#Sports team ownership changes

[reportwire]

Inflation or not, price of pro sports teams keeps going up

Inflation or not, price of pro sports teams keeps going up

Inflation isn’t going to hurt the bankrolls of sports team owners. In fact, it may help. While the uber-rich will have to pay a little more for their eggs at the grocery store – just like everyone else – inflation isn’t likely to affect the bottom lines at their sports properties. “I’m resting pretty easy if I’m an owner,” said Tim Clarke, a senior analyst at PitchBook, which researches private…

[inchidentally]

https://www.tumblr.com/piastrisms/755627714405367808/when-i-saw-the-1st-photo-my-first-reaction-was-i?source=share HOLY SHIIIIIIT??!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

so I'm an idiot and posted this reply to the wrong ask so here it is in the right one !!!

listen !!! we get one of these 'omg he's wearing a ship name/other driver's name bracelet' things fairly regularly and I'm like yes it's cute for the pic but then you watch when these guys are given the bracelets and they're just jamming them onto their wrists without even looking in all the rush. so it was v cute at first seeing the Oscar bracelet on Lando but I was like it's the same situation as usual.

and then !!

like. Lando's pride and sense of ownership about Oscar (in a sweet way) isn't anything new so him deliberately choosing to keep that one bracelet even after changing and showing Oscar during the fan stage is just. it's totally in character.

bc the symbolism babe the symbolism and the poetry of Lando having been literally raised in the house of McLaren and thick as thieves with the team owner and having seen off two older teammates by the time machinations were underway to spirit off one of the sport's greatest generational prizes from the fate of eternal backmarker perjury… Lando's position and sense of responsibility toward McLaren by the time 2022 was winding up was already something higher than the average team's superstar. he was what Max is to RB and Charles is to Ferrari, except without the Amadeus caped father figure looming behind him or the Borgia/Catholic church blood sacrifice and intrigue.

so while everyone understandably foresaw immediate tragedy in pairing Lando with an even younger generational talent and Lando twisted and writhed under the idea of being someone else's "mentor" and the "elder" after about three months he realized what a gift Oscar was to him. Oscar already knew an exceptional amount about Lando, he admired him, he agreed to an open door policy between the garages with no resistance, he never minded when Lando's attitude wasn't exactly the best, was always waiting with a smile when Lando would turn his attention to Oscar, suffered any team orders without argument and wanted Lando to guide and help him with media duties and the heightened attention so that Oscar could hold up his side of things. Oscar entered Lando's house with respect and eagerness and humility without being clingy or trying to use a relationship with Lando to boost his own PR or try to ingratiate himself. Lando almost defiantly made it clear he would remain loyal to his previous teammates (when not on the track) and instead of Oscar getting jealous or deciding to pull away from the relationship with Lando, he just agreed with him because he's been a fan of Carlos and Daniel for just as long and he's been a fan of carland0 and dand0 for as long as they've existed! and then he'd lift his chin and puff up his chest whenever Lando would praise him but otherwise gave Lando the space and respect Lando didn't even realize he needed to become one of the big boys instead of a little brother to one of the big boys. Lando went through a meteoric shift as a driver and a person over 2023 because he no longer had the crutch of an older teammate and that he deserved to view his position with McLaren and in F1 just like they did - and not as the baby. but !! Oscar would help Lando's dyslexia and anxiety by close observation and assistance! Oscar would smile and indulge every time Lando was in one of those moods that Carlos would have firmly scolded him out of or Daniel would have tried to joke him out of before warily backing away from.

because outside of the car or a standing on a podium, Oscar couldn't wait to change into the same kit as the engineers and blend in with the other papaya shirts milling around. he didn't waste time ruing what might have been and therefore he never resented or envied Lando proudly parading his trophies and beaming into Oscar's face or conspiratorially over Andrea's head and calling Oscar by a nickname and bringing up Oscar's good driving. and when Oscar stepped off the podium at Monaco to the team photo, a struggling Lando turned to him and murmured something that had Oscar proudly and reassuringly patting Lando's knee in response.

like. Oscar was the strong, capable, exceptionally talented present that McLaren set down next to Lando and allowed him to discover it and open it in his own time and just. goddddd. him proudly slipping an Oscar bracelet on his own wrist and choosing to keep it on and show it off to it's namesake. like rpf/shipping fully fucking aside Lando is absolutely bursting with pride and smugness about Oscar and that the young man who had the backbone to weather the biggest PR storm of 2022/23 is now unable to take his eyes off Lando and has that soft smile and tilted head reserved just for Lando and likes to stand a step or two behind Lando in front of crowds because he think Lando is most worth showing off. that's His Osc so why shouldn't he wear his name on his wrist after the bitter disappointment at his home race bc at least when it comes to Oscar, Lando always wins :)

[leveloneandup]

Christen Press on potential Angel City sale: ‘It allows the club to continue to professionalize’

Willow Bay and her husband, Disney CEO Bob Iger, are close to purchasing a controlling stake of Angel City FC. There’s no public timeline for when the deal will be done. Still, the new ownership group — and the numbers around their investment, somewhere in the ballpark of $300 million — has reignited discussions about NWSL club valuations and the rapid growth of women’s soccer here in the United States.

Angel City forward Christen Press, who was also the team’s first signing, spoke to The Athletic on her way to training on Wednesday morning. Immediately, she noted she was following the potential sale through media reports herself. Her reaction — and that of her fellow players — was one of excitement.

Press said those numbers shouldn’t be surprising to anyone. Not if you’ve been paying attention, anyway.

“When you start to see valuations as a player, and as someone who has a very vested interest in the business of women’s sports, there’s two things,” she continued. “First thing I think is, ‘Hell yeah.’ This is exactly how it should be, right? On our podcast, we just talked to Ali Krieger about how, as a novice broadcaster, she’s making more money than she did as a player. These types of sales and deals are working towards changing that.”

For her second point, Press said that Angel City has gotten a lot right through the first few years in the league. Whether that’s game day experience, business, or community, all of those things are already working.

“They also have a lot of things that they need to get right, and a sale like this is a lot of money to the club,” Press said. “It allows the club to continue to professionalize and push the envelope in terms of the expectations for women’s sports. I do think Angel City recognizes that they have a lot of room to grow on that end.”

Press called the team a “zero to one project,” but one that needs a different level of funding to go from one to two. That’s along the same lines as what one early investor told the Los Angeles Times in March when the news broke that Angel City was considering selling a controlling stake.

“What’s been built at Angel City in three short years is nothing short of incredible. And in high-growth companies, it is absolutely normal to step back and look at ‘what do we need to continue this growth?’” Sarah Harden, CEO of Hello Sunshine, said. “This board has determined that this is the right time to bring in a new major investor. That’s it. That is the story.”

Of course, Angel City hasn’t been the only NWSL team to explore a sale — though they have the more positive distinction of exploring a move willingly. Also in March, San Diego Wave FC made headlines for setting a new record, with the club’s principal owner Rob Burkle agreeing to sell to the Levine Leichtman family at a total valuation of $120 million. The valuations of NWSL teams are being watched on a global scale as well. For instance, Chelsea has started to explore the idea of selling a minority stake in their women’s team, using Angel City’s previous valuation of $180 million as their benchmark.

“All of the measures of women’s sports right now are growing, and I think the NWSL is at the forefront of a lot of that,” Pete Giorgio, who leads Deloitte’s global and U.S. sports practice, told The Athletic in March. “Those large valuations and these large transactions validate both the foresight, but also the investment that a lot of people made in the first place.”

As women’s soccer analyst Kim McCauley pointed out, Michele Kang received plenty of questions when she seemingly overpaid for the Washington Spirit in 2022. Kang had originally offered $21 million for the controlling stake in the team. She closed the deal at $35 million, which only two years ago seemed like an absurd number.

Seattle Reign FC finally wrapped its sale last month, with the Seattle Sounders and Carlyle Group taking over the club for $58 million (that club’s sale was the result of John Textor’s takeover of Lyon and a sole focus on the men’s team, with Olympique Lyonnais also sold to Kang). Before that, the sales of the Chicago Red Stars — a total bid of $60 million, with $35.5 million as the purchase price — and Portland Thorns FC at $63 million were also finalized, with both of those changes coming following the league’s abuse scandal.

“If you have an ownership group that needs to be out, it’s actually really hard to compartmentalize, and I think we’ve seen that in the Chicagos and the Portlands, how it’s affected the players,” Press said. For her, it’s different in Los Angeles, as she pointed to the regular presence of owners and investors at games. “For this, it’s only positive. We know our ownership group.”

The NWSL is going through an incredible transformation. Even with the positive impact of some of those changes and investments, it’s not hard to understand why some fans and supporters might get a little nervous about this much money coming in and how it might change the sport. Some of those changes are deeply necessary and some will absolutely affect the culture of women’s soccer in America.

Press has been part of what she called “a generation of change”, whether that’s on the USWNT with their fight for equal pay and a new collective bargaining agreement, or her NWSL career, which started in 2014 with the Red Stars. “I can’t even remember what that first field that I played on in Chicago was called, but I was driving out of the city for an hour and a half to get to some turf field.” The Red Stars’ home field was at Benedictine University; in 2014, the team had an average attendance of 2,949.

“I don’t think we want to hang on to those memories,” Press said. “There is absolutely a connection between those of us who have been fighting for improved standards in the league and our fans because the fans have had so much influence in that fight and our success. It really has bonded us with our community in a way that it feels like we’re all doing this together.”

Press isn’t worried about that bond being lost. She believes it’s trending in the right direction, especially as players have a lot less to worry about off the field and can step directly into stardom. Players that turn into superstars have to be supported though, by brands, by teams, through marketing and the media.

“That’s storytelling and that’s investment, so as it continues to grow, there is a huge opportunity for the relationship with the fans to transform. And because we continue to find ourselves in a fight for legitimate valuations and for fair pay and for equality, we’ll be able to maintain such a strong tie to the fans that help us achieve these things.”

There are more immediate goals for Angel City to accomplish, even with the potential sale to the Bay-Iger group in the works. On the pitch deck, acquired by Semafor, the first of the new ownership group’s guiding principles is “Improve team performance, player support and retention,” which also includes the tangible goal of building a new facility that could serve as the team’s HQ and training site.

While Angel City is currently in 11th place in the NWSL, they’re only three points off the playoff line cutoff. They’ll face Gotham FC in their final match before the league takes an extended break for the Olympics.

Press said the team can rely on the existing trust between the players and ownership group to allow the sale process to play out as it should and not have it overshadow the urgent need for three points on the field — at home — this weekend.

“The entire focus of the group is on the game,” she promised.

[doomsdaydicecascader]

my problem with postcanon jade was that it said she was a cis girl before fusing with bec. i took it as the same "true in a transmisogynist way" troll as transmasc roxy

like, truly, i miss transfeminine roxy every day, and my house is fairly glass when it comes to things here considering i'm writing The Butch Lesbian Jane Comic, but like. the way homestuck fans exert ownership over the text of homestuck is fundamentally what the homestuck epilogues and post-canon are about. act 7 is about the dead calliope saying "fuck canon" and making her own, and she does not know how to care for the characters in question. i genuinely believe reconciling these facts, that what homestuck wants to be and what fans want homestuck to be are tangibly, ideologically opposed, is what post-canon is about

"fans read this character as X identity" is fine and good but that's paratext at best, and making demands of a text that has no obligation to respect them at worst. the epilogues are cashing in that desire to not respect them. homestuck has always been shaking off its readers who exert too much ownership, feel too comfortable with it. this goes way back as far as act 5 act 2 - the author commentary describes switching between walkaround sprites and hussnasty mode in such close proximity as a means of saying "if you always get what you expect, you will become complacent and that's no way for a reader to be", the "come in, go away" routine of homestuck is so repetitive now that i'm surprised basically nobody's caught on - homestuck is always doing insane flips to try and shake people off of it.

and now homestuck is doing that with your headcanons. like, this is a thing i see genuinely, all the fucking time in fandom over the past 15 years or so, people hype themselves up on paratexts and pretend the paratext is the source. the worst i ever saw of it was people having full blown self-harm threatening panic attacks because klance was not endgame in voltron legendary defenders. genuinely, i remember this so well - i think there were still two more seasons of the show after that event too, but i didn't watch it.

i only looked on from afar because what i saw of season 1 wasn't especially novel. castiel was never gay, no matter how many times he was caught leaking omegamusk in walmart or whatever, i'm stealing valor with this joke i was never a superwholock omegaverse girlie. there's so many fandoms i'm not a part of, it's unreal.

anyway, my point is people get really invested in their reads on characters and pretend it's real for the same reason a normie's sports team is gonna go the distance this season. and when they don't, they riot. this is literally just sports fandom 101. we may as well be talking about fucking inflategate here. i also don't go to sports. it's basically just homestuck for me these days.

i imagine this is what it's like to run my little pony before bronies came along: the show was negligible in relevance beyond its capacity to show off the new toys to play with. but the difference is that my little pony is about the toys, it's about encouraging that kind of play, it's fundamentally a set of toys they made a show about, as opposed to homestuck, which was always niche art for webcomics weirdos that caught on, quite literally, with the brony audience. i remember the first time i ever saw dave strider was on fucking ponychan, chronologically it would have been mid-act 5 act 2. it was an image of dave ransacking the lohac stock exchange, which is an a5a2 thing, it was before season 2 started, etc etc.

this is one hell of a tangent to say as far as the text of mspaintadventures is concerned, problem sleuth characters have gender signifiers that are more similar in nature to drag and performance of gender roles than any actual sexual dimorphism. homestuck characters are built atop the gender expression of problem sleuth. jade was a 13/16-year old girl, and that's the only information there was. over time, this changed.

this was an explicit change, too - it's in the change to act 6, passing through the fourth wall, that these characters, who fundamentally are game pieces, that homestuck starts to contend with the fact that people are emotionally invested in them as people. people don't like dave or vriska in the same way that people care about problem sleuth or nervous broad, and this comes out in the text. we get a lot of the best stuff in homestuck out of that change, too, like. the retcon only works because of that emotional investment, and i go so hard for the retcon. the retcon is the coolest thing ever.

and with that change, now, in 2024, she is explicitly a 39 (? i think she's 39.) year old woman with a penis. she didn't go from "cis woman" to "trans woman", she went from game piece to human person. there is no "cis jade" to be overwritten. you're assuming a "cis is default" worldview of a team of transgender and/or nonbinary people and thats just like. its not ideal, really

[bwoahtastic]

OOhhh there are so many different ideas to explore when dragons are a thing

If its in a modern world is there still technology involved in the racing if the drivers are using dragons instead of cars? the dragons wouldn't have wheels to change in pitstops and such. does each drive get just one dragon or do they get a new one every year like how the car changes i can imagine each team having their own dragon nursery / ranch kind of thing and over time the dragons would start to look different because different teams would be breeding for different traits

If drives just have the same dragon for life then transferring teams must be more complicated

If its in a more medieval world though, then i think it would probably be a lifelong bond with one dragon

The teams could be different kingdoms, maybe the team principles are king who hire the drivers to protect their kingdoms for some reason? The teams could also just be dragonriding guilds though. Maybe the races are meant to show off a guilds/kingdoms power and skill?

In both worlds would dragons be a common thing or something rare and specialized for racing. i can totally imagine a farmer in the medieval version using a dragon to plow a field or miniature dragons being a popular pet in the modern world.

So many ideas to play with

OH I LOVE

Modern world:

Pls dragons being quite common and used foe various things, like transport and work but also now a lot for sports as cars and machines are more common. A dragon can have great racing abilities but they also need the perfect rider to bring it out in them? Like they might be the best bred dragons literally made for speed, but with the wrong rider they will never win!

I think riders would always have the same dragons, but it's complicated because some drivers own their own dragon and eill therefore move teams as a pair, and others will have to say goodbye to their dragon when they move teams which is heartbreaking... it's probably very rare that a new driver is found for a team owned dragon! I can imagine the dragons acting up so much when their comfort person is taken from them🥹

Teams having their own dragon nurseries and wannabe drivers get to meet young dragons to see if there is a match! And if they have the money, they can buy the ownership of the dragon but tend to stay with the team the dragon is from because they understand the needs best.

For sure mini dragons are popular pets and maybe people like Charles or max havea mini dragon too and it makes their racing dragon a little jealous sometimes ekskk

Medieval:

Pls the kingdoms starting the races ro see which kingdom is best! It's better to race instead of raging war so it's good, and it's fun too! Dragons are wild, not bred, and racers are those lucky enough to meet and find a dragon and start a friendship instead of being eaten lol! Some bonds are more forced but the most successful bonds are when the dragon decides "yeah this one is mine this human is cute'

[thebirdsareafterme]

With all the talks of contract signings at the moment, the narrative of SAINZ TO AUDI are resurfacing once again. While Audi has been looking promising, people need to realize a couple things.

1. It’s still Sauber for another year. We’re talking 2026, not 2025. With the new regulations coming in, it’s going to be a big transition for the team, considering they’re changing ownership and the car by a significant amount. This could mean absolute chaos internally, as the team hires new employees, relocates old employees, etc. The transition from Sauber to Audi is going to be quite interesting to watch, starting with the Hulkenberg swap in 2025.

2. Historically, Sauber has been a place where careers go to start or to die. Look at the last few Sauber drivers. Kimi Raikkonen, Antonio Giovinazzi, Marcus Ericsson all ended their careers with Sauber, and it seems that Valterri Bottas and Nico Hulkenberg will have one of their last contracts with the team as well (potentially). Carlos is at his peak right now. He’s in his prime, he’s 29 years old and he’s winning races. It doesn’t make sense for him to sign with a team that can’t guarantee points and certainly not wins. He’s not signing his last contract, he still has another 5 years at least (unless he pulls a Fernando Alonso). That’s 2-3 more contracts. Moving from a backmarker team upwards is a lot harder than the other way around. He would need to perform spectacularly in the Audi to get the attention of the leading teams again, unless he wants to spend the rest of his career in the midfield.

3. How much change do you think the Audi takeover is actually going to bring to the team? In the past, Sauber teams have always been in the back to mid field. Audi taking over won’t guarantee a change in this, considering the leading teams in F1 right now have been at the front forever and ever. The only thing Audi can promise is to move up in the midfield. Becoming a competitive leading team in F1 takes years of good results, as seen with RedBull.

Audi is only coming in with a new power unit, not a whole new car. That means they’re still using the same engine, chassis, etc. We saw the fun activity called “Sauber Pit Stop” this season. The team members and the technical portion of the car both need to work in order to have decent results, and it seems that this year, they are struggling with both. The team is struggling for points, and wins are not even on the table. For Carlos to see their insane (read: bad) pit stop times and incredible (read: also bad) race results and consider joining them is a bit strange. TL;DR, Audi isn’t going to miraculously change everything that’s wrong with Sauber. That could take years to fix.

4. Has anyone actually considered if Carlos wants to go to Audi? Why would Carlos move to Sauber in anticipation for Audi if there are other teams that want him as well? Mercedes have been eyeing him up, Redbull have stated they would love to have him, and he is by far the most desirable driver on the market right now with more wins than the majority of the backfield drivers. Any team would be happy to have him, but Audi just seems to want him more because of his familial connections.

“Oh but his dad drives for Audi!” Yeah, that would be cute, but let’s consider the future of Carlos’ career here.

“But Audi is great in Rally! They won and everything!” Have you considered that Rallying and Formula One are COMPLETELY different sports?

“He should just sign! He’s wasting everyone’s time and he’s going to end up without a seat if he keeps stalling!” My dude, we’re not even at summer break yet. Chill. Just because we’ve had some unusual silly season activity very early on in the season doesn’t mean the season is ending any sooner.

[church-of-lilith]

“Nate’s coming back to Richmond.” “Nate’s taking over as head coach when Ted leaves.”

Have we considered that when Bex inevitably gets ownership of Westham in the divorce (with the help of Rebecca), Nate can just go back and coach at Westham again without having to worry about being someone he’s not under Rupert’s control!!

We don’t need him to come back and coach at Richmond, we need him to go and spread the Lasso Way to another team & continue slowly but surely changing the culture of sports one season at a time. That is how he continues Ted’s legacy, not taking over Richmond when there’s already two other perfectly capable coaches there.

[readyfreddy]

The team I work for announced their promotional schedule for the upcoming season, looking forward to it for the most part, and hopefully they'll be better than last season (they were worst in their conference and second last in the league, it has to get better, right?).

In the winter of 2023, I came forward and explained that I think that hosting a 'pride night' next season would be great. I did hours of research, data analysis, only to have my presentation shut down due to "discussion among ownership." With this, I basically came out to my manager and to most of the front office staff, I am lucky to be surrounded by a bunch of great people at all levels of the organization.

At the beginning of last season, I found out that they basically did their own 'pride/hockey is for everyone' night, and it fucking stung. Make no mistake, I'm thrilled that they're trying to make the rink/sport a more inclusive space. It stings because they know how much time I put into this, as well as the risk of coming out in a place where people like me aren't common or even welcomed (as of writing this, there's no POC on the roster, three POC (myself included) working in various positions at the team, and two queer people (business side, myself included).

Since their hockey is for everyone night is earlier in the season than last year's, I suspect that things have already been set in place and by the time I'm officially back, it's going to be too late to have any meaningful contribution.

Last season's hockey is for everyone night went pretty good, with most players using pride tape and saying supportive messages for the team's social media and in game video. I am so happy that they were able to do this, and I am hoping that this season's night goes equally as well. I am hoping that I am able to help in a future season's pride/hockey is for everyone night (provided I continue working there).

I wish I could truthfully say that hockey is for everyone, but there are so many barriers and cultural factors that would need to change to make that true.

[reportwire]

Adebayo, Cain lead Heat over Durant, Simmons and Nets

Adebayo, Cain lead Heat over Durant, Simmons and Nets

NEW YORK — Bam Adebayo scored 17 points and undrafted rookie Jamal Cain added 15 points and 11 rebounds as the Miami Heat defeated the Brooklyn Nets 109-80 on Thursday night. Kevin Durant led Brooklyn with 22 points on 8 of 12 shooting in 26 minutes. Ben Simmons had four points and 10 rebounds for the Nets. Miami star Jimmy Butler played for the first time in the preseason, scoring two points in…

[uswnt5]

Okay, so I have been sitting on this for a while now, thinking on whether or not I should share this. I've been working in woso for a few years now, specifically women's academy football and I want to add something to this horrifying cycle of abuse we keep seeing in sports. I see a lot of people wondering "how the fuck does this keep happening" and "where the fuck do they keep finding such horrid people" and I want to provide an inside perspective.

When I started working in woso, I was given the chance to work for the first team or for their academy team. I was young and thought I could change the world so I chose the academy team. At that point we still only had one academy team, a U18 team that played in the second division of women's football. I was an idealist and wanted to do more than just work in football, I wanted to innovate and improve football, and I thought a young academy team would give me more opportunities to do so.

I worked with young girls from ages 15 to 18. And I thought I was amazing at it. I would have done anything for that first generation of kids that came up through me. One of them made her debut for the national team recently, and I was crying in the stadium the whole 16 minutes of playtime she got. I love those girls with all my heart, I really do.

But, I also learned very quickly how easy it is to lose yourself, and the person you think you are.

We discuss their bodies daily. We monitor their sleep, their mood, their periods, their fatigue, their weight, every little bit of exercise they do… I know their bodies better than I know my own sometimes. And with that familiarity comes a blurring of boundaries that I never expected myself to be capable of.

At the beginning of last season, one of our girls tore her ACL. It sucks, but it happens (her recovery went absolutely perfect and she's going to back in games sooner than anyone could have hoped). This girl is a 'high potential', tall, strong, really good with her left foot, and only 16 years old at that point. When I say tall and strong, her dad is build like freaking Hagrid and she definitely takes after him.

When the results of the scan came back, confirming the ACL tear, we had a meeting with the whole staff on how we were going to support her through this. Everyone signed the 'get well soon' card, and then we started on making the post-surgery plan. And at some point our PT said: we're really going to have to watch her, because she is going to get fat. With that bodytype, she is going to gain weight, she is not going to stay fit at all. She needs to be put on a diet, right now. Everyone around the table agreed. And we started to discuss how we could prevent her from getting fat while still keeping her knee safe. We were talking about a very injured little girl, and we were discussing her weight, using brutal and harmful language, as if we were discussing the weather.

Because that is part of professional sports, but the habit of talking about bodies, normalizes it. It becomes a casual conversation, and even with the best intentions, that casual conversation turns very cold very quickly. As if there was no human attached to that body. And from cold, it's only a short step before you become cruel.

When someone's body becomes a series of statistics, a product almost, you start to forget how to appropriately handle it. You forget that you shouldn't have ownership of what happens to that body, you forget that it is not normal.

I hope I never turn abusive, I hope someone steps in before it can even come close to abuse. And I too despise the people who abuse their athletes. But I know how easily you can lose yourself, even when your heart is in the right place.

And that is even without taking into account the stress that comes with having to perform at the highest level, how exhausted we all become the longer the season goes on, how worried we constantly need to be that one bad game is going to end our career at a club. I see my staff more than I see anyone in my family. We're starting pre-season in a week and yesterday I worked until 2AM. We haven't even started yet.

It's just a very difficult environment to work in and that frustration and stress does get taken out on the athletes too. And the exhaustion makes you say things that you know you can't say. It's so toxic, even good people just get lost in it.

I am not condoning what is happening now, I was capable of taking a step back and realizing that my words were not okay, that my actions were deeply flawed. If I can do that, everyone can. But the institution is broken, and that can only lead to broken people.

Wow, thanks for sharing. I can see how easily to can be to lose the human element of it when discussing a player as a "tool" used to better your "company" (team).

The institution is definiltey broken, you see it across all sports at every level.

[race-week]

I think you are misunderstanding the point McLaren makes. They are not saying what they are doing is illegal, just that they think the rules surrounding sister teams need revision

I never said that he’s claiming it to be illegal, I said what he’s doing is like how teams will point out things on others cars, claiming illegality. They typically do this to create a media stir and which is then picked up by the FIA.

Hes both talked about rejigging of rules and complete bans.

“I think any time you have an entity that owns two teams, or an A and B relationship, I think it really starts to compromise the integrity of sporting fairness.”

“I'd like to see changes in the regulations to ensure that in future, they stop influence spreading from one team to another through strategic alliances and especially through ownership. Formula 1 should be true to its brand, and every team - except power units - should be totally independent of each other.”

If he wants every team to be independent, that means no shared ownership

[pwlanier]

1927 Bentley 3-Litre Sports Project

Registration no. YF 2654

Chassis no. TN1566

Engine no. TN1567

• Originally an Offord-bodied coupé

• Matching chassis and engine

• Family owned since March 1957

• Garaged unused for some 50-plus years

• 'Barn find' offered for restoration

With characteristic humility 'W O' was constantly amazed by the enthusiasm of later generations for the products of Bentley Motors Limited, and it is testimony to the soundness of his engineering design skills that so many of his products have survived. From the humblest of beginnings in a mews garage off Baker Street, London in 1919 the Bentley rapidly achieved fame as an exciting fast touring car, well able to compete with the best of European and American sports cars in the tough world of motor sport in the 1920s. Bentley's domination at Le Mans in 1924, 1927, 1928, 1929 and 1930 is legendary, and one can only admire the Herculean efforts of such giants as Woolf Barnato, Jack Dunfee, Tim Birkin and Sammy Davis, consistently wrestling the British Racing Green sports cars to victory.

W O Bentley proudly unveiled the new 3-litre car bearing his name on Stand 126 at the 1919 Olympia Motor Exhibition, the prototype engine having fired up for the first time just a few weeks earlier. Bentley's four-cylinder 'fixed head' engine incorporated a single overhead camshaft, four-valves per cylinder and a bore/stroke of 80x149mm. Twin ML magnetos provided the ignition and power was transmitted via a four-speed gearbox with right-hand change. The pressed-steel chassis started off with a wheelbase of 9' 9½", then adopted dimensions of 10' 10" ('Standard Long') in 1923, the shorter frame being reserved for the TT Replica and subsequent Speed Model. Rear wheel brakes only were employed up to 1924 when four-wheel Perrot-type brakes were introduced.

In only mildly developed form, this was the model that was to become a legend in motor racing history and which, with its leather-strapped bonnet, classical radiator design and British Racing Green livery, has become the archetypal Vintage sports car.

Early success in the 1922 Isle of Man Tourist Trophy, when Bentleys finished second, fourth, and fifth to take the Team Prize, led to the introduction of the TT Replica (later known as the Speed Model and identified by the Red Label on its radiator ) on the existing 9' 9½" wheelbase, short standard chassis. Bentley had made approximately 1,600 3-Litre models when production ceased in 1929, the majority of which were bodied by Vanden Plas with either open tourer or saloon coachwork.

Dr Clare Hay's authoritative work, Bentley, The Vintage Years, records the fact that chassis number 'TN1566' (with engine number '1567') was completed in April 1927 on the long standard 10' 10" wheelbase chassis with coupé coachwork by Offord. Hay records that 'TN1567' was first owned by one W A Thompson and registered as 'YF 2654', noting: "Now 2 seater on 9' 0" wheelbase." It is not known when this modification was carried out.

The next ownership record we have is an old-style buff logbook issued on 1st June 1950 listing four owners: Arthur Ratcliffe Ainsworth of Dorking; A B B Woodburn of Bolesworth; Bursledon Autos of Sholing; and one Miss Mary Louisa White, BSc, who registered the Bentley on 2nd March 1957. Miss White appears to have been a most enthusiastic owner, a view supported by the numerous Bentley Drivers Club membership cards on file, mostly dating from the late 1950s to the mid 1970s, while there are also some spectator's passes, an RAC membership card and a VCC official's badge. According to the deceased's family, Miss Mary Louisa White passed away in 2005 and was the last known person to drive the Bentley in the late 50s or early 60s. 'YF 2654' was then left to Miss Nicola White, (the last recorded keepers' niece) along with the property where the Bentley was kept. Miss Nicola White passed away in July 2023.

Additional documentation includes assorted correspondence, sundry bills, insurance paperwork, a later buff logbook (1963), an old-style V5 registration document, and four MoT certificates, the most recent of which was issued in 1964. The most recent tax discs on file date from the 1960s, so it seems reasonable to conclude that the Bentley was taken off the road sometime towards the end of that decade. It has remained in the owner's garage ever since, concealed beneath a variety of non-Bentley-related clutter, and is presented in 'barn find' condition, ripe for sympathetic restoration. Sold strictly as viewed, 'YF 2654' represents a wonderful opportunity to bring a long-forgotten 'W O' Bentley back to life.

Bonhams

[grantmentis]

As things settle down, here’s the questions I still have

1) People point to that phf may or may not have been in financial trouble but even if that was the case, it seemed they were going to go on with the season 9 regardless - what motivation did the pwhpa’s ownership group have to buy the phf that they had expressed reservations in and spend capital on it that they could have used making their own league they mentioned for years? People have rightfully focused a lot on the phf reason for selling but what about the reason for buying?

2) the Pwhpa is a union through voluntary recognition by the ownership group that bought the phf, and their cba is with that group, did the six months negotiation with the phf and the new ownership group happen without the Pwhpa knowing despite having these CBA talks with the same ownership group?

3) is there not some concern to signing an 8 year CBA with salaries in all womens sports changing pretty rapidly? If the league sees significant growth in fifth year is there not concern this cba wont fully reflect needs of the players - especially as this league doesn’t even have teams yet, more than one owner, etc?

[leham-n-daavocado]

I'm sick and tired of (white) men (white) menning with their privilege. Like I'm really sick and tired of all the noise and distractions of power struggles, company factions, driver families trying to intervene on a team, hostile takeovers with a new ownership group etc instead of a focus on Christian Horner's (alleged) sexual harassment of an employee that had a large amount of (potentially) incriminating evidence that didn't get him fired, and instead got covered up because of his money, power and connections to high ranking figures in F1 and the owner with a controlling stake in the company. I'm sick of those who don't want to expend any energy on something that might get in the way of what they like to do. I'm sick of those who know what's wrong and don't want or have the desire to make changes. And I'm sick of the unequivocal support men in power receive despite their bad behaviour.

Like, I understand that these drivers are reflecting upon the negative behaviour of their superior and employer, something they could lose if they don't support Christian, but literally this is the dumbest question to ask drivers when they are not involved in the scandal. But somehow we need soundbites for media. Journalists need to do better. The brainrot brought on by the F1's control in the sport's media is out of control. It may as well be TMZ. Why is Christian Horner being spared an inquisition? Why are drivers being asked to answer questions that should be directed at Christian?

[maysshortmoviereviews]

Formula 1: Drive to Survive (2019 - )

The drivers, managers and team owners in Formula 1 live life in the fast lane -- both on and off the track. This docuseries gives viewers exclusive, intimate access to the people in one of the world's greatest racing competitions. "Formula 1: Drive to Survive" reveals the true story of the high-octane sport, which goes beyond the fight to be No. 1. There's also a battle for the heart, soul and direction of the multibillion-dollar business. Storylines include changes that a team undergoes after an ownership change and the pressure felt to outperform other drivers.

I have heard some people rave about it and it was recently mentioned in an article about Christian Horner, so I decided to check it out from the 2021 season. I watched the episodes showing the rivalry between Mercedes and Red Bull and was completely blown away by them. It was amazing! I knew the outcome of the Championship but it was still amazing. Absolutely loved the rivalry between Toto Wolff and Christian Horner. I don't watch F1 races as frequently as I used to but this has made me very interested again. Absolutely fun show if you are into motor racing and enjoy a good rivalry.

[pumpkinnning]

Your tags on that Charles and Ferrari post ring so true!!!

(I'm assuming this is the same anon 😅)

yes exactly ! The way people have been talking about Charles re:Ferrari lately has felt kind of very one note and low key a bit disrespectful ngl like he's too stupid to quit something that's hurting him but like you said, it's not like he has any better options at the moment. He would maybe have a better car at RBR or Merc but he would clearly be on "enemy" territory and I think people underestimate how much fitting in a team impacts performance. (And it's not like those teams have an actual opening rn)

And yeah like @mountinez pointed out very accurately, it's his choice, he's a grown man and he knows his options far better than any of us do.

And putting the idea of an individual win so far above a win with the team he loves is very idk...focus on the toxic macho individualistic superman aspect of sports (It's the part of DTS i find honestly really annoying i think they should pay more attention to the team work and the mechanics and all the others who make this possible instead of staging all those fake little cockfights but anyway) it's like all those pundits saying Charles should Take Charge more like a Real Man and invent his own strategies and everything else instead of you know trusting the people whose job it is and actually have the data like bitch please !!!!

Like in the end I'm a Charles fan before anything else so if he leaves Ferrari I will think it's badass and healthy and if he stays I will praise his loyalty and commitment 😂😂 but whatever he does there will be a chance for it to fail and it will be easy to talk shit about what he should have done in hindsight but the truth is we don't know shit about what is really happening behind the scenes and a big part of it is down to luck and timing

And when it comes to rpf and writing fictional narratives inspired by all this - yes of course the pain and addiction of devotion to sth that doesn't love you back and the martyr/saint imagery it's all very compelling

Lmfao anyway yes i am in the Thinking about Themes part of writing fic rn but yeah !!! I find this whole thing incredibly compelling and if/when Charles wins the WDC with Ferrari I will cry like a little baby for 3 days at least

but there is also a lot more there !!!

what about the power fantasy of loving sth so hard you change its very nature ? What if patient love and commitment gets rewarded for once ? (What does it mean if we write it as always destined for failure?)

What about saying no this imperfect thing i am fighting for is mine actually i am taking ownership and I am not going to cede ground to people playing selfish little games with it or leave it to crumble and succumb to its worst impulses ?

Most of all, what about the journey mattering more than the end and the people you chose to do this with mattering more than the victory and honoring your dreams and passion mattering more than beating the statistics ?

If we are going to write stuff inspired by real people we should at least try to honor a bit of the complexity of real life and give space to complex ambivalent feelings