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Clark Scores 21 in First WNBA Game

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ARLINGTON – In her first action as a professional, Iowa’s sensational collegiate star Caitlin Clark did not disappoint as the recently drafted WNBA rookie scored 21 points for the Indiana Fever in a 79-76 preseason loss to the host Dallas Wings on Friday.

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Clark, the No. 1 pick in last month’s WNBA draft, scored 11 of her team’s first 19 points and scored 16 in the first half. The NCAA’s all-time leading scorer finished 6-of-15 shooting from the floor, including 5 of 13 from 3-point range, while adding three rebounds, two assists and two steals.

“My biggest goal coming into tonight was to continue to be myself, play aggressive,” said Clark, who missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer that would’ve sent the game to overtime. “I thought that’s what I did. I think there’s a lot to be proud of.”

Despite playing on the road, Clark was cheered throughout the game, including an ovation when she was introduced as a starter. She hit her first two shot attempts, both 3-pointers, and hit four of eight 3-point attempts in the first half.

The Fever play one more preseason game Thursday against the visiting Atlanta Dream before opening the regular season on the road against the Connecticut Sun on May 14.

“There’s a lot of good to take away from it. At the same time, it’s a preseason game, so don’t get too disappointed by it,” Clark said. “Just go back and watch the film, learn from it, and get ready for our next one.”

–Field Level Media

Oosterhuis, Legendary Golfer Dead, 76

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CHARLOTTE – (Wire Service Report) – Britain’s Peter Oosterhuis, whose voice became synonymous with the finishing holes at The Masters, died on Thursday, one day shy of his 76th birthday.

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A force in Ryder Cup play and two-time runner-up at The Open Championship, Oosterhuis was more recently a broadcasting mainstay in CBS’ coverage of The Masters’ 17th hole. He was part of televised Masters coverage from 1997-2014 following roles as golf director at Riviera Country Club near Los Angeles and Forsgate Country Club in New Jersey.

Oosterhuis ranked No. 1 in Europe for four years during a prolific rise to prominence that eventually brought him to the PGA Tour.

The London-born Oosterhuis was DP World Tour Rookie of the Year in 1969 and on the top player award on tour for four consecutive seasons (1971-74). In addition to three Southern Africa Tour titles he won seven DP World Tour titles and became a full-time PGA Tour participant in 1975 as one of the first international players to assume a spot on the US-based tour.

Oosterhuis won 20 tournaments around the globe and never declined an invitation to represent Great Britain.

He remains tied for the all-time lead in singles victories in Ryder Cup play with six. He participated in the Ryder Cup six times.

Among his near-misses at majors were a one-shot defeat to Tom Watson at the Open Championship in Royal Troon in 1982 and a tied for third at the Masters in 1973 after leading for the first three rounds. The final round was played Monday due to weather issues and Tommy Arnold claimed his only major title, beating J.C. Snead by one shot.

His breakthrough PGA Tour win was the 1981 Canadian Open, a one-shot victory in Toronto over runners up Bruce Lietzke, Andy North and Jack Nicklaus. His Masters tie in ’73 included Nicklaus.

Oosterhuis announced his retirement from broadcasting in the summer of 2014 due to the diagnosis of early-onset Alzheimer’s.

–Field Level Media

TL’s Sunday Sports Notes | April 21

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While We’re Young (Ideas) on Caitlin Clark and the WNBA

By TERRY LYONS, Editor of Digital Sports Desk

BOSTON – Every decade or so, an issue comes down the pike, and it’s so complex it can only be played out on the sports pages – specifically the NBA section. The complexities have ranged from public health to race relations to geopolitical crisis to labor law. You name it, the NBA has played it.

In the late ‘70s, the NBA was considered too Black and too druggie. The San Diego edition of the Los Angeles Times went so far as to call out the NBA for having 75% of its players using illegal drugs. (It was not a coincidence, the league had playing rosters of some 75% Black players, as well).

The NBA countered with the first and most significant Anti-Drug Agreement in professional sports, and the concept was championed by NBA Players Association President Bob Lanier (RIP 1948-2022) and signed by Big Bob and then Commissioner Larry O’Brien.

Early 1980s? The NBA was embarrassed by having only a handful of games on national TV and the championship games being tape delayed, all while salaries were soaring with no end in sight.

Up stepped the NBA with a new concept in Collective Bargaining that placed player salaries in line with the overall (monetary) success of the league. The new ‘83 CBA introduced maximum (Salary Cap) and minimum team salaries along with an improved Anti-Drug Agreement. The deal was a first for pro sports, and it was lauded by New York Times labor writer A.H. Raskin as a model, not just for sports but for all of labor law. Over the years, the league and NBA Players Association worked on the CBA and improved its rules/agreements, which govern the league’s player movement to this day.

The 1990s came along, and so did the public health crisis of the HIV/AIDS virus, a decade-plus old and raging out of control around the world. Just how could the NBA intersect with such a medical crisis?

Instead of hiding or being shunned by the league, fellow players and society, Los Angeles Lakers All-Star guard and NBA champion Earvin “Magic” Johnson stepped up to a podium at the Fabulous Forum in LA and announced to the world that he had tested positive with the HIV virus and would have to retire from the NBA. Johnson stated his intention to help educate the youth of the world, stressing healthy living and teaching literally everyone the intricacies of and how to live with the virus, stressing safe sex and calling for much-needed research dollars to perfect prescription drug cocktails that were life-saving.

Johnson’s message was front page news in every publication in the world and he furthered his teachings by participating in the 1992 NBA All-Star Game where he won MVP honors in a truly magical manner. Johnson went on to play on the one and only USA Basketball “Dream Team” that took the gold medal at the ‘92 Barcelona Olympic Games.

Fast forward to 2020, and another virus ran rampant throughout the globe. It wasn’t until NBA Commissioner Adam Silver abruptly stopped the league from playing games that the general public realized just how serious COVID-19 was going to be. Only the IVY League was exercising full caution ahead of the NBA, but no one was listening until the NBA made its decisive move.

Now that’s a long introduction – we call it background in the biz – to introduce the topic of the day – maybe of the 2024-2030s – and that is the impact of Iowa’s Caitlin Clark, drafted this week into the WNBA by the Indiana Fever. In one season, Clark sold more Iowa jerseys than Jersey Mike sells subs. While doing so, and now officially licensed Indiana replica uniforms and WNBA orange hoodies are flying off the shelves, the issue of “women in sports” has been raised by every media outlet in the land, from CNBC business to an Indiana-based columnist inappropriately making a “heart-shaped” sign to Clark while she was in the middle of meeting the WNBA media for the very first time.

Clark, who handled the press conference incident with grace and dignity, has done more to advance women’s basketball in one season than the WNBA has done since its inception on Memorial Day weekend in 1997. Clark led her Iowa Hawkeyes to the NCAA women’s Final Four, losing to national champion South Carolina in the championship game just weeks ago.

The coolest thing about Clark is she made the difference with her “game,” as in “She’s Got Game.” Her impact made all her teammates better and helped drive television ratings to all-time highs (According to Nielsen: 18.88 million people watched South Carolina clinch their undefeated season by beating Iowa, 87-75). The game marked the third all-time TV ratings high for the women’s game, and a 289% increase over the previous year’s NCAA championship. Only the ‘96 USA Basketball women’s national team win at the Atlanta Olympics can claim a higher ratings number (19.7 viewers).

The men’s final drew 14.8 million viewers on Turner (cable) and with that, let the comparisons begin, as media watchers noted that Clark’s Iowa team rated higher than any basketball game (men’s or women’s and college or professional) since 2019, according to ESPN, and the most viewership ever for a women’s college basketball game, as the broadcast peaked at a stunning 24 million viewers.

To put this in perspective. The games topped…

  • Every World Series game last year.
  • Every NBA Finals game last year.
  • Every Daytona 500 since 2013.
  • Every Masters final round viewership since 2013.
  • All but five College Football Bowl games in 2023.

As the WNBA Draft took place, the next (semi)-logical comparison was made as Clark’s WNBA rookie scale salary calls for her base salary to be:

  • 2024: $76,535
  • 2025: $78,066
  • 2026: $85,873
  • 2027: (option year) at $97,582

Quickly, the media pointed out that the NBA’s No. 1 draft choice, Victor Wembanyama signed a No. 1 pick NBA scale contract of $55,174,766 or some $13.7 million a year.

Knee jerk reactions were a combination of disbelief and horror by many who knew next to nothing of the NBA’s vast collective bargaining history since the maximum and minimum team salaries were introduced in 1983 and the number of years, ticket sales, and new global television deals it took to grow the NBA “pie” to its record levels of today.

For instance:

  • The NBA will generate about $13B in revenues this year. The WNBA will not approach that number. For additional background, the NBA’s (USA/Canada-based) national media deals pay the NBA and its teams $2.8 billion with a “b” for 2023-24. The WNBA and its teams will net $65M total for media rights.
  • The NBA is finishing its 78th season in business. The WNBA is enjoying its 28th season. The comparison in years would make it 1973 for the NBA.
  • In 1973, NBA players were making $15,000 (minimum), the median was $25,000 and the average was $40,000. The “key salary” figure at time was $65,000. If you were making $65,000, you were pretty good.
  • In ’73, the NBA had 45 players making $100,000, and keep in mind at the time there was a bidding war factor with ABA to sign and/or entice players between the years 1967 and ’76) – (Source: New York Times: Leonard Koppett).
  • Remember, the NBA plays from October to April with an 82-game season with 30 clubs and for successful playoff teams it could be some 100+ games all the way to late June. WNBA players compete in a 40-game, four-month season with 12 teams.
  • In addition to her base salary, Clark can make another $500,000 or more in WNBA-related earnings (coming from league activated marketing deals) this coming season.
  • Without a doubt, the marketing strength and vast WNBA TV deals will help her gain significant income through new endorsements and via existing business partnerships. Recent reports have that dollar amount exceeding $3 million and potentially jumping to an eight-figure Nike shoe and apparel deal worth $20,000,000 itself. (Be Like Mike and take the stock options).

The differences far outweigh the similarities, so it’s quite disingenuous to compare Clark’s salary to Wembanyama’s. But, if Clark were to be drafted in the first round by an NBA team this June, which is within reason, she would be slotted into the NBA’s rookie pay scale. Period. There’s no gender issue in the NBA’s CBA. Rookies selected in the first round of the 2024 NBA Draft will make roughly $2m (for the 30th selection) to $10,504,800 for the No. 1 pick in the draft.

If Clark were to be selected with, say, the 20th overall pick of the draft, she’d make $2,780,000 for her first season, with bump-ups to $2.9m and $3.05m for the following two years. A four-year option salary would come in at 54% of her salary in 2026-27.

Now, the question of the day: Is Clark good enough to command an NBA salary? And, play it out: is the most talented musician at the Berklee School of Music good enough to gross the $2 billion Taylor Swift made in 2023? Or, we can get real serious across the entire socio-economic chart and start comparing the salaries of school teachers, bus drivers, nurses, first responders and the like to entertainers and athletes.

The point is that it’s not a fair comparison to knee-jerk and compare salaries unless you’re putting it all in context. That is the attempt in this column.

One last point: In 2020, the likes of Sue Bird and the (WNBA/NBA) Players Association heads were lauding their new CBA, and rightfully so. Said Bird, a member of the WNBA Players Association executive committee: “The deal represents moving forward both from a WNBA perspective, but also in general, for women in sports and society. We continue to push forward and there’s a lot of aspects of this deal that mark that.

“When you look at things like what we’re able to do with maternity leave and family planning … We’re going to be looked at as – I think – pioneers in the sports world.”

The players called the deal “historic,” due to its potential to change the financial landscape of women’s professional sports. “We’re betting on ourselves,” they said. “We’re betting on our ability as a league to bring to our American culture what people say they want.”

Just like Julius “Doctor J” Erving, Larry Bird and Earvin “Magic” Johnson, the new member of the Indiana Fever, Caitlin Clark, can be the game changer and put the WNBA on a path to incredible heights.

And guess what? Someday soon, while Clark and her 2024 Draft Class join up with the incredibly talented veteran stars of the league – A’ja Wilson and the entire Vegas Aces roster for one, Sabrina Ionescu and the NY Liberty, along with Diana Taurasi, Breanna Stewart, Brittney Griner, 2023 WNBA Rookie of the Year and Clark’s new teammate Aliyah Boston, and all the other fabulous players in the W – they’ll all marvel when yet another unique, amazing, hard-working and game-changing athlete comes along, Just Like Mike came along to build on the foundation set by Doc, Larry and Magic, and Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, Oscar Robertson, and George Mikan before him.

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HERE NOW, THE NOTES: On a personal note: Some of my media brethren are trying to manufacture a “Bird vs Magic” style rivalry in the WNBA between Clark and former LSU star Angel Reese, drafted by the Chicago Sky. Let’s see what happens if the rivalry manifests itself or not in the years to come, but, putting that aside, this columnist thinks the proper comparison for Clark is the great Doctor J.

While playing for UMass, the Virginia Squires, New York Nets and Philadelphia 76ers, Doc did things that we’d never seen before, and he did it pretty much every game he played. Yes, Erving operated far above the rim and had mitts the size of Montana, while Clark “operates” from the center court logo zone, a zip code away from the rim, and makes every player on her team better. She does something we haven’t seen before almost every night, sometimes astonishing Golden State’s Steph Curry. Again, it’s tough – maybe impossible – to make the comparisons.

WAYBACK: Looking in the wayback machine for the NYT story cited above, it also quoted the great Pat Williams (former GM at Orlando and Philadelphia) and noted his P.O.V. on the late Commissioner David Stern’s ability to “sell” the NBA. Said Williams: “Now, the 47-year-old Mr. Stern is embarking on his next big gambit: peddling the sport abroad. And he likes nothing better than hustling. ”We had people in this league who would have trouble selling Blue Cross to Humpty Dumpty,” said Pat Williams, the general manager of the Orlando Magic. ”David Stern can sell an anvil to a drowning man. He can sell a pogo stick to a kangaroo. You ready for this? David Stern could sell a stethoscope to a tree surgeon.

“That’s the ultimate tribute I can pay the man,” said Williams.

NUGGETS AND TIDBITS: This might come as a shock, but the Boston Red Sox rank No. 2 in MLB with 28 Home Runs, trailing only the Baltimore Orioles with 30. This fast April start for the Sox in the HR Dept. is their most through 21 games since 2002 (30) and it ties for fifth most in franchise history. … The Red Sox 17 HRs on the road ties the San Francisco Giants for most in MLB (as of April 20-AM). … Heading into Saturday’s games, OF Tyler O’Neill ranked second in the American League with seven HRs while 1B Triston Casas is tied for third with six dingers.

SURPRISE, SUPRISE: Scottie Scheffler is atop the PGA leaderboard at the RBC Heritage at Harbour Town Golf Course in South Carolina. Scheffler shot an acceptable two-under (69) on Thursday but amped it up to go 69-65-63 heading into the Sunday (April 21) finale. Five golfers are within three strokes.

SAD NOTE: It was very sad to get a text message from former St John’s coach Fran Fraschilla with the terrible news of (former St. John’s classmate) Howie Schwab passing away on the morning of April 20. Known to many sports fans as the “Stump the Schwab” ESPN personality, his friends knew him as the sports editor of “The Torch” at St. John’s and the kindest and most thoughtful guy you’d ever want to know. The WWYI column will delve deeper into “The Schwab” next week, but please say a prayer for Howie, his wife and family. Simply put, he was a very good man and the most loyal (to St. John’s and his ESPN employer) that you’d ever meet.

FedEx To Play NIL Game in Memphis

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MEMPHIS – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – FedEx is entering into a five-year, $25 million name, image and likeness commitment that will benefit student-athletes at Memphis, particularly in the Tigers’ football and men’s and women’s basketball programs, as well as additional women’s sports.

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The shipping giant, which launched its operations in Memphis in 1973, has annual revenues of $88 billion.

As part of the initiative, Memphis athletes receiving NIL funding will participate in FedEx initiatives via social media and in person around the city. The company supports events that include the FedEx/St. Jude Championships, the Southern Heritage Classic and the AutoZone Liberty Bowl, all in Memphis.

“We evaluated the evolving NIL landscape, exploring how we can best deliver positive impact to student-athletes and connect them to meaningful opportunities for both themselves and the community and made the decision to reallocate marketing funds to an NIL platform,” said Brian Philips, the executive vice president and chief marketing officer at FedEx, in a news release. “This gives us an opportunity to invest in bright, young athletes in our great hometown of Memphis, strengthening our connection to the next generation of leaders.”

 

NBA Bans Porter for Life

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NEW YORK – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – The NBA issued a lifetime ban to Jontay Porter following an investigation into his involvement in gambling on league games, the league announced Wednesday.

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An investigation directed by the league found that Porter “violated league rules by disclosing confidential information to sports bettors, limiting his own participation in one or more games for betting purposes and betting on NBA games,” according to a league news release.

Porter, a center, was under a two-way contract with the Toronto Raptors in the 2023-24 season.

“There is nothing more important than protecting the integrity of NBA competition for our fans, our teams and everyone associated with our sport, which is why Jontay Porter’s blatant violations of our gaming rules are being met with the most severe punishment,” NBA commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement.

“While legal sports betting creates transparency that helps identify suspicious or abnormal activity, this matter also raises important issues about the sufficiency of the regulatory framework currently in place, including the types of bets offered on our games and players. Working closely with all relevant stakeholders across the industry, we will continue to work diligently to safeguard our league and game.”

According to the league, Porter played only three minutes of the Raptors’ home loss to the Sacramento Kings on March 20 before telling the team he didn’t feel well. Prior to the game, he “disclosed confidential information about his own health status to an individual he knew to be an NBA bettor,” the league said.

Additionally, per the NBA, another known better placed an $80,000 online wager that would have paid out $1.1 million if Porter underperformed the odds.

The prop bet was frozen and not paid after it was deemed suspicious.

The NBA also reported that between January and March as a member of the Raptors or their G League minor league team, Raptors 905, Porter placed at least 13 bets on NBA games through an associate’s account and won about $22,000.

Porter, 24, averaged 4.4 points through 26 games (five starts) for Toronto this season. He began his NBA career with the Memphis Grizzlies in 2020-21, then didn’t appear in the league the next two seasons.

He last played on March 22.

His older brother, Michael Porter Jr., started 81 games for the Denver Nuggets this season.

–Field Level Media

Feds Throw the Book at Mizuhara

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LOS ANGELES – Former interpreter Ippei Mizuhara surrendered to federal authorities in Los Angeles on Friday to face a charge of bank fraud for allegedly stealing more than $16 million from Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani.

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Mizuhara, 39, is scheduled to appear in court at 1 p.m. PT, after which he is expected to be released on bond, according to multiple reports.

Prosecutors filed an affidavit Thursday alleging that Mizuhara siphoned funds from Ohtani’s bank accounts to cover his gambling debts with an illegal sportsbook.

The federal bank fraud charge is a felony offense that carries a maximum penalty of up to 30 years in prison and/or a $1 million fine.

The Dodgers fired Mizuhara last month after the allegations surfaced. He had been working with Ohtani since the Japanese two-way star debuted with the Los Angeles Angels in 2017.

From December 2021 through January 2024, authorities allege Mizuhara placed about 19,000 bets with an average wager of $12,800 and total net losses of nearly $40.7 million.

Records seized during the investigation showed no betting on baseball games, however, and authorities said Ohtani was not aware of the alleged theft.

The New York Times reported earlier this week that Mizuhara’s attorney is negotiating a plea deal with prosecutors.

Ohtani, 29, signed a record-setting 10-year, $700 million with the Dodgers in December after batting .304 with an American League-leading 44 homers and 95 RBIs in 2023, when he earned his second unanimous AL MVP.

–Field Level Media

Sports Wagering Falls Short in GA

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ATLANTA – Georgia remained one of 12 states not to have some form of sports wagering when the state’s Rules Committee declined to consider two bills this week.

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The state’s House Higher Education Committee moved forward two amended sports betting bills on Thursday, one a state constitutional amendment and the other that would have enabled legislation, according to iGamingBusiness. But those bills never made it to the House.

This week’s action becomes the fourth time Georgia lawmakers considered legalizing sports wagering since 2021 without ultimately getting two-third approval in both the state House and Senate.

Georgia’s proposed constitutional amendment, named SR 579, was recently been amended to include up to $22.5 million to promote responsible gambling through tax revenue.

While Georgia appeared the closest to becoming the next state to legalize sports wagering, efforts continue in Minnesota, where multiple bills have been introduced. Missouri is moving toward placing a sports wagering on the November ballot.

Legal sports wagering in North Carolina began on March 11, in advance of NCAA conference basketball tournaments and the current NCAA Tournament, with a reported $200 wagered over the first week it was legal.

MLB 2024: Everyone Likes the Dodgers

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LAS VEGAS – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – As the 2024 major league season gets underway in earnest today, the Los Angeles Dodgers are already one game toward their projected total of 103.5 wins for the regular season. That’s courtesy of a split of their two-game, season-opening Seoul Series against the San Diego Padres.

The Dodgers lead the 30 major league teams with an over/under win total of 103.5 games at both BetMGM and DraftKings, via Betting Hero. By contrast, the Oakland A’s open the season at 57.5 at both books.

That represents a 46-game differential — or 28 percent of an entire 162-game schedule.

While the Dodgers spent the offseason adding stars Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto to an already loaded roster, the A’s have spent the past several months mired in limbo about where the franchise will even be playing this time next year.

Extravagant spending doesn’t guarantee regular-season success — just ask the New York Mets. And the Dodgers know all too well that even regular-season dominance doesn’t automatically translate to postseason success.

They have plenty of competition, namely in the form of National League rival Atlanta. The Braves are second with a projected win total of 101.5 games. They are followed by a trio of American League teams: Houston (92.5 at BetMGM), the New York Yankees (91.5) and Baltimore (90.5).

Ironically, the Yankees opened at 93.5 projected wins and are tied for the biggest decline since the lines became available via Betting Hero.

The Orioles’ win total has increased the most since the market opened at 87.5 games. When it comes to the over, it has been the second-most bet total among all 30 teams behind only the Detroit Tigers, who have seen their projected win total increase from 79.5 to 81.5.

On the other end of the spectrum, the Miami Marlins have received the most under action on their 77.5-win projection. Second is the Boston Red Sox, also at 77.5 wins, followed by the Braves.

TEAM (OVER/UNDER WINS)*
Los Angeles Dodgers (103.5)
Atlanta Braves (101.5)
Houston Astros (92.5)
New York Yankees (91.5)
Baltimore Orioles (90.5)
Philadelphia Phillies (89.5)
Texas Rangers (88.5)
Minnesota Twins (86.5)
Seattle Mariners (86.5)
Tampa Bay Rays (85.5)
Toronto Blue Jays (85.5)
Arizona Diamondbacks (84.5)
Chicago Cubs (84.5)
St. Louis Cardinals (84.5)
San Diego Padres (83.5)
San Francisco Giants (83.5)
Cincinnati Reds (82.5)
Detroit Tigers (81.5)
New York Mets (81.5)
Cleveland Guardians (79.5)
Boston Red Sox (77.5)
Miami Marlins (77.5)
Milwaukee Brewers (76.5)
Pittsburgh Pirates (75.5)
Kansas City Royals (73.5)
Los Angeles Angels (72.5)
Washington Nationals (66.5)
Chicago White Sox (60.5)
Colorado Rockies (60.5)
Oakland Athletics (57.5)
*via Betting Hero

–Field Level Media

Sports Biz: Caps, Wizards to Stay in DC

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WASH DC – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – After exploring the possibility of relocation to Virginia, the Wizards and Capitals will be staying in Washington until 2050.

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Washington mayor Muriel E. Bowser and Ted Leonsis, who owns both franchises, signed a deal on Wednesday that would keep the Wizards and Capitals in town as long as the D.C. Council approves it.

Per the deal, the city will put $515 million into Capital One Arena — the home of both the Wizards and Capitals — over the next three years. Because of those renovations, Leonsis will sign a new lease that runs from 2025-50.

“We are the current home and the future home of the Washington Capitals and Washington Wizards,” Bowser said. “As Ted likes to say, we’re going to be together for a long time.”

Leonsis’ company, Monumental Sports & Entertainment, will also have the ability to expand throughout the city under the new deal.

Just three months ago, Leonsis had a handshake agreement with Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) in place for the construction of a new arena in Alexandria, Va. It would have been built in the Potomac Yard neighborhood of town as part of a $2.2 billion mixed-use development.

But Bowser and the DC Council then made moves that caught Leonsis’ eye, including the passage of a new crime bill and a plan to make downtown more vibrant, causing the owner to switch gears.

“It’s a great day, and I’m really relieved,” Leonsis said Wednesday. “This was not only the right thing for the community, the right thing for the city, the right thing for us, it’s a really smart business deal.”

–Field Level Media

Sports Illustrated Back in Biz

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LONDON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Sports Illustrated will resume publishing after its owner reached a new rights deal with digital media company Minute Media.

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Monday’s announcement comes nearly two months after owner Authentic Brands terminated its publishing deal with The Arena Group, which led to mass layoffs at the venerable sports magazine.

Minute Media, best known for its sports sites The Players’ Tribune and FanSided, said it reached a long-term partnership with Authentic Brands to “usher in the future of the SI brand.”

“Sports Illustrated is the gold standard for sports journalism and has been for nearly 70 years across both print and digital media. The weight and power of that distinction cannot be understated. At Minute Media, our focus will be to take that legacy into new, emerging channels enhancing visibility, commercial viability and sustainable impact, all while ensuring that the SI team is inspired to flourish in this new era of media,” Minute Media founder and CEO Asaf Peled said in a statement.

Authentic split with The Arena Group in late January after the latter missed a payment for licensing rights.

As part of the deal, Authentic will also acquire an equity stake in Minute Media.

–Field Level Media