| | | | | | | Presented By Upside | | | | Axios Sports | | By Kendall Baker · Oct 13, 2022 | | 👋 Happy Thursday! For the first time since 1998, the Padres are tied or leading in a postseason series. Today's word count: 1,778 words (7 minutes). Let's sports... | | | | | | 1 big thing: 🏝 Return of the Ironman | | An aerial view of the start of the swim portion of the Ironman World Championships. Photo: Ezra Shaw/Getty Images The Ironman World Championships descended on Kona, Hawaii, last week for the first time since 2019, returning to the sport's spiritual home after three years of pandemic delays, Jeff writes. State of play: The field was roughly twice as big as usual because of the long delay. To accommodate the volume, organizers split the event into separate races for women (Thursday) and men (Saturday) for the first time in its 44-year history. Why it matters: This gave Ironman a chance to showcase women on their own day, continuing the organization's longstanding commitment to gender equality. They plan to make the change permanent. What they're saying: "The history of Ironman and women is one that we're enormously proud of," Ironman Group CEO Andrew Messick tells Axios. - "There's never been a time when women were expected to do less than men. It's always been one distance, and either you were able to do it or not."
- "For us to be able to have a race where a woman is going to cross the finish line first, and be the sole focus of media attention, is something that we think was a long time coming."
An aerial view of the finish line. Photo: Tom Pennington/Getty Images The big picture: Kona missing out on three years of World Championships was a huge blow to triathletes and Hawaiians alike. - The little town on the Big Island's west coast is considered the sport's birthplace, and some of these athletes "have been waiting years for their chance to be on the pier, swim in Kona Bay, ride the Queen Ka'ahumanu Highway and run Ali'i Drive," Messick says.
- Plus: "This is the biggest event that happens on the west side of Hawaii," says Messick. Roughly 30,000 people come each year, and the local economic impact of the 2019 race was an estimated $72 million.
The sun sets during the running portion. Photo: Tom Pennington/Getty Images Between the lines: The 5,000 athletes from 92 countries are the main attraction at the World Championships, but the festivities in the days leading up to the races — Kona Week — add a unique element. - There's a kids race (the Keiki Dip 'N Dash), a Ho'ala training swim that gives fans the opportunity to swim the actual course and even an Underpants Run.
- Over 5,000 volunteers work to make the race possible. Those include "people catchers," whose job is to catch exhausted racers in danger of collapsing after crossing the finish line.
Chelsea Sodaro celebrates her win with daughter Skylar. Photo: Ezra Shaw/Getty Images Results: In case the race's name doesn't tip you off, simply completing an Ironman is borderline absurd. It comprises a 2.4-mile swim, a 112-mile bike ride and a 26.2-mile run. - Women: 18 months after giving birth, Chelsea Sodaro (8:33:46) became the first American winner since 2002, and the first American female winner since 1996.
- Men: Norway's Gustav Iden (7:40:24) obliterated the course record by more than 10 minutes, as did the entire top four, who all finished within five minutes of him.
1 awesome thing ... Chris Nikic (16:31:27) became the first athlete with Down syndrome to complete the Ironman World Championship. |     | | | | | | 2. 💵 Exclusive: Women's brand deals on the rise |  | | | Illustration: Eniola Odetunde/Axios | | | | Brand deals for female athletes and teams grew 20% year-over-year in 2022, and USWNT star Alex Morgan was the most-endorsed athlete, per exclusive data from deal tracking platform SponsorUnited, Jeff writes. By the numbers: Morgan secured 27 brand deals between September 2021 and September 2022 to vault her to the top of the list. Her biggest sponsors include Coca-Cola, Google and Chipotle. Top 10: - ⚽️ Alex Morgan
- 🎾 Serena Williams
- 🎾 Naomi Osaka
- ⛳️ Lexi Thompson
- 🎾 Leyla Fernandez
- 🏀 Hanna Cavinder
- ⚽️ Ali Krieger
- 🏀 Sue Bird
- 🎾 Venus Williams
- 🤸♀️ Olivia Dunne
Between the lines: The finance sector, already the most active among women's sports sponsors, increased their activity in the space by 30% to lead all verticals, followed by apparel/accessories and media. - Women's golf saw the most growth, with the LPGA scoring 940 deals to beat out the WTA (923 deals) and the NWSL (496).
- Nike was the top sponsor in both college and the pros, beating out Adidas.
What they're saying: One key driver of this growth is the continued rise of social platforms, where female athletes' engagement outpaces their male counterparts, SponsorUnited CEO Bob Lynch tells Axios. - "Brands are being pressured to be more data-driven, and what we're finding with female athletes and teams is that it's a great place to test and launch campaigns, similar to what we saw in the music festival space years ago."
- "They have incredibly passionate fan bases, and audiences both on television and in-person are up across the board, which makes it easier for brands to participate in this space."
Download the full report. | | | | | | | | 3. ⛳️ LIV's latest fight: World rankings |  | | | Illustration: Shoshana Gordon/Axios | | | | LIV Golf has spent hundreds of millions of dollars securing some of the world's best golfers, but what they want now can't be bought: Official World Golf Ranking points, Jeff writes. Catch up quick: Before last weekend's event in Bangkok, the breakaway tour partnered with the little-known MENA Tour, which has been accredited by the OWGR since 2016. - It was a backdoor attempt to fast-track OWGR membership and begin earning points, which are critical for golfers because rankings are tied to entry into majors.
- But the OWGR won't kowtow to LIV, which could have a long road ahead in its effort to be legitimized by the powers-that-be.
The backdrop: The OWGR, which has been around since 1986, updates its rankings each week based on a complex points system. - Its seven-member board — with representatives from each of the four majors, the PGA Tour, the European Tour and the International Federation of PGA Tours — decides which new tours become members based on various criteria.
- It takes one to two years on average between application and acceptance. LIV applied in July.
State of play: In its current format, LIV fails to meet quite a few of those criteria, including average field size (48 instead of 75), length of competition (54 holes instead of 72) and the lack of a 36-hole cut. Yes, but: Controversial backers aside, what LIV inarguably has are dozens of the world's best golfers. And even the staunchest PGA Tour defenders agree they should start earning points soon. - "I certainly would want the best players in the world ranked accordingly," Rory McIlroy said last week. "I think if Dustin Johnson is somewhere around 100th ... then it's not an accurate reflection."
- But, McIlroy added: "You can't make up your own rules. ... If they want to pivot to meet the criteria, they can."
What's next: LIV's penultimate event of the season starts tomorrow in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The final event is later this month at Trump National Doral in Miami. Go deeper: The secretive body at the center of the fight for golf's future (WSJ) | | | | | | | | A message from Upside | | How to fight inflation with your everyday spending | | |  | | | | The Upside app pays you back a little from each purchase to help offset rising costs. On average, users earn $148 annually. You can get cash back at: - Gas stations.
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- Grocery stores.
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Take back control of your budget and download the free Upside app. | | | | | | 4. ⚡️ Lightning round |  | | | Photo: Cooper Neill/Getty Images | | | | 🏈 Adams charged: Raiders WR Davante Adams has been charged with misdemeanor assault for shoving a photographer to the ground following Monday's loss in Kansas City to the Chiefs. ⚽️ Five teams advance: Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Manchester City, Napoli and Club Brugge have all secured spots in the Champions League round of 16 with two games left in the group stage. 🏀 No suspension: Draymond Green will be fined for punching teammate Jordan Poole during practice last Wednesday, but he won't be suspended and will rejoin the team today. 🏓 Ping pong prohibited: In an effort to focus more intently on their upcoming game against the Vikings, the Dolphins captains have decided to take the ping pong table out of the locker room. | | | | | | | | 5. ⚾️ MLB signs CBD sponsor |  | | | Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios | | | | MLB has signed a sponsorship deal with cannabis brand Charlotte's Web, becoming the first major U.S. league to sign a CBD sponsor, Axios' Tim Baysinger writes. Why it matters: As with gambling, the increasing legalization of marijuana use opens another once-taboo category for sports. Expect other leagues to quickly follow suit. Details: Charlotte's Web's deal makes it the "Official CBD of MLB" and covers this year's playoffs and the next three years. - The company will launch an MLB-branded line of CBD products and will have signage during the playoffs and World Series games.
- SBJ describes the agreement as "non-traditional," with a rights fee and revenue sharing. MLB also gets shares in Charlotte's Web Holdings, which trades on the Toronto Exchange.
- This is Charlotte's Web's second major sponsorship deal. In June, it signed as the official CBD sponsor for NWSL club Angel City FC.
| | | | | | | | 6. 🏒 Top performers: NHL on Twitter |  | | | Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios | | | | The NHL is back, which means NHL Twitter is also back. Here are the players and teams with the most Twitter mentions globally last season. Top players: - Auston Matthews, TOR
- Alex Ovechkin, WSH
- Connor McDavid, EDM
- Claude Giroux, FLA
- Trevor Zegras, ANA
- Nazem Kadri, CGY
- Evander Kane, EDM
- Robin Lehner, VGK
- Mitch Marner, TOR
- Cale Makar, COL
Top teams: - Rangers
- Avalanche
- Maple Leafs
- Lightning
- Penguins
- Hurricanes
- Oilers
- Bruins
- Golden Knights
- Canadiens
Go deeper: Hashtags for all 32 teams (Twitter) | | | | | | | | 7. 🌎 The world in photos | | Photo: Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images ATLANTA — Kyle Wright, MLB's winningest pitcher this season (21-5), gave up just two hits and a walk to lead the Braves past the Phillies, 3-0, and even their best-of-five series. - Elsewhere: Manny Machado and the Padres took down Clayton Kershaw and the Dodgers, 5-3, to even their series.
Photo: Michael Martin/NHLI via Getty Images DENVER — The Avalanche raised their third Stanley Cup banner to the rafters ahead of their season opener against the Blackhawks, which they won, 5-2, behind four power play goals. Photo: Alex Livesey/Danehouse via Getty Images GLASGLOW, Scotland — Mo Salah scored the fastest-ever Champions League hat trick (six minutes, 12 seconds) to lead Liverpool past Rangers, 7-1, on a record-setting day. | | | | | | | | 8. 📺 Watchlist: ALDS Game 2 |  | | | Minute Maid Park (L) and Yankee Stadium. Photos: Daniel Shirey/MLB Photos; Mary DeCicco/MLB Photos via Getty Images | | | | The ALDS resumes tonight with both home teams looking to go up 2-0 and four studs taking the mound: all four rank in the top 11 for ERA among AL starters this year (min. 150 IP). More to watch: | | | | | | | | 9. 🏀 NBA trivia |  | | | Photo: Ezra Shaw/Getty Images | | | | Nikola Jokić will try to become the fourth NBA player to win three straight MVPs this season. - Question: Which three players would he join?
- Hint: Two centers, one forward.
Answer at the bottom. | | | | | | | | 10. 🎓 Join us: Future of sports event |  | | | Graphic courtesy of Aspen Institute | | | | Our latest Future of Sports event in partnership with Aspen Institute is today (12pm–1pm ET), and it's all about civic engagement. The big questions: What if coaches taught civic engagement to their athletes? What might that look like? And as eroding trust impacts American democracy, how might more civic-minded athletes benefit our polarized and politicized country? Join us. | | | | | | | | A message from Upside | | This app is helping users treat themselves | | |  | | | | Upside is on a mission to make sure that, even during expensive times, people still have a little extra money for a rainy day fund. The free app gets users cash back on: - Gas.
- Groceries.
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On average, users earn $148 annually. Download the free Upside app to start earning. | | | | Talk tomorrow, Kendall "What the duck" Baker Trivia answer: Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, Larry Bird 🙏 Have a great day! Follow us for more (@kendallbaker and @jeffreytracy). Friends can sign up here. Thanks to Bryan McBournie for copy edits. |  | | Are you a fan of this email format? It's called Smart Brevity®. Over 300 orgs use it — in a tool called Axios HQ — to drive productivity with clearer workplace communications. | | | | | | Axios thanks our partners for supporting our newsletters. If you're interested in advertising, learn more here.
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