| | | | | | | Presented By SiriusXM | | | | Axios Sports | | By Kendall Baker · Dec 06, 2022 | | 👋 Good morning! Thanks for reading Axios Sports. Tell your friends to follow along by signing up. ⚽️ World Cupdate: Croatia beat Japan in a shootout; Brazil demolished South Korea. Today's word count: 1,468 words (6 minutes). Let's sports... | | | | | | 1 big thing: ⚽️ A comeback for the ages |  | | | Photo: Eakin Howard/Getty Images | | | | On a day that featured two World Cup knockout games, women's college soccer stole the show. Driving the news: UCLA came back from a 2-0 deficit late in the second half to force overtime and beat UNC, 3-2, to win their second national championship. - It's the first time in Women's College Cup history that a team has come back from two goals down to win the title.
- UCLA is also the first team to win a title with a first-year head coach. Get to know the name: Margueritte Aozasa.
Match recap: The Tar Heels led 2-0 with 11 minutes left and led 2-1 with 16 seconds on the clock. The Bruins simply refused to lose. What they're saying: "I'm just amazed by this team and [their] grit," said Aozasa. "I even had my doubts at 2-0, but ... no one on the field did and they just found a way." The backdrop: This was a virtual home game for the Tar Heels, played just 23 miles away from their campus in Cary, North Carolina. - They fed off the crowd all night as they tried to win their record 22nd NCAA championship and first since 2012.
- Wild stat: UNC has won 21 of the 41 women's D-I soccer titles.
The big picture: UCLA has now won 120 NCAA championships across all sports, with this marking their first one since men's water polo won it all in 2020. Looking ahead: This may have been UCLA's final title in the "Conference of Champions," with officials set to weigh in next week on whether to allow the school's planned move from the Pac-12 to the Big Ten. |     | | | | | | 2. 🏈 The transfer portal is open |  | | | Illustration: Lazaro Gamio/Axios | | | | College football's transfer portal officially opened on Monday, and over 1,000 players have already entered. Welcome to the NCAA's version of free agency. The big names: Four QBs — Spencer Sanders (Oklahoma State), D.J. Uiagalelei (Clemson), Hudson Card (Texas) and Devin Leary (NC State) — are among the biggest names in the portal. By the numbers: Here's how many players entered the portal and actually found landing spots over the last four years, per SI's Richard Johnson: - 2018-19: 1,729 entered, 878 transferred (51%)
- 2019-20: 1,625 entered, 901 transferred (53%)
- 2020-21: 2,654 entered, 1,452 transferred (55%)
- 2021-22: 3,085 entered, 866 transferred (28%)
Go deeper: Buckle up for a frantic 45 days (The Athletic) | | | | | | | | 3. 🎮 Investors cool on "anti-sexy" esports |  | | | Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios | | | | The investment buzz around esports has faded, industry experts tell Axios' Stephen Totilo. Why it matters: Esports had been one of the hottest sectors in gaming for several years, but concerns over profits have sent investment firms elsewhere. By the numbers: Out of 695 private gaming investments in the first nine months of 2022, just 33 deals (worth $310 million) involved esports, per Michael Metzger at Drake Star Partners, which tracks gaming deals. - That's down from 138 esports deals ($2.1 billion) out of 718 private financings in gaming in 2021.
- The portfolios for large, gaming-focused VC firms like Griffin Gaming Partners and Bitkraft Ventures are now light on esports, heavy on blockchain.
What they're saying: "Esports has become anti-sexy to VCs who [were] burned by the hype and sky-high valuations esports startups enjoyed a few years [ago]," writes esports veteran Ben Goldhaber. - Goldhaber recalled the gold rush of a half-decade ago, when esports organizations could easily find funding.
- "It's unclear to me how much of it was bad faith and how much of it was stupid, delusional hype," reporter Jacob Wolf, who built his name covering esports, tells Axios.
The big picture: Esports may be enjoyed by millions of people, but it's essentially a young, alternative sector of sports that lacks crossover stars and lucrative rights fees. - The most popular esports games are owned by the companies that make them, and those companies (Riot, Activision, etc) make most of the money.
- "Fan engagement is there," Goldhaber tells Axios. "The question is how do you make any money if you're not the game publishers themselves?"
What's next: Wolf considers the slowdown in esports investment to be a "healthy" corrective for the scene, potentially reviving the scrappier, more realistic spirit of esports circa 2014 or so. | | | | | | | | A message from SiriusXM | | Stream NBA Radio on SiriusXM | | |  | | | | With NBA Radio on SiriusXM Streaming, hear live coverage of the regular season, playoffs and the NBA finals. What's in it for you: SiriusXM NBA Radio delivers expert analysis and real-time NBA news that true basketball fans need. See Offer Details. | | | | | | 4. ⚡️ Lightning round |  | | | Photo: Kelly Kline/Getty Images | | | | 🏈 Heisman finalists: Four QBs — Caleb Williams (USC), C.J. Stroud (Ohio State), Stetson Bennett (Georgia) and Max Dugan (TCU) — will be in New York for Saturday's Heisman Trophy ceremony. ⚾️ MLB reunions: Justin Verlander signed a two-year, $86 million deal with the Mets, where he'll join former Tigers teammate Max Scherzer. Trea Turner signed an 11-year, $300 million deal with the Phillies, where he'll join former Nationals teammate Bryce Harper. 🏈 Bye bye, Baker: The Panthers have waived Baker Mayfield. The former No. 1 pick has an 18.2 Total QBR this year, the second-worst mark in the history of the stat (since 2006). 🏒 Streak snapped: The Bruins finally lost at home, falling 4-3 to the Golden Knights to end their NHL record for home victories to open a season at 14 games. | | | | | | | | 5. 🏀 The evolution of NBA ownership |  | | | Illustration: Eniola Odetunde/Axios | | | | NBA owners recently voted to allow sovereign wealth funds, pension funds and university endowments to buy shares of teams, vastly expanding the league's pool of potential investors, Axios' Jeff Tracy writes. Why it matters: NBA ownership, once reserved for uber-rich individuals, is increasingly becoming just another investment vehicle — albeit a very expensive one. The backdrop: In 2020, the NBA became the first U.S. league to allow private equity funds to invest in teams — a change designed to provide liquidity options for minority owners and help finance team sales. - The NHL, MLB and MLS soon followed suit, and funds like Arctos and Dyal have been snatching up shares ever since.
- Last month's vote, which came while the Suns are actively up for sale, merely increased the number of potential investors.
How it works: Individual funds can't own more than a 20% stake in a single team, and franchises can't have more than 30% of their total equity held by funds, per Sportico ($). - Funds also can't hold any governance rights with their team. It's meant to be a passive investment.
- The league will review all potential investments, taking into account such factors as human rights record and geopolitical standing.
By the numbers: Making these funds eligible for NBA investment dramatically increases the overall capital in the marketplace. | | | | | | | | 6. 🏈 Welp, that's awkward |  | | | Photo: Maddie Malhotra/Getty Images | | | | Louisville coach Scott Satterfield has agreed to a six-year deal to become the next coach at Cincinnati, the school announced Monday. Why it's awkward: Louisville plays Cincinnati in the Fenway Bowl on Dec. 17. "It's kind of a weird situation ... I told both teams I've removed myself from the bowl game." — Satterfield | | | | | | | | 7. 🌎 The world in photos | | Photo: Francois Nel/Getty Images DOHA, Qatar — Brazil cruised past South Korea, 4-1, in Monday's knockout game, reminding the world why they're the favorite to win the World Cup. Photo: Julio Aguilar/Getty Images TAMPA, Fla. — Tom Brady threw the latest game-winning TD of his career (three seconds) to lift the Bucs past the Saints, 17-16, and surpass Peyton Manning for most fourth-quarter comebacks in NFL history (44). Photo: Leah Hennel/Getty Images CALGARY, Alberta — Calgary Hitmen fans tossed 20,294 stuffed toys onto the ice during Sunday's 27th annual Teddy Bear Toss games. All toys go to charity. Featherweight Darren Elkins during Saturday's UFC Fight Night event. Photo: Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC ORLANDO, Fla. — Different breed. | | | | | | | | 8. 📺 Watchlist: Two spots left |  Graphic: Axios Visuals The World Cup quarterfinals will be set after today's slate concludes. - Morocco vs. Spain (10am ET, Fox): Morocco has never reached the quarters; Spain last reached the quarters in 2010, when they won it all.
- Portugal vs. Switzerland (2pm, Fox): Portugal last reached the quarters in 2006; Switzerland last reached the quarters in 1954.
More to watch: | | | | | | | | 9. 🏈 Heisman trivia |  | | | Photo: Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images | | | | Heisman favorite Caleb Williams would be the third USC QB to win the award. - Question: Who are the other two?
- Hint: They won two years apart.
Answer at the bottom. | | | | | | | | 10. ⚽️ 1 bad review: "Unmissable abomination" |  | | | Photo: Harry Langer/DeFodi Images via Getty Images | | | | The Guardian's Aaron Timms penned a brutal takedown of Fox Sports' World Cup coverage. "The broadcaster has offered up a feast of gaffes, stupidity, and unconquerable on-air awkwardness for U.S. viewers to enjoy." Read the story. | | | | | | | | A message from SiriusXM | | Get 4 months free of SiriusXM | | |  | | | | Stream more than 425 channels on your devices for free on the SXM App, including NBA Radio, expertly curated ad-free music, personalized stations and more. Next steps: Sign up now to get four months free, and you can cancel anytime. See Offer Details. | | | | Talk tomorrow, Kendall "Not feeling so dangerous" Baker Trivia answer: Carson Palmer (2002) and Matt Leinart (2004) 🙏 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? Your essential communications — to staff, clients and other stakeholders — can have the same style. Axios HQ, a powerful platform, will help you do it. | | | | | | Axios thanks our partners for supporting our newsletters. If you're interested in advertising, learn more here.
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