The NBA Finals between the Thunder and Pacers opens with Game 1 tonight in Oklahoma City, and the matchup stands “in direct opposition to the NBA’s long-standing conventional wisdom that the most famous and influential players shape the championship landscape by assembling super teams in glamorous coastal cities” (WASHINGTON POST, 6/5).

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said that the upcoming NBA Finals matchup between the Thunder and Pacers is a great thing for the league, saying, “The goal is to have a league where every team is in a position to compete.” Silver: “It’s one thing I really admire about the NFL. If we were going into a Super Bowl and it was Packers against Steelers, you guys would be celebrating that. Those would be storied franchises. People wouldn’t be talking about the fact that Pittsburgh is a small market.” Silver noted it has “been intentional” to “create a system, a collective bargaining agreement, that allows more teams to compete.” Silver: “We’re going to have to go through a process of getting to the point where people are accustomed to tuning into the finals, because the two teams deserve to be there, and it’s the best basketball” (“Breakfast Ball”, FS1, 6/4).

The Pacers announced $5 tickets “are available for Gainbridge Fieldhouse watch parties for the first two games” of the NBA Finals. Game 1 watch party tickets went on sale at 10am ET Wednesday, while Game 2 watch party tickets go on sale at 10am today (INDIANAPOLIS STAR, 6/3).

The Missouri Senate early Thursday approved a more than $1.5B plan “aimed at keeping Kansas City’s professional sports teams from being lured across the state’s western border” to Kansas. Meeting “late into the night” in a special session called by Gov. Mike Kehoe, Senate Republicans “rushed to trade votes for the stadium plan by raising the ante on aid for victims of St. Louis’ May 16 tornado” from Kehoe’s $25M initial offering to $100M. The plan “now heads to the GOP-controlled House,” which is “expected to convene Monday and adopt the plan.” The stadium measure was “approved on a narrow 19-13 vote.” Under the agreement, Missouri “would back about 50%” of the costs for a new ballpark for the Royals ($1B-$2B) and Arrowhead Stadium upgrades for the Chiefs ($1.15B), “making 30 years of bond payments equal to the annual state tax revenue generated by the teams.” Local governments “also would have to provide some aid for the teams.” The state assistance “would cost taxpayers an estimated” $1.5B over 30 years. The teams “have not committed to stay in the state” (ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH, 6/5). To qualify, stadiums “must have more than 30,000 seats, must serve a professional baseball or football team, and must cost at least” $500M (KSHB.com, 6/5).

Chicago Sports Network is “expected to launch on Comcast cable Friday on Xfinity’s Ultimate tier,” finally putting the new network on the area’s dominant cable operator after months of negotiations. CHSN launched Oct. 1, 2024, with agreements with Astound/RCN cable and DirecTV satellite and streaming, but it “has been blacked out” for Comcast’s 1 million Chicago-area customers. Xfinity’s Ultimate tier “will cost customers an additional $20 per month.” Customers “had been receiving a monthly credit of $8.85 to offset the loss of NBC Sports Chicago,” which went off the air Sept. 30. While CHSN will air on the Ultimate tier, the Cubs’ Marquee Sports Network is “expected to remain on the Popular tier through the season and move to the Ultimate tier before next season” (CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, 6/5).

The NHL and NHLPA haven’t finalized a new CBA yet, but Commissioner Gary Bettman said prior to Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final that they are “in really good shape” with more than a year to go before the expiration of the current agreement. Bettman had previously expressed hope that the league and union could have a deal to announce by the start of the Final, but he noted discussions began later than initially anticipated “for a variety of reasons on both sides.”

The commissioner, who has been involved in three work stoppages in his 32-year tenure, said there is “no comparison” between this round of talks and the more contentious negotiations in previous cycles with previous union leadership.

“That’s a testament to [NHLPA Exec Dir] Marty Walsh and [Assistant Exec Dir] Ron Hainsey and people at the Players’ Association who have been working with us, whether it’s on Hockey Fights Cancer with the V Foundation or 4 Nations. I think we’re in a really good place in terms of our relationship.”

Bettman and Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly took questions for about 20 minutes, touching on a variety of topics:

• Islanders to host make-up event in ’27: Bettman said the league will bring a mid-season league event to UBS Arena in 2027 following the decision to scrap next year’s All-Star Game that the Islanders were slated to host. The league is still figuring out exactly what that event will look like after this year’s 4 Nations Face-Off raised the bar for All-Star events. “We’re still trying to figure out what we can do that will do justice to the level of interest and authenticity that we and the players created in 4 Nations,” Bettman said. 
• State tax discrepancies: Daly said league leadership doesn’t “share the level of concern” that some of its clubs (and their fans) have about teams based in lower-tax jurisdictions having an unfair competitive advantage. The impact of income tax rates on competitive success has been a hot topic given the recent success of teams who play in states without state income tax, most notably the Panthers and Lightning in Florida. 
• No expansion updates: Daly said the league does not intend to launch a formal expansion process but remains open to appeals from potential ownership groups who “has all the requisite elements that we would look for in expansion franchise.” There has been considerable buzz around Houston and Atlanta as potential markets for the league’s 33rd and 34th teams. 
• Bettman staying put: The commissioner said he has no plans to retire anytime soon despite comments earlier this year by Wild owner Craig Leipold saying the league is preparing for Bettman’s retirement in “a couple years.”  

MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said that the league is having “three different sets of conversations” with potential media partners, and he hopes that the short-term national situation is decided in the “next few weeks” leading up to the July 15 All-Star Game in Atlanta.

ESPN’s rights for “Sunday Night Baseball,” the Wild Card Round and the Home Run Derby are up after this season. Two of the potential platforms for those rights, from 2026-28, are Apple TV and NBC, as SBJ reported. Asked whether ESPN could get back in the discussions, Manfred said he would go further.

“Each set of conversations involves a different group of content. They’re not the same,” Manfred said Wednesday at the MLB owners meetings in N.Y. “It’s not like it’s one package that we’re talking to three different people about. We’re talking to three people about different packages.”

On the subject of reach versus dollars in conversations, Manfred said, “Given that we see the ESPN part of it, or what used to be the ESPN part of it, as kind of a bridge to 2028 [when all MLB national media rights deals are up], I would overweight reach on that package, but it’s still a balance.”

President Donald Trump’s proclamation banning travel from 12 countries contains an explicit carve-out for athletes, team personnel and their families traveling to the U.S. for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, as well as the Olympics and other major sporting events.

The order fully restricts the entry of foreign nationals from Afghanistan, Burma, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen. It also partially restricts travel from Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela.

The exception for the World Cup is especially significant given that one of the 12 banned countries, Iran, has already qualified for the tournament, which will be held next summer in the U.S., Canada and Mexico. At least two other banned countries, Haiti and Libya, have realistic chances of qualifying for the tournament, as does Venezuela. Though the proclamation, which is slated to take effect Monday, would allow athletes and team personnel to enter the country, it would seemingly prevent fans from the 12 banned countries from entering the U.S. to support their teams.

The proclamation raises questions about two major international soccer events beginning this month in the U.S., the FIFA Club World Cup and Concacaf Gold Cup. Neither event is specifically mentioned in the proclamation, which means it would be up to Secretary of State Marco Rubio to determine whether they qualify as “major sporting events.”

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An L.A. Superior Court judge on Wednesday “pulled the plug” on Disney’s “efforts to hit the pause button on the so-called poaching” of Justin Connolly by YouTube. That means Connolly “can start” in his new role as as global head of media and sports for the Google-owned platform. Wednesday’s ruling comes “just two days after YouTube clapped back on Disney’s move to stop Connolly from taking his duties” at his old company to his new one. Disney in late May said it would be “extremely prejudicial to Disney for Connolly to breach the contract which he negotiated just a few months ago and switch teams when Disney is working on a new licensing deal with the company that is trying to poach him.” However, YouTube promised that Connolly would “have nothing to do with any licensing deal” (DEADLINE, 6/4).

The decision to use a piece of land in Far West Oak Cliff for the Wings practice facility “will go before the Dallas Park and Recreation Board” today. If the board denies the use of the undeveloped park land, Dallas will “look at another undisclosed option” for the Wings to begin practicing in the city in 2026 (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 6/4). Sources said that Dallas’ park officials will vote today “on a three-year licensing deal” with USL Atlético Dallas to “use the Cotton Bowl stadium and MoneyGram Soccer Complex for three years” (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 6/4).

NWSL selected Rank + Rally as its leaguewide retail partner in advance of the 2025 kit design launch for each of its 14 clubs several months ago.

Without sharing specifics, Levy called 2025 kit launch sales “unprecedented.” Rank + Rally — owned by Levy — helped the league roll out an enhanced NWSLShop.com experience, and set up a brand-new, 10,000-square-foot warehouse in Chicago fully dedicated to fulfilling e-commerce orders. The warehouse officially opened this week and is centrally based in the U.S. for the fastest distribution to NWSL fans stretching from coast to coast, including newest clubs in Boston and Denver.

Rank + Rally won a competitive RFP process to earn the NWSL’s business. The Portland Thorns and Chicago Stars were already Rank + Rally team clients, while Levy provides food and beverage service at NWSL venues in Houston, K.C., Portland, Louisville, Seattle, Washington and Utah.

Actors Hugh Jackman and Ryan Reynolds have acquired a controlling stake in SailGP’s Australian team, which is being rebranded to the “Bonds Flying Roos SailGP Team” in line with the signing of its first title sponsor, Australian underwear brand Bonds. The actors join driver, CEO and co-owner Tom Slingsby as leaders of the team.

“I’ve gotten to know [Jackman and Reynolds’] teams really well and have met with Ryan,” Slingsby told SBJ at a press event Thursday morning ahead of SailGP’s N.Y. race on June 7 and 8. “We’re fully positive that they’re going to be really involved.”

Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed, and a SailGP representative declined to comment. The Australian team is the second SailGP team to sell this year, along with Red Bull Italy, which was recently acquired by an investor cohort organized by Muse Sport at a $45M valuation. The league’s U.S. team is also currently seeking new investment at a $125M pre-money valuation.

“It’s a huge compliment to us around what we’ve built as a property,” SailGP Managing Director Andy Thompson said of increased investor activity around the league. “I don’t like to see this as celebrity investment. This is real, authentic investment. Groups have approached who have seen that the league is at a pivotal point in a sense of the valuations of these teams are likely going to increase significantly over the coming years, and it’s a great time to get in now.”

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Rogers Communications “has received all necessary league approvals” to buy out rival Bell’s 37.5% stake in Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment. Rogers announced Sept. 18 that it was buying Bell’s stake in Toronto-based MLSE, which includes teams in the NHL, NBA, CFL, MLS and AHL. Rogers said Wednesday those five leagues “have signed off on the deal” that would see it “increase its ownership stake in the company” to 75%. The deal also “includes the transfer of NBA TV (Canada) from Bell to Rogers,” and that aspect is “subject to approval from the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission” (CP, 6/4).

On the pod this week, Austin Karp and Mollie Cahillane break down the opportunity for the NBA Finals to showcase budding stars who play in smaller TV markets. The duo also discusses whether “Inside the NBA” could change on ESPN next season, and what ESPN talent might make sense to mix in with the current crew. Also, a look at the Stanley Cup Final rematch between Edmonton and Florida and what’s going on with MLB media. Finally, Cahillane catches up with Ally Financial’s Andrea Brimmer to discuss how the brand, a big sponsor in sports, views the media value of the properties it has deals with.

“He recalled that before an 1831 revolt, he had a vision of ‘white spirits & black spirits engaged in battle.’”