Closing Bell

The NFL’s two newest owners have been appointed to two of the league’s most powerful committees, a clear signal of their growing influence and ties with Commissioner Roger Goodell, according to this year’s committee assignments obtained by Sports Business Journal.

Commanders owner Josh Harris has joined the finance committee, filling the vacancy created when longtime Colts owner Jim Irsay died in May. This is not entirely unexpected, given Harris’ successful financial career as co-founder of Apollo Global Management. For the last year, he had served on the league’s ownership policy committee, an offshoot of the finance panel that developed the league’s private equity program.

Also new this year: Broncos owner Greg Penner has been appointed to the Management Council Executive Committee, which handles the league’s relationship with the NFL Players Association and all matters related to the union contract. Stepping down from that committee are former Packers CEO Mark Murphy, who retired in July, and Chargers owner Dean Spanos.

The arrival of Penner and the departure of Murphy and Spanos represents the most turnover in many years on the Management Council committee, which has had a stable roster of the league’s most senior and respected owners for years. The panel’s last change came in 2021, when Cardinals owner Michael Bidwill replaced Bengals owner Mike Brown, who served for three decades. As part of the changes, Penner left the business ventures committee.

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MLB released its 2026 schedule on Tuesday, with the Yankees and Giants facing off on Opening Night on March 25 in S.F. That marks the earliest opener in league history, excluding international games. The 28 other teams will begin their seasons on March 26. The regular season will conclude on Sept. 27.

Here are some more highlights from the schedule:

A’s in Vegas

The A’s will host back-to-back three-game series at Las Vegas Ballpark in Summerlin, Nev. They will host the Brewers on June 8-10 and the Rockies on June 12-14. They will continue to play their other 75 home games at Sutter Health Park in West Sacramento.

Subway Series

The Yankees and Mets will square off at Yankee Stadium on the 25th anniversary of Sept. 11.

Return to the Trop

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The Mariners released their schedule for the 2026 MLB season Tuesday, “affectionately dubbed the ‘Cutest Schedule Release Ever,’” with the “stars of the show” being Sekiu and Mishka, the two northern sea otters at the Seattle Aquarium. The trend of “clever, often humorous and sometimes edgy videos” to accompany the announcement of schedules has “taken over pro sports.” The idea of using Sekiu and Mishka as the stars “was sparked by” Mariners Creative Dir Keri Zierler “mentioning in an offseason meeting the live camera the aquarium operates of the otters in their habitat and how relaxing and fun it was to watch.” The staff at the aquarium “were all in on the idea.” The Mariners “knew the schedule would be released sometime in August,” but did not get word on the final release date until the second week of the month (SEATTLE TIMES, 8/26).

The Cardinals took to social media with their schedule announcement video featuring “plenty of puppies highlighting key matchups” for the upcoming campaign (SI, 8/26).

The Mets have shared their 162-game schedule for the 2026 regular season via video of Mr. Met “victoriously battling mascots of opposing clubs” (AMAZIN’ AVENUE, 8/26).

The drama around Tommy Fleetwood’s first career PGA Tour victory led to a big increase on television at the Tour Championship, with NBC drawing the most-viewed non-major of the season.

The network drew 4.5 million viewers on Sunday from 3pm-6pm ET as Fleetwood held off Patrick Cantlay, marking an increase from 3.4 million last year when Scottie Scheffler won both the tournament and FedExCup in the late window.

In the early window from 1:30-3:00pm on Sunday, NBC drew 2.7 million viewers, the best for that window since 2018, when Tiger Woods won the event. Last year’s early window, from 1:00-3:00pm, drew just more than 2 million.

NBC likely got a small boost because Fleetwood’s win gained the attention of mainstream athletes like LeBron James and Caitlin Clark, who made multiple posts on social media about the tournament over the weekend.

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“Wake Up Barstool” will be the name of the new morning show on FS1 done in conjunction with Barstool Sports. The two-hour show will debut Sept. 2 and air weekdays from 8-10am ET and feature personalities Dave Portnoy, Dan “Big Cat” Katz and Eric “PFT Commenter” Sollenberger, with T-Bob Hebert, Brandon Walker and former NBAer Jason Williams among those on a rotating basis. “Wake Up Barstool” will then have an encore show from 10am-12pm ET that will lead into “The Herd with Colin Cowherd” at noon.

“Wake Up Barstool” talent lineup

• Monday: Portnoy, Williams, Walker and Rico Bosco
• Tuesday: Katz, Nick Turani, Eddie Farrer and Hebert
• Wednesday: Walker and Hebert
• Thursday: Sollenberger, Mark Titus, Jersey Jerry and Hebert
• Friday: Hebert and a rotating cast

Lakers G Luka Dončić is coming to Blizzard Entertainment’s Overwatch 2 in a first-of-its-kind promotion for the Activision-Blizzard label during an event that showcases not just his passion for the 5-on-5 team shooter but also a new season for the game. The event -- billed as “Play Like Luka” -- is live now.

Dončić, once ranked among the top 500 tank-style players in North America for Overwatch 2 (one of the other heroes he plays is Cassidy, who is part of this activation), helped design the “Fadeaway Fan” Cassidy hero build (along with the “Luka Dunkcic” Lucio and “Hooper Trooper” Zarya) for Stadium mode coming with its Season 18. The event also features in-game Luka-themed rewards such the “Sharpshooter 77” title, loot boxes and medals, such as a golden basketball charm with his “77” jersey number. It’s the first time Blizzard Entertainment has designed an event around a pro athlete for any of its games (though Activision has before, such as one with women’s tennis star Jessica Pegula for Call of Duty Mobile in the spring).

He’ll also appear on a series of billboards promoting Overwatch 2 in L.A. and his former NBA home of Dallas. A billboard will also appear in Katowice, Poland, where he’ll be playing for Slovenia in the EuroBasket 2025 tournament. Billboards will show up outside Crypto.com Arena and L.A. Live on Aug. 26, including a 20-story advertisement plastered on a building that looms over the area (a favorite spot for video game promotions during events such as the defunct Electronic Entertainment Expo). Billboards will also appear outside American Airlines Arena in Dallas.

Dončić came to Blizzard Entertainment’s attention several years ago after he went viral talking about which heroes he plays in Overwatch 2.

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Streamer and social media influencer IShowSpeed will be one of the creators working on an alt-cast of YouTube’s NFL broadcast debut with the Chiefs-Chargers game from Brazil on Sept. 5 at 8pm ET. IShowSpeed, whose 43 million followers across various platforms make him “one of the most widely consumed creators in the world,” will be “one of four ‘Watch With’ streams available during the game.” Other participants include comedian Tom Grossi (861,000 YouTube subscribers) and two Spanish-language creators, Robegrill (4.15 million subscribers) and SKabeche (13.7 million subscribers). The “Watch With” streams will allow creators to “provide live commentary and reactions to games and events for their viewers” (THE ATHLETIC, 8/26).

Sports streaming company FloSports is adding the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), one of Canada’s three major junior hockey leagues, to its portfolio of live hockey rights under a seven-year deal beginning this season. The deal further bolsters the company’s FloHockey subscription offering in the U.S. and Canada, which is now the streaming home to many of the top hockey leagues below the NHL, including the AHL, ECHL, USHL, Southern Professional Hockey League (SPHL) and Swedish Hockey League.

FloSports is also already home to the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL), another of the three leagues under the Canadian Hockey League umbrella. The Western Hockey League earlier this year signed an agreement with Victory+, which also carries the Memorial Cup tournament that crowns the champion of the entire CHL.

FloSports’ deal with the OHL includes 680 games a year, including the regular season, playoffs, Connor McDavid OHL Top Prospects Game and the OHL Championship Series. The tie-up also includes an official sponsorship designation for FloHockey with the OHL and will see the OHL continue to use FloSports’ stats and data platform, LeagueStat.

FloHockey starts at $12.49 per month with an annual subscription. OHL Season ticket holders will receive a subscription discount.