Vanity Fair’s Post

Any football fans in the house? The Dallas Cowboys have led the way for technological innovation in American football. They're the definition of early adopters and data-driven decision makers! It's a thrill for Lenovo to work with 'the most valuable team in sports' to help them achieve new heights. Everything is bigger in Texas, and that includes our ideas on how to push forward for both our brands, as well as the fans, and the sport of football. More on the #DallasCowboys x #Lenovo dream team: https://lnv.gy/3SiIFDk

The Varsity 1. The National Football League (NFL) seems certain to allow private equity to take up to 10% stakes in their leagues this year. It won't be a surprise if that PE ownership cap gets raised to 30% eventually. 2. In the wake of Skydance and RedBird Capital Partners’ deal to acquire Paramount, the NFL is exploring whether to use a change-of-control provision to renegotiate the NFL’s $2.1 billion annual deal with CBS. 3. It was strange to see USA Basketball on FS1 Wednesday night. Why wasn't it on an NBC Sports outlet? 4. It certainly feels like we're getting close to the end of the National Basketball Association (NBA)'s media talks. But negotiations could continue for several more weeks. 5. Carol Stiff on all the WNBA (Women's National Basketball Association) reporting: “I would like to see the headline read NBA and WNBA Rights instead of just the NBA. Perhaps even a quote from WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert will be included high in the release? The time seems right to me.” Plus, Player of the Week: Bill Koenig Down to the J.V.: CONMEBOL And...The good news is that Comcast and Diamond are talking again. The bad news is that plenty of hiccups still remain. Can they work out a deal before Diamond's July 29 bankruptcy court hearing? https://lnkd.in/eqiGrjPy

How will college football and the NFL affect sports betting this season? 🏈 And how will Labor Day Weekend affect Las Vegas? ☀ URComped CEO Craig Shacklett and Berkeley discuss these topics in this week's episode of CMU News 🎰

Holy $2 billion Dome. What does retirement look like for former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, the eighth-richest person in the world? Buying the Los Angeles Clippers and then building them the Intuit Dome, a spaceship of a stadium that opened recently in Inglewood after a decade of construction. The 18,000-seat arena, which will host the 2028 Olympic basketball games, sports some serious tech: The jewel in its crown, the Halo Board, cost nearly $100 million. It’s a double-sided, 44,000-square-foot wraparound screen that hangs high above the court so fans in any seat can watch clear gameplay. There are 20 cashierless food spots with checkout via tap-to-pay or facial scan. Being the least demure fan in the house will be rewarded: Each cushioned seat has decibel meters that detect fan rowdiness, with the loudest receiving discounts on snacks and merchandise via the Clippers app. (Each seat also has a phone charger.) Ballmer balled out. As Microsoft’s largest individual shareholder, Ballmer chose to finance this project himself (rare). He spared no expense on the fan experience: The seats boast the most legroom of any NBA stadium, high-altitude t-shirt cannons democratize merch opportunities for people in the nosebleeds, and the entire section behind one basket is reserved for Clippers diehards. Morning Brew     #nba #basketball #entertainment #dome #la #laclippers #arena

Plenty of April showers, especially in the Pittsburgh area. Apparently, there's also a correlation related to certain companies that have "made it rain" in recent months/years. Among the six publicly traded US companies worth over $1 trillion, Microsoft (founded April 4, 1975) is the oldest while Meta Platforms, which just turned 20 in early February, is the youngest. Interestingly, three of the trillion-dollar-club members (Apple, Microsoft, and Nvidia) have founding dates within the first week of April. (Source: Wikipedia) Just one week after Mastercard and Visa agreed to cap card ‘swipe-fees’ for five years, on 4/2, Mastercard announced plans to increase the network ‘assessment’ fee it charges issuing and acquiring banks from 0.13% to 0.14%. 0.01% may not sound like a lot, but it equates to an annual increase of $259.1 million. (Source: https://lnkd.in/gqBTMDTY) If your reported income is over $500K or less than $25K, you are twice as likely to receive an IRS audit than people with reported incomes of between $25K and $500K (0.4% vs. 0.2%). Those with reported incomes of over $10 million were the most likely to be audited at an average rate of 2.4% in 2020. (Source: https://lnkd.in/gFW5iiPh) While the midpoint of the current federal funds target rate remains above 5%, only 22% of savers are earning more than 4% interest. That compares to 17% earning less than 1% and another 17% who are earning zero interest on their savings. (Source: https://lnkd.in/gBPyBCbE) SIDE NOTE: If you're concerned about the low level of interest you're earning at the bank, please reach out to our team, and we'll be happy to discuss other options. Ronel Blanco of the Houston Astros threw MLB’s first no-hitter of the 2024 season on April 1 in a 10-0 win over the Blue Jays. It was the earliest date that a no-hitter has been thrown in any MLB season, and the Astros have now thrown four of the last 7 MLB no-hitters. (Source: https://lnkd.in/gDdzb9Ss) Have a great weekend!

Ranking #1 on google search for 'AOC at Yankees Game' is just the start! Check out how the #AOC enjoys her #MLB weekend in the Big Apple #NYC Way more of the top fans showing their #fantravel love for their top teams coming soon! Let us know who we should follow, cover, and share in the comments below:) https://lnkd.in/e47ynbAb

Exciting panel discussion TODAY at the intersection of Silicon Slopes and professional sports…RSVP details below https://lnkd.in/gwu49YCk Join Mercato and Kirkland & Ellis for a dynamic conversation with Steve Young (National Football League (NFL) legend and co-founder of HGGC) Steve Starks (Influential CEO and Chairman of The Larry H. Miller Company and Big League Utah) and Forrest Richmond (Strategic investor at Arctos with stakes in teams like the Utah Jazz and Golden State Warriors). We're diving into the synergy between the high-stakes world of professional sports and the strategic realm of #entrepreneurship as one of the many highlights at Utah Tech Week. But before we do, I'd love to hear from you: 1. What questions do you have about the parallels between leading a sports team and running a successful business/steering a successful investment? 2. How do you think the lessons from the field apply to the community, especially in high-growth environments? 3. As entrepreneurs, builders, and investors - what can we learn from the sports industry about team building, resilience, and achieving long-term goals? Your insights will shape a valuable discussion, so start the conversation now in the comments and come share networking time. Date: TODAY (January 22) Time: 2PM Doors Open/2:30PM Panel Start #SiliconSlopes #sportsandbusiness #investmentinsights #leadershiplessons

Interesting article on NFL kickoff rule change- this will bring excitement to kickoff plays, increase fan engagement and drive revenue. But, What does it mean for special teams and coaches , what about officials ? Kudos to NFL for their creative thinking.

It’s Super Bowl LVIII! #DidYouKnow One of the first Super Bowl commercials featuring a person with a disability, was Microsoft’s commercial featuring Braylon O’Neill, who was born without tibia and fibula bones in both of his legs. According to OurAbility.com, the commercial shows how Microsoft technology helps Braylon run, golf, play baseball, and do activities typical of a child his age. The question asked on the screen at the beginning of the commercial is “What can you do?” and that question is answered throughout the commercial from Microsoft’s perspective. Comment below by telling us which Super Bowl commercial you love the most!

The Varsity * Amazon's last-minute bid for the NFL's Christmas games. * The still doesn’t have a signed deal with Netflix for the two Christmas Day games. Complicating matters is the fact that in recent days, Amazon tried to pry the games away by submitting its own bid to the league. * The vibe coming out of the NBA is that the league prefers NBC’s bid over Warner Bros. Discovery's. The NBA likes NBC's plan for two primetime broadcast windows per week and the type of promotion that has turned Sunday Night Football into the most watched primetime show in the land. There’s also a real question about whether WBD's matching rights can actually match NBC’s bid. * Optimum Sports' Jeremy Carey on this week's Upfronts: “We know that we’re going to see more sports and bigger areas of exposure across the board. There’s no doubt we’re going to see more women’s sports in bigger areas across the board." * Sinclair is selling 60 local TV stations—about 30 percent of its total—to pay down its $4 billion in debt. It’s not hard to draw a straight line from its disastrous 2019 purchase of the Fox Sports-branded R.S.N.s to this decision. * At some point in the blowout second half of the atrocious Game 4 of the Knicks-Pacers series, I realized just how much I missed Jeff Van Gundy and Mark Jackson, who were part of ESPN’s top NBA broadcast team alongside Mike "Bang Bang" Breen for nine years before leaving at the end of last season as the network cut costs. * Despite its deal to carry MLB's Sunday morning games, Roku isn’t about to become a real competitor for exclusive sports rights anytime soon. The streaming service is not set up to compete with the likes of broadcast networks, or even streamers like Amazon or Netflix. Rather, as the media business continues to unbundle and become more fragmented, it is positioning itself as a place where content companies can find scale again. https://lnkd.in/eYMb6TeC