Closing Bell

MLB on Thursday proposed an overhaul of its amateur system that would include an international draft. Starting next season, there would be 12-round international and domestic drafts (down on the domestic side from 20) for MLB, with equal bonus pools of $200M (down on the domestic side from $358.7M).

Beginning in 2028, players would need to be age 20 by Sept. 1 of the draft year, and at least two years removed from high school graduation, to be eligible for the domestic draft. Teams would be prohibited from trading first-round selections in consecutive drafts. No team would be eligible to receive a lottery pick in three straight years.

“Over the last several years, college baseball has undergone a remarkable transformation. Expanded scholarships, NIL opportunities, revenue sharing, and significant investments in facilities and player development have made college baseball an increasingly important pathway that is producing major league-ready talent at an accelerated rate,” MLB said in a statement. “Today’s top programs provide players with resources, competition, and national exposure that were unimaginable a decade ago. Our proposal is designed to build on that momentum to benefit the game at the college, minor league and major league levels. By creating a draft system centered around college-aged players and making most college players eligible one year earlier, more players will benefit from both a college education and an elite development environment while reaching professional baseball—and ultimately the major leagues—more quickly. We believe these changes will strengthen college baseball and deepen fans’ connection to the next generation of major league stars. We look forward to working with the MLBPA throughout the bargaining process to modernize the domestic amateur system in a way that benefits players, clubs, and fans.”

On the international side, players would have to be 18 by Sept. 1 of their draft year (up from 17 by Sept. 1 of their sign year). MLB believes this would create transparency in the signing process through a hard-slotted system that would eliminate the practice of “handshake agreements” between teams and players. MLB will also work with the Dominican government, independent trainers and the union to establish protections and safeguards for players training in the country.

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The Knicks and the NBA championship trophy took a “long, rapturous, confetti-showered victory cruise up Broadway on Thursday to receive the keys” to the city. N.Y. Mayor Zohran Mamdani handed ceremonial keys to Knicks owner James Dolan and to the players and coaches. Lower Manhattan was a “roaring sea of orange and blue as fans jammed the parade route.” Some fans “arrived before dawn.” Some of the “loudest cheers of the ceremony” were for G Jalen Brunson, while Dolan was “met with some boos” despite the team’s title (N.Y. TIMES, 6/18).

During the parade, cars carrying Basketball HOFer Walt “Clyde” Frazier and buses carrying the players “led the parade route.” The floats also included Wu Tang Clan, Fat Joe and Jadakiss, while another had actor Timothée Chalamet and his girlfriend, Kylie Jenner. Mamdani rode a float “wearing a Knicks jersey under his suit, along with Gov. Kathy Hochul, wearing a Knicks jacket and hat." Spike Lee rode in the same float as Brunson and his father, Rick Brunson, while actor Ben Stiller rode along at the “front of a float labeled ‘ownership.’” Basketball HOFer Patrick Ewing and Gale Reed, the wife of late Basketball HOFer Willis Reed, “closed out the parade” (NEWSDAY, 6/18).

The NHL “wrapped up its investigation” of former Blue Jackets coach Mike Babcock on Thursday morning and ruled that while he comes out of it “looking pretty shady, there is not enough evidence to warrant any type of suspension of banishment and he is cleared to return to the NHL.” This “opens the door for the Oilers” to hire Babcock, who resigned from the Blue Jackets in 2023 before even coaching a game when the allegations first came to light of him “wanting to see personal photos from players phones.” It will be a “controversial hire,” but the Oilers, from ownership to the star players, say that this is “the guy they want in their dressing room” (EDMONTON JOURNAL, 6/18).

PGA Tour player Rickie Fowler paired an all-white pullover and pants with bright pink Puma shoes that are “stealing the show” Thursday at the U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills. Fowler’s shoes, the Puma Ignite Elevate 2, are part of the brand’s new “Showtime Pack,” which also features soccer, basketball and running shoes, “all with a similar style -- bright, mismatched pairs with neon pink, purple and yellow hues.” Puma’s two other PGA Tour players, J.J. Spaun and Gary Woodland, will also “help debut the new footwear at Shinnecock this week” (GOLFWEEK, 6/18).

PGA Tour player Brooks Koepka wore a Nike Par Dri-FIT polo on Thursday that featured a “bizarre pink and white colorway and gradient vertical stripes.” Some “likened it to the candy striper outfits that hospital volunteers used to wear,” while others “drew similarities to Jerry’s jacket in an old episode of ‘Seinfeld.’” Either way, it “stole the show early in the first round at Shinnecock.” There will “certainly be much discussion about the wild outfits” Malbon has laid out for Jason Day or the pink J.Lindeberg pants that Viktor Hovland will “wear Saturday if he makes the cut” (GOLFWEEK, 6/18).

SBJ’s Josh Carpenter goes inside the numbers at the 2026 U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills. From a streamlined setup to premium hospitality and massive merchandise operations, get an inside look at fan experiences, pricing and what makes this year’s championship uniquely scaled.

Qatar brought some 1,000 fans to Vancouver “via jets chartered by the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani,” ahead of Thursday’s match against Canada. The fans are “staying at posh hotels” and have been “turning heads downtown, breaking out traditional darbuka drums.” Qatar’s Social and Sport Contribution Fund partnered with the Qatar Football Association to pay for the “Qatari Fans Delegation Program” for the World Cup. The fund “covers flights, hotels and local transportation and other perks.” The federation said the aim was to create “a vibrant stadium atmosphere that will help push the players toward the best possible results on the global stage.” Qatari students in the U.S. and Canada were also “invited to attend the matches.” However, Qatari fans are “sure to be heavily outnumbered by red-clad Canadians” at BC Place (AP, 6/17).

A “large squad of Qatari security officers, as well as four camouflaged SUVs and four Light Armoured Vehicles,” arrived in Vancouver ahead of Thursday’s match. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police said that the officers are in the city to “participate in training exercises with the RCMP and share what they learned from policing the last World Cup” in 2022 (GLOBE & MAIL, 6/17).

Boutique agencies continue their strong run of professional hockey league drafts with 3G Sports’ victory in the first round of the PWHL Draft from the Fox Theatre in Detroit. The Vancouver-based agency represented three selections in the Toronto Sceptres’ eighth overall selection of Wisconsin F Kirsten Simms, the Minnesota Frost’s selection of Ohio State D Sara Swiderski at ninth overall and the 11th overall selection of Wisconsin D Vivian Jungels by the Ottawa Charge.

Though the PWHL is still growing out, 3G Sports has already made a name for itself among the nascent league. On top of representing the three previous first overall selections of Taylor Heise, Sarah Fillier and Kristyna Kaltounkova, the agency currently represents over 25 PWHL players. Last year, the agency dominated the first round by representing half of the selections including Kaltounkova, Casey O’Brien, Nicole Gosling and Michelle Karvinen. The agency’s PWHL representation is led by its PWHL certified agents managing director Spencer Gillis and lead counsel Jeremy Gritten.

However, some of the talent representation world’s biggest agencies weren’t left off the list. The Team’s Vincent Fensore and Rachel Feucht notched the first overall pick with the Vancouver Goldeneyes’ selection of Wisconsin D Caroline Harvey. CAA Hockey’s Head of Operations, Marketing & Client Management, represented Penn State F Tessa Janecke, who was selected fourth overall by PWHL San Jose. Octagon also represented Ohio State D Emma Peschel, who when seventh overall to the New York Sirens. Bartlett Hockey’s strong year following Megan Keller’s golden goal at the Olympics didn’t end there. The agency tied for second with clients Minnesota F Abbey Murphy and Wisconsin D Laila Edwards going second and fourth overall, respectively. The brother duo tied with Brant Feldman’s American Group Management. Feldman, the CEO and senior managing partner at AGM, represented Wisconsin F Lacey Eden and Cornell D Gracie Dwyer, who were selected fifth and tenth overall.

In total, seven different agencies represented talent in the first round of the 2026 PWHL Draft. 10 different agents comprised the total number of agents who saw their clients selected in the first round.

State Farm is the new presenting partner of Dude Perfect’s flagship “Overtime” franchise as part of a new relationship between the insurance giant and the social media creator juggernaut.

Dude Perfect was founded by five friends at Texas A&M in 2009 and quickly became a prominent Internet presence with its trick shot videos, amassing more than 115 million followers across social media platforms.

Increasingly, the company is moving beyond the digital realm and into live events and physical experiences. The partnership with State Farm kicks off this summer with the Impossible Soccer Wall, a soccer-slanted play on Dude Perfect’s Impossible Wall. The Impossible Soccer Wall experiential activation will be live in Philadelphia (June 27 and 28), Dallas (July 3), and Atlanta (July 15), allowing fans to attempt a Dude Perfect-style trick shot for a place on a national leaderboard.

Overtime, which is approaching its 50th episode, will now be known as Overtime Presented by State Farm. The new Overtime studio will open at Dude Perfect’s Frisco, Texas HQ this coming fall. State Farm branding and logos are now integrated into the refreshed Overtime desk and featured throughout each series episode, while State Farm talent and ambassadors will be woven into episodes.

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On this week’s Sports Media Podcast, SBJ’s Austin Karp and Josh Carpenter debate whether MLS could adopt World Cup-style hydration breaks to create new commercial inventory.

Penske Media Corp. has “acquired the Vox Media portfolio of digital brands,” including Eater, The Verge, SB Nation, as well as Vox Studios and Vox Creative. The pact makes PMC the “world’s largest digital publisher.” Penske has “created a subsidiary, PMX, to house PMC’s publishing portfolio.” Vox Media President Ryan Pauley “will join PMC as president of PMX Global.” The deal follows the sale last month of N.Y. Magazine, Vox.com and the Vox Media Podcast Network to James Murdoch’s Lupa Systems for a reported price of more than $300M. Financial terms of the PMC-Vox Media pact were not disclosed. PMC’s acquisition of the Vox Media brands creates a “formidable digital content platform spanning entertainment, music, sports and technology, fashion, beauty, food, art and luxury.” The brands will “continue to operate autonomously under the PMX umbrella, including the new additions from Vox” (VARIETY, 6/18). The move “formally concludes the multiyear sales process for Vox Media,” which had been steered by CEO Jim Bankoff since 2009 (HOLLYWOOD REPORTER, 6/18).