📰🏟️ Saban's New Job
Plus: 🐐MJ in the booth…
Good morning. On today’s docket: An upcoming presidential commission on college athletics, the rise of influencer-pro golfer tournaments, and a potential baseball fantasy steal.
—Peter & Kyle
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📝 THE PROCESS
Nick Saban reportedly tapped to co-chair presidential commission on college sports
Kneel before ye college sports czars: Legendary football coach Nick Saban has been selected—alongside oil billionaire and Texas Tech board of regents chairman Cody Campbell—to co-chair a soon-to-be-announced presidential commission on college athletics, according to to multiple reports, as the university-athlete system teeters on the precipice of establishing guardrails to surround its new historic era.
The commission will reportedly examine a wide range of issues, including:
- The transfer portal
- Unregulated booster payments to athletes
- The debate over college athlete employment
- Title IX
- Potentially even conference membership makeup and TV contracts.
What do presidential commissions typically do? Conduct investigations and research on specific issues, then deliver a report summarizing their findings and recommending policy changes. Think: a Red Bull-and-Adderall fueled persuasive college essay, but with bigger implications than a letter grade.
There’s precedent: President Gerald Ford formed a commission on Olympic Sports in 1975, which led to the Amateur Sports Act of 1978 and substantive reform that boosted America’s performance in subsequent games, The Athletic reports ($).
But…It’s unclear how this development will impact the impending House v. NCAA settlement.
The NCAA and power conference attorneys, along with plaintiffs’ attorneys, last week submitted an amended settlement proposal that would grandfather in roster limits, in an attempt to address a key issue raised by Judge Claudia Wilken regarding the previous agreement. Hanging in the balance—$2.8 billion in back-payments to ~14,000 student-athletes and universities being able to pay athletes directly for the first time.
Not waiting around for the rubber stamp: Though they may have to put the proverbial toothpaste back in the tube, many schools have started cutting players in preparation for the settlement's implementation on July 1, while the University of Kentucky last month approved a plan to convert its athletic department into a company.
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⏱️ Catch Up Quick
Headlines
🤔 Quite creative: ESPN is naming its upcoming $25-$30/month streaming service ESPN in a bid to simplify a confusing streaming landscape, per CNBC; ESPN+ will still be a thing, too.
📺 Anotha one: Fox’s new streaming service, Fox One, is set to arrive just in time for football season.
💰 Bets are off on: The NCAA is reportedly considering lifting its ban on pro sports gambling.
🐐 First, Brady: Now another GOAT will enter the commentators’ box—NBC has tapped Michael Jordan as an NBA contributor.
🎟️ So you’re saying there’s a chance: The Mavs won last night’s NBA Draft Lottery, securing the 2025 #1-overall pick; the franchise had a 1.8% chance to capture the Flagg.
🐎 Two too many: The Kentucky Derby’s winning jockey, Junior Alvarado, was suspended and fined ~$60k for striking his horse Sovereignty too many times during the race.
⚽️ A classic El Clásico: Barcelona beat Real Madrid, 4-3, in a thrilling matchup to complete a season sweep (4-0) over their bitter rivals and take a seven-point lead atop La Liga; it all but locks up their 28th league title.
📸 Snapped
Pics from the weekend
Like and subscribe: YouTube golf is going pro. Both the PGA Tour and LIV Golf are looking to capitalize on golf’s recent boom in social media popularity by hosting creator events prior to big tournaments. These one-day productions involve creators like Grant Horvat, Fat Perez, and Gabby Golf Girl either teaming up with non-golf creators like Marques Brownlee and Dude Perfect’s Tyler Toney (PGA) or golf stars like Bubba Watson and Phil Mickelson (LIV). Outside of pro leagues, Barstool’s Dave Portnoy this month announced the Internet Invitational, a $1M creator-focused golf tournament in August co-hosted by Bob Does Sports.
LSU Shreveport has navigated to the port of history. The LSUS Pilots carry a perfect 52-0 record so far this season, setting the all-time NCAA record for most consecutive wins in four-year college baseball. LSUS’s dominating season has been led by its offense, which is scoring ~11.5 runs/game, thanks in part to a team OPS above 1.100. The Pilots won their opening game of the NAIA playoffs last night, and are heavy favorites to make the NAIA World Series later this month.
More like mus-tired: PWHL players relied on mustard packets to survive the longest game in history. A PWHL semifinal contest between Montreal and Ottawa played to four OT periods on Sunday (~6 hours in real-time), setting a new record for the pro women’s hockey league. As the OT periods progressed, trainers brought out mustard packets and pickle juice for players to drink on the bench—since the high salt content is believed to help prevent cramping (though some experts disagree). Montreal eventually won the game 3-2 to even the best-of-five series at one game apiece—keep up with the PWHL semifinals, which are in full swing through the end of this week, here.
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🔢 Facts & Figures
By the numbers
Here are five stats from this past week that made our team say “whoa.” Hopefully you will, too.
- 🥎 The SEC had a record-high 14 teams qualify for the 2025 NCAA Softball Tournament on Selection Sunday, including seven of the eight top national seeds.
- 🏀✝️ In the 24 hours after Pope Leo XIV—a Villanova grad and avid basketball fan—was elected, his alma mater had more bets to win the 2026 men’s March Madness tournament than all other teams combined.
- ⏲️ Pacers G Tyrese Haliburton is 10/11 this season when attempting shots to tie the game or take the lead in the final 90 seconds—including 3/3 in the playoffs.
- ⚽ For the first time in 21 years, the Champions League final won't feature a team from England, Germany, or Spain—it’s PSG (France) vs. Inter Milan (Italy).
- 🏈 NFL fans will need access to 10 different TV networks or streaming services to watch the entire 2025 season.
👀 Must See
Top plays
🏀 Callback: Haliburton grabs own missed free-throw, nails game-winning three
🥅 Literal buzzer-beater lifts Vegas over Edmonton in NHL playoffs
⚽ Santiago Montiel’s insane bicycle kick is goal-of-the-year material
🏒 Connor McDavid’s beautiful move sets up OT winner
⚾ Fan smoothly swipes Aaron Judge HR ball from another unknowing fan
🌐 Web Gems
Cool things to click
🏒 Explore, then debate: The newly released NHL Quarter-Century team.
⚖️ CrimeTok: Infamous Kansas City Chiefs superfan and bank robber-extraordinaire Xaviar Babudar, aka ChiefsAholic, will serve an additional 14.5 years in prison.
🤔 Fantasy steal? The D-backs called up SS Jordan Lawlar, MLB's #4 prospect.
🧠 ICYMI: There’s a sports version of the NY Times’ popular game, Connections.
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🤔 Trivia
Red 36…Black 13…Hut!
Last call for bets, it’s time for Franchise Roulette.
How the game works: We give you three facts about a professional sports franchise—then you tell us which franchise we’re talking about. Eligible franchises are those currently playing in the Big 4 (MLB, NHL, NFL, NBA).
Today’s team:
- Took its original blue-and-yellow color scheme from the colors of its state flag—the same state whose public university’s mascot shares a name with one of the greatest basketball movies ever made.
- Is represented by a pro dance squad known as the Pacemates, who were the first such entity in its respective league.
- Has not won a championship post-ABA-NBA merger (1976).
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🤔 Answer
