Morning Buzz

MIRAMAR BEACH, Fla. -- Greg Sankey brought the jokes on Monday. The usually stern SEC commissioner was lighthearted, even jovial with reporters during his opening address in the underbelly of the Hilton Sandestin ahead of this week’s spring meetings.

But as Sankey came toward the close of his remarks, he turned borderline introspective about the current state of college sports and the challenges of leading amid a massively transformational period.

“What we’re dealing with is historic change,” he said. “And I have to check myself on this all the time. So if you want a confession, something to Tweet, here’s this: Having to move from a system that was seen as working pretty well …. into something much different has been a healthy exercise.

“But those of us that knew the then and the now have to constantly check ourselves and not go back to the old way of thinking.”

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The Knicks have “accomplished one of owner James Dolan’s mandates” by reaching the NBA Finals. Up next is the opportunity to “end a 53-year championship drought.” Dolan said during a rare radio interview in January that the Knicks winning the Eastern Conference for the first time since 1999 was “something ‘we absolutely got to do.’” The Knicks did that on Monday night with a 130-93 rout of the Cavaliers to complete a four-game sweep in the conference finals. The NBA Finals will not begin until June 3 in either Oklahoma City or San Antonio. The Western Conference finals is tied at two games apiece, with Game 5 to be played in Oklahoma City on Tuesday. The lowest price for an upper-deck seat for Game 3 on June 8 at Madison Square Garden is $3,700 according to a survey of secondary-ticket sites (AP, 5/26).

The question is if the Knicks can “actually win the NBA Finals,” but they are a team to “not overlook.” They can “absolutely win a title.” One area where the Knicks “will carry an edge into the Finals is rest and freshness.” The Spurs and Thunder are tied at two games apiece and this series, at a minimum, “will span two more games and will finish Thursday, May 28, at the earliest” (USA TODAY, 5/26).

The “Let’s Go Knicks” chants were “startling, borderline deafening.” Knicks fan celebrities like actor Timothée Chalamet, film director Spike Lee, comedian Tracy Morgan and rapper Fat Joe “showed out, even if they were kicked to the second row for violating rules cheering against the Cavs in floor seats.” The Cavs’ Rocket Arena is “always loud.” Some of it is the fans, but the music is “cranked up to higher levels and two adults with microphones are allowed to scream into them at all times.” But that combination was “no match for the thousands of New York fans who flooded the arena, chanting ‘Let’s Go Knicks’ and booing when [G James] Harden scored or a foul was called on the Knicks” (THE ATHLETIC, 5/25).

Fat Joe went on ESPN’s “NBA Today” in Cleveland before the game and said that the organization “revoked his ticket once it found out the purchaser was a known Knicks supporter.” Lee was also “seen at the game in the second row, in what appeared to be a deliberate strategy from Cleveland to reserve the premier seats exclusively for Cavaliers fans.” The organization did not immediately respond to an email request for comment for the situation (THE ATHLETIC, 5/25).

Looking to wrap itself around the country’s semiquincentennial celebration, MLB is launching a variety of marketing initiatives this week, from a themed promotional TV campaign and several content series, to experiential activation and an array of patriotic licensed products on and of the field. All that activity is leading up to the July 14 All-Star Game in Philadelphia.

“Baseball is the sport most associated with the holiday, so we want to take ownership of July 4 for our fans and partners,” said Uzma Rawn Dowler, MLB’s CMO & SVP, Global Corporate Partnerships.

The first of three “For the People” spots breaks on broadcast, digital, social this week, narrated by actress Quinta Brunson, with Tom Petty’s “American Girl” as a musical bed. The campaign’s theme is baseball as a unifying force.

Additional red, white and blue content:

• “Baseball in America,” a look at baseball across all 50 states. This social series is sponsored by MLB corporate patron Booking.com.
• Longtime MLB sponsor T-Mobile is underwriting “Ballpark Expedition,” a platform powered by fans’ longstanding quest to visit every MLB park. It includes YouTuber Matthew Beem with content series highlighting every MLB stadium. A supporting sweepstakes offers a trip to each and every MLB venue as grand prize.

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N.Y. Gov. Kathy Hochul said that she wants to “lead a bid for the region to host the Winter Olympic Games,” which would see NYC in partnership with Lake Placid. Hochul insisted that there “is ‘sincere’ political ambition and ‘significant’ meetings underway.” The next clear opening to host the games would be 2042. The idea for a joint bid is “partly inspired by the success of the most recent Winter Olympics” hosted jointly by Milan and Cortina in Italy, despite the locations being around 250 miles apart. NYC and Lake Placid are separated by under 300 miles (THE ATHLETIC, 5/25).

The 2026 Indianapolis 500 purse “shot up by” 50% over the previous year and had winner Felix Rosenqvist getting a record $4.34M and 22 drivers earning more than $1M. The purse totaled $30,906,400, up from 2025’s previous record of $20,283,000. Previously, “rarely had more than the winner exceeded” $1M in winnings. The previous records were $4.288M by Josef Newgarden in 2024 and the 2025 total purse of $20,283,000 (INDIANAPOLIS STAR, 5/25). Rosenqvist beat David Malukas by 0.0233 seconds -- the “closest margin in the 110 iterations of this race.” It was not just Rosenqvist’s second career win, but it was the second in the history of Meyer Shank Racing. Rosenqvist was the victor in “one of the best Indy 500s ever” (INDIANAPOLIS STAR, 5/24).

Sunday’s Indy 500 brought the “most fans through the IMS gates since the 100th event in 2016,” when it was around 350,000. According to IndyCar spokesperson, the 110th Indy 500 saw “more than 350,000” fans. Fans were also “treated to a record number of passes.” While weather was a key talking point entering race day, it “mostly held off” (INDIANAPOLIS STAR, 5/24).

Iranian Football Federation President Mehdi Taj said that they are “moving its World Cup training base from Tucson” to Tijuana, Mexico, removing “one of the final hurdles to its participation in this summer’s tournament.” Iran is scheduled to open World Cup play at SoFi Stadium, facing New Zealand on June 15. There had been “questions over the Iranian team’s security in the U.S.” after American and Israeli attacks on the country began nearly four months ago. Because the World Cup is being shared with Mexico and Canada, Iran “requested permission to move its base across the border,” a request that Taj said had “been granted.” Iran’s federation said that moving the base camp “will resolve potential visa issues since the team will enter the U.S. through Mexico.” Taj added that the team “may even be able to travel to and from Mexico using Iran Air flights” (L.A. TIMES, 5/23).

Mexico has said that it will host Iran’s football team during next month’s World Cup after its President Claudia Sheinbaum said that the U.S. government had “refused to allow the squad to stay overnight on American territory.” Sheinbaum said, “The U.S. doesn’t want the Iranian squad to stay overnight in the US . . . So they asked us if they could stay in Mexico and we said we had no problem. We had no reason to deny them so we gave them this option” (FINANCIAL TIMES, 5/25).

Iran has “maintained its intention to participate in the tournament” despite months of hostilities with the U.S. and Israel. Washington D.C. and Tehran are “currently seeking a peace deal to end the conflict” (BLOOMBERG NEWS, 5/25).

World leading tennis players are expected to “fulfil all their usual media commitments” at the French Open, which began at Roland Garros on Sunday, after many of the top 10 players limited their appearance to 15 minutes during Friday’s pre-tournament media day. The limit was meant to “symbolise the 15% of revenue which -- on average -- the Grand Slams allocate to prize money.” Player representatives have mentioned that they “never intended a tournament-long protest” and “were encouraged by a promise of future co-operation at Friday’s meeting with the French Tennis Federation” (BBC.com, 5/23).

The FFT is expected to “submit a direct counter-proposal in the coming weeks to address player demands for an increase” from 15% to 22% of tournament revenue, along with “meaningful contributions towards player welfare and a pension fund.” The understanding is that the FFT “struck a more conciliatory approach at a productive meeting” on Friday between execs on either side after the media protest -- the player group is being advised by the former WTA CEO Larry Scott -- and said it is “ready to negotiate, and a proposal that covers all three aspects of the players’ demands is expected in weeks rather than months” (London TIMES, 5/23).

Don Rea Jr. is out as president of PGA of America, after its BOD announced a leadership “transition following the suspension of Rea for the remainder of his term, which concludes in November.” PGA of America VP Nathan Charnes has been “elevated to serve as Acting President, effective immediately.” Rea was elected president in 2024 but has been “silenced since the Ryder Cup concluded in early October after he fell under scrutiny for failing to apologize for the unruly American fan behavior” that crossed the line with PGA Tour player Rory McIlroy and other European Ryder Cuppers. He also was criticized for his “part in an awkward trophy presentation in which he said that Europe had retained the Cup rather than won it outright.” Rea also “went viral in a video that showed him doing karaoke on Saturday night while the U.S. side was getting pummeled.” Charnes will lead the officers and BOD in “carrying out the association’s governance responsibilities during this transition.” Secretary Eric Eshleman has been elevated to VP and will “continue to serve in a dual role as vice president and secretary until November, when the association will hold its officer elections” (GOLFWEEK, 5/22).

Since the Ryder Cup, Rea has been removed from the PGA Tour Policy Board and “rarely made public appearances” on behalf of the PGA of America. He appeared at January’s PGA Show in “only a limited role.” Terry Clark replaced Derek Sprague as CEO in February, and Rea was “noticeably absent last week from the panel of PGA leaders” who held a Wednesday press conference ahead of the PGA Championship (GOLF DIGEST, 5/22). The PGA of America sent out a news release at exactly 5pm ET on Friday in the “ultimate Friday news dump.” Waiting until nearly a week after the organization’s biggest championship and doing it heading into a weekend was “no doubt one way to try to soften the blow of a rather embarrassing tenure that saw Rea in the middle of controversy” (SI, 5/25).

Octagon has signed Canadian swimmer Summer McIntosh to a full representation deal, giving the agency one of the most marketable athletes heading into the LA28 Games.

McIntosh is already a three time Olympic gold medalist and two-time Olympian at 19 years old. The Toronto native -- who trains with coach Bob Bowman in his elite group at the University of Texas -- has had deals with Arena, lululemon, Red Bull, TAG Heuer and RBC, among others.

“She’s one of those athletes that is truly unique potential that don’t come around that often,” said Peter Carlisle, managing director of Olympics at Octagon.

McIntosh first made the Olympics in Tokyo at 14 years old. During the Paris Games, she won four medals and became the first Canadian athlete to win three golds (in the 200-meter butterfly, 200-meter individual medley and 400-meter individual medley) at a single Olympics.

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The NCAA Division I Women’s Lacrosse Championship drew record crowds for the semifinals and final at Northwestern Medicine Field at Martin Stadium in suburban Chicago. Announced attendance was 6,242 for Friday’s semifinals and 8,316 for Sunday’s final as Northwestern beat North Carolina 14-11. The NCAA men’s lacrosse Final Four returned to a campus site for the first time since 2002, and an announced crowd of 24,396 attended Princeton’s 16-9 victory against Notre Dame in the national title game at Scott Stadium at the Univ. of Virginia (SBJ).

Northwestern beating UNC to win the NCAA Championship was the first time a team has lifted the trophy outside the Eastern Time Zone. It also is the first time a team won on their home soil since Maryland in 1986. A “raucous, purple-clad” 8,316 fans packed Northwestern Medicine Field at Martin Stadium to witness the championship (INSIDE LACROSSE, 5/24).

In this week’s issue:

• A crowd of about 1,000 packed the Marriott Marquis in New York last week for the Sports Business Awards. We recap those who walked away with the crystal trophy and feature the images of the many memorable moments.
• Is all-inclusive-for-all in the cards for sports venues? SBJ’s Bret McCormick presents the pros and cons of a ticketing policy that could reshape the business by including food and beverages for all patrons.
• Richard Deitsch and SBJ’s Tom Friend introduce you to the newest franchises in the WNBA. Deitsch heads to Toronto to chronicle the Tempo’s ambitions to represent all of Canada. And Friend recounts a two-decade journey to reignite the Portland Fire.
• Research from Civic Science conducted for SBJ shows rising interest in the U.S. for the World Cup, just as the event approaches its June start. SBJ’s David Broughton has the details.
• SBJ’s Josh Carpenter profiles Dan Sullivan, whose ties to the Memorial golf tournament began when he was just 12 years old. Sullivan now runs the event that is celebrating its 50th anniversary.

“Called the ‘Calendar Lake’ because it’s about 365 miles long & 52 miles wide, it shares its name with a country.”