Tag: Wall Street Journal

Owner of “Mustard’s Last Stand” hot dog store in Evantston takes a jab at Ohio State fans

Really? #GoBucks

Most [autotag]Ohio State[/autotag] fans know that [autotag]Northwestern[/autotag] has released plans for a complete remodel of Ryan Field. There has yet to be an agreement, mostly due to a holdup between Evanston residents and the university.

The Wall Street Journal took a look into the issues between the two parties and that somehow resulted in one local business owner dragging Ohio State fans through the mud. The WSJ asked some residents exactly what they were concerned about and Buckeye fans came to mind.

Steve Starkman, co-owner of the famed “Mustard’s Last Stand” hotdog shop specifically, isn’t a fan of the Buckeye faithful apparently. “Ohio State fans are the only problem. They have a monster following, and they think the world is their bathroom,” Starkman told the Wall Street Journal.

Starkman said the exaggerations of opposing fans urinating on lawns and bushes only happen after games in which the Wildcats host Ohio State fans, and he went on to praise the behavior of other Big Ten schools’ fans.

Personally, living in the Chicago suburbs, anytime the Buckeyes come close, I go to the game. Not once this year or any year previously visiting Ryan Field, did I see any of this behavior.

What I did see was a boom in business, the stadium actually selling out and generating revenue for their city and football program. Sorry, Evanston residents, you just can’t see the benefit of having a Division 1 football program in your backyard and your worry about noise on a Saturday afternoon is absurd.

Also, seeing how the Buckeyes are in the East Division and Northwestern in the West Division, OSU has only traveled to Evanston a handful of times since the divisions were formed. It seems a bit like sour grapes blaming all of this discontent between Evanston and Northwestern on bad behavior for a team that’s made just three trips to Ryan Field since 2013.

For what it’s worth, according to the story, Ohio State declined to comment on the accusations but it’s hard to imagine that mixing opposing fans, beer, and an American football game would resut in only Buckeye fans being the outlier here. We’ve all been to our fair share of sporting events and all fanbases have their unruly members that make others look bad.

But yeah, nice try.

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Wall Street Journal report details Jay Monahan’s use of PGA Tour-owned jet, criticizes other expenditures

The report was also critical of various Tour expenditures, including compensation for retired executives.

Traveling via a private jet is a luxury for most. For PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan, it’s a requirement.

A Wall Street Journal report has detailed Monahan’s use of a PGA Tour-owned jet for both personal and business trips, citing flight records, a commercial jet-tracking service and various sources. As part of the report, the Tour told the Journal that Monahan, “is required by its Policy Board, which includes players, to use the corporate plane for all air travel—business and personal—because it provides the ‘necessary level of efficiency, privacy, and security.’”

Flight records largely showed the plane was used for business travel to airports near Tour events, but also showed trips to Steamboat Springs, Colorado, Missoula, Montana, Nantucket, Massachusetts, and Turks and Caicos.

The professional golf discourse over the last year has been dominated by money since LIV Golf joined the fray. Supported by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund and widely criticized as an effort to sportswash the Kingdom’s human rights record, LIV Golf offers massive purses and multi-million dollar contracts and has plucked away some of the Tour’s best players, such as Cam Smith, Bryson DeChambeau and Dustin Johnson.

While referencing its financial battle with LIV, the jet travel was one of multiple points of contention the Journal raised in regards to the Tour’s expenditures:

  • The PGA Tour’s new $81 million headquarters
  • Monahan’s 2020 earnings, which totaled $14.2 million
  • Retired executives were paid $8 million in severance and $32 million in other compensation from 2017 to 2020, with more than half going to former commissioner Tim Finchem

The Journal also mentioned the Tour’s recently announced changes that will see more of the top players at the same tournaments, 12 elevated events featuring an average of $20 million purses and an increase to $100 million for the Player Impact Program. The Tour also provided the Journal with a document that projected 55 percent of its $1.52 billion in projected revenue would go to its players.

Read the full report here.

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Report: LIV Golf draft contract outlines everything from $1 million bonuses for winning a major to interview and apparel rules

The Wall Street Journal reviewed a contract that detailed apparel requirements and intrusive restraints.

According to a report, the Wall Street Journal has reviewed a LIV Golf draft contract offered to players in order for them to join the upstart circuit led by Greg Norman and backed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund. While it’s unclear whether the terms of the draft are included in other LIV contracts, the report provides a brief peek behind the heavily guarded curtain.

The draft contract did not include mention of the hundreds of millions of dollars that players have reportedly received, like $200 million for Phil Mickelson and $125 million for Bryson DeChambeau, with the Journal reporting that a separate rider specific to players included details about the money.

The following “unusual provisions” were included in the Journal’s reviewed draft contract:

  • Players are awarded $1 million for winning a major championship
  • Players must wear LIV Golf apparel (as seen with Patrick Reed at the British Open)
  • Players are not allowed to give interviews without approval
  • Players are to help with recruiting other players to join LIV Golf
  • Players must receive “approval for most of the logos they wear and branded products, ‘like coffee mugs,’ that they use at events”

The Journal also noted that the draft contract was, at times, comparable to what players dealt with as PGA Tour members, saying “the deal is structured with the players as independent contractors. They also broadly sign away their media rights from LIV events.”

Ironically, one of Mickelson’s biggest gripes with the Tour was how they handle media rights.

Lynch: Mickelson cares about rights, just not the rights abused by his Saudi pals

“LIV Golf, as a start-up, is proud to offer our golfers competitive contracts,” a LIV spokesman said in a statement to the Journal. “Our future is bright and we continue to be excited by the player and fan response.”

Mum has been the word when it comes to LIV Golf contracts, but that may soon change. Last week, three suspended PGA Tour players – Talor Gooch, Matt Jones and Hudson Swafford – lost a ruling that would have allowed them to compete in the FedEx Cup Playoffs. The players were suspended for competing in LIV Golf events. Contracts were submitted under seal to be used for last week’s hearing, and according to the Journal, a federal judge is expected to rule on a motion by the Tour to unseal those contracts this week.

In other legal action, 10 players have sued the Tour over their suspensions, while the United States Department of Justice is investigating the Tour for potential antitrust violations.

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Report: No fans in stadiums for 2020 could cost Panthers $143 million

Just how much depends on the team and the stadium.

The 2020 NFL schedule is out and the plan is to proceed with the regular season as usual, beginning in early September. That said, there are a thousand questions that need to be answered between now and then. Near the top of the list is if teams will be allowed to have fans in their stadiums or if the pandemic will make that impossible.

Panthers owner David Tepper recently suggested we could possibly see some fans in stadiums this year, but they will not be at full capacity.

If the league has to go forward without fans in the stands, it would obviously cost a great deal of revenue.

Just how much depends on the team and the stadium. According to an estimate by Forbes, Carolina could lose $143 million if there are no fans at Bank of America Stadium this year, which is based on 2018 revenue. The Cowboys would be hit hardest by a fanless-season. Forbes says Dallas could lose $621 million this year.

There’s nothing wrong with hoping that fans get to show up for games like usual, but it’s better to be safe than sorry. Recent reporting in the Wall Street Journal suggests that having stadiums full of people could have a superspreader effect, which is worth avoiding no matter how much money it costs.

The league is preparing for these potential losses by changing the rules for how much debts teams are allowed to hold. Owners voted to increase that limit from $350 million to $500 million, per Sports Business Daily.

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