Morning Buzz

The Bucks are trading F Giannis Antetokounmpo to the Heat in a deal that includes five players, four draft picks and one draft pick swap, as Heat President Pat Riley “makes his long-anticipated new landmark acquisition.” Antetokounmpo joins “elite Miami pickups” such as LeBron James, Shaquille O’Neal, Chris Bosh, Alonzo Mourning and Jimmy Butler over the past 30-plus years. Bucks GM Jon Horst and Heat GM Andy Elisburg “finalized the agreement Monday night” (ESPN.com, 6/22). Riley “once again delivers a star player to Miami” after the fan base had “clamored for Riley and the front office to take a big swing to land a star.” The trade also “appeases those who had started to wonder if maybe it was time for Riley to step down” (USA TODAY, 6/22).

The Heat and Celtics “were the two finalists in the Giannis sweepstakes.” The trade cannot ”be finalized and made official until the NBA’s free agency moratorium is lifted” on July 6 at noon ET, and the Heat and Bucks will not be ”able to publicly comment on the trade until it’s made official.” Because the Heat “took back more salary than it sent out” in the trade for Antetokounmpo, the team “will be hard-capped at the projected first apron” of $209M “for the entirety of next season.” The Heat also added F Bobby Portis in the deal using the $16.8M trade exception it got from the Duncan Robinson deal the team made last offseason (MIAMI HERALD, 6/23).

YAHOO SPORTS’ Kevin O’Connor cited sources as saying that Bucks owner Jimmy Haslam “was a driving force in taking the Heat deal for Giannis over Boston’s offer,” which reportedly would have included F Jaylen Brown. Haslam did not “want to risk” Brown “wanting out of Milwaukee in a year after dealing with ... trade demands” from both Antetokounmpo and Browns DE Myles Garrett. Haslam “wanted certainty, and the Miami deal provided more of that with more total assets in return to Milwaukee” (X, 6/23).

BROOKLYN -- The draft that had teams tanking straight in Adam Silver’s face is finally here.

The names A.J. Dybantsa, Darryn Peterson, Cameron Boozer, Caleb Wilson, Keaton Wagler, Mikel Brown Jr. and Darius Acuff Jr. are about to live in infamy. Because of them, the lottery will soon cease to exist as we know it.

As load management became the norm this past season or teams sat healthy players for no good reason just to slip into the bottom five, Silver ordered his lieutenant Evan Wasch -- the league’s EVP/Basketball Strategy & Growth -- to disincentivize losing. Starting next season, the lottery odds will be flattened, the worst three teams will have a worse chance of winning the lottery than the team fourth-through-10th, and play-in teams could walk away with the No. 1 overall pick.

But that’s next June. This June, starting Tuesday night at Barclays Center, the worst team in the league, the Wizards, are first on the clock. After a three-year rebuild with this day in mind, their arrow may finally be pointed up. ESPN will televise Tuesday’s first round and Wednesday’s second round.

Read More >>>

PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp was introduced publicly in the role at last year’s Travelers Championship, and it’s at the same event this week that Rolapp is expected to announce sweeping changes to the tour in time for the 2028 season.

Following a board approval on Monday, Rolapp was expected to meet with players at 8am ET on Tuesday, followed by a meeting with the media at 10am to announce the planned changes.

Among the changes: Rolapp is expected to announce a two-track system on the PGA Tour with separate fields, schedules and points systems. Track 1 is expected to consist of around 120-130 players competing in a 24-tournament season (including majors, Ryder/Presidents Cup and postseason). Track 1’s regular season is expected to be a mix of the current PGA Tour Signature series events along with tournaments in new markets, though it’s not clear if those will be announced on Tuesday. Track 1 is expected to consist of 120-man fields with 72 holes, with cuts.

Track 2 is expected to consist of 20 tournaments total -- with 13 played the same weeks as Track 1 tournaments. The other seven would have their own standalone weeks. Still not clear is how -- or if -- players would be able to move back and forth between the two tracks.

Read More >>>

Fans at Philadelphia Stadium were “evacuated out of the stands” and “told to seek shelter as severe thunderstorms” moved through the region during the World Cup game between France and Iraq on Monday evening. The delay began at halftime, around 5:50pm ET, with France up on Iraq 1-0. Some fans “trickled back to their seats” during the delay, even as they were “being told to seek shelter.” Loud cheers “erupted twice from the steamy main concourse level” after it was announced that fans were able to return to their seats. The game resumed at 8pm after the “lengthy weather delay.” There was no hydration break during the second half (PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER, 6/22).

2026 FIFA World Cup Coverage

Explore Sports Business Journal’s World Cup hub, featuring news, analysis, and insights on the business behind the global tournament.

It was the “first rain delay of the tournament and the first time in at least several decades that a World Cup match was delayed midgame because of inclement weather.” France “played through the rain and muck” to beat Iraq 3-0. The stoppage was “initially expected to extend the halftime break by 15 minutes,” but the teams did not return to the field to warm up for about 1 hour, 40 minutes. A rule used by FIFA “pauses games for 30 minutes if lightning is detected within 8 miles,” with each strike resetting the clock (AP, 6/22).

The storms also “created uncertainty for the match between Norway and Senegal,” which “kicked off on time” at 8pm at N.Y. N.J. Stadium and ended in a 3-2 Norway victory. Fans “in ponchos and rain gear arrived” at the stadium “prepared for the wet conditions” (N.Y. TIMES, 6/22).

The get-in ticket prices for three World Cup games on Tuesday are coming in at or above $1,000, according to TicketData.com. Portugal -- led by F Cristiano Ronaldo -- faces Uzbekistan in a Houston matchup that costs $1,936, up 104% since the start of the tournament, and the only of the four matches on Tuesday to see three-day (up 9%) and seven-day (up 19%) increases. Colombia vs. Congo DR in Guadalajara, the last game of the day, currently has get-in prices of $1,107, up 62% since the start of the tournament but down 15% over the past three days. England vs. Ghana in Boston rounds out the four-digit tickets at $1,000, which is down 35% over the past three days and down 21% over the past seven, though up 40% since the start of the tournament. Panama faces Croatia in Toronto with get-in prices at $717, which is down 37% over the past three days and down 45% over the past seven. SBJ has partnered with TicketData.com to track get-in prices and trends for upcoming games. For additional information on games, visit the World Cup page at TicketData.com.

2026 FIFA World Cup Coverage

Explore Sports Business Journal’s World Cup hub, featuring news, analysis, and insights on the business behind the global tournament.

Soccer-specific marketing agency Name & Number has launched a dedicated sponsorship consulting practice led by former MKTG executive David Kemp. The new division adds to a business that already provides marketing and creative services to clients such as FIFA, U.S. Soccer and MLS, along with men’s and women’s clubs in North America and Europe and brands like Soccer.com, Kwik Goal, Toca Soccer and WorldSoccerShop.

The new sponsorship consulting practice is aimed at helping brands evaluate, secure and activate soccer sponsorships across clubs, leagues, federations and athlete partnerships. Last week, body care brand Sol de Janeiro selected Name & Number as its global agency of record. The agency advised the brand on its sponsorship of the NWSL’s Washington Spirit and is spearheading additional partnerships.

Name & Number was founded in 2022 by Kyle Sheldon, a former marketing executive for the Fire, Sounders and D.C. United. The firm last year hired Kemp from MKTG, where he led strategic planning for Ally Financial on its deals with Charlotte FC, Detroit City FC and The Soccer Tournament (TST). He has since been promoted to Dir of Sponsorship Consulting.

In addition to Kemp, the firm has made the following promotions:

• Justin Hubler promoted to VP/Creative & Production.
• Kristi Bruner promoted to VP/Client Services & Business Operations.
• John Lewis promoted to Senior Manager of Client Services.
• Gabriel Causey promoted to Senior Graphic Designer.

The NHL BOG will meet in N.Y. beginning Tuesday, “though an agenda hasn’t been set.” The BOG meets biannually to discuss league topics, “ranging from rule changes and player safety to expansion, hockey-related revenue, the salary cap, and even television media rights.” An “eventual succession plan” for 74-year-old NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman “could also be a possible topic” (THE ATHLETIC, 6/15). There is also speculation that a final vote could come on the completed sale of the Penguins from Fenway Sports Group to the Hoffmann family, which was reported weeks ago as something that could be announced “sometime in June” (SBJ).

Virginia Tech has hired longtime FAU AD Brian White to the same position and will “introduce White at a news conference Wednesday morning at Lane Stadium.” White replaces Whit Babcock, who served 12 years in the position and is “remaining with Tech for three years in an emeritus role.” White, a 2023 SBJ Forty Under 40 honoree, has spent the last eight years at FAU and led the school’s move from Conference USA to the American Conference three years ago. VT football coach James Franklin served on the search committee that “interviewed several finalists in Northern Virginia in the last few days” (Norfolk VIRGINIAN-PILOT, 6/22).

The Univ. of Oklahoma “completed an epic postseason heater” Monday night with a 13-2 win over the Univ. North Carolina to take the College World Series title. OU, “one of the more unlikely recent CWS victors,” captured its first title since 1994 and its third baseball title overall. They also “extended the SEC stranglehold on college baseball to a seventh straight crown” and seventh different SEC school to win in the last nine (OMAHA WORLD-HERALD, 6/22).

Throughout the CWS, Oklahoma’s fanbase “represented a large portion of the fans in attendance.” On Monday, “almost the entire right field side of the stadium was clad in Scarlet and Cream” (OMAHA WORLD-HERALD, 6/22). It was “Oklahoma’s week and it officially became an OU party when thousands of Oklahoma fans made the trek north for the championship series.” Sooner fans “overtook downtown Omaha.” A number of Sooner legends “kept making cameo appearances” throughout the series, including former football coaches Barry Switzer, Bob Stoops and Brent Venables; men’s basketball coach Porter Moser; Oklahoma QB John Mateer; Vikings QB Kyler Murray, former LB Brian Bosworth and former DT Tony Casillas (OMAHA WORLD-HERALD, 6/22).

“A mural discovered in Tajikistan of a man stabbing a fowl is cited as evidence that this author’s works traveled the Silk Road.”