Go to Source Author: Eric Fisher Atlanta Braves president and CEO Derek Schiller admits to regularly checking the team’s stock price, now that it’s a standalone public company.But beyond those peeks at the market, the longtime team executive is attempting to make the team’s split from Liberty Media as insignificant an internal shift as possible.The Braves completed their long-planned split from Liberty this week and began trading on Wednesday. As MLB’s best team on — and perhaps off — the field, the Braves’ organizational plan is to continue that run of success unimpeded.“We’re going to operate the same way today that we did yesterday,” Schiller told Front Office Sports. “The way we’ve enjoyed success is still the recipe moving forward. The main

Go to Source Author: David Rumsey The head of the organization that runs the Open Championship wouldn’t rule out accepting financial investment from Saudi Arabia on the eve of the 151st edition of the tournament at Royal Liverpool Golf Club in Hoylake, England.“If I’m very open, we are and do and continue to talk to various potential sponsors,” R&A CEO Martin Slumbers said on Wednesday when asked about potentially working with the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund.The Open Championship tees off Thursday at 1:30 a.m. ET with the lowest purse of the four golf majors — $16.5 million. Coverage begins on Peacock and continues on USA Network at 4 a.m. ET. “We had expected prize money to rise over a five-year period,

Go to Source Author: Owen Poindexter Slamball is returning after a seven-year hiatus, and its creator and CEO, Mason Gordon, has sky-high ambitions for the novel sport. “Young audiences are reaching out for sports to call their own,” Gordon said on Front Office Sports Today. “In legacy sports, you’ve got unbelievable topline success, and yet there’s a real issue with younger demographics not watching their core product.” Slamball is a contact version of basketball with jumping pads (think rectangular trampolines) inside the three-point arc, allowing for flying slam dunks and alley-oops. In addition to the highlight-friendly action, the format is designed for a younger audience, with the entire game taking around half an hour. While the sport most resembles basketball, Gordon found that football players

Go to Source Author: Michael McCarthy The New York Jets were dragged kicking and screaming into HBO and NFL Films’ production of “Hard Knocks.” Based on comments from Jets players and media observers, this summer’s training camp show could come off like a hostage video or throw off more dramatic sparks than any edition in years.New Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers said his team is not happy about being strong-armed by the league into the training camp spotlight.“I understand the appeal with us. There’s a lot of eyes on me, a lot of eyes on our team. A lot of expectations for our squad. They forced it down our throat and we have to deal with it,” Rodgers said at the American Century Championship.During

Go to Source Author: Doug Greenberg Parity continues to reign supreme in women’s tennis.With a straight sets win over Ons Jabeur, Marketa Vondrousova won her first Wimbledon and first career Grand Slam title, becoming the 16th different woman to win a major since 2017.The Czech national is the first unseeded woman and third unseeded player overall to win Wimbledon in the tournament’s history. She was a 150-1 underdog to win it all before the tournament.“After everything I’ve been through — I was in a cast last year — it’s just amazing that I can stand here and hold this,” Vondrousova said, referring to wrist surgery that kept her out of last year’s tournament. “Tennis is crazy.”Vondrousova takes home $3 million in

Go to Source Author: Doug Greenberg Poker’s marquee event is underway, with a record number of entrants competing for “the richest trophy in all of sports” and a piece of live poker’s largest-ever prize pool.The World Series of Poker announced that 10,043 players entered the WSOP Main Event, leading to a $93.4 million prize pool. The previous records of 8,773 players and an $82.5 million prize pool were set in 2006.The 2023 edition of the prestigious tournament — taking place at the Horseshoe Las Vegas — will see the winner take home $12.1 million, with the first player eliminated from the nine-person Final Table winning $900,000. The tournament will pay out 1,507 players — 15 percent of the total entrants (only 10

Go to Source Author: Eric Fisher A relatively unknown commercial insurance company landed a spot on arguably the most iconic uniform in sports in a record deal that raises new questions about the jersey patch market.On Wednesday, the New York Yankees unveiled an expanded deal with Starr Insurance, a team sponsor since 2018. Starting July 21, the New York-based company will become the team’s first jersey patch partner through 2031.Industry sources pegged the deal’s annual value at around $25 million, which easily surpasses other MLB jersey patch deals, which generally range from $5 million to $17 million per year.A year ago, the Yankees appointed Legends — the global hospitality and sales entity it co-owns with majority partner Sixth Street Partners and the

Go to Source Author: Andrew Cohen Microsoft has won a U.S. court decision to move forward with its $68.7 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard, the developer of popular video games such as Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, and Overwatch.Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley in San Francisco ruled to deny the Federal Trade Commission’s attempted injunction to block the biggest deal ever in gaming. Microsoft can now close its merger with Activision before the July 18 deadline in every country except for the UK, though Microsoft is negotiating with the UK regulator to get its deal approved. The FTC argued that Microsoft would use its acquisition of Activision Blizzard to make certain popular games no longer available for Sony’s PlayStation, a rival to the

Go to Source Author: Eric Fisher A $550 million burden that has never turned a profit has managed to trigger massive changes at one of the leading U.S. media outlets.The New York Times disbanded its sports department on Monday, resulting in the reassignment of more than 35 journalists and editors — including some to a planned unit within the business section focusing on money and power in sports. The paper will rely on sports coverage from The Athletic, which the Times acquired early last year.Since that deal, internal dissension has grown within the Times, peaking with a formal letter sent Sunday by the Times’ sports department staffers to newspaper leadership, complaining of being left “twisting in the wind.”Pressure has been high on

Go to Source Author: Andrew Cohen The National Federation of State High School Associations has announced a rule change to permit one-way electronic communication between a coach in the dugout and an on-field catcher.The rule change going into effect in 2024 will bring PitchCom’s debut in high school baseball after the device debuted in MLB in 2022 and has achieved widespread usage across the league for players to electronically share pitch call requests — replacing the traditional hand signals from catchers to combat sign-stealing. “The PitchCom System is the gold standard for baseball and softball. There is a reason why the MLB and 3 out of 4 College WS teams used PitchCom. We are leasing systems to top high school programs. Contact us