📰🏟️ New type of balls

Good morning. In today’s edition: Pro volleyball is...set for explosive growth, the NFL's crusade against smelling salts, and much more.

—Peter & Kyle

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📺 MEDIA

Sports streaming is reaching standing-room only

ESPN and Fox just pulled the streaming equivalent of showing up to the group chat with matching save-the-dates.

Yesterday, ESPN revealed its flagship streaming service will go live on August 21—the exact same date that Fox is launching its new “Fox One” streaming service.

Both services include a boatload of content

ESPN’s new direct-to-consumer offering, ESPN, whose name was apparently chosen by George Foreman (who named all his sons George Foreman), features two plans:

• A $30/month unlimited subscription that features all of ESPN’s live games—including newly acquired WWE content—along with programming from its other networks like ESPN2, the SEC Network, and ESPN on ABC. Current ESPN cable subscribers will have access to this plan at no additional cost.
• A $12/month select subscription, which is just ESPN+ under a different name. All ~25 million current ESPN+ members will automatically be transitioned to this subscription.
• These offerings will soon be bolstered by the new ESPN-NFL deal, under which ESPN receives rights to the NFL Network, NFL RedZone, and other NFL properties in exchange for the league taking a 10% stake in ESPN.

Meanwhile, Fox’s $20/month Fox One service will grant viewers direct access to its Sunday NFL coverage, Saturday college football content, MLB postseason games, and all other live sports or news on its broadcast and cable TV networks.

They’re joining a crowded market. Streaming services have multiplied in recent years, with subscriptions—sometimes multiple—now required to tune-in to key matchups. Watching every NFL game this season requires six-plus subscriptions, totaling ~$800–$1,500.

Big picture: US cable operators have relied on live sports to maintain subscriptions for years, as viewer interest in other programming has plummeted. But by the end of this month, sports fans will have two fewer reasons to keep paying for cable.

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Headlines de la semaine

🏀 A different type of balls are making their way into WNBA games. Over the past week, fans have tossed at least three dildos onto different WNBA courts across the country, disrupting games—one in Georgia, one in Chicago, and one in LA. Another fan attempted to throw one onto the court in Brooklyn, but the toss didn’t make it out of the stands. And while the initial response from some players in the WNBA was humorous—Fever guard Sydney Colson went on her podcast dressed as the green dildo after the first incident—the sentiment is changing in the name of player safety. One of these flying (and sometimes hefty) sex toys hit Sophie Cunningham in the leg on Tuesday night. The person who threw the first dildo to start the trend has been arrested and faces charges of criminal trespassing, public indecency, and disorderly conduct, while police are searching through arena footage to try and find another. 

🎽 POV: When the fuzz steals a lot of fuzz. Former Miami Heat security guard Marcos Thomas Perez, who also worked for the Miami Police Department for 25 years, appeared in court Tuesday accused of using the access granted by his position to steal hundreds of pieces of game-worn memorabilia and sell them for a collective ~$2M—though it seems he (allegedly) left some money on the table. Perez routinely undervalued items, according to prosecutors; for example, a game-worn LeBron James jersey he sold for $100K was later resold by Sotheby’s for $3.7M. Perez is facing up to 10 years in prison.

🏐 A new merger sets women’s pro volleyball up for growth. Major League Volleyball (MLV) is absorbing the Pro Volleyball Federation, the pair announced this week, thinning a crowded field of pro indoor women’s volleyball leagues. The arrangement also comes with some go-juice (money): The PVF reportedly raised $40M in connection with the deal, which Sportico reports valued the combined league at $325M+. The new- and- potentially- improved MLV’s debut season will start in January 2026 and feature eight teams—in Atlanta, Columbus, Dallas, Grand Rapids, Indianapolis, Omaha, Orlando, and San Diego.

💬 WORD ON THE STREET

Overheard

“I considered retirement. We have got to figure out a middle ground here.” 

On Tuesday, 49ers TE Greg Kittle broke some personally devastating news to NFL media: the league has officially banned teams from providing or distributing smelling salts, long used by players and coaches to stay alert during games.

A quick refresher: Smelling salts are bottled powders or packets that contain ammonia as their active ingredient. 

They’re typically used to revive fainting victims. But athletes, especially in football and hockey, have used smelling salts for years as a way to produce a shock of adrenaline and boost their performance.

The ban comes down to safety. In a new memo, the NFL said the decision was in response to recent FDA warnings that many such products aren’t safe to use, or effective at improving mental alertness and/or boosting energy. The league also noted that smelling salts can sometimes mask potential signs of a concussion.

But…There’s a loophole. The NFL later clarified that players can still bring and use their own smelling salts during games this season—they just can’t come from team sources.

📰 NEWS

What else is happening

• South Korean star Son Heung-Min is joining Los Angeles FC from the English Premier League's Tottenham Hotspur. LAFC will reportedly pay an MLS-record $26 million transfer fee.
• Red Sox rookie OF Roman Anthony is reportedly finalizing an eight-year, $130M contract extension with Boston that includes a club option for a ninth season.
• CBS Sports is averaging 2.97M viewers for its golf coverage in 2025, marking a 17% boost from last year and the highest-rated golf season since 2018.
• The WNBA trade deadline is today at 2 pm CT. In most years, action is relatively dull—but with ~80% of the league on expiring contracts ahead of a new CBA, this year will likely be more active.
• The PGA Tour's FedEx Cup playoffs tee off this morning in Memphis. The St. Jude Championship features 69 of the top-70 ranked players, with #2 Rory McIlroy skipping to focus on next week’s BMW Championship.

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🤔 ‌TRIVIA

Making it official

Jen Pawol, a minor-league umpire since 2016, will make her MLB debut on Saturday. When she does, she’ll become the first woman to ever ump a regular-season game in MLB history.

Can you name the only other Big Four US sport that has never had a woman referee or official in a regular-season game?

🌐 WEB GEMS

Interesting things to click

💨 Watch: The fastest pitch ever homered off in the pitch tracking era (103.9 mph).

🏈 History lesson: With one colossal mistake, the NCAA lost control of college football.

⚾ That’s a relief: Do MLB teams who load up on relievers at the trade deadline see playoff success? ESPN’s David Schoenfield runs the numbers. 

📝 It’s about that time: The top-100 fantasy football players for 2025 (PPR)

🤔 ANSWER

The NHL, which has never had a woman referee for a regular-season game. The NBA currently has eight full-time woman refs, while the NFL has three female officials on the field and six in the replay booth.