Commanders owner Josh Harris thought Jeff Bezos would outbid him for the team

Josh Harris thought Jeff Bezos would win the bidding for the Commanders.

When former Washington Commanders owner Dan Snyder finally put the team up for sale in November 2022, many believed Amazon founder Jeff Bezos would be the logical buyer. The NFL had gone into business with Amazon, and there were rumors that others wanted Bezos in the NFL’s inner circle. Additionally, Bezos owned a home in D.C. and The Washington Post.

You can count Josh Harris, the eventual winner of the Commanders’ bidding process, among those who believed Bezos would own the team.

“When the Commanders were potentially for sale, it started at 26North, and I had moved on, and my friend Mark Ein, who is sitting in the audience there, said, ‘Come on, Josh, let’s look at the Commanders,'” Harris said at CNBC Ceo Council Summit.

“And I said, come on, I am not going to price the Commanders for Jeff Bezos. I’ve done this before, and we’re going to spend a lot of time and get outbid. And that started a whole process of first Mark nagging me, introducing me to Mitch Rales. We created this incredible group and ultimately went through a super-complicated process which I can go into, but basically, it’s one of the harder deals I’ve ever had to accomplish.”

Harris was referring to the process of needing a large group to buy the Commanders, which has led the NFL to rethink how team sales could go in the future.

Harris was a finalist to purchase the Denver Broncos in 2022 and was willing to pay $5 billion. However, he received no assurances and moved on before the Walton-Penner family bought the team. Harris later called that a blessing in disguise, as Washington was the team he grew up rooting for as a native of the area.

Here’s the full video of Harris’ appearance, courtesy of our friends at Hogs Haven.

Sean Payton responds to Drew Brees going into the Saints Hall of Fame

Sean Payton responds to Drew Brees going into the Saints Hall of Fame, says ‘maybe’ Week 7’s Broncos game could include ceremony

The New Orleans Saints announced Thursday that legendary quarterback and Super Bowl XLIV Most Valuable Player Drew Brees will be inducted to the team Hall of Fame in 2024, teeing up one of the easier decisions that voters will have had to agree upon.

Now comes the hard part: choosing when to celebrate Brees’ induction. The Saints traditionally schedule festivities around an upcoming home game, and they have nine dates to choose from in 2024. Obviously Brees being the center of attention carries more weight than in other years. Choosing the right date might be tricky.

And there’s one tempting complication. Brees’ old coach Sean Payton is visiting the Saints with his new Denver Broncos team in Week 7 this fall. Payton addressed the news of Brees’ selection after Broncos practice on Thursday.

“So the Saints have a private group that do their own little Hall of Fame, it’s a great thing. It’s separate from the Ring of Honor. And when I called back today someone was telling me that he was going in. I don’t know which game will be the game that (he’s inducted), but hey, maybe (it’s us),” Payton grinned.

It would make a ton of sense for Brees to be formally inducted to the Saints Hall of Fame during Oct. 17’s prime-time game against Payton’s Broncos; the matchup is already being broadcast nationally on Amazon Prime Video under the Thursday Night Football spotlight, and having Payton on hand as the coach who Brees accomplished so much with would be a nice touch. You just have to wonder whether the team might feel Payton’s return to New Orleans could be too great a distraction on top of everything else surrounding Brees’ induction and the emotionally-charged game itself.

Still, it’s a very tempting opportunity to get the gang back together, at least for one night. We’ll see what the Saints are cooking up when they announce plans for Brees’ induction ceremony later this year.

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Dolphins to face Bills on Thursday Night Football in Week 2

The Dolphins ended last season by hosting the Bills in Week 18. This year, the Bills will come to Hard Rock Stadium in September.

The Miami Dolphins finished their 2023 season by hosting the Buffalo Bills in a winner-takes-all battle for the AFC East crown in primetime. In 2024, they’ll get that matchup out of the way early.

According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Bills will travel to Hard Rock Stadium to face the Dolphins in Week 2 on Thursday, Sept. 12.

“We’re thrilled to announce that we are kicking off our third season of Thursday Night Football with a huge AFC East matchup, the Miami Dolphins hosting the Buffalo Bills. Two of the top quarterbacks in the game, with two of the top offenses in the league,” Amazon executive Joe Marine said Tuesday in an announcement of the matchup. “It’s going to be a must-watch game, and I personally can’t wait to get down to Miami for it, that’s going to be a fun one.”

The Bills’ Week 18 win last season secured the team a fourth consecutive divisional title. Miami hasn’t won the AFC East since the 2008 season.

The Week 2 announcement is the first game of the 2024 season for the Dolphins to be officially announced. The NFL will release to full schedule for all 32 teams on Wednesday night.

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LIV Golf partnership with Google produces new ‘Any Shot, Any Time’ live broadcast feature for fans

A new multi-year agreement with Google will allow LIV fans to watch any player live during a tournament broadcast.

PLAYA DEL CARMEN, Mexico — A new multi-year agreement with Google Cloud and PMY will allow LIV Golf fans to watch any player live during a tournament broadcast.

The partnership deal was announced on Thursday morning just one day before the league begins its 2024 season at Mayakoba’s El Camaleón Golf Course in Mexico.

LIV’s new “Any Shot, Any Time” feature will launch later this summer on its LIV Golf Plus app, where “fans will be able to select exactly which golfers, teams, or groups they want to watch at any given time, as well as searchable and customizable on-demand highlight reels from any round of any LIV tournament.” Fans will be able to watch as many as four windows at once within the app.

“LIV Golf has been associated with innovation from its inception and is a leader in incorporating the latest and greatest technology into the sport of golf,” said Matt Renner, President of Google Cloud via a release. “As the technology partner of choice for LIV and other PMY clients, we are thrilled to help them create more engaging fan experiences with our leading generative AI tools and cloud platform.”

PMY Group is a full-service technology solutions provider that specializes in enhancing infrastructure, experience, and intelligence across sport and entertainment clients globally. The group has more than 1,000 clients across 14 countries.

In 2021 the PGA Tour and Amazon Web Services announced “Every Shot Live,” an app that would provide viewers live access to every shot from every player in a tournament. The product has only been available at the Tour’s flagship event, the Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass, since 2021. The Masters has also featured a similar product in recent years.

In addition to “Any Shot, Any Time,” LIV’s new Golf Companion App will feature 3D aerial overviews of each venue, advanced real-time statistics, virtual caddy views and customized competition recaps.

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PGA Show: This college student created the prototype of his swing training aid with Star Wars lightsabers

Dylan Horowitz created “the Swiss Army knife of golf training aids” during COVID. 

ORLANDO – Dylan Horowitz doesn’t look old enough to shave let alone order a beer yet he’s already created his own golf training aid with famed PGA golf instructor Rick Sessinghaus.

Horowitz, 20, of Stevenson Ranch, California, is a junior psychology major and the captain of the Chapman University men’s golf team in Southern California, but in his spare time he’s invented the Kavooa Pro swing training aid, a tripod-based product that can be adjusted via a patented telescoping device with rods (golf alignment sticks) to stabilize a golfer’s head and hips during the swing.

[afflinkbutton text=”Shop Kavooa Pro” link=”https://www.amazon.com/KAVOOA-PRO-Training-Allignment-Smartphone/dp/B0CLHF6C3Q?&_encoding=UTF8&tag=smgq4-20&linkCode=ur2&linkId=d04ae5810c17ddc1395efa54514223d2&camp=1789&creative=9325″]

At 16, Horowitz was taking lessons from Sessinghaus, who is best-known as the instructor to two-time major winner Collin Morikawa from a young age until late last year, at Scholl Canyon Golf Course. Horowitz’s main swing flaw was his head dipping down and forward during the swing and compensating with his arms. Sessinghaus would hold a stick to his head during lessons but once COVID struck in March 2020 they began doing FaceTime lessons and Horowitz needed someone or something to monitor his head position during this period of isolation. In MacGyver fashion, he taped a pool noodle to the top of a punching bag around his height and set it up for hitting into a net at home. When courses reopened, he realized he needed something he could take to the course.

“So, I put two Star Wars lightsabers together, poked two holes at the end of it and put it on top of a tripod,” he said.

That was the original version of the Kavooa Pro, which means stable in Hebrew. Two years and several refinements later from PVC piping to 3-D printing, he has created an adjustable training aid that can address multiple flaws in the golf swing, or as he put it, “the Swiss Army knife of golf training aids.”

“When he showed me the first prototype I knew he was on to something because of its versatility,” said Sessinghaus, who has endorsed products before but never has been involved to this extent. “Seeing it evolve was fascinating. In addition to head movement, it can help with hip movement and swing plane and even putting and chipping.”

This is Horowitz’s second time attending the PGA Show and first time with a booth. His father, mother and cousin help run the business. What’s been the biggest challenge of bringing his adjustable training aid to market?

“Figuring out how to work with my mom and dad,” he said with a laugh, noting that he’s also had to learn about tariffs, distribution, margins and the intricacies of running a business.

The unit also includes a phone clip holder, allowing users to easily take videos of their swing. Kavooa Pro, which sells for $129.99, weighs just 3.5 pounds and collapses to be stowed in the side pocket of most golf bags.

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Amazon partners with Diamond Sports; OKC Thunder games could broadcast on Prime

Amazon partners with Diamond Sports; future OKC Thunder games could broadcast on Prime.

Diamond Sports announced on Wednesday that it will partner with Amazon in a restructuring agreement. This means future Oklahoma City Thunder games could be carried on Amazon Prime.

Diamond Sports — the owners of Bally Sports — is navigating through bankruptcy, which it filed for in March 2023. This agreement with Amazon will allow Diamond Sports to emerge from bankruptcy. The agreement is subject to approval by the bankruptcy court.

Under terms of the deal, Amazon will make a minor initial investment, reportedly $115 million. In return, it will get the chance to stream NBA games on its online platform. Amazon’s interest in Diamond Sports was previously reported last month.

“We are thrilled to have reached a comprehensive restructuring agreement that provides a detailed framework for a reorganization plan and substantial new financing that will enable Diamond to operate and thrive beyond 2024,” Diamond Sports CEO David Preschlack said in a statement. “We are grateful for the support from Amazon and a group of our largest creditors who clearly believe in the value-creating potential of this business. Diamond’s near-term focus will be on implementing the RSA and emerging from bankruptcy as a going concern for the benefit of our investors, our employees, our team, league and distribution partners, and the millions of fans who will continue to enjoy our broadcasts.”

In November, the NBA and Diamond Sports agreed to an extension that will allow the Thunder and 14 other teams to have the remainder of their 2023-24 season games carried on Bally Sports.

After that though, OKC will enter broadcast free agency this offseason. Amazon Prime — the $14.99 a month online platform — becomes another viable option. If future Thunder games are streamed there, it will be at a cost.

The Thunder also recently announced their eight remaining Friday regular-season games will air on local Griffin Media television affiliates. Bally Sports and the NBA allowed their teams to explore this option during this season.

The games will be carried on Griffin stations KSBI Channel 52 in Oklahoma City and News On 6 Now Channel 6.3 in Tulsa. The games will also be carried on COX (Channel 7 in OKC, Channel 53 in Tulsa), other cable outlets, and DirecTV and DISH in OKC (Channel 52).

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Report: OKC Thunder could stream future games on Amazon Prime

Report: OKC Thunder could broadcast future games on Amazon Prime.

The Oklahoma City Thunder could have a new home to carry their games in the future.

As Diamond Sports — the owner of Bally Sports — navigates bankruptcy, the Thunder and other teams might need to find a new media home to carry games after this season.

Last month, the NBA and Diamond Sports agreed to an extension that will allow the Thunder and 11 other teams to have the remainder of their 2023-24 season games carried on Bally Sports. After that though, OKC will enter media free agency.

A potential replacement could be Amazon Prime, which is in discussions with Diamond Sports about investing in Bally Sports, per The Wall Street Journal.

The online streaming service is already home to the NFL’s “Thursday Night Football” contests. Prime Video costs $14.99 a month.

In the first weeks of this season, Bally Sports has had several instances when it couldn’t broadcast Thunder games on its online platform, which caused outrage among the fan base.

Bally Sports debuted in March 2021 on what had been the Fox Sports channels.

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Watch: Former Notre Dame player was fired as NFL coach at halftime

Bet you haven’t heard this story.

The Los Angeles Chargers’ putrid performance against the Las Vegas Raiders cost coach Brandon Staley his job.

In fact, during Amazon’s halftime report, Richard Sherman wondered out loud if Staley should still have a job in the second half. While it turned out to be Staley’s final half coaching the Chargers, a halftime dismissal would have put him in extremely rare company.

YouTuber JaguarGator9 tracked down the only time a coach didn’t survive a game. It was [autotag]Frank Coughlin[/autotag], the captain of Notre Dame’s 1920 squad after [autotag]George Gipp[/autotag]’s withdrawal from the university. He was named coach of the Rock Island Independents, one of the NFL’s founding franchises, for 1921. The problem was he also was a practicing lawyer in South Bend and refused to move to Rock Island, so he was barely around for practices.

JaguarGator9 explains it all here starting at 5:55:

So, yeah, it was clear Coughlin was not cut out for coaching. To his credit, he went on to a very successful legal career as a St. Joseph County prosecutor and Indiana’s assistant attorney general under two governors. When it comes to pro football though, he is notorious for all the wrong reasons.

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Geoffrey on Twitter: @gfclark89

Steelers vs Patriots: How to watch, listen and stream

Be sure you don’t miss this week’s Steelers game.

Here is everything you need to know so you can watch, listen to, or stream this week’s Pittsburgh Steelers game. This week the Steelers need to rebound after last week’s tough loss aginst the 2-10 New England Patriots.

Game info: New England Patriots (2-10) @ Pittsburgh Steelers (7-5) 

  • Game Day: Thursday, December 7, 2023
  • Game Time: 8:15 p.m. ET
  • Location: Pittsburgh, PA
  • Stadium: Acrisure Stadium
  • TV Channel: Amazon Prime
  • Weather: Temps in the 40s

Announcers: Al Michaels (play-by-play), Kirk Herbstreit (color), and Kaylee Hartung (sideline reporter)

Online: You can also tune in online with NFL+ and FuboTV (try it for free).

Radio: Westwood One and Steeler Nation Radio will have the game, as well as WDVE 102.5 FM & WBGG 970, AM local.

You can also follow the game with us @TheSteelersWire and of course here on Steelers Wire with our live updates during the game, along with highlights of all the key moments from this week’s game. Join us straight after the final whistle for more in-depth coverage, injury updates, and analysis of all the action.

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The Fallout TV show has big Fallout 3 vibes in first reveal

Bethesda showed off a bit of the Amazon Fallout TV show in a Vanity Fair exclusive, and it’s got some big Fallout 3 vibes

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Bethesda showed off a bit of the Amazon Fallout TV show in a Vanity Fair exclusive, and while it tells a new story in the post-apocalyptic world, it’s got some big Fallout 3 vibes going on. The plot rundown from Vanity Fair even loosely mirrors Bethesda’s first steps into the wasteland.

The Fallout TV show starts with the end of the world, as you’d expect from the series. Nuclear bombs rain down across the globe in 2077 before switching to protagonist Lucy, 200 years after the atomic catastrophe. Lucy is a lot like you at the start of Fallout 3. She’s lived her life underground in a Vault-Tec vault and has no idea what life is like on the surface or how things got the way they are.

Lucy eventually heads up on a rescue mission and faces the blighted wasteland and its manifold horrors – monsters, giant bugs, and worst of all, people. Vanity Fair says that Lucy is kind and naive, which is a pretty dangerous combination in the wasteland, but something that gives the writers plenty to to work with. 

Lucy’s journey eventually puts her in a situation where she has to question the values her Vault Overseer father instilled in her, as she clashes with the wasteland’s myriad people groups.

“The games are about the culture of division and haves and have-nots that, unfortunately, have only gotten more and more acute in this country and around the world over the last decades,” writer Jonathan Nolan, who also created Westworld, told Vanity Fair. “We get to talk about that [social satire] in a wonderful, speculative-fiction way. I think we’re all looking at the world and going, ‘God, things seem to be heading in a very, very frightening direction.’”

One of those other groups is the Brotherhood of Steel, a robot-loving militant group that’s home to one of the show’s other leads, a soldier named Maximus.

The third star is a ghoul called, well, The Ghoul. He’s a canny bounty hunter whose intelligence and keen wit helped him survive centuries of hardship. Nolan says The Ghoul is similar to Virgil in The Inferno, someone who’s been around the block before and is here to lend a hand to these youngsters he takes a liking to.

What kind of broader plot all this leads to is still a bit of a mystery, but Bethesda will likely share more in the near future. The Fallout TV show airs on Amazon starting April 12, 2024.

Written by Josh Broadwell on behalf of GLHF