwest, but concluded that continued coverage of the team would be unprofitable.

“The debtors have determined that the costs associated with performing under the Stars agreement for its remaining term, including payment of substantial rights fees, outweigh the revenues the debtors are able to obtain through broadcasting Stars games,” DSG said in a court filing. “The associated costs are an unnecessary and unproductive use of estate assets.”

Unlike some of DSG’s initial, more chaotic rejections last year of teams such as MLB’s Padres [[link removed]] and Diamondbacks [[link removed]], this situation does include mutual consent as the Stars have agreed to the move.

Following the Champs

The split between DSG and the Stars closely follows the Stanley Cup champion Panthers, which have departed DSG for a new deal [[link removed]] with Scripps Sports to air games on over-the-air broadcast television. Like that team, the Golden Knights, and Utah Hockey Club, the Stars could ultimately make an embrace of over-the-air TV.

The long-term future of Bally Sports Southwest, meanwhile, is perhaps now more uncertain with the departure of the Stars. The network is 90% owned by DSG and 10% by MLB’s Rangers, whose rights deal with the company expires [[link removed]] after the current season. The NBA’s Mavericks, meanwhile, have been openly considering [[link removed]] alternate options for its rights as well.

DSG now has rights to nine NHL teams, down from a prior set of 12.

Rising Drama

The Stars decision also arrives as DSG intends to bring its reorganization plan up for formal approval at a confirmation hearing starting July 29. But MLB, the NHL, and the NBA have each expressed [[link removed]] doubt about DSG’s ability to emerge as a viable company, and formal objections to the plan remain possible.

While that hearing approaches, DSG also remains locked in bitter carriage disputes with both Comcast [[link removed]] and Altice USA’s Optimum, and is not airing on either system.

Tour de France Forced to Navigate the Paris Olympics, Too [[link removed]]

Herman Seidl/GEPA via USA TODAY Sports

Monday marks the first of two rest days for professional cyclists competing in the Tour de France, which has completed nine of its 21 stages.

As the 173 remaining riders transition from Troyes to Orléans, where the action will pick back up Tuesday, the Tour de France is about 75 miles outside of Paris. That’s the closest it will get to the French capital in an unprecedented departure from tradition this year. For the first time in the history of the race, it won’t finish in Paris.

Due to the Paris Olympics, which begin on July 26, five days after the Tour de France ends on July 21, race organizers had to drastically alter the 2,173-mile route this year. Since 1975, the photo finish has come along the Avenue des Champs-Élysées, where city tourists routinely gather around the Arc de Triomphe and shop at luxury boutiques.

But right now, the famous street is at the heart of Olympic operations: Five competition venues, including 3×3 basketball and beach volleyball, are within walking distance of the Champs-Élysées. Additionally, the official fan store of the Paris Olympics, which has more than 3,000 square feet of retail space, was constructed on the street. It opened to the public at the end of June.

So, this month, the final stage of the Tour de France will be a nearly 21-mile sprint from Monaco to Nice. That’s 50 miles fewer than last year’s final stage from Saint Quentin into Paris. While the change could make fans in France and viewers at home less excited about the finish, it will provide NBC Sports a nice opportunity to drum up interest in the soon-to-start Olympics, as it has the U.S. media rights for both events.

Year of Change

The conclusion of the Tour de France wasn’t the only big change made this year, though. Also for the first time, the race began in Italy. The city of Florence paid [[link removed]] roughly $3.25 million for the coveted Grand Depart, which kickstarted three stages in France’s neighbor to begin the event.

Riders, which are split among 22 teams, are competing for almost $2.5 million in prize money. The individual winner will take home nearly $540,000 alone.

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FRONT OFFICE SPORTS TODAY Stories to Shape the Next Six Months

Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Will the PGA Tour strike a deal with Saudi Arabia? Can this be a bounceback year for the Olympics? What’s going to happen to local broadcasting in MLB, the NBA, and NHL? Can ESPN hold together its expensive and volatile duo of Stephen A. Smith and Pat McAfee (above)? The Front Office Sports writers join the show for a roundtable discussion on what’s coming in the second half of 2024.

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LOUD AND CLEAR Wave of Concern

Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports

“The false accusations … are not only personally damaging but also take away from the incredible work and progress we’ve achieved.”

—Jill Ellis (above), San Diego Wave president and former USWNT head coach, responding to allegations of abuse brought against her by a former club employee. Brittany Alvarado, former Wave video and creative manager, released a lengthy statement [[link removed]], alleging an abusive culture that included “perpetuated discrimination against women” and “complete disregard for their long-term mental health.” The claims in some ways recalled the league-wide scandal that rocked the NWSL several years ago and led to sale of multiple franchises. The Wave also called [[link removed]] Alvarado’s accusations “categorically false” and said it “intends to pursue all legal avenues available to appropriately address this matter.”

TIME CAPSULE July 8, 2010: ‘The Decision’

David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports

On this day 14 years ago: NBA superstar LeBron James announced [[link removed]] his move in free agency from the Cavaliers to the Heat, with the highly anticipated selection turned into a 75-minute primetime special on ESPN titled The Decision. Emerging in part from a reader idea posited in a Bill Simmons column on ESPN.com, the idea was controversial from the start. NBA commissioner David Stern believed the network had turned over too much power to James and his associates, and even attempted [[link removed]] to get the program canceled.

The project, however, still went forward, and James’s on-air comments that “I’m going to take my talents to South Beach” quickly became a catchphrase. Despite James ultimately winning two titles and two Most Valuable Player awards in Miami, fan sentiment quickly turned against the Heat star, and the effort was widely viewed as a public relations failure for him. Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert then published his own infamous letter decrying the move, in a much-discussed [[link removed]] comic sans font, that contained an ultimately inaccurate prediction that the Cavaliers would win a title “before the self-titled former ‘King’ wins one.”

James would learn from the errors, mere months later saying [[link removed]] he “definitely would have changed” how The Decision unfolded. He then announced his 2014 return to Cleveland in a Sports Illustrated letter [[link removed]], and his ’18 shift to the Lakers with a straightforward press release [[link removed]] issued by his agents.

Today, James is still dominating NBA headlines, both with his own recent contract extension [[link removed]] with the Lakers, and the team’s drafting [[link removed]] of his son, Bronny.

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Conversation Starters Think you can make a dynasty out of a small school? We’re giving away two copies of the highly anticipated EA Sports College Football 25 video game. Enter here [[link removed]] for a chance to win. See rules here [[link removed]]. The Paris Olympic Village will accommodate nearly 15,000 athletes this summer before being repurposed as a new neighborhood. Take a look [[link removed]] at what’s in store. On Sunday, the Cubs featured the first all-woman broadcast in franchise history. Check out [[link removed]] who was in the booth, JaMarcus Russell is being sued by his high school alma mater. The 2007 No. 1 NFL draft pick is facing a lawsuit [[link removed]] accusing him of depositing a $74,000 check meant for the school in his own bank account. Editors’ Picks How Sports Went From Private Equity Punchline to Coveted Asset Class [[link removed]]by Daniel Kaplan [[link removed]]Once an industry punchline, sports are now a coveted asset class. The New College Sports Insiders Are Graphic Designers [[link removed]]by Jake Kring-Schreifels [[link removed]]Joe Tipton and Hayes Fawcett have become premier news-breakers on social media. Mental Health Investment Could Be USA Gymnastics’ Secret Weapon [[link removed]]by Margaret Fleming [[link removed]]Upping athletes’ mental health resources could be a secret weapon for success. 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]]

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