Tag: NCAA

MLB and Polymarket, NCAA and DraftKings

There are differing ways to handle the presence of prediction markets and sportsbooks, and MLB and NCAA would not be less aligned on them.

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MLB and “prediction market exchange” Polymarket agreed to a deal last week, which is exactly the kind of thing you want to hear while two of the league’s pitchers are under federal investigation for alleged outcome manipulations for prop bets that resulted in “charges of wire fraud conspiracy, honest services wire fraud conspiracy, money laundering conspiracy and conspiracy to influence sporting events by bribery.”

There are a couple of ways to look at this whole deal, one of which has been done in this space before and elsewhere, a raging against the fact that society has taken this turn and MLB has decided the check is worth directly involving itself in further propagating it. We have already seen where that has gotten us — again, federal charges — but it is worth pointing out that this likely would have happened without MLB’s direct involvement with sports betting.

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Notes: Rizzo on the Rockies, NCAA women’s tournament, Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

Someone else dislikes Dick Monfort as much as I do, why the women’s version of March Madness needs its own TV deal, and why the Jays were right to re-sign Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

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Before last weekend’s series between the Phillies and Dodgers, Philadelphia’s Bryce Harper made a perfect little statement. When asked about the Dodgers’ spending habits and all the complaining that’s been going on regarding said habits, he said, “I don’t know if people will like this, but I feel like only losers complain about what they’re doing. I think they’re a great team. They’re a great organization.” He’s right, in that this is some loser mentality stuff at work, but the thing is, we need more of that energy out there from players and the media to hammer home just how big that loser energy is.

Alanna Rizzo, formerly part of the Dodgers’ broadcast team but now back at MLB Network, apparently agrees. While speaking to Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post about the Rockies, she did not mince words when it came to owner Dick Monfort and his thoughts on the Dodgers and spending:

Continue reading “Notes: Rizzo on the Rockies, NCAA women’s tournament, Vladimir Guerrero Jr.”

Notes: MLB’s latest threat to Bally Sports, NCAA unfair labor charge

MLB and Bally continue to go at it, while Dartmouth College’s men’s basketball team ups the ante.

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There’s been some progress in the Bally/Diamond broadcasting rights bankruptcy debacle of late, but only for the National Hockey League and National Basketball Association. MLB is continuing to have issues with the regional broadcasting giant, and the latest stems from the agreement Bally made with the NHL and NBA. Evan Drellich has the full story at The Athletic, but there’s one specific thing I want to focus on here: Continue reading “Notes: MLB’s latest threat to Bally Sports, NCAA unfair labor charge”

Notes: Tax loophole, MLB realignment, Oakland sells Coliseum, NCAA settlement

More on the tax loophole, a couple of thoughts on realignment, Oakland’s stadium situation gets additional wrinkles, and the NCAA is primed for a major change.

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Lots to get through today, so let’s get to it.

I went in deeper on the billionaire sports owner tax loophole news for Baseball Prospectus earlier in the week, getting into the origins of the loophole, what it is, why it’s a problem, and why we should hope the IRS decided to remove or rewrite it. The shorter version of it is that it would keep, say, a team that costs $2 billion from pretending 80 percent of the team’s valuation is going to lose value instead of gaining it like what happens with sports franchises simply for existing, allowing them to avoid $650 million in taxes over the next 15 years that they really should have paid. The longer version, well, I wrote that for BP, and while you need a subscription for that, at the least, you could always read the ProPublica reporting from three years ago on the subject.

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Round-up: NCAA disrespects women athletes, revenue sharing, minor-league pay

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Today’s newsletter is going to be a bit of a week-end round-up of topics, as there are a few things floating around in my head or that I’d like to share with y’all. So, here goes.

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Usually part of the disparity between respect paid to men’s and women’s sport is in the pay itself, but don’t worry, the amateur-filled NCAA found another way to show they care less about the women athletes in their ranks than the men. The start of March Madness brought us social media posts showing off the truth of this, and it ranged from the space the women’s basketball players had to work out, to the food they were provided, to the kinds of swag and merch available for their half of the March Madness tournament.

Continue reading “Round-up: NCAA disrespects women athletes, revenue sharing, minor-league pay”