Front Office Sports

March Madness upsets are alive and well in the 'free agency' era. After concerns of Cinderella stories and major upsets being no more, two mid-majors are advancing to the round of 32, with more Cinderellas potentially waiting in the wings. Story by @achristovichh ⬇️

NEW: Between the unrestricted transfer portal and NIL/rev-share deals, it's never been more difficult for underdogs to succeed in March. And yet, several underdogs are alive and well. VCU, Texas, and High Point (Cinderella candidate?) all won today. frontofficesports.com/march-madness-…

The Bucks want to sit Giannis Antetokounmpo for the remainder of the season, despite the superstar wanting to continue playing. The dispute is yet another twist in the NBA's tanking saga, which Adam Silver says has hit new lows. Story by @colincsalao ⬇️

FIFA said that it will not suspend Israel from international competitions and will deliver a light punishment on the country’s soccer federation for discrimination violations. The rulings addressed two different concerns brought by the Palestinian Football Association in 2024.

Sports bars across the U.S. are set for a major NFL Sunday Ticket change this upcoming NFL season. The league’s out-of-market game package will no longer be available at commercial establishments through DirecTV, barring a major reversal of recent negotiations.

Venezuela's win over the USA in the World Baseball Classic final drew a record 10.78M viewers on Fox and Fox Deportes. frontofficesports.com/wbc-title-game…

MLB has just signed a multi-year partnership with Polymarket worth up to $300M despite warning players not to use the prediction market platform only months ago. @BenHorney has the details⬇️

President Trump said he cannot guarantee the safety of Iran's players if they travel to the U.S. for the World Cup. Rep. Rick Larsen, co-chair of the Congressional soccer caucus, tells FOS: “This is the World Cup, and the teams should feel safe playing the games in the country."

FIFA is requiring all of its women’s competitions to have a woman head or assistant coach. The rule will apply to next year’s Women’s World Cup in Brazil. At the 2023 World Cup, only 12 of 32 head coaches were female. Story by @mgfleming12 ⬇️

The infamous 2012 NFL referee lockout could potentially happen again this year. The league is amassing a list of potential replacement officials, mostly from small colleges, in case it fails to reach a new labor agreement with the NFL Referees Association. By @AEricFisher ⬇️

Hawai‘i’s March Madness berth got an assist from an NBA veteran more than 8,000 miles away. Patty Mills, who recently signed with La Laguna Tenerife in Spain’s Canary Islands, was hired by the Rainbow Warriors in June to be the team's general manager. Story by @Alex__Schiffer

So @BenHorney reports via sources that Polymarket is paying MLB $300m for this deal -- how quick you think NBA and NFL will come calling? gotta get that revenue. frontofficesports.com/mlb-makes-mult…

Multiview is growing this March Madness. More broadcasters are debuting new multiview options, allowing fans to play two to four different broadcasts alongside each other. Story by @_DavidRumsey ⬇️

High Point head coach Flynn Clayman after upsetting Wisconsin in the first round: "Nobody would play us. Just like they wouldn't play Miami (Ohio). But they gotta play us in this tournament."

Dell Curry, whose jersey will be retired tonight, tells FOS he almost didn't wear No. 30. "I was going to change my number to 15 when I got to college, but they had a fifth-year senior wearing that number." Steph and Seth Curry wear No. 30 to honor him.

High Point coach Flynn Clayman: “Something needs to be done about these non-conference schedules.” He said High Point couldn't get games, Miami (Ohio) couldn't get games, Belmont couldn't get games.

High Point was 0-57 against power conference teams in school history entering today. They just upset Wisconsin for their first-ever March Madness win.

"Cinderellas are dead," they said. "The portal and NIL killed Cinderellas, they said." High Point said NOT SO FAST No. 12 Panthers just took down No. 5 Wisconsin.

One of the biggest stars from men’s March Madness last year is back for more. McNeese student manager, Amir Khan, inked 20+ endorsements last year due to his viral fame. "It feels like a dream and I’m going to wake up one day." he told @FOS. My story: frontofficesports.com/mcneese-amir-k…

Update: A new source tells me the MLB-Polymarket deal is worth $300 million over four years, not three. Hard to know the exact terms unless you're privy to the documents, but clearly @FOS is in the ballpark. Story from earlier today ICYMI: frontofficesports.com/mlb-makes-mult…