📰🏟️ Concessions arms race

Good morning. Major League Baseball this week removed all dead players from its permanently ineligible list—making long-banned folks like Pete Rose and Shoeless Joe Jackson eligible for induction into the Hall of Fame.

Behind the decision? Commissioner Rob Manfred wrote: "Obviously, a person no longer with us cannot represent a threat to the integrity of the game…Moreover, it is hard to conceive of a penalty that has more deterrent effect than one that lasts a lifetime with no reprieve.”

Based on current rules for players who last played 15+ years ago, the earliest Rose, Jackson, and others could be enshrined in Cooperstown is the summer of 2028 (if they’re elected).

In other news: Barry Bonds has reached out to Tupac and Elvis for tips on faking his own death.

—Peter & Kyle

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📺 MEDIA

ESPN finally unveils its standalone streaming service

Good news for cord-cutters whose sports diet consists of TikTok clips: ESPN this week revealed its all-encompassing streaming service, called…ESPN—the Disney-owned network’s attempt to trade off its brand cache and simplify a confusing streaming landscape (though ESPN+ will still continue to exist as its own standalone offering).

• The new service, which will debut sometime before football season, marks the first time fans will be able to access the entire suite of ESPN’s massive catalog of networks and content without a cable subscription. It’ll cost $29.99/month, or $35.99/month for an ad-supported bundle that includes Disney+ and Hulu.
• The service will also include a range of enhanced features, including integration with ESPN Bet, personalization with favorite teams, customized versions of SportsCenter, merch sales, and live stats.

There’s been a hole in the market for a while: Despite live sports’ status as a gold mine, media companies have fumbled packaging them in the streaming world, a process complicated by the industry’s shifting broadcast rights agreements, Morning Brew reports. In January, a deal to combine the sports offerings of Disney, Fox, and WBD into an app called “Venu” fell apart.

Between the lines: Though its MLB and F1 deals are up in the air, ESPN in recent years has locked up a number of major sports rights that could draw fans to the platform. In 2024, the company finalized a new 11-year deal to keep the NBA.

Big picture: ESPN receives the biggest cut of cable bills ($), and has been reeling from the effect of cord-cutting. The channel was in 92M pay-TV homes in 2015, vs. ~64M currently. Chairman Jimmy Pitaro said that the streaming service will target the vast market of viewers who like sports but don’t have traditional cable.

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⏱️ Catch Up Quick

Headlines de la semaine

🏀 The WNBA season is about to tip. The Golden State Valkyries, the WNBA’s latest expansion franchise, are among the teams starting regular-season action tomorrow. There will be a lot of fresh faces this year—including the Valkyries, eight of the WNBA’s 13 teams have a new head coach. Some current betting favorites: the New York Liberty to repeat as WNBA Champions, Indiana G Caitlin Clark to win MVP (which would make her the youngest since Candace Parker in 2008), and Dallas G Paige Bueckers to win Rookie of the Year.

🏎️ McLaren’s recent F1 dominance is linked to a new brake-through. McLaren drivers Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris have won five of six races so far this season, and lead both the Constructors' and Drivers' championships by wide margins. According to newly released reports, this success stems from an advantage gained via the team’s game-changing brake design, which keeps tires alive longer by maintaining a lower temperature—a trick confirmed by rival teams using thermal cameras. The design, which F1 officials confirmed is legal, can save McLaren drivers an extra ~1 second/lap over an entire race.

🏈 The NFL released its full 2025-26 schedule. Following the final reveal last night, all 272 NFL regular-season games have been announced. Notable highlights: The defending champion Eagles will face off against the Cowboys on Sept. 4 to kick off the season; a combined seven international games will be played across five countries (both record highs); and Thanksgiving/Christmas Day will both have NFL tripleheaders featuring the Chiefs, Lions, and Cowboys. Want to catch all the action? Prepare to pony up—NFL fans will need access to ten different TV networks or streaming services to watch the entire regular season.

🌭 FOOD WARS

Ballparks are locked in a concessions arms race

The stadium industrial complex at work: MLB teams are increasingly adding novelty food and drink items to concession menus in a bid to drive popularity, attendance, and revenue, Front Office Sports reports.

• The Mariners this season introduced Ichi Wings and the IchiRoll, named after longtime player and HOF’er Ichiro Suzuki.
• The Braves have the $100 Home Run Stack, a tower of beef patties, smoked brisket, bacon, and curly fries bookended by brioche toast and topped with a turret of onion rings.
• One season after launching the viral s’mores-inspired Campfire Shake, the White Sox launched the $15 Celebration Cake Shake, a birthday-cake-flavored ballpark dessert.
• The Rangers this season introduced the colossal Boomstick Burrito ($36), the team’s latest edition to a Texas-sized menu that also includes a two-foot, $32 chili-and-cheese-covered hot dog known as the Boomstick.

It’s a relatively new thing: Prior to the 1990s, ballpark menus were as bland as a white BBQ, mostly consisting of items like Cracker Jacks and peanuts. Teams then began experimenting with new concessions offerings—a trend that was kicked into high gear in the 2000s with the introduction of social media and sayings like “phone eats first.”

The weirder, the better: In 2017, the Mariners intro’d what Lunchables-raised kids would consider an unusual snack: a cup of toasted grasshoppers seasoned with chili, lime, and salt. They were so popular that the park sold its entire season’s supply—20 lbs of the insects—on Opening Day.

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💬 Word on the Street

Overheard

“It’s definitely not rigged.”

The outcome of this week’s NBA Draft Lottery has spawned more talk of “Flagg rigging” than a sailing convention.

Just months after dealing Luka Dončić to the Lakers in one of the most controversial trades in NBA history, Dallas defied its 1.8% odds to secure the #1 overall pick and rights to Duke sensation Cooper Flagg—causing many fans and talking heads to speculate that the lottery was rigged from the jump.

But…NBA insiders unanimously say the lottery process is 100% legit. This includes Utah Jazz GM Justin Zanik, whose team fell to #5 overall despite having the worst record this past season.

May the odds be (n)ever in your favor: Ahead of the 2019 NBA Draft Lottery, the league changed its format to lower the odds for the worst teams in the hopes that it would discourage tanking. The NBA team with the worst regular-season record has yet to receive the #1 overall pick since.

📰 News

What else is happening

• The Portland Trail Blazers are up for sale, due to the wishes of the late Paul Allen; however, the Seattle Seahawks, Allen's other team, is not.
• On that note: The Connecticut Sun hired an investment bank to explore a potential sale of the franchise.
• The NHL indefinitely suspended Panthers minority owner Doug Cifu over an exchange on X where he called a Maple Leafs fan a “51st state anti semite loser.”
• Lawyers representing objecting college athletes say the amended House v. NCAA settlement doesn’t go far enough to address roster limit issues.
• The Celtics beat the Knicks last night to stay alive and force a Game 6. See the full NBA playoff picture here.
• The Oilers topped the Golden Knights yesterday to advance past Round 2. See the full NHL playoff picture here.

🤔 Trivia

These bats are made for walking

As soon to be alluded to, Tuesday was a walkoff-heavy day in Major League Baseball, with five games ending in dramatic fashion. There have only been six days with more walkoffs in the past 125 seasons.

Today’s question: Can you name the most walkoffs to occur on a single day in MLB history?

🌐 Web Gems

Cool things to click

⚾ Surprise, surprise: Bet you haven’t seen this happen on a baseball field before.

🤔 The big question: Is Javier Baez back? Top of mind: This walkoff three-run shot….which was one of three walkoffs to take place within four minutes on Tuesday night.

📝 Interesting: Why this time of year may be the most exciting in sports.

🏋️ Explore: Creatine is all the rage. Should you take it?

🤔 Answer

Seven. This has happened twice—once on May 28, 2004, and once on May 25, 2008.

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