Closing Bell

Former Walmart BOD Chair Rob Walton is "poised to make a bid" for the Broncos and is "now the favorite to buy the team despite the NFL’s efforts to court Robert F. Smith." Walton is "expected to submit a Broncos bid on Friday" worth more than $4B. The Broncos have "set Friday as the deadline for opening bids and are only accepting offers that are for more" than $4B, according to a source (N.Y. POST, 4/8).

The Bengals are "planning to build an interim indoor training facility and will go before city planning officials next week for their approval." The proposed bubble "would be located" near the Bengals' current outdoor facility. Bengals Exec VP Katie Blackburn on March 30 said the team was "definitely looking" into plans to add an indoor facility soon. The plans "were filed with the city on April 1." The filing with the Cincinnati Planning Commission "doesn't mention what will become of the current training facility." The new temporary facility, a "removable and inflated 75-foot high air dome that attaches to a concrete footer, would have a regulation-size interior turf practice field" (CINCINNATI ENQUIRER, 4/8).

The Reds and Bengals have "filed lawsuits against former players in what one expert called rare cases of seeking to prevent them from making workers’ compensation claims against the teams." The Reds "sued Kevin Franklin and the Bengals sued Chris Manderino in U.S. District Court in California," the state where both ex-players live. The claims are "virtually the same in both cases." The teams say those players "shouldn’t be able to file workers’ comp claims against them in California due to lack of jurisdiction." The teams say they "aren’t located in California and the players never played or practiced in California while with the Cincinnati teams." Both players "recently filed workers’ compensation claims in California against the Bengals and Reds, respectively" (BIZJOURNALS.com, 4/8).

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MLB Network added Melanie Newman to its on-air roster as a play-by-play broadcaster, host and reporter. Her MLB Network role is in addition to her broadcast work covering the Orioles for MASN and the Orioles Radio Network, which she will continue this season. Newman will regularly do play-by-play for “Friday Night Baseball” on Apple TV+ this season, which MLB Network produces, starting with Mets-Nationals on Friday night. She also will host host MLB Net studio programs. She becomes the second woman to lead play-by-play for a national broadcast crew, after Suzyn Waldman held that role for The Baseball Network in '94-95. Newman contributed to MLB Network in '21, including the landmark all-female Orioles-Rays telecast last summer (MLB Network).

CNBC’s Steve Kovach noted Apple TV+ is offering the Friday night games for free initially, and it “isn’t saying how long this free trial is going to last, but if I had to guess they’re going to wait to see how many people actually tune in.” Kovach: “Of course, it’s not going to be an Apple thing if they don’t put their kind of shine on it, so there’s going to be an integration with Siri where you can ask it for stats … and really cool, they’re syncing it with Apple Music so you can listen to your favorite players' at-bat songs.” Kovach said of the sports streaming landscape, “Netflix has been just allergic to streaming any live sports, they’re asked about it all the time." But other streaming services are "finding ways to get to exclusive games so you have to tune in, sign up, and this is a real subscriber generator for them.” CNBC’s Frank Holland: “The real strategy here for Apple is they just want to sell more iPhones” ( “Worldwide Exchange,” CNBC, 4/8).

To support the growth of its business outside North America, CAA Icon has appointed David Hickey as Exec Dir and Phil Carter as Commercial Dir of U.K. Projects. They will both work closely with Managing Dir of European Operations Stephanie Bax to help lead CAA Icon’s successful delivery of high-profile projects throughout the U.K. and Europe. Hickey and Carter will both work out of the CAA Icon London office that opened in '20.

Hickey joins CAA Icon with over 20 years of experience in the construction and development industry, including leadership roles on projects such as the Stamford Bridge redevelopment for Chelsea, Sky’s new European HQ, the '12 London Games, and Arsenal's Emirates Stadium. Carter is a chartered professional with two decades of cost management experience. He joins from Chelsea, where he most recently served as Commercial Dir for the Stamford Bridge redevelopment. Previously, he worked at Rider Levett Bucknall in London, where he acted as expert commercial advisor on temporary overlay for the '12 London, '16 Rio and '20 Tokyo Games.

Sports science company NeuroPeak Pro has been helping golfers Bryson DeChambeau and Jordan Spieth for the last several years and now "into the weekend" at The Masters should both make the cut. NeuroPeak helps users "perform better, particularly under pressure, through precision breathing, heart rate variability monitoring and neurofeedback." Its latest tool, the NTEL belt, "monitors heart rate and HRV through an ECG belt worn around the sternum with added IMU sensors." Golf has "been the beachhead for NeuroPeak, but the company counts pro athletes in all sports as users." Vikings QB Kirk Cousins, Giants P Matthew Boyd and Islanders C Brock Nelson are "among the other notable users" (SPORTTECHIE.com, 4/8).

Suns Owner Robert Sarver has retired as Exec Chair of Western Alliance Bancorp. Sarver served as CEO from ’02-18 before taking on his current title (BIZJOURNALS.com, 4/8).

The docu-series Greatness Code, produced in tandem by Religion of Sports and Uninterrupted, was renewed for a second season on Apple TV+. All six episodes premiere globally on May 13 (Religion of Sports).

DAZN and Barstool Sports are collaborating for an alternate broadcast for the Canelo Alvarez- Dmitry Bivol PPV on May 7 in Las Vegas. The alternate feed will feature live ringside commentary from Barstool's Dave Portnoy, Dan "Big Cat" Katz, Robbie Fox, Caleb Pressley and Rone & Large  (DAZN).

The Mariners partnered with Seattle-based Precept Wine to bring its wines to T-Mobile Park this season. Precept's brands include Browne Family Vineyards, Gruet, and House Wine this season (Mariners).

“This is the worst year that I’ve ever seen for the Lakers, ever. With these many hall-of-famers on one team … (and) you mean to tell me that we can’t even get in the play-in game? This is the worst season ever” -- Magic Johnson, on the Lakers being eliminated from the playoffs ( “GMA,” ABC, 4/8).

Detroit's own Jack White performs a unique version of National Anthem at the Tigers' home opener today against the White Sox.

Friday

ESPN's Stephen A. Smith will be a guest on NBC's "Tonight Show" at 11:35pm ET.

15 -- Number of facility naming rights deals facilitated by Oak View Group Global Partnerships in the last 24 months, including Simmons Bank's recent deal with the Univ. of Memphis and the Liberty Bowl, per OVG President of Global Partnerships Dan Griffis (SBJ).