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2019-Whenever Misc. Grab Bag Thread

As far as field size, yes, but there's no way you can can host big time international cricket matches there. The seating may be enough for a Scotland v Zimbabwe match, I suppose but that would be about it.
 
The NC Courage fired head coach Sean Nahas last night. The tersely worded statement from the club could lead one to believe it was something other than performance related, although they’re on the outside of the playoffs right now. The timing is also curious; the league came off their 5 week summer break last Saturday, where the team played San Diego to a scoreless draw, and he wasn’t whacked until yesterday. He had missed a few games earlier for health related reasons.
 
andyt said:
The NC Courage fired head coach Sean Nahas last night. The tersely worded statement from the club could lead one to believe it was something other than performance related, although they’re on the outside of the playoffs right now. The timing is also curious; the league came off their 5 week summer break last Saturday, where the team played San Diego to a scoreless draw, and he wasn’t whacked until yesterday. He had missed a few games earlier for health related reasons.
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I read that announcement; it did sound very odd, damage-control-ish.
 
There was a huge media shift in the last few days. ESPN bought the NFL Network, the linear rights to NFL RedZone, NFL Fantasy and other smaller prices from the NFL. This comes as ESPN prepares to launch their new direct to consumer service, which now has a ton of extra NFL content. The deal also allows ESPN to use the RedZone concept across all of their existing properties. ESPN also received additional game inventory that they can flip to Amazon, Apple, etc. As part of the deal, the NFL took a 10% ownership stake in ESPN. Currently, Disney owns 80% of ESPN, Hearst Communications owns the balance. There is no word on how the 10% will be split from the current owners. The NFL also has an ownership stake in Skydance Media, so with their purchase of Paramount Global complete, the NFL now has ownership stakes in 2 of its rightsholders.
 
andyt said:
The NC Courage fired head coach Sean Nahas last night. The tersely worded statement from the club could lead one to believe it was something other than performance related, although they’re on the outside of the playoffs right now. The timing is also curious; the league came off their 5 week summer break last Saturday, where the team played San Diego to a scoreless draw, and he wasn’t whacked until yesterday. He had missed a few games earlier for health related reasons.
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Yeah, the sporting director came out last night and gave the most awkward of pressers too. There's obviously more going on than just losing their competitive edge, but make no mistake ... Nahas' systems were never particularly scoring friendly and their offense has been basically MIA all season. They also went out and made a big financial commitment to get Jayden Shaw and he can't seem to figure out how to get her on the pitch. If there was nothing else going on, the club 100% could have just fired him for soccer reasons. So ... either they SUCK at public relations or something else is going on that they don't want to talk about. Could be as simple as Nahas' health concerns being more that meets the eye, but ... yeah. This is NWSL and nothing is ever that simple.
 
andyt said:
There was a huge media shift in the last few days. ESPN bought the NFL Network, the linear rights to NFL RedZone, NFL Fantasy and other smaller prices from the NFL. This comes as ESPN prepares to launch their new direct to consumer service, which now has a ton of extra NFL content. The deal also allows ESPN to use the RedZone concept across all of their existing properties. ESPN also received additional game inventory that they can flip to Amazon, Apple, etc. As part of the deal, the NFL took a 10% ownership stake in ESPN. Currently, Disney owns 80% of ESPN, Hearst Communications owns the balance. There is no word on how the 10% will be split from the current owners. The NFL also has an ownership stake in Skydance Media, so with their purchase of Paramount Global complete, the NFL now has ownership stakes in 2 of its rightsholders.
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While it's jarring to watch for us old timers, it makes sense that the only reliable cash generator in American sports would eventually just end up owning their own media outlets ... or at least controlling them. It's my understanding that the NFL's chunk of ESPN will come from Disney's portion of ownership. The deal allows the NFL to get out of the TV production business while still maintaining an ownership stake in their rights holders ... so they can dictate the big picture stuff without having to actually make the sausage.
 
jeffbear said:
Yeah, the sporting director came out last night and gave the most awkward of pressers too. There's obviously more going on than just losing their competitive edge, but make no mistake ... Nahas' systems were never particularly scoring friendly and their offense has been basically MIA all season. They also went out and made a big financial commitment to get Jayden Shaw and he can't seem to figure out how to get her on the pitch. If there was nothing else going on, the club 100% could have just fired him for soccer reasons. So ... either they SUCK at public relations or something else is going on that they don't want to talk about. Could be as simple as Nahas' health concerns being more that meets the eye, but ... yeah. This is NWSL and nothing is ever that simple.
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They’ve never been good at public relations. They bungled the Jaelene Hinkle Daniels situation for years.
 
It's a whole new front office since then though. New Sporting Director, new staff. Ironically enough, what they lack is ... courage. Do a thing. Explain why you did the thing. Stick by the decision you made.
 
jeffbear said:
It's a whole new front office since then though. New Sporting Director, new staff. Ironically enough, what they lack is ... courage. Do a thing. Explain why you did the thing. Stick by the decision you made.
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Same owner though. I doubt that any of them are working independently of Malik.
 
He's always been a bit of a weasel, yeah. I'm hearing from a trusted source (a friend who used to work for the club) that there may actually not be anything more to this story than soccer stuff. Nahas has been clashing with their new Sporting Director from Day 1 and has responded poorly to pressure to change tactics and to change up the attacking personnel. My guy thinks they just finally had enough of each other ahead of this road trip to Houston for a game they REALLY need to win. I've been hearing for a while that Nahas wasn't going to get another contract at the end of the season barring a miracle turnaround. If that's all that there is to this, then they REALLY bollocksed up the optics.
 
jeffbear said:
He's always been a bit of a weasel, yeah. I'm hearing from a trusted source (a friend who used to work for the club) that there may actually not be anything more to this story than soccer stuff. Nahas has been clashing with their new Sporting Director from Day 1 and has responded poorly to pressure to change tactics and to change up the attacking personnel. My guy thinks they just finally had enough of each other ahead of this road trip to Houston for a game they REALLY need to win. I've been hearing for a while that Nahas wasn't going to get another contract at the end of the season barring a miracle turnaround. If that's all that there is to this, then they REALLY bollocksed up the optics.
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For sure. If that‘s the case, they really should have fired him before or early in the 5 week break.
 
Well, if you noticed, Shaw started last night and she started when Kilgore filled in for Nahas before the break. My guy says she's been the crux of the breakdown between Nahas and the front office. Nahas didn't want her, preferring Sanchez and adamant about not playing a double attacking midfield pivot. Apparently Nahas also thought they should have spent the money they're paying Shaw on Keroline, and frankly I think he's got a point there.

There could well be something else going on and the guy I've talked to left the club after last season, but if it's really just a breakdown between coach and personnel staff over a specific player then that WOULD explain why they really, really don't want to be specific with the public statements. Sadly, with the history of the league that immediately results in 90% of the online fan community and most of the media that cover the league assuming that Nahas abused somebody.
 
andyt said:
There was a huge media shift in the last few days. ESPN bought the NFL Network, the linear rights to NFL RedZone, NFL Fantasy and other smaller prices from the NFL. This comes as ESPN prepares to launch their new direct to consumer service, which now has a ton of extra NFL content. The deal also allows ESPN to use the RedZone concept across all of their existing properties. ESPN also received additional game inventory that they can flip to Amazon, Apple, etc. As part of the deal, the NFL took a 10% ownership stake in ESPN. Currently, Disney owns 80% of ESPN, Hearst Communications owns the balance. There is no word on how the 10% will be split from the current owners. The NFL also has an ownership stake in Skydance Media, so with their purchase of Paramount Global complete, the NFL now has ownership stakes in 2 of its rightsholders.
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Here’s what ChatGPT told me to expect from this new deal, as I currently get ESPN’s linear channels through YouTube TV and I subscribe to ESPN+. I thought some of you may find this helpful…

Here’s what’s happening under the new NFL–ESPN deal announced this week, and what it means for subscribers like you with YouTube TV and ESPN+:

What’s New

1. NFL Content Integration
  • ESPN has secured ownership of the NFL Network, NFL RedZone, and NFL Fantasy, in exchange for giving the NFL a 10% equity stake in ESPN.
  • These will be integrated into ESPN’s forthcoming direct‑to‑consumer (DTC) streaming service, making them part of ESPN’s expanded streaming lineup.
  • ESPN also expanded its NFL Draft coverage and will add new interactive NFL features to the DTC service and to Disney+.
What This Means for You

Existing Subscriptions
  • YouTube TV currently grants you access to ESPN’s linear channels (ESPN, ESPN2, etc.) via TV provider login. That continues unchanged—for now.
  • ESPN+ remains active at $11.99/month unless you opt into the new DTC service.
The New ESPN DTC Service (Launching August 21, 2025)
  • Select plan ($11.99/month): includes everything you’re getting on ESPN+ today. Existing ESPN+ subscribers will be migrated into this tier.
  • Unlimited plan ($29.99/month): includes everything from Select, all ESPN linear networks, plus ESPN on ABC, ESPN3, SECN+, ACCNX, and expanded features like fantasy, personalized SportsCenter feeds, and more.
  • With the NFL deal, the Unlimited plan will also include NFL Network, RedZone, and enhanced NFL programming and experiences.
Summary Table

You Already HaveNew Content AvailableExtra Cost?
YouTube TV (with ESPN access)Linear ESPN channelsNo change—for now
ESPN+ subscriptionESPN+ contentNo change unless switching to DTC plan
New DTC Unlimited plan+ ESPN linear channels, ESPN+ content, NBA draft enhancements, NFL Network, RedZone, enhanced NFL features, fantasy, personalization, original shows, etc.Yes — $29.99/month (vs. $11.99 for Select)

Bottom Line:

If you’re currently using YouTube TV and ESPN+, you’ll continue receiving your usual access with no immediate cost change. To unlock the new NFL-focused content like RedZone, NFL Network, expanded Draft coverage, and enhanced interactivity, you’d need to upgrade to the ESPN DTC Unlimited plan for $29.99/month.
 
There is one error in the ChatGPT summary. ESPN will not own NFL RedZone. The NFL will still own and operate RedZone. ESPN bought the linear distribution rights and the right to use the RedZone name on other linear content. We could see Red zone channels pop up for college football, when ESPN owns the rights to multiple games in the same time slot, like regional content at noon and 3:30, although one of the sports business editors at The Athletic thinks that’s unlikely. If have cable or bundled streaming service like YouTube TV, access to RedZone doesn’t change. But if you purchase the ESPN DTC package, you’ll have to also subscribe to NHL+ Premium to get RedZone access.
 
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