Morning Buzz

NBC Sports President Rick Cordella, 23XI Racing co-owner Michael Jordan, ESPN President Jimmy Pitaro, TKO Group Holdings President and COO Mark Shapiro and TWG Global CEO Mark Walter have been named the nominees for prestigious Executive of the Year honor at the 19th annual Sports Business Awards. The full list of nominees across 15 categories announced this morning is available here.

• Cordella, attempting to become the first NBC Sports leader to win the award since Dick Ebersol in 2009, oversaw the NBA’s return to NBC, the Super Bowl, the Winter Olympics in Milan Cortina and negotiated a three-year deal for MLB to return to the network this season.
• Jordan’s 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports spearheaded and settled a federal antitrust case against NASCAR that led to changes in the sport’s charter system. Driver Tyler Reddick and 23XI then won the Daytona 500 and Autotrader 400 to open the season (Reddick’s victory in the DuraMAX Texas Grand Prix falls outside the judging period.)
• Pitaro, who won the award in 2020, led the re-launch of the DTC-focused ESPN app, the acquisition of key assets within NFL Media, a renegotiated MLB media deal and was selected to the Broadcasting+Cable Hall of Fame.
• Shapiro presided over TKO, the parent company of UFC, WWE, PBR, On Location and IMG. UFC agreed to a $7.7B, seven-year deal with Paramount Skydance and WWE agreed to a $1.625B, five-year deal with ESPN for its PLEs
• Walter oversaw a repeat World Series championship for the Dodgers, the purchase of the Lakers at a valuation of $10B, the expansion of the PWHL and launch of the Cadillac F1 team, among other endeavors.

The awards, which will be presented during a live event on May 20 at the New York Marriott Marquis Times Square, recognize excellence during the judging period from March 1, 2025, through Feb. 28, 2026.

The winners in 13 categories will be determined by a group of industry executives. Award winners in two categories -- Athletic Director of the Year and Executive of the Year -- will be selected solely by SBJ.

Also during the live event, John Henry, principal owner of Fenway Sports Group, will be presented with SBJ’s Lifetime Achievement Award, and Soccer Without Borders will receive the Celebration of Service Award.

Team USA’s 2-1 win over the Dominican Republic in the World Baseball Classic semifinals at loanDepot Park on Sunday was “an instant classic,” drawing a sellout crowd of 36,337. The U.S. pitchers, led by Paul Skenes and Mason Miller, “dominated the Dominican Republic’s vaunted lineup.” It was a game that “will be etched in every player’s memory” as there was an “electric atmosphere simply during batting practice.” The U.S. advanced to the championship game on Tuesday, where they will play the winner of Monday’s Venezuela-Italy semifinal (USA TODAY, 3/15). The Miami crowd “favored the Dominican Republic.” Although the concourse “featured its collection of American partisans,” the “U-S-A” chants were “drowned out by Dominican fans’ cowbells and drums” (THE ATHLETIC, 3/15).

For two hours and 55 minutes on Sunday night, the two teams “gave the world a show” (MIAMI HERALD, 3/15). U.S. 1B Bryce Harper said, “Fans in baseball and all over the world watched this game tonight and had a blast watching it” (ESPN.com, 3/15). U.S. manager Mark DeRosa: “Just a game we’ll remember forever, right. We understood this was going to be a talked-about game, probably one of the most watched games of all time.” The crowd “hung on every pitch, stood on their feet, passionately cheering throughout the night.” U.S. RF Aaron Judge said it was “bigger and better than the World Series” (USA TODAY, 3/15).

SI’s Ryan Phillips wrote fans got the matchup “we were all hoping for and it was as good as we could have hoped.” The game was a “tense playoff atmosphere from the opening pitch to the last.” Phillips: “Sunday night’s contest is the reason the World Baseball Classic exists. We can only hope the final lives up to what we just witnessed” (SI, 3/15).

The Dodgers have agreed to a deal with Uniqlo to become Dodger Stadium’s official field presenting partner, “attaching a sponsorship to the historic ballpark for the first time in its 64-year history,” according to sources cited by THE ATHLETIC. Dodger Stadium’s name will remain unchanged, as the team did not sell the naming rights to their ballpark and were “not open to doing so throughout the process.” Uniqlo will hold the rights to the playing field, which will “likely be named Uniqlo Field at Dodger Stadium.” Uniqlo will have a “prominent showing throughout the ballpark.” Its name will be “used in all references and signage related to Dodger Stadium, including a newly constructed sign in center field.” Uniqlo will also hold “exclusive marketing and promotional opportunities as the organization’s top sponsor” (THE ATHLETIC, 3/15).

Another near all-nighter between the WNBA and WNBPA did not result in a collective bargaining deal Sunday evening, meaning Commissioner Cathy Engelbert’s self-imposed Monday deadline to wrap up negotiations -- or start re-calibrating the preseason schedule -- is finally here.

Midday Sunday, sources had told SBJ there was momentum toward an agreement and that it could be consummated late that night or early Monday, depending on the divisive topic of revenue sharing. But at 3 a.m. ET Monday -- and after almost-90 hours of face-to-face talks since Tuesday -- the sides ended another positive 12-hour-plus day of discussions minus a pact, leaving them one more day to come to terms or turn their fortunes over to Engelbert.

“We’re working as hard as we can to get it done as quickly as possible,” Engelbert told reporters gathered outside league offices, via the AP. “It’s complex. There’s a lot. There’s a lot of system elements. There’s a lot of structure elements...This is a big, big league and we want to do everything we can for the players. So we’re going to keep making progress.”

She said more meetings are scheduled for Monday -- “We are going to keep going, we are going to get this deal done,” she said -- without addressing her comments 48 hours prior.

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The NFLPA’s Board of Player Representatives re-elected Jalen Reeves-Maybin as president of the union on Sunday, and he will begin his second two-year term immediately. Four new players also were elected by the board to serve on the Exec Committee: Tanoh Kpassagnon as treasurer; Jonathan Greenard; Harrison Phillips; and Zaire Franklin. They will join returning members Oren Burks, Cam Heyward, Ted Karras, Case Keenum, Brandon McManus and Thomas Morstead, who were all re-elected on Sunday (NFLPA).

The NFLPA is “likely to have a new permanent executive director by midweek” (X, 3/14).

Nike and its affiliated Jordan Brand swept the top seeds in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament as the company continues its dominance of the event. Duke and Arizona are two of the 38 teams wearing Nike, while Michigan and Florida are two of the six Jordan teams. Together, the 44 teams for Nike/Jordan are up from 41 last year and mark the most for the company since sponsoring 48 teams in the 2021 dance. Adidas has 15 teams this year, highlighted by 4-seeds Kansas and Nebraska. Under Armour sees a notable drop from 14 teams in 2025 to just nine this year, with 5-seed Wisconsin the highest-ranked representative of the company.

Nike continues to ride high above the competition as the leading jersey and shoe provider for the NCAA women’s tournament. The brand, along with its affiliate Jordan Brand, comes into this year’s tournament repping 45 of the 68 teams in the field, up four from last year’s 41. That total includes three of the four No. 1 seeds -- UConn and Texas with Nike; UCLA with Jordan. Under Armour-backed South Carolina once again is the outlier on the top line of the bracket. UA outfits nine teams in the tourney, a return to the number of teams in both the 2023 and 2024 events after seeing a spike to 13 last year. Adidas matches last year’s number of 14 teams to make the field, led by No. 3 seed Louisville.

The NWSL’s season-opening weekend continued Sunday with the Seattle Reign defeating the Orlando Pride at Inter&Co Stadium before a crowd of 16,320. The match saw “humid temperatures at kickoff” and an “approximate three-hour delay due to thunderstorms.” The two clubs went “through a yo-yo of warming up and seeking shelter due to lightning strikes in the area, including one bolt that seemed right behind the stadium.” Many fans in attendance did not “return to the stands after the three-hour delay” (SEATTLE TIMES, 3/15).

Meanwhile, Angel City FC won 4-0 over the Chicago Stars before 16,813 at BMO Stadium. Angel City’s “long-suffering fans certainly still need to be convinced things have changed” because the crowd on a “beautiful sun-splashed afternoon at BMO Stadium was the smallest ever for an Angel City opener.” The performance was the “most dominant in club history” and the margin of victory matched Angel City’s largest ever. It was also the team’s first season-opening win since 2022 (L.A. TIMES, 3/15).

New Balance was named the athletic footwear and apparel of the Patriots and Gillette Stadium as part of a long-term agreement. The Patriots training center next to Gillette Stadium, to be unveiled this spring, will be named the New Balance Athletics Center, with surrounding practice fields branded as New Balance Practice Fields. New Balance will serve as the presenting sponsor of Patriots training camp and Patriots youth football programs and as a cornerstone partner of the Patriots Foundation. New Balance branding will be integrated across in-stadium signage, on-field placements, Patriots Place and Patriots digital, social and broadcast platforms. New Balance also will work with the Revolution, including youth soccer programs and clinics throughout New England (New Balance).

The 2026 BNP Paribas Open set a tournament record with a total attendance of 527,626 fans across its two weeks. It marked the second straight year the tournament surpassed 500,000 total fans. The middle weekend (March 6-8) saw 176,254 fans on-site, a weekend record. March 7 also set a single-day attendance record of 60,781 (BNP Paribas Open). There were “more than 15,000 in attendance” for Jannik Sinner‘s win over Daniil Medvedev in the tournament final on Sunday (Palm Springs DESERT SUN, 3/15).

U.S. Soccer and Nike revealed the kits that the U.S. men’s national team will wear during the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which will be played on home soil for the first time since 1994. The collection includes a white kit with red stripes dubbed the “stripes” kit and a navy-blue kit with stars dubbed the “stars” kit.

The men’s team will debut the kits later this month when they play a pair of matches on March 28 and March 31 in Atlanta against Belgium and Portugal, respectively. For the first time, all 27 of the federation’s national teams will wear the same uniform designs this year.

As part of the design process, U.S. Soccer developed bespoke number and font typefaces associated with each of the two designs. Both designs include the phrase “The Best of U.S.” inside the collar.

Nike Global Product Dir Ronnie J. Stewart offered a bit of insight into the design rationale, calling the stripes kit a “loud and proud” scheme and the stars kit a “lifestyle look that works off the field.”

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Alberta’s bid to bring the World Cup of Hockey to the province “has been ‘successful.’” A Canadian federal government release noted that Minister of Emergency Management & Community Resilience and Minister responsible for PrairiesCan Eleanor Olszewski will “join partners Monday to celebrate and announce the ‘successful bid’ that brings the 2028 World Cup of Hockey to Alberta.” The release did not state which Alberta cities would be involved. Tourism Calgary Communications Manager Valeria Ball confirmed their bid to host the event earlier this month. The government also announced up to C$8M in “federal funding for Alberta” (CALGARY HERALD, 3/16).

Apple’s “F1″ won the Academy Award for Best Sound Sunday night. The film, which F1 driver Lewis Hamilton co-produced and cameoed in, was nominated for four awards, including Best Picture and Visual Effects. It triumphed in Best Sound -- with Hamilton “given a shout-out in the acceptance speech.” Hamilton was unable to attend the ceremony because of the Chinese GP, where he secured his first podium for Ferrari on his 26th race attempt earlier on Sunday (ESPN.com, 3/16).

Meanwhile, businessman Kevin O’Leary “turned heads” on the red carpet Sunday, showcasing a 2004 Upper Deck Exquisite “Triple Logoman” card valued at $12.9M, featuring game-used NBA patches from Basketball HOFers Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant and Lakers F LeBron James. The card, a one-of-a-kind PSA 10-graded collectible, was “encased in a custom Tiffany & Co. holder with white gold, diamonds, and rubies, and hung on a chain around his neck.” O’Leary attended the Oscars after starring in “Marty Supreme,” a film nominated for nine Academy Awards (Cleveland PLAIN DEALER, 3/15).

What’s on Pat Chun’s mind? The Univ. of Washington AD shares why congressional assistance is key to the future of college athletics.

In this week’s issue:

• The UFL is set to start its third season with owners giving serial entrepreneur Mike Repole the reins to make the case for spring football. “We’ve got to get some noise,” Repole tells SBJ’s Ben Fischer. “We’ve got to be the squeaky wheel.”
• Indianapolis officials and college basketball stakeholders drew up a daring plan to save March Madness in 2021 during the pandemic. SBJ’s Ben Portnoy recounts the story of how Indy beat the odds to create its own Cinderella story.
• New ideas and new players in the industry are evident among nominees for the Sports Business Awards. The 19th annual edition of the awards will be presented May 20 in New York City.
• Andy VanHorn has the high-profile job of coordinating the Washington Commanders’ stadium and mixed-use development. SBJ’s Bret McCormick explains why VanHorn checked all the boxes for the team.
• Visa is about to wrap up a 30-year run as an NFL sponsor, a tenure that is rare among any sponsorship category in sports. Before American Express steps in, SBJ’s Terry Lefton looks at the relationships, and results, that led to Visa’s longevity.

Kings League is looking for a Marketing Dir. The N.Y.-based position is responsible for designing and executing U.S. marketing strategy to drive B2C growth, audience engagement, and brand awareness (Kings League).

The Bruins are looking for a Senior Administrative Assistant to the CEO. The Boston-based position is responsible for ensuring the CEO’s time, priorities, relationships, and obligations are managed with precision, discretion, and foresight (Bruins).

NWSL is looking for Manager/Business Development. The N.Y.-based position is responsible for identifying, prospecting, closing new corporate partnerships across priority growth categories while managing a pipeline aligned with annual and multi-year revenue targets (NWSL).

Clemson Athletic Ventures are looking for a VP/Athlete Name, Image & Likeness. The Clemson-based position is responsible for developing and executing the Clemson Athletic Ventures NIL strategy, establishing governance frameworks, and driving NIL growth through integrated partnerships (Clemson Athletic Ventures).

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“In a 1984 speech, he said, ‘Our flag is red, white & blue’ but America has ‘many colors…held together by a common thread.’”