NHL's postseason begins; NHLPA eyes Fehr's successor; Big weekend for NWSL and Nashville SC opens Geodis Park
Well, here is an interesting fact. Baseball teams aren't hitting. Scoring entering Saturday is down in baseball almost a full run per game from last season from just over nine runs a game to just over eight runs a game, and the Major League batting average was at .232, also lower than last year. That's a stat worth watching as baseball season continues.
This is your Morning Buzzcast for Monday, May 2nd. Good morning, I'm Abe Madkour. Hope everybody had a good weekend and ready for another week. Let's start with hockey. Don Fehr is nearing the end of his tenure leading the NHL Players' Association as the PA has formed a search committee and will begin the process of finding candidates to succeed the 73-year-old Fehr. The initial committee features seven players, and other players and other members might be named in the future. Now Don Fehr joined the NHLPA in December of 2010. He will continue to lead the Players' Association until his successor is named. Candidates likely to be considered to succeed Don Fehr include the NHLPA's Mathieu Schneider, the NHL Alumni executive director, Glenn Healy, former Canucks GM, Mike Gillis, and player agents, Ian Pulver and Allan Walsh. Those are some names floated over the weekend. So Don Fehr, who, of course, was at the MLBPA for 22 years and the NHLPA for 12 years, is seeing his career as a labor leader wind down.
Meanwhile, some sports fans' favorite time of the year, playoff hockey, begins with four series starting tonight. Overall, 16 teams vying for the Stanley Cup. The Florida Panthers enter the postseason eyeing their first title in franchise history. They finished the regular season with the best record in the league. They have home ice throughout the playoffs. The Colorado Avalanche finish atop the Western Conference. Every NHL team is expected to have a full house this time of year for the first time since 2019. NHL commissioner, Gary Bettman, has called it "the ultimate return to normalcy" and said while the playoffs are starting a bit later than usual, the plan is to get back on a normal schedule for next season. He also said the NHL will hit its projected revenue of $5.2 billion for this season. So playoff hockey starts tonight.
Let's move on. It may be a bit hyperbole, but I do believe this weekend could be a tipping point when it comes to growth and interest of women's boxing or in women's boxing. There were some real hype leading into Saturday's Katie Taylor-Amanda Serrano bout. They were going to fight in front of a sellout at Madison Square Garden, and by all accounts, the two delivered. My producer, Reggie Walker, called it an awesome fight. Taylor claimed a split decision over Serrano in what was billed as the biggest fight in women's boxing history. Lived up to that massive hype. Media reports have MSG being completely packed with "an atmosphere rivaling a high-level European soccer match along with a party crowd of an American sporting event." That was quoted from the fight report.
Eddie Hearn, who was one of the promoters, said that officials from Madison Square Garden have already inquired about having a rematch. If it happens, it could be back at the Garden. But Hearn also said he may take Taylor, who is from Ireland, to her homeland for the first time to fight in her professional career in Ireland. So a lot of interest on a possible rematch between Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano in women's boxing.
Let's shift to EPL news because a bid led by Dodgers co-owner Todd Boehly is seen as the preferred bidder for Chelsea and will be presented to the UK government and the Premier League for approval this week. Now, Boehly's group has a five-day exclusive period to really fulfill any outstanding contractual requirements. It really shows five days of really nailing down the bid offer. Meanwhile, this comes as a British billionaire, Jim Ratcliffe, has tried to get into the Chelsea bid process at the last minute, claiming that the team should be sold to a British leader and not a group fronted by an American like Todd Boehly. But Radcliffe's efforts reportedly have already been dismissed by Chelsea and the Raine Group. So keep your eye on whether Todd Boehly's bid group continues to move forward in their efforts to buy Chelsea.
Let's stay with soccer. Congratulations to Billie Jean King, Julie Uhrman, David Nathanson, Ben Grossman, and so many others who are investors in Angel City FC. The team made its regular season National Women's Soccer League debut on Friday in front of new commissioner, Jessica Berman. They won 2-1 over the North Carolina Courage. It was in front of a crowd announced at 22,000, a sellout at Bank of California Stadium. There was fireworks. It was a big party scene. I mentioned some of the investors and nearly one hundred team owners and investors were on the field before the game for a photo op. So this had the feel of a Hollywood coming out party, but Angel City makes its debut with a 2-1 win over North Carolina.
It was a big day in Nashville as well as Nashville SC came from behind in its soccer stadium home opener to draw 1-1 with the Philadelphia Union on Sunday at Geodis Park. Now, that was the opening of this new facility. They played in front of 31,000. This is the largest soccer-specific stadium in the United States. The stadium is playing to very good reviews this morning with one local columnist suggesting the new facility is sure to expand Nashville SC's fan base and in some ways create new fans.
Let's move to college sports because Penn State has a new athletic director. On Friday, they officially introduced Patrick Kraft, who is the current athletic director at Boston College, to replace Sandy Barbour in State College when she retires later this year. Patrick Kraft will assume his role at Penn State on July 1st. He met the media on Friday. He didn't outline any specific steps, but he was well received by the local media. He was quick to point out the financial importance of Penn State's football program. So Pat Kraft, he was at Temple. He went to BC. Now he goes to Penn State. Now BC is on the search for another athletic director. They will begin a search for a new leader while senior associate athletic director, JM Caparro, will serve as an interim athletic director. The vacancy at Boston College will be the third in the last five years, so they've had difficulty maintaining continuity at Boston College.
Let's end with some quick hitters around college sports. First, Big 12 ADs and football and basketball coaches will gather in Scottsdale starting today through Wednesday. They'll surely discuss the future of the conference and who could replace outgoing commissioner, Bob Bowlsby. The conference hopes to name a new commissioner to succeed Bowlsby sometime this summer. Meanwhile, incoming members BYU, Cincinnati, Houston, and UCF will be participating in the Big 12 meetings for the first time since accepting invites to the conference. So a big few days in Scottsdale for the Big 12 and its leaders.
If you haven't followed it yet, certainly read the news around University of Miami guard, Isaiah Wong, and his issues around name, image, and likeness, and whether or not he was going to enter the transfer portal and all the issues at hand there because it's a very good example of why we keep talking about name, image, and likeness and how name, image, and likeness is changing college sports and the whole concern over pay for play. But that example at the University of Miami is a good example of the challenges facing all athletic directors and is well worth your time.
That is your Morning Buzzcast for Monday, May 2nd. We're less than a month away from the Sports Business Awards at the Times Square Marriott Marquis, May 18th. It's going to be a great night. If you haven't already reserved your seat for that event, please do. Seats are limited. It's going to be a great night, May 18th, Sports Business Awards at the Times Square Marriott Marquis. You'll be joined by David Albright, our managing editor, who will ably bring you the Buzzcast over the next couple of days. I hope to talk to you on Friday. Again, that's your Morning Buzzcast for May 2nd. I'm Abe Madkour. Stay healthy, be good to each other, and have a great week.