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| Utah Jazzs Walker Kessler Done for Season with Shoulder Injury |
| Posted on Thursday, November 06 @ 00:00:57 PST (5 reads) | |
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The utah jazz will play the rest of this season without center walker kessler, one of their potential-packed young projects.
utah jazz center walker kessler’s 2025-26 season has come to an end far earlier than expected.
per tony jones of the athletic, the first-round pick from 2022 will undergo season-ending surgery to repair a torn labrum in his shoulder. That puts a sudden end to his fourth tour in salt lake city, which saw him average a double-double at 14.4 points and 10.8 rebounds in five appearances.
with the jazz (3-4) engaged in a five-game road trip, jones’ report states that kessler left early for evaluation on the shoulder, which has been said to have been bothering him “since the season began.” Kessler last played in friday night’s loss to the phoenix suns.
since first taking the nba floor in 2022, kessler has established himself as a top defensive threat, having previously earned the naismith defensive player of the year award as an auburn tiger in college. Last season also saw kessler lead the association with 4.6 offensive rebounds per game and matched that output in the early stages of this season to rank third among players with a minimum of five games played.
more recently, the jazz had placed kessler in more of a facilitator’s role: kessler had dished out 15 assists through the first five games of the year, his most in any five-game span during his utah career.
“we’re urging walker to involve himself a little bit more in the offense, and we are using him as a facilitator in a bunch of moments when we’re playing off the ball,” jazz head coach will hardy said after kessler had eight helpers in a preseason win over portland last month,
[per sarah todd of desert news.]“This is part of walker’s evolution. There’s going to be some good moments along the way, and there’s going to be some tough ones, but we are trying to put him in those situations a little bit more.”
in utah, the 24-year-old kessler is one of the young headliners of the jazz’s post-donovan mitchell era alongside keyonte george, lauri markkanen, and newly-drafted ace bailey, the fifth overall pick of the most recent draft. Time will tell, however, if kessler has sung his final tune for the meandering jazz, who have missed the playoffs in each of the last three seasons.
gutted for walker kessler, who was having arguably the best season of his career with highs in points (14.4), assists (3.0), steals (1.4), and ts% (78.6%)
— point made basketball (@pointmadebball)
he also modernized his game by drifting towards the perimeter more, taking 1.6 3pa/g (also a career-high) and making 75% of…[https://t.Co/bx8gqsalff][pic.Twitter.Com/yhbr4lfnbo][november 5, 2025]
has kessler played his last game for utah?
kessler is set to be a restricted free agent upon the expiration of his rookie contract after this season. The center had kept the focus on current affairs in the early stages of this campaign, but couldn’t help but express a little frustration at the start of the year before singing salt lake city’s praises.
“i’m definitely a little frustrated,” kessler said of the situation, per brian preece of ksl sports. “Regardless, you know, i love utah. I love the fan base. I love my teammates. I love the coaches, and as long as i have a utah jazz jersey on, i will play winning basketball.”
the post-kessler era begins on wednesday night, when the jazz play the penultimate game of the aforementioned road trip in detroit (5 p.M. Mt, kjzz-tv). Kessler’s injury will likely lead to extended opportunities for veteran backup center jusuf nurkic, who arrived in a june trade with the charlotte hornets.
geoff magliocchetti is on x @geoffjmags
editors pick
nba cup win would mean more to these teams |
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| Raiders 4-round mock draft after dealing Jakobi Meyers at trade deadline |
| Posted on Thursday, November 06 @ 00:00:57 PST (5 reads) | |
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The las vegas raiders landed an additional pair of day 3 picks in the 2026 nfl draft after trading away jakobi meyers ahead of tuesdays deadline. Not only do they have 10 picks next year, assuming they are awarded both compensatory picks, but they have six selections in the first four rounds.
this is a prime position for the raiders to be in, as they can shore up several of their major needs with these selections. Based on the draft order after week 9, here is our first 4-round mock draft, including the picks recently acquired in the meyers deal.
raiders 2026 4-round mock draft after trading jakobi meyers
no. 7 -- ty simpson, qb (alabama)
simpson has been flying up draft boards. Las vegas is out of range for fernando mendoza and dante moore at no. 7, but simpson may end up being the best player in the class. His game against mizzou was unbelievable; he is unbothered by pressure, and he is a pinpoint thrower with an array of passes that will make fans jaws drop. He could easily be the raiders quarterback of the future.
no. 38 -- kayden mcdonald, dt (ohio state)
mcdonald would fill the void left by christian wilkins, and then some. The 6-foot-3, 326-pound mcdonald is pro football focus third-highest rated defensive tackle in the country, and the highest-rated run defender. His arms are a bit short, but his pass-rush technique has improved this season. He is powerful, eats up space, and has a winning pedigree playing for the buckeyes.
no. 71 -- cj allen, lb (georgia)
allen has been a multi-faceted contributor for the bulldogs in each of his three college seasons. He has strong coverage skills, can line up anywhere in the box, and he is an incredible athlete with lightning speed for his 6-foot-1, 235-pound frame. Hes drawn comparisons to roquan smith and daiyan henley, which is impossible to pass up if he is available in round 3.
related: geno smith said what every raiders fan was thinking about jakobi meyers
no. 106 -- malik muhammad, cb (texas)
muhammad has all the tools to be a great nfl cornerback, and pete carroll loves tools. He could certainly stand to add some weight and strength, but he has a nice frame and is a twitchy and athletic cornerback. Muhammad has ball skills as well, recording 2 interceptions and 4 passes defended this season, and he can make some plays in the backfield as well.
no. 115 -- zachariah branch, wr (georgia)
branch is a las vegas native who should be a welcome addition to the raiders receiver room. With players like emeka egbuka, amon-ra st. Brown, jaxon smith-njigba and devonta smith near the nfl lead in receiving production, branchs 5-foot-10 stature should not scare las vegas. He has blistering speed, his production is seemingly increasing every week, and he can return kicks and punts.
no. 135 -- anto saka, edge (northwestern)
saka is a great athlete for his size, as he runs a 4.60-second 40-yard dash with a 6-foot-4, 255-pound frame. He needs to gain some weight, and he is not the most experienced player, with just under 600 snaps played in his career. But hes recorded 12.0 sacks and 13 tackles for loss in that time, as well as 59 pressures. Saka could eventually be a rotational pass-rusher, and carroll could take on the project. |
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| ISU presidential finalist Benjamin Houlton takes tough questions from campus |
| Posted on Thursday, November 06 @ 00:00:57 PST (5 reads) | |
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The gazette offers audio versions of articles using instaread. Some words may be mispronounced.
ames — in taking questions from the campus-based audience wednesday during a public forum, iowa state university presidential finalist benjamin houlton fielded one referencing the recent firing of an isu employee for comments she posted on social media about conservative activist charlie kirk’s killing.
“two months ago, an employee was terminated for something that she said on facebook,” the questioner said. “The president was ordered by the board of regents, after receiving a letter from the governor, to investigate this. If you received an order from the board of regents to terminate an employee for something that they posted on facebook, what would your response be?”
before he could answer the question, isu associate teaching professor meghan gillette — who was moderating the forum as co-chair of the isu presidential search committee — interjected and reworded the question.
“what has been your relationship when working with your board of trustees?” She asked houlton, dean of the college of agriculture and life sciences at cornell university in ithaca, n.Y., Where he also holds rank as an ecology and evolutionary biology professor.
“i have a lot of experience working with boards,” houlton said. “I have my own advisory council board of trustees. I also work with the state.
“in terms of social media, its a complicated landscape,” he said. “I will just give you my opinion. I cant comment on your case. But i dont think that its appropriate for individuals to say certain things on social media that are hateful — lets say violent.”
conceding some speech is protected, houlton said, “if theres a true threat, an obscenity … there are areas where it is not legal to engage in that kind of speech. So that kind of speech, i would definitely make sure — because its not legally protected — that it is dealt with.”
houlton also took a question about the generational decline in state support for iowa’s public universities — which in the 1980s received 77 percent of their general education funding from state appropriations and 21 percent from tuition.
today, those percentages have seesawed — with tuition accounting for 67 percent of general education funding and appropriations making up 28 percent.
“what is your opinion of flat funding from the state when we try to achieve so many wonderful things here at the university?” Isu engineering professor steve martin asked. “How do we do that in an era when were basically flat funded by the state?”
houlton said the issue is common across higher education in the united states, including at cornell, which is a private university but receives some money from the state for certain colleges, including the college of agriculture and life sciences.
“institutions have to develop significant philanthropy for scholarships, endowed professorships as a fundamental piece of an institution,” he said. “And that is something i have a track record of doing.”
houlton said his college at cornell went from $30 million a year of financial aid to $48 million per year of financial aid.
“we also went from 7 percent of our faculty having an endowed professorship to 15 percent,” he said. “So these are doable things. And working with the foundation would be critical to figuring this out.
he also pointed to efficiency.
“that doesnt mean people losing jobs,” he said. “It means working more efficiently across an organization, because we do have to figure out ways to cut costs.”
to kick off the question and answer portion of the forum, isu political science professor karen kedrowski — co-director of the new regents-imposed center for cyclone civics and director of the carrie chapman catt center for women and politics — asked houlton, “what is the role of higher education in supporting and strengthening american democracy?”
in part, houlton said, it’s continuing to grant broad access to higher education — serving iowa state’s formative land-grant mission. But he also said basic civics education is becoming more important at the collegiate level.
“ive heard various viewpoints like, it should be in high school,” he said. “But more and more were seeing students come into cornell who have a very poor understanding of the checks and balances, how it even works. How do you draft legislation? Where does the money come from? What’s the power of the purse? Whats the executive branch?
“and so im glad to hear that youre engaging in civics, because i do think that is an area that every student should probably be engaged in — to just get a basic understanding of how the united states government works,” he said. “Everybody should have a baseline, and that baseline has been lost.”
during houlton’s presentation, he shared six pillars of priorities for the campus should he get the job — including recruiting world-class talent, tapping artificial intelligence for translational research, and “uncommon partnerships for the common good.”
“im a big believer in uncommon partnerships for the common good … propelling iowa on a world stage,” he said. “So not only is this about cooperative extension — and you have such an outstanding extension system — but a focus on every person, every county. And how can we frame the cooperative extension environment into all elements of translation and as an ecosystem thats operating on behalf of the citizens of iowa?”
other pillars included excellence in business operations and staff and student enrollment, entrepreneurship and market readiness — including implementing three-year degrees.
his final pillar centered on “cyclone pride” — including athletics and the cytown project underway across the athletics campus.
“im just blown away,” he said. “I see this as a critical element. This is a land grant in action. Our athletics bring us into the living room of all of society. Theres evidence that when teams do really well, applications go way up … i’m so excited to support that.”
in wrapping his talk, houlton committed himself to “collaborative strategic planning” engaging all aspects of the campus — including faculty, staff, students, the provost, deans, vice provost, vice presidents, cyclone athletics, the board of regents and “the communities we serve.”
houlton is one of two finalists to succeed isu president wendy wintersteen. The other, david cook of north dakota state university, will participate in a public forum thursday on campus.
vanessa miller covers higher education for the gazette.
comments: (319) 339-3158; vanessa.Miller@thegazette.Com |
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| Houston Rockets jersey history No. 0 - Bobby Jones (2008) - NewsBreak |
| Posted on Thursday, November 06 @ 00:00:57 PST (5 reads) | |
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By justin quinn ,
4 minutes ago the houston rockets have had players donning a total of 52 different jersey numbers (and have one not part of any numerical series for houston assistant coach and general manager carroll dawson) since their founding at the start of the 1967-68 season, worn by just under 500 players in the course of rockets history.
to honor all of the the players who wore those numbers over the decades, rockets wire is covering the entire history of jersey numbers and the players who wore them since the founding of the team all those years ago right up to the present day.
with seven of those jerseys now retired to honor some of the greatest rockets of all time to wear those jerseys, there is a lot of history to cover.
dec 16, 2021; houston, texas, usa; former houston rockets rudy tomjanovich jersey hangs from the rafters as the rockets play against the new york knicks in the third quarter at toyota center. Mandatory credit: thomas shea-usa today sports by thomas shea, thomas shea-usa today sports and for todays article, we will continue with the second of 14 players who wore the no. 0, forward alum bobby jones. After ending his college career at washington, jones was picked up with the 37th overall selection of the 2006 nba draft by the minnesota timberwolves.
the compton, california native would play the first season of his pro career with the philadelphia 76ers after a draft night deal. He also played for the denver nuggets and memphis grizzlies before he signed with houston in 2008. His stay with the team would span just four games before hed sign with the miami heat that same season.
during his time suiting up for the rockets, jones wore only jersey no. 0 and put up 1.0 points per game.
all stats and data courtesy of basketball reference.
this article originally appeared on rockets wire: houston rockets jersey history no. 0 - bobby jones (2008) |
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| Rockets jersey history No. 0 - Bobby Jones (2008) |
| Posted on Thursday, November 06 @ 00:00:57 PST (4 reads) | |
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Houston rockets jersey history no. 0 - bobby jones (2008)
justin quinn
the houston rockets have had players donning a total of 52 different jersey numbers (and have one not part of any numerical series for houston assistant coach and general manager carroll dawson) since their founding at the start of the 1967-68 season, worn by just under 500 players in the course of rockets history.
to honor all of the the players who wore those numbers over the decades, rockets wire is covering the entire history of jersey numbers and the players who wore them since the founding of the team all those years ago right up to the present day.
with seven of those jerseys now retired to honor some of the greatest rockets of all time to wear those jerseys, there is a lot of history to cover.
and for todays article, we will continue with the second of 14 players who wore the no. 0, forward alum bobby jones. After ending his college career at washington, jones was picked up with the 37th overall selection of the 2006 nba draft by the minnesota timberwolves.
the compton, california native would play the first season of his pro career with the philadelphia 76ers after a draft night deal. He also played for the denver nuggets and memphis grizzlies before he signed with houston in 2008. His stay with the team would span just four games before hed sign with the miami heat that same season.
during his time suiting up for the rockets, jones wore only jersey no. 0 and put up 1.0 points per game.
all stats and data courtesy of basketball reference. |
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| NBA Players React To Lakers Star Deandre Aytons Instagram Post |
| Posted on Thursday, November 06 @ 00:00:57 PST (5 reads) | |
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Deandre ayton is currently in the middle of his first year playing for the los angeles lakers.
he is coming off a game where he put up 29 points, ten rebounds, two assists and three blocks while shooting 14/19 from the field in 31 minutes of playing time.
the lakers beat his former team (the portland trail blazers) by a score of 123-115.
deandre ayton makes instagram post after los angeles lakers beat trail blazers
after the game, ayton made a post to instagram that had over 50,000 likes.
he wrote: “love who loves you ????”
several nba players commented on ayton’s post.
gabe nnamdi vincent: “my dawg! 5??”
jae crowder: “5 steppin.!! ????????”
christian junior koloko: “big 5 ????????”
jarred vanderbilt: “yeaaaa 5??”
buddy hield, scoot henderson, mikal bridges and rj barrett were among the players to like ayton’s post.
ayton was the first pick in the 2018 nba draft after one season of college basketball at arizona.
he started out his career with the phoenix suns (before the last two years in portland).
right now, ayton is averaging 16.9 points, 8.1 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 1.1 blocks per contest while shooting 65.1% from the field in his first seven games for the lakers.
via the nba (after their win over the trail blazers): “a trio of @lakers combine for 82 points in w! Deandre ayton: 29 pts, 10 reb, 3 blk rui hachimura: 28 pts, 10-15 fgm nick smith jr.: 25 pts, 5-6 3pm los angeles wins their 4th straight & moves to 6-2 on the season”
ayton and the lakers will play the san antonio spurs (at home) on wednesday night. |
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| Bears GM Ryan Poles credits Ben Johnson with seeing big picture as they navigate |
| Posted on Thursday, November 06 @ 00:00:57 PST (5 reads) | |
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Chicago — ryan poles was mostly an onlooker tuesday as some seismic deals highlighted nfl trade-deadline day.
the chicago bears general manager has been at the apex of major in-season and offseason deals, but poles made a more modest move this time, trading a sixth-round draft pick to the cleveland browns for defensive end joe tryon-shoyinka and a seventh-rounder.
tryon-shoyinka is expected to play sunday against the new york giants at soldier field, and exactly how he figures into the rotation will be determined after a week of practice. The bears needed to do something with only three healthy defensive ends: montez sweat, austin booker and daniel hardy.
the browns rarely used tryon-shoyinka on defense this season, but the bears leaned on their evaluation of him coming out of college at washington and tape from his four seasons with the tampa bay buccaneers — including a 2023 game against the bears at raymond james stadium in which he had two sacks and three quarterback hits.
“there was a lot of traits to help us both in the run game and the pass game,” poles said. “Loved the effort and the motor, the range that he has. Very similar style, a few more traits than dom (robinson), but a similar style. Reliable, dependable.”
an ankle injury has robinson on the sideline, and that combined with the season-ending losses of starter dayo odeyingbo (torn achilles tendon) and rookie shemar turner (torn acl) put the bears in a bind. Poles said he made calls across the league on nearly every player he could potentially imagine being available via trade.
“you get different answers,” poles said. “Sometimes they change if you start three weeks prior (to the deadline). As you get closer, things come up and (go) down based on how teams are doing and how they feel about the player. We turned (over) pretty much every stone to find those answers.”
the return of booker from an mcl sprain in his right knee, suffered in the preseason, helped the bears feel a little more confident a role player like tryon-shoyinka could help them through this phase. Booker had a sack and forced fumble in sunday’s 47-42 victory in cincinnati, his first game back from injured reserve, dominating left tackle orlando brown jr. With a long arm move.
“it reminded us back to the momentum he had going in the preseason,” poles said. “You saw those flashes and we expect those to continue to come.”
ultimately, the bears decided it was best to stay away from a blockbuster move and maintain their higher draft picks. They currently own seven picks in 2026: one in each of the first five rounds and two in round 7.
poles said he had multiple meetings with first-year coach ben johnson over the previous few weeks, assessing where the team was, what moves were worth exploring and how every scenario would fit in the big picture.
“that was part of our conversation when we talked about how we want to build this team,” poles said. “That’s through the draft. I’ll tell you what, this staff — i’m sure you all see it — the development of some of these players, whether it’s booker or if it’s (linebacker) noah sewell, those guys have continued to get better.
“i think they’ve closed a pretty big gap with this new staff. So that gets me even more excited and gets ben excited to watch our coaches work with these young players that we draft, that are young now, that we draft in the future to have a big role on our team.”
with the bears (5-3) in the thick of a tight nfc north race with the green bay packers (5-2-1), detroit lions (5-3) and minnesota vikings (4-4), poles was struck by how naturally johnson took a holistic view of the situation.
“a lot of times you get into these moments and you get tunnel vision about right now: what do i need to do?” Poles said. “His ability to see short term and long term for us to be able to have those conversations is, as a front-office person, really awesome to have.
“not only him but also (defensive coordinator) dennis allen, too, who has been in that (head coaching) chair, to see the big picture and how we want to build this football team. They have a really good understanding of it, which is good.”
so when tuesday’s deadline passed, the bears had a veteran edge defender with experience and some production while headlines were being made in indianapolis, dallas and new york. The jets traded a pair of former first-round picks in cornerback sauce gardner and defensive tackle quinnen williams, setting themselves up for a total overhaul.
“i didn’t see some of them coming,” poles said. “There were some stunned moments there, but nothing surprises me.
“teams do what they need to do and what they think they need to do in certain windows. They’re willing to give up a lot more. We get to see how it plays out and how it impacts their football team, short and long (term).”
©2025 chicago tribune. Visit chicagotribune.Com. Distributed by tribune content agency, llc. |
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| Dallas Mavericks Cooper Flagg shouldnt worry about slow start |
| Posted on Thursday, November 06 @ 00:00:57 PST (5 reads) | |
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Mavericks cooper flagg shouldnt worry about slow start
dallas mavericks rookie cooper flagg has shown flashes of brilliance, but they have not been consistent as the team has started off with a 2-5 record.
flagg is still widely regarded as the best player in his draft class, which is why his slightly underwhelming start has prompted bleacher report writer greg swartz to give him a b- in his rookie grades to start the season.
its fair to say that no. 1 overall pick cooper flagg has struggled to begin his career but also that weve seen enough flashes to avoid any sort of panic to this point, swartz wrote.
flagg is averaging 13.6 points, 6.0 rebounds, 2.9 assists, 0.9 steals and 0.4 blocks on 39.8 percent shooting overall and 33.3 percent from deep in 31.3 minutes so far. Operating as a starting nba point guard after playing mostly power forward at duke is a big change for anymore, much less an 18 year old. Flagg will be fine, even if he hasnt been one of the best rookies in his class yet.
read more: is cooper flaggs shoulder injury more serious than mavericks are letting on?
flagg hasnt hit peak yet
its still very early for flagg, so it shouldnt spark any panic out of the mavericks. Houston rockets forward and nba legend kevin durant thinks he will be one of the best players of all-time when its all said and done.
“i think that he’s going to be a hell of a player,” durant said via dallas hoops journal reporter grant afseth. “I think that he’s going to be such a nightmare… that… he’ll be considered one of the best of all time.
“i think that you’re going from in college playing four and five to playing point guard, two guard. That’s going to be an adjustment period for everybody.”
the mavs are asking flagg to play point guard, but when kyrie irving returns later in the year, the rookie will gravitate more towards his natural position at the forward spot, which could generate more success. His guard play now will only help him become more of a complete player in the long run.
read more: 3 overreactions as mavericks drop to 2-5 following loss to rockets
stick with mavericksgameday for more free coverage of the dallas mavericks throughout the 2025-26 season
follow mavericksgameday on twitter and austin veazey on twitter |
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| SBJ Unpacks: On Location in the red for Paris Games |
| Posted on Thursday, November 06 @ 00:00:57 PST (5 reads) | |
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Tonight in unpacks: tko cfo andrew schleimer revealed on the company’s earnings call earlier wednesday that on location wound up in the red on last summer’s olympic games, reports sbj’s chris smith.
also tonight:
- college basketball tv schedule is a giant -- but solvable -- puzzle
- nfl, teams keep filling seats through nine weeks of season
- mcguirk: braves can be top-5 payroll team as mixed-use revenue soars
- op-ed: dei in sport still wins
listen to sbj’s most popular podcast, morning buzzcast, where abe madkour looks at the spurs arena plan being approved by voters, fox’s world series viewership numbers, nwsl attendance and more.
tko cfo schleimer: on location lost money on paris games
tko cfo andrew schleimer revealed on the company’s earnings call earlier wednesday that on location wound up in the red on last summer’s olympic games, calling them “a loss-making event” for tko’s hospitality subsidiary. Schleimer did not detail the extent of on location’s losses in paris in his comments.
on location secured the exclusive rights to operate olympic hospitality across the ’24 paris, ’26 milan-cortina and ’28 l.A. Games in 2021 for at least $1.3b. The losses are despite a suggestion of significant revenue: tko’s q3 live events and hospitality revenue fell 77% from $610m last year during the paris games to $138m in the three months ending this past september.
meanwhile, business is booming for tko, which is fresh off raising its full-year guidance for the third consecutive quarter. Schleimer suggested the best is yet to come, highlighting that tko will soon begin ufc’s new seven-year, $7.7b media rights deal with paramount, while zuffa boxing launches in january.
and tko president and coo mark shapiro teased some upcoming sponsor news for ufc: “we’re having fruitful conversations with new categories, and we plan to announce two major deals, new deals with new brands, by the end of the year.”
annual tv schedule for college basketball is a giant — but solvable — puzzle for networks
dan margulis flips through his spreadsheet, the puzzle pieces rattling around in his head. It’s early october when espn’s senior director of programming and acquisitions nestles into a chair at sec basketball media day, his job mostly done for the coming season.
the screen before him includes varying color coding, shades of gray and time slots. There are tweaks to be made, final sign-offs, etc.
such is life in piecing together espn’s college basketball schedule, which will include around 7,500 games across linear and digital.
“it’s like jenga,” margulis said. “You’re putting the pieces in, it’s all set and then you pull one out and everything falls down. You’ve got to go buck up.”
college basketball is one of the largest programming lifts in sports television. The scale varies by network, but carving out windows that stand out in an increasingly crowded linear landscape is a constant challenge.
the process begins with meetings at the final four in april and concludes in the weeks leading up to the first games come opening night on nov. 3. By season’s end, thousands of employees stretching from programming to production, to talent and everywhere in between, will have helped put on north of 1,500 linear games across espn, fox and cbs.
“it’s crazy. It’s insane. It is. It really is insane,” said geordie wimmer, fox sports vice president for production. “But you know what? We’re used to it. We don’t even think of it that way anymore. We really don’t. This is the time of year when you’re going to get a blank spreadsheet and you’re going to have to start filling it in.”
7,500 games, one calendar
there’s a flow chart to this whole endeavor.
programming is the head of the snake. As it goes, the operations, production and talent go. No one can move forward with planning for any game until programming confirms its slot on the calendar.
“it’s like building a puzzle,” said bess barnes, cbs sports’ vice president of programming. “We have windows that we’re looking to fill, and we do focus first on those high-impact windows.”
the sheer volume of college basketball makes finding viewership-driving windows uniquely challenging.
espn will broadcast nearly 900 games on linear this season (around 630 men’s games and 250-plus women’s contests). Fox’s slate is in the neighborhood of 300 games split between fox, fs1 and fs2 (most will be on fs1).
key broadcast dates and contests for the 2025-26 season
nov. 3 — opening night
nov. 8 — alabama at st. John’s (madison square garden), noon et on fs1
nov. 18 — kansas vs. Duke (champions classic), 9 pm et on espn
nov. 24-27 — men’s and women’s players era tournament (las vegas), tnt/trutv
dec. 2 — uconn at kansas, 9 pm et on espn2
dec. 13 — uconn at usc (women’s), 5:30 pm et on fox
dec. 20 — st. John’s vs. Kentucky (cbs sports classic), 12:30 pm et on cbs
feb. 14 — south carolina at lsu (women’s), 8:30 pm et on abc
feb. 21 — duke vs. Michigan (washington, d.C.), 6:30 pm et on espn
march 7 — unc at duke, 6:30 pm on espn
march 15 — selection sunday
april 3 — women’s final four (phoenix), 7 pm and 9:30 pm on espn
april 4 — men’s final four (indianapolis), 6:30 pm and 8:30 pm et on tbs
april 5 — women’s national championship game, espn
april 6 — men’s national championship game, tbs
cbs, too, will have more than 300 games spread across cbs, cbs sports network and paramount+, along with teaming up with tnt to broadcast march madness — a complex effort in its own right.
managing all of this, naturally, takes explicit attention to detail. “It’s a lot of prayers and a lot of excedrin,” quipped meg aronowitz, espn senior vice president of production.
at espn, one of the company’s myriad in-house spreadsheets has more than 100 rows and well over 1,000 columns designating varying arms of the operation for each game. Filling it out takes time, conversations with conference partners and bartering between sports leads at the headquarters in bristol to ensure desired time slots.
margulis will tell you programming is an exercise in horse trading. Barnes concurs: there’s an element of shuffling to the process. Derek crocker, fox sports vice president of college sports, notes there’s a persistent push and pull in trying to find the best windows for games.
programming is effectively a game of chutes and ladders — each move might send you sliding down to the beginning, or up a few rungs, before eventually landing at the final schedule.
“the hardest piece is just the number of hours that you have to spend looking at a spreadsheet, looking at multiple spreadsheets and making sure you’re tracking everything correctly,” crocker said.
“as we get further into the process on cable,” barnes said, “it’s more about volume and plugging in windows and putting together a schedule that is consistent throughout the season so that we are a destination for college basketball, really from nov. 3 all the way through march.”
nabbing a specific window is also a chore. The nba and nhl are in full swing this time of year. College football’s postseason now extends well into january. Then there’s the behemoth that is the nfl.
good luck finding a stand-alone time.
“if you’re working on nfl, you walk in and say ‘get the hell out of the way,’” margulis joked. “Sometimes there’s a misconception that because of the tonnage, if we lose a [basketball] game here or there, it’s no big deal. But it adds up and there are certain matchups that just cut through and certain periods that cut through. … It’s really picking the battles where it makes the most sense.”
a crowded calendar, however, isn’t the only battle networks face in driving viewership. Consumers are paying increasingly less attention. That means networks have even less opportunity to capture an audience.
fox sports executive vice president jordan bazant noted during a big east roundtable in new york last month that the network’s research suggested there are 75 college basketball games per week on linear. By contrast, fans on average consume parts of only two games per week.
those trends have since seen fox add two college basketball windows on friday night and saturday in prime time in recent years in hopes of better developing a captive audience.
“the question is, how do you make sure that those games really stand out besides two great brands playing together?” Bazant said. “You try and give great lead-ins, but it’s really a competitive environment. We have really great colleagues in the space with espn, cbs, nbc and tnt.
“it’s, how do you deliver a high-quality product with a high-quality matchup? That’s the competitive landscape we’re dealing with.”
‘we consider ourselves ducks’
espn’s tonya alleyne starts to smirk.
how do you best characterize this time of year? Ducks. Yes, like the bird.
“we consider ourselves ducks,” alleyne explained. “On the surface, we look smooth, but underneath that, we are paddling our little butts off to just get the season up and running.”
once programming sets the schedule and irons out time slots, production staff, talent and every other peripheral part of any given broadcast are set to start booking their travel and coordinating prep.
alleyne, a former seton hall basketball captain who’s been on the production side at espn for over a decade, notes there are built-in ways to keep everyone’s schedule straight or to recruit help anywhere it might be needed.
for example, espn keeps an archive of anyone who has ever been hired by the network. So, if there were a need for a makeup artist in idaho, there’s a person for that already in the system.
“when you’re watching it at home, you don’t know and you’ll never see them,” alleyne said. “But they’re an essential part of making sure that our shows run smoothly.”
each broadcast also takes different forms operationally. In essence, the networks scale production to balance cost, technology and talent, while also attempting to deliver consistent quality across thousands of live broadcasts.
wimmer characterizes it as a sliding scale that determines if games are shot in-person, remotely or in some hybrid fashion.
“a third of games are kind of done different ways [operationally],” wimmer said. “But our talent — and everyone’s going to say the same thing — we feel like we have the best talent in the business. They’re always going to be on-site. You can’t replicate that feeling of being at courtside.”
aronowitz puts the talent portion of the planning in football terms: it’s like a depth chart. Teams of on-air and behind-the-camera staff are shuffled into a hierarchy that allows espn to plug its best teams into the biggest games.
how that’s all worked out, however, comes in the offseason.
aronowitz rolls countless hours of talent tape outside the season on the hunt for potential promotions and possible changes to her talent depth chart.
“play-by-play is an art that evolves,” she said. “It’s kind of like jeans — one year you’re a skinny jeans person, and the next year you’re a wide-leg pants person. We’re always looking for the next iteration of play-by-play.”
women’s basketball becomes a priority play
programming women’s college basketball has its own quirks.
viewership for the sport has grown exponentially. How networks capitalize on that in scheduling is evolving.
espn has six high-major matchups set for abc this season, including south carolina at lsu at 8:30 p.M. Et on feb. 14, along with texas-tennessee and unc-duke the following day at 1 p.M. And 3 p.M., Respectively.
fox’s efforts include slotting a rematch of last season’s title game with a matchup between no. 1 south carolina and no. 5 uconn at 4:30 p.M. On fs1 to lead its thanksgiving week coverage. Cbs and tnt also have women’s matchups slotted for later this season.
there have already been massive postseason returns. The women’s national title game recorded 8.5 million viewers across abc/espn last season after hitting a caitlin clark-fueled 18.9 million viewers the season before. No previous women’s title game had topped 6 million viewers from 1996 (when espn began airing the title game) to 2023.
in looking for the best windows, margulis makes it a point to push espn teams to think less about tentpole franchise names like “big monday” or “super tuesday,” and more about maximizing whichever window features a women’s game.
“he’s really pushing hard to make sure that we’re doing that in the women’s space,” aronowitz said. “It’s displacing some men’s games in some ways, but that’s how you grow a sport and he has the courage to do it, and our bosses are all on board for that because women’s basketball is well on its way to being on the rise, if not there already.”
beyond this shuffling of windows, networks have the conferences to consider. They share preferences on certain games, windows, etc., And the networks work to fill those needs. These days, that requires significant cohesion.
the big ten’s media rights deal includes fox, nbc and cbs. The big 12 has deals with espn, fox, cbs, peacock and tnt. The acc has relationships with espn and the cw. The big east is slated to be on fox, tnt, nbc and espn.
“all leagues that have multinetwork deals now are going to have to sort of work their way through being all over the place and [be discoverable],” big east commissioner val ackerman said. “If you’re all over the place, you’ve got to find a way for the networks to cross-promote you, or have a really active social media operation, so that fans know where they can find you.”
there’s a longer game playing out in the networks’ efforts to bolster their basketball capabilities.
the early 2030s are primed for mass disruption. The bulk of the major conference media deals are up during that timeframe. The rights to the ncaa men’s and women’s basketball tournaments each expire in 2032, as well.
in the meantime, building out the broadcast capability to potentially take on those rights is paramount.
“if there ever was an opportunity for espn to get the men’s and women’s tournament at the same time — both contracts are up in ’32 — we need to be prepared by ’32 to be able to do the men’s tournament,” aronowitz said, noting it’s no guarantee espn would bid. “And whether we get it or whether we don’t, that would be foolish of us to not be prepared for that.”
preparation today means piecing together the 2025 season. But with those games largely programmed and scheduled, the “fun,” as margulis puts it, is slated to begin.
“[college basketball’s] fun,” margulis said. “We spend all our time talking about nil and all the things — and i get it, it’s not archie and jughead at riverdale high anymore. But we tend to forget that it’s great.”
college basketball on tv by the numbers
1,500+ — total linear broadcasts
630 — espn men’s games
300 — fox games
300 — cbs games
250 — espn women’s games
75 — games per week on linear
nfl, teams keep filling seats through nine weeks of season
the nfl and its teams have distributed tickets for 98% of stadium capacity through the first nine weeks of the 2025 season, according to an sbj analysis of published box score attendance. If that percentage holds for the remainder of the year, it would be a slight decrease over last year’s full-season utilization of 98.3%.
two-thirds of the league posted attendance figures at 99% or better of their capacity, and 29 teams filled at least 95%.
the team figures are only for games played in each club’s home stadium and do not include international venues.
through 135 games so far, the average nfl crowd size has been 69,329. That is 0.32% lower than last year’s full-season average, but that number is not directly comparable year-over-year because not all stadiums have played the same number of games so far. Also, this year, the extra home game in the nfl’s 17-game schedule swings back to the afc, where markets and stadiums are smaller on average.
the jaguars’ overall attendance figures improve greatly if you include their annual london game at wembley stadium, which is the largest stadium regularly used for nfl games and was sold out for the jags’ loss to the rams last month.
overall, these numbers are another indicator of the nfl’s strength and resilience, with demand staying strong despite price hikes, inflation and competition from at-home viewing and other leisure time activities. But even minor variations in attendance, along with no-show rates and average ticket prices, are watched closely by nfl commissioner roger goodell and his staff, who have made optimizing club businesses a top priority.
box score attendance figures, not to be confused with ticket sales or revenue, have limitations. They generally include all tickets distributed, whether sold or given away, not actual attendance. Furthermore, there’s little rigor or oversight to ensure consistency in methodology from venue to venue.
mcguirk: braves can be top-5 payroll team as mixed-use revenue soars
the braves aspire to be a top-five team in total payroll, chairman terry mcguirk said on a wednesday earnings call.
the team finished ninth in total payroll ($212m) this past season. The dodgers, who have won back-to-back world series championships, spent an mlb-record $509m in total payroll in 2025.
“i think aiming back to the top-five is a place that i want to get to,” said mcguirk, who declined to comment on the dodgers’ expenses. “I think we’re capable of that.”
mcguirk expects the “win-now” braves to be “quite active” in the free agency and trade markets. While failing to qualify for the postseason, atlanta was able to showcase the battery, its first-in-class mixed-use development on a national stage during the 2025 all-star game.
braves development co. President & ceo mike plant said mixed-use development revenue represents 11% of the company’s total revenue year to date.
“on a go-forward basis, we are generating over $100m annually in revenue from our real estate holdings,” plant said.
in q3, mixed-development revenue rose 56% year-over-year, from $17.4m to $27.2m. In the nine months ending sept. 30, it was up 44% yoy, from $49.4m to $70.9m. The q3 increase was largely attributed to the team’s $93m acquisition of pennant park in april. The braves expect the expanded office footprint to be 90% leased by the end of the year.
the braves’ attendance dropped from 3 million in 2024 to 2.9 million in 2025, but baseball event revenue (which combines ticket sales, concessions, advertising sponsorships, suites and premium seat fees) was up 4% (from $345.3m to $358.6m) through sept. 30 yoy due to contractual rate increases on season tickets and existing sponsorships, as well as new premium seating and sponsorship agreements. Broadcast revenue rose 14% yoy to $164.6m, while retail and licensing fell 4% to $40.2m.
baseball revenue (which combines baseball event, broadcast and retail and licensing revenue) through sept. 30 rose 7% y0y from $561.2m to $600.3m. Meanwhile, total revenue (which combines baseball and mixed-development revenue) was up 7% in q3 yoy, and 10% through sept. 30 yoy ($671.2m).
at braves investor day in june, mlb commissioner rob manfred laid out that the next national media rights deal will be key to increasing franchise values.
“the next major national media deal for mlb is jan. 1, 2029. And i do think that’s going to be a major inflection point for the industry and the values created,” mcguirk said. “Between now and then, i think mlb will be in lots of discussions with the 30 teams about the best way to structure our offerings in the future. We certainly know that local games rate incredibly high compared to national games, and that a component of that offering in 2029 will include local games. And i think that will be very attractive to many like espn and to the entire digital streaming universe.”
army, learfield agree to long-term extension through 2035-36
army is set to announce a 10-year renewal of its multimedia rights deal with learfield that will run through 2035-36.
an official announcement is slated for thursday, while exact financial details of the agreement were not immediately available. Leona served as a consultant on the deal
the multimedia rights deal is also coterminous with army’s agreement with sidearm sports, learfield’s arm centered on athletic department websites.
“there was a window for us to sit down, and it worked out well, almost organically, with being in this position to kind of say, ‘hey, where are we at? How do things look and how can we maximize opportunities?’” Army ad tom theodorakis told sbj. “We want to be aggressive, and we want to find ways to continue to elevate our brand and who we are and associate ourselves with really good partners.
“learfield from the beginning understood who we are, understood our brand and how special and how unique it is. And from the beginning it was very easy for us because we both really had true appreciation for our organizations.”
that army and learfield are continuing to work together should come as little surprise. The two sides have been in business together since 2005, with their most recent deal slated to run from 2017 to 2027.
there was also a level of cohesion from the point people on the deal. Theodorakis previously served as the no. 2 under former army ad mike buddie, a role in which he oversaw the school’s relationship with learfield.
learfield evp andrew wheeler, who’s been with the company for 20-plus years, also had familiarity with army that predates his firm’s reshuffling of responsibilities among its senior leadership team, having worked with the school during boo corrigan’s tenure as ad from 2011-2019.
“fanbase matters, audience matters, all that matters, but they have an athlete at army that occupies a different part of our world and thinks differently about the world and therefore brands, different brands are interested in connecting with that audience,” wheeler told sbj. “Things like people that are deeply embedded in the success of our country’s defense systems and defense programs, those people want to be part of the ecosystem that is army-west point.
“the ability to be side by side with [theodorakis] on that offers an opportunity for growth that is a different path to take and has very serious, major companies heavily supporting the idea of what it is to be on a sports team at army or as part of the army ecosystem. That gives a growth potential that’s really exciting and allows us to have different discussions with brands than you do when you represent some of these really big powerhouse athletic programs.”
army itself presents a unique sponsorship opportunity given varying limitations of what kinds of sponsors and businesses the school can work with. However, there’s a significant reach from a brand value perspective.
theodorakis, in particular, has pushed a more commercial way of thinking within athletics since taking over as ad in february. That includes potential opportunities with michie stadium, which just underwent a $170 million facelift.
“that’s the future of our athletic department,” theodorakis said. “It’s not just a football building. ... This is kind of like renovating our kitchen. It’s an opportunity for us to keep the unique, traditional feel of michie stadium but make modern amenities, which was very much needed.”
you can ban the acronym, but you can’t ban the practice: dei in sport still wins
as a sport management professor with expertise in organizational behavior and a former community engagement coordinator for a professional sport team, we wondered how sport, as a business and cultural institution, would respond to the anti-dei push that has taken afoot in other sectors (i.E., Higher education). What we see from the sport business sector is not an active resistance to dei woes and challenges explicitly, but many sport organizations are continuing to engage in rational, intentional and sound business decisions — that just happen to illuminate the principles of diversity, equity and inclusion. Albeit through market segmentation, community partnerships and differentiation, these business objectives, in praxis with an attentiveness to who and where sport consumers reside, are a crystallization of what dei advocates have long called for. Hence, dei becoming a “bad word” or “hot topic” (stoller, 2025) appears to be irrelevant for sport organizations, as many are still practicing dei — even if they are doing so under the guise of market segmentation, community partnerships and differentiation.
we performed a content analysis of publicly reported hispanic heritage month celebrations across the professional u.S. Sport landscape and found that three wnba teams, 30 mlb teams, nine nwsl teams, and 22 nfl teams collaborated, celebrated and championed hispanic and latin fans in ways that signal an attentiveness to their culture (diversity) and engaged in practices that uniquely elevated the visibility of latin customs, values and traditions (inclusion).
for example, the seattle seahawks held “la gente (the people)” game celebration to honor “americans whose ancestors are from spain, mexico, the caribbean and central and south america” (horton, 2025, para. 1). The seahawks acknowledged the diversity of hispanic heritage by creating a logo presenting the array of latin country flags (diversity) and centering shared values for food, family, music, dancing and embedding these cultural pillars into the game-day experience (inclusion). The intentionality of their efforts can be championed for moral reasons, but business logics as well, especially when considering “80% of latinas report having persuaded someone else to attend a game with them, a striking contrast to just 39% of white female fans and 38% of white fans” (drafted, 2025), according to the latina fandom report. From our perspective, we interpret such an insight to signal that latina fans extend their fandom to others, positioning latina fans as key market touchpoints for growing attendance and brand familiarity.
consequently, we argue that many teams are reframing dei not as a politicized agenda, but as embedded in the everyday business decisions of sport organizations that recognize the economic and cultural value of diverse fan bases.
market segmentation
teams across our sample were intentional in their market segmentation and made the deliberate effort to celebrate the latin cultures most represented in their fan base. For example, the los angeles dodgers and the los angeles angels referred to it as “mexican heritage night.” Given that they are based in southern california, there is a large population of mexican heritage within their fan base and within the broader community. On the other hand, the miami marlins refer to it as “venezuelan heritage night,” where they celebrate the large venezuelan population within miami. Thus, the intentionality of which latin countries were more pointedly celebrated signals that organizers of these events were tactful in their marketing positioning and framing of hispanic heritage celebrations. The new york yankees partnered with nahj (national association of hispanic journalists) to provide their fans with yankees logo hats that also featured a flag of one of seven latin countries, specifically bolivia, cuba, nicaragua, panama, paraguay, peru, or uruguay (nahj, 2025). Rather than attempting to represent all latin countries, the yankees model that meaningful inclusion requires us to be knowledgeable about the communities we are establishing relationships with, rather than being fearful about not representing everybody.
community engagement and partnerships
a central tenet of diversity and inclusion practice is inviting the community of focus to be a partner in the process. Thus, a collaborative approach is imperative for ensuring organizers are in active communication regarding the values, culture and traditions of the community are represented in authentic ways. For example, bay fc had a mariachi band perform before the game and the selection of a mariachi band is a culturally authentic touchpoint for the history and representation of mexican heritage in the broader bay area. Additionally, the san francisco giants and the pittsburgh pirates permitted a portion of their ticket package profit to be shared with organizations focused on empowering latino communities. Many of the teams in our sample leveraged the strength of their brand to spotlight local latin restaurants, promote upcoming performances by latin artists, and share resources that connected fans to hispanic and latino culture within their local municipalities, encouraging sustained engagement well beyond a single-game dedication.
differentiation through merchandise
through our content analysis, we found that merchandise or team apparel was an important artifact of hispanic heritage month celebrations. Teams valuing the “stickiness” of creating unique apparel for hispanic heritage month are strategically leaning into differentiation and the purchase habits and influences of a particular segment of their fan base. According to the latina fandom fan report, “56% of latina fans have influenced someone to wear specific merchandise, far surpassing 30% of white female fans and 27% of white fans.”
at its core, diversity, equity and inclusion efforts are about creating belongingness and addressing historical barriers for communities that limit their capacity to perceive themselves as welcomed within certain spaces. Thus, recent social, cultural and political pressures to limit the verbalization of dei does not necessarily remove the practice of it. These teams have the platforms to celebrate the heritage of the fans that celebrate them, and any hesitancy to do so are missed communities for strengthening fan identity and brand loyalty.
ajhanai c.I. Keaton is an assistant professor at the university of massachusetts in the mark h. Mccormack department of sport management. Chanya jeffries is a graduate student at the university of massachusetts in the mark h. Mccormack department of sport management.
speed reads
- fitch ratings upgraded the rating for citi field’s pilot and rental bonds under “queens ballpark company” from “bbb” to “a–” suggesting a high credit quality,
reports sbj’s mike mazzeo. - Tko group holdings says that it’s still seeing good signs in its sports and entertainment business and raised its full-year outlook as a result, even in a quarter that faced some tough comparisons from the year-ago period,
reports sbj’s adam stern. - Missouri will feature on-court logos from central bank and mpix, a digital photo printing company, on norm stewart court at mizzou arena for the men’s and women’s basketball season,
reports sbj’s ben portnoy. - Nwsl club gotham fc appointed former 49ers cmo alex chang as its first cro, marking the latest addition to a business leadership team that has seen significant change since the arrival of lead owner carolyn tisch blodgett in late 2023,
reports sbj’s alex silverman. - Heineken extended its global sponsorship of f1 for multiple seasons, as the dutch brewer stays in racing while reportedly planning an exit from soccer’s uefa champions league,
reports stern. - The lpga is linking up with the ladies european tour for a new event in las vegas next spring that will be part of the saudi-backed pif global series,
reports sbj’s josh carpenter. |
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| The Unfiltered Gospel of Howie Roseman: Risk, Regret, and the Relentless Pursuit |
| Posted on Thursday, November 06 @ 00:00:57 PST (4 reads) | |
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The unfiltered gospel of howie roseman: risk, regret, and the relentless pursuit of a ring
let’s get one thing straight: howie roseman doesn’t operate in the same universe as you or i. While most nfl general managers are clutching their draft picks like precious pearls, terrified of making a move that might get them skewered on sports talk radio, roseman is out here playing high-stakes poker with a riverboat gambler’s grin. He’s the guy who pushes all his chips to the center of the table, looks you dead in the eye, and dares you to call his bluff. Why? Because, as he puts it, “you don’t have great success without taking great risks.” And let’s be honest, watching him work is far more entertaining than seeing another gm stand pat at the deadline.
this isn’t some newfound philosophy he cooked up overnight. This is the core of the roseman doctrine, a belief system forged in the fires of three super bowl appearances and two lombardi trophies. It’s a mentality that screams, “we can always upgrade at every spot.” He’s not just trying to build a good team; he’s on a perpetual mission to assemble a roster so dominant that the only logical conclusion is confetti raining down on his head. If you’re not all-in on that goal, you’re in the wrong building.
the art of the aggressive move
when the trade deadline rolls around, you can practically hear the gears turning in roseman’s head. While other teams are patching holes with duct tape, he’s looking for foundational pieces. He isn’t afraid to swing for the fences, even if it looks, as he says, “controversial at times.”
take the recent acquisition of jaelan phillips. The guy tore his achilles tendon in 2023 and his acl in 2024. Most gms would see that injury history and run for the hills. Roseman? He sees a “freak ability” and a “nonstop motor.” He’s not just looking at the medical chart; he’s digging deep, reminding himself what he saw in college, watching every snap, and weighing the risk against the colossal reward, over the fear of what might go wrong. It’s a calculated gamble, but one he’s willing to make because the alternative, sitting on your hands, is a one-way ticket to mediocrity. And he doesn’t do mediocre.
building depth or just throwing darts?
of course, not every move is a blockbuster. Sometimes, it’s about shoring up the ranks. After watching his secondary get decimated by injuries, roseman went out and grabbed not one, but two cornerbacks in jaire alexander and michael carter ii. Were they flashy, front-page acquisitions? Not exactly. Alexander’s tape with the ravens in a new scheme wasn’t exactly all-pro material, despite his talent.
but roseman saw the bigger picture. “The first half of the season showed us how important corner depth is,” he explained. He understands that a championship run isn’t won by your starters alone; it’s won by the guys who can step up in week 15 when injuries inevitably strike. He’s not just collecting players; he’s building an army, giving his coaches the flexibility to match up against any opponent. It’s chess, not checkers, and every piece has a purpose.
the “no regrets” philosophy
you want to know the real secret to roseman’s success? He’s not afraid to fail. That sounds like a cheesy motivational poster, but in the cutthroat world of the nfl, it’s a revolutionary concept. He won’t be the gm who looks back and wonders, “what if?” As he says, “i won’t live with regret with the way we operate around here.”
this mentality is why he’s always sniffing around the league’s biggest stars, giving a “non-confirmation confirmation” when asked if he tried to trade for monsters like micah parsons or myles garrett. It’s why he’ll never trade a “great player” like a.J. Brown, because “you just don’t get rid of guys like that” when you’re chasing a title.
it’s a relentless, all-consuming drive to win. He owes it to the owner, the players, and the fans who pack the linc every sunday. While others play it safe, roseman is playing for keeps, chasing that confetti with a boldness that borders on madness. But as we’ve seen time and time again, there’s a fine line between madness and genius. And right now, he is walking that line better than anyone in the league. |
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