Jalen Brunson scored 30 points, including 13 in the fourth quarter, and hit a critical go-ahead 3-pointer with less than two minutes remaining during the Knicks’ Game 1 win over the San Antonio Spurs. He followed that by grabbing five steals and hitting a go-ahead free throw to seal a victory in Game 2, adding […]
Alexander Zverev beat Flavio Cobolli 6-1, 4-6, 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-1 on Sunday in the French Open final to win his first major title. He is the first player outside of an elite cohort of Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz and the former Big Three—including Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal—to win a Grand Slam since Daniil […]
The Chicago Bears appeared to take another step toward leaving Chicago on Friday, announcing that their board of directors met and voted to advance a stadium development project in Hammond, Ind. The potential move, which does not yet have an exact site, is not final and would require NFL approval. In a statement by Bears […]
The return of the New York Knicks to the NBA Finals after nearly 30 years in the wilderness coincided with the league’s most-watched game since before the COVID-19 pandemic. ABC’s coverage of Wednesday night’s Game 1 averaged 16.93 million viewers, setting the tone for the series. The Knicks’ 105-95 victory over the San Antonio Spurs […]
Prior to this year’s French Open, Poland’s Maja Chwalińska had won one Grand Slam match in her career, was ranked outside the top 100 and had 500-to-1 odds to win Roland Garros prior to the first round. On Thursday, the 24-year old upset No. 25 seed Diana Shnaider in the semifinal to reach the women’s […]
Ten years ago, home teams wore white uniforms for 97% of NBA playoff games, and alternate jerseys were rarely worn during the postseason. This year, only 32% of playoffs games have featured home teams in white—many fans have voiced a desire for that number go back up—as NBA team’s jersey choices have become more chaotic. The […]
Welcome to Sportico’s transactions wire, a weekly rundown of personnel, partnerships and products across the sports business industry. PERSONNEL Lakers Name Yao Williams II VP and Head of Global Partnerships The Los Angeles Lakers have named Yao Williams II vice president and head of global partnerships. Williams will lead the Lakers global partnerships team, including […]
Quinnipiac University, long at the center of gender-equity legal battles in collegiate athletics, now faces a new federal lawsuit over its decision to downgrade its women’s varsity rugby program to a club sport. In a class-action complaint filed Friday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut, 23 rugby players—who either played for […]
The Knicks are naturally the center of attention in New York right now as they play in their first NBA Finals since 1999. But they aren’t the only Knickerbockers in the city. A byword for a certain kind of New Yorker for centuries, a “Knickerbocker” was originally adopted by Dutch colonial settlers near present-day Albany. […]
The patch on the upper left corner of New York Knicks jerseys during the NBA Finals instructs fans to “Experience Abu Dhabi.” It’s a high-profile example of what has become a relatively common sponsorship in global sports—sovereign funds encouraging fans to travel to places they might not have previously considered. Right now, however, is a […]
Fans are not the only ones forced to keep up as sporting events shift from traditional TV channels to streaming platforms. After Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisc.) introduced the For the Fans Act in April, aiming to lower the cost of watching sports, two Wisconsin associations of restaurant and bar owners backed the bill, arguing that […]
Given the right mix of environmental factors, a terrible idea will behave like a virus, inasmuch as it’ll be about as contagious as measles and largely resistant to intervention. In a wholly coincidental nod to Knicks guard Jalen Brunson, the R0 value for the terrible idea currently plaguing New York’s media class is a pestiferous […]
Update: Nine hours after this story was published, and after a flood of criticism on social media, a WNBA spokesperson sent Sportico the following statement: “Like other major sports leagues, we are exploring how best to commemorate the country’s 250th anniversary. Nothing has been finalized at this time.” The statement came more than 36 hours […]
Kalshi has changed how it classifies itself to the United States Patent and Trademark Office, with the company’s latest batch of trademark requests avoiding language from earlier filings tying it to the gambling industry. Late last year, the prediction market exchange operator informed the USPTO that its product involved “bookmaking services, namely, providing of information […]
The use of personal electronic devices for work tasks—a central issue in past NFL disputes—has emerged as a point of contention in Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores’ lawsuit against the NFL over alleged race-based employment discrimination. Flores seeks evidence to further his claim that the league and several teams intentionally discriminated against him, and […]
When Portugal takes the field against the Democratic Republic of Congo on June 17, Cristiano Ronaldo will once again chase the biggest accolade that has eluded him throughout his illustrious career. The 41-year-old has represented his country five other times in the World Cup and has never been able to call himself a champion. But […]
On the 558th Sporticast episode, hosts Scott Soshnick and Eben Novy-Williams discuss some of the biggest sports business stories of the week, including a blockbuster sneaker deal. Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry announced a 10-year agreement with Chinese brand Li-Ning earlier this week. Curry was a sneaker free agent for less than a year, […]
Ohio State University’s Board of Trustees voted Wednesday to approve a $100 million settlement with all but one of the current plaintiffs suing the university over allegations of sexual abuse by former OSU sports medicine and team doctor Richard Strauss. In a statement released by Ohio State on behalf of both the school and plaintiffs, […]
As the United States sinks deeper into division at home and abroad, the U.S. Senate convened Wednesday to safeguard a corner of the national edifice that—judged by the same economic forces driving the country’s fragmentation—some would say is doing comparably remarkable: college sports. At a moment when Congress may be near a historic low in […]
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 […]