Joel Bulkley
It took a long time but MLB finally did the right thing by elevating Negro League baseball stats into the official record book of baseball. Finally they validated the success of players from 1920 until the late 1940s, giving folks like Buck Leonard of Rocky Mount, Josh Gibson, Satchel Page, Cool Papa Bell and others the recognition they earned and deserved.
It wasn’t until 1971, almost 25 years after Jackie Robinson made baseball history, that the Baseball HOF opened the door to Negro League stars. And it was not until 2020 at the start of the pandemic that MLB officially “elevated” the seven Negro Leagues to major league status, a symbolic gesture.
And it took a few more years until 2024 to get it all together in terms of compiling and double checking the stats. One result was Josh Gibson’s career .372 batting average overcame the .367 mark of Ty Cobb to become the all-time leader in baseball, an achievement worth celebrating.
TV broadcast rights for the NBA will be gigantic and could mean the end of Inside the NBA on TNT, but Charles Barkley isn’t going quietly. He’s still one of the best interviews around and generates tons of copy for reporters. The contract will start with the 2025 season.
Meanwhile, it looks like Catlin Clark with the Indiana Fever of the WNBA plays every day due to the compressed schedule caused by the Paris Olympics. They played ten games in May before many teams had five.
From ACC Network, best chance to win ACC football championship: FSU 26.2 percent, Clemson 19.3, Louisville 12, Miami 9.9, SMU 9, NC State 7.5, UNC 4.5. Numbers are from ESPN Power Index.
Good stuff. The UNC/LSU finale in Chapel Hill had a record NCAA TV audience (964,000) for a baseball regional on ESPN. Numbers are well below those for the College Softball World Series. Danny Green is doing a creditable job for ESPN on NBA playoffs. ESPN+ coverage of the Stanley Cup Finals features American Sign Language for deaf viewers. I’ll miss Bill Walton doing college hoops games. His passing brought wonderful stories from players, coaches and fans.
Not so good. Greg Olsen and Joe Davis will be Fox Sports team two for the NFL behind Tom Brady/Kevin Burkhardt. I know Brady’s getting big bucks.
Money matters. Ticket sales for the Kenan July international soccer game are going slowly so promoters offered a ten percent discount and later 20 percent Father’s Day special. More may be needed. Warner Brothers Discovery joined other streaming services in raising rates for ad-free Max monthly and annual fees. These services, which began with dirt cheap prices and free trials, lost tons of money and planned to stop the bleeding by hiking fees.
Good sports biographies are not common. Author Keith O’Brien listed his five best—Seabiscuit, Laura Hillenbrand (1999); A Season on the Brink, John Feinstein (1986); The Education of A Coach, David Halberstam (2005); Clemente, David Maraness (2006); Ali, Jonathan Eig (2017).