09/20/18: The NBA's Mavericks Conclusion

Good morning. It’s Thursday September 20, 2018 and this is your first early morning Sports briefing.

The NBA released a state about the independent investigation re: the Dallas Mavericks workplace, which substantiated numerous instances of sexual harassment and other improper workplace conduct within the Mavericks organization over a period spanning more than twenty years. The investigators concluded that Mavericks’ management was ineffective, including a lack of compliance and internal controls, noting that investigators found no evidence that team owner Mark Cuban was aware of former President and CEO Terdema Ussery’s misconduct. Subsequently, Cuban has agreed to contribute $10 million to organizations that are committed to supporting the leadership and development of women in the sports industry and combating domestic violence. Additionally, the NBA is requiring the Mavericks to provide the league office with quarterly reports regarding the recommendations set forth in the report and their implementation, among other programs.

“The findings of the independent investigation are disturbing and heartbreaking and no employee in the NBA, or any workplace for that matter, should be subject to the type of working environment described in the report,” said NBA Commissioner Adam Silver. “We appreciate that Mark Cuban reacted swiftly, thoroughly and transparently to the allegations first set forth in Sports Illustrated – including the immediate hiring of Cynthia Marshall as CEO to effect change, but as Mark has acknowledged, he is ultimately responsible for the culture and conduct of his employees. While nothing will undo the harm caused by a select few former employees of the Mavericks, the workplace reforms and the $10 million that Mark has agreed to contribute are important steps toward rectifying this past behavior and shining a light on a pervasive societal failing — the inability of too many organizations to provide a safe and welcoming workplace for women.”

ON THE AIR

The Southeastern Conference unveiled the television networks and start times for its 2018-19 men’s basketball schedule including the ESPN package and CBS Sports’ coverage. Conference play tips off Jan. 5, and runs through March 9, beginning with Kentucky/Alabama on ESPN at noon. The first game on CBS is slated to be Ole Miss/Mississippi State on Jan. 12 at 1p. The SEC Tournament returns to the Music City when Bridgestone Arena in Nashville hosts the event from March 13-17, 2019.

Meanwhile, the Mountain West Conference announced the schedule for its men’s basketball games carried on national and regional television, as well as digitally. Overall, a total of 111 games will be shown across CBS Sports Network, ESPN Networks, AT&T SportsNet and the Mountain West Network on Stadium this season. The 2018-19 nonconference season tips off on Nov. 6 with seven teams seeing action, including Nevada hosting BYU at 11p on CBS Sports Network. The 2019 Air Force Reserve MW Men’s Basketball Championship begins Wednesday, March 13 and concludes Saturday, March 16 in Las Vegas, with the first round broadcast on the MWN while the quarterfinal and semifinal games run on CBS Sports Network. The Championship game on Saturday will begin at 3p on CBS.

Rounding college basketball TV news, the Patriot League will serve up 18 games on CBS Sports Network this season, including both men’s and women’s League championship games. The television schedule tips off on Nov. 9 when Navy hosts Maryland as part of the Veterans Classic. Meanwhile, the League slate begins on Jan. 14 when Bucknell hosts Holy Cross at 7p. The Patriot League Men’s Basketball Championship will be televised on CBS Sports Network for the eighth-consecutive season on March 13 at 7:30p, with the Patriot League Women’s Basketball Championship set to be aired on March 17 at noon.

Us Weekly reports that Maroon 5 has been tapped as the headliner for the Super Bowl LIII halftime show out of Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium in February. In response, the NFL stated that “It’s a Super Bowl tradition to speculate about the performers for the Pepsi Halftime Show,” said a statement from the NFL, who has the final say on the performers. “We are continuing to work with Pepsi on our plans but do not have any announcements to make on what will be another epic show.”

NBC Sports’ coverage of the IndyCar Grand Prix of Sonoma championship race on Sunday evening drew a Total Audience Delivery of 638,000 average viewers to the network, to tie as the fourth most-watched live IndyCar race on NBCSN in nine years, according to data to Nielsen Company and Adobe Analytics. Sunday’s viewership on NBCSN was up 19% vs. last year’s race (536,000).

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in will reportedly submit a joint bid for the 2032 Summer Olympics. Germany has already reportedly announced plans for a multicity bid for 2032, as has Brisbane, Australia. The India Olympic Committee has also indicated its interest in hosting the 2032 Games.

NBA TV carries 22 live preseason games this year, including multiple appearances by the Golden State Warriors, Houston Rockets, Boston Celtics, Los Angeles Lakers, Philadelphia 76ers, Milwaukee Bucks and Oklahoma City Thunder. The network’s preseason schedule will tip off with the Boston Celtics against the Charlotte Hornets in Chapel Hill on Sept. 28 at 7:30p.

We are less than two weeks away from the Esports Business Summit. Today’s panel spotlight – Esports News: Content that Connects (and Enrages). Moderated by RekT Global’s Kevin Knocke, speakers will include Cheddar CEO Jon Steinberg, Vice Media Group Publisher Joel Fowler, ESPN’s Sean Morrison, ESP Gaming’s Richard Lewis and Aubrey Levy from theScore as they dissect the evolution of esports coverage. Tickets are going fast so get your seat today!

The first six sites for BTN Tailgate, the network’s travelling Saturday studio show, have been confirmed. Saturday’s BTN Tailgate heads to Iowa City as the Hawkeyes look to take an early lead in the Big Ten West. Iowa will face the Badgers. The following week on Sept. 29, BTN Tailgate will visit Nebraska when the Huskers host Purdue. Other stops include an Oct. 6 trip to Ohio State, Penn State Oct. 12, Wisconsin on Oct. 20 and Northwestern on Oct. 27.

Sports Trust Advisors announced that client and NFL Pro Bowler and Super Bowl Champion DeMarcus Ware will join the cast of Dancing with the Stars on Monday at 8p on ABC.

On the local front, NBC Sports Chicago serves up the final broadcast call of legendary White Sox announcer Ken “Hawk” Harrelson for the White Sox/Cubs “Crosstown Classic” series on Sunday. He will be joined in the booth by longtime partner Steve Stone and a number of special guests stopping by the booth throughout the telecast.

Minor League Baseball reports that a total of 40,450,337 fans passed through its gates in 2018, marking the 14th consecutive season that Minor League Baseball’s 176 teams in 15 leagues drew more than 40 million fans. The Triple-A Charlotte Knights led all teams in total attendance (619,639) and average attendance (8,980), while the Frisco RoughRiders (468,259) led the Double-A level for the 14th consecutive season, the Dayton Dragons (550,725) led the Class-A level and the Vancouver Canadians (239,086) topped the Short Season and Rookie level leagues.

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Time to Tune-in to the Future Industry Leaders

The Fourth Annual Cynopsis Rising Star Awards is gearing up for its best year yet…Don’t miss this great opportunity to honor yourself or a colleague with a nomination. The groundbreaking work that these ambitious and creative young professionals have accomplished over the past year deserves to be celebrated – and we can’t wait to see what they have to offer!

ENTER NOW

Here’s a look at last year’s winners!

SPONSORSHIP & PROMOTION

The NHL announced that Honda will serve as the title sponsor of the 2019 NHL All-Star Game for the fifth consecutive year, with this year’s event taking place in San Jose. Honda will award the MVP of the 2019 Honda NHL All-Star Game with a new vehicle at the conclusion of the game. “Our long relationship with the NHL has created a strong bond between the Honda brand and NHL fans and a shared love for the game of hockey,” said Susie Rossick, Assistant Vice President, Honda Automotive Marketing. “The NHL All-Star Game is one of the most exciting moments of the season for players and fans and we look forward to helping make this year’s midseason showcase match the energy and passion of the San Jose community.”

UNC Greensboro announced an extension of its multimedia rights and licensing agreements with IMG through 2028. IMG College will continue to provide exclusive representation of the corporate partner program and commercial business for Spartan Athletics including broadcast offerings, sponsorships, hospitality, coach’s endorsements, in-venue signage and much more.

DIGITAL & STREAMING

Olympic Broadcasting Services and Alibaba Cloud, announced the launch of OBS Cloud, a broadcasting solution that operates entirely on the cloud, “to help transform the media industry for the digital era.” Set to be in place for Tokyo 2020, the OBS Cloud aims to offer all the necessary cloud components, in specialized configurations, that can support the content production and delivery workflows of the broadcasting of the Olympic Games.

Homestand Sports, producers of the popular Pitch Talks and Puck Talk live sports talks series, announced an expanded strategic partnership with The Athletic. The deal will see Homestand Sports become the exclusive live event provider for The Athletic in Canada. The partnership kicks off with Homestand Sports producing The Athletic’s first ever cross-country event series with stops in every Canadian NHL city. The national tour kicks off September 22 in Winnipeg.

The Intercollegiate Tennis Association and Oracle announced that the men’s and women’s singles finals of the 2018 Oracle ITA Masters on September 23 will be available to a national audience live via ESPN3 and on the ESPN app, and later aired on ESPNU on Sept. 24 at 5p.

The story behind Argentina’s iconic victory in men’s basketball at the Olympic Games Athens 2004 will be featured in The Golden Generation, the third film in the Olympic Channel’s signature series Five Rings Films. The feature length documentary is directed by Juan José Campanella and Camilo Antolini and will premiere on Oct. 22 on the Olympic Channel.

ESPORTS

In this week’s edition of Cynopsis Esports…

Call of Duty World League gets marching orders
Mastercard’s LOL charge
ECS is going big in Texas
Injustice 2 Pro Series Grand Finals heads to Chicago
The Battle Royale disruptors
Skillz doubles down

ROSTER MOVES

World TeamTennis presented by GEICO is relocating its corporate headquarters from New York City to Carlsbad. The new office will be headed by Southern California resident Chris Renner, who was named the league’s new Chief Executive Officer on July 16.

THE MAIN EVENT

The TOUR Championship tees off on Golf Channel at 1p.

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Tuesday, October 2^nd | 7PM – 10:30PM | The Esports Arena Las Vegas

Come celebrate the latest and greatest in esports from over the last 12 months as we recognize over 60 frontrunners from across the esports ecosystem. Network with some of the industry’s elite over cocktails, dinner and at our after party—all while being inspired by the work our honorees produced. View finalists here .

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ON THIS DAY in 2000: The Knicks trade Patrick Ewing to Seattle.

In the Know: Patrick Ewing finished his playing career with which NBA team? (Email [email protected] with your answer and be sure to include your name, company and city.)

Answer to Our Last Sports Trivia Question: Which venue has hosted the most Super Bowls? Answer: The Mercedes Benz Superdome. Kudos: Frank Costa-CBS Sports/NY; Willy Gibson-WTG Sports/Columbus; Rich Dubroff-BaltimoreBaseball.com/Baltimore; Cait Cohn-USA Diving/Indianapolis; Allison Weiner-MMSI/Warwick; Andy Pittman-TAMU/College Station; John Kukla-KDFW/KDFI/Dallas-Fort Worth; Joe Lyons-ESPN/Dallas; Kyle Krebs- KXAS-TV/ Dallas-Fort Worth; Rich Wolfe-Lone Wolfe Press/Scottsdale; Larry Hutchings/Nipomo; Tom Moore-Kalt Productions/LA; David Westberg-SAG-AFTRA Federal Credit Union/Burbank

Later – Chris

Chris Pursell @VegasandVine
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