April 15, 2021

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Jackie Robinson made his MLB debut 74 years ago today and changed sports forever. Legend.

Disney’s NFL Draft Strategy

NFL/Design: Alex Brooks

The Walt Disney Co.’s creation of a separate NFL Draft broadcast on ABC helped ESPN fight off rival Fox Sports. It’s not about to mess with success. 

For the third year in a row, Kirk Herbstreit’s “College GameDay” crew will lead ABC’s inside-out coverage of the draft. Herbstreit outlined some of the differences between ABC and ESPN’s coverage, and how their complementary approaches will help Disney dominate the draft.

More NFL insight: ABC’s coverage focuses on the journeys of top draft picks; ESPN focuses on the needs of NFL GMs. This year, viewers will still get the collegiate “storytelling,” per Herbstreit. But ABC won’t hesitate to dissect the needs of NFL clubs. 

More female viewers: ABC helps the NFL attract more women and casual viewers. Last year, ABC drew more women than ESPN for both Round 1 (2.4 million vs. 2.1 million) and Rounds 2-3 (1.4 million vs. 1 million).

New show: Leading into Draft Day in Cleveland, Herbstreit will interview six top prospects on his new “QB21 with Kirk Herbstreit” show premiering April 17.

“Our Mel”: ESPN draft guru Todd McShay couldn’t contribute last year due to COVID-19. Herbstreit predicts McShay will be the “MVP” of ABC’s coverage. “Todd lives it like Mel [Kiper Jr.]. Todd is going to be our Mel.”

The 2020 “virtual draft” was the most-watched draft ever, reaching over 55 million viewers over three days across ABC, ESPN, ESPN Deportes, and NFL Network. There will still be virtual elements this year. Projected No. 1 pick Trevor Lawrence, for example, won’t attend in person.

Tokyo Olympics Could Still Be Canceled

IOC/Design: Alex Brooks

Nearly everything that could go wrong seemingly has so far for the Tokyo Olympics, and the threat that they might not even happen still lingers.

A powerful politician, Liberal Democratic Party Secretary General Toshihiro Nikai, floated the possibility that the games could still be canceled — three months before they are set to begin.

Asked if cancelation is still on the table, Nikai was unambiguous: “Of course. If the Olympics are going to be the factor causing COVID to spread extensively, then what are we holding the Games for?”

Canceling the games appears to have broad public support in Japan.

  • 40% of the population favors canceling the games, and another 33% thinks they should be postponed, according to a recent poll by Kyodo News. 
  • COVID-19 cases have risen to around 3,200 per day, up from around 1,000 per day in early March.
  • Only about 1.4% of the population has been vaccinated, according to official figures — one of the lowest rates in the developed world.

Postponing the games, originally scheduled for 2020, cost the International Olympic Committee an estimated $800 million, and the total cost of the games could be around $25 billion.

“I want the games to succeed, but to do so there are a lot of issues that need to be resolved,” Nikai said. “If it seems impossible, it needs to be stopped.”

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Serie A Teams Call for League Head to Resign

Serie A/Design: Alex Brooks

A group of Serie A teams have asked the president of the league to step down.

Paolo Dal Pino has been called by seven of the league’s 20 clubs to resign, but the dissenting group will need at least one more organization to back the motion. If an eighth team steps in, the issue will be added to an official meeting agenda.

The request follows Dal Pino’s proposed deal with a private consortium that would have taken a 10% stake in the league’s media company for $2 billion. The consortium included private equity groups CVC Capital Partners, Advent International, and Fondo FSI.

The deal needed approval from 14 of 20 teams, but seven voiced their opposition. 

“The term sheet submitted to the clubs belonging to the league has not reached a qualified consensus needed for the approval… as things stand, this development opportunity is not viable anymore,” a letter to Dal Pino said in February.

There hasn’t been active work toward the private consortium transaction since then, though Dal Pino remains interested. Now teams are taking a stronger stance, saying there is no longer enough support for the deal to pass.

The most recent letter to Dal Pino, who is also CEO of telecoms group Telit Communications, said his actions regarding the deal “led to the need to represent to you our irrevocable no-confidence with regards to your role, conduct, and management as president of the League.”

Dal Pino was elected as president in January 2020. Last month, the vast majority of Serie A clubs approved a three-year, $2.95 billion broadcast rights deal with DAZN.

Conversation Starters

Conversation Starters

  • The Dallas Wings are the first team in WNBA history to hold the first two picks in the league’s draft. The Wings won the second pick in the draft lottery and traded for the top pick in February. They also hold the fifth pick, and the first pick of the second round. The draft will be held Thursday night in its second year as a virtual event.
  • LaMarcus Aldridge announced his retirement after 15 seasons in the NBA. The seven-time All-Star is prioritizing his health after experiencing an irregular heartbeat against the Los Angeles Lakers on April 10. He retires as one of 25 players in NBA history to record 19,000+ points and 8,000+ rebounds. Get more stories like this in The Association, a free, daily NBA newsletter. Click here to subscribe.
  • April Subscriber Giveaway: We’re giving away two tickets to watch a live conversation with former MLB star Wade Boggs on Thuzio on May 6. For every friend or colleague who subscribes to FOS with your custom referral link by the end of April, you get one entry into our giveaway.
    • Share in one tap (Email // Twitter // Facebook) or copy-and-paste your custom referral link: [RH_REFLINK]
  • Focus less on pet expenses, and more on belly rubs. Lemonade collaborated with vets and real-life pet parents to design plans that start as low as $10/month. You can even craft your coverage yourself!*

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Market Movers

Market Movers

U.S. stocks experienced gains across all three major indexes on Thursday as the number of new jobless claims decreased. Here’s a look at how sports-related stocks performed:

Up:

Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: SBGI) gained 2.95%

Gravity Co., Ltd. (NASDAQ: GRVY) gained 2.26%

Planet Fitness, Inc. (NYSE: PLNT) gained 1.95%

Down:

fuboTV Inc. (NYSE: FUBO) dropped 8.04%

GameStop Corp. (NYSE: GME) dropped 6.28%

Rush Street Interactive, Inc. (NYSE: RSI) dropped 4.66%

(Note: All as of market close on 4/15/21)

What to Watch

What to Watch

The Atlanta Hawks (30-25) host the Milwaukee Bucks (34-20) tonight at State Farm Arena. Milwaukee won 129-115 the last time the teams met in January and currently stand one ahead of Atlanta at third in the Eastern Conference.

How to Watch:

7:30 p.m. on TNT

Betting Odds:

Bucks -4 || ML -175 || O/U 230

Pick: The Hawks have rattled off three-straight wins, including two on the road, and the Bucks are looking to get back on track, seeking their third win in six games. The Hawks are 7-1 against the spread in their last eight, but the Bucks will be eager to create separation between Atlanta in the standings. Take Milwaukee to cover and lean under.

Who ya got? Reply to this newsletter with your prediction for the Bucks-Hawks winner, final score, and high scorer. Nail it, and you get a mention in Friday’s FOS PM. Don’t forget to include your Twitter handle.

Shoutout: On Wednesday, we asked FOS readers to pick the winner, final score, and high scorer of the Nets-76ers tilt. The 76ers gave the Nets a 123-117 loss with Joel Embiid powering his way to a game-high 39 points. FOS reader David Nagelberg (@SportsGuruDave) correctly picked the Sixers and Embiid.

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Written by Michael McCarthy, Owen Poindexter, Abigail Gentrup

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