Sports News......

TNmavol · Dec 22, 2021

Top Stories

The NHL and its players' union are expected to announce today that they have agreed to scrap plans for players to participate in the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics due to the disruption to the NHL season caused by a recent spate of COVID-19 outbreaks, according to a person with knowledge of the situation. The league, which has postponed 50 games through Dec. 27, will use the Olympic break it baked into the schedule to make up games, though players could still receive a short break. (USA Today)
While NBA Commissioner Adam Silver acknowledged the omicron variant of COVID-19 is "beyond dominant" across the league, he said that there are "no plans right now to pause the season" and that the league is "having trouble coming up with what the logic would be" for suspending play. (ESPN) Meanwhile, the league informed the 10 teams slated to be showcased in nationally televised games on Christmas Day that start times for the games could change if virus-related issues force changes to the lineup. (The Associated Press)
Dyal HomeCourt Partners, a division of Blue Owl Capital Inc., is closing in on a deal to purchase a minority stake in the Atlanta Hawks that would value the franchise at about $2 billion, according to people familiar with the negotiations. Dyal already holds stakes in the Sacramento Kings and Phoenix Suns, and while most private equity firms are limited to owning stakes in five teams, the NBA has reportedly granted Dyal an exemption from this cap. (Sportico)

MEDIA

Covid-19's Omicron Surge Causes Déjà Vu Among Sports Broadcasters
Lillian Rizzo, The Wall Street Journal
The latest surge in coronavirus cases among professional athletes is once again forcing television networks to rearrange their schedules on the fly. Such an upheaval hasn't been seen since March 2020, when all leagues suspended their seasons almost overnight when the virus first struck the U.S.

Dish Network Drops NESN, Leaving Them Without Any Regional Sports Networks
Jason Gurwin, The Streamable
With the removal of NESN, neither Dish Network nor Sling TV will no longer carry Regional Sports Networks. This is a very different approach from DirecTV and DirecTV Stream - who have focused on expanding the reach of RSNs - but placing them on a higher tier.

If struggling on the court, NBA holding up in the ratings
Sports Media Watch
At a time when NBA teams are struggling to even field a roster, the league continues to hold up in the ratings. NBA regular season games were averaging 1.59 million viewers across ESPN, ABC and TNT through last Wednesday, up 11% from the comparable period in 2019 (1.44M*).

Pac-12 TV ratings data: Oregon, USC and Washington generate the top-rated games
Jon Wilner, The San Jose Mercury News
Having five games with at least 4 million viewers doesn't compare optimally to other Power Five conferences. For example, the SEC had eight games over 6 million viewers this season, and the Big Ten had seven. Meanwhile, the Big 12 had three games over 5 million.

Nielsen Debuting First Version of Nielsen One Cross-Platform Metric Next Month
Jason Lynch, Adweek
Nielsen is getting an early jump on Nielsen One, its cross-platform tool that will enable publishers and marketers to transact on a single metric across linear and digital platforms. While the metric isn't set to roll out until next December, Nielsen will be debuting the first version of the offering—called Nielsen One Alpha deduplicated ad measurement—at next month's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

COLLEGE SPORTS

Michigan Wolverines set to get COVID-19 booster shot as a team ahead of College Football Playoff semifinal vs. Georgia Bulldogs
Tom VanHaaren, ESPN
Michigan's football players will get their COVID-19 booster shot on Wednesday as a team, according to offensive lineman Andrew Stueber. Stueber said the Wolverines haven't had any issues with the virus leading up to their game against Georgia in the College Football Playoff Semifinal at the Capital One Orange Bowl — but they aren't willing to take any chances.

Sources: Big 12 Plans to Restore 'No Contest' Policy for Games Impacted by COVID-19
Wilton Jackson, Sports Illustrated
The Big 12 is finalizing plans to restore its policy stating that games impacted by COVID-19 would become "no contests." If the league restores its policy, it would eliminate the need for teams to forfeit games.

Oklahoma Introduces New Sooner Success Academic Award
Josh Callaway, All Sooners
The University of Oklahoma announced on Monday a plan to create financial awards to student-athletes in the aftermath of the Supreme Court's decision in the Alston v. NCAA case. The Sooner Success Academic Award will provide the means for eligible student-athletes to receive a maximum of $5,980 per year.

Georgia's football ops director resigns amid investigation
Chip Towers, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Josh Lee has resigned as Georgia's director of football operations amid an investigation by UGA's Equal Opportunity Office (EOO). The investigation concerned allegations of sexual harassment, according to persons familiar with the situation.

From Pizza to T-Shirts, College Athletes Are Rushing to Monetize Their Brands
Christopher Yasiejko and Chris Dolmetsch, Bloomberg
Five months after the Supreme Court cleared the way for college athlete compensation, more and more players are finding ways to make money.

---Morning Consult

Tuskegee hires new coach, without announcing firing of current coach

Reginald Ruffin has left Miles College to return to Tuskegee.

footballscoop.com