March 14, 2023

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Alabama and Colorado will play their spring football games at the exact same time — but ESPN has chosen [[link removed]] to air only Colorado’s on TV, while Alabama’s will only be available on streaming. Georgia’s spring game will be broadcast on ESPN 2, but all others will be on either ESPN+ or conference channels.

Teams Battlehawks’ Record Numbers Prove St. Louis Misses Football [[link removed]]

ESPN

St. Louis has emerged as the proving ground for the XFL.

The Battlehawks’ first home game against the Arlington Renegades on Sunday at The Dome — where the NFL’s Rams played before moving to Los Angeles — set an attendance record for the XFL with 38,310 fans.

The Rams played in St. Louis from 1995 to 2015, winning Super Bowl XXXIV in Atlanta on Jan. 30, 2000.

That’s nearly half of Week 4’s season-high attendance of 75,000 across the league’s four games. For the year, attendance is more than 220,000.

The high attendance doesn’t seem to be slowing anytime soon, which bodes well for the league as a whole. St. Louis has more than 18,000 season-ticket holders — more than double the 2020 edition — and has already sold more than 27,000 seats for its second home game on Saturday.

The city is also the top XFL market by ticket revenue and local partnerships.

TV ratings through the first three weeks of the season, however, have been a different story. After a slow start [[link removed]] to the new season, ratings declined [[link removed]] by 50% from Week 1 to Week 2. In Week 3, viewership dropped [[link removed]] 11% compared to Week 2.

League’s Relaunch

After filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in April 2020 due to pandemic-related effects, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Dany Garcia, and RedBird Capital Partners purchased [[link removed]] the XFL for $15 million in August of that year from WWE founder Vince McMahon’s Alpha Entertainment.

In May 2022, the league struck a multiyear deal [[link removed]] with Disney to show all 43 games across its family of channels including ABC, ESPN networks, and FX.

Sports Betting 68M Bettors Expected to Wager $15.5B in Bets for March Madness [[link removed]]

Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

With the field of 68 set, casual and hardcore bettors alike can turn their attention toward March Madness — where they’ll be part of a massive contingent wagering on the festivities.

A new survey from the American Gaming Association finds that 68 million American adults — or roughly a quarter of that population — plan to bet a total of $15.5 billion on the NCAA Division I men’s basketball tournament.

Within that figure, 56.3 million plan to enter a bracket contest, 21.5 million plan to bet casually with friends, and 31 million plan to place a traditional bet online, at a retail sportsbook, or with a bookie.

The expanded access to legal sports betting — including, most recently, in Massachusetts [[link removed]] — is leading to more novice bettors:

Three-quarters of surveyed online bettors say this will be their first time betting on March Madness online.

The bettors surveyed are also keying in on certain teams to win the national championship: 9% are backing Kentucky, 8% are on Texas A&M, and 6% are taking either Alabama, Gonzaga, or UCLA.

Given March Madness is a multi-week event, it should be no surprise that there are projected to be more bettors than the Super Bowl [[link removed]] (50 million).

However, the magnitude of the Big Game brings out the big bets, as the Super Bowl was projected for $500 million more in handle ($16 billion) than the basketball tournament.

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Together with Meta, our latest free course, Metaverse Essentials: Building the Future [[link removed]], dives deep into the ever-evolving connection between sports and the metaverse, exploring where we are today and what the future holds.

Check out the final lesson [[link removed]] of the course, Virtual Reality: Sports & Fitness, where Meta’s Director of Sports Creator Partnerships Kevin Cote sits down with an all-star panel of leaders from X Games, Rezzil, GOLF+, and FitXR to discuss how virtual reality will transform the way sports are played, viewed, and experienced.

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Executives Angels Owner Explains Why He Rejected Record Bids [[link removed]]

Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Arte Moreno could have set a record for an MLB team sale.

The owner of the Los Angeles Angels told [[link removed]] Sports Illustrated that he had three offers on the table “considerably above the Mets’ number.” Steve Cohen bought the New York Mets for a record $2.4 billion in 2020 — at a time when the team carried $350 million in debt.

Moreno noted that all three offers were at least $200 million above what Cohen paid. Moreno also said that he had a fourth inquiry from Japan that didn’t result in a bid.

Moreno said he was planning to hold onto a 5-10% stake in the team. In the end, he couldn’t part with any of it: “In my heart, I just couldn’t go through with it.”

The team initially landed on the market after the collapse of a $320 million land deal with the city of Anaheim for the area around the stadium. The deal was canceled following allegations of corruption against Anaheim mayor Harry Sidhu, who resigned amid the scandal.

Moreno was not implicated in an FBI investigation regarding the case, but Sidhu was accused of providing confidential information to the team in the hopes of securing a $1 million campaign donation. Sidhu has denied any wrongdoing.

Teams Barcelona Taps Brakes on $1.6B Stadium Renovation Plan [[link removed]]

FC Barcelona

FC Barcelona is pausing a plan to raise $1.6 billion primarily for stadium renovations.

The club reportedly froze up when confronted with an increase in U.S. borrowing costs and is now weighing other options to raise the money, according to the Financial Times [[link removed]].

In February, Kroll Bond Rating Agency had given Barca’s financial plans for Camp Nou’s renovation a triple-B-plus rating — but later downgraded it to a triple-B due to a revised financing structure.

Just one week ago, it was reported [[link removed]] that the club was considering restructuring the plan to pay back its loans earlier.

Still, Barcelona plans to move forward and have a full plan by the end of March. The club’s current plans [[link removed]*190advp*_ga*OTQ2OTc3NTcxLjE2Nzg3MzI5Mjc.*_ga_XCQ7B6K8TL*MTY3ODczMjkyNy4xLjEuMTY3ODczMjkzNC4wLjAuMA..] have the renovations complete by 2025 — but that could change given the delay in financing.

The Referee Scandal

Meanwhile, Barca is still dealing with the fallout from allegations [[link removed]] that it bribed referees for several years — and now its biggest rival is piling on.

After Spanish prosecutors launched [[link removed]] an investigation and filed [[link removed]] charges of corruption last week, Real Madrid has announced it will participate in the trial against Barcelona.

“The club has agreed that, in defense of its legitimate rights, it will appear at the trial when the judge opens it up to the affected parties,” Real Madrid announced [[link removed]].

Barcelona admitted that it paid a firm owned by former La Liga refereeing committee member Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira at least $7.4 million — but says it was all for legitimate purposes like consulting and video.

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In the third and final episode, Michelle sits down with former U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team Member, Co-Founder of Hustle Beauty, and Co-Leader of #NWSLToTheBay, Leslie Osborne [[link removed]].

Learn how Osborne’s post-playing career has evolved from investor to entrepreneur and, most recently, co-Leader of a group that has successfully fundraised and bid to bring an NWSL expansion team to the Bay Area.

Watch the full episode [[link removed]] now.

Conversation Starters From March bracket-busters to magic at The Masters, Atmosphere Sports is the ultimate streaming destination for businesses that want constant sports news, live scores, and highlights. Learn more [[link removed]].* Colorado will be the only [[link removed]] college football team whose spring game will air on ESPN’s flagship channel. Georgia’s spring game will be broadcast on ESPN 2, but all others will be on either ESPN+ or conference channels. The Arizona Diamondbacks’ High-A affiliate, the Hillsboro Hops, have announced a plan [[link removed]] for a $120 million stadium built to host not only Hops games, but also concerts and festivals, starting in 2025. Front Office Sports Today They Said What?

Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

“This is such a fun time of year, right? As soon as Selection Sunday happens, this is just where everyone’s sports brain goes.”

— Writer Doug Greenberg, speaking on the latest episode of Front Office Sports Today, on the cultural resonance of the March Madness tournaments across the U.S. each year. For the record, he — like seemingly everyone else — is going with South Carolina for the women’s bracket, and UCLA for the men’s.

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

Today's Action

MLB

03:10 PM

Brewers (-110) at Reds (-110)

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NBA

06:10 PM

Pistons (+460) at Wizards (-610)

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MLB

03:07 PM

Royals (-105) at Athletics (-115)

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*All times are EST unless otherwise noted.

*Odds/lines subject to change. T&Cs apply. See [[link removed]] for details.

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Is music an important part of your workout?

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Monday’s Answer

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