Tom Friend

The Trail Blazers became the fourth NBA team to part with an RSN model, announcing today that their 2024-25 games will not air on Root Sports. Indications are the team is being pursued by as many as four local over-the-air stations -- with Gray-owned KPTV Channel...

Back by popular demand (emphasis on popular) is Caitlin Clark. After a monthlong Olympic interlude, the WNBA season reopens later this week with all eyes again on the rookie from Iowa, who, based on emerging metrics obtained by SBJ, has turned the Indiana Fever into a rare and...

Coming off its ascent to the Western Conference Finals, the T'Wolves have struck a jersey patch deal with Sezzle, the Pay-in-4 fintech company located just blocks from the team’s corporate headquarters. The multiyear arrangement, brokered by WME Sports, simultaneously turns Sezzle into the Wolves’ season-long...

The phrase “ticket stub” is making its NBA comeback. The Cleveland Cavaliers and Phoenix Suns will be adopting a 20th century concept this season — a ticket that actually arrives in the mail — with one slight caveat: It won’t get you in the...

Two businessmen have each purchased a half percent of the WNBA’s Wings for $1.04M apiece, SBJ has learned, raising the franchise’s total enterprise value to a purported league record of $208M.   Earlier reports this summer had valued the Las Vegas Aces at a league-high $140M,...

Showing the wherewithal of a direct-to-consumer streaming app — which other NBA teams like the Pelicans are about to emulate — the Jazz are digitally releasing a full-length documentary on its 50-year team history, in part to drive D2C subscriptions and revenue. The 90-minute film,...

The Pelicans' decision to broadcast their 2024-25 games over-the-air for free -- after the team ended hot-and-cold negotiations Monday with Diamond Sports Group -- was a proactive move that makes them the third NBA team along with the Jazz and Suns to forgo the RSN...

Warner Bros. Discovery’s lawsuit against the NBA , which alleges the league illegitimately denied Turner Sports’ match of Amazon’s $1.93B media rights bid , will almost certainly leak into October, according to court filings today. According to a stipulation from the Supreme Court of...

Charles Barkley and TNT Sports issued a joint statement today to reaffirm "his long-term commitment" to remain with Warner Bros. Discovery, 11 days after Barkley said he would "listen" to recruiting pitches from the NBA's newest media partners NBC, Amazon and ESPN....

Everyone needs a “sanctuary,” and the National Basketball Players Association has one on the Spanish coast. In what has become part retreat, part performance lab and part pickup game, the league’s union has created an upscale workout destination for European players...