Morning Buzz

The NBA debuted its new All-Star Game format Sunday night at Chase Center, and “the verdicts were mixed, as would be expected.” The NBA’s ASG mini-tournament saw Basketball HOFer Shaquille O’Neal‘s OGs getting the win in the four-team, three-game event where the first squad to score 40 points in each game got the victory. Some players “liked it” and “some didn’t.” Some “seemed ambivalent.” But the event “was entertaining and had moments where things turned competitive, though tended to lean toward more of the same highlight-reel-type play that has been the norm in All-Star Games for years.” Warriors G Stephen Curry said, “It was a good step in the right direction to reinvigorate the game in some way.” Celtics F Jayson Tatum said that he “wasn’t sure about whether the Rising Stars should have been part of the event.” Lakers F LeBron James said before the games that he “was curious about how it would all turn out.” Meanwhile, T’Wolves G Anthony Edwards “didn’t seem to care for the whole notion” (AP, 2/16).

Warriors F Draymond Green “did not hold back” when giving his view of the new format. Green “ripped the structure” of the event during TNT’s broadcast between the first and second games, calling it “‘unfair’ to guys who worked to earn the right to be called an All-Star.” Green: “You work all year to be an All-Star and you get to play up to 40 and then you’re done. ... All so we can watch some rising stars. We about to watch the Olympic team, now we get the treat of watching the Olympic team play against a U-19 team. Come on, what are we doing? This is ridiculous” (N.Y. POST, 2/16).

Hawks G Trae Young said, “To be honest, I didn’t like it at all,” while Thunder G Shai Gilgeous-Alexander said, “I would rather play without breaks, but I had fun, nonetheless.” Celtics F Jaylen Brown added, “I would say it’s not ideal to stop like that if you want guys to be physical. I think guys were still out there having fun” (ESPN.com, 2/16).

The actual gameplay “was lost amid a lengthy variety show featuring constant interruptions that killed the event’s flow.” The whole thing was “a start-and-stop evening that included multiple musical interludes and a lengthy presentation to honor TNT’s ‘Inside the NBA’ commentators.” The tournament setup “helped somewhat with the quality of play,” as the shorter intervals “seemed to keep the players engaged.” But the “quick games and the need for warmup periods between them led to pacing issues and the need to fill significant downtime” (WASHINGTON POST, 2/16).

TNT “essentially eulogized” its “Inside the NBA” program during Sunday’s All-Star Game, “even though it will continue as it currently exists, just on a different network,” next year. During one of the many breaks in the action, comedian Kevin Hart “appeared at midcourt ... to wax philosophical about the longtime NBA program,” hosted by Ernie Johnson and featuring analysts Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith and Shaquille O’Neal. The quartet “joined Hart on the court, and they were presented with a series of gifts, some perhaps more appreciated than others.” After being presented with the gifts, the foursome “was asked to share their thoughts on covering the league on TNT for so many years.” Johnson “expressed his gratitude” for 40 years with TNT, O’Neal “offered one of his quips,” Smith “shared his appreciation for the NBA players they get to talk about” and Barkley “thanked the players and fans” (AWFUL ANNOUNCING, 2/16).

Hart “praised the four for their broadcasting prowess over the years” before the four were then “presented with signed jerseys from this year’s All-Star Game, along with rings similar to the ones that NBA All-Stars receive.” Hart also “poked fun at an ‘Inside the NBA’ running gag segment ‘Gone Fishin’ that comes up to send teams home after they’ve lost in the postseason.” The comedian presented the four with “tackle boxes, fishing rods and bucket hats to ‘send them fishing’” (N.Y. POST, 2/16).

Driver William Byron avoided a late crash and “used a clean ride on his final lap to escape the chaos” and race to his second straight Daytona 500 victory Sunday. Byron became the first back-to-back winner since Denny Hamlin in 2019-20. He “took advantage of another major mess on the final lap” -- NASCAR “did not drop the caution and let the field race to the finish.” With Byron’s win, Hendrick Motorsports won its 10th Daytona 500 to break a tie with Petty Enterprises for the record (AP, 2/16).

It “seemed as if the race would never get finished” after 3 hours, 30 minutes of rain delays, all in the first 20 laps of the race. Cars “sat parked on pit road, covered in team tarps, as the storm moved through.” NASCAR “anticipated a problem” and moved the start time of the race up an hour, but it “wasn’t near enough.” In real time, the race covered 7 hours, 35 minutes (L.A. TIMES, 2/16). A rain delay “is never desired,” but “when the result is a Sunday evening prime-time audience, no one complains” (Daytona Beach NEWS-JOURNAL, 2/16).

Driver Ryan Preece experienced another rollover on the Daytona backstretch Sunday night and “warned afterward that NASCAR is getting close to a driver not walking away.” With five laps to go, Preece hit the left front of Christopher Bell’s car and launched “into the air nose first.” The car “never landed.” It “flipped over, landed on its roof, and slid onto the banking before flipping back over.” Sunday was the second time in less than two years Preece has been airborne at Daytona. In the summer of 2023, Preece was spun from the middle of the pack going down the backstretch. His Ford went airborne after coming across the nose of Chase Briscoe and sliding through the grass, barrel-rolling multiple times (RACER, 2/16).

President Trump attended Sunday’s Daytona 500 for the second time as president, bringing along “several guests” -- including his son Eric, his wife, grandson Luke, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and his wife. Several members of Congress also traveled with Trump. His motorcade “arrived at the speedway by driving onto a portion of the track,” and Trump’s limousine “later led drivers on two ceremonial laps and he went on the radio to urge them to have fun and be safe.” Trump “left the race during the rain delay but slightly ahead of when he was scheduled to depart” (AP, 2/16).

There was “little doubt it was a Trump-friendly crowd both on and off the track” (L.A. TIMES, 2/16). Many people at Sunday’s race “had pro-Trump signs, shirts and other paraphernalia,” and they “whooped in joy as Air Force One flew overhead.” Several RVs parked in the speedway’s infield “flew Trump and American flags side by side” (WASHINGTON POST, 2/16). Trump’s presence “was strongly felt in the final hour before the green flag waved” (Daytona Beach NEWS-JOURNAL, 2/16).

Saturday night’s primetime matchup between the U.S. and Canada at the 4 Nations Face-Off averaged 4.4 million viewers on ABC, according to fast national data from Nielsen, making it the most-watched hockey telecast in the U.S. outside of the Stanley Cup Final since 2019. The U.S. beat Canada 3-1 to clinch a spot in the 4 Nations final on Thursday. The viewership figure will be a strong data point for the NHL and NHLPA to tout as they sell potential U.S. media rights partners and sponsors on future international competitions, including the 2028 World Cup of Hockey.

The 4.4 million viewers for the U.S.-Canada game was comparable to the average audience for last year’s seven-game Stanley Cup Final between the Panthers and Oilers (4.2 million viewers) on ABC. Game 7 of that series averaged 7.7 million viewers in the U.S. The U.S.-Canada audience was also nearly three times the average for 2024 playoff games (1.5 million) across Disney and WBD Sports channels.

The NHL and NHLPA, who are co-organizers of the 4 Nations Face-Off, couldn’t have dreamt up a better showcase for the league and its top stars than Saturday night’s game at the Bell Centre in Montreal. The first showdown between the North American rivals featuring NHL players since the 2016 World Cup of Hockey was fast and physical from start to finish, with recent political tensions between the two countries adding to the intrigue.

The 4 Nations Face-Off was already off to a strong start on TV in the U.S., with U.S.-Finland on Thursday and Canada-Sweden on Wednesday drawing 1.5 million and 1 million viewers, respectively, on ESPN. Data from Saturday afternoon’s overtime thriller between Finland and Sweden on ABC is not available yet. The tournament continues today from Boston on ESPN with Canada-Finland at 1 p.m. ET and U.S.-Sweden at 8 p.m. The results of those game will determine the U.S.’ opponent in Thursday’s final.

The WNBA is preparing to award Cleveland its 16th franchise, multiple sources have told SBJ, with an approximate bid worth a league record $250M.

The sources put Cleveland’s expansion chances as high as 90% -- with an announcement expected no later than March -- and said the WNBA has re-thought its original plan of adding just one team and could award one or two more franchises to bring its league total to 18 clubs. The presumed leaders for the second and third teams are Philadelphia, Houston, Nashville, Detroit and Miami, with the league reiterating tonight that nothing is finalized.

“The WNBA has received formal bids from many interested ownership groups in various markets and we are currently in the process of evaluating these proposals,” a WNBA spokesperson said in a statement.

Cleveland is expected to join the league for the 2028 season playing at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. They will be reprised as the Cleveland Rockers, an original WNBA franchise that folded after the 2003 season when former owner Gordon Gund could not sell the team due to tumbling revenue and erratic attendance. But in the two decades since, the league’s exponential growth and popularity has led to rising expansion fees. The Golden State Valkyries, the league’s 13th franchise launching in May, paid $50M to join the WNBA, while Toronto and Portland -- the 14th and 15th franchises -- paid $115M and $125M, respectively. Now that has doubled.

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On Sunday during the CBS telecast of the final round of the Genesis Invitational, Tiger Woods suggested President Trump’s “involvement would be crucial to a deal” between the PGA Tour and PIF, and that “‘a subsequent meeting’ was imminent.” Woods: “We’re in a very positive place right now. We had a meeting with the president. Unfortunately, I had some other circumstances that came up, but Jay [Monahan] and Adam [Scott], they did great during the meeting, and we have another subsequent meeting coming up. I think that things are going to heal quickly." Woods added, “We’re going to get this game going in the right direction. It’s been heading in the wrong direction for a number of years and the fans want all of us to play together, all the top players playing together and we’re going to make that happen” (GOLFCHANNEL.com, 2/16).

In this week’s SBJ:

• As MLS gets underway with a milestone 30th season, SBJ’s Alex Silverman looks into the unique partnership between a Native American nation and an Egyptian-British billionaire that led to the launch of San Diego FC.
• The NFL continues to ponder the next opportunity to grow its presence internationally, but as SBJ’s Ben Fischer reports, those efforts and the ability to score big wins remain a challenge.
• Buy merchandise and place your bets. That’s the idea behind how Fanatics is using the power of its merchandise empire to attract consumers to its sportsbook. SBJ’s Bill King looks at how the strategy is paying off.
• Velocity Capital Management is fresh off securing a $200M investment from the Texas Permanent School Fund, but SBJ’s Chris Smith reports that founders aren’t finished, targeting a $500M debut fund that will close late in the year.
• Pro volleyball is a crowded space but the Pro Volleyball Federation, now in year two, is out to get a jump on the competition. SBJ’s Wes Sanderson looks at how the PVF will use its upcoming All-Star Game to showcase its accomplishments.

“On an early book of Flemish cartographer Gerardus Mercator’s maps, an image of this Titan holding the world was used.”