Josh Barnett

Some personal news ... #ThankYouBuffalo

GOTTA SEE IT: The Pistons unveiled a new ice cream dessert for the playoffs — served in a souvenir sneaker cup The Full Court Press Sundae is vanilla ice cream, topped with red or blue soda, sprinkles, and a Pistons topper, all in a shoe.

At our @SBJ event, WWE President Nick Khan was asked about plans changing for WrestleMania 40. “The plan was always how it ended up in Philly … That was online rumors and gossip that we were changing. Never changed.” I assume he means the ultimate result: Cody wins the title.

@nicklopiccolo Thanks, Nick

great piece @ByJoshBarnett in sports business journal, as always. if you want to read it, please subscribe. no free aggregation over here. i am not your dirt sheet.

Rare foray back to my old life as a wrestling writer. @Obaofwwe becomes first product of WWE NIL program to be featured at Wrestlemania, but he’s not only ex college athlete to make WM debut sportsbusinessjournal.com/Articles/2026/…

2025-26 is the first season that the #Isles, #NYR, and #NJDevils have ALL missed the playoffs at the same time. Tri-state blunder.

Wisconsin AD Chris McIntosh is slated to leave the school for a newly created position in the Big Ten office, @SBJ has learned. McIntosh will report directly to Commissioner Tony Petitti and focus on the league's broader strategy. sportsbusinessjournal.com/Articles/2026/…

@Charlie_Reports @TheBuffaloNews Spoke at a class recently and reminded the students that their cell phones also have the capability to listen to someone and talk to that person in the same interaction. It does more than text, email, post on social. Who knew?

There is still nothing like getting people on the phone. I'm thankful that my first few years at @TheBuffaloNews were spent learning how to do this by watching all these great reporters seated around me wrangle info out of people on old-school beige landline phones. x.com/davidsirota/st…

SOME NEWS: Joe Buck says he wants to remain at ESPN for the rest of his career. His ESPN contract expires at the end of this NFL season. Story for @SBJ: sportsbusinessjournal.com/Articles/2026/…

Auburn cut down the nets after its NIT title win, but with NCAA tournament expansion looming, the future of events like the NIT is increasingly uncertain 🏀 Rising costs, the transfer portal and shifting priorities are forcing schools to rethink the value of postseason tournaments outside March Madness. MORE: ow.ly/QCve50YEuW7

I remember being in the newsroom when this happened on the eve of Phillies Opening Day.

Led by Dwyane Wade, JPMorganChase’s Athlete Council will help inform how the bank supports athlete clients 💰 The focus: giving younger athletes the right information and support from the start. ow.ly/cFyA50YBinf

It's official: Don Stevens' bobblehead is heading to the @HockeyHallFame! Congratulations, Don! You earned this!

Alcohol consumption in the U.S. is at its lowest level in nearly 90 years, with 54% of Americans drinking, according to @Gallup 🍺 But alcohol sponsorship spend across the five major U.S. pro sports is up 18% to around $700M over the past four years. ow.ly/4OlU50YCjM5

The 2026 FIFA World Cup is shaping up to be the largest ever, spanning 16 host cities with 48 teams and 104 matches ⚽ SBJ’s Power Players highlights the decision-makers behind its execution. MORE: ow.ly/h3zx50YACW9

Fun story with Nantz/why I think he’s the best. I was a junior in college in 2010 and was able to snag a couple minutes with him after the CBS broadcast at Quail Hollow. Gave me the tie he wore on the broadcast. Still got it!

Josh Harris, on the future name of the new stadium: "Yeah, we're about four years away from that."

Bernadette McGlade will conclude a 45-year college athletics career that spanned from Georgia Tech to the ACC and Atlantic 10. Now, she’s focused on the NCAA men’s basketball tournament, planning to be there every step of the way. MORE: ow.ly/F96b50YzOB7

A recent tour of Centennial Yards by @Bretjust1T shows a development on pace to benefit from Atlanta’s FIFA Men’s World Cup hosting this summer ⚽ CIM Group has invested $1.5B into the site steps from Mercedes-Benz Stadium, which will host eight matches. MORE: ow.ly/m5Zz50Yznhs

There are always things for writers that don't make the final cut so I'll send a couple on Harlan if interested. Here's one:

Looks like we’re gonna get a total of 4 double digit seeds in the round of 32 - High Point (12) - VCU (11) - Texas (11) - Texas A&M (10) Would be the lowest total since 2007 5 total - ‘25, ‘23, ‘17, ‘15 6 total - ‘18, ‘11, ‘08 7 total - ‘22, ‘14 8 total - ‘24, ‘19, ‘13, ‘10, ‘09 9 total - ‘12 10 total - ‘16