🏟️ Axios Sports: "The Arena"

Plus: Pro Bowl skills competitions unveiled | Thursday, January 12, 2023

Open in app View in browser   Presented By SiriusXM   Axios Sports By Kendall Baker · Jan 12, 2023 ✈️ Hello from Europe! I'm in Spain this week for the Basque Derby (Athletic Bilbao vs. Real Sociedad), and Paris next week for Pistons-Bulls. I'll be sharing daily reports starting tomorrow, so you feel like you're here with me. Today's word count: 1,546 words (6 minutes). Let's sports…     1 big thing: 🏟️ "The Arena" Photo: Joe Raedle/Getty Images   Miami-Dade County is finally cutting ties with FTX, the disgraced cryptocurrency exchange that has owned the naming rights to the Heat arena for roughly two years, Axios' Martin Vassolo writes. Driving the news: A federal bankruptcy judge on Wednesday terminated the sponsorship agreement between FTX and Miami-Dade County, which owns the downtown arena. Until a new sponsor is found, the Heat's house will be known simply as "the Arena," a county spokesperson told the Miami Herald. The removal of FTX's logos is unlikely to happen soon since the Heat are still in the regular season and such removals take time, the Herald reports. The backdrop: The county and Heat announced their intention to cancel the 19-year, $135 million deal back in November after FTX filed for bankruptcy and founder Sam Bankman-Fried resigned. In related news … The Heat aren't the only Florida-based team — or athlete — caught up in this mess. Tom Brady is among FTX's largest individual equity shareholders, according to court documents.     2. 🏈 The NFL's culture shift on display Photo illustration: Annelise Capossela/Axios. Photo: Dylan Buell/Getty Images   Americans saw pro football players weep openly on the field and during news conferences last week — a window into a deep culture shift by one of the nation's most macho and barbaric sports, Axios' Jeff Tracy and Tina Reed write. Why it matters: The reaction of NFL players and coaches to Damar Hamlin's collapse shows that athletes' reluctance to grapple with mental health has subsided in recent years. Catch up quick: The league publicly offered mental health support to players in the hours after Hamlin suffered cardiac arrest and was resuscitated on the field during last week's "Monday Night Football" game. Those resources, which the NFL says are always available, include behavioral health clinicians retained by every team and access to professional counselors via a 24/7 hotline. The big picture: The response by the league, players and coaches didn't happen in a vacuum, Cowboys sports psychologist Yolanda Bruce Brooks tells Axios. Bringing mental health resources to organizations across the NFL was the result of years of work and collective bargaining. That sea change, as Brooks calls it, was also driven by athletes like Michael Phelps and Kevin Love, who've made it their mission to squash the stigma associated with mental health. Between the lines: The NFL hasn't completely left behind its traditional machismo. There are still plenty of examples of stoicism and toughness on the fields and locker rooms, Brooks says. Yes, but: It makes sense that those in the stadium that night felt traumatized by what they saw, said Comilla Sasson, a practicing emergency room physician in Denver. "Even for me, a cardiac arrest event can be jarring," Sasson, who estimates she's seen hundreds over 20-plus years, tells Axios. "It's a sobering realization for people this isn't like the movies ... There is someone who is dead and we're trying to get their heart started again," added Sasson, who is also VP for health sciences at the American Heart Association. The last word: Brooks saw the league's culture shift on full display in "how the Bills and their staff handled it." "You weren't seeing ... entities doing their jobs. You were seeing someone responding to the players as a person. That's a different mindset. It's OK to cry. It's OK to have emotions. It's OK to be human." — Yolanda Bruce Brooks, sports psychologist     3. 🏀 Damion Lee: Splash-in-law Photo: Kate Frese/NBAE via Getty Images   Damion Lee, Steph and Seth Curry's brother-in-law, led the NBA in three-point percentage (47.7%) entering Wednesday. The backdrop: Lee married Steph and Seth's sister, Sydel, in 2018 and won a title with the Warriors last year before signing with the Suns in the offseason. By the numbers: Seth ranks third all-time in career three-point percentage (43.8%), while Steph ranks 13th (42.7%) and has made the most threes in NBA history. It seems the Curry brothers may have shared some trade secrets with Lee once he joined the family. Or perhaps the key to elite shooting has been Sydel this whole time. What does she know?!     A message from SiriusXM Get free access to music, sports, news and more     Subscribe to SiriusXM Streaming and get access to 3 months of free: Expertly curated ad-free music. Pandora artist stations. Live sports. Celebrity hosts, comedians and newscasters. Howard Stern and more. More info: Listen on your phone, at home and more with the SXM App. See offer details.     4. ⚡️ Lightning round Photo: Brian Babineau/NBAE via Getty Image   🏀 Celtic pride: Jaylen Brown (41-12) went off in Wednesday's win over the Pelicans, becoming just the sixth player in Celtics history with multiple 40-point, 10-rebound games. 🍼 Osaka's expecting: Four-time major champion Naomi Osaka, 25, announced Wednesday that she's pregnant and will miss the 2023 season. ⚾️ Correa signs: Carlos Correa's six-year, $200 million deal with the Twins was finalized Wednesday after the shortstop passed his physical. Third time's a charm. 🍿 "Full Swing" trailer: The first trailer for "Full Swing," Netflix's new docuseries about the PGA Tour from the creators of "Formula 1: Drive to Survive," was released Wednesday. The series premieres Feb. 15. ⚾️ Record revenue: MLB revenue exceeded $10.8 billion last season, breaking the previous record of $10.7 billion in 2019, per Forbes.     5. 🏈 Pro Bowl skills competitions unveiled Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios   The NFL on Wednesday announced the eight skills competitions that Pro Bowlers will compete in the week before Super Bowl LVII, Jeff writes. Why it matters: They sound fun! Pro Bowl viewership has dwindled recently, with last year's game drawing its smallest audience since 2006. The league hopes the updated format will reinvigorate interest in the event. The competitions: Each event pits the AFC vs. the NFC, with the winner earning three points for their conference (24 points available). Dodgeball: Four teams of five players play a dodgeball tournament. Lightning Round: 16 players per conference participate in a three-part elimination challenge featuring water balloon toss, punt-catching and a carnival-style target game aimed at dumping a bucket of water on a coach's head. Longest Drive: Four players per conference see who can hit a golf ball the farthest. Precision Passing: Each conference's three QBs battle in a timed accuracy competition. Best Catch: Two players per conference will aim to impress judges by catching passes in creative ways. Gridiron Gauntlet: Six players per conference participate in a relay race that includes climbing over walls and pushing someone on a blocking sled. Kick-Tac-Toe: Each team's kicker, punter and long snapper compete in a giant game of tic-tac-toe. Move the Chains: Four teams of five will race to pull a weighted wall 10 yards using first-down chains. Plus: The week ends with the Pro Bowl's first flag football games in lieu of tackle. The first two games are each worth six points, and the final game begins with the cumulative score earned by each conference during the week. Winner takes all.     6. 🌎 The world in photos Photo: PressFocus/MB Media/Getty Images KATOWICE, Poland — Meet Pax, the mascot for the 28th Men's World Handball Championship, which began Wednesday and is being co-hosted by Poland and Sweden. Go deeper: Tournament preview (Olympics) Now *that's* a relevant sponsorship. Photo: Tim Clayton/Corbis via Getty Images PARIS — Lionel Messi scored in his first game since becoming a world champ, leading PSG to a 2-0 win Wednesday over Angers. Go deeper: Messi and Mbappé are teammates again, whether they like it or not (WSJ) Photo: Justin Setterfield/Getty Images LONDON — Professional snooker is no joke.     7. 📺 Watchlist: Intriguing doubleheader Data: CBS Sports; Chart: Axios Visuals Tonight's NBA doubleheader features two heavyweight clashes on TNT, which should see an uptick in viewership now that "Thursday Night Football" has concluded. Celtics at Nets (7:30pm, TNT): Boston (30-12) has won eight of 10; Brooklyn (27-13) has won 18 of 20, but just lost Kevin Durant (MCL sprain) for a month. Mavericks at Lakers (10pm, TNT): Luka Dončić is averaging 41-11-9 in his last nine; LeBron James has averaged 38-9-8 in four games since turning 38. More to watch: 🏒 NHL: Maple Leafs at Red Wings (7pm, ESPN) 🏀 NCAAM: No. 8 Gonzaga at BYU (9:30pm, ESPN); Utah at No. 7 UCLA (11pm, Pac-12) 🏀 NCAAW: No. 9 Maryland at No. 6 Indiana (6:30pm, BTN) ⚽️ NWSL: Draft (6pm, CBSSN/Paramount+) ⚽️ Premier League: Fulham vs. Chelsea (3pm, Peacock) ⛳️ PGA: Sony Open (12pm, ESPN+; 7pm, Golf) … At Honolulu's Waialae Country Club. 🏒 Women's U18 Worlds: Sweden vs. Slovakia (10am, ESPN+); Finland vs. Czechia (2pm, ESPN+)     8. 🪂 The Ocho: Paramotor slalom Giphy Sometimes, good old fashioned paragliding just isn't enough of a rush. That's where paramotor slalom comes in, Jeff writes. What's happening: 40 pilots from 12 countries recently competed in the 4th World Paramotor Slalom Championships in the Czech Republic. Pilots — wearing paragliders attached to a propeller engine on their back — navigate water courses, weaving in and out of 26-foot-tall inflatable pylons. The goal is to complete the courses as fast as possible, and the best pilots with the best equipment can reach 60+ mph. The big picture: Paramotor slalom competitions have evolved rapidly over the past decade, beginning with above-ground races in 2010 using sticks as obstacles. By 2013, the first World Championships were held in France, with inflatable pylons replacing those sticks. By 2017, the competition had shifted to the water for the sake of pilot safety. 🪂 Watch: Paramotor slalom footage (YouTube)     9. 🏈 NFL trivia Photo: Megan Briggs/Getty Images   With Tua Tagovailoa ruled out for Sunday (concussion protocol), the Dolphins enter the playoffs without their primary starting QB for the second straight time (2016). Question: Who was the 2016 primary starter who missed the playoffs? Hint: Still active. Answer at the bottom.     10. 🏀 1 streak thing: Something had to give Giphy No. 22 Charleston (17-1) eked out a 71-69 win over UNC Wilmington (14-4) Wednesday night, Jeff writes. The two teams entered the game with the longest and second-longest active win streaks in D-I men's basketball. Charleston extended its streak to 16 straight, while Wilmington's ends at 13. The intrigue: The Cougars are having a season to remember. Their No. 22 ranking is the program's highest since 1999, and their only loss came against then-No. 1 UNC.     A message from SiriusXM Stream SiriusXM now and get 3 months for free     Stream more than 425 channels on your devices for free on the SXM App, including expertly curated ad-free music, live sports, personalized stations and more. Next steps: Sign up now to get 3 months free. Cancel anytime. Learn more about the offer and start streaming. See offer details.   Talk tomorrow, Kendall "Kick-Tac-Toe is my passion" Baker Trivia answer: Ryan Tannehill 🙏 Have a great day! Follow us for more (@kendallbaker and @jeffreytracy). Friends can sign up here. Thanks to Carolyn DiPaolo for copy edits. Are you a fan of this email format? 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