February 15, 2023

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FOS is teaming up with the Pac-12 to give you the VIP experience at the Pac-12 Men’s Basketball Tournament in Las Vegas from March 8-11.

One lucky winner gets two all-tournament passes with club access, a four-night stay at an MGM Resorts hotel, $300 in food and beverage vouchers, and two tickets to Cirque du Soleil’s Mad Apple. Find out more details here [[link removed]].

Markets Coca-Cola Working to Get BodyArmor, Powerade on Same Page [[link removed]]

Kiyoshi Mio-USA TODAY Sports

Coca-Cola is still trying to figure out how to get its big sports drink acquisition to mesh with its homegrown star.

The company has been working to integrate BodyArmor — which Coca-Cola fully controls following a $5.6 billion deal in 2021 — with its Powerade brand.

The company’s sports drinks segment grew 1% over the fourth quarter of 2022, compared to the same period the year prior. Overall, company revenues hit $10.1 billion in the quarter, up 7% year-over-year. Operating income rose 24% to $2.1 billion.

The company’s stock has been essentially flat from the start of the week, rising slightly before Tuesday’s earnings release and then giving back those gains.

Double Team

“We need to get that double act working well,” Coca-Cola CEO James Quincey told [[link removed]] the Wall Street Journal, referring to Powerade and BodyArmor. “We had some hiccups in ’22 as we brought those two things together, so we need to do better.”

The two brands have been brought under the same wing within the company, and each is planning a major marketing push.

“It’s not atypical that when you buy a smaller company and bring it over that there’s some disruption in the short term,” Quincey said. “There was certainly more than we would have liked or expected. And now we have to kind of reset ourselves.”

Leagues Riding Motorsports’ Momentum, NASCAR Set to Open With Sellout [[link removed]]

Mike Ehrmann/NASCAR for Getty Images

Just days before NASCAR’s season-opening Daytona 500, the racing series announced a complete sellout of Sunday’s race.

Monday’s sellout announcement included Daytona’s fan zone and hospitality slots. Tickets for the race — which will again be broadcast by Fox — on the secondary market started at $150 as of Tuesday.

With the strong showing at the venue, the Daytona 500 hopes the trend of broadcast eyeballs continues to improve. After significant drops in viewership in 2020 and 2021 due to delays and shortened races, 2022 saw a rise of 8.9 million viewers after seeing 4.8 million in 2021.

The eighth consecutive sellout for NASCAR’s marquee race comes nearly a month after Daytona International Speedway president Frank Kelleher said all the grandstand seats and camping spots had been sold.

It’s a bit easier to sell out at the famed 2.5-mile oval these days.

Before 2013’s “Daytona Rising” renovation, which was completed before the 2016 race, seating capacity was 147,000. About 46,000 backstretch grandstand seats were removed [[link removed]] as part of recent downsizing efforts (Atlanta, 17,000 seats removed; Charlotte, 41,000). Daytona currently [[link removed]] has 101,500 permanent seats — a 31% reduction compared to 2013. Johnson Returns

The Daytona 500 has kicked off the NASCAR Cup Series schedule since 1982, although the racing schedule has had a soft launch since 2022 with the Busch Light Clash at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, the latest edition being held on Sunday.

Seven-time Cup Series champion and two-time Daytona 500 winner Jimmie Johnson, who retired from stock car racing in 2020, will return to action. He’ll be one of 42 driver/car combinations competing for 40 slots at Thursday’s Bluegreen Vacations Duel races, which will set the field for Daytona.

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Real Estate Wisconsin Gov. Proposes $290M to Fix Brewers’ Stadium [[link removed]]

Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports

The Milwaukee Brewers’ stadium could become a political football.

Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers proposed [[link removed]] devoting $290 million of the state’s $7 billion surplus toward renovations and repairs for American Family Field.

In exchange, the Brewers would commit to the city through 2043. The district that manages and finances the stadium was previously funded through a 0.1% sales tax across five counties that expired in March 2020. The Brewers are seeking fixes including repairs to the stadium’s retractable roof, which boasts the ability to open and close in 10 minutes.

Stadium district chair Tim Sheehy praised [[link removed]] the Evers’ proposal as a “forward-looking investment to keep professional baseball in Wisconsin for the next generation, along with its economic impact.”

Stadium Not a Done Deal

The budget item still has to make it through Wisconsin’s Republican-controlled congress before it can be signed by Evers, a Democrat.

State Assembly Speaker Robin Vos critiqued the governor’s approach, saying “Governor Evers drops this bomb in the budget, never mentioning or attempting to collaborate with the Legislature in any way.”

Vos added that he looks “forward to working with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to ensure that the Brewers [[link removed]] stay in Wisconsin.”

Evers has argued that the upfront payment would save $200 million compared to a long-term bond and bring an estimated $400 million in revenue over 20 years.

Leagues Singer Jason Derulo Is Bringing A Pro Volleyball Team to Omaha [[link removed]]

Tim Fuller-USA TODAY Sports

The Pro Volleyball Federation now has a second market: Omaha, Nebraska.

Recording artist Jason Derulo and City+Ventures founder Danny White are launching [[link removed]] a team in the city during the league’s inaugural season, which begins in February 2024.

Nebraska doesn’t currently have any major league sports teams, but volleyball has become an attraction in the state.

Since 2013, the University of Nebraska’s women’s volleyball team has led the nation in attendance. Omaha set the NCAA record for the largest crowd for a regular-season match when Nebraska took on Creighton last season. The city also hosted the 2022 NCAA Division I Volleyball Championships.

Omaha is also home to the AAA’s Omaha Storm Chasers and the USL League One’s Union Omaha, among other professional sports teams.

PVF revealed on Tuesday it will “make additional announcements in the coming days regarding inaugural-season team markets.”

Star-Studded Sport

In December, Joe Burrow and his parents, Jimmy and Robin, were announced [[link removed]] as founding partners of the league. Former NFL quarterback Trent Dilfer — who has three daughters who play volleyball — is also a founding partner.

PVF previously announced DP Fox Sports & Entertainment and its chairman Dan DeVos — whose family owns the NBA’s Orlando Magic and the AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins — would be the league’s first ownership group with a team in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

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UEFA Champions League on Paramount+

The UEFA Champions League [[link removed]] Round of 16 marches on today with two more first leg matchups.

Cinderella stories collide as Belgium side Club Brugge take on Benfica who somehow topped Group H over PSG! In the other match, Chelsea look to right the ship on a subpar season when they head to Germany to take on Borussia Dortmund in front of the Yellow Wall.

Kick off is 3 p.m. ET. Stream both matches today, and every match throughout the tournament, live exclusively on Paramount+. Try it free [[link removed]] for a month with promo code: ADVANCE!

Conversation Starters Wendy’s is making mornings sweeter with their new Homestyle French Toast Sticks. They’re perfectly crispy, perfectly golden brown, and available every day until 10:30 a.m. Order now [[link removed]] and start your day the right way.* On Tuesday, the WNBA and Athletes Unlimited announced [[link removed]] that 25 of 30 Athletes Unlimited games will be broadcast on WNBA League Pass this season. Giannis Antetokounmpo has reportedly [[link removed]] filed three new trademarks: STAY FR34KY, FR34K SHOW, and UNSEEN FR34KY HOURS. Front Office Sports Today They Said What?

Courtesy: XFL

“We like to say that we are a league of innovation, but we are not a league of gimmicks… We look at it as, ‘How do we advance the game of football?’ We are an incubator for looking at different proofs of concepts that may be enticing to the fan base, and looking at things through a different lens candidly.”

–XFL President Brandon Russ on the new rules used for the revamped football league, such as the three-point PAT, new kickoff format, and changes to the onside kick.

Listen and subscribe on Apple [[link removed]], Google [[link removed]], and Spotify [[link removed]].

Today's Action

NBA

07:40 PM

Pistons (+320) at Celtics (-390)

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NHL

07:00 PM

Blackhawks (+370) at Maple Leafs (-460)

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NBA

07:40 PM

Heat (-115) at Nets (-105)

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Question Of The Day

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Tuesday’s Answer

32% of respondents are interested in watching/attending a USFL game; 13% already have.

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