| | | | | | | | | | | Axios Sports | | By Kendall Baker ·Feb 15, 2022 | | 👋 Good morning! Opening Day is 44 days away. Maybe. Today's word count: 1,403 words (5 minutes). Let's sports... | | | | | | 1 big thing: ⚾️ Opening Day in jeopardy |  | | | Illustration: Shoshana Gordon/Axios | | | | Pitchers and catchers were supposed to report to training camp today. Instead, they're at home as MLB's lockout reaches 76 days and counting, Axios' Jeff Tracy writes. Why it matters: Spring training likely won't start on time as CBA negotiations continue to move at a glacial pace, which means Opening Day (March 31) could be delayed. Where it stands: MLB presented its latest counteroffer to the union on Saturday in Manhattan. It was the fifth time the two sides have discussed major economic hurdles during the lockout, and followed a flurry of activity this month. Details: The league's proposal moved closer to what the players' union wants on three key issues, albeit only slightly. - CBT threshold: MLB slightly increased the competitive balance tax threshold (how much teams can spend before getting penalized), but significantly increased the penalties for teams that go over, which players view as a nonstarter because it disincentivizes spending.
- Pre-arbitration bonus: The two sides have discussed a performance-based bonus pool to distribute to pre-arbitration players (one to three years service time). MLB upped its offer from $10 to $15 million, still well short of the $100 million players want.
- Minimum salary: Players want $775,000; MLB's newest offer reaches only as high as $725,000 for third-year players (up from $700,000 in previous offer, and from $570,500 in previous CBA).
Yes, but: The league won't budge on two core issues — revenue sharing (teams split 48% of all local revenue evenly) and arbitration eligibility (three years service time). What to watch: Given the need for roughly four weeks of spring training, the two sides must come to an agreement by the first couple days in March to ensure the season starts on time. |     | | | | | | 2. 🥇 Olympics: Live from Beijing |  | | | Kamila Valieva during warm ups. Photo: Matthew Stockman/Getty Images | | | | Kamila Valieva, the 15-year-old Russian figure skater who was cleared despite a failed pre-Olympics drug test, is currently competing in the women's singles event on USA Network. - What to watch: Valieva will take the ice at 8:52am ET in "the sport's biggest moment since Nancy and Tonya," tweeted WSJ's Ben Cohen.
- The backdrop: The latest Olympics doping scandal involving Russia has caused an international uproar, and it comes amid growing tensions at the Russia-Ukraine border.
More Olympics: - USA 7, Switzerland 4: John Shuster's incredible throw lifted Team USA to curling victory, aiding their chances of making the semifinal.
- Gu gets silver: Chinese-American Eileen Gu earned silver in women's ski slopestyle, keeping alive her quest to become the first action-sports athlete to win three medals at one Games.
| | | | | | | | 3. 💵 The rise of in-stadium betting |  Table: Will Chase/Axios Sports betting had its biggest day of the year on Sunday, and will continue to be front and center as legalization spreads across the country, Jeff writes. Driving the news: Cleveland's Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, which will host this weekend's NBA All-Star festivities, recently announced plans to open an in-arena betting lounge in partnership with Fubo Sportsbook. - The lounge won't accept in-person bets; rather, it will give arena-goers a place to watch games and use Fubo's mobile betting app once online sports betting goes live in Ohio in 2023.
- These lounges are popping up at venues across the country, as are in-stadium sportsbooks, which allow customers to place bets in-person.
State of play: The William Hill Sportsbook at Washington, D.C.'s Capital One Arena was the first in-stadium sportsbook in the U.S. when it opened last May. Since then, seven more have either opened or been announced. - D.C. has three of the eight, representing four teams (Wizards, Capitals, Nationals, D.C. United) and three operators (William Hill, BetMGM, FanDuel).
- State Farm Stadium, home of the Cardinals, will have the NFL's first in-stadium sportsbook (BetMGM) when it opens next fall.
- DraftKings is building a sportsbook in Wrigleyville, right outside Wrigley Field.
The bottom line: As sports betting emerges from the shadows and steps into the light, it's seeping into every aspect of fandom. | | | | | | | | A message from Axios | | The podcast to power your day. | | |  | | | | Every weekday, host Niala Boodhoo catches you up on the biggest news and interesting stories you won't get anywhere else. In 10 minutes, you'll hear the latest in US and world news. Listen now for free. | | | | | | 4. ⚡️ Lightning round |  | | | DeMar DeRozan or Michael Jordan? Photo: Melissa Tamez/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images | | | | 🔥 Man on fire: DeMar DeRozan has six straight games with 35+ points on 50%+ shooting, tying Wilt Chamberlain (1960-61 and 1963) for the longest streak in history. Legit MVP candidate. 🎾 Djoker speaks: Novak Djokovic told BBC that missing future majors with COVID-19 vaccination mandates is "the price I'm willing to pay." 🏒 Coyotes sneak peek: The Coyotes gave a sneak peek of Arizona State's multi-purpose arena, which will be the team's temporary home starting next season. It's expected to seat less than 5,000. 🇺🇸 Good read: Meet the philosophy-quoting goalie with the fad diet who might lead USA to hockey gold (Greg Wyshynski, ESPN) "Strauss Mann has been called 'endearingly quirky.' Maybe that's what Team USA hockey needs to win gold in Beijing." | | | | | | | | 5. 🏀 Men's poll: Zags back on top |  Table: Axios Visuals Gonzaga is back on top, reclaiming No. 1 for the third time this season behind a high-powered offense that leads the nation in scoring (90.0 ppg). The big picture: The Zags have spent 31 of 72 weeks atop the poll over the past four seasons, with Duke (11) and Baylor (10) the closest competitors. - No. 8 Providence takes its highest ranking since 2016 into tonight's Big East clash against No. 10 Villanova.
- No. 22 Wyoming is ranked for the first time since 2015, and just the second time since 1988.
Conference call: The Big Ten and SEC each have five ranked teams, the Big 12 has four, and the Pac-12 and Big East each have three. The ACC? Just one (No. 9 Duke). Is this just a down year, or something more? Go deeper: Anonymous coaches dish on contenders (The Athletic) | | | | | | | | 6. 🏀 Women's hoops: Cyclones rising |  Table: Axios Visuals No. 6 Iowa State has its highest ranking in 20 years as it embarks on its toughest week yet, with games against No. 14 Texas and No. 15 Oklahoma. The big picture: All eyes are on the Hawkeye State at the moment, with the Cyclones emerging as a contender and Player of the Year lock Caitlin Clark making history for No. 22 Iowa. - No. 1 South Carolina remains the unanimous top team and will host No. 12 Tennessee on Sunday, with ESPN's "College GameDay" in town.
- No. 10 UConn dropped two spots after losing to Villanova, its first regular-season conference defeat in nine years.
Conference call: The ACC might be down on the men's side but the women are thriving, leading the way with six ranked teams. The SEC and Big Ten each have five, the Big 12 has four and the Pac-12 has two. Go deeper: Top 25 high school girls teams (ESPN) | | | | | | | | 7. 🌎 The world in photos | | Photo: Rodin Eckenroth/Getty Images LOS ANGELES — The Hollywood sign has been temporarily changed to read "Rams House" in honor of the Super Bowl champs. Photo: Matt Stone/Boston Herald via Getty Images BOSTON — BU beat three-time defending champion Northeastern, 1-0, on Monday to win the 69th Beanpot, an annual competition among the Boston area's four D-I hockey powers. Photo: Julian Finney/Getty Images YANQING, China — The National Sliding Centre (bobsled, luge and skeleton events) looks like the world's greatest water slide. | | | | | | | | 8. 📺 Watchlist: Champions League returns |  | | | Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappé and Neymar. Photo: Simon Stacpoole/Offside via Getty Images | | | | The Champions League returns today, with the knockout stage kicking off 10 weeks after the group stage concluded. - Real Madrid at PSG (3pm ET, CBS): Lionel Messi faces his old LaLiga rival, which could sign teammate Kylian Mbappé this summer. Lots of drama.
- Manchester City at Sporting Lisbon (3pm, Paramount+): England's best visit a Portuguese side playing in its second-ever knockout stage.
More to watch: | | | | | | | | 9. 🍿 Movie trivia |  | | | 19-year-old Josh Giddey filled it up at MSG (28-12-11). Photo: Brian Babineau/NBAE via Getty Images | | | | Josh Giddey, who just became the youngest NBA player with back-to-back triple-doubles, was born in 2002. - Question: Which film won Best Picture that year?
- Nominees: "Gosford Park," "In The Bedroom," "Moulin Rouge." "LOTR: The Fellowship of the Ring," "A Beautiful Mind."
Answer at the bottom. | | | | | | | | 10. 👀 1 no-look thing: Stafford's dime | | Source: Giphy On the Rams' final drive, with a Super Bowl on the line, Matthew Stafford threw a no-look pass. Why it matters: Stafford's throw will go down as the most iconic play from Super Bowl LVI — and almost nobody knew it happened until new camera angles went viral on Monday. Pretty incredible. The best angle ... Full breakdown. | | | | | | | | A message from Axios | | The podcast to power your day. | | | | | | | | Every weekday, host Niala Boodhoo catches you up on the biggest news and interesting stories you won't get anywhere else. In 10 minutes, you'll hear the latest in US and world news. Listen now for free. | | | | Talk tomorrow, Kendall "The real Matty Ice" Baker Trivia answer: "A Beautiful Mind" 🙏 Thanks for reading. Follow us on Twitter (@kendallbaker and @jeffreytracy) and invite friends to sign up here. |  | Bring the strength of Smart Brevity® to your team — more effective communications, powered by Axios HQ. | | | | | | Axios thanks our partners for supporting our newsletters. If you're interested in advertising, learn more here.
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