As the first year of its new rights deal enters its final phase, the NBA is getting set to crown its eighth different champion in as many seasons by way of what amounts to a dream matchup between the Spurs and the Knicks. It does so on the heels of a seven-game Western Conference finals […]
U.S. figure skating sensation Ilia Malinin has spent over a year seeking the trademark to his widely adopted nickname, the “QuadGod.” In recent months, his quest for the patent has been delayed by an unlikely challenger: the boot manufacturer Dr. Martens. Malinin, a three-time figure skating world champion who made history as the first man […]
Late in a close game, it becomes tougher for NBA players to generate quality shots. League-wide effective field goal percentage this NBA season was 54.6%. In crunch time, defined as the last five minutes of a game when the score margin is five points or less, that efficiency fell to 50.1%. That’s when superstars come […]
The New York Knicks are the toast of the town with their first trip to the NBA Finals since 1999. When the Knicks take the court for Game 3 at Madison Square Garden next week, one logo will flank the NBA Finals trophy and Knicks logo at center court: Chase. Since 2010, JPMorgan Chase has […]
It should probably go without saying that there is rarely any downside to booking nearly $6 billion in advertising revenue, especially when that 10-figure windfall is 7% greater than the year-ago haul. As primetime unit costs continue to shrink alongside an ever-dwindling audience, the NFL’s media partners are practically swimming in marketing bucks—a dynamic that […]
Aspiration co-founder Joseph Sanberg, who has cooperated with an NBA investigation into the Los Angeles Clippers possibly circumventing the salary cap via a no-show endorsement deal with Kawhi Leonard, was sentenced to 14 years in prison on Monday. U.S. District Judge Stephen Wilson’s sentencing follows Sanberg pleading guilty to two counts of wire fraud. Federal prosecutors recommended […]
As anybody who has stayed up night after night through the NBA postseason knows, the human body wasn’t built for the late hours of playoff basketball. Our circadian rhythm typically optimizes for peak performance in the late afternoon and early evening, and it’s not just mental acuity that varies by time of day. “It’s mainly […]
Pro sports are ubiquitous in Las Vegas, with NFL, NHL and WNBA teams already in town and MLB and NBA organizations likely to join them before the end of the decade. Vegas as a sports hot spot might seem obvious now, but it was far from a sure thing when Bill Foley became the first […]
Former Alabama basketball player Kai Spears’ defamation and false light lawsuit against The New York Times over its reporting about a fatal shooting is proceeding to trial in a case that centers on whether getting the “gist” right is good enough. Last week U.S. District Judge Annemarie Carney Axon denied the Times’ motion for summary judgment, reasoning that a person […]
On the 557th Sporticast episode, hosts Scott Soshnick and Eben Novy-Williams discuss some of the biggest sports business stories of the week, including Serena Williams’ return to professional tennis. The 23-time Grand Slam singles champion announced Monday that she would play in a doubles event next week with young Canadian Victoria Mboko, her first official […]
Stephen Curry’s new 10-year deal with Li-Ning should accelerate the Chinese apparel company’s opportunities in the U.S. It will also notably boost the Golden State Warriors star’s opportunities in China, where he and his brand could continue to make millions long after he’s done playing. Curry announced the end of his sneaker free agency Monday […]
When the New York Knicks swept the Philadelphia 76ers in the second round of the playoffs in dominating fashion, fans debated whether the Knicks’ nine days off before the Conference Finals would cause rust to build or if the rest would give them an advantage. Sportico’s analysis determined that rust was not a significant factor, […]
Serena Williams is returning to tennis, ending months of speculation after her name showed up in tennis’ anti-doping testing pool, a precursor to competing again on the WTA Tour. Williams will play doubles next week in the HSBC Championships at The Queen’s Club in England, a top-tier grass-court warmup before Wimbledon. She had retired after […]
As good as Elina Svitolina can be on the tennis court, the No. 7-ranked women’s player in the world isn’t immune to a fairly common issue that every athlete has dealt with at one point or another. “We’re playing in hot conditions; your palms are sweating and sometimes the sweat is coming from your arms […]
Rival WNBA fans have had some common ground this season. Within their Reddit community, more than 100 fans have discussed the league’s updated app, tallying faults like being logged out repeatedly and game streams jumping back to the beginning or to live instead of skipping a few seconds in either direction. “The app is genuinely […]
Electronic Arts is doing its best imitation of the men’s FIFA World Cup this summer despite no longer having a licensing agreement with FIFA. This has required a balancing act with creative copy in promotional materials. The company said EA Sports FC 26—the latest edition of EA’s annual video game series, which formerly had FIFA […]
If you’re a casual men’s tennis fan, there’s a decent chance you can’t name any of the players still in contention as the French Open hits its second week. Some of the sport’s biggest stars—including Jannik Sinner, Novak Djokovic, Daniil Medvedev and Ben Shelton—wilted in the searing heat during the first few rounds. Carlos Alcaraz […]
The NCAA on Friday accused Texas Tech quarterback Brendan Sorsby of placing over $90,000 in bets while playing for Indiana, Cincinnati and Texas Tech from 2022 to 2026, and of transferring money to others for bets in Texas, where sports betting is barred by a criminal statute. Sorsby is away from the team for treatment […]
Ownership of Muhammad Ali’s 1974 “Rumble in the Jungle” World Boxing Council title belt and of a uniform worn by Wilt Chamberlain as a high school player in 1954 are among the 11 high-value memorabilia items at issue in a new federal lawsuit brought by Collectable Sports Assets LLC (CSA) against sports memorabilia museum Sports […]
The NWSL’s Gotham FC has hired the Florida Panthers’ Mark Zarthar as president, according to multiple people familiar with the details. Zarthar was named the Panthers’ chief revenue officer last August after more than two years as the NHL club’s chief strategy officer. Gotham, which is controlled by Carolyn Tisch Blodgett, has not formally had a president […]
There will be a new men’s major champion at Roland Garros this year. Novak Djokovic lost in the third round 4-6, 4-6, 6-3, 7-5, 7-5 to Brazilian 19-year-old João Fonseca on Friday, sending the tennis Grand Slams into a state of rare unpredictability. One day earlier, No. 1 seed Jannik Sinner lost in a five-setter […]
Jannik Sinner’s pursuit of a career Grand Slam was thwarted Thursday morning by his poor showing at the French Open, and while tennis fans were already ruing the impossibility of a reprise of last year’s epic men’s final, the departure of the worldwide No. 1 may prove to be an even tougher pill for TNT […]
Welcome to Sportico’s transactions wire, a weekly rundown of personnel, partnerships and products across the sports business industry. PERSONNEL Nashville SC Hires Lucas Reid as VP of Corporate Partnerships Nashville SC announced it has hired Lucas Reid as its vice president of corporate partnerships. In his role, Reid will oversee NSC’s partnership strategy and lead […]
Two full months into the MLB season, the American League only has four teams above .500, while the National League has 11. Those are the fewest and most teams from either league, respectively, to be above .500 as of May 28 since MLB expanded to 30 franchises in 1998. A number of slumping AL teams […]
Update: PSG defeated Arsenal in a penalty shootout on Saturday. Global soccer heavyweights Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain face off Saturday in the Champions League final in Budapest, Hungary. They are both chasing history, with Arsenal looking for its first top-tier European crown, and PSG eyeing back-to-back titles, something only Real Madrid has accomplished since the […]