July 11, 2024

Read in Browser [[link removed]]

POWERED BY

The NBA Summer League is getting ready to start in Las Vegas, which has become quite the basketball city in recent years. … The channel no one can find during March Madness is getting more sports. … Another women’s golf major tees off today with a record purse. … It’s the anniversary of one of the most influential debuts in MLB history. … And Front Office Sports Today examines the tactics of some new-age college sports insiders.

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

Las Vegas Isn’t Becoming an NBA Destination. It Already Is One [[link removed]]

Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

The NBA is getting ready to descend upon Las Vegas for its annual Summer League showcase at a time when the league’s relationship with the city has never been stronger.

Between the success of the first in-season tournament that concluded in Sin City and the widespread interest in a potential Vegas expansion team, the long-running Summer League is just one piece of the puzzle drawing the league to Nevada—but not an unimportant one.

Last year, 136,623 fans attended [[link removed]] Summer League games over 11 days at Thomas & Mack Center and Cox Pavilion on the campus of UNLV. That’s the second-most ever for the event, just behind a total crowd of nearly 140,000 in 2018. The NBA will look to potentially break that record this year as all 30 teams are once again set to participate, following smaller summer leagues in Sacramento, San Francisco, and Salt Lake City.

A year ago, the hype in Las Vegas centered on 2023 No. 1 pick Victor Wembanyama as he made his Spurs debut, but this year’s most intriguing player was taken at the bottom of the second round. Lakers rookie Bronny James (above) has already been drawing Summer League eyeballs in California, as the potential of him playing in the NBA with his father became reality after LeBron James re-signed [[link removed]] with Los Angeles.

Trophy Season

It was at the beginning of Summer League play in Las Vegas last year when The Association formally announced plans for the inaugural NBA In-Season Tournament, which included an NCAA Final Four weekend event along the Strip at T-Mobile Arena in December. Since the Lakers won the first edition, the tournament has been renamed [[link removed]] the Emirates NBA Cup, and commissioner Adam Silver said [[link removed]] that format tweaks could be coming to future iterations.

Details of the upcoming season’s NBA Cup have yet to be released, including whether Las Vegas will return as the Final Four host or another city will swoop in.

Hometown Hero?

When the NBA finally announces its new media-rights deals, which are projected to be worth [[link removed]] $76 billion, the next focus for the league will be expansion. Silver has said on multiple occasions that the NBA will explore adding two new franchises to bring the league to 32 teams.

Las Vegas is widely seen as a front-runner [[link removed]] to land an expansion club, along with Seattle, and potentially a dark horse [[link removed]] in Mexico City. James has made no secret about his desire [[link removed]] to be part of a potential Vegas ownership group after he retires, but so have other superstars like Shaquille O’Neal [[link removed]].

Meanwhile, the Oak View Group, which developed Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, has considered a $10 billion project [[link removed]] in Vegas that would include an NBA arena where an expansion team could have its own home away from T-Mobile Arena, where the NHL’s Golden Knights play.

‘Where’s truTV?’ March Madness Channel Is Now TNT Sports’ New Star [[link removed]]

Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

The cable channel that allegedly nobody can find every year when March Madness arrives is now elevating as a key element of TNT Sports’ future sports programming plans.

The Warner Bros. Discovery unit—already in the midst of significant retooling of its sports portfolio and facing a potential loss [[link removed]] of NBA media rights—is expanding its emphasis on truTV. After introducing a TNT Sports programming block on the channel earlier this year, WBD will make that presence “even more pronounced and consistent,” starting in October.

TNT Sports graphics and branding will be included in truTV’s prime-time programming, and the channel will also increasingly air sports content there—including existing properties in the portfolio such as MLB and the NHL, and also newly acquired ones like NASCAR [[link removed]], the French Open [[link removed]] in tennis, and college properties [[link removed]] that include the Mountain West and Big East conferences and sublicensing [[link removed]] of the College Football Playoff. All told, TNT Sports projects nearly 1,000 hours of total sports programming on truTV this year, and much more next year.

It’s a marked shift from the heated viewer outcries each spring, when the arrival of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament brings widespread confusion [[link removed]] from fans that in many instances haven’t otherwise watched the channel.

“We aspire for TNT Sports on truTV to be a go-to destination for a dynamic range of fans seeking not only more premium sports, but also alternate ways to experience and enjoy them,” said Craig Barry, TNT Sports executive vice president and chief content officer, in a statement.

Broader Strategy

The increased emphasis on truTV by WBD is not surprising given macro-level changes happening across the media industry. Increasingly, live sports is a dominant entity [[link removed]] on television [[link removed]], claiming nearly all of the industry’s largest audiences last year and setting a new U.S. viewership record [[link removed]] in February with Super Bowl LVIII. That trend is only accelerating, particularly as audiences for entertainment programming continue to migrate to streaming.

As WBD also acquires more sports rights, it needs an additional place to air that content. Unlike key competitors such as ESPN and its corporate parent Disney, NBCUniversal, Fox, and CBS Sports and its parent Paramount, WBD doesn’t have a broadcast channel to aid in that expansion.

SPONSORED BY 2K SPORTS

Revolutionizing Tennis Gaming For Next Gen

Get ready to experience the ultimate tennis showdown with TopSpin 2K25. This much-anticipated revival of the beloved TopSpin franchise has launched worldwide, offering an immersive and authentic tennis experience.

Play as legends like Roger Federer and Serena Williams or current stars such as Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz, and Iga Świątek. With stunning Grand Slam® venues, customizable MyPLAYER features, and robust online play options, TopSpin 2K25 sets a new standard for realism and excitement in sports gaming.

Visit the official TopSpin 2K25 site to learn more [[link removed]] and follow @TopSpin2K on all platforms for the latest updates. Don’t miss out on the next revolution in tennis gaming.

FRONT OFFICE SPORTS TODAY The New College Sports Insiders

Hayes Fawcett

Two of the biggest newsbreakers [[link removed]] in college sports are in their early 20s and have no formal training in journalism. Freelance culture and sports writer Jake Kring-Schreifels joins the show to explain how graphic designers found themselves at the center of the college sports world, and what that means for athletes and sports media.

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

ONE BIG FIG Championship Feel

John Jones-USA TODAY Sports

$8 million

Total purse amount at the Amundi Evian Championship, which is a record for the women’s golf major that begins Thursday in eastern France. Prize money is up from $6.5 million at last year’s tournament. This year’s winner will take home $1.2 million, a 20% boost from the $1 million that Frenchwoman Celine Boutier (above) earned in 2023.

Here’s how this week’s purse compares to the other four women’s golf majors.

U.S. Women’s Open: $12 million [[link removed]] Women’s PGA Championship: $10.4 million [[link removed]] AIG Women’s Open: $9 million (2023 figure; ’24 not yet announced) Evian Championship: $8 million Chevron Championship: $7.9 million [[link removed]]

On the course, No. 1–ranked Nelly Korda is in the field after recovering from a dog bite [[link removed]] that had her sidelined for several weeks. But fellow U.S. star Lexi Thompson won’t be competing, continuing her absence [[link removed]] from the Evian since 2019.

TIME CAPSULE July 11, 1914: The Bambino Arrives

Detroit Free Press file photo

On this day 110 years ago: Babe Ruth made his MLB debut, beginning what remains one of the most celebrated and impactful careers in the history of the sport. Just 19 at the time and then a pitcher, Ruth made his first start for the Red Sox, who had just acquired him from his hometown Baltimore Orioles, then a minor league club. Ruth’s performance on the mound that day was solid—two earned runs allowed over seven innings—and he was the winning pitcher, but it gave no indication of the outsized impact he would soon have. Within two years, he became known for his prodigious power at the plate, something particularly rare for pitchers in the sport’s Dead Ball era.

Much would change, of course, with the sale of Ruth’s contract by the Red Sox to the Yankees before the 1920 season. In New York, Ruth continued his prior shift to be a full-time outfielder, and he led the advent of a new, power-based era in baseball—in turn becoming by far the biggest gate attraction in the sport. The Yankees won four World Series with Ruth, laying the foundation for the team to become one of the most celebrated brands in sports globally, while also opening [[link removed]] Yankee Stadium in 1923, known colloquially as “The House That Ruth Built.” That stadium development has significant roots in the Yankees with Ruth outdrawing the Giants in the Polo Grounds the two teams shared. The Red Sox, meanwhile, famously endured the “Curse of the Bambino” that would last until Boston won the 2004 title.

MLB attendance that totaled less than 4.5 million in 1914, Ruth’s rookie year, would surpass 10 million by 1930 and solidified baseball’s position as “the national pastime,” thanks in large part to the popularity of Ruth.

Nearly 76 years after Ruth’s death, he still ranks [[link removed]] second all-time in slugging percentage and OPS, only recently supplanted [[link removed]] in MLB’s official leaderboards by Josh Gibson, and is third in home runs and RBIs. Ruth’s two-way ability as both a pitcher and hitter also has served as a template for the modern-day exploits of Shohei Ohtani.

FRONT OFFICE SPORTS AWARDS

Leading the Pack in College Athletics

College athletic programs across the country support our next generation of athletes. In the modern age, athletic departments are faced with several new challenges unchartered by their predecessors of the decades before.

Powered by Sports Innovation Lab, the Best Collegiate Athletic Departments Award recognizes the programs that, regardless of school size or resources, are a model to the rest of the collegiate athletic sector for how to innovate. Is your school leading the pack?

Submit your organization [[link removed]] today.

Conversation Starters On just released a new commercial featuring Zendaya and Roger Federer. Watch it here [[link removed]]. Anthony Edwards has signed [[link removed]] a multiyear contract extension with Adidas, reportedly worth eight figures annually, according to The Athletic’s Shams Charania. 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]]. Editors’ Picks Banned Jontay Porter Pleads Guilty in Gambling Case [[link removed]]by Dennis Young [[link removed]]Porter said he was ‘deeply sorry’ for the gambling scheme. Hardly Any Russians Are Set to Compete at the Paris Olympics [[link removed]]by Dennis Young [[link removed]]Russian athletes are pulling out of Paris in protest of IOC restrictions. NBA Agrees to $76 Billion in Media-Rights Deals, but TNT Still Looms [[link removed]]by Alex Schiffer [[link removed]]Welcome back, ‘Roundball Rock.’ Farewell, ‘Inside the NBA’? Question of the Day

Are you planning to watch any NBA Summer League action on TV?

Yes [[link removed]] No [[link removed]]

Wednesday’s result: 68% of respondents predict that the Royals and Chiefs will stay in Missouri, rather than move to Kansas.

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]]

If this email was forwarded to you, you can subscribe here [[link removed]].

Update your preferences [link removed] / Unsubscribe [link removed]

Copyright © 2024 Front Office Sports. All rights reserved.

460 Park Avenue South, 7th Floor, New York NY, 10016