| | | | | | | | | | | Axios Sports | | By Kendall Baker ·Mar 25, 2021 | | π Good morning! The NBA trade deadline is at 3pm ET today. Let's sports. π
Coming up: I'm moderating an event with executives from Peloton, Tonal and WHOOP at today's SportTechie's "State Of The Industry" virtual event. Register here. Today's word count: 1,403 words (5 minutes). | | | | | | 1 big thing: π The money behind the Madness |  Data: Department of Education; Chart: Danielle Alberti/Axios The beauty of March Madness is in the diversity of its participants, evidenced by the remaining schools' total athletic department expenses, Axios' Jeff Tracy writes. By the numbers: The Sweet 16 runs the gamut from behemoths like FSU ($198.4 million in fiscal year 2019) to this year's Cinderella, Oral Roberts ($12.1 million). - There's an even split of schools that spend over and under $100 million on athletics.
- Four teams spend at least 25% of their athletics budget on men's basketball: Gonzaga (35%), Creighton (32%), Villanova (28%) and Loyola Chicago (25%).
Wild stat: Five schools (FSU, UCLA, Alabama, Villanova and Syracuse) spend more on men's hoops than Oral Roberts spends on its entire athletic department. |     | | | | | | 2. π The women's Sweet 16 is set |  | | | Photo: Carmen Mandato/Getty Images | | | | The Sweet 16 is set in San Antonio. The state of play: Thanks to Texas A&M's buzzer-beater, the top eight seeds advanced for the third straight tournament. But it's the first time since 2013 that six teams outside the top four seeds got this far. - River Walk Region: No. 1 UConn vs. No. 5 Iowa; No. 2 Baylor vs. No. 6 Michigan (Saturday)
- Mercado Region: No. 1 NC State vs. No. 4 Indiana; No. 2 Texas A&M vs. No. 3 Arizona (Saturday)
- Hemisfair Region: No. 1 South Carolina vs. No. 5 Georgia Tech; No. 2 Maryland vs. No. 6 Texas (Sunday)
- Alamo Region: No. 1 Stanford vs. No. 5 Missouri State; No. 2 Louisville vs. No. 6 Oregon (Sunday)
Notes: - Geno's back: Geno Auriemma is back from his COVID-19 quarantine just in time for the most anticipated matchup of the year: UConn freshman Paige Bueckers vs. Iowa freshman Caitlin Clark.
- Terps firepower: Maryland destroyed Alabama, 100-64, marking the seventh time this season they've scored at least 100 points.
- Big Ten history: The Big Ten blew it in Indy, but the conference has excelled in San Antonio, where four Big Ten teams are in the Sweet 16 for the first time ever.
| | | | | | | | 3. π―π΅ A quiet Olympic torch relay kicks off | | Photo: Kim Kyung-Hoon/Getty Images The Olympic torch relay for the postponed Tokyo Games began its 121-day journey across Japan on Thursday. - The relay began in Fukushima, the area that was devastated by the 2011 earthquake, tsunami and meltdown of three nuclear reactors, a tragedy that killed roughly 18,000 people.
- The flame will travel through all of Japan's 47 prefectures before arriving in Tokyo for the July 23 Opening Ceremonies.
Photo: Takashi Aoyama/Getty Images The backdrop: There's still considerable opposition to the Games in Japan, with 61% of Japanese adults saying they should be postponed or canceled, according to a new Morning Consult poll. Go deeper: Why "cursed" Olympics are pressing ahead (NYT) | | | | | | | | A message from Axios | | Axios Local delivers news for your hometown | | |  | | | | Get a daily digest of what's new in your hometown with our new Axios Local newsletters. Now available in Charlotte, Denver, Des Moines, Tampa Bay and Twin Cities, with more cities to come. Subscribe for free | | | | | | 4. π Coming soon: Caesars Superdome |  | | | Photo: Rob Carr/Getty Images | | | | Caesars Entertainment is nearing a deal that will make the betting house the naming rights sponsor of the Superdome for the next 20 years, The Athletic reports (subscription). Why it matters: This would be the first gaming-related naming rights deal in the NFL, which only recently loosened restrictions on teams aligning with betting companies. - By the numbers: Caesars will reportedly pay the Saints $10 million annually for the next two decades, which is in line with what SoFi paid for the naming rights to the new Rams and Chargers stadium in Los Angeles ($20 million annually, but twice as many games).
- Of note: Caesars would be just the second naming rights sponsor in the 46-year history of the Superdome. Mercedes-Benz paid roughly $5 million annually over the past decade.
The big picture: Sports betting brands like Caesars, MGM, DraftKings, FanDuel and others are becoming ubiquitous. They've been advertising for a while — now their names are on stadiums and TV networks. - When New Orleanians go to Saints games in the future — or even just drive past the Superdome — Caesars will be front and center.
- When baseball fans watch games this year, many will be tuning into Bally's Sports — a result of the casino operator acquiring the naming rights to 21 Fox Sports regional networks (i.e. Fox Sports Detroit is now Bally's Sports Detroit).
| | | | | | | | 5. πΊπΈ Rapinoe goes to Washington | | Photo: Shawn Thew/EPA/Bloomberg via Getty Images Megan Rapinoe and Margaret Purce of the USWNT joined President Biden and first lady Jill Biden at the White House Wednesday to mark Equal Pay Day. Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images What she said: Rapinoe spoke about the gender pay gap and the inequalities that exist in sports and society. "What we continue to learn is that there's no level of status and there's no accomplishment or power that will protect you from the clutches of inequality." "One cannot simply outperform inequality or be excellent enough to escape discrimination of any kind. And I'm here today because I know firsthand that this is true." Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images Rapinoe expressed her frustrations with the USWNT's continued fight for equal pay. "The USWNT has won four World Cups and four Olympic gold medals ... We have filled stadiums, broken viewing records, sold out our jerseys. And yet, we're still paid less than our male counterparts." "For each trophy, each win, each tie, each time we play: less. And if it can happen to us, with the brightest light shining on us at all times, it can and does happen to every person who is marginalized by gender." | | | | | | | | 6. πΎ Miami Open, minus the stars |  | | | Photo: Mark Brown/Getty Images | | | | The Miami Open is underway at Hard Rock Stadium, but what is normally one of the most important — and most lucrative — events in tennis doesn't feel like it this year. - Missing stars: Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Dominic Thiem, Stan Wawrinka and Serena Williams are among those who withdrew from the event.
- Limited fans: Attendance is limited to 1,000 spectators a day (~14,000 total), down from nearly 400,000 over two weeks in 2019.
- Less prize money: Winners will earn $300,110 this year, 78% less than the $1.35 million that Federer and Ashleigh Barty took home in 2019.
The big picture: The absence of so many stars is a "foreshadowing of what tennis will look like eventually," writes NYT's Matthew Futterman. "No Big Three. No Serena." | | | | | | | | 7. π By the numbers |  | | | Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios | | | | π΅ $12.8 billion: Fanatics has raised $320 million in a new funding round that values the online retailer at $12.8 billion, per Sportico. In other words, it's worth more than the Cowboys and Lakers, combined. π 100% ownership: The NFL has cleared the way for Washington Football Team owner, Daniel Snyder, to buy out his minority partners' 40% stake for nearly $1 billion and take 100% control of the team. π 5th teen: Anthony Edwards, 19, is the fifth teenager to average 25 points per game over a 10-game span, joining LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Luka DonΔiΔ and Zion Williamson. | | | | | | | | 8. π March 25, 1961: A forgotten classic | | St. Joe's basketball team, circa 1961. Courtesy: Saint Joseph's University 60 years ago today, St. Joe's beat Utah, 127-120, in quadruple OT of the NCAA Tournament's third-place game, which was held from 1946 to 1981. Why it matters: It was one of the wildest games in college basketball history, and yet it's been largely forgotten in the wake of the sport-shattering scandal that broke days later. The tournament: Led by Hall of Fame coach Jack Ramsay, St. Joe's entered the tournament on a 13-game win streak before dispatching Princeton and Wake Forest in the first two rounds. - In the Final Four, Ohio State crushed them, 95-69, behind future NBA Hall of Famers Jerry Lucas and John Havlicek — and a future coach named Bob Knight.
- But in the consolation game, they found their groove again, led by would-be team MVP Jack Egan (42 points, 16 rebounds).
- Mayhem: The first OT included a St. Joe's made basket into the wrong hoop, the second featured game-tying free throws in the waning seconds, and the third saw Utah make a game-saving block. In the fourth, the Hawks finally pulled away.
Yes, but: A game-fixing scandal blew up in the Hawks' face two days later, as three players, including Egan, were found to have shaved points on three separate occasions for a total of $2,750. - 37 students from 22 schools were ultimately arrested, the Hawks were stripped of their third-place win and Egan lost his team MVP trophy.
- Fun fact: Georgetown forward and future NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue later found out he'd played in one of the fixed games, which helped birth his staunch, anti-gambling stance.
| | | | | | | | 9. π NFL trivia |  | | | Photo: Adam Glanzman/Getty Images | | | | James White, who just re-upped with the Patriots, is one of five players with 10+ rushing TD and 15+ receiving TD since his debut in 2014. - Question: Who are the other four?
- Hint: They all have an "a" in their first name.
Answer at the bottom. | | | | | | | | 10. ⚾️ New team: Meet the Disco Turkeys | | Courtesy: Carolina Disco Turkeys The Carolina Disco Turkeys, a new collegiate wood bat baseball club, unveiled their branding ahead of their debut season — and it is glorious. Welcome to the club: The Disco Turkeys, based in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, aren't the only independent or minor league team with an epic name and logo. Here are 20 more of our favorites... - A-B: Amarillo Sod Poodles (D-Backs AA), Augusta GreenJackets (Braves Low-A), Bakersfield Train Robbers (Pecos League), Binghamton Rumble Ponies (Mets AA), Burlington Sock Puppets (Appalachian League)
- G-K: Gastonia Honey Hunters (Atlantic League), Green Bay Booyah (Northwoods League), Hartford Yard Goats (Rockies AA), Johnson City Doughboys (Appalachian League), Kannapolis Cannon Ballers (White Sox Low-A)
- M-R: Missoula PaddleHeads (Pioneer League), Omaha Storm Chasers (Royals AAA), Quad Cities River Bandits (Royals High-A), Richmond Flying Squirrels (Giants AA), Rocket City Trash Pandas (Angels AA), Rocky Mountain Vibes (Pioneer League)
- S-V: Savannah Bananas (Coastal Plain League), Trinidad Triggers (Pecos League), Traverse City Pit Spitters (Northwoods League), Vermont Lake Monsters (Futures Collegiate Baseball League)
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