Friday December 18, 2020

“We’re honored to be presenting sponsor of the 107th Rose Bowl and cheer on two great teams in this highly anticipated game,” said Marc Mentry, Chief Brand Officer at Capital One. “Being a part of the Rose Bowl, especially when it is host to a College Football Playoff semifinal game, is a special opportunity for us to connect with fans around one of America’s most storied sporting events. While this year’s game will certainly look different than most, sports continues to be a great unifier and bright spot.”

PROGRAMMING

FOX Sports is reeling in Tom Rinaldi, winner of 16 Sports Emmy Awards and seven Edward R. Murrow Awards, in 2021. He joins from ESPN with a resume that spans College Football Playoff National Championship game to the Super Bowl to the Masters, Wimbledon, the World Series and more. “Tom is one of the all-time great people in this business and a generational storyteller,” said Eric Shanks, Chief Executive Officer & Executive Producer, FOX Sports. “The biggest events on FOX just got bigger because of Tom, and we are honored to have him as our newest teammate.”

The Premier Lacrosse League and Major League Lacrosse are merging in a move that will blend subsequent season operations and activities to formally exist under the Premier Lacrosse League moniker. As part of the merger, the PLL will immediately expand to include the Boston Cannons as the PLL’s eighth team, under the rebranded name Cannons Lacrosse Club. The PLL and MLL have created an internal team that will oversee the success of the transition, including: front office, team and player orientation; the 2021 season schedule, which will include former MLL team markets; and a long-term plan to develop youth lacrosse players in historical MLL communities.

Grand Prix Association of Long Beach officials announced that the 2021 Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach, originally scheduled for April 16-18, will now take place September 24-26 and become the season finale of the 2021 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season. In making the move, GPALB President and CEO Jim Michaelian cited the current status of the coronavirus pandemic, which has made it doubtful that the organization could conduct the Acura Grand Prix as originally intended in April.

Westwood One cemented a partnership with Rich Eisen to bring The Rich Eisen Show and future projects to the Westwood One Podcast Network. In the new partnership, Westwood One will monetize, market, and distribute all existing and forthcoming podcasts. In addition, Westwood One will assist in the distribution of the Rich Eisen radio show. Westwood One will work directly with Eisen to format show highlights and interviews into The Rich Eisen Show podcast that will be available at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, TuneIn, Pocket Casts, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, and Pandora, among other platforms.

MLB Network honors six baseball legends who passed away in 2020 on Dec. 26 at 8p with MLB Network Presents Icons Lost. The episode will feature Lou Brock, Whitey Ford, Bob Gibson, Al Kaline, Joe Morgan and Tom Seaver. Icons Lost will cover their transcendent careers, signature moments, and the bond each of them had with the sport.

ESPN takes a look back at 2020 with SportsCenter Presents: 2020 – Heroes, History and Hope on Christmas Eve at 8p in a three-hour event. The three volumes of 2020 – Heroes, History and Hope will have entirely different content but will be presented in a common format. Multiple ESPN personalities, including Mike Greenberg, Tom Junod, Mina Kimes, Holly Rowe, Adam Schefter, Stephen A. Smith, and Wright Thompson, will contribute essays to the programs on various topics pertaining to 2020, from Patrick Mahomes to Tom Brady to the power of the WNBA

Actor and producer Michael B. Jordan, in partnership with WME Sports, Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment (HBSE), and Scout, announced the launch of an inaugural HBCU college basketball showcase, the Hoop Dreams Classic. The event will be held at Prudential Center in Newark on December 18, 2021, and will feature four of the top Division I HBCU Men’s and Women’s basketball programs.

The second leg between UNAM-Leon on Univision on Sunday delivered 2.4 million Total Viewers 2+ and 1.3 million Adults 18-49 to Univision. That ranks as the second-best rated soccer match of the year, regardless of language.

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CarMax announced a new partnership with the NBA, WNBA and Turner Sports. As part of the multiyear agreement, CarMax is now the official auto retailer of the NBA and WNBA – the first automotive retail partnership in WNBA history – as well as the presenting partner of NBA Tip-Off on TNT. In CarMax’s upcoming “Call Your Shot” campaign, the company is debuting partnerships with four-time WNBA champion Sue Bird and three-time NBA champion Stephen Curry, as well as bringing back two-time AT&T NBA Slam Dunk Contest champion Zach LaVine, and newly acquired Golden State Warrior Kelly Oubre, Jr., for the second year of the content series.

The PGA TOUR and the Memorial Tournament announced that Workday, Inc., offering enterprise cloud applications for finance and human resources, will become the new presenting sponsor of the Memorial Tournament, with a 10-year agreement beginning in 2022. “We’ve long admired the Memorial Tournament for its history as an event that not only showcases the best in golf, but also its support of important causes throughout the years,” said Aneel Bhusri, co-founder and co-CEO, Workday. “It’s an honor for Workday to be part of this great event, and to join the Nicklaus and Curry families’ amazing endeavors to support children and families through the valuable work of organizations like Nationwide Children’s Hospital and Eat. Learn. Play.”

The NBA Foundation announced a total of $2 million in inaugural grants that will drive economic empowerment in Black communities through employment and career advancement. Seven organizations – exalt, Management Leadership for Tomorrow, Marcus Graham Project, Operation DREAM, TEAM Inc., The Knowledge House and the Youth Empowerment Project – have been selected as the recipients of the first grants from the Foundation.

Meanwhile, as part of committed efforts to promote diversity and inclusion in hockey, the National Hockey League American Hockey League, and ECHL announced that the AHL, ECHL and their Member Clubs will join Hockey is For Everyone, the NHL’s year-long initiative in conjunction with the National Hockey League Players’ Association to emphasize that the official policy of the sport is one of supporting and prioritizing inclusion on the ice, in locker rooms, boardrooms and stands.

DIGITAL, DATA & TECH

The National Basketball Retired Players Association revealed numbers for the first three months of the expansion and launch of Legends Media & Entertainment. In three months LME has drawn almost 600,000 views and listens, more than three times the combined numbers of audio and video around the players in the previous nine months.

Pac-12 Networks has announced the launch of Pac-12 Insider on its sixth and newest platform, VIZIO SmartCast. Pac-12 Insider offers fans free access to the latest football and basketball highlights, classic encores of the top sports and programs across the Conference of Champions.

The CAGE Companies and its subsidiary, CAGE Sports BV today announced a strategic business agreement with FanDuel Group to expand the sportsbook to certain jurisdictions where CAGE is licensed or is seeking sports betting licenses in the Caribbean and South America. As part of the agreement, FanDuel Group and CAGE will operate over the counter sportsbooks at retail locations and online in markets throughout the regions. Both companies expect the network to be activated in the first half of 2021 initially in Bermuda and Barbados.

Verizon Media and Entain plc are launching a global innovation alliance to develop new opportunities across interactive sports and entertainment. Entain brands include Ladbrokes, bwin, PartyPoker, and BetMGM in the United States, which is co-owned with MGM Resorts. Verizon Media and Entain will collaborate to develop a first-of-its-kind highly immersive proof of concept virtual reality experience, that will combine live sports viewing with interactive layers of sports data and gaming. Additionally, Entain will work closely with Verizon Media to develop concepts for new formats with emerging technologies like 5G, virtual reality, and augmented reality to bring the best experiences in immersive content and gaming to sports betting and gambling.

The NBA relaunched its Video Rulebook microsite to serve as a resource to teams, media and fans with an explanation of the rules of the game through videos selected from NBA games, the league announced today. The Video Rulebook now offers a deeper look at some of the game’s most misunderstood rules and violations.

ESPORTS

The Electronic Gaming Federation elected its first Board of Governors for EGFC, EGF’s Division 1 esports governing body. The Board of Governors will work directly with EGF on League policy and governance and furthering the initiatives important to the League like student development, diversity and inclusion, and a slate of other topics and projects. Individuals elected include: Courtney James, DePaul University; Michele King, William & Mary; Steve Kramarck, University of Delaware; David Tomczyk, Quinnipiac University; Nyle Sky Kauweloa, University of Hawaii; Julie Byron, Marist College; and Bill Newton, Niagara University.

New gaming chair brand Mavix locked in its first-ever partnership with an esports organization, aligning with Call of Duty League franchise OpTic Chicago. Through the exclusive partnership, Mavix will outfit every OpTic Chicago player and personality with an M-series chair for competitive and recreational use. Mavix will also serve as a sponsor of OpTic’s weekly CDL Pre-Show, debuting at the start of the 2021 season.

INDUSTRY & ROSTER MOVES

The NBA Foundation Board of Directors announced that Greg Taylor has been selected as the organization’s first Executive Director. Taylor, who is currently NBA Senior Vice President of Player Development, will assume his new role on Jan. 4, 2021 and lead the Foundation’s mission to drive economic empowerment for Black communities through employment and career advancement.

Russia will not be able to use its name, flag and anthem over the next two Olympics as well as at any world championships for the next two years after a ruling Thursday by the Court of Arbitration for Sport. ESPN writes that the Lausanne-based court halved the four-year ban proposed last year by the World Anti-Doping Agency in a landmark case that accused Russia of state-ordered tampering of a testing laboratory database in Moscow.

SPORTS BROADCAST JOURNAL w/David J. Halberstam

Dick Vitale who was arguably ESPN’s leading personality when the network launched in 1979 is still active, vibrant and popular. This is his 42nd season calling college basketball. But the pandemic has changed the environment and the way he broadcasts. Little rooting, no fans and a home studio. Dickie V shares his views on the unprecedented experience.
42 seasons in, Dickie V going strong despite no fans in the arena and broadcasting games from home

Ken Levine wrote for M*A*S*H, Cheers, Frasier and other television hits. He’s also broadcast at the highest of levels for the Orioles, Mariners and Padres. He talks about how acting skills can be applied in the broadcast booth. Best example might be Bob Uecker. Remember the TV series, Mr. Belvedere?
Hollywood’s Ken Levine: “Acting helps sportscasters develop a flair for the dramatic”

The college football schedule is again fluid this weekend. Cancellations, yes. Yet three games are scheduled for ABC, CBS and Fox that will determine the final matchups for the playoffs. See game times, networks, matchups, announcers and notes.
College Football Week #16: ABC, CBS and Fox air 3 title games that will shape playoff matchups

The NFL runs 16 games this weekend, two are exclusively on the NFL Network, six on CBS, five exclusively on Fox, one on Fox and NFL Network, one on NBC and one on ESPN. Talent, networks, notes and market-by-market listings for Sunday afternoon’s regional games are in this thorough piece
NFL Week #15: CBS has KC-Saints nationally in Sun aft window; Nantz teases as a possible SB preview

Happy Birthdays:
Steve Physioc, 12/18 KC Royals Raio/TV
Freddie Coleman, 12/19 ESPN Radio
Adam Amin, 12/19 Fox Sports, Chic Bulls
Jemele Hill, 12/21 formerly ESPN
Pat Foley, 12/23 Chi Blackhawks TV
Jay Bilas, 12/24 ESPN, college basketball
Jay Glazer, 12/26 FOX Sports, NFL
Todd Kalas, 12/31 Houston Astros TV

Sports Broadcast Journal

IN THE KNOW
What is the name of the mascot for the San Francisco Giants? (Email [email protected] with your answer and be sure to include your name, company and city).

Answer to Our Last Sports Trivia Question
Who is the only player to ever score seven goals in an NHL game? Answer: Maurice Joseph Malone. Kudos: Holli Sarner-Home Team Sports/NY; Denis Barry-CBS/NY; Kathi Gillin-JamLoop/Philadelphia; Mike Seidel-CSI Sports/Jersey City; Russ DelCore-a4media/Oakland; Synda Kollman-Charter Marketing Group/Boca Raton; Andy Pittman-TAMU/College Station; Jack Neumann-University of Calgary Dinos 5th Quarter Alumni Development/Calgary; David Westberg-SAG-AFTRA Credit Union/Burbank; Tom Moore-Kalt Productions/LA