Latest news with #FrankSchwab
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Browns name Joe Flacco Week 1 starter - but how long will he last?
Yahoo Sports host Andrew Siciliano, senior NFL writer Frank Schwab and senior NFL reporter Jori Epstein discuss Cleveland's choice for its starting quarterback to open the season. Hear the full conversation on 'Inside Coverage' - and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you listen. View more Video Transcript The Cleveland Browns today named Joe Flacco. He's a man, he's 40 as their starting quarterback, not just for a dress rehearsal. This coming Saturday, a 1 o'clock matinee at Huntington Bank Field against the Rams, in which Sean McVay will play nobody. He might even sign guys off the street to take Rams jerseys and to keep his guys healthy. So Joy, it is Joe Flacco, who took the Browns to the playoffs down the stretch in 2023, who doesn't just win by default. He wins because right now he's the best guy. Absolutely. And I think even before these injuries, this always seemed like the most likely outcome week one to me. I mean, Andrew, you and I saw each other at the Browns during mini camp before the summer break, before training camp. And to me, I left there thinking this is not a 4-way quarterback battle. This is 2 2-way quarterback battles. There is the veteran battle for week one and there is the rookie battle of, hey, who is most likely to be the one who gets a chance later in. The season if they decide to go from when now mode to, let's develop and plan for the future and determine if our guy's in-house mode. And I think that when I asked so many people around Cleveland, everyone from general manager Andrew Berry to head coach Kevin Stefanski, offensive coordinator Tommy Reese, what they were aligned on is the idea that their week one starter would be decided based on who is best able to operate the offense and make smart decisions. I think we, you know, we always talk about two things could be true as Joe Flacco is their best quarterback and also that is a sad statement for the Cleveland Browns because we saw Joe Flacco last year. The Colts tried to bench Anthony Richardson to say we need some time with Anthony. They watched two weeks of Flacco and they're like, Oh, we can't do this either. So anyway, that's your Browns starting quarterback in week one, Huzzah, and it just, it's, it's just, it, and also, yes, you're right, you can't put a guy out there when he's not ready. You can't put out the worst quarterback, but it also worked kind of both ways for Cleveland. We've talked all the time about their first 6 games, 1 and 5 wouldn't even be that bad of an outcome. 0 and 6 is on the table for them. It's an absolutely brutal start to the season. So you get through those six games, probably at some point in those six games or right after. Flacco gets benched, you go on to the next guy, and then you probably go on to the next. I'm full. I'll say this: I've said it. Four quarterbacks are going to start for the Cleveland Browns this year. I don't know when exactly Kenny Pickett's going to take over, and Dorian Thompson-Robinson's gonna take over, Shadoor's gonna take over, but I do believe all four quarterbacks will at least start one game this year, because I think you're going to want to get a look at both rookies, but I think can you pick a second line? I don't think Joe Flacco is making the season. It's just a mess in Cleveland. Look, their starting quarterback for 2026 is going to be playing on Saturdays this year, okay, like that. None of these guys are going to end up being the answer. Much less Joe Flacco. I think the biggest question is at what point do you say we need to see the kids, and then which of the young quarterbacks is the first one up? If you believe depth charts, and I don't put a lot of stock in them right now, it is still Gabriel three and Sanders four. That could change, right? They both played well, and by the way, it's not a binary decision. Browns fans, it is okay to say that both Shadoor Sanders and Dorian Gabriel played well. Like I I don't have to pick right now. They both played well. And if you're one of those fans out there that is screaming, this one's good and that one's awful, whichever one, you're probably not a Browns fan. You're probably a fan of one of those two quarterbacks from college, and you're just rooting. But I digress. Eventually, and Jimmy Haslam has said this, you're gonna have to see what you have. The question is when. Close
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Do the Browns set themselves up with off-field controversies?
Yahoo Sports host Andrew Siciliano, senior NFL writer Frank Schwab and senior NFL reporter Jori Epstein discuss Cleveland's signing of Isaiah Bond and the wait to sign a contract with Quinshon Judkins following both players' recent court cases. Hear the full conversation on 'Inside Coverage' - and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you listen. View more Video Transcript It's not the only news about the Browns today. Isaiah Bond, we talked about this last Thursday, has now officially signed. The former Alabama and Texas wide receiver had a no-bill against him, meaning a sexual assault allegation. The charges, or rather the DA in Texas, the state's attorney decided not to follow through with charges this past week, and the Browns signed Isaiah Bond today for a 3-year guaranteed contract for north of $3 million which means he's making the team. Which means maybe Deontay Johnson, uh, his roster spot is in danger. So the Browns, you'd have to think, feel that they get a 2nd or 3rd round value for a guy that they were able to sign off the street. In essence, it's a free draft pick. It should be noted, however, Frank, that the number 36 overall pick, Quinon Judkins, the running back from Ohio State, who, much like Bond will not face charges, an allegation of domestic abuse in Florida that was between minicamp and the start of training camp, has still not yet signed. Friend of ESPN, Adam Schefter reports that he may not sign until the NFL wraps up its investigation. And if you're Quinon Judkins, Frank, you're probably going, you. Isaiah Bond, 3 million guaranteed. I would like my full guarantee. Yet he's already run afoul of the law, even with charges being dropped, he could be suspended. So that looks like an impasse. It just seems like why would this franchise of all franchises be the one always in that business, but I get it, a bond, you feel like you're getting a discount. With Judkins, I think it's just getting really, really complicated and messy. They're a wait for the NFL to rule and try to sign him to a contract. I hate. I say this before we've even played a game with either of these guys, but the Browns took Judkins over Trayvon Henderson, who looks absolutely unbelievable so far with the Patriots. I don't know. It's one thing to bring in a player. The Browns do have this pattern of just person after person, and I know speeding tickets and domestic violence and sexual assault are not in the same categories, but don't, doesn't it feel like we're getting to a point where the Browns have way more off-field headlines rather than on-field headlines? I understand why people want to read into it. It's a string, those, you know, I don't say unfortunate events, but they're kind of all unrelated. But yeah, I mean, obviously those headlines are what they are. Those headlines don't get forgotten until you play a game, and they're going to play a game coming up on the set on September 7th, and we'll see what happens. Close
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Why Travis Hunter's two-way ability will be a work in progress for Jaguars
Yahoo Sports host Andrew Siciliano, senior NFL writer Frank Schwab and senior NFL reporter Charles Robinson discuss how Jacksonville is utilizing the second overall pick in training camp and why the teams' approach to use him on both sides of the ball will be constantly changing this season. Hear the full conversation on 'Inside Coverage' - and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you listen. View more Video Transcript How did they use Travis Hunter today? What was he like, I know you said maybe that limited him a little bit, because of the hard fall he took. How are they using him? Did they use him like the preseason game, where it was like, oh, first team offense, second team defense. Mm, OK, now we can figure out a little bit about his usage. So he began with defensive snaps today. It was primarily he was out there with uh the defense initially, but they did rotate him, and, you know, he got good usage, but when I, I had a chance to speak to somebody. Um, in the building about where this whole thing was going forward with Travis. And, you know, two things that I thought were really interesting are, he agreed the data set for how much he can be used is, there's no real data set right now because you have to throw out Colorado. What happened in college gave him the opportunity to step in the NFL and try to play on both sides of the ball, try to start on both sides of the ball and, and play a high number of snaps. But because the NFL's level of intensity and study, and speed, and all these other things are different, it corrupts that entire data set. Now, it's like, they're building the data set now. They're watching now. They're studying the GPS now, and they're learning really what the true data set is ultimately going to be. And I would argue they won't really have it until they're halfway through the season or maybe through the full 2025 season will they actually understand how exactly they can rotate him. And the second thing that the person I was speaking to talked about and that really hit me was, you know, they're going to use the rotation in the best way possible that affords them the ability to win games. And to do that, sometimes you have to put an opposing team off-kilter, whether it's offensively or defensively. So you have opponents who come in going, OK, based on the first 3 weeks of the season or 4 weeks or whatever, this is what we're gonna get from Travis Hunter. But the Jaguars decide, no, you know what, 85% of his usage is going to be on the defensive side of the ball, and the opponent's not prepared for that. Or 100% of the usage is going to be on the offensive side of the ball. And again, that's a mismatch that you create that maybe the opponent isn't necessarily expecting. So, it's just interesting to see how they're really working through this. James Gladstone has said, and Andrew Barry, who obviously worked with him, and to make the deal, Browns, GM, they have both said; others have said as well. Um, people with the pro day, for example, at Boulder, the guy doesn't get tired. Like he, he could run 115 plays, he doesn't get tired. Everybody agrees that can't happen in the NFL. Uh, Bucky Brooks, uh, friend of the program, NFL Network draft analyst, and also the Jaguars sideline reporter. He was up in the booth doing coloring. The preseason TV broadcast as well. You know, Bucky has noted that the offensive side of the ball that people thought would just be easy. I mean, you could say he's wide receiver one. It is a transition for Travis Hunter because, hey, we're not just holding up cards on the sideline like you're in Boulder, right? You don't just have like a reasonably simple route tree where he's the focal point of the offense anyway, right? Should look right Travis throwing the ball. Not that everything is that simple. Please don't misunderstand me, but that when you're trying to assimilate on both sides of the ball as a rookie, it's not the physical. Excuse me, that is in any way going to slow down Travis Hunter. It's just the overwhelming nature of learning the intricacies Frank, of both sides of the ball. Close
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Will Jon Gruden & Brian Flores lawsuits change NFL arbitration forever?
Yahoo Sports host Andrew Siciliano, senior NFL writer Frank Schwab and senior NFL reporter Charles Robinson discuss the ongoing lawsuits between the former head coaches and the league - and what is the most likely outcome. Hear the full conversation on 'Inside Coverage' - and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you listen. View more Video Transcript This is gonna get a little bit in the weeds here, but this is important. And let me explain to the average NFL fan why it is important. It has to do, guys, with arbitration, and the league basically has a system that if you are disciplined and you appeal, the appeal very often goes to the commissioner. Now there are also appeals officers, right, that the league has as well, usually former players, but very often the fun can go all the way up to Roger Goodell. Jon Gruden and Brian Flores both have pending cases. When it comes to Gruden, he claims that the league released or leaked emails, and that led to his firing with the Raiders. He has a suit in Nevada, Brian Flores has a suit as well. He couldn't get a head coaching job after the Dolphins fired him. In both cases, Charles, there are now rulings pushing back against the concept that Roger Goodell or the head of any corporation is the final arbiter of discipline within that structure. That doesn't work. It's gonna affect the NFL's arbitration system because the league now has to sit there and look at this and say, this has been a huge legal battle right now with these coaches, and we have to look and be forward thinking and know that if, if we want them in that arbitration system, we're gonna have to bargain that. There's going to have to be something in place that gives us the power to push them very clearly in writing through the arbitration system rather than through a normal court, a normal court system. So it's, the NFL as a league, not wanting to air its dirty laundry. is on the verge with these two lawsuits of being put in a situation where a lot of dirty laundry could ultimately get aired or at the very least, people are gonna be poking around in emails and other documents, and, and, you know, talking to people under oath in ways that, that I think would make the league uncomfortable. Charles, I just want to ask you real quick, what do you think the odds are that these guys just play it out because the NFL's playbook on it, look, and the NFL's arbitration process has always been kind of trash, and they overstepped their bounds. We all know that. But I think a lot of people, how this is going to appeal to people is, Oh, the NFL is going to have to release all these emails and discovery. This is all going to be public information. Wow, okay. How likely do you think it is Gruden and or Flores say, I don't want your settlement check. I want you to get aired out in court. That's what I want. Because Gruden, I think, has said that this case has gone on so long that I can't remember it, but I do remember a quote at the beginning of basically Gruden saying, and I'm paraphrasing in a, in a very general way, my coaching career in the NFL is probably over anyway. I just want to get to the NFL court and arris. So how likely do you think it is that it goes to that because everybody settles? Hey, Kaepernick. That was the one I was like, Oh, they're going to go to court. And then Kaepernick settled. I was like, oh, that's disappointing. How, how likely do you think it is? I will say this. I have no doubt whatsoever that if this gets into the point of, um, where discovery is going to open or where this is getting pushed into, you know, a courtroom in, in, in front of a jury, I would be stunned if the NFL does not attempt, at the very least, to write a check and get this handled rather than go forward and have people rooting through emails and, you know, at least in the Gruden case. You, whoever leaked the emails to the media, um, that ultimately led to Jon Gruden's firing, that will come out. Uh, it's almost impossible that that would not come out in discovery. So if that's an individual, um, at 345 Park Avenue, it is in the NFL's best interest to make sure they, they, um, obscure that individual's identity in any way possible. And the way to do it would be through money. Close
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Inside Paramount's record-smashing $7.7B UFC media rights knockout
This week on Yahoo Finance Sports Report, host Joe Pompliano takes a look at some of this week's biggest headlines in the sports business world that you and your portfolio need to know. From the UFC's $7.7 billion media rights deal with Paramount (PSKY) to Shohei Ohtani's legal troubles over a $240 million real estate project, to the latest low-cost trendy snacks for athletes, there are a ton of money moves reshaping the sports financial playbook. . Yahoo Sports Senior Writer Frank Schwab joins the show to preview the upcoming NFL season. Plus, The Athletic women's sports lead Meg Linehan stops by to discuss growth in the NWSL and what the future looks like for the women''s soccer league. Yahoo Finance Sports Report with Joe Pompliano, a vodcast brought to you by Yahoo Finance and Yahoo Sports, looks beyond the latest sports business headlines, analyzes all the need-to-know news - the teams, trades, and billion-dollar deals - so you and your portfolio will win BIG. Welcome to Yahoo Finance Sports Report, a unique look at the business of sports brought to you by Yahoo Finance and Yahoo Sports. I'm your host, Joe Pomliano, and I'm here to coach you through the financial game. Today we've got Yahoo Sports senior writer Frank Schwab coming back on the show to get a pulse check on the NFL, and Meg Linehan, women's sports lead of the athletic, joining us to talk about the top stories in women's sports. Let's huddle up and get right into are kicking off this week with POM's Playbook, where I take a look at some of the biggest headlines in sports that you and your portfolio need to know. First up, let's talk UFC. The UFC struck a massive seven year $7.7 billion deal with Paramount and CBS for its US media rights earlier this week. Starting in 2026, all UFC events will stream exclusively on Paramount Plus, ending the UFC's previous pay per view model with ESPN. Some events will also be simulcast on CBS, including, and I can't believe I'm actually going UFC's 4th of July fight night taking place on the White House lawn next summer. And speaking of the White House, despite President Trump's tariffs, Swiss athletic shoe and apparel company On absolutely crushed Wall Street expectations for its 2nd quarter earnings with $923 million in Q2 sales, a 32% increase from 2024. Here's what On CEO Martin Hoffman said about the company's ability to navigate the impact of tariffs and raise its full year guidance on our very own weekday morning show Market Catalyst. We are a fast growing brand, and with that we have so many opportunities to mitigate that impact this allows us to increase our margin outlook. It allows us to be very confident that also in the long term, that 60% plus cross profit margin that we laid out two years ago is still what we believe in and what we believe we can achieve. And and so it becomes part of our business now having having those tariffs. Next up, found himself in another legal dispute. According to the Associated Press, the Los Angeles Dodgers superstar and his agent Nes Balleo are being sued for allegedly sabotaging a $240 million real estate project in Hawaii. The lawsuit was filed by a Hawaii real estate investor and broker who alleges that Otani and Balleo got the two fired from a luxury housing project that Otani was set to endorse. And last up,ESPN and Fox announced earlier this week that the companies will offer a joint bundle for their new streaming services. Starting October 2nd, consumers can buy ESPN's upcoming direct to consumer streaming service and the new Fox 1 DTC streaming app as a bundle for $40 a month, saving $10 in monthly calls. The bundle gives cord cutters and cord never yet another option to consider for watching sports in the new age of streaming, which is starting toAn awful lot like cable. And as football fans decide whether to buy another streaming package from ESPN and Fox for the 2025 NFL season, Yahoo Sports senior writer Frank Schwab joins us to discuss a few burning questions across the league with less than a month to go until regular season kickoff. Frank, thanks so much for joining us today. I'd love to talk about a question that we often think about, but we don't usually have the answer for before the coaches across the NFL are on the hot seat, like actually on the hot seat for 2025 and could get fired if things turn south. Yeah, I think we got to start with the New York Giants. Brian Da almost got fired after last season. They don't come into this season with high hopes. I think everybody's picking them for last place in the NFC East. So the Giants Brian Daba absolutely is number one on that list. There's a few other guys, I think if the NFC Titans don't show any improvement, their number one pick, Cam Ward, I think Brian Callahan could be on the hot seat and want to look for kind of down the road a little the Cincinnati Bengals don't make the playoffs again, which he'll throw in his prime, I wonder if Zach Taylor's gonna be in a little trouble there because it's, it's hard to have a quarterback played in MVP level and not make the playoffs, and that the Bengals do that again, I do wonder if Taylor's gonna be in a little bit of trouble there. It hurts me to hear Brian Da as a Giants fan. I'm not saying he's the best coach in the world, but you got a new quarterback you're bringing in. You don't want to change it up again. We've already done that with Daniel Jones and some other guys, so I hope that doesn't happen, but we'll see. The other thing I want to talk about is Shaddoor Sanders. I mean, it feels like we've been talking about him for weeks now since the draft, really, uh, but what is going on in Cleveland? It feels like they're sort of in this middle ground where you have Joe Flacco, who's an experienced veteran who's won a Super Bowl, who is obviously gonna be starting for the it feels like they're gonna be sort of like a 500 team. The team isn't very good other than a few players. Why wouldn't they just start show Sanders and see what they have? Yeah, and I think that's complicated, and I mean, we have to remember that Shodour started training camp 4th, the depth chart. He wasn't even the first quarterback they picked. They picked Dylan Gabriel in the 3rd round, 2 rounds ahead of Shadour. So Shaddoor Sanders came into camp with a lot of ground to make up to to get to the point where he could play at some point this season. I think last week's preseason start really helped him. He looked good. He looked, he looked like he belonged on an NFL field, and that was a big step for him. The crazy part is 2.27 million people watched that on NFL numbers for other leagues where this is a preseason game. That's how much the phenomenon is is impacting the NFL already, but I like you said, the Browns are expected to be very good, but yet,They're gonna start the season with Joe Flacco, see if they could get off to a hot start, but they have a really tough schedule. So you do wonder middle of the season if they start saying, let's get a look at Sanders. Let's get a look at Dylan Gabriel, whoever is higher among those two rookies on the depth chart gets the first crack. And I, I think at some point this season we will in a regular season game. It's just not as as Browns fans or any other NFL fan who's just clamoring for more Shado Sanders stuff to talk about as they would like. Yeah, it will certainly help with ticket prices, that's for sure. What about Travis Hunter? Obviously his teammate at Colorado, he comes in with the Jacksonville Jaguars. Uh, he played both positions, right, offense and defense in college. They claim he's going to be doing that in the NFL. He looks like he's more of a wide receiver right now for them than a defensive back, but they played him a little bit there in the preseason. How do you think they do this throughout the regular season? Yeah, and it's funny. I, I mean, we talked about Sanders a lot, and Colorado, I mean his Colorado teammate, I think is the biggest story of the NFL season because we've never seen this before where a guy playing both ways, not to this extent anyway, but we've never seen a guy win a Heisman Trophy playing offense and defense either. The Jaguars traded a lot to move up to the 2nd pick to draft Hunter, andI believe they did so with the mindset of we're getting two players in one right here, and I think they're going to utilize him that way, at least until Hunter struggles or he can't do it physically. But everybody at Jaguar's camp has been saying this guy just doesn't get tired. We practiced him on both sides and he's just fine. In the preseason opener, he played extensive snaps with the starting offense, a lot of snaps with the second team defense. I, I think that they're going into the season, ready to play him on offense, a receiver, defensive cornerback, and I can't wait. We've never really seen anything like this. It's an from a unicorn of an athlete and Travis. I think this is a great thing for the Jacksonville Jaguars, a great thing for the NFL. It it is absolutely one of the stories of the season I'm gonna be following, and I do, I absolutely expect the Jaguars to use him as much as they could kind of get out of him on offense anddefense this year. Yeah, I mean, I can't wait to see the tracking data from some of his first games where they show how much he ran on offense and defense combined, how many plays he played and everything, but there's so many storylines. Frank, thank you so much for joining us. Absolutely, I appreciate it. We have to take a quick break, but when we come back, we've got Meg Linehan, women's sports leader of the athletics, stopping by the back to Yahoo Finance Sports Report. I'm your host, Joe Pagliano. We've made it to the one on one, a conversation where I get to break down news and sports with a key player in the industry. This week we're speaking with Meg Linehan, women's sports lead at the athletic and co-host of the Full-time podcast. Meg, thank you so much for joining us today. II'd like to start with the NWSL. The NWSL for people who don't follow the league, feels like it's grown a ton over the last number of years. I mean, franchise valuations are up, media rights are up, sponsorships are up, attendance is up, literally everything is up. What is your just like 30,000 ft view of how much the league has grown over the last few years? Yeah, I mean, as someone who's been around the league since year one, it is night and day considered to where we used to be, but I think it is really interesting of just, you know, what everybody is viewing as explosive growth, whether that's valuations of teams, whether that's expansion ship fees, whether that's media rights. There's a lot of like very good healthy signals of the growth and that growth being overall generally pretty positive. But from my pointOf you as someone who's been around the league forever, I think what is really interesting is we've seen some of these other key indicators of the health of the league maybe lag a little behind that, whether that's, you know, attendance numbers are good and they're definitely way better than what they used to be, but are they where they should be? Are TV numbers where they should be, or the kind of, you know, casual knowledge of the NWL in the United States? Is that where it should be at? And that's where I think the league still has some work to do. Yeah, and when you think about those numbers specifically, it almost sounds like you think it's sort of a good thing in some regard, right? Because if we look at the WNBA franchise evaluations have exploded, expansion fees have exploded, they got a new media rights deal, but maybe that's like a little too much, whereas the NWSL some of those things are growing while some others are a little bit more stagnant. Where do you think that the the league itself can sort of improve to get awareness up when it comes to some of those other items like attendance? Yeah, I think there's just still a lot of work to be done within markets, right? I mean, this is kind of the challenge is you're going up against men's leagues that have had decades to grow, right, and to become the teams that everybody knows and loves. There's generational fandom and for a league that's still under basically 15 years old, you just need time on that front. So there's time, but I still think that there's work to be done on the marketing side. I mean, this year, the NWL kind of honestly made headlines just for having a Times which I think most other leagues would look at and be like, yeah, well, why, why weren't you doing that before, right? So there are still some of those just basic things, but they've got to, they've got to get the knowledge up within the markets that they have because also we're looking at 16 cities across the US, so compare that to NFL or most other major leagues, that's about half. So it's really time, investment, all of those things that aren't necessarily like the most appealing to talk about, but are just necessary to the growth of any league. Yeah, and as someone who's followed the league for so long, what do you see as helping that, right? What, what ultimately leads that success, right? And I ask because, uh, I moved to Charlotte a couple of years ago, and they obviously have an MLS team and a lot of people go to the MLS games. I mean, the first game of the season always gets 40, 50, 60,000 people, a little bit less for the rest of the it feels like they had a lot of successes just getting people to the games, and then it becomes sort of this regionalized thing, similar to the NWL MSL MLS, etc. where you're getting people to the games and then it's regional rather than national like the NFL. Do you see that attendance is a big factor in sort of driving that fandom? Yeah, I definitely think if you go to a game, it's really hard to not want to follow the NWL in general. I think that's, that's the whole reason why after this international break this summer, teams are actually trying to get fans in the door by offering if you've never been to an NWL game before, they will give you free tickets to come in because they are so confident that once you're in the door, you're going to want to stay in the door. So that I think is a I also don't think it's a bad thing to want to be regionalized. Like I, you know, I'm up in Burlington, Vermont. Our local soccer team is USL too. They just won the national championship. It is extremely, if you're in Burlington, Vermont, you know Vermont Green, right? They're trying to start a women's team, all of these things. Being super community focused is not a bad thing, but when you're the NWL as a want that national recognition, you want to have the cultural influence that the WNDA has, for instance, then regional will only get you so far. The challenge is straddling that line of what will keep your dedicated fans and your, your community fans in the door without sacrificing like what makes the NW so special, and that's like such a big question to try to have to grapple with as a league. Yeah, it feels like every league is sort of trying to determine the national reach versus the regional, and, and some leagues are doing it well. Some, some are certainly focusing on one over the other, but you mentioned expansion teams earlier, and there's a couple of new teams who are going to be joining the league in 2026 in Boston and Denver. What do you think of the league's expansion process overall and sort of how they've run that uh over the last couple of years? Yeah, Boston is not actually going to be a new market for the NWBL. There was an end of the sell team when the league started in Boston that was forced to fold. So it is a return for the NWBL to this market that honestly, like, they did have a hard time cracking it the first time around. I mean, Boston is a team that love is a city that loves its sports. There are multiple teams to compete with, so it's going to be really interesting to see if the current version of the NWL and that product is going to have anEasier time cracking that market. Denver, we all know within the women's soccer world as like a hotbed of youth soccer, has produced like insanely talented stars. So Denver to me seems like a market that's going to have a really easy time of, you know, getting a foothold in that community, immediately becoming part of the sports landscape. But from an NWL higher level perspective, what is really interesting is they don't seem content to be stopping at the challenge is finding a timeline where you can continue to add teams, continue to bring in, you know, these multi multimillion dollar expansion fees without sacrificing the quality on the field, and Commissioner Jessica Berman has said on record like, well, why couldn't we be as big as the NFL? The challenge is getting there in the right number of years without like, you know, suddenly you've got 4 teams coming in at a time and it's just chaos. Yeah, and I think most casual sports fans at least have probably seen the Kansas City Current stadium over there. Their valuation has obviously increased dramatically because it now they have this, uh, women's specific soccer stadium. I think it was the first of its kind. What have you seen on the ownership front? Have owners been willing to invest more money in their teams and their facilities over the last number of years with sort of this boom in women's sports that we've seen? Totally. I mean, the investment is really night and day. I mean, between the expansion fees, the, the valuations, right, like the money is flowing in and Kansas City is a really interesting example of this because so much of it was privately funded, right? Like we talk about public funding on, on the men's sports side a lot in terms of teams wanting new stadiums to upgrade stadiums, whatever it may be, whereas with Kansas City, this was also, in essence, a real estate play for these owners of saying like, hey, we're going to come in, we're going to spend millions of dollars, not just to build a soccer specific also this beautiful training facility as well and watch that investment pay off basically instantaneously. They got, they were able to host the NWL championship last year. They're hosting international games. They're probably going to make a play for hosting teams during the 2026 World Cup for the men. So there is an investment piece, but we're also seeing that reward immediately come through for owners who are willing to spend in a way that we never saw in the early days of the NWSL. I saw a recent article that you wrote on the coaching change, uh, for the North Carolina Courage, and essentially for those who haven't seen the piece yet was, uh, it wasn't communicated in the best sense was my take on it. I'd love to just talk to you about that story specifically and figure out if this was sort of growing pains for the NWSL or if you think it was something different. Yeah, I mean, growing pains is, is maybe not quite the right term for it just because, you know, back in 2021 and honestly, since then, the NWBL is still grappling with this abuse scandal that hit the league and part of that was because there weren't proper reporting mechanisms, coaches were allowed to move from team to team. There were a lot of investigations like if, if people are coming into the league more recently, they've seen a lot of the results of what happened in 2021 without maybe necessarily understanding the full what is really interesting is North Carolina Courage was one of the teams that was really impacted by that abuse scandal. Their coach at that time was immediately fired following reporting that we actually did at the athletic. And so I think there's a zero tolerance thing going on in terms of potential behavior, but also we're seeing kind of the same struggle within the NWL in terms of communicating why coaches are fired, and I want to also preface this by saying,You know, there's always going to be potential legal issues when you fire anyone or a contract is ended. So there's always going to have to be some level of public transparency, not necessarily being where we would like it to be in the endWL versus things beingProperly communicated to players or staffers, whatever that is. So there's that piece of it, but the way that North Carolina Courage handled it was one of the most combative press conferences I've ever been a part of, just kind of, it was so strange and it just, it was a reminder of some of the really painful days that this league has had and one team's behavior can also reflect on the league as a whole, and that, that's where the NWL can get into trouble all of the time. Yeah, and lastly, I'd loveto just hear your, uh, your thoughts on sort of like what the NWSL can do from a growth perspective, sort of going back to what we were discussing earlier. Obviously, the men's World Cup is coming here next summer. We just had the Club World Cup this past summer. There's a lot of talk about how MLS is going to benefit from this. How do you think NWSL also benefits from just more people watching soccer in general? Yeah, I think there's always, you know, that, that mutual boost, no matter what it is. I think we always see more of a boost off of the Women's World Cup. The next one of those is 2027 in Brazil. But obviously, you know, you see these massive waves of interest coming off of 2023 when the US women's national team won in both 2015 and 2019, there were massive spikes coming off of those two things. But I think hosting the tournament in the United know, it's going to be expensive to go to a World Cup, right? So I think MLS will benefit, but also NWSL will in terms of affordability, again, in terms of feeling like if you get someone in the door, if you're able to come up with that ticket promo or whatever it is to get someone in the door that they're going to want to stay and knowing that the NWL, even compared to MLS is stacked with some of the world's talent with so many of the US women's national team players. There's a lot of room here for the NWL to honestly force its way into the conversation around 2026, and we've started to see it too, where host cities are leaning on NWL players to be part of their committees around what host cities will be doing. So I feel encouraged, but the big challenge for the the moment of next summer is, how do they play through a men's international tournament being hosted here in the US and we haven't quite seen the answer to that yet. They're starting to trickle out some details about how they're thinking about doing this, but just from a logistical standpoint, they're going to have a tough time, but if they can figure it out and figure it out well, then they really do stand to benefit. Yeah, having that happen at the same time might actually be beneficial, but there's so much money flowing into women's sports in general, and you guys are right at the center of it at the athletics. So Meg, thank you so much for joining us today. Thank you for having me. The clock is winding down here, but we have just enough time for some final buzz. According to a recent feature story from Cindy Kuzma at Front Office Sports. Endurance athletes are turning to an unexpected snack to fuel their performance. Apparently a classic snack with a little snap crackle and pop has become the go to fuel source for endurance athletes. Yes, I'm talking about Rice Krispie treats. Front Office Sports spoke to multiple endurance athletes in to confirm that the Rice Krispy Street's trend is indeed real. Professional runner Molly Huddle even told FOS that she eats a box of 16 Rice Krispy treats before running marathons. Here's the gist of it. Most runners and cyclists consume mass loads of easily digestible cars before races and training sessions to ensure that they have enough glycogen stored in their muscles that their bodies can turn the glucose into performance fuel. ManyOf these endurance athletes will also eat simple carbohydrates during competition to stay energized, sometimes between $90 to 120 carbs per hour. However, products like energy gels and chews can cost anywhere from $2 to $5 per serving, not to mention that they may not taste all that great either, and that's where Rice Krispy treats come in. At 30 cents apiece, the Kellogg's snack gives endurance athletes an affordable fueling simple carbohydrates that also happens to taste pretty good. And while there's no hard data on how much endurance athletes are spending on Rice Krispie treats, Kelenova, the parent company behind the kids snap, said in the 2024 company presentation that buyers are spending 33% more on Rice Krispy treats compared to 2018. So the next time someone tells you to put down that Rice Krispies treat, just tell them that you're fueling up for a run or a bike all out of time, so it's officially game over for this week. Thank you so much to Frank, Meg, and for all of you for joining us. Please make sure to scan the QR code below to follow Yahoo Finance podcast for more videos and expert insights and catch us every Friday wherever you get your podcast. I'm your host, Joe Pomliano. See you next content was not intended to be financial advice and should not be used as a substitute for professional financial services. Related Videos PPI comes in hot: When will wholesale inflation hit consumers? Oil investors 'focusing' on fundamentals, not political noise Oil prices under pressure after IEA projects record oil surplus What Tencent Results Say About China Corporate Outlook Yahoo Finance Sports Report is developed and produced by Lauren Pokedoff. Sign in to access your portfolio
