| | | | | | | Presented By MOXY | | | | Axios Sports | | By Kendall Baker · Jan 31, 2023 | | 👋 Good morning! Welcome to Tuesday, the worst day of the week (according to my very official rankings). 🏀 Decent company: Luka Dončić scored 53 points in Monday night's win over the Pistons, becoming just the third player in the last 50 years with five 50-point games in their first five seasons. The other two? MJ and LeBron. Today's word count: 1,490 words (6 minutes) Let's sports... | | | | | | 1 big thing: 🏀 College basketball is chaos |  Data: AP; Chart: Axios Visuals Selection Sunday is 40 days away, and the race to cut down the nets is wide open, Axios' Jeff Tracy and I write. State of play: There have already been 50 teams ranked in the men's college basketball AP Top 25, the most ever through 13 weeks. For reference: That's 14% of all D-I programs. - It also took until Jan. 30 for voters to reach any kind of consensus: Purdue became the first unanimous No. 1 of the season on Monday, and the Boilermakers weren't even ranked in the preseason.
- Speaking of preseason rankings, half of the preseason top 10 is no longer ranked: UNC (preseason No. 1), Kentucky (No. 4), Duke (No. 7), Creighton (No. 9) and Arkansas (No. 10) are all out.
Between the lines: Unpredictability in college basketball is nothing new — eight different champions have been crowned in the past nine tournaments. But even by those standards, this season's chaos is notable. - More than half of last week's top 25 suffered a loss between Monday and Saturday, including seven on Saturday alone.
- Earlier this month, a record-tying 11 ranked teams lost on a single day.
What they're saying: "The balance is so good ... it's going to be hard to get into the tournament," Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim told NYT. "People want to say it's mediocrity, but it's not. There's just good balance." The big picture: The transfer portal is playing a major role in this parity and chaos, as coaches — out of necessity — build their rosters one season at a time, rather than over multiple years. - Parity: Talent is spread more widely as players move seamlessly between programs, creating more "good" teams and fewer "great" ones. Gone are the days of Kentucky and other juggernauts hoarding talent.
- Chaos: Transfer-led teams can crash and burn — or shock the world. Case in point: Kansas State went from being picked to finish last in the Big 12 to being ranked No. 7. Their top two players? Both transfers.
Zoom out: Women's hoops is experiencing similar balance this season. 22 top-10 teams lost before Jan. 1, tied for the most in any year since 2000. - "The most challenging week putting together my poll in my 12 years as a voter," ESPN's Deb Antonelli said earlier this month.
- "We wanted parity and we got it!" she added.
Go deeper: College basketball may be headed for a first-time champ (SI) |     | | | | | | 2. 💵 Sapphire Sport raises $181M |  | | | Illustration: Shoshana Gordon/Axios | | | | In a challenging economic environment, money continues to pour into sports. Driving the news: VC firm Sapphire Sport has raised $181 million in an oversubscribed second fund, adding a wide range of investors from across the sports landscape. Details: Sapphire raised $117 million in 2019 and made 15 early-stage investments in sports-adjacent tech startups like Overtime (media/basketball) and Tonal (fitness). Fund II will take a similar approach. - New limited partners include Madison Square Garden Sports, Arctos Sports Partners and David Blitzer (owners of the 76ers, Devils and Guardians).
- Returning investors include Adidas, AEG, Sinclair Broadcast Group and City Football Group (owner of Manchester City and 10 other clubs).
The big picture: Sports is increasingly at the forefront of innovation, from media disruption to health/fitness technology. - Sports teams understand this better than anyone, which is why so many are investing in the future via Sapphire and other investment vehicles.
- But sports isn't just producing new solutions; it's also an industry desperate for them as fandom rapidly changes (and declines) among young people.
What they're saying: "Investment across every sector of the global sports ecosystem has grown over the past half-decade," Michael Spirito, co-founding partner of Sapphire, told me in an interview. - "And it's driven by entities who have a genuine belief that the power of sport can reach new people and create new business models."
- "Young people are doing things differently," he added. And the future of sports brands is harnessing new technologies to better understand them.
The backdrop: Sapphire isn't the only sports-focused firm that has raised money recently. Courtside Ventures just announced a $100 million fund, with investors including Shaquille O'Neal and Dick's Sporting Goods. | | | | | | | | 3. 🌊 Sports tech: Apple goes surfing |  | | | Ítalo Ferreira of Brazil during last year's Billabong Pro Pipeline. Photo: Tony Heff/World Surf League via Getty Images | | | | A new, tech-infused era of surfing begins this week at the Billabong Pro Pipeline in Oahu, the opening event of the 2023 World Surf League Championship Tour. Driving the news: Surfers will wear Apple Watches during competition, which will be loaded with a specially made WSL app and relay key data to them while they're in the water. - In the past, surfers relied on announcements from the beach via megaphone, alerting them of the score, the standings, how much time remained in a heat, and other crucial information.
- Oftentimes, those announcements were hard to hear. Now, all of that real-time information will be on each surfer's wrist, freeing them to better plan and focus on each wave.
Why it matters: This marks the first time an Apple Watch has been incorporated officially into a pro sport competition, per SBJ. What they're saying: "A common note we've heard in the story of our sport is 'I can't hear what's going on in the water,'" WSL CEO Erik Logan told SBJ. "Imagine what they had to do before they put radios, for example, in NASCAR. This is the equivalent." | | | | | | | | A message from MOXY | | Tired of the Ranting Echo Chambers? | | |  | | | | MOXY puts real political savvy at your fingertips with: - Issue-based forums.
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Try MOXY Free for 30 days or get a MOXY Premium 60-day upgrade with our compliments using code AXIOS2023. Get started. | | | | | | 4. ⚡️ Lightning round |  | | | Illustration: Shoshana Gordon/Axios | | | | 🏈 New salary cap: The 2023 NFL salary cap will be a record $224.8 million, the league said Monday. That's an increase of $16.6 million from the 2022 salary cap, which was $208.2 million. 🏒 RIP, Bobby Hull: Hockey Hall of Famer Bobby "The Golden Jet" Hull, one of the NHL's superstars of the 1960s and the first player to sign a $1 million professional hockey contract, died on Monday at age 84. ⚾️ Chisholm on the cover: Marlins outfielder Jazz Chisholm is the cover athlete for MLB The Show 23, becoming the first Bahamian to grace the cover of a sports video game. 🏒 Horvat trade: The Islanders, in need of an offensive spark as they fight for a playoff berth, traded for Canucks captain Bo Horvat on Monday. | | | | | | | | 5. 🇺🇸 Photos across America | | Amazing. Photo: Richard T Gagnon/Getty Images HERSHEY, Penn. — Hershey Bears fans donated 67,309 stuffed animals during Sunday's annual "Teddy Bear Toss," breaking their own world record of 52,341 set last year. I have seen worse backdrops. Photo: Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images LA JOLLA, Calif. — Can you spot the golfer teeing off at Torrey Pines? Where is the puck? Photo: Bruce Bennett/Getty Images ELMONT, N.Y. — The beautiful game. | | | | | | | | 6. 🌍 Photos around the world | | New Zealand performs the haka after beating South Africa. Photo: Matt King/Getty Images SYDNEY, Australia — New Zealand reigned supreme in the men's and women's tournaments at the HSBC Rugby Sydney Sevens over the weekend. Turns out, the haka works. Photo: Alex Broadway/Getty Images AL ULA, Saudi Arabia — The Saudi Tour is underway in Al Ula, an ancient Arabic city founded in the 6th century BC. Toni Eggert and Sascha Benecken of Germany celebrate winning the gold medal at the Luge World Championships. Photo: Martin Rose/Getty Images OBERHOF, Germany — Feel the rhythm! Feel the rhyme! | | | | | | | | 7. 📺 Watchlist: Sunflower Showdown |  | | | Photo: Peter G. Aiken/Getty Images | | | | No. 8 Kansas hosts No. 7 Kansas State tonight (8pm ET, ESPN+) in the second Sunflower Showdown of the season. - State of play: Kansas State's OT win two weeks ago snapped a seven-game losing streak in the series. Now, they'll try to win in Lawrence for the first time since 2006.
- Players to watch: Wildcats forward Keyontae Johnson has three straight double-doubles; Jayhawks forward Jalen Wilson, a Wooden Award contender, has scored 113 points in his last four games.
More to watch: | | | | | | | | 8. 🐎 The Ocho: Snow polo | | Giphy The Snow Polo World Cup took place over the weekend on a frozen lake in St. Moritz, Switzerland, just as it has every year since 1985, Jeff writes. Details: Over 25,000 fans watched six teams compete in the world's only high-goal (i.e. the highest level of play) polo tournament on snow. - Roughly half of all competitors came from Argentina, which is home to the world's best warm-weather polo players, per Sportico ($).
- Games look a lot like regular polo, but with smaller fields and larger, bright red balls to improve visibility.
Between the lines: Animal welfare is of paramount importance, Sportico reports. - 120 polo ponies are brought to St. Moritz ahead of time so they can acclimate to the cold.
- They wear special horseshoes for traction and have their ankles wrapped in fleece to protect from injuries.
| | | | | | | | 9. 🏀 NBA trivia |  | | | Photo: Stacy Revere/Getty Images | | | | Giannis Antetokounmpo erupted for 50 points on Sunday, making him the fifth player with multiple 50-point games this season. - Question: Who are the other four?
- Hint: Three play in the West.
Answer at the bottom. | | | | | | | | 10. 🏈 1 Big Red thing: Andy vs. the Eagles |  | | | Photos: Mitchell Leff/Getty Images; Jim McIsaac/Getty Images | | | | Andy "Big Red" Reid, who spent 14 seasons in Philadelphia before arriving in Kansas City, will become the fifth head coach to face a former team in the Super Bowl. The other four: Two won, two lost. - Weeb Ewbank, Jets: Beat Colts, 16-7, in Super Bowl III
- Dan Reeves, Falcons: Lost to Broncos, 34-19, in Super Bowl XXXIII
- Jon Gruden, Buccaneers: Beat Raiders, 48-21, in Super Bowl XXXVII
- Pete Carroll, Seahawks: Lost to Patriots, 28-24, in Super Bowl XLIX
| | | | | | | | A message from MOXY | | Real political savvy at your fingertips | | |  | | | | Tired of the ranting echo chambers? MOXY has smarter discourse via issue-based forums, a broad-spectrum newsfeed, personalized politician directory, legislation, ballot info, surveys and more. Try MOXY Free for 30 days or get a MOXY Premium 60-day upgrade using code AXIOS2023. Learn more. | | | | Talk tomorrow, Kendall "Remember when the Hawks traded Luka?" Baker Trivia answer: Luka Dončić, Damian Lillard, Joel Embiid and Devin Booker 🙏 Have the best 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? 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.
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