November 21, 2022

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Cristiano Ronaldo’s club career might be in limbo these days, but soccer fans are still living for his legendary rivalry with Lionel Messi. The Portuguese superstar’s pic playing chess [[link removed]] with the Argentinian icon garnered 36 million likes on Instagram, making it the platform’s second-most-liked post ever — the egg [[link removed]] is still in the lead.

World Cup Fans Face Ticket Turmoil, Riot Police [[link removed]]

Danielle Parhizkaran-USA TODAY Sports

FIFA and Qatar added more World Cup complaints to their growing list of criticisms over the first two days of the tournament.

FIFA’s official app crashed [[link removed]] on Monday — one day after the World Cup began — leaving thousands of fans unable to access their tickets. According to ESPN, some tickets “disappeared” from the app, others couldn’t be transferred to other attendees, and some users couldn’t log in to the app at all.

Stranded fans were instructed to go to the Doha Exhibition & Convention Center. At one point, there were reportedly 500 people seen outside the building.

England’s 6-2 victory over Iran began at 4 p.m. local time, while hundreds of attendees were reportedly still working to gain access.Ahead of Monday’s 1-1 tie between the U.S. and Wales at 10 p.m.local time, some supporters were told to get a printed ticket from the Convention Center.

At Ecuador’s 2-0 victory against Qatar on Sunday – the first time a host nation lost [[link removed]] the opening game – attendance was scarce, and fans who were there chanted [[link removed]'s%20fans%20chanted%20%22We%20want,began%20to%20chant%20in%20Spanish.], “We want beer!” Budweiser has a $75 million deal [[link removed]] with FIFA, who revealed last week no beer would be available at the stadiums.

Fan Zone Issues

On Sunday, tens of thousands of fans pushed [[link removed]] and shoved as they tried to enter a fan zone in central Doha, where they were met with riot police armed with batons and shields.

“It’s very risky,” Hatem El-Berarri, an Iraqi working in neighboring Dubai, told the Associated Press. “People they [sic] could die.”

Disney Stock Rises as Iger Retakes Helm [[link removed]]

Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports

Disney’s shocking Sunday night move has sparked optimism among investors.

The company’s stock price jumped around 5.7% on Monday following the announcement that CEO Bob Chapek had been ousted [[link removed]] and replaced by the company’s longtime chief executive Bob Iger.

Under Chapek, who took over from Iger in February 2020, Disney bought high-value sports rights to bolster ESPN+ and ESPN’s linear channels.

In March 2021, Disney secured rights to 23 regular-season NFL games, “Monday Night Football,” one exclusive game per year on ESPN+, and a place in the Super Bowl rotation in a 10-year deal reportedly worth [[link removed]] $2.7 billion per year.That same month, it reached a seven-year deal worth around $400 million annually for a top-tier package of NHL games. The company has booked [[link removed]] around $90 million in ad sales for the current NHL season.Disney’s networks will continue [[link removed]] to broadcast Formula 1 with a three-year deal worth a reported $225 million — a 17-fold increase over its previous deal. Streaming Questions

Chapek set a lofty goal of reaching up to 260 million streaming subscribers by September 2024. That plan hit some turbulence when Disney failed to renew streaming rights to the Indian Premier League — more than a third of Disney+ subscribers live in India.

Iger will have to decide how aggressively to pursue two major sports rights packages: NFL Sunday Ticket and the NBA, the latter of which it currently shares with TNT of Discovery Warner Bros.

The NBA may seek a deal worth triple its current nine-year pact which pays $2.6 billion annually.

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Steve Ballmer Doesn’t Want Buy to Liverpool [[link removed]]

Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

The richest sports team owner in America is no longer considering a bid for an iconic European soccer club.

Steve Ballmer — the owner of the Los Angeles Clippers — had been rumored to make a takeover bid for the Premier League’s Liverpool FC.

“When I sat down with Ballmer recently and asked if he would be interested in buying any other sports franchises, he said no,” Los Angeles Times reporter Sam Farmer said [[link removed]].

The former Microsoft CEO — whose net worth is $79 billion, per [[link removed]] Forbes — emerged as a potential suitor due to the club’s potential asking price by owner Fenway Sports Group.

FSG also owns the Boston Red Sox and Pittsburgh Penguins.The sports investment company purchased Liverpool in 2010 for $353.4 million.The club has hired [[link removed]] Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley to facilitate a potential sale.Liverpool is valued at $4.45 billion — the fourth-most-valuable club in soccer.

Liverpool has received solidified interest [[link removed]] from Mukesh Ambani, owner of the Indian Premier League’s Mumbai Indians. Ambani could handle the steep price tag with a net worth of $90.9 billion, making the energy entrepreneur the richest sports team owner in the world.

American Owner Still Possible

Philadelphia 76ers and New Jersey Devils owner Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment is mulling [[link removed]] its options on a potential bid for Liverpool.

HBSE owns a minority — roughly 18% — in fellow Premier League club Crystal Palace FC. The sports company would have to divest its stake to complete a deal for Liverpool.

Conversation Starters In The Leadoff, the World Cup features the highest-paid soccer players, Red Bull finishes as Formula 1 champs, NFL Sunday Ticket rights are still up for grabs, and the World Series generates $78 million in economic impact for Philadelphia. Click here to listen [[link removed]]. FIFA has come down hard on World Cup teams attempting [[link removed]] to wear any messages that soccer’s world governing body deems “too political.” Here’s a look inside [[link removed]] the Wynn Field Club at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.

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Market Movers

U.S. stocks were mixed on Monday. Here’s a look at how some sports-related stocks performed:

MTN [[link removed]]

Vail Resorts Inc.

[[link removed]]

$249.22

[[link removed]]

+3.52%

[[link removed]] T [[link removed]]

AT&T, Inc.

[[link removed]]

$18.86

[[link removed]]

-0.40%

[[link removed]] LVS [[link removed]]

Las Vegas Sands Corp

[[link removed]]

$42.28

[[link removed]]

-0.42%

[[link removed]] NKE [[link removed]]

Nike, Inc.

[[link removed]]

$104.08

[[link removed]]

-0.63%

[[link removed]] DIS [[link removed]]

Walt Disney Co (The)

[[link removed]]

$97.63

[[link removed]]

-3.34%

[[link removed]] (Note: All as of market close on 11/21/22) What to Watch

The San Francisco 49ers (5-4) face the Arizona Cardinals (4-6) on “Monday Night Football” at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City as part of the NFL’s 2022 International Series.

How to Watch: 8:15 p.m. ET on ESPN

Betting Odds: 49ers -10 || ML -435 || O/U 43

Pick: Expect the 49ers defense to come out strong. Take San Francisco to cover.

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