The second round of the PGA Championship has been delayed after a pedestrian was "struck by a shuttle bus" early this morning "near the front gate" of Valhalla Golf Club. Officers received a call to the 15500 block of Shelbyville Road around 5am ET "regarding a vehicle collision between a bus and a person." An adult male pedestrian "was crossing the road when he was struck by a shuttle bus traveling eastbound in the center lane dedicated to buses," said a Louisville Metro Police Dept. spokesperson. The man was pronounced dead at the scene and the LMPD Traffic Unit is investigating (Louisville COURIER-JOURNAL, 5/16).

The PGA of America noted play will begin at 8:35am ET and all Round 2 starting times are delayed 1 hour and 20 minutes from the originally published time. All spectator gates will open at 8am (PGA of America).

World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler was "detained by police in handcuffs" after "a misunderstanding with traffic flow led to his attempt to drive past a police officer into Valhalla Golf Club" early this morning. The police officer "attempted to attach himself to Scheffler's car, and Scheffler then stopped his vehicle at the entrance." The police officer then "began to scream at Scheffler to get out of the car." When Scheffler exited, the officer "shoved Scheffler against the car and immediately placed him in handcuffs." The Scheffler incident was not related to the shuttle bus accident (ESPN.com, 5/17). A PGA of America official said that that the situation with Scheffler is "ongoing" (X, 5/17). On ESPN's "Get Up," Mike Greenberg noted that the PGA of America confirmed that Scheffler was "still in custody" as of 8:05am ("Get Up," ESPN, 5/17).

 

Professional Bull Riders (PBR) announced a new media rights deal with CBS Sports and Merit Street Media ahead of its World Finals Championship on Sunday. 

CBS Sports is extending its relationship with PBR through 2030, increasing coverage by 20% to 25 hours on its broadcast network and Paramount+.

Merit Street, Dr. Phil McGraw’s new network, is entering live sports for the first time, with coverage spanning PBR Teams and the individual Unleash The Beast, as well as pre- and post-game shows and 50 episodes of “PBR Now” (a news and analysis show), from new studios in Fort Worth. The network is in more than 80 million homes. All telecasts previously on CBS Sports Network are moving to Merit Street and Merit+ streaming.

The four-year deal with MSM kicks off in July with PBR Teams events covering 87.5 hours per season, which includes six 2-hour Women’s Rodeo World Championship events. RidePass, PBR’s Western Sports and Lifestyle channel on PlutoTV, will move to Merit+.

While financials were not disclosed, sources close to the negotiations confirmed the new deal is worth more than double the rights fee PBR was previously getting from CBS.

According to sources familiar with negotiations, the PBR was represented by Sean Gleason (CEO) and Josh Baker (CRO), CBS by CBS Sports EVP/Programming Dan Weinberg and MSM by COO Joel Cheatwood. 

Brazil has been selected to host the 2027 Women’s World Cup after a vote of FIFA’s full membership "chose the South American bid over a joint proposal from Belgium, Netherlands and Germany." The FIFA Congress today voted 119-78 for Brazil in the "reduced field of two candidates" to host the 2027 tournament after a joint bid by the U.S. and Mexico was pulled late last month, and South Africa withdrew its candidacy in November. It will be the first time the Women's World Cup is staged in South America. Brazil "was strongly favored to win." It was also the "first time that all of FIFA’s member associations had the opportunity to weigh in" on the host of the women’s tournament. Previously, it was decided by the FIFA Council, the governing body’s decision-making committee (AP, 5/17).

Brazil’s bid includes 10 stadiums used for the 2014 men’s World Cup in 2014, with "Rio de Janeiro’s famous Maracanã the site for the opening match and the final." The "downside" of South America, however, is the distance between host cities, which will "require 'carbon-intensive' air travel, as opposed to the Belgium-Netherlands-Germany bid’s 'compact tournament footprint' with short distances between venues" (WASHINGTON POST, 5/17).

Legendary motorsports promoter and former Texas Motor Speedway President Eddie Gossage died yesterday at the age of 65. The cause of his death was not immediately released and funeral arrangements “will be shared at a later date.” Gossage closed out a 32-year career in motorsports in 2021 at TMS, where he was named the first GM of the track when it was built in 1996. He added the title of president in 2004. During Gossage’s tenure, TMS has “hosted millions of fans at NASCAR, IndyCar and World of Outlaw races,” and produced car shows and concerts featuring the Rolling Stones, ZZ Top and Willie Nelson (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 5/16).

Oak View Group has promoted Keegan McDonald to President, M&A and Development. The 32-year-old will continue reporting to Chief Operating Officer Francesca Bodie; she, too was recently promoted, and McDonald will pick up some of her duties and leadership, including driving the company’s aggressive M&A (mergers and acquisitions) and development strategy. McDonald will remain central to OVG’s efforts to raise financing for owned and operated developments. Thus far, the company has built from scratch or renovated six arenas, with at least five more in various stages of progress. All of those occurred during McDonald’s seven years at OVG since joining from Goldman Sachs and have his stamp upon them.

“That responsibility, I don’t think that comes with time, I like to think that comes with results,” McDonald said. "We’ve been given a lot of very challenging projects and tasks that have been super rewarding both intellectually and financially for the company, and we’ve done really well on that side, be it making smart M&A bets or raising effective debt capital or identifying the right equity partners. You’re not given that responsibility without results, and Tim (Leiweke) and Francesca are as results oriented as it comes.”

McDonald, previously VP of Business Development, oversees a team of roughly a dozen people that handle all the company’s incoming and outgoing investment or debt. McDonald has helped OVG secure multiple equity investments from Silver Lake, arrange equity and/or debt for the arena projects, and jumpstarted the company’s OVG360 venue services division with a handful of acquisitions that he sourced, managed, and executed, including the latest, Invited’s Stadium Club business, which gives OVG an obvious entree into the college athletics market.

Caitlin Clark's home debut with the Indiana Fever at Gainbridge Fieldhouse last night drew a sellout crowd of 17,274 fans, "many of whom wore Clark’s signature No. 22" jersey in the stands. The crowd "breathed with every shot she took, yearning" for some incredible theatrics, but Clark "was rarely able to deliver," finishing with nine points on 2-of-8 shooting. She scored 7 straight points, "highlighted by her patented stepback 3-pointer," and the crowd "erupted as if it were a playoff game" (THE ATHLETIC, 5/16). The "hyped, raucous crowd" included Clark's Iowa coach Lisa Bluder and ESPN personality Pat McAfee, who "showed off his black Fever tank on the big screen" (INDIANAPOLIS STAR, 5/16).

Gatorade "installed a 150-foot banner to commemorate Clark’s home game" on the side of the Hyatt Regency in downtown Indianapolis before last night's game. The banner featured Clark "in head-to-toe Nike gear -- another one of the brands she has a deal with -- and a Gatorade towel around her neck with the slogan 'It is just getting started' written across the top" (N.Y. POST, 5/16).

The Jake Paul-Mike Tyson fight at AT&T Stadium in July has already assured itself of earning the highest gate of any combat sports event in Texas history following just one day of ticket sales, according to Most Valuable Promotions. The event is being held July 20th at the Cowboys’ 80,000-seat stadium and will air on Netflix with a main event of the 27-year-old Paul (9-1 as a pro boxer) versus the 57-year-old former undisputed heavyweight champion in Tyson (50-6).

A co-main event will feature a re-match of the Amanda Serrano-Katie Taylor rivalry that sold out Madison Square Garden for their first bout in 2022. Tickets went on sale yesterday when there was also a news conference held at Texas Live! In Arlington, and MVP told SBJ that there’s already been over 35,000 sold for over $10M in revenue. That means, based on average ticket price, the event is already set to be the biggest in Texas combat sports history (boxing or MMA), topping the Canelo Alvarez-Billy Joe Saunders fight at AT&T Stadium in 2021. That event saw a gate of over $9M through roughly 66,000 tickets sold. The get-in price for Paul-Tyson is $94 and the average ticket is going for $248, according to SeatGeek.
 
This fight is setting up to have the biggest gate for any that Tyson has participated in over his career, said Nakisa Bidarian, the co-founder of MVP alongside Paul. Bidarian: “This event is unique in every regard. Six generations have a stake in the main-event matchup and it is truly a cultural phenomenon. … [Tyson] and Jake Paul is a one-of-one event, and you add to it the biggest fight in women’s combat sports to give female athletes a massive platform.”

The event will be aired on Netflix’s main platform for no additional charge to subscribers, a unique setup for a high-profile fight because boxing has long aired such bouts as pay-per-views that can cost up to $80. This is one of the biggest forays into sports from Netflix, which has 270 million paid subscribers in over 190 countries and deepened ties this week with the NFL. Celsius Essential Energy, one of Paul’s biggest partners, had its branding and cans on stage during yesterday's news conference and looks set to be a sponsor of the event, which will be sanctioned as a professional fight (as opposed to an exhibition).

Fans started lining up at Dodger Stadium "hours ahead" of last night’s game against the Reds "with the hope of scoring an exclusive Shohei Ohtani Dodgers bobblehead," which was available to the first 40,000 fans at the game. Of those, 1,700 "featured the superstar in the team’s road gray uniform" and "were to be given out at random." The giveaway "attracted a sellout crowd" of 53,527 -- the largest in the majors this season and the most at Dodger Stadium since Sept. 20, 2019. By 3pm PT, the line "had already made its way outside of the stadium, with cars being turned away" until gates were set to open at 4pm (L.A. DAILY NEWS, 5/16). There were "plenty of Ohtani bobbleheads on eBay" last night after the game, with asking prices as high as $5,000 (L.A. TIMES, 5/16).

Shoe brand Skechers "has already secured national ad time" for next year’s Super Bowl, becoming the "first brand to publicly confirm an ad buy" for Super Bowl 2025. The 30-second spot will be the brand’s 12th Big Game buy, Skechers said. Earlier this year, Skechers aired a Super Bowl ad starring Mr. T that "noted the brand’s unique spelling and called out its common misspelling." The ad also starred longtime spokesman and former NFLer Tony Romo. While May is "very early" to announce Super Bowl plans, several brands "have made similar announcements in the past" (AD AGE, 5/16).

The Bengals are looking for a Chief Content Officer. The Cincinnati-based position is responsible for overseeing content strategy and production and distribution across all platforms, including social media, digital, TV and game presentation (Bengals).

Legends is looking for a SVP/Business Development. The Dallas-based position is responsible for leading strategic growth initiatives, driving new business for the company's Hospitality division and collaborating on business development opportunities across Legends' 360-degree suite of innovative business services (Legends).

WBD Sports is looking for a Sports Experience Product Manager. The London-based position is responsible for working with customer insights, stakeholders, designers and technology partners to determine value for the customers and the company (WBD Sports).

San Diego FC is looking for a Head of Football Development. The position is responsible for leading the development of a comprehensive, multi-disciplinary performance analysis & individual development service across San Diego FC's First Team. The role will manage the following positions: Performance/Video Analyst(s), Individual Development Analyst and Individual Development Coach (San Diego FC).

Tepper Sports & Entertainment is looking for a Retail Marketing Manager. The Charlotte-based position is responsible for serving as the main point of contact for the third-party retail operator and Bank of America Stadium operations to ensure all aspects of retail operation run efficiently, including product assortment and buys, on-site setup and customer service for Panthers, Charlotte FC and third party events, e-commerce platform operations and overall omnichannel experience (Tepper Sports & Entertainment).

To have your job postings included in “Roster Spots" -- a feature in Morning Buzz on Fridays -- please send information to ogreen@sportsbusinessjournal.com.

Every WNBA team "will start using charter flights to travel to games by May 21." Only two of the four teams that traveled for the opening-night games "used charter planes." The Fever and Lynx were on charters, while the Liberty and Sun traveled commercially (AP, 5/16).

The Univ. of Michigan will "begin selling alcohol at Michigan Stadium beginning this fall." This comes after UM "launched alcohol sales earlier this year at Yost Ice Arena and Crisler Center" (DETROIT NEWS, 5/17).

FIFA has "opened the door to potentially moving its headquarters from Zurich." By a vote of 202 to 4, delegates at FIFA’s annual assembly "approved a raft of statutes, including a new clause that stipulates that Zurich is the headquarters until members decide otherwise" (BLOOMBERG NEWS, 5/17).

"I hope we can come to a place that maintains the centrality of educational context. Our athletic teams are not the NFL. We don’t want to be the NFL. We want to be college athletics. I hope we can get that. I am concerned about what we are now" -- Notre Dame President The Rev. John I. Jenkins, on the state of college athletics (SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE, 5/17).

“Yes, it’s an awful lot of prime-time games early in the season, but, obviously, I feel like the Jets kind of owe us one" -- NFL VP/Broadcast Planning Mike North, on the Jets having six primetime games in the first 11 weeks of the season (CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, 5/17).

The AP notes the NFL's late Sunday afternoon doubleheader window "continues to get the most scrutiny -- and viewers." When the NFL schedule gets released, fans and commentators "obsess over how many prime-time appearances teams will make." However, the "biggest competition and most attention when it comes to formulating the schedule each year is the late afternoon window for Fox and CBS." With the importance of that spot, it "isn’t a surprise" the Chiefs and Cowboys "will be showcased often." CBS averaged 24.64 million viewers in their 10 doubleheader weeks while Fox averaged 24.62 million.

Also:

• Going inside the Premier League's "asterisk season."
• Why Latino fans are critical to growing North Texas sports franchises.
• Gen Z is "coming to the NBA," and Paolo Banchero is "ready to lead the movement."

Here's the No. 1 player in the world in handcuffs this morning. Surreal image from ESPN. pic.twitter.com/l4GRS4yKcW

— Kyle Porter (@KylePorterCBS) May 17, 2024

"Before entering history, this man visited the grave of Bogdan Zerajic, who had died just a few years earlier."

"Who is Gavrilo Princip?"