Morning Buzz

As the first night of TGL’s debut broadcast wore on, fans from the golf world and beyond reacted to the novel league and its quirks. Here is a sampling of the social media reaction:

• Golfweek’s Jason Lusk: “It’s their first go, and I’m sure they’ll address it after they review the broadcast, but TGL really needs more tech for fans. I’m guessing they might even have it available, but the producers have got to be struggling because the pace really is soooo good and fast.”
• PGA Tour player Billy Horschel: “Less than 30 mins away from kickoff of @TGL inaugural season! I’ve been excited about this since it was brought to me in early 2022. I believe TGL will bring more people into the game of golf that have never participated  before. It will show that there are difference ways to enjoy this great game beyond just going to the course.”
• Pro Shop Holdings' Dan Rapaport: “I’m excited for TGL and I’m not afraid to say it. New energy into our sport. This building is a technological marvel. It’s easy to be cynical but let’s sit back and enjoy. It’s not that deep at the end of the day.”
• Barstool Sports' Trent Ryan: “I need the crowd to stay this vocal during TGL matches. Booing bad shots is something I didn’t see coming but I like it. I like it a lot.”
• SiriusXM’s Jason Sobel: “Ludvig Aberg might be the best TGL player we’ve ever seen.”
• Golf influencer Paige Spiranac: “Watching the launch of TGL and I have to say it’s fun to see the guys more relaxed! I think we will really get to see their personalities shine in this format.”
• Golf Digest’s Joel Beall: “One thing that would elevate TGL immensely - at least one commentator there for comedic relief. Lean into the ESPN 8 The Ocho vibe.”
• Fox Sports Knoxville’s Sam Beard: “I think I’m in on this TGL stuff. Holes are fast paced, guys seem to enjoy a new twist to conventional golf, side action going on. Fun late Tuesday night watch.”
• Greenfly’s Neil Horowitz: “Halfway through the debut TGL match broadcast ... Vibes are mixed, the players seem to be enjoying it and the shot clock putts get interesting. ... Still long way to go and this is only match 1 but first impressions for fans will carry a lot of weight for a new league.”
• Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian: “That top down replay was nuts and showed of what a sick putt it was and what makes TGL so special cuz you’d never get that shot in golf outside without a drone buzzing right  over the hole. Keep the stats coming too!”
• ESPN’s Pat McAfee: “Definitely should build some TGL super Sim places around the country… looks like a GREAT time. Shanking drives that won’t register.. spraying sand all over the place.. finishing a round in half the time.. would be an absolute blast with the lads.”

RELATED: On the ground analysis from TGL’s debut

PALM BEACH GARDENS -- TGL completed its first match late Tuesday, with The Bay Golf Club defeating New York Golf Club 9-2. The night featured a mix of pros and cons, from pace of play and impressive technology to a lack of trash talk and a disconnected feeling inside the venue. Here are some takeaways from Week 1.

• In-venue experience: TGL made player intros shortly after 9pm and had in-arena host Roger Steele rile up the crowd on two different occasions for the ESPN broadcast. But no shots were hit until 9:14, and it felt like some of the life was sucked out of the venue. Overall, there were too many dead periods. Having the broadcast feel more connected in-venue might help and even letting fans in person know when a commercial break is in process would be a plus.  
• Venue: It’s a wonder that SoFi Center was ready in time for Tuesday’s matches, considering the roof of the venue collapsed just 14 months ago. The gameplay area is impressive and fully built out, though construction workers were still putting finishing touches on areas of the concourses and restrooms. The venue’s concrete floor is expected to be carpeted in time for next Monday’s match. Concessions were moderately priced, with most beers and seltzers between $12-14. Water and soda were $5. Food options were priced between $8-14.
• Pace: From Day 1, TGL officials have trumpeted the competition’s quick pace as one of the things that would separate it from other golf telecasts. The first hole of the match was played in under four minutes, with the league’s 40-second shot clock being the main difference maker. The broadcast itself ran just over its 9-11pm window, but from first shot hit to final putt holed was under two hours.
• Trash talk: Another talking point from Day 1 has been players being mic’d up, which would lead to strategy discussion and trash talk. Not much of that occurred, at least live. The best “mic’d up” moments came via replays or on broadcast packages. Shane Lowry was a bright spot. Inside the venue, only media were provided with earpieces to listen to the broadcast. Fans in attendance couldn’t hear the broadcast or any talk between players. TGL officials said the plan is to eventually provide fans with earpieces.
• Heavy Hitters: A ton of big-name executives and personalities were in attendance. Inside Mike McCarley’s suite: USGA CEO Mike Whan, CAA’s Alan Gold and Mike Levine, Rory McIlroy, Tiger Woods, ESPN’s Jimmy Pitaro and Burke Magnus, PGA Tour’s Norb Gambuzza, McIlroy’s manager Sean O’Flaherty, TGL’s Ross Berlin and TGR Ventures’ Rob McNamara. Other notable attendees included former CBS Sports chairman Sean McManus, former PGA of America CEO Seth Waugh, Vikings co-owner Mark Wilf, Raptors founder John Bitove, Lions ownership members Michael and Peter Hamp, Jimmy Dunne and Sixth Street’s Clint Kollar. Also spotted: Fox Sports’ Jordan Bazant and Scott O’Neil, whom SBJ reported is set to become the CEO of LIV Golf.

RELATED: Reactions roll in for TGL’s first match

Notre Dame has earned $8M “so far in CFP payouts," and because it is independent, the Fighting Irish "don’t have to share any of it.” With two more wins, Notre Dame would earn a total of $20M in CFP payouts, the “maximum amount for one program.” The “performance-based incentive system is in place through 2025.” After that, the CFP will “switch to preset distributions of the money: 29 percent for the SEC, 29 percent for the Big Ten, about 17.1 percent for the ACC, 14.7 percent for the Big 12 and roughly 10 percent for Notre Dame and the Group of Five conferences.” Boise State already being in the quarterfinals with a bye has made $8M for the Mountain West. And because the Mountain West “has not publicly specified how it will distribute the CFP payouts," it’s possible Boise State "is keeping all of that money.” In the ACC, teams that “earned money for the conference -- this year, Clemson and SMU -- received every dollar” of CFP payouts, amounting to $4M each. The SEC “pays most of its CFP money to the teams that earn it.” For example, Texas received $3M of the $4M it earned the SEC “for making the field.” The remaining money is “split equally among all members of the SEC, including a share for the conference office.” The Big Ten and Big 12 “distribute the money equally among all conference members, though the Big 12 pays a bit more with bonuses to the participating team(s)” ( WASHINGTON POST, 12/23 ). 

ESPN, the network with “its fingerprints all over the expansion of the Playoff from four to 12 teams, turned this weekend into a festival of college football." Yet, it "was sometimes hard to tell.” The network “spent a lot of this weekend" acting like one "that didn’t care very much for the product it was paying an eye-watering amount of money to put on TV.” Grievance is a “quantity as old as the sport itself.” Still, there was a “bizarrely negative tone to so much of the coverage” of this weekend’s first round. Maybe “some of that was Playoff fatigue.” The weekly selection committee rankings “are a choice, though. They are entirely a made-for-TV product, one that arguably undercuts the committee’s ability to do its job effectively.” Make no mistake: There was “plenty to celebrate.” Instead, “we got a weekend of why the product wasn’t worth the price of admission, from the network that manufactured it to begin with” ( INDIANAPOLIS STAR 12/23 ). 

There is “ plenty to complain about ” following the first round of the inaugural 12-team College Football Playoff. But "let’s be sure we are complaining about the right things.” One thing we “should be complaining about is how certain teams are able to build their records within conference play. The conferences have gotten too big.” What we should be “raising a stink about is how the conferences are trying to have their cake and eat it too.” The College Football Playoff is “off to an imperfect start in an imperfect system that’s operating within the far-from-perfect construct of conference realignment." That is a "perfect representation of college athletics in 2024” ( TRIBLIVE.com, 12/23 ). 

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There is growing tension between Washington State Univ. regents and President Kirk Schulz , with one initial point of friction “sparked by the break-up of the Pac-12” in August of 2023. Board members were frustrated that they had to push Schulz to join Oregon State in the lawsuit against the 10 departing members of the Pac-12. That lawsuit resulted in a $255M windfall settlement for OSU and WSU. Schulz has been viewed as a “pro-sports” university president who “understands the value of athletics.” But in recent months, and with is retirement looming, Schulz has “shifted his public stance considerably.” Some wonder if Schulz is “being more mindful of his legacy and wants to be remembered as a president who fiercely supported the academic mission.” Sources said that Schulz and now Wake Forest football coach Jake Dickert , who left WSU last week, “appeared to be united in public appearances, but they had some tense moments behind the scenes” ( JOHNCANZANO.com, 12/24 ).

Univ. of Colorado football coach  Deion Sanders  announced his players, WR/DB Travis Hunter and QB Shedeur Sanders , have taken out "historic" insurance policies so their futures are “insured if something were to happen” in San Antonio for the Alamo Bowl. Colorado AD Rick George said, “We should get disability insurance for our athletes for this game to ensure that they played and if there was some kind of injury that they would be well taken care of." No specific number was given but it is “safe to say the duo will be taken care of if the worst were to happen and a big injury occurs.” Sanders: “They had visibility (insurance) all season long, we want to make sure that if something were to happen, they would cover it” ( ON3.com, 12/23 ).

The Valero Alamo Bowl will pit No. 17 BYU against No. 23 Colorado in a Saturday night game. While Valero Alamo Bowl President and CEO Derrick Fox said, “We are definitely sensing a tremendous level of excitement and buzz for this game -- locally and nationally.” He added that conference realignment has presented new challenges for bowl officials, the end result for this San Antonio game was some “added flexibility of choice.” BYUtv broadcaster Dave McCann said that the Alamo Bowl represents a chance for the university to “play in front of the largest television audience in its 100 years of football.” At press time, the price for some upper balcony Alamo Bowl seats on the secondary market was “north of” $200. Some lower-level midfield seats were “priced at more than” $840 each. There is a “strong likelihood that the Alamo Bowl, will sell out or come close to it.” San Antonio and the Alamo Bowl “deserve to be part of the CFP mix moving forward.” That organizers have “pulled off this matchup and hype for a game with little on the line only reinforces that fact” ( SAN ANTONIO BUSINESS JOURNAL, 12/24 ).

ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith said that talks about a contract renewal with ESPN "have been 'constructive,'” but he “firmly denied” a report his renewal may be worth $120M. Smith made the comments Monday after calling into Christopher “Mad Dog” Russo ’s daily show on SiriusXM. Smith: “I can assure you it’s not for $120 million. That is a lie. That’s not true.” He added, “Anybody that tells you that money doesn’t matter is lying so I would never insult you or your audience’s intelligence by saying such a thing. The money does matter but the money is there. That’s not the issue. … For me personally, there are a lot of other things that I want to do and I want the freedom to do it.” He added, “So because that is of importance to me, that’s the kind of thing that we have to work out.” Smith noted that both sides have been “receptive” to each other. He added, “Hopefully we’ll reach an accord and I’ll be there for years to come and if it doesn’t work out then it doesn’t work out” ( DEADLINE, 12/23 ).

The PGA Tour has “entered the game” of sports documentaries following the popularity of Netlfix’s Full Swing, and the Tour's “two latest offerings” -- including one on Scottie Scheffler 's incredible 2024 season -- raise the bar. Scottie ’24 is “some of the best work ... from the Tour’s TV unit in a while.” While Full Swing is “made for the casual fan,” this “felt geared to the golfer who may have watched every minute of every tournament and still wanted more.” Scheffler gives "more insight than he has on certain topics and tournaments" than he has shared during his pre-tournament and post-round banter with the media. He "comes off funny, self-deprecating and more relatable." The documentary also sat down with Scheffler’s caddie Ted Scott and Scheffler’s longtime swing instructor Randy Smith . Players interviewed included Tiger Woods , Justin Thomas , Xander Schauffele , Jordan Spieth , Sam Burns , Keegan Bradley , Collin Morikawa , Thomas Detry , Nate Lashley , and Ludvig Aberg . They also interviewed Golf Channel’s Brandel Chamblee and CBS’s Trevor Immelman . But the “guy who steals the show” is Brad Payne , the Tour chaplain who “doubles as Scheffler’s mental coach.” He was an “unexpected participant” and gave new insight into Scheffler’s mindset at various times in the season, including after Scheffler was arrested at the PGA Championship ( GOLFWEEK, 12/23 ).

Maryland horse racing will have a "satellite home" at Shamrock Farm in Carroll County as the state is "acquiring 300 acres at the site with plans to build a 1-mile dirt oval and at least 800 horse stalls.” There is also "room for future expansion." The Pimlico Race Course site "cannot adequately house all horses and host all the needed training sessions," so the Maryland Thoroughbred Racetrack Operating Authority “determined that a training track should be built elsewhere.” Racing fans “won’t frequent the training center,” but it will be “integral to sustaining the industry and supporting live racing at Pimlico." The training center is expected to cost approximately $115M in "state funds and be completed by 2027." Pimlico also will be “rebuilt, beginning after this year’s Preakness,” with roughly $285M in state funds. Shamrock Farm was established in 1948 by Steelers owner Art Rooney , and it remains in the Rooney family. Rooney's grandson  Tom Rooney  being a member of the Maryland racing authority "complicated the selection process," but a January report from the authority noted that he “immediately rescued himself from the Authority’s consideration of the site” ( BALTIMORE BANNER, 12/23 ).

The most valuable U.S. team sponsorship during live broadcasts in 2024 belonged to the Dodgers, according to a Nielsen year-end report.

The Dodgers’ jersey patch, which features team owner Guggenheim Partners, was worth $46.7M in 2024 Quality Index Media Value, according to Nielsen.

QI Media Value is the media value of the live broadcast exposure received by the sponsor.

Guggenheim Partners wasn’t just rewarded with brand recognition this year.

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Fox drew 2.2 million viewers on Saturday night for USC’s win over UConn, marking Fox’s second-best women’s college hoops game ever, and the best audience for any women’s hoops game this season. USC-UConn also is the second-best college hoops audience (men or women) this season to date, behind only the 5.1 million viewers that Illinois-Arkansas drew on Thanksgiving on CBS (with an NFL game lead-in).

ABC drew the second-best NCAA Women’s Volleyball Championship on record on Sunday afternoon for the Penn State-Louisville matchup, behind only last year’s record-setting 1.6 million viewers for Texas-Nebraska. Penn State-Louisville also is the third-best NCAA volleyball audience of any kind, behind the Texas-Nebraska title match last year and the No. 1 telecasts -- Fox’s first-ever college volleyball window in fall 2023, which was a regionalized Big Ten women’s window (Minnesota-Wisconsin and Ohio State-Michigan) that averaged 1.66 million. The superlative for the final comes on the heels of record-setting semifinal matches and a record regional round across ESPN networks.

The chart below lists viewership figures for select recent sports telecasts.

On the pod this week, co-hosts Austin Karp and Mollie Cahillane look back at 2024 and answer listener questions from the mailbag. Plus, leading into Netflix’s first NFL game broadcasts, play-by-play announcer Ian Eagle  discussed streaming platform's new position within the live sports realm and how it was recently time for his son, Noah, to get off the family Netflix account.

TaylorMade on Monday released its latest holiday card and the "theme this time is classic Christmas movies." Posters include  Rory McIlroy ,  Collin Morikawa  and  Charley Hull  in "Home Alone,"  Tiger Woods  in "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation" and  Tommy Fleetwood  in "Die Hard" ( GOLFWEEK, 12/23 ).

The Cardiomyopathy Health Education, Awareness, and Research, and AED Training in the Schools Act of 2024 (HEARTS Act) -- which was advocated for by Bills S Damar Hamlin -- was officially signed by President Joe Biden on Monday after the U.S. Senate voted unanimously to pass the bill on Dec. 10. The House of Representatives passed it in September ( ESPN.com, 12/25 ).

Capitals analyst  Craig Laughlin  will “miss the next three games for personal reasons." He is "slated to return" for the team’s home game against the Bruins on Dec. 31. Alan May , who works as Monumental’s analyst for pregame, postgame and intermission segments, will fill in for Laughlin ( WASHINGTON POST, 12/23 ).

The Seahawks on Monday named Brightside Windows as the team's latest sponsor, with the brand appearing "on the Seahawks' press conference microphones and the press conference landing page.” The parties did not disclose financial terms of the deal ( PUGET SOUND BUSINESS JOURNAL, 12/23 ).

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"John’s had a great career, Hall of Fame-worthy. But they didn’t bring somebody in here to mimic him. ... This is the second time around for me. I think it worked out pretty well the first time replacing a legend. So I’m just gonna be me. I’ve had some success, and it’s paid off, and here I am" -- New Yankees radio play-by-play voice Dave Sims , on replacing the legendary  John Sterling on WFAN this coming season ( N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 12/23 ).

"I love the NFL, but Christmas is our day" -- Lakers F LeBron James , on how the NFL is now encroaching on the NBA's annual Christmas Day TV dominance ( SPORTSNET.ca, 12/25 ).

"We don’t get a Christmas game. Why? Because we got a small market? Maybe that’s the case. Or I want to believe what I tell you, I think there’s an algorithm within the NBA that they choose which team will get the most attention, the most viewership that day” -- Bucks F  Giannis Antetokounmpo , on his team not playing on Christmas despite having All-Star and MVP-caliber players ( THE ATHLETIC, 12/23 ). 

"Seeing the roof flapping in the wind and the rain coming down, and watching all of it, it’s sad. It turns your stomach. You kind of feel helpless in some ways while you’re watching it, too. I couldn’t do anything about it" -- Twins manager and former MLBer Rocco Baldelli , on his feelings when he saw videos and photos of Tropicana Field ravaged by Hurricane Milton ( TAMPA BAY TIMES, 12/25 ).

The WASHINGTON POST went with the header, " NBA ratings are down. Three-pointers are up. And the discourse is everywhere ." The NBA signed 11-year, $76B broadcast contracts this year, but "that euphoria has given way to a winter of discontent for the league." TV ratings are down and three-pointers are "way up." The league just announced plans to shake up All-Star Weekend , its "latest effort to juice lagging interest during the regular season." Christmas, "long a showcase day for the league," had to go up against the NFL’s debut on Netflix . Other topics that have "polarized the commentariat: too many foreign stars; no successors to LeBron James and Stephen Curry; the three-pointers and homogenized play; too many games; Charles Barkley; politics; analytics." The discourse around the NBA "has responded in kind -- and most of it has been unkind."

On Basketball : 

• Rod Walker: No Pelicans on Christmas Day a reminder that franchise hasn't reached potential.

• Cleveland’s hoping for a new WNBA team: Remembering the excitement of the original Rockers.

On Football : 

• Highest-paid player in college football history? Transfer QB Darian Mensah's Duke deal is sign of times.

• College Football Playoff starts messy, predictable, combative -- and apropos for the sport.

• Find a Flock: Ravens and Lamar Jackson are drawing interest worldwide.

• John Mara will lower Giants’ standard if he retains Joe Schoen after horrible season that looks like tanking.

On Baseball : 

• Jeff Gordon: Among all the team-owning Grinches, DeWitt has best shot at redemption.

• Juan Soto signing shows how far Mets have come under Steve Cohen.

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"What is Memphis, Tennessee?"