Casey Close and Excel Sports Management files lawsuit, Molson Coors to make return to Super Bowl advertising, and additions to William Hill Sportsbook at Capital One Arena in DC.
My last Buzzcast for a week, I'm heading to Colorado Springs for our Thought Leader Retreat starting on Monday, then I have my first trip ever to Montana, like I said, visiting a longtime friend in Whitefish, Montana, something I've been eager to do for a long time. It's finally going to happen. Had some great tips from listeners yesterday. Any other tips out there for me, please let me know. And this is your Morning Buzzcast for Friday, July 15th. Good morning. I'm Abe Madkour. Hope everybody is doing well on this Friday. Let's start with some news that is sure to grab mainstream sports fan interest, and it will be an interesting test case on libel and slander laws, but Excel Sports Management and agent Casey Close said they have suffered damage to their names, businesses and reputations in filing a suit against media personality and radio host Doug Gottlieb.
Casey Close said he has also been the target of death threats as a result of a tweet by Doug Gottlieb, who questioned Excel's ethics in its representation of first baseman Freddie Freeman during Freeman's free agency last year. If you recall, Doug Gottlieb claimed that Excel and Casey Close never told Freddie Freeman about the Atlanta Braves' final offer to try to keep the first basement. Freeman has since parted ways with Casey Close and Excel Sports Management, but Casey Close and Excel have repeatedly stated the tweet was false, but Gottlieb has never deleted it. A lawsuit was filed in U.S. Federal Court in New York City yesterday. Casey Close and Excel Sports Management are seeking monetary damages. But if this goes to trial, it could be an eye-opener to all aspects of the sports business, including sourcing, anonymous sourcing, and attributing information and posting on social media. So there could be a lot of interesting, I would say, insight if this does go to trial. But Excel Sports Management filing a libel suit against Doug Gottlieb.
Let's move on. We know that content creation is a major trend, and we have a new player on the scene called Range Sports. Interestingly, it will be led by well-known former Turner Sports executive Will Funk, and it's a division that will produce live and on-demand sports programming, but it will also manage and advise sports talent, sports property, and any intellectual property holders. So, Range Sports will be a new agency. It'll represent, like I said, current, former athletes, broadcast talent, coaches, and they'll represent them for TV and film deals, for broadcasting deals and endorsements. Range Media Partners is the parent company of Range Sports. That was formed in 2020 by a number of former Hollywood agents. Mets owner Steve Cohen is an investor in Range Media Partners. So, keep an eye on this new division, Range Sports, with Will Funk as its new President.
In other news, a few weeks ago on the Buzzcast, we noted that Anheuser-Busch InBev ended its 33-year deal with the NFL that made Anheuser-Busch the exclusive alcohol advertiser during the Super Bowl. Remember, it was only AB ads during the big game. Well, Anheuser-Busch still plans to run ads during the game this year, but it opened the door by giving up its exclusivity, and other advertisers are now allowed to come in and advertise during the big game. Well, Molson Coors has done just that, saying it has bought a 30-second spot in the Super Bowl next year for its Coors brand, making its first appearance in the Super Bowl in more than 30 years. So we'll also have to see going forward if other beer brands target the Super Bowl for a big advertising effort.
Yesterday on the Buzzcast, we talked about the National Women's Soccer League eyeing expansion in the next couple of years. Well, the NWSL said reproductive rights will be considered when the league looks at locations for possible expansion teams. And we continue to talk about how teams are really bullish about adding a sportsbook to their ballpark, to their arena, to their stadium. These are going to be strong destination venues for sports fans, and it will result in real revenue for the team. One of the best venues has been Caesars Sportsbook at Capital One Arena in Downtown D.C., and now they plan to expand that retail sportsbook. They're going to add 700 more square feet of new betting space, they're going to add more self-service kiosks. They're going to add a new entrance which goes directly to the concourse of the arena, and they're going to add a new Guy Fieri restaurant and bar. So a very high-end restaurant and bar to the sportsbook. So bottom line, you're seeing these sportsbooks really become bigger and more premium spaces at these sports venues, and that's a trend that I'll continue to watch.
What else to look for? Well, the Track and Field World Championship begins today from Eugene, Oregon, so look for more on this event over the weekend and Monday on sportsbusinessjournal.com. Also, keep your eye on President Biden's trip to Saudi Arabia today on Friday. I'll just see how the trip goes and how relations go between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia, and if, if that could have any impact on the reception to LIV Golf in the weeks and months ahead.
Let's end the Buzzcast around people, and we have a couple of noteworthy ones. You know, most of my sources have wanted to talk about new Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark, and how he will adapt to the world of college sports. He apparently showed very well this week at the Big 12 Media Days. Not surprising. The reviews among Big 12 media insiders were quite positive of Brett Yormark's style and substance, and he will be one to watch in this role. But let's not forget departing Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby, who has such respect in the business and has done so much for college sports over the years. He was at Stanford and the Big 12. He's smart, he's a thoughtful voice of reason, and if you read SBJ Unpacks last night, you read his, I thought, very thoughtful responses when asked about his role and the state of college sports.
On his tenure, he said that the body of work at the Big 12, his body of work at the Big 12, was satisfying to him. He said there aren't many people in the business who go out on their own terms, and he's about as close to that as you're going to find. So he felt very much at peace with his decision to move on. I thought his comments on realignment and the state of college sports was very interesting. He said, "This isn't any different than what has happened in every small town in America. The corner drug store has gone away. The mom and pop grocery store has gone away. Capitalism is engulf and devour, and that's what we're seeing in a couple of situations in college athletics. It's the aggregation of resources and it isn't any different than what's happened in a lot of different walks of life." Bob Bowlsby has always been a class act who has done what he thinks is right for college sports. I'm glad he's going out feeling good about his leadership in the business. He really should feel good about it.
Let's move on. Steve Cohen continues to reshape the New York Mets, and we've seen a number of front office changes at the organization. Yesterday, the Mets named Nancy Elder as the organization's first Chief Communications Officer. It's a newly created role, it will report directly to Mets President, Sandy Alderson. She comes from the zone. She'll be responsible for all public affairs and communication strategy, and her background is at companies like JetBlue, Time Warner, MasterCard. So you're seeing Steve Cohen bring in some experience from outside of sports to the Mets organization. He did the same thing in bringing Andy Goldberg from American Express as the teams' new Chief Marketing Officer. So I wouldn't be surprised to see Steve Cohen continue to makeover the Mets organization.
And longtime sports business administrator Bill Sutton, one of my favorite people in the business, is joining the University of South Carolina as a professor in the Department of Sports & Entertainment Management. Now, Bill Sutton has been a contributor to Sports Business Journal for years, his columns are always among the most read and talked about. He, of course, most recently led the University of South Florida's Vinik Sports & Entertainment Graduate Program. He was of course at Robert Morris, UMass Amherst, University of Central Florida, so a long history in educating the next generation of sports business leaders on campuses throughout the country.
Now, even though he's joining the University of South Carolina department, Bill Sutton will remain in Florida and work on a part-time basis. But Bill Sutton has deep ties to the faculty at the University of South Carolina, so it's good to see Bill Sutton back in educating young people in sports business, because he has a lot to offer. So that is your Morning Buzzcast for Friday, July 15th. As a reminder, I'll be out all week next week. Hope everybody enjoys the Morning Buzzcast. It'll be brought to you by Managing Editor, David Albright. So, I'm Abe Madkour. Hope everybody enjoys the British Open. Stay healthy, be good to each other. I'll speak to you in a couple of weeks.