Jay Monahan's master-move; dispatches from Cleveland; owners and players join MLB's labor talks and the PHF to seek a new commissioner.
Well, the Beijing Games are over. USA Today's Christine Brennan, who has covered plenty of Olympics, called them the "strangest, most controversial, and most unwelcoming games of our lifetime." The New York Times called them a joyless spectacle. The LA Times called them restrictive and bleak, and the Associated Press called them weird, messy, and somehow sterile.
In Boston, noted Olympic reporter John Powers wrote, "The best thing that could be said about the Beijing Games is that they were superbly organized," but he added the games marked by anxiety, by isolation, by controversy, and finally, by relief that they were over. We now go to Paris in 2024, Milan Cortina in '26, and there is certainly work to do to restore the Olympic rings and the Olympic brand. That is a story we'll be watching very closely.
And finally, for the medal count, the US comes in fifth in total medals. They get 25. Norway takes the top spot with 37. The Russian Olympic Committee with 32. Germany with 27. Canada with 26. And like I said, the US with 25. We'll have a full breakdown on the US' total performance over the next few days, but it did compare to PyeongChang in 2018 when the US came in fourth with 23 medals. The Beijing Winter Games completed, now we move on to Paris.
This is your Morning Buzzcast for Monday, February 21st. Hope everybody is well. I know it's a holiday. I hope you enjoy your holiday today. Sunday was a very, very good day for the PGA Tour and for Jay Monahan. It was not a good day for Live Golf or Greg Norman. Likely means that Greg Norman and Live Golf will be forced to go with their plan B, if they even have one. Yesterday, both Bryson DeChambeau and Dustin Johnson said they were fully committed to stay with the PGA Tour.
These were two heavy hitters who many thought may leave the tour for the Saudi backed golf league led by Norman. The two players joined a growing list of golf's top players who have said over the last few days they are not interested in joining any Saudi backed golf league. Rory McIlroy yesterday said the Saudi Tour was now "dead in the water" and it's certainly not clear where Norman and his executive team go from here. What players could they target?
I don't know what other options they may have. When I was in Los Angeles for the Super Bowl, the conversations I had with top executives were that they believe the Saudi Tour was growing momentum, and they really wanted to see PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan be very firm in dealing with this threat to the tour. Well, obviously the well respected Jay Monahan worked masterfully behind the scenes, because right now it's clear, the PGA Tour is winning and may have fully won.
Let's move on to the NBA. How cool was it to watch the NBA's halftime show last night from Cleveland as the league honored its greatest players in the star studded halftime show all to celebrate the league's 75th anniversary. Sure, there were are a few players who were filmed and not at attendance, Bill Russell, Larry Bird. I saw Karl Malone, Tim Duncan, Steve Nash, among others, but it was very cool to see so many players in Cleveland announced by position, forwards centers, guards.
Michael Jordan was, of course, the last player announced. From my count, Jordan, LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Dr. J received some of the loudest cheers from fans, but it was a very cool event. Also, congratulations to Suns guard Chris Paul, who was named the first recipient of the Kobe and Gigi Bryant WNBA Advocacy Award. I believe this award will only rise in stature as it honors significant contributions to the advancement of women's and girl's basketball along with support for the W.
Sunday night in Cleveland, you could see WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelberg and Vanessa Bryant present Paul with the award at the All Star Game. Again, I do believe this award, which is in its first year, will only rise in stature in the future. A couple of interesting notes from NBA commissioner Adam Silver's state-of-the-league press conference over the weekend in Cleveland.
First, Adam Silver is very bullish on that playoff play in tournament that was instituted last spring. He said he liked it more than he thought and noted that 24 NBA teams were still competing to get in the playoffs with two weeks to go. Look for this to continue. He also said an end season tournament remains under consideration for as early as the 2023-2024 season.
And finally, Silver said he had no update on the NBA's investigation into Suns owner Robert Sarver and the Suns workplace environment saying only the investigation is ongoing. Those are some of the key points from Adam Silver. But overall, a very successful weekend for the NBA in Cleveland. They have to feel good about bringing the industry back together for the All Star Weekend in Cleveland.
Another sport likely feeling good is NASCAR, because one NASCAR executive texted me over the weekend and said he believed the sport could have its best season in more than a decade. While the first two weeks have been very strong for NASCAR, we talked about the Busch Clash in Los Angeles. That was a hit. Yesterday in Daytona, a sellout of more than 120,000 fans saw the entire race completed without any rain delays or interruptions.
That may seem like not such a big deal, but it is a big deal because that's been kind of the tradition of the last few years. Also, you saw a day filled with NASCAR's heritage and legacy, so to speak. Austin Cindric got its first career rear NASCAR Cup Series victory in eight starts yesterday on Sunday. So think about it. His first win on the Cup Series is the Daytona 500. He wins at just 23 years old. He is the second youngest driver to win the Daytona 500.
Trevor Bayne was 20 years old when he won the race more than a decade ago. Now, the win was also the third Daytona victory for legendary owner Roger Penske. But the interesting sports business angle here is the winner, Austin Cindric, comes from a family of racing. He is the son of Tim Cindric, the president of Penske's Racing organization.
Tim Cindric is very well-known in sports business circles and racing circles, and he watched his son's win from a sweet at Daytona Speedway, along with Roger Penske and other Penske Racing executives. But for NASCAR, it marks a strong start to its season. It should get solid viewership numbers at Daytona. It got very solid viewership numbers for the Clash in Los Angeles. They can use those numbers to build during the first quarter of its season.
Let's shift to some other news. Big news here that broke Friday. I do want to touch on this. Our Ben Fischer and John Ourand reported that NFL commissioner Roger Goodell is negotiating a contracted extension for the fourth time. Now, it should be stated clearly that the NFL is firmly denying our report, but sources tell us a deal could be in place in the coming months.
This move speaks to the NFL's owner's confidence in Goodell, but it also shows Goodell's interest in staying at the NFL. With labor and media deals largely done for the next decade, Roger Goodell can now focus on the more innovation side of the game to help shape and grow the game and the NFL.
Now, Roger Goodell's last deal was signed in 2017 and many believe that Goodell would leave shortly after the latest CBA and media deals were completed, although it should be noted that Roger Goodell himself never speculated on his future ever publicly. And like we said, he is in talks for a contract extension to remain commissioner at the NFL.
Let's shift to baseball, because starting today in Florida, Major League Baseball and union negotiators will be meeting to try and make progress on a new collective bargaining agreement. Many insiders believe this could be a very important week to establish some sort of momentum in talks. Both sides have said they are willing to meet every day this week. You will also see owners and players taking part in these meetings in greater numbers.
At least two owners will be on hand to start the meetings today, the Rockies' Dick Monfort and the Padres' Ron Fowler, while the Major League Baseball Players Association is expecting several dozen players to attend the meeting. So that could either be a good sign or more people in the room could lead to more animosity. We'll have to see. Remember, Major League Baseball has set February 28th as the soft deadline to reach a deal in order to start the season.
Many insiders believe that if camps aren't open by March 3rd, there's no way this season will start on time. Those are a couple of dates to keep in mind. A couple of names in the news as we end the Morning Buzzcast. First off, congratulations to former NBC Sports Chair Dick Ebersol, ESPN's Mechelle Voepel, and Knicks TV analyst Walt Frazier. They are the recipients of the 2022 Curt Gowdy Media Award.
They will be honored during the Basketball Hall of Fame enshrinement weekend, September 10th and 11th. They are acknowledged for their deep contributions to basketball media. Congratulations to Ebersol, Voepel, and Frazier. Staying with people in the news, congratulations to Katie Haas. She has been named CEO of the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati. That is a top dual ATP and WTA tennis stop in the summer.
Katie Haas is currently the only female to hold the CEO role at such a professional tennis event. Congratulations to her. She joined the Western & Southern Open as its first COO in 2018 after 15 years with the Boston Red Sox organization. And finally, the Premier Hockey Federation is looking or will be looking for a new commissioner to start next season, as the league announced that Tyler Tumminia will step down as commissioner at the conclusion of this season.
Now, she was named interim commissioner in October of 2020 before taking over permanently in August of '21. Tumminia will continue in the position through March, and the search for a new commissioner is underway with the process being led by the board of governors for the Premier Hockey Federation. The Premier Hockey Federation looking for a new commissioner to start next season.
So that is your Morning Buzzcast for Monday, February 21st. I hope everybody has a great week. I'm Abe Madkour. Stay healthy. Be good to each other. I'll speak to you tomorrow.