Weekend Rap

Former NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue died this morning at 84 in his home in Chevy Chase, Md. The apparent cause of death was “heart failure complicated by Parkinson’s disease.” Tagliabue leaves behind his wife Chandler, son Drew and daughter Emily (X, 11/9). Funeral details are pending.

Tagliabue served as NFL commissioner for 17 seasons as the league “experienced tremendous prosperity and growth.” became commissioner in 1989, taking over for Pete Rozelle, and the value of many of the league’s franchises “increased tenfold” during his time in the commissioner’s chair. When he left, more than two-thirds of the NFL’s 32 teams were “either playing in or building stadiums that didn’t exist when he took over.” He was elected to the Pro Football HOF as a contributor in 2020. Tagliabue was commissioner during “two of the biggest crises in recent American history -- the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and Hurricane Katrina in 2005.” Tagliabue “canceled the weekend’s NFL games in the aftermath of Sept. 11, setting the tone for other sports leagues to follow suit.” He also “ensured that the Saints would move back to New Orleans after being displaced to San Antonio during the 2005 season because of Hurricane Katrina.” Tagliabue “helped restore peace in owner-player relations after labor strikes in 1982 and 1987,” and there were “no labor stoppages during his 17-year tenure” (ESPN.com, 11/9). Tagliabue was SBJ’s Lifetime Achievement Award honoree in 2012.

Roger Goodell, who succeeded Tagliabue as NFL commissioner in 2006, said, “Paul was the ultimate steward of the game -- tall in stature, humble in presence and decisive in his loyalty to the NFL” (X, 11/9).

“The NFL Today” paid tribute to Tagliabue following the news of his passing. CBS’ James Brown said, “Over his 17 years as commissioner, he spearheaded new television deals, franchise and international expansion and helped boost player wages. A member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Commissioner Tagliabue’s legacy is evident in the continued success of the National Football League.” CBS’ Bill Cowher said, “Tagliabue has so much to do with the league and its development, going through some rocky negotiations with collective bargaining agreement. … Roger Goodell sat right next to Paul Tagliabue for multiple years and watched how he ran it, how he was able to maneuver and how he had to work together with the league, with the owners and just be a voice of reason.” He added, “This guy was very much a clairvoyant leader of the National Football League and his impact with always be felt.” CBS’ Nate Burleson: “He’s a legend in this game. You can’t write about the NFL without his name.” CBS’ Matt Ryan: “The league is where it’s at because of commissioners like Paul Tagliabue and some prior to him. But the success of the league wouldn’t be where it is without the foundation laid by Paul” (“The NFL Today,” CBS, 11/9).

Read more >>>

The Big Ten has “signaled to schools that it may hold a vote in two weeks” on a private capital deal in what would be an “unprecedented decision from a major conference -- striking a membership extension without all of its current schools.” The 20-year, $2.4B deal with a California pension fund would “extend the conference grant of rights an additional 10 years.” The move for a vote, “supported and encouraged by many university administrators at 16 Big Ten schools, threatens to drive a schism within the league.” Michigan and USC were “not in support of the measure.” In messages sent to Michigan and USC, the Big Ten has “signaled that it is moving forward with the deal, even delivering to each program a proposed deadline for their decision.” If they “don’t agree to the deal,” the schools may “lose the additional capital as part of the landmark proposal and risk their future within the conference beyond 2036” (YAHOO SPORTS, 11/9).

With three regular-season weekends left in college football, the jockeying for CFP slots is becoming more competitive. Here’s a run down and what it could mean:

• Five Big Ten teams (Ohio State, Indiana, Oregon, Michigan and USC) are “realistically alive” to make the CFP. The other 13 are “playing for bowl positioning, which isn’t as interesting as it used to be for fans.” OSU, Indiana and Oregon “give the Big Ten three teams that could be the last standing again, but the way this is playing out is likely to motivate” Big Ten Commissioner Tony Petitti to “dig in even harder for expansion beyond 16 teams and automatic bids.”
• The SEC “heads down the stretch with seven teams alive, four practically in, and a real good chance to make it five.” When the new CFP rankings come out Tuesday, the SEC “should have seven of the top 14 teams.” SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey and member schools are in “no rush to sign up for any model -- no matter how big -- that could artificially limit the number of teams the SEC could put in the Playoff.”
• The situation “doesn’t look great for the ACC getting more than one bid.” It is a question whether the ACC could be “shut out altogether” if Duke wins the conference at 9-4 (THE ATHLETIC, 11/9).

The WASHINGTON POST looks at the expanded CFP’s effect of the regular season under the header, “Does a 12-team College Football Playoff take urgency out of November? Nope” (WASHINGTON POST, 11/9).

Mississippi State President Mark Keenum, who heads the CFP oversight committee, on Friday said that he is “not optimistic about the CFP expanding from 12 to 16 teams next season and that the SEC would prefer a model with no automatic qualifiers.” Keenum, appearing on “The Paul Finebaum Show,” said, “I’m not very optimistic that we’ll get to it, but we’ll keep working on it.” He added, “I’m not a big fan of automatic qualifiers. I think the best teams ought to play in our nation’s national tournament to determine who our national champion in college football is going to be. And not have automatic bids. And that’s the position of the Southeastern Conference presidents and chancellors, our commissioners and probably most of the conferences that are part of the CFP. We’re still negotiating” (THE ATHLETIC, 11/7).

The WTA is looking to “keep its signature event,” the season-ending WTA Tour Finals, “in Saudi Arabia beyond its current deal.” The WTA deal “expires after next year’s tournament.” WTA CEO Portia Archer said that “talks to extend it are ongoing.” Archer said, “We signed on for a three-year term, we’d actually enjoy being here for even longer than we have been, or than we are agreed to be here.” Archer cited what she called the “growing interest in women’s tennis in both Saudi Arabia and the wider Arab world, the financial commitments Saudi Arabia has made to the event” and the “high-quality facilities” as her “reasons for wanting to stay.” The ATP Tour Finals are currently held in Turin, Italy (THE ATHLETIC, 11/8).

Elena Rybakina collected $5.25M after going 5-0 at the WTA Finals featuring the top eight women. The WTA said that it was the “largest payout in the history of women’s sports” (AP, 11/9).

THE ATHLETIC went with the header, “What the WTA Tour Finals gained and lost by coming to Saudi Arabia.” Rybakina’s final match against Aryna Sabalenka, and the days leading up to it, “crystalized the bargain that the WTA struck” when it decided to “bring its flagship event to a tennis nation in a different league to every other financially, but still in the incipient stages of its adoption and understanding of the sport” (THE ATHLETIC, 11/9).

Meanwhile, Rybakina “declined a photo” with Archer during Saturday’s trophy ceremony in Saudi Arabia, in the “wake of the tour’s investigation into her coach, Stefano Vukov” (THE ATHLETIC, 11/8).

President Trump wants the Commanders to name their planned $3.7B stadium “after him,” according to sources. A senior White House source said that there have been “back-channel communications with a member of the Commanders’ ownership group, led by Josh Harris, to express Trump’s desire to have the domed stadium in the nation’s capital bear his name.” A team source said that the organization has “spent days preparing for Trump’s attendance” at today’s Commanders’ home game. Trump will attend the game “as Harris’ guest and is expected to participate in halftime activities honoring the military.” The team source said that while the Commanders “anticipate possible conversations with Trump about the new stadium during the game, there have been no formal conversations to date.” The source said, “He has cards to play. He can make it very difficult, through government environmental approvals and other things, to make sure everyone who wants this stadium to be built will join to put his name on it. Trump has plenty of cards to play to get his way” (ESPN.com, 11/8). No formal request has been “made about naming the new development after him” (THE ATHLETIC, 11/8).

Three of Disney’s top execs “distributed a memo to employees Friday laying out the company’s perspective” on ESPN’s standoff with YouTube TV over distribution rights, in a signal that the network “remains pessimistic about a resolution.” The memo said, “Rather than compete on a level playing field, Google’s YouTube TV has approached these negotiations as if it were the only player in the game.” The memo was signed by Disney Entertainment co-chairs Dana Walden and Alan Bergman along with ESPN chair Jimmy Pitaro. The memo lays out “deal points Disney says it has offered,” including “fair terms that are in line with the more than 500 other distributors that have renewed their agreements since last summer.” A YouTube TV spokesperson responded, “Disney is resorting to their old tactics like leaking documents to the press, negotiating in public through their paid talent and misrepresenting the facts” (THE ATHLETIC, 11/7).

YouTube will begin issuing eligible YouTube TV customers a “$20 credit starting on Sunday.” YouTube will send YouTube TV subscribers an “email with instructions on how to apply the one-time $20 credit to their next billing statement.” All credits will be “issued by Wednesday” (VARIETY, 11/8).

Meanwhile, DirecTV said that it “gained some subscribers as a result of the YouTube standoff but didn’t say how many.” DirecTV CMO Vince Torres said, “The sale trends are very positive for us” (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 11/8).

Baylor AD Mack Rhoades was “recently investigated by the school for a sideline incident involving a Baylor assistant coach and player.” Rhoades allegedly “grabbed” Baylor TE Michael Trigg by his “gold, long-sleeved undershirt” during the school’s home game against Arizona State on Sept. 20. Rhoades used “an expletive” and “questioned why he was wearing it.” The rest of the team “was wearing dark-colored undershirts.” Baylor acknowledged that Rhoades was “investigated for an incident, though did not offer specifics.” Baylor in a statement said that the “matter is now closed.” The school added Rhoades has “expressed regret over his emotions and recognizes his conduct at that moment was not reflective of our Chirstian mission and values,” and he is an “important part of our Baylor family” (THE ATHLETIC, 11/7).

MLB GMs will meet this week at the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas and the meetings come as baseball is “likely to be facing labor unrest a year from now.” In Boston, Peter Abraham wondered if the “coming storm” will “affect free agency this winter.” Free agents “might want a large chunk of their salary in the form of a signing bonus to guard against missing paychecks in 2027.” Teams could be “wary of adding significantly to their payroll without knowing what the rules will be” (BOSTON GLOBE, 11/8). The GM meetings are the “unofficial start of the offseason” and are “meant to lay the groundwork for the months ahead and to raise issues pertaining to the game as a whole.” They also are about “addressing the state of the game, and nothing weighs heavier on baseball than the specter of a 2027 lockout” (NEWSDAY, 11/8).

NWSL Commissioner Jessica Berman on Saturday made her “first public comments in response” to an Oct. 27 opinion column in the N.Y. Post in which Angel City FC D Elizabeth Eddy “criticized the league’s lack of a gender eligibility policy and called for the league to adopt ‘a clear standard.’” Berman said, “When we think about our policy, what I can say is that every single player who plays in this league is eligible to play in this league. Otherwise, they would not be playing. And we are proud of every single player who plays in our league.” The NWSL “doesn’t currently have a public policy relating to gender eligibility and transgender athletes, but previously instituted a policy in 2021 that permitted transgender athletes to compete if they had maintained testosterone levels below a certain threshold.” The league “nixed that rule sometime in early 2022, before Berman was named commissioner on April 20 of that year.” Since Eddy published the op-ed, “some NWSL players have become targets of hateful speech” (THE ATHLETIC, 11/8).

All Week 10 NFL games will “feature a pregame moment of silence” in memory of late Cowboys DE Marshawn Kneeland. Kneeland died this week, with his cause of death believed to be an “apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.” Following the moment of silence, a message will be read in each stadium that says, “If you or someone you know is struggling or needs emotional support, please call or text 988. The Suicide and Crisis Lifeline is available 24-7 to help” (YAHOO SPORTS, 11/8).

The A’s this weekend “turned replies back on their social media channels for a request for comment from their fans.” A post on X from Jan. 19, 2024 was the “last time the A’s posted on X while allowing anyone to reply.” The replies to Saturday’s post were “what you would imagine from a fan base that has been muzzled” as its team is “pulled away from its home of the past six or so decades so owner John Fisher can enjoy Las Vegas.” Both the move from Oakland and the move to turn off comments have “cost the A’s in reach on social media,” as they “went from at least 605,000 X followers earlier this year to around 586,800 now.” The “fate of the team rests on whether its new fans in Vegas can replace a passionate fan base in Oakland” (YAHOO SPORTS, 11/8).

Avalanche D Cale Makar “signed a multi-year partnership with Under Armour.” Makar joins PWHL Boston Fleet F Loren Gabel as the “only other professional hockey player to be signed with them and help promote the brand.” Under Armour “already made a big statement in the world of hockey earlier this season when it announced a partnership with the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) and Bauer Hockey as the official outfitting and equipment sellers.” Under Armour has “been in hockey since 2001″ (THE HOCKEY NEWS, 11/8).

Dodgers fans were the “unlikely source” of a “surprise surge of thousands of dollars in donations” to a Toronto children’s hospital. Blue Jays fan Marcus Kim suggested on Reddit that following the World Series, the “winning team donate to the losing team’s local children hospital,” which is a “Blue Jays fan tradition.” So far, $30,000 has “poured into Toronto’s Hospital for Sick Children.” More than “400 donations from U.S.-based donors all contained references to the Blue Jays or baseball.” After the Blue Jays defeated the Mariners in the ALCS, “more than 150 Blue Jays fans donated to the Seattle Children’s Hospital” (L.A. TIMES, 11/8).

Lorinda de Roulet, the “first woman to oversee day-to-day operations of a major league team when she chaired the Mets board of directors in the 1970s,” died on Oct. 26 at 95. In November 1978, de Roulet “succeeded M. Donald Grant in running the Mets’ daily operations." She remained in the role for “one season before the team was sold.” The team’s sale to Doubleday & Company before the 1980 season “ended de Roulet’s tenure” (N.Y. POST, 11/7).