#is dermy watching from New Jersey

[selkiefinalist]

ryker going to bust a nut probably

[rickhorrow]

15+5+5 To Watch 61019

15 TO WATCH/5 SPORTS TECH/POWER OF SPORTS 5: RICK HORROW’S TOP SPORTS/BIZ/TECH/PHILANTHROPY ISSUES FOR THE WEEK OF JUNE 10 with Jacob Aere

Media companies are "taking advantage of a growing audience and advertiser interest in women’s sports," particularly with this year's Women's World Cup. Bleacher Report CEO Howard Mittman said that through its B/R Football vertical, the company has "booked more ad revenue" from the Women's World Cup than the men’s tournament last summer, with revenue at a level that is "10% higher." Mittman said that Bleacher Report’s advertising clients for this year's World Cup "includes Adidas, Hulu, Nike, PlayStation and Volkswagen." A spokesperson for Fox Sports told Digiday that advertiser interest in the tournament has "grown considerably" since the last Women's World Cup in 2015. The spokesperson "declined to say how much ad revenue Fox Sports expects to collect" from this year's tournament. Top sponsors for Fox Sports' coverage this year "include Coca-Cola, Volkswagen, and Verizon.” In 2015, Fox Sports reportedly generated $40 million in ad revenue, which was "more than double the initial estimates" of $17 million and was driven by the U.S. squad winning the tournament.

FIFA anticipates selling one million tickets for Women's World Cup. The Women's World Cup is underway in France, and FIFA President Gianni Infantino is "confident" the organization will sell one million tickets for the tournament, according to the London Telegraph. FIFA has allocated more than 941,000 tickets to fans around the world. Currently, it "looks unlikely" that the attendance at this tournament will surpass the total attendance at the 2015 Women's World Cup in Canada, which drew 1,353,506. Local organizers said that they have been selling 15,000 tickets per day. Last Friday’s opening France-South Korea opening game at Parc de Princes was "among 10 sold-out matches.” Many soccer fans purchasing these tickets are millennial and Gen Z sports fans, which are key demographics Bleacher Report is hoping to attract. To this end, the media company will showcase the personalities of the stars playing in France. The lineup will include content features that pair blue chip brands with some of the sport’s biggest names: Adidas with Morgan Bryan; Body Armor with Megan Rapinoe; Umbro with Ashlyn Harris; and AT&T with Tierna Davidson. The spots will be supported with cross-channel promotion and distribution on Bleacher Report's House of Highlights, reaching more than 13 million Instagram followers. 

Deep in a Stanley Cup Finals battle, the St. Louis Blues have announced an agreement with local healthcare company Centene Corporation for the naming rights to their new ice center in Maryland Heights. The ten-year agreement, which will see the new building named the Centene Community Ice Center, ensures that the company’s branding will feature on signage, marketing and communication elements at the facility, which will be used as a practice home for the Blues. The venue, which is scheduled to open on September 7, is a $78 million project funded through a public-private partnership with support from the City of Maryland Heights, St. Louis County, and the State of Missouri. The project is part of St. Louis Blues’ Hockey STL 2020 campaign, which aims to bring the local community together through ice hockey. The facility also highlights a renewed effort to engage more youth in ice sports. In addition, the facility will serve as a multi-purpose venue for concerts, festivals and other events. Clearly, advancing to the Stanley Cup Finals has boosted the Blues’ value proposition and marketability.

Boogie-ing through injury, Cousins helps Warriors. By some estimates, DeMarcus Cousins' torn Achilles tendon last season cost him at least $100 million because it happened right as he was entering free agency. As he rehabbed, Cousins joined the Warriors for a mere $5.3 million -- "pennies in the NBA economy," per the Los Angeles Times. While Cousins should be just fine, “In many orthopedic applications like Achilles or rotator cuff repair, with traditional materials like allograft or acellular dermis, you are limited to the void fractions, porosity, strength and bioactivity of the raw material,” said Jeff Conroy, CEO of Embody, whose goal is to restore peak performance for orthopedic patients through advanced regenerative technologies. “However, we are able to tune the attributes to mimic the native tissue intended to enhance cell remodeling with greater cell adhesion (tenocytes) and more tendon-like tissue formation. This is particularly beneficial in high demand applications like rotator cuff, ACL and Achilles repair where the re-tear rates far exceed an acceptable norm for surgeons or patients.” While Cousins is not an Embody patient, Conroy noted that Embody's implantable devices can significantly improve patient outcomes in soft tissue surgical applications and get pro athletes back in record time. 

While some major league teams balk, the MiLB Iowa Cubs proactively expand netting. According to the Des Moines Register, team President and General Manager Sam Bernabe said the Cubs plan to extend the nets all the way down to both fouls poles for the start of next season. The move has been in the works for quite some time now, but the precautionary measure has become a national subject after Chicago Cubs outfields Albert Almora Jr. laced a line drive into the stands that hit and injured a young girl. The incident has prompted plenty of debate about whether more protected netting needs to be added to ballparks. As far as Bernabe is concerned, it’s not a debate. It will happen at Principal Park. Bernabe said his organization has been talking about making the move long before the scary situation occurred in Houston. Netting around parks reentered the forefront of the baseball safety conversation last week after Almora’s line drive into the stands. It’s great to see some clubs taking the matter into their own hands before the more cumbersome decision – often involving collective bargaining – is made at the major league level.

When it comes to social media valuation, the Los Angeles Lakers’ jersey patch sponsor Wish was the most valuable during the 2018-2019 NBA season. According to Cynopsis Sports, GumGum Sports, a division of GumGum that provides an AI-powered measurement platform enabling brands to assess value across linear, social and streaming vehicles, estimated that Wish earned nearly a $9.3 million value, up from $4.9 million the prior year. Benefiting from the presence of LeBron James, Wish displaced Goodyear, which held the top jersey patch the prior season for The King’s former team, the Cleveland Cavaliers. “Next to Nike’s apparel sponsorship, the jersey patch is the biggest sponsor location in arena   on social media,” said GumGum Sports general manager Brian Kim. “It’s worth noting that due to the variety of factors we use to calculate value – clarity, prominence, visibility, size, placement, and share of voice – still images actually generated 86% of the overall social media compared to 14% for video.” Look for these numbers to increase exponentially in the next few years.

Recently retired North Carolina State University director of athletics Deborah Yow will be honored on June 11 as the recipient of the 53rd James J. Corbett Memorial Award, the highest honor one can achieve in collegiate athletics administration. The award is given at the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) convention. Yow, a past president of the organization, will also be recognized as a 2018-2019 Under Armour Athletics Director of the Year. "During her time as a coach and an administrator, Debbie has positively impacted tens of thousands of student-athletes, and everyone involved in NACDA is fortunate she chose that administrative path," said Bob Vecchione, NACDA CEO. “Nearly 20 years ago while serving as NACDA president, Debbie orchestrated the creation of the association's mission statement, which reiterates our core value of education. As an English major, she has always exhibited that educational mentality throughout her entire career." Yow, who wrote the chapter “Operationalizing Philosophy and Values While Building a Culture of Integrity and Excellence,” in our Sport Business Handbook, has written many articles and books on athletics management and human behavior. 

NBA Finals ticket demand "will likely keep rising" as the Warriors wrap up their farewell run at Oracle Arena. As reported by bizjournals.com, the average ticket price on the secondary market to attend one of the remaining Finals games at Oracle is $3,152, according to TicketIQ. That is the "most expensive average asking price for an NBA Finals ticket during the Warriors’ five-year run" of appearances. This year’s Warriors Finals tickets are the "second-most expensive average asking price since TicketIQ started tracking that data" in the 2010-2011 season. The "only higher price" is for the remaining Raptors games in Toronto, averaging $3,616. Of course, to keep commanding these prices, the Warriors will have to win on the road this week and overcome their current deficit against a very feisty Canadian squad. 

FIFA is set to negotiate increased prize money for women’s national soccer teams following the 2019 Women’s World Cup. The news comes after a campaign from Professional Footballers Australia (PFA), the soccer players union in that country, calling on FIFA to offer the same amount of prize money for women’s teams as it does in the men’s tournament. PFA’s campaign has received support from FifPro, the international representative body for professional players of the game, who said they expect FIFA to begin fresh negotiations to close the gender pay gap between men and women’s soccer. In a statement on its official website, FifPro said: “FIFA has agreed to our request to start negotiating new conditions for women’s national team players after the 2019 Women’s World Cup, and we are determined to making real and lasting progress on behalf of them [Australia women’s soccer team].” This year’s Women’s World Cup has a prize fund of $30 million, with the winners earning $4 million. This is double the amount from the 2015 tournament. However, it is still in stark contrast to the $400 million on offer at the 2018 men’s World Cup in Russia, which saw winners France receive $38 million alone.

Fanatics has purchased some of the assets of Steiner Sports, including most of its inventory and some intellectual property, from Omnicom Group. Notably, the deal includes the memorabilia company’s name. It does not include Steiner’s athlete contracts, which in most cases do not automatically transfer under new ownership. Steiner employees were notified of the deal by email over the weekend. Sources said Steiner Sports Founder & CEO Brandon Steiner will not be working for Fanatics. Steiner could not be reached for comment, though earlier today he sent out a mass email saying he would “no longer be accepting” email at his Steiner Sports address. At least one senior Steiner exec, CFO and VP/Operations Robert Duffy will be working for Omnicom. Sources said Fanatics' plans for use of the Steiner name were not yet determined. Legends was in talks to acquire Steiner earlier this year. Sources said that deal cratered in part because of a disagreement on the value of Steiner’s memorabilia inventory. Omnicom acquired Steiner in 2000 for $25 million; however, they have been looking to sell Steiner since the memorabilia market nosedived following the 2008-2009 recession. 

Big 12 Commissioner Bob Bowlsby said that the conference "will distribute" $38.8 million in revenue to each school, up from nearly $36.5 million last season, according to the Dallas Morning News. The Big 12, by having Oklahoma and Texas in New Year's Six bowls, "gained an additional" $6 million. The figure "puts the Big 12 behind the SEC and Big Ten," and "ahead of the ACC and Pac-12." Unlike other Power 5 conferences, the Big 12 total "doesn't include third-tier rights, which can range from a million or two" to the ESPN-Longhorn Network deal that averages $15 million. West Virginia President E. Gordon Gee said that by the time the conference's TV contract with ESPN and Fox expires in 2024-2025, revenue distribution could reach $44-45 million. The Oklahoman noted most Big 12 schools "make little money on third-tier rights." But the conference has signed with ESPN+, which will place events on a "bigger platform, though that is not expected to produce immediate financial results." In reality, the Big 12 is in much better financial standing than anyone thought when conference realignment was discussed yet again about five years ago.

Kevin Warren, a trailblazer in the pro football ranks, will soon leave his mark on college sports. The Minnesota Vikings' COO has been named the new Big Ten commissioner. He will replace Jim Delany, who is retiring in 2020 after 30 years at the helm. Warren has spent 21 years working in the NFL, the past 14 with the Vikings. In his new job, Warren becomes the Big Ten’s sixth commissioner and the first African-American to head one of college sports’ Power 5 conferences. Warren, 55, will succeed Jim Delany, who has been the Big Ten commissioner since 1989. Warren begins his new role on September 16. Delany will officially step down on January 1, 2020, following a 30-year career with the conference. A member of the Vikings for the past 20 years, the last four as COO, Warren has been the highest-ranking African-American executive working on the business side for an NFL team and the first African-American to hold that position in the pro football league. Warren, a Sport Business Handbook contributor, played a key role in the construction of U.S. Bank Stadium as well as the Vikings’ TCO Performance Center. 

M&M's has unveiled what it is calling the first branded luxury camping experience at a NASCAR race with a new program called M&M's Glampground. M&M's will set up around 30 branded tents in a private area of two upcoming NASCAR race weekends this summer: one at Kentucky Speedway and the other at Bristol Motor Speedway. The offer goes for $500, though it is not known how SMI, which owns both tracks and is selling the M&M’s packages on its websites, is splitting the revenue with M&M’s. The Mars-owned chocolate brand, which works with Weber Shandwick for its racing program, is offering 20 of the 30 tents to fans to purchase, while reserving 10 of them for VIPs. The program is meant for two people and comes with amenities such as two tickets to the race plus garage and club access; a choice of a queen bed or two singles; private showers and bathrooms; breakfast, lunch and dinner catered by local restaurants; and appearances by driver Kyle Busch, his wife Samantha and NASCAR team owner Joe Gibbs. Now that’s what we call a sweet deal.

World Surf League will become “carbon neutral” by the end of the year, promising to pay for environmental projects to counteract the extensive emissions its employees and athletes generate during their global tour. According to SportsPro, the WSL also will cut back on event production at stops with low attendance, cut disposable plastic and change its business structure to reduce executive travel. Carbon neutrality is a tall order at WSL, whose 2019 championship tour touches all six continents and remote Tahiti over 11 stops. Staff and athletes in 2018 took 6,300 fights, accounting for 97% of its emissions. The carbon offsets and other initiatives are a significant expense, but business efficiencies will cut costs over time, and CEO Sophie Goldschmidt says they believe the environmental projects can generate sponsorship revenue as well. The WSL has attempted to make ocean conservation a key pillar of its identity. The projects WSL will contribute to include a peat swamp forest in Borneo that fights deforestation; a wind farm in Brazil that powers 400,000 homes; a wilderness conservation in Kenya; and a protected redwood forest in California. 

Minor League Baseball announced the official launch of MiLB Pride, the largest documented Pride celebration in professional sports, as part of the organization’s diversity and inclusion initiative. Nearly 70 MiLB teams will host Pride Nights or events this season. MiLB Pride events will include teams holding LGBTQ-themed nights, incorporating Pride into scheduled promotions, providing discounted tickets to LGBTQ organizations, and/or engaging with the LGBTQ community both in the ballpark and beyond. Additionally, some teams are giving back to their local communities by donating a portion of ticket sales to LGBTQ non-profit organizations in their area. The national platform includes teams forming partnerships with more than 150 local LGBTQ organizations across the country. Those alignments include MiLB’s national partnerships with You Can Play – an organization that advocates for equality and respect for all who connect with sports, regardless of sexual orientation and/or gender identity – and Pride Tape, according to Cynopsis Sports, “a badge of support from teammates, coaches, parents and pros to young LGBTQ players and fans.” Once again, MiLB proves to be a trendsetter among pro sports leagues.

Top Five Tech

Fox Sports unveils a huge tech expansion for the 2019 U.S. Open. Year after year since taking over the event in 2015, Fox Sports has introduced new tech to the golf tournament. This time around Fox Sports will feature Trackman technology on every one of Pebble Beach tee boxes to measure Swing Speed, Ball Speed, Smash Factor, and Carry Distance — maybe even spin loft! Additionally, Fox Sports will incorporate shot and fairway tracers, and a mobile Toptracer tower which will provide a detailed shot line. According to Golf.com, Fox also plans to incorporate more augmented reality with the help of blimps and cranes. To add better off-green video coverage, Fox also is adding 210 degree angle penalty area cameras and more drones to capture the scenery of the course. The 2019 U.S. Open unfolds this week, and the tech may help both the avid fans and more casual golf watchers stay interested during the lulls in between shots.

ESPN launches EXP series. According to The Esports Observer, EXP series is a new series of esports competitions to be held at the ESPN branded events. Electronic Arts’ battle royale game “Apex Legends” will be the focus of two tournaments this summer. In order to integrate esports into the mainstream, the EXP Pro-Am “Apex Legends” Exhibition will be held alongside The 2019 ESPYS award show in Los Angeles on July 11. The competition will include celebrities, athletes, and influencers, according to a release, and fans can also enter for a chance to play by donating to an ESPN charity drive on eBay that begins on June 12. Later in the summer, the second competition is the EXP Invitational – “Apex Legends” at X Games Minneapolis, which takes place August 1-4 at the extreme sports festival at U.S. Bank Stadium. Last month’s ESPN Collegiate Esports Championship, held as part of Comicpalooza in Houston, is retroactively considered to be the first of the company’s EXP events and shows how the sports media company has officially incorporated esports into its coverage.

Twitter is buzzing over the Women’s World Cup. According to AdWeek, Twitter’s analytics team will determine the best tweets throughout the FIFA Women’s World Cup France 2019 across multiple categories from countries including Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, France, Germany, Japan, Mexico, Spain, South Korea, the U.S., and the U.K. The best tweets will be crowned as the #GoldenTweet winners. a panel of judges will help choose the winners for athletes, brands, fans and journalists. Twitter users can join the conversation about the tournament with hashtags including #FIFAWWC, #DareToShine, #LeMomentDeBriller and #Ettie, as well as hashtag-triggered emojis for each team; there will be limited-edition trophies for the winners. The Twitter and FIFA joint campaign demonstrates a larger global strategy to promote women in sports and the social media platform will help draw in millions of global soccer fans.

The Athletic expands with a team in the U.K. Planning to launch in August, the Athletic has pinpointed the U.K. for its first overseas hub. According to Digiday, the media company will hire a U.K. team of between 50 and 55, with the team to initially focus on Premier League teams, but will expand to cover more sports in time. The company already has a small paying U.K. cohort plus a U.S. thirst for more local football content, making the U.K. a natural next step for further coverage. Subscribers last year were 100,000, now “well over” but still in the low hundreds of thousands. The Athletic said that 89% of its subscriber base interacts with its app each week and its annual retention rate is an impressive 90%. Subscribers will have access to all content created in the U.S. and vice versa. The U.S. version has recently expanded into podcasts and video, and aims to expand these to the U.K. With roughly 1200 stories a month and a rabid soccer fan base around the globe, The Athletic may find next level success in soccer coverage.

Dignitas merges with Clutch Gaming’s League of Legends of Legends Championship Series franchise. According to ESPN, this merger represents the return of one of the first teams to join the North American LCS back in season one. The parent company of Dignitas, the Philadelphia 76ers and New Jersey Devils, announced that it has forged a partnership with the Houston Rockets to acquire League of Legends Championship Series team Clutch Gaming. Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment had agreed in principle to buy the majority share in Clutch from the Rockets for $20 million. According to Bloomberg Sports, the deal values Clutch and their franchise slot at more than $30 million. The partnership is the first-ever merger involving a League of Legends franchise in Riot Games' LCS, the competition's top level in North America. It also marks Dignitas' return to the LCS after it previously fielded League teams in North America and Europe. Clutch will compete under their current name through the 2019 season before rebranding under Dignitas for future seasons and has teams competing across six different games.

Power of Sports Five

FanDuel will donate to the Women’s Sports Foundation for goals by Team USA. According to Tullahoma News, FanDuel is offering a range of fantasy contests for the Women's World Cup. FanDuel will also contribute $1,000 to the Women’s Sports Foundation for every goal Team USA scores during the tournament, in addition to a $10,000 initial donation. The Women’s Sports Foundation is dedicated to ensuring all girls and women have equal access to sports and physical activity, and the tremendous life-long benefits they provide. To celebrate the Women's World Cup and Team USA, FanDuel is partnering with Zach Ertz, Philadelphia Eagles two-time Pro Bowl tight end and husband of U.S. Women's National Soccer Team superstar Julie Ertz. Ertz will be entering several daily fantasy contests on FanDuel throughout the tournament. FanDuel is also offering a brand new soccer game style where users can pick seven players (four forwards/midfielders, two defenders and one goalkeeper) with a $100 salary cap. In a play that mixes philanthropy and gambling, FanDuel has stepped it up to support women’s sports.

Finalists have been named for the Muhammad Ali Sports Humanitarian Award. According to NBA.com, the four finalist include Los Angeles Lakers’ Reggie Bullock, retired NFL player Chris Long, Yadier Molina of the St. Louis Cardinals, and U.S. Open tennis champion Sloane Stephens. Bullock is being recognized for his work as an advocate for the LGBTQ community, after his transgender sister was murdered in 2013. Long’s charity work includes providing clean water to African communities and helping literacy in Philadelphia, while Molina focuses on helping his home of Puerto Rico and Stephens combines tennis and education for young people around the world. The winner will be announced at the 2019 Sports Humanitarian Awards in Los Angeles on July 9. The individual who is crowned will receive a $100,000 grant from ESPN to the charity related to their humanitarian efforts, while finalists will be able to direct a $25,000 grant to their charity.

Arsenal star Mesut Ozil vows to help 1,000 kids with life-changing surgery. According to The Sun, the forward, who makes over £350,000 a week is celebrating his wedding to Amine Gulse. The 30-year-old forward has urged guests in attendance to follow his lead and support the BigShoe charity. The charitable organization is a network of sports fans who help children around the world with medical operations dealing with burns, club feet, and cleft lips, conditions developing countries struggle to deal with due to the lack of doctors, money, and medicine. Ozil has been supporting BigShoe since lifting the World Cup with Germany in Brazil five years ago, and his tireless work with the charity earned him the Laureus Sport for Good award in 2014. The German star is also an ambassador for Rays of Sunshine, which helps seriously ill children. While Ozil ties the knot with the former Miss Turkey, his cause will help families with children who can’t otherwise afford medical procedures.

Road 2 Recovery Foundation becomes the official charity of professional Motocross. According to Cycle News, MX Sports Pro Racing announced that the Road 2 Recovery Foundation has been named the official charity of the 2019 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship. As the charity of choice for the world’s most prestigious off-road motorcycle racing series, R2R will donate a percentage of all funds raised to support the presence of the Alpinestars Mobile Medical Unit at each National this summer. When purchasing tickets to any of the remaining rounds on the championship schedule, fans can make a one-time donation to R2R. Motocross is definitely a sport with many injuries, and the Road 2 Recovery and the Alpinestars Mobile Medical Unit provide crucial services to the athletes of the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship. Throughout the rest of the summer, fans can buy R2R merchandise at booths, chance a win at a VIP package for the finale of the season, or get memorabilia via eBay auctions – all for donations to R2R charity.

Oakland mayor donated Game 4 NBA Finals tickets to charity auction. According to CBS 5 San Francisco Bay Area, Warriors fans bid on a ticket to what could be the final Golden State Warriors game at Oracle Arena ever while supporting a good cause for a seat donated to a charity by Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf. Schaaf offered up one spot for a fan to accompany her in the city’s suite at the game, “even if you are a Raptors fan.” The proceeds will go to the Oakland Promise, a charity initiative aimed at ensuring all children in the East Bay city graduate from high school fully prepared to succeed in college through programs and scholarships. Even though the Warriors ended up losing the game, the lucky fan saw a precious game at Oracle Arena – pending a sixth game, it will be the last one the Warriors play in the stadium as they now find themselves trailing 3-1 in The Finals.