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| Presented By Global X ETFs |
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| Axios Sports |
| By Kendall Baker · Apr 13, 2022 |
| 👋 Good morning! Good to be back. Today's word count: 1,708 words (6 minutes). Let's sports... |
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| 1 big thing: 🏈 Commanders under fire |
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| Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios |
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| The Washington Commanders may have engaged in a yearslong practice of unlawful financial conduct, according to a letter sent Tuesday by the House Oversight Committee to the FTC, Axios' Jeff Tracy writes. Why it matters: If proven true, this could be the tipping point that ultimately leads to owner Dan Snyder's ouster — something his numerous detractors have wanted for years. Details: The Committee found evidence that the Commanders withheld ticket revenue meant to be shared with the NFL, while also purposefully failing to refund up to $5 million in deposits to season ticket holders. How it works: NFL teams must give 40% of their net home ticket sales to the league, which it then distributes to the other 31 teams. Former Commanders employee Jason Friedman testified that the team kept two sets of accounting books in an effort to underreport its revenue. - The team allegedly attributed game revenue to other events held at its stadium, including a Navy-Notre Dame game and a Kenny Chesney concert, to avoid sending it to the NFL's revenue-sharing pool.
- The Commanders, who have denied all allegations, also allegedly kept roughly 2,000 season ticket holders' refundable deposits, totaling about $5 million, by making refunds as difficult as possible to obtain.
What they're saying: The letter requests an FTC investigation and was signed by two committee members, both Democrats. - "Quite frankly, [the allegations read] like a description of some organization out of the 'Godfather' and not an NFL football team," Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.) told ESPN.
- Republican committee members, through a spokesperson, said the Democrats "are attacking a private company using the claims of a disgruntled ex-employee."
The big picture: In the case of the season ticket refunds, this isn't the franchise has been accused of gouging customers. - In 2000, Snyder pushed through a county-wide ordinance banning pedestrians from using the sidewalk on Sundays, a ploy intended to force fans to pay for parking.
- In 2006, the team sold fans peanuts from a bankrupt airline; nine years later, it sold them expired beer.
The bottom line: There's no shortage of scandals surrounding Snyder, who was fined $10 million by the NFL last year for fostering a toxic workplace environment. But because this one involves 31 other owners' wallets, it could be the nail in his proverbial coffin. |
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| 2. ⚾️ The debut that was promised |
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| Hunter Greene during his MLB debut against the Braves on Sunday. Photo: Todd Kirkland/Getty Images |
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| Hunter Greene, the Reds' flame-throwing rookie, lived up to the hype in his MLB debut on Sunday, striking out seven batters in five innings and cracking triple digits a whopping 20 times, Jeff and I write. The big picture: In 2017, Greene became the 13th high schooler to be proclaimed "the next big thing" on the cover of Sports Illustrated. Five years later, he's a big leaguer. The intrigue: While his future on the mound is tantalizing, Greene's two-way abilities as a teenager make one wonder what could have been if he was in high school now, rather than five years ago. - Before the Reds drafted him No. 2 overall in 2017, scouts widely regarded Greene as the best two-way prospect they'd ever seen, drawing comparisons to both Noah Syndergaard and Alex Rodriguez.
- "It would be sweet to do both" at the next level, Greene told SI, with the cover reading: "Baseball's LeBron or the new Babe?" But deep down, he knew that wasn't realistic — nobody was doing that in 2017.
- Enter Shohei Ohtani: The 27-year-old was developed as a two-way player in Japan, and he's since taken MLB by storm, proving that it's possible to excel as both a hitter and a pitcher.
The big question ... Could Greene be playing both ways right now if the Reds had developed him that way? Will the next Hunter Greene be given that chance in this post-Ohtani world? Look: "Baseball's LeBron?" (2017 SI cover) |
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| Bonus: 📈 The "next big things" |
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| LeBron James' famous 2002 cover. Photo: Michael J. LeBrecht II/Sports Illustrated via Getty Images |
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| The 14 high school athletes who were proclaimed "the next big thing" on the cover of Sports Illustrated... - 🏀 2019: Emoni Bates
- ⚾️ 2017: Hunter Greene
- 🏀 2012: Jabari Parker
- ⚾️ 2009: Bryce Harper
- 🏀 2004: Sebastian Telfair
- 🏀 2002: LeBron James
- 🏀 1995: Kevin Garnett
- ⚾️ 1989: Jon Peters
- 🤸🏼 1986: Kristie Phillips
- 🏒 1981: Bobby Carpenter
- 🏈 1974: Bruce Hardy
- 🏀 1971: Mike Peterson
- 🏀 1970: Tom McMillen
- 🏀 1966: Rick Mount
Go deeper: What became of them... |
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| A message from Global X ETFs |
| The rise of cyber threats is not just a news story, it's a reality |
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| If we're lucky, cybersecurity can feel like an afterthought. But as the world continues to digitalize, more of our data and devices are potentially at risk. Explore the Global X Cybersecurity ETF (BUG) for exposure to companies preventing intrusions and attacks — all in single trade. Explore BUG. |
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| 3. 🏀 NBA play-in: Nets, Wolves advance |
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| Photo: David Berding/Getty Images |
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| The NBA play-in round got off to a roaring start Tuesday, with two entertaining games, lots of star power, and a raucous celebration. - Nets 115, Cavaliers 108: Kyrie Irving had 34 points and 12 assists — while fasting during Ramadan — and Kevin Durant added 25 points and 11 rebounds to lead Brooklyn to victory.
- Timberwolves 109, Clippers 104: Anthony Edwards (30 points) and D'Angelo Russell (29) helped Minnesota overcome a rough night from Karl-Anthony Towns (11 points).
What's next: The Nets face the Celtics in the first round, while the Timberwolves get the Grizzlies. The Cavs will play the winner of Hornets-Hawks for the East's No. 8 seed, while the Clippers will play the winner of Spurs-Pelicans for the West's No. 8 spot. 🎥 Watch: Timberwolves celebrating (Twitter) |
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| 4. ⚡️ Lightning round |
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| Alyssa Nakken during her history-making night at first base. Photo: Ezra Shaw/Getty Images |
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| ⚾️ Historic moment: Alyssa Nakken became the first female to coach on the field in an MLB game on Tuesday, coaching first base for the Giants after Antoan Richardson was ejected. 🎾 Down goes Djoker: Novak Djokovic opened his clay-court season with a surprising loss to Alejandro Davidovich Fokina at the Monte-Carlo Masters. It makes for rare back-to-back losses for the top-ranked Serb. 🥊 Boxing crackdown: Some of the biggest names in boxing are being urged to sever ties with Daniel Kinahan, the accused head of an Irish organized crime group sanctioned by the U.S. government. ⚽️ FIFA+ is coming: FIFA is launching its own streaming platform that could eventually be used to charge viewers for World Cup matches. 🏈 Hollywood life: Two weeks after signing a $160 million extension, Rams QB Matthew Stafford purchased two new Los Angeles homes from Drake for $11 million. |
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| 5. 🎮 Wii Sports returns for the Nintendo Switch |
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| Courtesy of Nintendo |
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| Anyone who swung a Nintendo Wii controller to play virtual tennis or to bowl should warm their shoulders for a comeback, Axios' Stephen Totilo writes. Driving the news: Nintendo Switch Sports — a successor to 2006's 82-million-copy-selling Wii Sports — is coming to the Switch on April 29. - The game will bundle a suite of motion-controlled games including tennis, bowling and volleyball. As before, players wave a controller around to swing a racket, bowl a strike and so on.
- But Nintendo Switch Sports offers more options for multiplayer than the 2006 original. There's online play and expanded living room options that support four people bowling simultaneously.
Details: We tried it at a showcase last week, and found it intuitive and delightful. Bowling felt like the original game. Tennis had more nuanced motion controls, reminiscent of 2009's Wii Sports Resort. - New highlights: The game's bewilderingly fast 1v1 badminton, which has a subtle fatigue system that incentivizes ending rallies quickly, and the slightly more chill volleyball, which worked well in 2v2.
- There's also a soccer mode that supports motion-controlled shootouts (if you strap a Switch controller to your leg) or team-based games that require stick and button controls.
- The original Wii Sports' baseball has not returned and boxing is sort of replaced by a 1v1 sword-fighting game called Chambara. Golf is slated to come in a free update in the fall.
The bottom line: Nintendo's signature games are plenty pleasing, but there's nothing quite like the heyday of the Wii, with games designed for anyone to know how to play the moment they pick up a controller. |
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| 6. 🇺🇸 Photos across America |
| Photo: Joe Puetz/Getty Images ST. LOUIS — Albert Pujols homered Tuesday, joining Ted Williams (Red Sox), Stan Musial (Cardinals), Carl Yastrzemski (Red Sox) and Willie McCovey (Giants) as the only players to hit HR at age 21 or younger and age 42 or older for the same franchise. - By the numbers: Pujols has 680 career dingers, 17 away from passing Rodriguez for fourth on the all-time list.
Photo: Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images CHESTER, Pa. — Trinity Rodman scored her first international goal on Tuesday as the USWNT beat Uzbekistan, 9-0, three days after beating them 9-1. A collision during Sunday's Capitals-Bruins game. Photo: Patrick Smith/Getty Images WASHINGTON, D.C. — Hockey, man. |
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| 7. 🌎 Photos around the world |
| Captain Raúl Albiol celebrates the win. Photo: Marcio Machado/Eurasia Sport Images/Getty Images MUNICH — Villarreal stunned Bayern Munich on Tuesday to reach the Champions League semifinals for the first time in 16 years. Samuel Chukwueze's 88th-minute goal gave them a 2-1 aggregate victory. The thrill of victory, the agony of defeat. Photo: Chris Brunskill/Fantasista/Getty Images MADRID — Karim Benzema stole the show once again, scoring on a header in extra time to lift Real Madrid past Chelsea, 5-4, on aggregate. He scored four of Real's five goals against the defending champions. Adam Peaty competes during the British Swimming Championships. Photo: Alex Pantling/Getty Images SHEFFIELD, England — Swimming, man. |
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| 8. 📺 Watchlist: The play-in continues |
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| Photo: Layne Murdoch Jr./NBAE via Getty Images |
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| Just two playoff berths remain open after the Nets and Timberwolves advanced, and two teams will inch closer to joining them with wins in tonight's 9-10 games. - No. 10 Hornets at No. 9 Hawks (7pm ET, ESPN): Both teams boast a top-six offense and bottom-10 defense. This game should be a blast.
- No. 10 Spurs at No. 9 Pelicans (9:30pm, ESPN): San Antonio has already missed the playoffs in consecutive years for the first time ever. A loss tonight would make it three straight.
More to watch: - ⚽️ Champions League: Liverpool (up 3-1) vs. Benfica (3pm, CBS); Atlético Madrid (down 1-0) vs. Manchester City (3pm, Paramount+) ... Quarterfinal second leg.
- ⚽️ CONCACAF Champions League: NYC FC (down 3-1) vs. Sounders (9pm, FS1) ... Semifinal second leg.
- ⚾️ MLB: Nationals at Braves or Guardians at Reds (12pm, MLBN); Astros at Diamondbacks or Padres at Giants (3:30pm, MLBN); Blue Jays at Yankees or Mariners at White Sox (7pm, MLBN)
- 🏒 NHL: Rangers at Flyers (7pm, TNT); Kings at Avalanche (9:30pm, TNT)
- ⛳️ LPGA: Lotte Championship (7pm, Golf)
- ⛳️ NCAA Golf: Western Intercollegiate (4pm, Golf)
- 🎾 ATP: Monte-Carlo Masters (1:30pm Tennis)
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| 9. 🏀 NBA trivia |
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| Kevin Garnett during the 2008 NBA Finals. Photo: Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images |
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| The Celtics (17) have the most NBA championships among this year's playoff (and play-in) teams. - Question: Which two teams are tied for second-most?
- Hint: Different conferences.
Answer at the bottom. |
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| 10. 🏈 1 ranking thing: Best college RBs |
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| Barry Sanders during his number retirement in 1992. Photo: Doug Hoke/Sports Illustrated via Getty Images |
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| ESPN+ ranked college football's top 100 running backs of the past 60 years (subscription). Top 10: - Barry Sanders, Oklahoma State ('86–88)
- Archie Griffin, Ohio State ('72–75)
- Herschel Walker, Georgia ('80–82)
- Ricky Williams, Texas ('95–98)
- O.J. Simpson, USC ('67–68)
- Tony Dorsett, Pitt ('73–76)
- Mike Rozier, Nebraska ('81–83)
- Bo Jackson, Auburn ('82–85)
- Earl Campbell, Texas ('74–77)
- Reggie Bush, USC ('03–05)
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| A message from Global X ETFs |
| The rise of cyber threats is not just a news story, it's a reality |
| |
 |
| |
| If we're lucky, cybersecurity can feel like an afterthought. But as the world continues to digitalize, more of our data and devices are potentially at risk. Explore the Global X Cybersecurity ETF (BUG) for exposure to companies preventing intrusions and attacks — all in single trade. Explore BUG. |
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| Talk tomorrow, Kendall "Wii Sports rules" Baker Trivia answer: Bulls and Warriors (six) 🙏 Thanks for reading. Follow us on Twitter: @kendallbaker and @jeffreytracy. Tell your friends to sign up. |
 | It's called Smart Brevity®. Over 200 orgs use it — in a tool called Axios HQ — to drive productivity with clearer workplace communications. | | |
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