#10 What I'm reading this week

Welcome back Sports Enthusiasts to a super edition of sport news from the US OF SPORT DESK:

?? Sport in Pop Culture

• Puppy Bowl 2024: Recap and read more about this pawsitively puppy ??playtime counterprogramming juggernaut starring Bark Purdy this year where it takes more than 100 crew members and 200 poop bags to coax the puppies into a football game ??
• The NFL is ‘just scratching the surface’ with SpongeBob Super Bowl broadcast with CBS and Nickelodeon delivering a historic, kid-focused, augmented-reality-filled production—the Super Bowl's first alternate telecast

?? Business of Sport

• Do Super Bowl halftime performers get paid? How much Usher stands to make for his 2024 show
• 4 Super Bowl Events in 36 Hours for Medium Rare feature plenty of star power - Shaq, Gronk, Guy Fieri and Sports Illustrated activations bring out the brands
• Cal Ripken Jr. and Grant Hill are part of the investor group that has agreed to buy the Baltimore Orioles
• ESPN, Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery plan to launch a sports streaming platform
• Can the Apple Vision Pro change how we watch sports?
• How Cisco and the NFL are shaping a more inclusive future
• How NFL's 'digital athlete' aims to prevent future injuries with AI and machine learning in partnership with AWS

?? NBA

• Kia MVP Ladder: - Joel Embiid injured, Luka Doncic rises up to join Top 5
• Starting 5, Feb. 9: Lakers honor Kobe Bryant, Stephen Curry sizzles and more
• Kevin Durant, Kawhi Leonard and NBA stars make their Super Bowl picks
• Kobe Bryant immortalized with 19-foot bronze statue outside the Lakers' arena
• LeBron James Scoring Tracker: Lakers star approaching 40,000 career points

?? NCAA

• Nick Saban to join set of College GameDay
• WWE champion Mick Foley catches Caitlin Clark 'mania'
• Caitlin Clark’s Hawkeyes and the Maryland Terrapins the most-watched women’s basketball game in network’s history
• Tennessee jumps up to a No. 1 seed after North Carolina falls off top line
• Arizona moves up in Top 25 And 1 after outlasting Utah in 3-overtime thriller
• Wisconsin on a losing streak after loss to Purdue, falls to a No. 3 seed in projected bracket
• Men's basketball at Dartmouth will vote on unionizing. It could be groundbreaking

?? NFL / UFL

• Super Bowl 2024 Patrick Mahomes leads OT comeback as K.C. wins back-to-back titles
• Chiefs' Harrison Butker smashes longest field goal in Super Bowl history, after Jake Moody broke the record in the 2nd quarter
• Kyle Shanahan-Christian McCaffrey family connection: Revisiting Broncos' Super Bowls with dads Mike, Ed
• Eagles to host NFL's 1st-ever game in Brazil during 2024 season's opening weekend
• NFL is hiring a Vice President of Flag Football Operations as the sport is set to join the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028
• 2024 UFL SCHEDULE
• Tom Flacco, Joe's brother, agrees to contract with UFL's San Antonio Brahmas
• ‘All I needed was a chance’: From adversity to success – the inspiring journey of Alex Austin

?? NHL

• Projecting the loaded rosters for the 2025 NHL 4 Nations Face-Off

? MLB

• MLB will consider an Olympic break in the middle of the 2028 season
• Guardians getting close to naming start time for April 8 total eclipse of home opener
• White Sox release new stadium renderings for proposed location at ‘The 78': report
• Ichiro after getting a text: Who the f--- is Tom Brady? ??

? MLS

• New Jersey set to host 2026 World Cup Final as FIFA reveals full match schedule and locations
• Atlanta, Georgia to host eight FIFA World Cup 2026? matches, including one semifinal
• David Beckham is booed and 40,000 angry fans chant 'refund' after Lionel Messi was left on the bench during Inter Miami's pre-season win over a Hong Kong XI
• With USMNT's Benjamin Cremaschi to miss 2-3 months, Inter Miami's depth will be tested immediately

?? Tennis

• Tennis doubles faces uncertain future, after Australian Open chief admits sport has ‘lost our way’
• Novak Djokovic commits to play at Indian Wells for first time since 2019
• Andre Agassi, Steffi Graf win $1M Pickleball Slam 2 vs. John McEnroe, Maria Sharapova

? PGA

• Texas Tech’s Tyran Snyders moves into top 25 of PGA TOUR University Ranking
• Hail and rain pounded the WM Phoenix Open
• WM collaboratively brings running water to Navajo Nation homes

Thanks for stopping by and reading all the way through! If this newsletter found you and you like it, you can subscribe below.

Cheers for now,

Jon (Founder and Coach - US OF SPORT)