The first round of the 2024 NBA draft wrapped up late last night, and "the biggest winner, arguably," was the country of France. F Zaccharie Risacherand C Alex Sarrwent 1-2 in the draft, marking "the first time two French players were selected with the first two picks." F Tidjane Salaun was drafted sixth, marking "the first time three players from a country other than the U.S. were selected in the top 10." There’s "a French renaissance happening in the NBA right now," led by Spurs C Victor Wembanyama and Wizards G/F Bilal Coulibaly. This draft marks the "third consecutive year that at least four French players were drafted" (USA TODAY, 6/27).

Wembanyama and Risacher are the "first players from the same country outside North America to be selected first in back-to-back drafts" (WASHINGTON POST, 6/27). Risacher said it "means a lot for all of France" and the country’s "booming basketball pipeline" to the NBA. Risacher: "I know that a lot of France stayed up all night to watch this. That’s amazing for French basketball, and I’m so happy to be a part of something special for my country." The timing "couldn’t be better" for France, which is hosting the Summer Olympics in Paris next month (AP, 6/27).

France made history during round one of the NBA Draft last night with No. 1 Zaccharie Risacher (Hawks), No. 2 Alexandre Sarr (Wizards) and No. 6 Tidjane Salaun (Hornets) making it the first country outside of the U.S. with three of the top 10 picks in the modern draft era. Risacher and Sarr also gave France its most top five picks in a single draft. Meanwhile, Excel Sports Management collected the most first-round picks with six, followed by WME Sports with five, Wasserman with four and CAA Sports with three.

The Neustadt Group's Doug Neustadt touted the No. 1 pick while WME Sports amassed the most top five and top ten picks with No. 2, No. 5 and No. 10. Bill Duffy led agent picks for the second year in a row, either representing or co-representing all five of WME Sports' picks: No. 2, No. 5, No. 10, No. 13 and No. 23. WME Sports in 2023 snagged the most first round picks with five, Excel Sports Management in 2022 got seven, CAA Sports in 2021 got eight and Excel Sports Management and CAA Sports in 2020 tied for the most with five each.

This is now the second consecutive year a player representing France went No. 1 overall, following the Spurs’ selection of Victor Wembanyama in 2023, and the first time since 2003 that the top two picks didn’t go to college. Last year, only half of the top 10 picks hailed from U.S. schools. Kentucky, UConn, Colorado and Baylor had a four-way tie for the most first round picks at two each, with both from Kentucky and UConn and one from Colorado in the top ten.

The USOPC will extend Sarah Hirshland's contract for five years, ensuring the CEO's tenure through the L.A. Games in 2028.

USOPC board chairman Gene Sykes announced the extension in a staff town hall on Wednesday and sent a letter to national governing bodies and other stakeholders in the movement. Financial terms of Hirshland's extension were not disclosed. But her total compensation in 2022, the latest year for which data are available, was more than $1.1M.

Hirshland has been CEO since August 2018, leading the USOPC through Congressional inquiries, lawsuits and reforms following sexual abuse scandals at several national governing bodies. 

RELATED: Hirshland says USOPC won't wait on Congress to create change

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PGA of America CEO Seth Waugh announced he is leaving the organization after a six-year stint marked by a “sharp boost in golf participation and PGA membership and moving headquarters," according to Doug Ferguson of the AP. Waugh’s contract was up for renewal on June 30, and he “decided not to renew.” Ferguson notes Waugh will “stay on with the PGA of America in a senior advisory role.” The PGA of America said that it has “begun a search for CEO including candidates from inside and outside the association.” For now, Chief Championship Officer Kerry Haigh will be interim CEO but “will not be a candidate.” Haigh has been with the PGA of America since 1989. Ferguson writes Waugh’s involvement in golf “dates back longer than his time with the PGA of America.” He was “behind bringing a PGA Tour event to the TPC Boston in 2003” and has been a “key voice in business and golf along the way.” Ferguson notes Waugh “had been dropping hints since April that he was nearing the end” (AP, 6/26).

RELATED: Waugh talks disruption, TV viewership and more

GOLFWEEK’s Adam Schupak notes that during Waugh’s tenure, the PGA of America relocated its headquarters from Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, to a “fancy, new campus complete with championship golf courses” in Frisco, Texas, and committed to bringing 26 future PGA America to the two courses built in its backyard. In his role, he also signed a lucrative 11-year TV deal with CBS and ESPN beginning in 2020 (GOLFWEEK, 6/26). 

Unrivaled, the new 3-on-3 professional women’s basketball league launching in January 2025, will today announce longtime tennis exec Micky Lawler as its first commissioner.

Lawler, a member of SBJ’s 2023 Champions class, last served as president of the WTA, a position she assumed in 2015 and left at the end of last year. Before that, she was Octagon’s Managing Director/Tennis & Global Initiatives from 1998-2014.

In her new role, Lawler’s responsibilities will encompass oversight and leadership of Unrivaled’s entire business alongside league president Alex Bazzell. Lawler was intrigued by the opportunity because of an immediate connection with Bazzell and Unrivaled president of basketball Luke Cooper -- and an affinity for the league’s mission of lifting compensation for women’s basketball players.

“The best players of women’s basketball in the WNBA league are leaving the country in the offseason. We saw, of course, what happened with Brittney Griner last winter,” Lawler said. “I thought, ‘It would be so helpful for the WNBA, for the sport, to not lose this exposure window.’”

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ESPN for the second straight summer will carry the 2024 DirecTV Soccer Champions Tour, a series of six exhibition matches in the U.S. featuring top European clubs, across its linear networks and ESPN+ streaming service. The event is in its second year under the direction of global investment firm Sixth Street.  

This year’s edition features Real Madrid, Barcelona, AC Milan, Manchester City and Chelsea. All six matches will be available in both English and Spanish. Sports Media Advisors provided counsel to the Soccer Champions Tour in its negotiations with ESPN.  

Legends, a firm in which Sixth Street holds a majority interest, manages commercial revenue for the tour, including sponsorship, premium seating, merchandise, ticket marketing and promotions. AEG oversees tour operations, team operations, stadium relationships and ticket sales. Two of the matches are produced in partnership with Florida Citrus Sports’ FC Series. 

College athletic departments are in need of new thinking around generating revenue -- and Playfly has ideas.

The company is set to launch “Playfly Max,” a service for schools centered on better monetizing existing revenue streams and exploring new ways to add dollars to athletic department budgets.

Penn State, Baylor and LSU are slated to be the first athletic departments to use the service, while an official announcement regarding Playfly Max is expected on Thursday.

“Change is going to continue in this space,” said Playfly President Christy Hedgpeth. “NIL is here to stay. That toothpaste is out of the tube -- and that's great -- but schools are never going to need less revenue. And that is our entire mindset. 

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The ownership group trying to bring an MLS NextPro team to Albany has hired Populous to design a proposed 8,000-seat stadium in the city’s downtown. Populous will develop the masterplan for the proposed mixed-use development as well as design a flexible stadium with capacity that can balloon to more than 12,000 for certain event types to anchor that district. Business For Good co-founders Ed and Lisa Mitzen and a group of real estate investors, including Jeff Buell and Chris Spraragen, are behind the bid to bring the third-tier soccer club to New York’s state capital.

The parade through downtown Knoxville to celebrate Tennessee baseball's win at the College World Series drew a crowd " of an estimated 50,000 people" yesterday (KNOXVILLE NEWS SENTINEL, 6/26). 

Former World No.1 women's tennis player Garbiñe Muguruza will serve as Tournament Dir of the WTA Finals Riyadh, the season-ending tournament. She becomes the first former player to spearhead the event (WTA).

Vanderbilt football has "sold out of the entire season ticket allotment that it had publicly available" for the 2024 season at FirstBank Stadium, though the team "did not specify how many season tickets were available for sale" (Nashville TENNESSEAN, 6/26).

The Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center will "likely play host to FIFA’s International Broadcast Center" for the 2026 World Cup (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 6/26).

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"We believe we are in excellent shape but until the vote is taken, we are absolutely, 100% focused on every element of our bid and making sure we do the absolute best that we can" --  Salt Lake City-Utah Committee for the Games President & CEO Fraser Bullock , on his confidence in Utah's bid for the 2034 Winter Games ( DESERT NEWS, 6/26 ). 

"The logo is not just gonna be on a shirt. It’s gonna be on a lot of different things in my collection. If everyone loved it, that would be too easy" -- Las Vegas Aces F A'ja Wilson , on the reactions to the unveiling of her new logo with Nike ( LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL, 6/26 ).

The SEATTLE TIMES goes with the header, "Sue and Megan celebrate Seattle Pride." Before Sue Bird and Megan Rapinoe "played their way into the pantheon of Seattle sports greats," before they "became known as queer celebrity icons and the power couple of Seattle sports, they each took separate paths to the Emerald City." Neither Bird, nor Rapinoe, nor the city of Seattle "could have known how much they needed one another at the time." But as Bird, 43, and Rapinoe, 38, return to Seattle together "as retired pro athletes, fiancées and grand marshals of the 2024 Seattle Pride Parade" this Sunday, they "look back fondly on the years they spent in Seattle and how the city helped mold them."

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