New York Yankees DH Giancarlo Stanton is injured again. Stop me if you have not read that line before. This latest injury, on a player making $29M per year and has not played in a game since Apr. 24, places the Yankees at a crossroads. I talk about it in the commentary.

Here are some other thoughts:

• Vladimir Guerrero Jr. came off the injured list for the defending AL champion Toronto Blue Jays yesterday. Guerrero’s 14-year, $500M contract kicked in this season. Would you believe he has yet to hit a home run at home this season? Believe it.

• I keep hearing a lot of conversation about whether Toronto’s Dylan Cease or the Yankees Cam Schlittler will win this season’s AL Cy Young Award. What about the Red Sox Sonny Gray? After beating the Giants Friday night, his record improved to 16-3 with a 2.79 ERA.

• I know Arizona manager Tory Lovullo said what a player does on his own time is his business, but Ketel Marte being spotted at a casino, after ditching the club in Boston last week, only to be told later he was injured, is not a good look. Marte was at the casino, while his Diamondbacks had a game.

• Word is the NFL is not giving up on reopening contract talks with the TV networks that carry their games, even though the deals do not expire, until after the 2033 season. The networks, getting record ratings, are happy with the current contracts, which can be reopened after 2029. The NFL wants the networks to pay more money now, because of those ratings. The networks are politely telling the networks to pound sand. Expect this saga to continue throughout the season.

That is going to do it for today’s newsletter. Have a splendid Sunday and thank you for being a subscriber!

DAN

Have you noticed? What’s old is new again, when it comes to sports on television. I break it down in the above commentary.

Here are some other thoughts on a Friday in late August:

• Did I read that correctly? Just one month remaining of summer? Asking for a friend.

• A Louisiana judge’s ruling that college football players, who are working out in NFL training camps, can return to play college football has the sports world in a tizzy. You have situations where a player in an NFL training camp, might decide to leave and return to playing college football, where he can make more money. But here is the deal. As loud as the outcry maybe, the fact is most fans and alumni do not care. College football season begins next week and the TV ratings will once again be through the roof. The stadiums will be filled. The bands will play loudly and the pageantry of college football will be dominant. So as much as there may be moral implications, the games and bands will play on, because the fans want the games and networks want the money the games generate. It’s no more complicated that that.

• Have you ever heard of Arctos? Neither have I. It is a private equity firm and it is investing big time in sports teams. Reports are they are about to purchase a 10% stake in the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons. I do not have a problem with that, but I do have a problem that they already have an ownership share in the Chargers, Bills and Browns. That is wrong. Dead wrong. Worse, they can buy ownership into two more teams. The NFL has a rule where an entity can purchase a stake in six franchises. The NFL should have a rule whereby an entity can purchase a stake in one franchise; period!

• My hunch is these NFL teams are going to end joint practices if they are going to continue to have fights. Giants-Dolphins and Cowboys-Saints were the latest joint practices where fights broke out. According ESPN’s Ian Rappaport, the NFL fined the Cowboys and Saints each $500,000 for their fights.

• The LA Lakers sell for $12.5B and the Seattle Seahawks for $9.6B? I know the sale prices for these major league franchises are beyond comprehension, but I still find it hard to believe that any NFL team would sell for nearly $3B less than an NBA team, even an NBA franchise as renowned as the Lakers.

• Word is the Yankees Aaron Judge has started swinging off a tee. Judge has not played in a game since May 30. Yankees DH Giancarlo Stanton has not played in a game since April 24. I get that it’s tough to compare eras, but it seems to me Mickey Mantle used to return from a pulled muscle within a couple of weeks or less. It’s a different era, I guess.

That is going to do it for today’s newsletter. Thank you so much for being a subscriber and have a fantastic Friday!

DAN

The wild card standings in the American League prove changes need to be made. I break it down in the commentary.

Here are some other thoughts at mid week:

• R.I.P. Bill Rasmussen, the founder of ESPN. How many people know he played third base in college? Or that he served in the U.S. Air Force? Or that he got an MBA from Rutgers? Rasmussen then made his mark on radio and television at Massachusetts and Connecticut stations, before winding up as communications director for the New England Whalers. Four years into that job with the Whalers and he was fired. It turned out to be the best thing to happen to his career. Attuned to the fact satellite technology was becoming more affordable, he had the bright idea of starting a statewide TV network, based in Bristol, CT, that was supposed to carry all University of Connecticut sports. The idea never came to fruition, instead blossoming into a 24/7 all-sports network that would carry sports worldwide. Thus ESPN was born and Rasmussen became a multimillionaire. Rasmussen was 93.

• Why Bristol, CT you ask? At the time, satellite technology had advanced but those satellite dishes were still the width of a garage roof and Bristol was the perfect location to bounce the signals from the dish to the satellite and back.

• I had the honor of meeting Rasmussen once, as he toured Dunkin’ Park before a Hartford Yard Goats game. We had a pleasant conversation.

• That Buss family gathering at Thanksgiving ought to be a hoot.

• Edwin Diaz to the IL for the Dodgers. He has given the two-time defending World Champions very little since signing as a free agent. For that matter Kyle Tucker hasn’t been great shakes either. Even the Dodgers make mistakes

That is going to do it for today’s newsletter. Thank you for subscribing and have a wonderful Wednesday!

DAN

The MLB division races are heading down the home stretch. For those who say all you need do is get in the playoffs, think again. In the video I break down why it i…

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St. Louis Cardinals rookie Joshua Báez set a MLB record on Sunday that may never be broken. I break it down in the commentary.

Remembering Tommy John

• Tommy John died yesterday. The former big league pitcher became renowned for a medical procedure that eventually became known as Tommy John surgery. The operation, considered groundbreaking in 1974, has been commonplace for decades. Surgeons replace damaged tissue or a torn ligament on the inner side of the elbow with a tendon taken elsewhere from the person’s body. It has saved the career of thousands of professional and amateur players and is not limited to just pitchers.

• I once interviewed John, when he was the pitching coach for the Harrisburg Senators of the Eastern League, and we talked extensively about the operation. Although proud to be associated with the procedure, he expressed concern that those who had the operation were coming back too soon. He said to properly recover, a pitcher needed a year-and-a-half. It seems normal now for a player, who has had the operation, to start throwing 10 months to a year after the surgery. I’ll give the advancement in medical technology, as the reason for the changed timetable, but maybe John had a point.

That is going to do it for today’s newsletter. Thank you for subscribing and have a magnificent Monday!

DAN

It appears the Chicago Bears are closer than ever to moving to Indiana. Just do not call them the Indiana Bears. I break it down in the commentary.

Some other thoughts on a Sunday in mid August:

• The Boston Red Sox are getting closer to adding reinforcements. Word is shortstop Trevor Story will begin a rehab assignment today with their AAA affiliate Worcester, while utility man Isiah Kiner-Falefa will join him there on Wednesday. Meanwhile, outfielder Roman Anthony is expected to join AA Portland for a rehab assignment this Tuesday.

• You are making a crucial mistake if you attempt to draw conclusions about your favorite NFL team, after one week of exhibition games.

• The NBA will have 90 games televised by ABC and NBC this upcoming season, a reminder of how live sports programming has taken over network TV. Why, you ask? Because live programming, especially sports, draws eyeballs. Viewers are sick of the canned programming.

• Last Tuesday’s WNBA game between the Indiana Fever and the New York Liberty attracted 2.01M viewers, the fourth largest audience ever for a WNBA game on ESPN. The next time someone tells you the WNBA has a niche following, show them those numbers.

• It’s never been done before, in the long history of MLB, until yesterday. St. Louis Cardinals rookie Joshua Báez hit a home run in his first three major league at bats. How do you top that?

• The New York Yankees offense is beyond pathetic, and I do not want to hear it’s because Judge, Bellinger and Stanton are out of the lineup. No runs Thursday, one run Friday and one run Saturday doesn’t cut it, even without those guys. The same old line from management doesn’t cut it either. The fact there does not seem to be any urgency around the ball club, because of this impotent offense, boggles my mind.

That is going to do it for today’s newsletter. Thank you for subscribing and have a sensational Sunday.

DAN

Recent developments with LIV Golf, the PGA Tour’s competitor, lead one to believe LIV may be on life support. I break it down in the commentary.

NBA not backing down to the NFL

The war is on between the NBA and the NFL. That the battleground happens to be Christmas makes one remember, when the world came to a halt on Christmas Day.

The chink in the armor came decades ago, when the NBA decided to play and televise nationally a game on Christmas. The ratings went through the roof. If one worked, why not try a doubleheader? Before you knew it, the NBA was playing five games on Christmas.

The ever-greedy NFL said the heck with that. If Christmas did not fall on a Saturday, Sunday or Monday, we would start playing games on Christmas anyway. There’s money being left on the table, if we sit on the sidelines. The NFL started streaming a Christmas Day game on Netflix, which paid a pretty penny to carry the game. Now the NFL has a tripleheader slated for this coming Christmas.

Not to be outdone, the NBA announced yesterday it is ready to take on the NFL in a big way. This Christmas the NBA will have the rematch of the finals between the defending champion New York Knicks and San Antonio Spurs. That will be followed by the Miami Heat vs. the Boston Celtics and the Philadelphia 76ers with LeBron James at the Los Angeles Lakers. Primetime Christmas viewing will pit the OKC Thunder against the Timberwolves followed by the Warriors vs. the Nuggets. All five games will be televised on both ABC and ESPN.

In case you’re wondering the NFL Christmas Day schedule is as follows:

• Packers vs. Bears on Netflix

• Bills vs. Broncos on Netflix

• Rams vs. Seahawks on Fox

For the record, Christmas falls on a Friday this year. We live in a different world.

That is going to do it for today’s newsletter. Thank you for subscribing and have a fantastic Fri-yay!

DAN

Is there more than meets the eye to the shocking sale of the NBA’s Los Angeles Lakers by billionaire Mark Walter? I give my thoughts in the commentary.

Some other stories that caught my eye:

• Wouldn’t it be something if the Detroit Tigers win the AL Central or land a wildcard spot in the playoffs? With or without ace starter Tarik Skubal, who they traded to the Dodgers at the trade deadline, they have been winning games at a consistent rate. They just might be the sleepers here.

• And speaking of the wildcard race, do not rule out the defending AL champion Toronto Blue Jays, who are making a move. August is always a big month in MLB.

• If the Lakers sold for $12.5B - and the deal has to be approved by other NBA owners - think of what the Cowboys or Yankees would sell for.

• The Charlotte Hornets are the latest sports franchise to sign on with an over-the-air television outlet to carry some of their games for the upcoming season. More and more teams are going back to the old days of over-the-air television stations and streamers to get their games out there.

• Big things are happening for the Northwestern football program. They open their new stadium this season and the program just received a $35M donation from the family of Liz and Dick Uihlein. Not to UConn football - an independent program - this is the kind of commitment your program will require to develop into a football force.

That is going to do it for today’s newsletter. Have a terrific Thursday and thank you for subscribing!

DAN

Fasten your seatbelts. We could be in for a bumpy ride in the remaining six weeks and five days of the MLB regular season. In particular, the AL East is the most fascinating of the divisions. I break it all down in the commentary.

NFL broadcast changes looming?

CBS broadcast analyst Tony Romo is in trouble. Like him or hate him as the number one analyst on the network’s number one NFL broadcast crew with play-by-player Jim Nance, his recent DUI arrest in Milwaukee has set the wheels of change in motion.

Romo was once the darling of the CBS suits. No more. The ex-Cowboys quarterback’s arrest, combined with his huge contract, has given CBS the perfect pathway to bid him adieu. In network TV, it does not matter if you are innocent until proven guilty in the court of law. And if a network feels it has been saddled with a huge contract and can extract itself from such a deal, it will. That is why CBS’s silence on the matter, other than Romo will be suspended with pay until further notice, speaks volumes.

And do not think CBS is not exploring all avenues to escape the deal. And do not think Fox Sports isn’t paying attention. You see, Fox has an analyst on its number two broadcast crew, Greg Olsen, who used to be their number one analyst. Some say he is the best in the business at what he does, but that did not stop Fox Sports from replacing him with Tom Brady. Boom! Just like that Olsen was bumped to the number two crew. But here’s the deal. According to Chad Finn, sports media critic of the Boston Globe, Olsen has a clause in his contract that allows him to leave for another network if he lands the number one job. So if CBS sacks Romo and replaces him with Olsen, there is nothing Fox can do about it, unless they pull an end around and put Olsen in a three man booth with Brady and his partner Kevin Burkhardt.

So keep an eye on the network machinations over the next few weeks. It could be more interesting than one of those NFL exhibition games we will be fed over the next few weeks.

Audience hungry for NFL

Well the numbers are in for the NBC telecast of the NFL Hall of Fame game last Thursday, and as predicted, they were big. Nearly seven million were tuned to the telecast between the Carolina Panthers and Arizona Cardinals. That’s the highest number for a Fame game since 2021. America loves football.

Rapping with Earl

Manager Earl Weaver told this to NY Daily News writer Dick Young in 1974. And that was before ballplayers were making millions:

That is going to do it for today’s newsletter. I have a full slate of Hartford Yard Goats games coming up these next two weeks so I may not be as consistent with the newsletter. I will try my best. Thank you for your understanding and for being a subscriber.

DAN

Earlier this week I did a commentary imploring the Red Sox to remove the interim tag from manager Chad Tracy. As the remarkable Red Sox resurrection continues, I am having second thoughts on the Tracy move. If anything, the question should now be why would Tracy want the “interim” tag removed? I break it down in the commentary.

Here are some other thoughts on the second Saturday in August:

• Today is a big day for the Buffalo Bills. They conduct their first practice in their new $2.1B stadium. The Bills old stadium next door has already been razed. New digs for the Bills, means a new beginning. With QB Josh Allen and his former OC Joe Brady now the head coach, I believe the Bills will be a force to be reckoned with this season.

• Depending on what you read, either the Athletics have fired GM David Forst or he is leaving on his own. It does not matter. He is out. The team will play in Sacramento for the remainder of this season and next, before moving into a new stadium, currently under construction, in Las Vegas. Forst says he and his family love California and do not want to move. He had been the Athletics GM since 2015, succeeding the legendary Billy Beane. Forst’s move might be the first. The Athletics have been a huge disappointment this season. I thought they would contend for a playoff spot. Granted, the A’s have had their share of injuries but all teams have injuries. With last night’s lambasting (13-1) by the Red Sox, their record is 45-71. And get this: the A’s have won only five games since June 26. Pathetic.

• Another bust has been the Pittsburgh Pirates, who stumbled into last place in the NL Central last night, following their loss to the Mets. It is not a stretch to say their GM Ben Cherington is on thin ice.

• You are not imagining things. The two-time defending World Champion Los Angeles Dodgers have lost seven straight and have not won a game since Tarik Skubal joined the team.

That is going to do it for today newsletter. Thank you for subscribing and have a wonderful weekend!

DAN

We keep hearing talk about how much better the National League is than the American League in MLB. But how accurate a statement is that? The AL shutout the NL in the All-Star game, 4-0, and in interleague play the NL holds the edge, 286-244. The 42-game discrepancy, however, is due in large part to both the Angels and Athletics being a combined 20-games under .500 against NL opponents. I break it down in the commentary and I also take issue with the analysis the Yankees were failures at the trade deadline.

Some other stories of note on the first Friday in August:

• Last night’s NFL Hall of Fame exhibition clash between the Carolina Panthers and Arizona Cardinals will draw more eyeballs to TV sets for a game that does not count than most MLB playoff games.

• That said, the omnipotent NFL does not always get its way. The league’s contracts with the networks do not expire until the 2033-34 season, although there is an opt out for both sides come 2029-2030. That did not stop NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell from wanting to reopen negotiations with the networks now. The greedy commissioner believes, even though the league is raking in billions of dollars from those TV contracts, the networks got a bargain, as television ratings are skyrocketing. Well, two networks told the commish to go pound sand this week. Fox CEO Lachlan Murdoch has informed the NFL it will wait to the opt out year before deciding whether to proceed. And CBS is doing the same, now that its parent company, Paramount, is facing a multi-state lawsuit over its proposed acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery.

• IMHO, the two best team radio broadcasts for MLB are the San Francisco Giants and Pittsburgh Pirates. Many a night, as I drive home, following a Hartford Yard Goats broadcast, I tune to the Giants radio team of the legendary Jon Miller, Dave Fleming and ex-big leaguers Mike Krukow and Duane Kuiper. Krukow and Kuiper are ex-players. After 36 years at the mic for the Giants, Krukow or “Kruk” announced yesterday he will retire at season’s end. He will turn 75 in January. Here was the announcement Krukow posted on social media:

We wish him well in retirement.

That is going to do it for today’s newsletter. As always, thank you for subscribing and have a fantastic Friday!

DAN

The Red Sox are the talk of baseball and they should be. But what are they waiting for with their manager? I break it down in the commentary.

Here are some other thoughts on this first Thursday in August:

• Dangling by a thread with the Saudis withdrawing their financial backing, LIV Golf has announced a lifeline, claiming a new lead investor has come forward. That is according to LIV Golf CEO Scott O’Neil. But here is the catch. The money bags has not been identified. The Saudi PIF announced in April it will stop financing the tour after 2026. In other words, until the mystery investor appears, this latest announcement is as definite as me hitting a shot straight down the middle.

• Look, nobody is rooting more for Yankees rookie shortstop George Lombard Jr. than I am, but can we stop the social media hype? To suggest he is going to be as great as Derek Jeter, just because he homered in his first big league game is a little much, don’t you think?

• One of the recent criticisms of thoroughbred racing’s Triple Crown is that the Preakness follows the Kentucky Derby too closely, just two weeks after the Derby. The Preakness has also become the weak link between the Derby and Belmont. Well the racing powerbrokers have finally awakened, making a smart decision. The Preakness will now be held three weeks after the Derby and moved to Sunday. The hope is the winner of the Derby will compete in the Preakness with the extra week of rest. NBC will maintain the television rights through 2032.

• Disney, owners of ESPN and ABC, and home to this season’s Super Bowl, has announced all ad time for Super Bowl LXI has been sold. You read that correctly. The Super Bowl is not until February and already the telecast is sold out. Repeat: there is the NFL and then there is everybody else.

• 64 years ago, the world awakened to this headline:

What does this have to do with sports? Well, Monroe was once married to Joe DiMaggio and the two had been talking about remarrying, before her untimely death.

That is going to do it for today’s newsletter. Thank you for being a subscriber and have a terrific Thursday!

DAN

Once again the Los Angeles Dodgers have shaken the baseball world to its core with the acquisition of two-time Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal. I may have a problem with how the Dodgers are buying World Series championships, but the truth is they have done nothing wrong, except… I break it down in the commentary.

Some other thoughts on the first Monday in August:

• MLB’s trade deadline is tonight at 6:00 ET. Fasten your seatbelt.

• The Yankees acquiring slugger Luis Garcia Jr. from the Nationals is a big deal in many ways. He is only 26, the Yankees have control over him for the next two years and they did not pay a heavy price to land him. It also means they will not be getting Rafael Devers from the Giants.

• Incidentally, nice move by Yankees catcher Austin Wells, wearing catcher Thurman Munson’s catching gear, remembering the Yankee great on the day he died 47 years ago. Yankee fans demanding Wells be traded might have a change of heart, after watching this clip.

• I’m getting some pushback on social media from my comments about the big spending Dodgers and how it is impacting the game, which is fine. Some people are saying the Dodgers dominance will not diminish interest, because people will make them the villain and tune in to root against them. That’s not the point. All sports, be it the NFL, NBA, etc. have villain teams that fuel interest, but they play on a level field because of the salary cap. MLB is playing on an uneven field because there is no salary cap. That’s why the Dodgers are hated, because there are few guard rails. When their luxury tax is higher than most teams’ payroll, then the sport has a problem.

• Kudos to Joe Theismann for posting this photo on his X account yesterday:

That is going to do it for today’s newsletter. Thank you for subscribing and have a marvelous Monday!

DAN

For many baseball fans it is not a happy Sunday, as their worst fears have been realized. The two-time defending World Champion Los Angeles Dodgers have acquired two-time Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal from the Detroit Tigers for three minor league players.

What apparently is disappointing to many of those who are not Dodgers fans is that LA did not have to part with their top prospects to land him. The Dodgers traded their number five, seven and 17th ranked prospects, and that kind of a deal has set off a conspiracy theory on social media.

Fans and pundits are claiming the Tigers purposely asked more for Skubal from other potential trading partners so that the Dodgers could give up less to land him. How’s that?

The thought process is, if the Dodgers three-peat by continuing to buy players, the fans will clamor loudly for a salary cap, something the owners are demanding and the MLBPA is opposing in current labor negotiations. With a salary cap there is no way the Dodgers could buy their roster.

There is no question the Dodgers have already succeeded in achieving one goal in their obsession to overtake the Yankees in nationwide popularity- they have surpassed them in becoming MLB’s most-hated team. (Yankees haters, of which there are millions, do not like to read this, but the Yankees on national TV games still get the highest ratings, even higher than the Dodgers.)

As for my above video commentary, it was recorded, obviously, before the trade. The Yankees are not going scorched earth. But my comments about the Red Sox are more relevant than ever, now that they beat those hated Dodgers for a second straight night and are 5-1 on this road trip.

As for the Skubal trade, we will learn soon whether his being dealt will open the floodgates on other trades or teams will be reluctant to deal because of the potential labor strife on the horizon.

Thurman Munson

For New York Yankees fans of a certain age, this is a sad day. On Aug. 2, 1979 their MVP catcher, Thurman Munson, died in an airplane crash. The Yankees had an off day and Munson was home in Akron, OH, practicing touch-and-go landings in his new Cessna Citation twin-engine jet. Munson, a licensed pilot, hated to be away from his family in Ohio, and many times after Yankees home games would fly home to spend the night with his wife and children.

I was working at a local radio station (Torrington, CT), when the news about Munson broke, preparing to go on the air with my nightly talkshow at 6:00. There was no internet, no social media, no smart phones 47 years ago. Our news was received via an AP teletype machine. When a bulletin came across the wires, three bells would ring. Just before airtime, the three bells went off and I ran back to the machine. I could not believe what I was reading. The night before, following a radio station function in a local hotel, many of us gathered in the lobby, where the Yankees-White Sox game was on TV. There was Munson batting in the New York road grays, the familiar No. 15 on his back. Little did we know, we were watching him play his last game. The subsequent days, following the tragedy, were very emotional. Never forget Thurman Munson.

Times have changed

Yes, times have changed since Thurman Munson donned Yankee pinstripes. As we approach the MLB trade deadline, teams are not even making any secret about which player might be on the trade block. Check out this post yesterday from the Los Angeles Angels:

It will now be a story if Soriano is pitching for the Angels, after Monday!

That is going to do it for today’s newsletter. Thank you for subscribing and I hope you have a splendid Sunday!

DAN

It is not a stretch to say the New York Yankees offense is practically invisible. The last two games, extra innings defeats against the Chicago White Sox, are living proof the club needs a massive offensive upgrade. Will they be active as the trade deadline looms? I break it down in the commentary.

Here are some other thoughts on the last day of July:

• NFL football camps are in full swing and already they are fighting. A fight broke out in the Cincinnati Bengals camp yesterday. There could be tension in Cincinnati this year, as the Bengals, with QB Joe Burrow back, will be expected to contend for the playoffs. Look for a stronger defensive line by Cincy this season.

• Is the Baker Mayfield Tampa Bay Bucs contract dispute plenty of posturing, or is Mayfield really insulted about the Bucs contract stance?

• I’m guessing the WNBA won’t be having their players making a bet on a game over social media anymore.

• The clickbait continues. The New York Post joined the parade with the headline ‘Bryce Harper to the Yankees?’ If you read the story, it’s an opinion piece on why the Yankees and Phillies should make the trade. Yep, the trade deadline is knocking on the door. Expect more clickbait headlines between now and Monday.

• Finally, a timely reminder of how times have changed. Here was the wire story in the New York Daily News on July 30, 1957. The first-year football coach at Indiana, Phil Dickens, was suspended for providing “aid” to his players. Indiana was no football powerhouse back then. Now, Indiana is the defending national champion, and the players are receiving plenty of “aid.”

That is going to do it for today’s newsletter. Thank you for subscribing and have a fabulous Friday!

DAN

MLB’s trade deadline is getting closer and the rumor mill is churning full speed. I break it all down in the commentary.

Here are some other thoughts on this last Thursday in July:

• You have to think the Tigers will unload ace Tarik Skubal after they blew a 7-0 lead to the Orioles yesterday and lost in 12 innings, 10-9. Skubal was lifted with two outs in the seventh with Detroit up 7-1, then the roof caved in. He did record the 1000th strike out of his career.

• George Springer to the Yankees makes too much sense. I remember when Springer, a New Britain, CT native, would run around New Britain Stadium, when the Rock Cats played there.

• Even the NFL Flag Championships garner ratings that are the envy of all the other sports. This past weekend 14.3M unique viewers tuned to the games, carried on ABC, ESPN and other platforms owned by Disney.

• This could get interesting. Ole Miss is suing two former football players, Princewill Umanmielen and Devin Harper, claiming breach of contract, after the two left the school for LSU. Of course, Lane Kiffin left as Ole Miss coach to coach LSU. Ole Miss is claiming they are owed six figures in revenue-share contract termination payments.

• Well that Yankees-Knicks collaboration with the Gotham App certainly worked out, didn’t it? If you wanted to stream YES (Yankees) and Knicks (MSG) content, including games, you needed to download and pay for Gotham. Like Batman disappearing in the night, the Gotham App will soon be no more as DAZN will soon be streaming Yankees and Knicks. The Gotham app lasted all of two years. The media landscape continues to change rapidly.

• And speaking of media changes…the NHL’s Columbus Blue Jackets are pulling a Carolina Hurricane move, firing their radio broadcasting team. They will now place their television feed on radio.

Don’t buy the crap it will allow “fans to experience the same live game coverage across TV and radio.” This is a way to save money, although what they pay radio broadcasters these days wouldn’t even cover the cost one forward. Radio PxP and television PxP are not the same. This is the Columbus Blue Jackets being cheap. Shockingly, however, the outcry will be minimal, once again serving as a reminder how the radio industry continues to walk a tight rope in trying to be relevant in 2026.

• Police allege Tony Romo had an open bottle of booze in the vehicle during his OWI arrest last week. Not good.

That is going to do it for today’s newsletter. Thank you so much for subscribing and have a terrific Thursday!

DAN

Given up for dead last month, 14 games under .500, the Boston Red Sox have pulled off a miracle with a franchise-tying, 15-game winning streak that vaulted them from last to playoff contention. But could the Red Sox have aspirations beyond a wild card berth? I think so and break it down in the commentary.

Here are some other thoughts for the last Tuesday in July:

• Year two was supposed to be better for the University of North Carolina football program, after Bill Belichick turned out to be a flop as head coach of the football team in year one. Then the news broke yesterday about Belichick’s longtime aide-de-camp, Michael Lombardi. The general manager of the UNC football program has been placed on paid administrative leave. No one is talking on the record, but The Athletic is claiming three people off the record claim the leave is the result of a human resources complaint. The story also notes UNC may also be the subject of an investigation by The College Sports Commission. Stay tuned!

• The New York Giants are apparently sparing no expense to return to their glory days. First they hired John Harbaugh as their next head coach. Now the team is revealing plans for a major upgrade to their workout center. Check out these renderings:

• The Giants open full training camp today.

• It did not work for Dartmouth but that does not mean you do not try again. Word is Stamford University players are prepared to launch a battle to become unionized. This could get interesting.

• The Yankees are in big trouble, unless they can pull off a major trade to bolster their sagging offense. Manager Aaron Boone has revealed that outfielder Cody Bellinger will be out at least four to six weeks with a Grade 2 hamstring strain. Figure eight weeks. The regular season ends two months from yesterday.

That is it for today’s newsletter. I may not have as many newsletters this week, with a busy schedule of Hartford Yard Goats games, but I will try to pump some out. Thank you for your understanding and for subscribing. Have a terrific Tuesday.

DAN

The long wait is over. NBA commissioner Adam Silver can now proceed with the rest of his league’s business, now that free agent LeBron James has committed to the Philadelphia 76ers. (Silver acknowledged some of the NBA’s business plans were on hold, until James decided on his next team.)

What will the addition of James mean to an already solid Philadelphia roster and how will it impact the league, especially the defending champion New York Knicks? I break it down in the commentary.

Here are some other thoughts on this last Saturday in July:

• Tough news about Tony Romo, the top NFL analyst on CBS. The former Cowboys QB was arrested in Milwaukee for OWI (Operating while under the influence.) The arrest reportedly occurred, after Romo finished a round of golf. CBS is not commenting on the apprehension.

• Soon there will be no more home playoff games played in cold weather for the Kansas City Chiefs. The team released renderings of its new stadium, which will be built across the state line in Kansas. The structure has a translucent dome.

• I miss the old stadium already and the Chiefs will play there through the 2030 season.

• Super Bowl LXI will be played on Feb. 14, 2027 at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, CA. ABC is already plugging the game. But what about the following season? Where and on which date will Super Bowl LXII be played? Here you go:

• The more you watch Justin Crawford play for the Philadelphia Phillies, the more he looks like his dad Carl Crawford.

• How can an NFL team go from making an $83.8M profit in 2024 to losing $1.1M in 2025? That is how the Green Bay Packers financial statement reads. And the Packers lost money after producing a franchise-record $753.3M in total revenue. The loss is being blamed on the restructuring of several players contracts. By the way, the Packers are the only publicly-owned team in the league.

• For the record, the NFL generated nearly $14.5B in revenue in 2025.

That is going to do it for today’s newsletter. Have a wonderful weekend and thank you for subscribing!

DAN

I believe the revitalized Boston Red Sox have forced their hated-rivals, the New York Yankees, into taking an aggressive approach, as the trade deadline looms. I explain it all in the video/audio commentary.

Here are some other thoughts on a midsummer Thursday:

• I am guessing MLB never anticipated the clock controversy that has exploded around the Jose Caballero pitch-clock deal. As I have had it explained to me, a hitter has to be engaged with the pitcher by the nine-second mark of the pitch-clock countdown, but if a hitter steps into the box before that nine-second mark, he has to be ready to hit. To play the pitch clock by stepping into the box and waiting for the clock to hit the nine-second mark is not permitted. Once you step in the box, you have to be ready to hit.

• Next month - August 13 - will mark 31 years since Mickey Mantle died. The 500th career home run by Mantle was a big deal. The actual WPIX-TV broadcast of that homer is available on You Tube, but I came across this video on You Tube by a family who was at the game on this historic day. So many things to dissect here. The vantage point from the upper deck is one I occupied at the old and real Yankee Stadium numerous times. Also note in the video the Yankees taking infield practice. I used to love to watch infield practice. Then there were the starting pitchers, warming up before the game near the batter’s box, not in the bullpen. That’s the way it should be now. Finally, note Yankees manager Ralph Houk - can the Yankees retire his No. 35 uniform number please? - shuffling the pebbles on the top dugout step, a habit of is, even before the Yankees take the field. Finally, the Mantle home run from a different angle. Enjoy the video:

That is going to do it for today’s newsletter. Thank you for subscribing and have a terrific Thursday!

DAN

NFL training camps open for two teams today. I break it down in the latest commentary.

Some other thoughts on a Wednesday in July:

• Jon Heyman of the NY Post is reporting the Mets are not willing to eat any contracts in any trades. In other words, if they propose a trade for a Francisco Lindor and his excessive contract, the team acquiring said player would have to pick up what’s left of the contract. The Mets and their multibillionaire owner would not kick any dough to lessen the financial blow. Good luck with making any trades.

• Sunday’s World Cup final between Spain and Argentina attracted 63M viewers in the U.S. between Fox and Telemundo. Those are NFL playoff viewership numbers.

• Tough day at ESPN. Among the high profile layoffs:

Karl Ravech was let go, after broadcasting Monday night’s Dodgers-Phillies game. Really? You could not have at least permit him to finish the season? ESPN boss Jimmy Pitaro can paint any picture he wants but the reality is this looks bad from a PR standpoint, simple as that.

• If the NFL players want to play on natural turf then give them natural turf.

• MLBPA just rejected the owners proposal for the amateur draft, countering with their own plan. These two sides are so apart on so many issues, I’m thinking it may be a long, cold winter on the baseball labor front. I hope I’m dead wrong.

That is going to do it for today’s newsletter. Thank you for subscribing and have a great day!

DAN