Weekend Rap

President Trump took his most public dive into college sports on Friday, hosting roughly 50 stakeholders to discuss the ongoing push pull between the enterprise’s past, present and future. And while Friday’s event included ample grandstanding, false proclamations and varying mischaracterizations of the issues that have college sports in a pretzel of legal and structural turmoil, Trump said he’s seeking action in the coming days.

“I’ll have an executive order, which will solve every problem in this room, every conceivable problem, within one week, and we’ll put it forward,” he decried on Friday. “We will get sued. That’s the only thing I know for sure.”

What might this order entail? We’ll see. In the meantime, perhaps the most crucial thing that came out of Friday’s roundtable may not have been anything to even do with the congregation of college sports leaders at all.

Sens. Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.) and Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) introduced the bipartisan “College Sports Competitiveness Act.” The bill itself is only a draft, but notably centers on the Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961 to allow college sports more leeway in consolidating media rights, among other finer points.

Read more >>>

President Trump said that he will “write an executive order within a week that will ‘solve all of the problems’ brought forth in an unprecedented meeting at the White House to address the future of college sports.” Trump hosted the first “Saving College Sports” roundtable on Friday. He said, “We’ll put it forward. We will get sued. That’s the only thing I know for sure.” The meeting was scheduled for an hour but “lasted almost two” (ESPN.com, 3/7).

An executive order cannot make a law, provide antitrust exemptions or override state laws, and any policies in the executive order can be challenged in court. The “likely truth is that an executive order solves very little, if anything.” The event “reinforced how difficult it will be” to reach solutions. The question is whether this event, which featured a “lot of emotion, grandstanding and saber-rattling -- at times from secondary and tertiary characters who did not sound fully informed on the issues -- brings college sports any closer to a solution.” There were “no current college athletes in attendance,” though multiple speakers, including Yankees President Randy Levine, “stressed that they would be consulted and included in the process moving forward” (THE ATHLETIC, 2/6).

USA TODAY’s Matt Hayes wrote what played out in D.C. “wasn’t much different” from a “reality show.” It “didn’t take long for the two-hour event to devolve into an airing of grievances” (USA TODAY, 3/7).

The Kraft Group expressed “bitter disappointment” that Foxborough officials had “abruptly rejected its latest proposed solution” for security funding at Gillette Stadium for the World Cup, which is now fewer than 100 days away. The Kraft Group said that it made “repeated good-faith efforts to work with the town of Foxborough, the Boston Soccer 2026 host committee, as well as state and federal partners to address public safety concerns.” Most recently, the Kraft Group promised to “promptly pay all security costs incurred by the town that weren’t already covered.” But the head of Foxborough’s Select Board “gave thumbs down to the proposal.” The statement from the Krafts marks the “latest salvo in a high-stakes dispute between the powerful business interests organizing the World Cup matches and Foxborough town officials,” which set a March 17 deadline to receive $7.8M to pay for security costs at the stadium. Foxborough’s select board members have “threatened to withhold the entertainment license” needed by FIFA to hold seven games at the stadium in June and July (BOSTON GLOBE, 3/7).

In Boston, Yvonne Abraham wrote there is “something truly inspiring about this standoff,” as board members “stood up to FIFA.” They “refused to roll over, and it was magnificent” (BOSTON GLOBE, 3/5).

THE ATHLETIC went with the header, “World Cup ticket prices, ICE and visas: Two U.S. politicians weigh in on the big issues” (THE ATHLETIC, 2/6).

During Friday’s testimony in the U.S. Department of Justice’s antitrust lawsuit against Live Nation and Ticketmaster, SeatGeek CEO Jack Groetzinger said that almost every hockey and basketball arena using Ticketmaster “‘expressed extreme levels of concern’ that Live Nation would shut them out of lucrative concerts if they used another ticketing service.” Groetzinger added that SeatGeek offered “insurance to more than a dozen venues, and formally included it in four contracts,” including with the Cowboys and Florida Panthers. Groetzinger is a “vital government witness and played a key role in pushing for the government investigation of Live Nation that resulted in a lawsuit.” A Live Nation attorney “sought to paint Groetzinger as self-interested and seeking to hobble a competitor by pushing for the government to investigate and sue it biggest rival.” U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian barred a number of Groetzinger’s remarks as “hearsay, including testimony about why the company was unable to sign a ticketing contract” with the Hornets (BLOOMBERG NEWS, 3/6).

Live Nation’s attorneys pressed Groetzinger as a “vindictive competitor intent on harming Ticketmaster’s business.” For more than an hour, attorney David Marriott “walked the jury through various complaints from SeatGeek’s customers, ... seemingly suggesting that Ticketmaster’s success isn’t due to monopolistic behavior, but because it’s simply a superior product to its competitors” (COURTHOUSE NEWS, 3/6).

AEG Presents CEO Jay Marciano began testifying at the end of Friday (BLOOMBERG NEWS, 3/6).

The Phoenix Raceway doubleheader this weekend with IndyCar and NASCAR in town brings an atmosphere that is “light and festive at this track nestled in the desert landscape” and Fox Sports is “thrilled with the doubleheader.” The pairing is “partly the vision” of Fox Sports CEO Eric Shanks. When Fox took over as IndyCar’s broadcast partner last year, Shanks “often stacked the races back-to-back with NASCAR to pull in as many eyeballs as possible.” It is a “logical sentiment and apparently working.” IndyCar driver Josef Newgarden said, “I wish we had more weekends together. I just don’t see how us being together is ever a bad thing” (AP, 3/6). Phoenix Raceway President Latasha Causey said that big crowds are “expected both days.” She said, “Our ticket sales are up 100% year-over-year for Saturday’s race” (AZFAMILY.com, 3/6).

It “looked like there were more fans in the grandstands” at Saturday’s Good Ranchers 250 than “at the last three IndyCar visits combined.” Leaving the race in 2026, the “overwhelming memory will be of an instant classic produced by IndyCar drivers old and new.” Newgarden said of wanting more crossovers with NASCAR, “Both should complement each other. If you’re a motorsport fan, you’re just getting way more value for your weekend to have the top two motorsport championships together on the same weekend. I don’t see why we can’t do a little more of this. I think it’s good for everybody.” He added, “Very fun to see the crowd” (RACER, 3/7).

With the NASCAR Cup Series race at Phoenix Raceway set to start at 3:30pm ET Sunday, the ARIZONA REPUBLIC’s Cole Cusumano wondered if 23XI Racing driver Tyler Reddick and team co-owner Michael Jordan can “be stopped, and if so, by whom?” Reddick is the only driver in NASCAR’s 78 years to start a season by going undefeated with three consecutive victories (ARIZONA REPUBLIC, 3/7).

Inter Miami’s win against D.C. United at M&T Bank Stadium on Saturday drew a sold-out crowd of 72,026. Gates opened at 3pm ET, just 90 minutes before the game started, as “thousands of fans lined up early.” The number of fans that wore pink Lionel Messi or blue-and-white Argentina jerseys “dwarfed those donning D.C. United apparel.” When D.C. United took the field for pregame warmups, “hardly anyone could be enticed to move.” But when Inter Miami ran out from the locker room, fans “erupted in cheers and applause.” Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott attended the match (BALTIMORE SUN, 3/7). The match was the highest attended in D.C. United history, and it was the second crowd in the first three weeks of the 2026 MLS season with more than 70,000 fans (MLS).

Meanwhile, before a “raucous sellout home crowd” of 35,611 at Bank of America Stadium on Saturday, Charlotte FC won its season opener against Austin FC (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 3/8).

Inter Miami co-owner Jorge Mas said that F Lionel Messi’s compensation amounts to about $70M to $80M a year, “when including his ownership share in the team.” Mas said, “The reason that I need to have sponsors and for them to be world class is because players are expensive. I pay Messi -- worth every penny -- but it’s $70 million to $80 million a year. Across everything.” Messi makes a base salary of $12M, with guaranteed compensation -- calculated by the MLSPA as “adding all bonuses amortized over the lifetime of the contract.” Messi was the highest-paid player in MLS last season. Messi’s deal with Inter Miami included percentage ownership in the club. He also signed separate contracts with Fanatics and Apple upon his arrival to MLS. The compensation from those deals, and any arrangements with Adidas, is “not included in his contract with Inter Miami” (THE ATHLETIC, 3/7).

The Oregon House passed a bill 43-13 that “clears the way for the state to pay for nearly two-thirds of the renovations that lawmakers hope will keep the Trail Blazers in Portland for at least two more decades.” House majority leader Ben Bowman said, “The Blazers are proof that something can be emotionally meaningful and economically strategic at the same time.” The bill gives the state joint ownership over Moda Center with the city of Portland and “establishes a framework for it to secure” $365M bonding over 20 years to go toward “renovations that are expected to start in 2027.” The incoming Trail Blazers ownership group, led by Tom Dundon, is “not expected add additional funds.” Several legislators “questioned the wisdom of committing to the funding without first negotiating a lease.” However, the bonds will “only be sold once a binding 20-year lease has been negotiated.” The state is “just taking the first step in a process that will perhaps take more than a year” (Portland OREGONIAN, 3/6).

Rogers Communications “increased its total employee count in 2025,” with new roles from Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment “helping offset reductions in other parts of the business.” The company finished 2025 with 25,000 full-time and part-time employees, up 1,000 from year prior. In 2025, Rogers for the first time added employees of MLSE to its count, as it became MLSE’s majority shareholder last summer. The overall increase in employees “reflects the company’s investment in its sports portfolio” (GLOBE & MAIL, 3/6).

Russia returned to high-profile international sports at the Paralympics in Italy on Friday in an opening ceremony marked by “anger, frustration and boycotts.” Two athletes and two officials marched behind the Russian flag in “near silence from the crowd through the Arena di Verona.” The event was “overshadowed by politics and war as several nations, led by Ukraine, stayed away in protest.” Russia sent six athletes and Belarus four to the Paralympics. Politicians and sporting federations across Europe have said that they would “not share a platform with Russia at the opening ceremony.” On Friday, seven nations “boycotted the event in its totality” (N.Y. TIMES, 3/7).

During Prime Video’s broadcast of T’Wolves-Magic on Saturday, the streamer showed highlights from the Magic’s Watch Party in Munich, Germany. Germany is one of the Magic’s target growth markets, as the team has three players with ties to the country and has instituted a number of business initiatives, including watch parties, in the country.

• Watch party highlights shown during the game (begins at :16 in linked video)
• Magic F Tristan da Silva, who is from Germany, talked about the watch party during a postgame interview (begins at 1:26 in linked video) (SBJ).

The WALL STREET JOURNAL looks at how Mark Walter and Dan Towriss built their Cadillac F1 team, which debuted at the Australian Grand Prix and is “being built from the ground up.” While it awaited approval from F1 to move forward on the team, “Cadillac found itself crashing into roadblocks at every turn.” Trademark rules meant that it “couldn’t call itself a Formula 1 team until it received the green light; but it couldn’t receive a green light until it proved itself capable of keeping up in Formula 1.” Even in its marketing materials, Cadillac was “forbidden from using the term F1.” During its “hiring spree, the team could post want ads only for a ‘top-tier motor sport project.’” By late 2025, Cadillac F1 “had received some 143,000 applications for 595 positions and interviewed around 6,500 to staff every specialty department” (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 3/7).

NBA VP & Commissioner’s Office Liaison Leah Wilcox will receive the 2026 John W. Bunn Lifetime Achievement Award from the Basketball HOF. Wilcox serves as a liaison between the Commissioner’s Office, former players and their families. Wilcox, who formerly held the role of VP/Player & Talent Relations, was the first African-American female VP of the NBA.

The Basketball HOF also announced the recipients of the 2026 Curt Gowdy Media Awards:

• Curt Gowdy Electronic Media Award: Nets play-by-play announcer Chris Carrino.
• Curt Gowdy Electronic Media Award: Basketball analyst Mike Fratello.
• Curt Gowdy Print Media Award: College basketball writer and broadcaster Seth Davis.
• Curt Gowdy Transformative Media Award: Ma Gouli, the founder of China’s most watched sports TV channel CCTV-5 (Basketball HOF).