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gumnut-logic · 3 years

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It was late.

It had been a very long day.

A very, very long day.

Scott had been held back at the danger zone by bureaucratic nonsense and a CEO throwing a fit over a couple of Thunderbirds parking in his carpark and the resultant damage to a nearby building.

The insensitivity and self-involvement had John reining Scott in over comms. It wasn’t like he was going to hit the guy, really, no matter how satisfying it might have been. But it had been a gruelling and messy rescue digging people out of a collapsed shopping mall.

He and his brothers had been digging for hours.

Eventually he had to call it and had sent Thunderbird Two back to base.

He had intended to follow shortly after, but…obstacles.

It was just past three in the morning when One streaked into a hover above Tracy Island. The shift to vertical flight was smooth and mostly subconscious. Scott felt his ‘bird in his bones.

As he lowered her through the gap left by the pool, a dim light from the lounge told him he wasn’t the only one awake.

He had his suspicions who it might be and that only had him working through post-flight faster.

It could be Grandma, but chances were it was Virgil waiting for him to come home.

He didn’t always do this. Only after the difficult ones.

And this one had been far from easy.

Scott hurried up to the locker room and, shucking his uniform, washed the sweat and grime from his skin. It felt good to be clean, an extra step further away from the tragedy they had left behind.

He didn’t bother getting dressed other than to throw on some pyjama bottoms and an old t-shirt. he would check on his brother, possibly grab a quick bite of food and a drink, and then hit the sack.

The house was quiet as he made his way to the lounge. No doubt Grandma and Virgil combined were a force that saw the younger Tracys safe in bed. Virgil likely then turned on his partner in crime and bundled her off as well.

He was determined like that.

Sure enough, a quiet step into the lounge and he found his brother in their father’s chair.

Asleep.

Dark curls let loose from their product by a long-ago shower were a hastily combed mess on his forehead as Dad’s chair held Scott’s brother as if it were its owner. The worn upholstery cradling worn out rescue operative ever so gently.

Scott’s bare feet made little sound as he stepped across the hardwood floor. It was a warm night. The open windows let in a soft breeze off the Pacific laced with the honey scent of flowering pōhutukawa trees.

Virgil muttered and shifted in his sleep.

The sound drew Scott’s attention back to his brother. The desk lamp was the only source of light in the room beyond the starlight far above. The moon had already set and outside was almost as dark as it got, the ocean murmuring in the distance.

There was paper on the desk.

Scott didn’t use much in the way of paper himself. Most of his work was digital, often holographic and as ecologically sound as he could get it.

Virgil, however, did keep a stash of different surfaces to art on in his studio. Paper was one of them. Obviously, some had made it out tonight.

Pencil sketches covered the white sheets. Eyes, half drawn faces. Gordon popped up in one corner, a familiar smile on his face. Thunderbird One had her grapple out and was lifting something half-drawn.

He found his own face staring out of the paper. His drawn self was obviously angry and glaring at a faceless head.

Scott arched an eyebrow at the obscenity scratched into the cartridge under the non-person creature.

Virgil had obviously not been happy that Scott had been held up.

There were other words on the page amongst the drawings. Virgil doodling and possibly venting in the process. Even Scott could see the emotion drawn in graphite.

He sighed.

As if agreeing, Virgil snorted and tried to turn over in the chair, a manoeuvre that wasn’t recommended.

Scott caught his brother under his arms as he tried to slide off the leather upholstery.

He earned a grunt for his efforts. Bleary brown eyes opened and stared up at him. “Sc-t?”

“Hey.” A soft smile. “You planning on camping out tonight?”

Another grunt and his brother tried to right himself in the chair. “You took too long. Why didn’t you sic John on ‘em?”

“I did. But not until tomorrow. John needs his sleep as much as you do.”

“Yes. Yes, he does. Tol’ him.” Virgil’s eyes drifted closed again and he began to sink back into the chair.

“Oh, no you don’t. You’re going to bed, little brother.” Scott gripped Virgil a little tighter and pulled him up and out of the chair.

Various limbs pinwheeled a little and Scott ended up with his arms full of dopey brother, but he got the man on to his feet.

Virgil grumbled into his t-shirt and Scott let off a snort of a laugh. His biggest brother was hopeless when his sleep was disturbed. It was an ongoing source of prankdom – at the risk of the perpetrator’s life.

Hell, Gordon had managed to draw in a second pair of eyebrows on Virgil’s forehead once – while the man was supposedly awake and nursing his coffee.

The double-eyebrowed death monster that had resulted once enough coffee had been ingested was of legendary proportions. Grandma had literally roasted Gordon alive and a ban on markers on anyone’s faces had been instituted for all eternity.

Gordon was a multitalented artist, however, and simply switched mediums.

The honey had Scott blowing a circuit.

But dopey Virgil was a familiar and smile-inducing feature of the Tracy household.

Scott found himself grinning.

“Shuddup.”

Well, at least Virgil had managed a couple of neurons worth of thought.

Scott’s smile only got wider.

Virgil groaned and pushed his brother away and stumbled a little. “’M gonna bed.”

“You do that.” Scott had to stick out a hand and steady him as he wobbled into the side of the desk. “Need a hand?”

That triggered some incoherent grumbling that threatened bear territory. Scott couldn’t help himself and just grinned more as Virgil teetered away in the direction of the elevator.

The fact Scott had to save him from falling into the sunken lounge was probably a sign that the answer to his question was a definite ‘yes’.

A hand on his brother’s elbow prompted more grumbling, but the elbow wasn’t yanked away and by the time they made it into the elevator, Virgil had pretty much faceplanted himself into Scott’s shoulder.

The grin turned into a fond smile as he hit the button for the residential levels.

“You neeb togoto bed too.” It was muffled by the sleeve of Scott’s t-shirt.

“That’s the plan.”

“You bedda.”

Scott wrapped an arm around his brother’s shoulders. “Or what?”

More incoherent grumbling.

Scott pulled him in a little tighter as the elevator doors opened.

It was like leading a zombie down the corridor, though Scott could easily empathise. He was looking forward to his own pillow as soon as he saw Virgil to his.

A yawn escaped.

His brother looked up as if the medic had bypassed his brain and booted in safe mode. “You need sleep. Go to bed.”

He gestured towards door to Virgil’s rooms. “After you.”

Virgil frowned. “You first.”

Scott rolled his eyes and, reaching around his brother, activated the door and, with a little manoeuvring, manhandled Virgil into his rooms.

“Hey!”

His hand returned to his brother’s elbow and he marched him into his bedroom, amid protests.

“You need to look after yourself.” Virgil finger was jabbed into Scott’s breastbone.

Was it possible for a human to have one half of his brain awake and the other asleep at the same time? Apparently, some birds could do that. Gordon had gone into great detail that year they spotted some migratory waders landing on their beaches mid-transit.

In any case, Virgil obviously wasn’t all there as Scott backed him up against the end of his bed and pulled back the covers. Virgil continued to nag Scott to bed with varying levels of coherence. Smiling, Scott gave his rambling brother a gentle nudge and their gentle giant went Gulliver, flat on his back.

“Scott?!”

The eldest yanked up the covers and muffled the outraged mutterings. “Yes, Virgil?”

But his protests began to fade away and, as Scott pulled down the covers a little and tucked them in, he realised Virgil’s eyes were already drooping again.

Dopey indeed.

He brushed curls off his brother’s forehead. “Sleep, Virg.”

“Mmm, Sco’, go bed.”

Softly. “I will.”

“Mmmhm.”

Scott couldn’t help but smile a little more as Virgil drifted off.

A final touch to his brother’s hair and Scott straightened, his body creaking enough to remind him, that yes, he needed his bed as well.

He slipped quietly out of Virgil’s room and secured the door. A glance down the corridor, a thought, and he walked quietly down to check on Gordon.

The last he had seen of his fish brother had involved sad eyes and concrete dust. A quiet step into his rooms and he found Gordon as he had suspected he would.

The aquanaut was tangled in his sheets and throttling his pillow.

There was a frown on his face.

Much practised manoeuvring and he managed to straighten the Fish out and untangle him from his bedclothes.

Half asleep protests were halted by a plushie squid that awake Gordon would claim to his death never left the mantle above his bed.

Scott knew better.

His little brother quietened, falling into a deeper sleep.

After that, Scott couldn’t help but check in on Alan. It was probably a fortunate thing, because opening the door found Alan asleep in front of it.

The littlest Tracy had a history of wandering in his sleep. Scott had it checked out and it was directly related to early childhood trauma. Which one was a game of pick one.

It was managed, but occasionally it flared up. One of the most common symptoms was climbing out of bed and sleeping on the floor. Sometimes, the piece of floor chosen was a little inconvenient.

Scott was just happy the piece chosen wasn’t a balcony. Five and now Eos had been tracking Alan while he slept for years and issued alerts if he should wander too far.

Scott slipped into the room sideways and, with cracking knees, lifted his little brother off the floor.

Fortunately or unfortunately, Alan shared his sleep type with Virgil and slept like the dead. So, it was easy to move him over to his specially plush rug and snuggle him up with a pillow and quilt from his bed.

Alan muttered something about Virgil pulling him up, possibly something to do with the day’s rescue.

Scott reached out and touched Alan’s cheek.

His little brother mumbled his name and leant into his hand.

Scott blinked. The emotion that suddenly gripped him was just a sign of how tired he was.

Letting go, he pushed to his feet and slipped from the room. In the corridor, he closed his eyes and leant back against the wall for a moment.

One to go.

He tugged at the collar of his t-shirt. “Eos? You there?”

“Where else would I be?” Despite the smart-ass remark, her voice was quiet. Something she had learnt the hard way.

He ignored the comment. “John’s status?”

“John is currently in REM sleep. No signs of nightmare. Pulse regular, respiration as to be expected, body temperature 36.7 degrees Celsius. John is well, Commander.”

Scott let out a breath. “Thank you, Eos.”

“You’re welcome. Kayo and Mrs Tracy are asleep in their rooms, as is Hiram. Which is a concern, if I may say so, because he left Max on the ceiling.”

A blink. “Again?”

“It would appear so.”

Scott groaned. “Keep him out of the hangars this time.”

“I will try. But you know how he is.”

A grunt and Scott pushed himself off the wall. “I’m going to bed.”

“Good. Virgil was adamant you do exactly that.”

A frown. “Or what?”

“He said ‘or I’ll knock his ass out and drag him there myself’. His tone seemed humorous, however, John said it was a half-truth.” A pause. “Which half, I’m not sure.”

Another grunt. “Both halves, most likely.” To stave off a round of questioning at that, Scott quickly followed up with, “Tracy Island out.”

The house fell quiet after that and he let his shoulders drop, rolling his neck as he made his way to his own quarters. In his rooms lay freedom. A moment where he could just be himself, relax and sleep.

Sleep.

The door clicked shut and exhaustion caught up with him. It was a matter of steps to his bedroom, a modicum of the last of his energy to shove the covers aside, and he let himself fall face first into his pillow.

His body melted into the mattress.

It had been a shitty rescue, but his family was all home, safe, uninjured and resting.

He could let go.

So he did.

-o-o-o-

#thunderbirds are go #thunderbirds #thunderbirds fanfiction #Scott Tracy #Virgil Tracy #nuttyfic reblog #a bit recent I know #but it is fluffy #and has sleepy Virg

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rickhorrow · 5 years

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15+5+5 To Watch

15 TO WATCH/5 SPORTS TECH/POWER OF SPORTS 5: RICK HORROW’S TOP SPORTS/BIZ/TECH/PHILANTHROPY ISSUES FOR THE WEEK OF OCTOBER 14

with Jacob Aere

A single tweet from Houston Rockets GM Daryl Morey escalated into a geopolitical crisis, pitting the NBA's progressive brand against the influence of Chinese money. According to CNN Business, all of the NBA's official Chinese partners have now suspended ties with the league in the wake of Morey’s provocative (and soon deleted) tweet about Hong Kong freedom last week. And months after paying billions of dollars to extend its streaming deal with the NBA, Tencent Holdings has "suspended all reports/streaming of Houston Rockets." Notably, nearly 500 million people in China watched the NBA on Tencent last season. The New York Times further quoted a source who stated that “China’s punitive response could cost the Rockets around $25 million this season,” and Yahoo Sports last Wednesday reported that “at least five unnamed teams fear that the $116 million salary cap projected for the 2020-2021 season could drop by as much as 10-15%.” Obviously, the NBA has significant business interests in China. At the same time, it has positioned itself as the most progressive of mega American sports leagues by supporting social activism. Will those values be upheld now that the league's bottom line is at risk?

Last Sunday was the final day of the MLS regular season, which means the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs bracket is officially set. After an almost two-week break (which many claim is way too long), the 14 MLS teams advancing to the playoffs return to the pitch coast to coast on October 19-20, covered by MLS’ national broadcast partners ESPN, FOX Sports, and Univision. In other top MLS end of season news, LAFC Captain Carlos Vela set the new single-season MLS scoring record with 34 goals, breaking Atlanta United Josef Martinez's record of 31, which he set last year. (Vela and his LAFC squad have a first round bye and then face the winner of Minnesota-LA Galaxy match on October 24.) And Inter Miami has the No. 1 pick in the MLS Expansion Draft on November 19 after winning the "Expansion Draft coin flip” in New York. The team has "first dibs" over fellow 2020 expansion team Nashville SC and also has the No. 1 pick in the college Superdraft in January, according to the Miami Herald.

Elsewhere in MLS, DC United has ended their broadcast deal with subscription-based streaming service FloSports after less than a year. The four-year local media rights deal, which was only signed in January, was worth a reported $12 million, according to the Washington Post. The team’s final regular-season home game of the year, against FC Cincinnati on October 6, was made available to all fans for free through a live stream on DC United’s official website. The move brings to an end what proved to be a problematic deal for DC United. Fans of the franchise were initially unhappy at having to pay between $5.99 and $8.99 per month for FloSports, which was compounded when the streaming service suffered technical difficulties. DC United’s draw against New York City FC in March, for example, was marred by interruptions. The partnership never fully recovered and now the club is on the hunt for a new local media rights partner in time for next year.

The Washington Mystics overcame the Connecticut Sun to win Game 5 of the WNBA Finals and claim the franchise's first championship. The win delivered long-awaited titles to the WNBA's best player, Elena Delle Donne, as well as its all-time winningest coach, Mike Thibault. League MVP Delle Donne, whose sponsors include Nike, Gatorade, and Christiana Care Health System, put up 21 points and 9 rebounds in 37 minutes, while Belgian sensation Emma Meesseman finished with a team-high 22 points and became the first bench player to ever win WNBA Finals MVP. The victory also marked the second time in 16 months that a D.C. sports team had won its first title (after the Capitals won the Stanley Cup in June, 2018), and the second time in two days that a D.C. sports team played arguably its most memorable game, after the Nationals beat the Dodgers to advance to the NLCS last Wednesday. The Nationals hold a 2-0 advantage over the St. Louis Cardinals in the league championship series, and have to win at least 6 more games, including the World Series, to reach the Mystics’ lofty heights.

The XFL locked in its player draft to take place on October 15-16. According to Cynopsis Sports, player selections will be announced on XFL.com, @xfl2020 on Twitter, @xfl on Instagram, and through the social media channels of the eight XFL teams. Over the two-day draft, each XFL team will populate a 71-man roster by selecting players from a set of positional groupings. One quarterback will be assigned to each team prior to a five-phased draft, phased with 1) Skill players 2) offensive line 3) defensive front seven 4) defensive backfield, and 5) an open draft of all positions. The draft pool will include approximately 1,000 professional football players, all of whom accepted a Commissioner’s Invitation and passed a standard background check.

ISC exec Grant Lynch drives into sunset. Sunday's Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series 1000 Bulbs 500 at Talladega Superspeedway marked the final race of Rick’s friend longtime track Chairman Grant Lynch’s tenure, and ISC put out a video thanking him for the 26-year run. Lynch joined the track in January 1993, and over the years he has become one of NASCAR's most well-known and respected track executives, influential behind the scenes and constantly doing media appearances. Lynch is retiring after this year and is set to be replaced by Talladega's vice president of marketing and sales Brian Crichton. Daytona International Speedway, the flagship track of Talladega’s parent company, ISC, released a montage Sunday morning with several senior executives sharing their memories and thanking Lynch, including NASCAR Vice Chairman Mike Helton, ISC President John Saunders, and Chief Innovation and Development Office Craig Neeb. Alas, we won't know the outcome of Sunday's playoff race until Monday, as rain delayed the race's conclusion. Talladega also unveiled their new $50 million infield renovation this past weekend – which will serve as a lasting legacy to Lynch.

SoFi sees new Rams and Chargers home as an efficient way to market. For a reported $400 million over 20 years, SoFi, a financial startup that provides student and personal loans, was awarded the naming rights to the Los Angeles stadium that will soon be home to the Rams and Chargers, two teams that relocated to Los Angeles within the past three years. The stadium is set to open in 2020, and AdWeek went behind the scenes to investigate why the young tech company made such a significant investment there. As AdWeek noted, the partnership guarantees that SoFi will be associated with the 2022 Super Bowl, the 2023 College Football Playoff, and the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2028 Olympics, all of which will take place at SoFi Stadium. It also doesn’t hurt that the stadium is only three and a half miles from LAX, guaranteeing SoFi free additional advertising from every flight in and out of the city.

The Los Angeles Chargers are struggling to sell personal seat licenses at SoFi Stadium. One high ranking team executive told JohnWallStreet that Dean Spanos’ organization is roughly $350 million short of their initial $400 million target. While it’s not uncommon for large scale construction projections to be slightly off, off by nearly 87.5% is an abnormally wide miss. An initial study conducted by Legends subsidiary CSL suggested that the market could support $1 billion worth of PSL sales (Rams: $600 million, Chargers: $400 million). When the Chargers stumbled with CSL’s suggested pricing, a second study was done and the team’s sales target was lowered to $150 million. But Spanos’ club isn’t even close to reaching that number. A source said that while the Rams are nearing $500 million in PSL sales, the Chargers have sold only $50 million worth. Rams owner Stan Kroenke is understandably upset about his tenant’s inability to move PSLs. Those revenues are supposed to go towards the new venues’ constructions costs (about $5 billion) and Kroenke is responsible for the difference. The Chargers’ second class citizen status in L.A. has also made it difficult for them to sell high-priced products.

The World Health Organization (WHO) announced a four-year deal with FIFA to promote healthy lifestyles through football globally. According to SportsPro, the agreement includes multiple areas of collaboration, including: Advocacy to promote a healthy lifestyle through football; Policy alignment to ensure tobacco-free environments at FIFA events; encouraging national football federations to adopt tobacco-free policies, including at stadiums; and enabling WHO to provide technical advice to FIFA on health matters; Building on FIFA events to institute lasting improvements in health and safety; Joint programs and initiatives to increase participation in physical activity through football, in line with WHO guidance, as well as working with national associations and networks of WHO goodwill ambassadors, football players, coaches, and volunteers to increase physical activity through football. While we continue to take smoke-free sporting environments and related health initiatives for granted in the U.S., that’s not the case in much of the rest of the world. The new WHO-FIFA tie up can make inroads in these policies that benefit all sports fans.

A lawsuit is holding up redevelopment of the Oakland Coliseum site, and MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred threatens relocation. According to JohnWallStreet, Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf confirmed last Tuesday that MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred has threatened relocation of the Oakland Athletics if the city fails to drop a lawsuit filed to prevent Alameda County from selling its stake in the land on which the Oakland Coliseum sits to the team; the city wants the county’s 50% share, but lacks the funding necessary to make the purchase. A’s owner John Fisher intends on redeveloping the 155-acre site to help pay for a new $850 million “privately financed” waterfront ballpark and mixed use space. It should be noted that “many people believe the most logical solution is to build a new ballpark - much less expensively - on the Coliseum site.” Manfred has made it clear, however, that construction of the Howard Terminal ballpark and the Coliseum redevelopment project (which does not include construction of a new sports venue) are a package deal. Unless the lawsuit goes away, the city risks losing the A’s to Las Vegas, just as it lost the Raiders.

What’s the hottest New York City Marathon training meal? Pizza! Last week, TCS New York City Marathon footwear and apparel sponsor New Balance mapped out plans for its 2019 marketing campaign, unveiling an integrated campaign that not only includes runners, official footwear, apparel and accessories, out-of-home advertising, and digital/social engagements, but also a pop-up activation in the NB Pizza Co. The initiative was opened to the public on October 11 and will be open through marathon weekend, November 2-3. Runners from around the world can join the “Miles for Pizza” Challenge,” log miles and cash those in when they arrive in New York. Andy Downin, New Balance Head of Global Running Marketing, briefed Cynopsis Sports about the concept. “Our goal with the NB Pizza Co. pop-up location is to expand upon the Runway Pub that our London team executed this past spring as a part of their London Marathon marketing campaign,” Downin said. “The NB Pizza Co. pop-up gives us the chance to celebrate the sport of running with the world around the TCS New York City Marathon, the largest marathon in the world.” Just call it a big slice of marketing genius.

U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee relaxes Rule 40 guidelines. The guidance relates to Rule 40 of the Olympic Charter, which restricts the use of athletes’ names and images for advertising purposes. U.S. Olympic and Paralympic athletes will be able to thank personal sponsors, appear in advertisements for those sponsors and receive congratulatory messages from them during next year’s Tokyo Games under guidance released last Tuesday by the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee. Official partners will maintain exclusive use of Team USA and Olympic Games logos and imagery, but athletes’ personal sponsors will be permitted to run generic ads. The same brands will no longer face a deadline to put a campaign into market prior to the Olympics and will have more freedom on social media. The loosening of marketing rules gives athletes more freedom to benefit from sponsors they deal with directly, rather than limiting advertising to official partner companies of the USOPC and IOC. Are you listening, NCAA?

AdWeek shows how the NFL connects television, advertising, and American culture. This month, AdWeek notes, network TV “returns once more with a shiny slate full of fall debuts. It’s an annual ritual of foreordained failure, with the vast majority of shows unlikely to survive to see a second season. Only one form of broadcast programming really matters anymore, economically for the media industry and existentially for American culture: sports, broadly—and the NFL, specifically.” Some of the metrics are obvious: 19 of the 20 highest-rated broadcasts in TV history have been Super Bowls. More than a billion people reportedly tuned in for the 2018 World Cup final. Other stats are more surprising: At peak, 93 of the top 100 rated shows in a single season were sports programs. Tellingly, through Week 5 of the 2019 season, over 142 million people tuned into an NFL game, with each game averaging 16.7 million viewers across TV and digital, a 6% increase over last year. Streaming is up 51%, and all 20 of the top 20 highest-rated TV programs this season are NFL games.

Snapchat enables in-game purchases for first time in new campaign with Adidas. Adidas has launched a new, interactive campaign on Snapchat which, for the first time, will enable users to purchase a product via a game in the app. Through the game, players will also be able to purchase the latest Adidas cleats, the first time such capacity has been expanded to a game, and a significant step in Snap's eCommerce efforts. This new campaign from Adidas is not part of its Games platform as such, but it underlines Snap's push towards gaming, as it seeks to maximize its appeal and keep its users in-app for longer. It will also help boost Snap's combined gaming and advertising ambitions, and ideally, its appeal to the gaming market. In itself, Snap Games offer new advertising potential, but the addition of a new game/product tie-in process, with in-app purchasing, could provide another way for brands to create engaging, immersive campaigns.

Finally, the Los Angeles Times answers a question that’s been bugging us for years – where do football teams store the giant American flags that can cover the entire field during the National Anthem? The Times’ Sam Farmer “did some asking around,” and here’s what he found out. Some teams, the L.A. Rams among them, rent their giant flags for special occasions. Others, such as the Minnesota Vikings, own their flag and assemble it about four times per season – it comes in six huge sections held together by hidden Velcro seams. The Vikings’ flag is stored in six separate carts similar to large laundry bins. The field-size flags weigh about 1,100 pounds and cost about $42,000 to buy and $6,000 to rent according to a company that manufactures them. And NFL Films, in a feature on the 300 foot flags, noted that each stripe is 11 feet wide, each star is 7 feet tall, and teams use about 150 volunteers to properly display the flag before games. So keep that in mind as the 2019 football season, and all those giant flags, continue to unfurl.

Top Five Tech

Technology, in the form of social media, has caused chaos for the NBA in China. The NBA’s troubles in the world’s most populous country began when Houston Rockets team manager Daryl Morey took to Twitter in support of Hong Kong protesters. His tweet, which has since been deleted, included an image that read, "Fight for freedom, stand with Hong Kong." Days later, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said that he supported Morey "in terms of his ability to exercise his freedom of expression," including on social media, which sparked outrage in China. NBA China lists 11 wholly-owned Chinese companies as its official partners in the country on its website, all of which now say they have halted business with the league. There's a lot at stake for the NBA. The Chinese market makes up at least 10% of the league's current revenue, and could reach 20% by 2030. By sending out one tweet, the entirety of the NBA’s future is China is in jeopardy. It may behoove the league to begin focusing more intently on India moving forward, as we discussed last week.

Rugby World Cup gets 360 degree social media. According to SVG Europe, International Games Broadcast Services is a team of four that is creating a variety of content, including 360-degree videos, quick video clips, stats and facts, hero-worship content, and more for delivery via Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. The 360-degree video is captured using GoPro 360-degree cameras, and there is no need for someone to manually stitch together video streams, making the process much easier and faster. Top clips this year include the New Zealand Haka in 360-degree and a Wales hero-worship piece. Additionally Japan, the Rugby World Cup host country, had a huge upset against Samoa which set its own record in TV viewership at this year’s Cup. By combining older media platforms such as TV with 360 degree video for online, the Rugby World Cup has been on the cutting edge of advancing sports broadcasting.

F1 and Complex media group team up for content series with rapper-host A$AP Ferg. The new series will be called “The Pit” and feature Formula One themed challenges. According to SportsPro, the online series aims to provide a greater insight into the global motorsport series and will feature current Formula One drivers, including Carlos Sainz, Lando Norris, Daniel Ricciardo, and 2007 champion Kimi Räikkönen. The show originally premiered on October 4, followed by weekly episodes until the U.S. Grand Prix on November 1. This partnership will bring rap, F1, and pop culture fans to an intersection where they will be able to share their passions and be introduced to new sports and cultures to grow fan bases in all three categories.

The NFL expands its OverTier game pass deal to 181 countries around the world. According to Variety, the NFL has consolidated nearly all international-streaming operations for its Game Pass premium subscription service with OverTier. Since 2017, OverTier has held the rights to operate NFL Game Pass in Europe, covering 61 countries in the region. The new agreement expands that to more than 100 additional countries and territories, including Australia, Brazil, Hong Kong, India, Israel, Japan, Mexico, and South Korea. Those regions had previously been managed by DAZN’s parent company Perform Group and powered by Endeavor Streaming. To date only the U.S., Canada, and China are served online games from different sports media companies. Under OverTier’s new multi-year pact with the NFL, it will distribute all live NFL matchups on Game Pass across 11 platforms, including iOS, Android, Apple TV, PlayStation, Xbox, Amazon Fire TV, and Samsung and LG smart TVs. OverTier has driven up viewership and subscriptions for NFL Game Pass significantly in Europe over the past two seasons and now looks to expand the NFL’s influence to countries around the world.

The PGA Tour will show every shot hit by every player LIVE on its Players Championship broadcast in 2020. According to Golf Digest, The PGA Tour announced this media milestone last Monday ahead of the 2020 Players, which is set for March 12-15. The new way of keeping golf more action packed will only be available if you subscribe to PGA Tour Live, the tour's digital streaming product, on either NBC Sports Gold or Amazon Prime. Viewers will be able to select which players they want to watch during the tournament's four days. The tour hopes this is the next step in bringing this type of coverage to all of its events. PGA Tour Entertainment and NBC Sports will show more than 32,000 shots over four days at TPC Sawgrass thanks to 120 cameras positioned around Pete Dye's Stadium Course. The tour also announced the launch of its revamped TourCast product, which will allow people to follow the action with shot trails of every ball hit. Golf is getting full techie and allowing for fans to have more consistent content, better analytics, and live feeds from the course to personalize what they see from the green.

Power of Sports Five

Merging Vets and Players (MVP) charity teams up with the Atlanta Falcons to reduce military and veteran suicides. According to KOAM News, the MVP charity aims to bring together combat veterans and retired professional athletes to help them adjust to life outside their professions. The organization has set up chapters in four major U.S. cities, and the Atlanta branch is working closely with the Atlanta Falcons. MVP was founded by FOX's NFL insider, Jay Glazer, and Nate Boyer, U.S. Army Green Beret Veteran and former NFL athlete who played for the Seattle Seahawks in 2015. After recently running some physical activities as a group, MVP coaches run “The Huddle” – a 1:15 long support group where participants are coached to be proud of their scars. Some of MVP's ambassadors include former NFL players Michael Strahan, Olin Kreutz, and Chris Long, who have struggled with retirement. By crossing the interactions between NFL and combat veterans, both ex-players and veterans can help express their emotions and struggles in a positive way.

The Sacramento Kings will reward fans with CryptoTokens that contributes towards charity. According to CoinDesk, the Sacramento Kings are the first U.S. pro sports team to develop a crypto token for fan rewards. “Kings Token” will pair with a predictive gaming platform the team has developed in anticipation of the legalization of sports betting in California. Last year, the Kings became the first pro sports team to mine cryptocurrency, setting up a program called MiningForGood that donates the funds to charity and now they are even donating to loyal cryptocurrency to fans. Kings Tokens will exist within a token wallet added to the team’s Golden 1 Center app, which tracks the engagement and accumulated points. Fans can earn rewards through the predictive gaming platform and redeem those points for access to unique events, signed merchandise or courtside tickets. This initiative is getting fans involved with current tech advancements in crytocurrency while also helping the MiningForGood program which donates the funds to charity.

Rugby’s newest league is for those with learning disabilities. According to the BBC, Craig Thomason and his brother Oliver wanted to create a game for people with disabilities, like Oliver, who lives with Down syndrome. Craig works as disability development manager at the Warrington Wolves Foundation, where the idea of the learning disability rugby league originated. A 12-team program was fielded this year with about 160 players taking part, and there are already plans to expand the number of teams in an effort to reach more people in more cities. There are also hopes that players will become more involved in the clubs they represent by going on volunteer for them; each week, for example, Oliver helps deliver rugby league sessions at a youth club, and he is a learning disability coach in a local school. The non-contact league plans for even more accessibility sessions for those who may struggle to play rugby and also wants to add a program for dementia patients.

The NBA’s San Antonio Spurs Silver & Black Giveback program awards $180,000 to local nonprofits. According to News 4 San Antonio, the $180,000 in facility grants have been given to three local nonprofits whose programs serve the youth of San Antonio and support SBGB’s mission to empower youth through service and sports. Grant recipients include Rise Recovery, the San Antonio Zoo, and Good Samaritan Community Services. Rise Recovery aims to help teens, young adults, and families overcome the effects of drugs and alcohol while also partnering with the community in education and prevention and were granted $100,000 to provide furniture, fixtures, and equipment for the sport court and surrounding outdoor educational classroom at their new campus. Meanwhile, the San Antonio Zoo will use the $75,000 Operation Renovation facility grant to renovate the San Antonio Zoo Education Center, which hasn’t been renovated since it was first occupied in 1984. Lastly, Good Samaritan Community Services was awarded $8,222 to purchase two evaporative cooling units for outdoor basketball courts. The SBGB program will help to keep youth in San Antonio active, educated, and comforted.

New Orleans Saints linebacker Demario Davis turns “Man of God” headband violation into an act of charity. When the NFL tried to go after Davis for his headband with its religious message, he won an appeal of the $7,017 fine handed to him by the league and stated the money will instead go toward the cause he has been promoting. According to the Washington Post, Davis picked up support from a New Orleans-area Catholic school, where children created their own versions of the “Man of God” headband that garnered the NFL’s scrutiny. All of the $7,017 from the fine will now be donated to St. Dominic Hospital in Jackson, Mississippi, where Davis grew up. Davis’s mother worked at the hospital while he starred in high school, before he went on to become a third-round pick by the New York Jets in 2012. Sales of headbands emblazoned with “Man of God” and “Woman of God” picked up after the NFL informed Davis he would be fined for wearing one during a September game and raised an additional $30,000 for the hospital.

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