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Red Sox Strike Data Protection Deal

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BOSTON – (Staff Report from Official News Release) – HYCU, Inc., a Boston-based data protection service company, struck a multi-year partnership with the Boston Red Sox. The new partnership will leverage the power of the award-winning HYCU Protégé platform to modernize, scale, and simplify the Red Sox club-owned proprietary data and its overall protection strategy.

Echoing Major League Baseball’s efforts to protect the integrity of data, the challenge for the Red Sox became apparent as each MLB club needed to protect their back-end infrastructure environments such as corporate, enterprise, and fan-facing systems that are unique to the sport.

The Red Sox turned to HYCU to modernize their back-end infrastructure. In doing so, the team adopted the solutions tailored to fit their specific needs.

“The business of baseball is very complex,” said Brian Shield, Red Sox SVP and CTO. “The need to modernize our digital strategy and cloud capabilities was a top priority for our IT team. As our data protection needs continue to grow, we needed a more effective way to protect our data and HYCU has allowed us to do that.”

“Partnering with the Boston Red Sox and their IT department to help modernize their infrastructure for not only today but well into the future, is what any Boston-based company dreams about,” said Simon Taylor, CEO and Founder, HYCU. “HYCU solutions are designed to help companies seamlessly manage, protect, optimize, and recover all their data, no matter where it resides and on what platform. We are thrilled to work with The Red Sox and count them as a key relationship in our growing customer base.”

Bruins Eliminated in OT

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BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – While Boston Bruins fans were ruing their team’s first-round upset at the hands of the Florida Panthers, oddsmakers were understandably not shedding many tears.

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The Stanley Cup favorites at every sportsbook following their historic regular season, the Bruins were the biggest liability at many entering the playoffs. That includes at BetMGM, where Boston had accounted for 28.1 percent of the Stanley Cup champion bets and a whopping 42.7 percent of the money wagered.

“Entering the playoffs, the Bruins were the betting favorites to win the Stanley Cup and a significant liability for the sportsbook,” BetMGM Sports Trader Seamus Magee said. “While heartbreaking to fans and those who closely followed their run, Boston losing in the first round was a good outcome for the sportsbook.”

Boston’s demise coincided with the defending champion Colorado Avalanche bowing out on Sunday night, and the good news kept on rolling for the sportsbooks on Monday when the New Jersey Devils took out the New York Rangers in yet another Game 7. That meant the top three liabilities at BetMGM entering the playoffs failed to make it out of the first round.

With the top three American teams eliminated, the new Stanley Cup futures list has a distinctly Canadian flair.

The new favorite entering the second round is Toronto, with the Maple Leafs being offered at +350 at BetMGM and DraftKings. Next are the Edmonton Oilers, who are +375 and +425 at the two sportsbooks, respectively.

The Oilers do remain the biggest liability at BetMGM to win the Western Conference, having drawn 23.2 percent of the total bets and 26.1 percent of the money at +750 behind the prohibitive favorite Avalanche at +175.

Since we’re talking about sports betting, it’s fair to say the Seattle Kraken are “playing with house money.”

The first team to claim a franchise’s first playoffs series victory against a reigning Stanley Cup champion, the Kraken are significant longshots across the boards. They are by far the longest shots to win the title at both BetMGM (+1600) and DraftKings (+2000), where the Kraken have twice the longest odds of the next-closest team — the Panthers at +1000.

Stanley Cup championship odds (BetMGM/DraftKings)
Toronto Maple Leafs (+350/+350)
Edmonton Oilers (+375/+425)
Dallas Stars (+600/+550)
New Jersey Devils (+600/+600)
Vegas Golden Knights (+600/+650)
Carolina Hurricanes (+600/+700)
Florida Panthers (+1000+1000)
Seattle Kraken (+1600/+2000)

–Field Level Media

NHL Says “Games On” for Sweden

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NEW YORK – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – The National Hockey League announced its NHL Global Series will feature four teams playing four games in Stockholm, Sweden, from Nov. 16-19, 2023 The Toronto Maple Leafs will play regular season games outside of North America for the first time.

It will be the second trip overseas for both the Detroit Red Wings and Minnesota Wild and the third for the Ottawa Senators.

There have been 38 NHL regular season games played outside of North America to date, including 13 in Sweden.

The full schedule with all games played at Avicii Arena, and the local starting times:
–Nov. 16: Red Wings vs. Senators, 8pm
–Nov. 17: Maple Leafs vs. Red Wings, 8pm
–Nov. 18: Wild vs. Senators, 5pm
–Nov. 19: Maple Leafs vs. Wild, 2pm

–Field Level Media

TL’s Sunday Sports Notebook | April 23

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By TERRY LYONS

BOSTON – Is there The Curse of John Zeigler and the NHL President’s Trophy?

If so where did it originate and what the deal? Can the Boston Bruins endure such a curse and outlast the Florida Panthers?

Ziegler was the last President of the National Hockey League. Upon Gary B. Bettman’s hiring to the top spot in the league, aka the CEO/CMO/CFO/and/Chief Legal Officer gig, Bettman accepted the job with the condition he be named Commissioner just as the other three major North American Sports Leagues employed.

For Zeigler, there was a bit of a trap door effect and he vanished – no, not a shower curtain or table cloth was needed – Goodfellas or Sopranos style. He was simply gone.

But to its credit, the NHL has advanced mightily since Bettman’s 1992 hiring and the league has more history and more glorious hardware than the guys at True Value, and those clunky old awards – Conn Smythe or Vezina and right on down the line – are the best sports have to offer, especially the crown jewel, the Stanley Cup itself.

The President’s Trophy goes to the team with the most points in the regular season. This season, the Boston Bruins set an all-time high mark of 135 points which equated to a 65-12-5 (OTL) record over 82 games. The Bruins went 34-4-3 at TD Garden in Boston and 31-8-2 on the road. They finished the season with an eight-game winning streak and were 9-1-0 over their final 10 games.

Those numbers placed the President’s Trophy in the hands of the Bruins and no one was sure they wanted to touch it.

Since the Chicago Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup in 2013 as the President’s Trophy winner, no team has advanced to the Finals. One regular season champ lost in the 2015 Conference Finals and one team – the 2019 Tampa Bay Lightning went so low as to lose in the very first round, ousted in four-straight by the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Seven President’s Trophy winner’s went “bye-bye” in the second round of Lord Stanley’s springtime grinder. Some were eliminated by a hot team with a very hot goalkeeper, others were felled by a slew of late season injuries. Maybe some due to the Curse?

Damn the curse, as three out of four President’s Trophy winners – the ‘99 Dallas Stars, the ‘01 Colorado Avalanche and the ‘02 Detroit Red Wings – went on to the win the Cup. But, for some reason right around the 2013-14 NHL season, the curse rose to ice level. John Ziegler passed away on October 25, 2018 at the age of 84, so there’s no direct connection.

This season, the President Trophy winners in the NHL Bruins drew a tough first round opponent in their current match-up vs the Florida Panthers (Bruins currently lead the best-of-seven series (2-games-to-1) with today’s TNT nationally televised Game 4 a real series-swaying game at 3:30pm (ET).

BOSTON BREWIN’ – Although the Bruins regain home-ice advantage with their Friday victory, they’re still playing with out frontline stars Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci. Bergeron didn’t travel to Florida for Games 3-4 and Krejci was a late scratch in Game 3 and is “50-50” for Game 4, sidelined by the know-all, tell-all NHL accepted injury report of an “upper body” injury.

Without a doubt, the never-stated key to success in the Playoffs – any sport – is to avoid injuries and illness. In addition to injuries to the two key Boston players, the flu-bug or call it the “really bad, achy cold” bug was making its way around the B’s locker.

VALUATIONS vs the RESULTS: Before the 2022-23 National Hockey League season began, Sportico listed the valuations of the current NHL franchises. They were as follows:

Here’s the Top Five:

1. Toronto Maple Leafs: $2B

2. New York Rangers: $1.87B

3. Montreal Canadiens: $1.58B

4. Chicago Blackhawks: $1.36B

5. Boston Bruins: $1.31B

While the leaders are in the billions, if you are seeking a bargain via the clubs at bottom of the NHL barrel with valuations under $525 million, you’ll find:

30. Columbus Blue Jackets: $525M

31. Florida Panthers: $520M

32. Arizona Coyotes: $410M

The RESULTS: The NHL’s final regular season standings saw these clubs as top and bottom of the ladder:

Team, Points

Boston Bruins – 135
Carolina Hurricanes – 113
New Jersey Devils – 112
Toronto Maple Leafs – 111
Vegas Golden Knights – 111
At the bottom were:

Anaheim Ducks – 58
Columbus Blue Jackets – 59
Chicago Blackhawks – 59
San Jose Sharks – 60

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: Speaking of, but not dwelling on injuries, the 2023 NBA Playoffs are suffering from multiple stars being injured (and out) in the first round. In no particular order: Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo is out for the second straight game after playing only 11 minutes in Game 1 in the Bucks first round series against the Miami Heat. … On Friday night, Joel Embiid suffered a right knee sprain in Thursday night’s victory over Brooklyn and is listed with a 50% chance of playing Game 1 in Philly’s next series, assuming they advance. Memphis superstar Ja Morant went down to a wrist/hand injury on April 16th, a date that also saw Miami’s sharpshooting guard Tyler Herro go down with a broken hand. Herro is out for the season but Morant returned to play hurt on Saturday night and plunked down 45 points on the LAL … The LA Clippers were hit with injuries to their two top players. Paul George (knee) was declared out before Game 1 of the series and then Kawhi Leonard was sidelined for Thursday’s Clippers loss to the Phoenix Suns. Leonard also had to bear the pain of his sister being sentenced to life in prison without parole for murder. … Both Anthony Davis (right foot stress injury) and LeBron James (right foot soreness) are listed as probable for their game which tipped at 10pm ET Saturday. They answered the bell and scored 31 and 25 points, respectively. … Add these injuries to a slew of others, many limiting or completely stopping players – cold – in the regular season and leading into these Playoffs and you’ve got a major issue.

The team that stays 100% healthy has a MUCH better chance of surviving and advancing in the NBA Playoffs.

TIDBITS: Rafael Devers and Mr. Jordan Furniture man are hawking a promo that calls for all purchases to be deemed free of charge if (any) Red Sox player hits for the cycle between July 31 and the end of the regular season. Purchases have to be made between March 27-April 30th.

WORLD TEAM GOLF: No one from LIV Golf asked WWYI for the perfect solution to their desire to differentiate from the PGA Tour but, if they did, the suggestion would’ve been to form “LIV World Team Golf,” and have teams of two compete together in Foursomes and Fourball each week of the season, just like the PGA Tour is doing this weekend at NOLA’s Zurich Classic. … LIV Golf attempted to name and form teams and they’ve even thought about franchising the team out, but the confusing scoring system and the individual vs team aspects of the scorecards toss viewers for a spin. … A simple two-man team, representing any nation, would’ve done the trick and created continuity in a game that’s easy to follow.

NETWORK: On April 12, NYVC Sports held its first business get-together in three years. Boston VC Sports hopes to be back-in-action in late Spring as the weather warms in New England. Since its last meeting, when start-up WHOOP was introduced by CEO Will Ahmed, the WHOOP valuation rose to $3.6b after a raise of $200,000. The latest valuation included participating investors VP, Cavu Ventures, Thursday Ventures, GP Bullhound, Accomplice, NextView Ventures, and Animal Capital.

BASEBALL BITS: As of Saturday night, 16 of the Sox’ first 22 games have been decided by three runs or fewer, including Boston’s 5-4 loss to Milwaukee. The only team in the Majors with more is Cleveland (17).

OTHER: Banished former Celtics coach, Ime Udoka, has emerged as a 2-1 favorite to be the new coach of the Toronto Raptors after dismissed coach Nick Nurse was relieved of his duties on Friday (April 21). Nurse took the Raptors to the promised land and the 2019 NBA title. Nurse is the frontrunner for the open Houston job.

Bet You Can’t Play Just Once?

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Global Program Expands and Soccer Stars Mia Hamm and Javier “Chicharito” Hernández join Lay’s to Dedicate New Field in Santa Ana, California.

SANTA ANA – (Staff Report from Official News Release) – The Lay’s division of PepsiCo is helping communities in the USA and around the world through its global program, Lay’s RePlay, which creates sustainable soccer fields from disposed Lay’s Potato Chip bags.

Lay’s unveiled its latest efforts with the Lay’s RePlay field in Santa Ana, California. The U.S. Lay’s RePlay field is made with recycled Lay’s chip bags and packaging materials that are washed, shredded and converted into an underlying layer that is designed to be recycled at the end of its 10-year lifespan The field, located at Cesar Chavez Campesino Park in Santa Ana was selected by Lay’s and its global partners UEFA Foundation for Children and Common Goal as part of its rich Hispanic heritage. The program’s goal is to provide affordable access to the sport of Futbol (soccer) via programming and education about the sport.

“As a UEFA ambassador, I am proud to be a voice for Lay’s RePlay,” said Mia Hamm, FIFA World Cup champion and two-time Olympic gold medalist. “Having access to community gathering spaces and safe playing fields must be a top priority for young people across the world. Soccer continues to see incredible growth, and with the Hispanic community being the fastest growing segment of our population – and arguably the most passionate about the game – beginning the Lay’s RePlay U.S. expansion in a key area like Santa Ana is a powerful moment.”

“The pipeline for healthy lives in the Hispanic community expands greatly when you have access to quality fields and equipment, and the Lay’s RePlay program is a game-changer,” said Major League Soccer player and LA Galaxy striker Javier Chicharito. “As someone who lives and plays in Southern California, I’m looking forward to seeing the joy this field brings to families across the area.”

The Santa Ana field opens in partnership with the City of Santa Ana and Pure Game, a local non-profit that teaches children life skills through mentorship and sports-based character education.

“Since 2021, Lay’s RePlay has had the privilege of creating beautiful soccer fields and programming to share with deserving communities across the globe. From South Africa, Brazil, and Mexico to the United Kingdom, we’ve been able to see the tremendous impact this program brings to aspiring athletes and families around the world – uniting people through a common love of soccer, providing a safe space to foster togetherness and minimizing our impact on the earth,” said Ciara Dilley, PepsiCo’s vice president of marketing for global food brands. “We are so honored to be able to play such a significant role in furthering the soccer journeys of young people here in the community of Santa Ana with the launch of our first Lay’s RePlay soccer field in the U.S.!”

The new Lay’s RePlay field marks the sixth to open around the world, with others in South Africa, Brazil, the United Kingdom, Italy, and Mexico, which have been utilized over 25,000 times to provide underserved communities with access to the beloved sport and state-of-the-art soccer fields since the program’s launch. Lay’s RePlay builds on work done by Lay’s and the UEFA Foundation for Children that delivered three artificial soccer fields in the Za’atari and Azraq Refugee Camps in 2017 and 2018 and have since provided 35,000 people access to the sport.

“Lay’s has been such an incredible partner to work with over the years and we are thrilled to support bringing the Lay’s RePlay program into the U.S.,” said Urs Kluser, general secretary for UEFA Foundation for Children. “Through our partnership, we are able to put our best resources forward and work together to gather communities around the world through the joy of the sport.”

Are You Ready for Some Ready Light?

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PITTSBURGH – (Staff Report from Official News Release) – Are you “Ready” for a new sports drink?

Ready, a fast growing sports nutrition company with co-owners of All-Pro NFL linebacker Aaron Donald and former NBA champion and MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, is launching a light version of Ready Sports Drink, its advanced and science-based line of performance products designed to optimize hydration replenishment and energy production.

Ready Light Sports Drink features the same essential elements to replenish fluid and electrolytes and boost energy based on the latest in sports nutrition and performance science, but with only 20 calories. That includes:

• A scientifically formulated blend of super fruits and B-vitamins
• Super fruit carbohydrates infused from real food sources, resulting in NO added sugar
• An ideal and proprietary electrolyte blend that more accurately mirrors what athletes lose in competition

“We’ve received great feedback with our initial launch of Ready Sports Drink last year with its improved sports-hydration fueling, so we took the next logical step with this lower calorie option that still features super fruit carbohydrates and the ideal electrolyte blend without any added sugar,” said Pat Cavanaugh, Ready Founder and CEO.

Ready Light will be available initially in 16.9 oz. sizes with four (4) flavors—Classic Lemonade, Mango Lemonade, Strawberry Lemonade and Watermelon Lemonade. More flavors will be added later in the year. Ready Light will be available at major regional grocery chains including Publix, Food Lion and Giant Eagle.

Kicking off  this month, the Ready Light “Lean and Clean” Mobile Tour highlighted its newest best-in-class sports drink introduction into the marketplace. The tour hits the road with an eye-catching Ready Light branded super van and will tour multiple states with product sampling and giveaways including Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Ohio and Pennsylvania. The tour will stop at numerous colleges and universities and Ready Sports Drink retailers including Walmart, Dollar Tree, Publix, Food Lion and Giant Eagle.

The tour will host over 100 sampling events during its mid-March through mid-May schedule. The stops will include samplings of Ready Light Sports Drink as well as other Ready products including regular Ready Sports Drink and Ready Protein Bars. The activation mobile will stage games and activities to complement the sampling events.

“We wanted to make a splash and have fun introducing our light version of Ready Sports Drink,” noted Cavanaugh. “Our vehicle is definitely going to turn heads and we expect to have a good time supporting our retailers, interacting with the public, and sampling our new Ready Light Sports Drink which is already creating a buzz.”

Wrestling: Taking It to the Streets

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NEWARK – (Staff Report from Official News Release) Beat the Streets (New York) and USA Wrestling will stage its annual wrestling competition, Final X, presented by Tezos, on Saturday, June 10 at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.  Final X will determine the 2023 U.S. Senior World Teams in all three Olympic disciplines: men’s and women’s freestyle and Greco-Roman. There will be 30 weight classes contested, 10 in each Olympic discipline.

The top two U.S. athletes in each weight class will compete in a best-of-three series in Final X to determine who will wrestle at the 2023 Senior World Championships in Belgrade, Serbia. The medalists and the fifth-place wrestler in each weight at the 2023 Senior World Championships will qualify the United States for their weight class at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.

This will be the first time that Final X will be held in one location, as previous Final X competitions were held in either two or three cities. It will also be the first time Final X will be contested on three mats. It is the second time Final X will be hosted in New Jersey, as Final X Rutgers was held in 2019 in Piscataway.

“USA Wrestling will provide the nation’s greatest athletes with the stage to compete for the right to represent Team USA at the 2023 Senior World Championships, as well as an opportunity to qualify our nation for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris,” said USA Wrestling Executive Director Rich Bender. “Final X will once again be intense and exciting, as our elite men and women wrestlers put it all on the line in Prudential Center, a world-class facility. Make plans to join us in Newark,” 

The event is the second consecutive year that Final X will serve as the Beat the Streets Annual Benefit. In 2022, BTSNY hosted Final X New York at the Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City. This year’s event will be the 13th BTSNY Annual Benefit.

Session times will be 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. Eastern time, with the Beat the Streets after party to immediately follow. Ticket information for Final X will be available on Ticketmaster at a later date, while tickets for the BTSNY Annual Benefit after party can be purchased at btsny.org.

“This event is our largest fundraiser of the year and will support 75 percent of our annual expenses, so we can continue to make a lifelong impact on the 2,500 boys and girls in New York City that rely on us. We are looking forward to hosting this event at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, a state filled with rich wrestling traditions. We have no doubt this year’s event will add to that tradition and provide exciting moments for some of the World’s greatest men and women athletes who are looking to earn a spot on Team USA at the 2023 World Championships,” added Bender.

Kitman Hires Iwanowski and Aker

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MENLO PARK – (Staff Report from Official News Release) – Kitman Labs, the sports technology and analytics company setting a new industry standard for how high performance organizations use data, have hired Kirk Iwanowski and Chris Aker for the newly created positions of Chief Marketing Officer and Chief Revenue Officer, respectively.  Iwanowski joins Kitman with over 25 years of experience in entertainment, media and technology marketing and brand building, most recently at AnyClip, where he spearheaded their global rebrand and positioning as The Visual Intelligence Company.  Aker brings over 20 years of experience in sales, business development and execution and revenue generation to Kitman Labs, the last 4.5 years building the successful sales and enterprise strategy at Compass.

“Kirk and Chris’ expansive background and track record of success in scaling, brand building and sales will be critical as we grow the business enterprise value of Kitman Labs and tell our story to an expanding global audience,”  said Founder and CEO Stephen Smith. “Our goal in the coming years is to continue to partner with elite sports and public sector companies to revolutionize how data and analytics are leveraged across every level of an organization to optimize performance and maximize return.  There is no one better to help us map and execute that plan than these two seasoned executives.”

Antonio Brown Buys Into the Empire

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ALBANY – Former NFL All-Pro Antonio Brown promised to be hands on in his new role as a part-owner of the Albany Empire of the National Arena League.

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Brown was introduced Thursday at a news conference in the New York State Capitol, where his father is a legend. Eddie Brown, who starred for the Albany Firebirds in the heyday of the Arena Football League, also is joining the franchise as vice president of operations.

The Albany Times Union said Empire owner Mike Kwarta declined to offer details about Brown’s ownership agreement but commented that they are “equal partners, if you would.”

“Touchdown” Eddie Brown played in Albany from 1994-2001, and Antonio Brown was in elementary school with his dad joined the Firebirds.

“It means everything to be back here in the community where I grew up as a kid,” Antonio Brown said. “It’s about keeping Albany football, sustainability, being here forever, and offering the community, the kids, the players, a great opportunity to be successful.”

He said he isn’t just investing money in the franchise.

“I just want to be here hands-on, help the players be successful on and off the field, and just be an advocate here in the community to bring it out. If that’s going out in the community, getting people to the game, getting kids to come out here, events in the stadium, so whatever it takes to help us be our best selves and hoist a trophy,” Brown said.

Kwarta said he had no worries about partnering with the controversial Brown, who faced suspensions, criminal charges and civil lawsuits in his NFL days. Kwarta said their conversations had focused on Brown’s “childhood, what his dad did here, the legacies, and what can we do for the community, and that’s completely what we’re focused on.”

Eddie Brown was voted the best player in Arena Football League history in 2006 as the league celebrated its 20th anniversary.

The current Arena league doesn’t prohibit player-owners, but Antonio Brown said that won’t happen.

“I did everything as far as playing in the career of football,” the younger Brown said. “I won’t retire because I still got the game, but just working on other things.”

Brown, 34, played 12 seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers, New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Bucs released him on Jan. 6, 2022, days after he left the field in a game against the New York Jets and threw part of his gear into the stands.

A four-time All-Pro, Brown won a Super Bowl with the Buccaneers in 2020. In 146 career games, he made 928 catches for 12,291 yards and caught 83 touchdown passes. He also returned one kickoff and four punts for TDs.

The Empire open the season April 16 at home against the Orlando Predators.

–Field Level Media

NFL Commanders Attract $5.5b Bid

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WASHINGTON DC – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Houston Rockets team owner Tilman Fertitta has submitted a $5.5 billion bid to buy the Washington Commanders, The Washington Post reported Sunday. Fertitta purchased the NBA franchise for $2.2 billion in September 2017.

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The only other known bidder is Philadelphia 76ers and New Jersey Devils owner Josh Harris, according to ESPN.

Commanders owner Dan Snyder announced in November that he and his wife, Tanya, had hired Bank of America Securities to consider “potential transactions” involving the NFL franchise.

ESPN reported Thursday that Amazon founder and Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos had hired an investment firm to explore the possibility of bidding on the Commanders.

On Saturday, however, The Athletic reported that Snyder has barred Bezos from placing a bid.

Snyder, 58, has owned the team since 1999.

Media reports last month said the Commanders could be sold as soon as March but that no candidate met Snyder’s asking price of $7 billion in the first round of bids.

–Field Level Media