#tartan is stylish but also hard to draw

[trashboatprince]

I saw a challenge to write something sexy about Mr. Harrison and Mr. Cortese from this post by @naniiebimworks and I’m not missing the chance to make content of them in written form. Love me some Crowley and Aziraphale’s personas.

Summery: Warlock is too old for his nanny, but he’s not too old to start having a private tutor. Make that two tutors, who happen to look a bit like the nanny and the gardener who followed her off the grounds.

And already there’s something going on between them.

AKA Crowley and Aziraphale are really into how the other looks for this next phase of the plans.

Warning: these two are already in a relationship. Not full on content, but there is touching and such, gotta keep it pg-13 cause some of my followers are young. Also, not beta’d, so forgive the grammar errors 

EDIT: There’s an extra mature chapter on ao3 

On with the fic!

--

Nanny Ashtoreth put in her two weeks without much of a fuss, politely telling the Dowlings that young Warlock had no need for her anymore, it was time for him to get his lessons from a professional and not a nanny who was smarter than expected.

She recommended someone she said she had worked with previously, that he was highly recommended.

The day after she departed from the estate, there was a knock at the door and a tall, sharp man in an even sharper, dark suit stood there, carrying a briefcase under his arm. “I’m Mr. Harrison,” he greeted the doorman with a voice that dared him to say something, “Nanny Ashtoreth told me that this is where I would I be teaching.”

Without waiting, he stepped past the doorman and into the foyer, where he greeted Mrs. Dowling, who stepped down the stairs to greet him.

Mr. Harrison reminded her greatly of Nanny, that they looked rather similar. The same red colored hair, same facial structure, though clearly Harrison his sharp cheek bones under a beard.

“We’re cousins.” He told her simply, as if it was the most obvious answer in the world.

He would start his lessons with Warlock tomorrow at nine.

--

The next morning, while Mr. Harrison was teaching Warlock his first lessons on the ancient armies of the world, there was yet another knock at the door.

The doorman was surprised to see a man with wild, near-white hair and an equally wild beard standing there, smiling. He was dressed in creams and golds, a stark contrast to the clothing of the other man who had been at the door the day before. “Good morning!” He greeted the poor employee with a Welsh tint to his voice. “I am Mr. Cortese, I was hired to be the private tutor to Warlock Dowling.”

“Uhh…” The doorman blinked, before making himself professional. “I am so sorry to inform you that Mrs. Dowling has already hired a tutor yesterday.”

“Oh?” Mr. Cortese asked, eyebrows raised high as he glanced about past the man, as if looking for the person who took his job. “I am sure that the young boy wouldn’t mind two instructors.”

The man at the door sighed and said he would get his boss to speak to the stranger. Ten minutes later, Mrs. Dowling hired Mr. Cortese to be Warlock’s second tutor, taking two days of the week and sharing one with his coworker.

She took note that he reminded her of someone, but she wasn’t sure. Sort of like the weird gardener who happened to leave right after Nanny Ashtoreth did, but house staff come and go.

--

“… And that, young Warlock, is why one must not draw on his books, you never know what their worth will be in the future.” Cortese sighed loudly as he finished with erasing the last of the doodles the young boy had drawn on the open pages of the history book in front of him.

“I thought it made it look cool.” Warlock replied in his defense and Cortese nearly rolled his eyes before removing his pocket watch from his vest pocket, looking at the time.

“Right, well, it seems that our lesson for history is over for today. Off you go, enjoy your hour break. When you return, we shall begin our coverage of literature.” He waved a hand towards the door and Warlock didn’t need to be told twice to run off for fun, there was a video game with his name on it that he couldn’t keep waiting any longer.

Cortese watched him run out of the room with a small huff, smiling as he started to clean up the books and papers on the table of the building’s library where he was to do his lessons. He paused when he smelled something, a strong cologne that covered a natural, demonic musk that he knew all too well. “Mr. Harrison, I assume?” He turned to meet the man who he had yet to be introduced to since arriving yesterday.

Leaning against a bookcase, Cortese stared from behind his reading glasses, feeling his face heat up just a bit as he looked at his counterpart.

Harrison was in a dark suit, fitting of him, opened jacket and tie just a bit loose. The angel inwardly cursed as he looked at how the other had styled his hair, pulled back in a tight short ponytail. He hadn’t seen Crowley since they left the estate, wanting to get themselves ready for their next personas.

Seems that Crowley miracled up a beard that looked too good on him, the littlest of changes to the demon always got something stirring in Aziraphale, be it a new haircut or the addition of facial hair.

And he did a combo, damn him.

Clearing his throat, Cortese straightened himself up, adjusting his jacket. “I almost didn’t get the job because of you.” He told the redhead, who only smirked, crossing his arms.

“You’d have gotten it anyway, and look, you did! Come on, you knew I was gonna show up first, made it less… suspicious, if we both showed up at the same time.” Pushing himself off of the bookshelf, Harrison sauntered over to partner in this scheme, the smirk turning more playful as he stepped around Cortese, looking him up and down behind dark lenses.

He stopped behind the shorter man, who froze up at the eyes that he felt on his backside, those hungry eyes…

“Nice suit,” Harrison commented, “suits you, love the colors. Golds and creams? A change of pace from the tartan.”

“Oh!” Cortese turned sharply, giving him a hard stare. “Must I repeat myself? Tartan is stylish! But, if you must know, I decided to change it up a bit. I do wear other clothing you know, Mr. Harrison.”

Harrison looked at him, before shrugging. “Of course, just… can’t help admirin’ how good you look when you mix it up a bit.” He was suddenly closer, when had he gotten so close? Cortese stepped back, feeling his backside bump against the table, he was pinned.

“You need to dress up more, angel.” Harrison then frowned before chuckling. “No, don’t do that, you become too much of a tease when you step out of the norm.” He toyed with the silk tie that Cortese wore, slowly, carefully loosening it as he tugged down on the knot with one finger.

Cortese’s face flared up red as a heat pooled in his stomach. “M-Mr. Harrison! You wily man, behave yourself!” He swatted at the hand. “You should be professional!”

“Oh please,” The demon rolled his eyes before leaning in closer, “it’s not like we didn’t have our fun as the nanny and the gardener, yeah? Won’t take these fools long to start rumors about us as well…”

Cortese paused, looking at Harrison’s face. Right, they had been a bit adventurous and frisky with one another when in their previous personas, what’s the harm of having a little fun as two tutors? It was like something out of his romance section, but he wouldn’t voice that out loud.

“We waited a few months as Ashtoreth and Francis before we got handy, my dear.” He finally replied and Harrison groaned.

“Wow, way to be a real buzzkill, angel!” He moved to step back, but Harrison found himself in place, hands on his hips that suddenly were pressed against Cortese’s. “Whu-?”

“Who said we weren’t going to have any fun?” The blond scoffed. “Besides…” There was a snap of fingers and Harrison heard a lock set in place.

Cortese leaned in close to his ear, he could practically hear the smug smile in the other’s voice. “We have less than an hour before my next lesson and I’d like to get my ‘coworker’ a bit better. Is that alright with you?”

The string of sounds from Harrison was all Cortese needed as an answer.

Someone, Harrison found himself flipped around, his own back pressed into the table with the angel pinning him to it, kissing him hard on the lips. Any coherent thoughts in the redhead’s mind were thrown out the window as he was snogged into next week, wrapping his legs around soft hips.

He pulled back, panting a bit as he looked at the hazel eyes that stared right at him. “Damn, angel, you’re in a mood.”

“You’re a terrible tease, dressing up like this.” Cortese huffed, kissing at his neck before working on undoing the already-loose knot of Harrison’s tie. “You know I love seeing you dressed up.”

“Mmm… sssshould do it more often than…” Harrison tilted his head back, lifting his hand up to snap his fingers, but a hand stopped him. “Come on, don’t go slow…” He groaned.

“No, I want to take it slow, I’m not going to just have your clothes vanish on me!” Cortese scoffed as he pulled back to start working on removing the suit jacket, taking note that he rather liked the pattern on it, Crowley needed to wear more patterns in his wardrobe.

Harrison pouted before his own fingers got to work on unbuttoning the vest Cortese wore, legs still firmly in place around the other’s waist. “How far?”

“Hmm… heavy petting?”

There was a loud snort. “Who taught you that?!” Harrison laughed before undoing the last button. He looked at the other man, a coy smile on his face. “Lovin’ the changes, angel. You look so good with that hair, almost feral, very you.”

“What on Earth are you talking about?”

“Just commentin’.” Harrison mumbled as he pulled him down, talking against the other’s lips before kissing him hard. Cortese mumbled a reply that fell on deaf ears, the two clearly distracted be kissing and the sneaky fingers playing with the tie the other wore.

Both were discarded on the table, and Harrison was vaguely aware that his hair had slipped from the ponytail it had been in. He would have made a comment, but he was distracted by perfectly manicured fingers playing with his freed hair, and by the body that pressed against him.

His own fingers busied themselves with groping a rather nice, soft bottom, earning a squeak from the angel who was still toying with his hair. Harrison smirked, pressing down on the ample flesh, keeping Cortese against him as he moved to suck on the exposed skin of his advisory’s neck.

The room felt hot and both angel and demon were feeling even hotter, fingers moving here and there, but never to what was going to be wanting some attention. Well, Harrison thought, time to change that-

There was a sharp set of knocks at the doors to the library and Cortese pulled back sharply from Harrison, losing his balance and dropping to the floor at the sudden intrusion.

“Ssshit!” Harrison sat up straight and worked quickly to straighten out his shirt, trying to button it back up from where Cortese had popped a few of the buttons.

“Y-yes? Who’s there?” Cortese called out.

“Mr. Cortese,” came Warlock’s voice from the other side, “can I come in?”

“In a moment!” The blond replied before trying to get his vest and shirt back in order. “Oh, this was a bad idea…!” He whispered towards the other man in the room, who was trying to get his hair back into place.

“Yeah, yeah, I know! Gotta wait until the kid’s asleep, ‘r somethin’…” Harrison jumped from the table, throwing on his coat, then grabbing a tie, tossing the other at Cortese who was quick to try and get it done up.

Once Harrison thought he had everything in order, he rushed to the door, the lock suddenly undone and the door opened to reveal Warlock, standing there with a confusion on his face. “We’ll continue our discussion of the plans later, yes, Mr. Cortese?” He spoke, as if nothing had just happened, outside of the flushed look on his cheeks and the rumpled state of his clothes.

“Y-yes, of course, do come looking for me when you have the chance, Mr. Harrison.” Cortese replied, swallowing as he straightened his jacket out. He watched the other man walk past Warlock without much word and turned to the child. “Yes, did you need something?” He asked, trying to act like Warlock did not just interrupt something.

“Wonderin’ if I left my phone in here.” Warlock replied before tilting his head. “How come you’re wearin’ Mr. Harrison’s tie?”

Cortese looked down, seeing that, yes, he was wearing the dark colored tie.

This was gonna be a long next couple of years.

END

--

They make up for lost time later, but make sure that it’s when no one will bother them. >.>

Anyway, first time every writing for Harrison and Cortese that wasn’t them as the Radio Omens boys, it was fun.

#good omens #ineffable husbands #anthony j crowley #aziraphale #mr harrison #mr cortese #john's drabbles

[apictureofspace]

endless list of Good Omens AUs (5/?)

“Of Fallen Angels & Faith Forsaken”

Anthony J. Crowley loved living in the city, and he loved his job – but he often found that he hated all the noise, and he hated his coworkers even more.

Being a defense attorney at a prestigious law firm in London had its perks, obviously; he was able to live in a posh flat, he could afford ridiculously expensive electronics that he rarely used (and that was if he could even figure out how to get them to turn on), and – thankfully – having copious amounts of money earned by getting sleazy, corporate criminals off meant that he could afford to take a week for himself, now and again. He wasn’t sure he would stay sane otherwise. Working alongside slime like Hastur and Ligur, who kept a running tally of who got the most murderers off despite knowing they were guilty, tended to give one a dreadful headache. Crowley was a firm believer in giving everyone a fair trial, no matter how heinous the individual - but those two blockheads didn’t need to enjoy it quite so much.

Yes, no matter how much he enjoyed his upper-class London lifestyle, Crowley still enjoyed the peace and quiet of the country every now and again. It left him free to sip wine by the fire; to skim thin, stylish volumes of complicated poetry; and to have his thoughts entirely uninterrupted by Hastur and Ligur’s potentially contagious idiocy or the honking and/or shouting of impatient London drivers. Not to mention, his country cottage had a garden that he was really quite proud of; he’d tended the rose bushes and the hydrangeas for years and they were really coming along rather nicely this season.

That is, they were – until suddenly his peace and quiet was rudely interrupted by the sound of something smashing into his garden with enough force to shake the cottage and everything in it. Crowley’s sunglasses – which he wore indoors, even at night – fell askew when his leather sofa jolted from the impact.

His first thought was that a meteorite had fallen; what else could have hit the ground with that kind of force? Jumping to his feet, he’d tossed his poetry volume on the glass coffee table and sprinted toward the back door, visions of crashed alien space ships dancing in his head. What he found when he hurried outside was not a meteorite, nor was it otherworldly.

It was more… ethereal than alien.

The first thing Crowley noticed was that his rose bushes were utterly destroyed; whatever had fallen had hit the ground at an angle, tearing the bushes from the ground entirely while also ripping up a great deal of the lawn – before crashing, limbs akimbo, into the hydrangeas.

Crowley had cursed and let out a miserable groan at the sight of years’ worth of hard work ruined before his eyes finally landed on the culprit.

The way he tugged off his sunglasses was not un-Alan-Grant-like, which may have had something to do with the Spielberg marathon he’d had yesterday while day-drunk but likely had a great deal more to do with the fact that what had crash landed in his garden, clearly from very high up, was man-shaped, glowing, and had wings.

The figure, presently unconscious, was surrounded by a golden, rather Heavenly light, and its wingspan was massive – although both wings appeared to have been painfully damaged in the fall. It was then that Crowley realized other parts of this… this creature could be damaged, as well, which finally propelled him into action. Springing down off of the deck, he hurried over his torn-up, still-smoking lawn to where the creature – which, for the most part, looked like an ordinary, if beautiful, man – was sprawled out.

Its eyes were closed, but the face was covered in scratches and abrasions and a trickle of blood was leaking from the nose; likewise, the right shoulder looked to be dislocated while the left leg was very clearly broken. It was only the barely discernible rise and fall of the creature’s chest that assured Crowley it was even alive after such a fall.

What was he supposed to do? He could hardly call an ambulance for a fallen, battered creature with broken wings (which had left a trail of feathers all over the garden), nor could he call animal control for something so clearly man-shaped. There was only one logical possibility for what this creature could be, but Crowley – who had been a lifelong atheist – had a difficult time coming to terms with the word and its weighty implication.

This creature, with its white wings (presently spattered with blood) and ethereal glow (which seemed to be fading the longer it lied there) was… an angel.

A fallen angel.

An angel had fallen into his garden, which meant it was all real; God, Heaven… Hell. That thought made him feel terribly uneasy, so he pushed it aside, absently giving the broken angel another once-over. He wasn’t exactly dressed like an angel; there was no flowing white tunic or robes, but instead mud-stained and tattered tan trousers, an equally torn tan jacket, a tartan sweater vest (that seemed to be terribly soaked with blood and slashed near his stomach), and a truly horrid tartan bow tie. Angels dressed like his grandfather? That was unexpected.

Also unexpected was for the angel’s blue eyes to open, prompting the light surrounding him to flare almost blindingly before it snuffed out completely. The wail that followed was nothing short of agonized – rightfully so. The blood-smeared wings tried to flap, failing miserably and drawing a pained, breathless sob from somewhere deep inside of the wounded angel. Crowley was instantly reminded of a moment in his childhood when he’d come upon a dove that a group of children had mangled on his way home from school. He recalled the way it had struggled with its broken wings to fly, terrified he was going to inflict more torture upon it; troubled, young Crowley had tucked the bird into the breast pocket of his school uniform to keep it warm and took it home where he could nurse it back to health.

The bird had been relatively easy to help. An angel? That was going to be harder. Much harder. But he had to help, didn’t he? It had fallen into his garden, and his cottage was the only residence around for miles. He preferred seclusion for his holidays. If he didn’t help, no one else would – and if he wasn’t already going to Hell, he certainly would be if he let an angel die.

“Don’t try to move,” he spoke without thinking, functioning largely on auto-pilot; in truth, he was still having trouble processing that this was actually happening. “You’ve had… a fall, it would seem, and you’re a bit… er… banged up.”

“I can’t fly,” the angel babbled, panic clear in his bright blue eyes. “Why can’t I fly? Where am I?” and then, after a beat: “Who am I?”

“Your wings seem to be broken. No surprise, given the damage you did to my garden,” Crowley intoned, with just a hint of bitterness, before explaining, “You’re in South Downs – and I’m afraid I can’t help you with that last bit.”

“South Downs?” the angel asked, breathless with pain, panic, and obvious confusion. “That can’t be right. I should be… I should be in… Oh, I can’t remember. Why can’t I remember-?!”

“If I had to take a guess, I’d say you knocked your head about,” Crowley suggested, absently reaching a hand out to graze the angel’s bloodied curls in search of any pressing head trauma. The angel flinched away from his touch like a frightened animal – which, in truth, he sort of was.

“I’m not going to hurt you,” Crowley sighed, letting his hand hover, unsure of whether he ought to proceed or draw it back. “I’m trying to help. You crashed in my garden and there’s nobody else for miles, so you’re stuck with me. Unless you want me to leave you here, lying in my hydrangeas?”

The angel eyed Crowley with clear uncertainty which slowly melted into resignation. What choice did he have?

Read the full fic on AO3 // PLAYLIST

#ineffable husbands #good omens #aziraphale #anthony j crowley #crowley x aziraphale #good omens aus #edits #my fanfics #fic: of fallen angels & faith forsaken #c; ezra #c; anthony j crowley

[rickhorrow]

15+5+5 To Watch 42919

15 TO WATCH/5 SPORTS TECH/POWER OF SPORTS 5: RICK HORROW’S TOP SPORTS/BIZ/TECH/PHILANTHROPY ISSUES FOR THE WEEK OF APRIL 29 with Jacob Aere

Nashville hosted a "record-breaking weekend" for the NFL Draft, as attendance figures released Saturday by the league noted the city "welcomed an estimated 600,000 draft-goers across the three day event," according to the Tennessean. For first person evidence of the Draft’s impact well beyond the bottom line, consider what country music artist Dierks Bentley, who closed out the NFL Draft main stage on Saturday with a post-selection concert, said prior to performing, "This must be the greatest day I've ever had here in Nashville." To his point, a "sea of swarming football fans...greeted Bentley with drink-raising elation as he ran on to the towering Lower Broadway draft stage.” The NFL Draft in Dallas last year had a $125 million economic impact, with people spending $74 million. Officials with the Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp. believe the city will far surpass the number from last year. And even though Sin City bills itself as the Entertainment Capital of the World, Nashville set the bar pretty high for Las Vegas, next year’s NFL Draft host. Thanks to Nashville, other cities jumping in line to host the Draft must even more sharply evaluate how they can maximize locale, entertainment offerings, and activation to draw top crowds.

Besides drafted athletes preparing to sign multimillion dollar contracts, big winners coming out of the NFL Draft include CAA and Instagram. CAA Football for the fourth year in a row led all agencies, with six players taken in the first round of the NFL Draft, highlighted by the No. 2 pick Nick Bosa (49ers) and No. 5 pick Devin White (Buccaneers). Lagardere Sports tied CAA with three players represented in the top 10. In all, 18 different agencies represented players picked in the first round, up from 17 last year. The NFL also partnered with Instagram ahead of the Draft in a move that allowed fans to directly buy merchandise worn by the top picks. Draftees were photographed wearing New Era Draft Day hats, which were then shared on the official NFL account with Instagram shopping tags, which led users to the NFL Shop to purchase. Shopping and ecommerce on Instagram has grown exponentially over the last year. 130 million people interact with Instagram’s shopping tags each month, and while only a fraction of these interactions focus on sports-related merchandise and services, that segment is growing fast.

The 145th Kentucky Derby will feature lots of hooves…and claws. The annual Running of the Roses is always primetime for rising brands to launch new activations, and this year is no exception. To this point, White Claw Hard Seltzer has signed on as a Kentucky Derby sponsor, marking the event's first sponsorship in the hard seltzer category. The agreement includes custom White Claw-branded scarves and pocket squares, which will be handed out to fans onsite, as well as a custom White Claw Snapchat filter that will debut Friday, May 3 around the Kentucky Oaks at Churchill Downs. In addition, the beverage brand will have an official area in the infield at turn three, with product available for purchase. 2019 may go down as the Year of the Seltzer – from the omnipresent LaCroix sparkling water to its alcoholic brethren. But it’s doubtful it will be another year for a Triple Crown winner, as there’s a lot more parity in the strong Kentucky Derby field this year.

The Green Bay Packers’ TitletownTech fund draws national investors. The Packers and Microsoft each committed $5 million to the venture fund, which will invest in high-growth startups aligned with industries in northeastern Wisconsin. Out-of-state investors joining in TitletownTech’s venture fund, according to multiple sources, are Jerry Jacobs Jr., Delaware North Co-CEO and alternate governor for the Boston Bruins, and Jeff Wilpon, partner of Sterling Equities and New York Mets Chief Operating Officer. Wilpon’s and Jacobs’ investments help boost the fund toward its goal of $25 million, and both will serve as members of the advisory board. TitletownTech HQ will include an innovation lab, a business “venture studio,” and offices for the venture fund, which is geared towards fostering growth throughout Wisconsin. Likely more interesting to the general public: the new Titletown Tech building will feature a new restaurant on its ground floor that will include local food and beer and seven sports simulation bays powered by TopGolf Swing Suite.

Collective bargaining agreement clause encourages NFL owners to maintain minority ownership in On Location Experiences. According to JohnWallStreet, reports indicate that Endeavor had agreed in principle to acquire the 80% of On Location Experiences owned by Bruin Sports Capital, Carlyle Group, and RedBird Capital for a figure upwards of $700 million, with the NFL retaining their 20% stake. The NFL generates 40% of OLE’s profits, but league was never a threat to re-acquire the majority stake it sold to the private equity firms for $70 million in 2015. That’s because as a minority shareholder, the league collects its cut of the profits “free and clear. There’s no risk involved, they don’t have any expenses.” If the NFL took control of OLE once again, it “assumes 100% of the corporate tax responsibilities, without an allowance for any of the expenses.” Remember, under the league's current CBA, NFL players are entitled to 48.5% of gross (not net) revenues – yet another good reason for the league to keep its minority shareholder stance.

The winner of the PGA Tour Charles Schwab Challenge May 23-26 will receive a restored 1973 Dodge Challenger to "go along with the signature plaid jacket." According to the Ft. Worth Star-Telegram, the car is "painted Glacier Blue, a nod to Schwab's colors" and features Colonial Country Club's "trademark Scottish royal tartan on the seats, a nod to the plaid jacket." The tie-in stems from the fact that the tournament is 73 years old, and Charles Schwab was incorporated in 1973. The investment management company is in its first year as the tournament's title sponsor. The stylish prize will no doubt be an added incentive for some of the Tour's noted car buffs – Bubba Watson and Ian Poulter come to mind – to enter the Charles Schwab Challenge the week after the year's second Major and find an extra gear as they attempt to win once they're there. Colonial officials no doubt know that they’ll have to go the extra mile beyond a $7.3 million purse this year to lure golf’s top players to their event, which immediately follows the PGA Championship at New York’s challenging Bethpage Black May 16-19.

IHG Hotels and Resorts has reached a deal with the USTA to be the new hotel sponsor of the U.S. Open, replacing Westin after that brand’s nine-year run. IHG, which owns the Holiday Inn and Crowne Plaza chains, will use the tennis event to promote some of its luxury hotels, like InterContinental, Kimpton, Regent, and the recently-acquired Sixth Senses. IHG CMO Claire Bennett said that the company has not decided which brand will get the signage exposure onsite at the two-week event. Said Bennett, “It’s been awhile since we have been in these type of events.” The deal also includes the USTA-owned Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati. IHG did not use a marketing agency but plans to hire one for activation. The USTA used CSM Sport & Entertainment. In the past, IHG activated its sports sponsorships by promoting its non-luxury hotels. Holiday Inn has been a sponsor of the SEC, as well as the London and Berlin marathons. And from 2007-2015, Crowne Plaza sponsored the PGA Tour event in Ft. Worth. The U.S. Open will run August 26-September 8 in New York – look for other new or returning brands to align with the event over the summer.

The NBA wil allow teams to sell international sponsorship rights after team owners "approved a three-year test of the International Team Marketing Program.” According to SportsBusiness Journal, the program will allow each team to "sell global marketing rights to two current or new sponsors beginning next season." Previously, the league "controlled all international sponsorship inventory." Domestically, teams are "limited to a 75-mile marketing territory, a policy that remains in place." The international program "allows teams to include global advertising and marketing rights outside the U.S. and Canada; activation at retail locations globally outside the U.S. and Canada; and rights to post non-game team content on the sponsors’ own digital and social media sites." Of course, many existing “team naming-rights and jersey patch sponsors are global brands and would be likely targets in the new program." NBA President of Team Marketing and Business Op Amy Brooks said the new plan is designed to "take advantage of the global reach of team partners and to create more targeted non-game content." This move only makes sense given the NBA’s large international player makeup, and the league’s exploding popularity far outside its original footprint.

After Seattle Storm star Breanna Stewart ruptured her Achilles while playing in Europe, some are "pointing to the almost year-round basketball schedule for women as the culprit." While ESPN.com notes Stewart is "far from the first WNBA player to be injured while playing overseas," it is fair to wonder if this situation will "make a difference going forward" as the WNBA and its players union negotiate a new contract. WNBA players "make the case that improvements in salary and other issues will result in an even better product." The NBA "countered that it loses money on the WNBA every year, and said it lost" $12 million for 2018. Ending WNBA players' "financial need for nonstop play is a prime focus" of WNBPA Executive Director Terri Jackson. But observers in the medical field, such as Norfolk, Virginia-based Embody, which provides innovative solutions to restore peak performance to orthopedic patients and is seeing successful results with Achilles patients, note that money alone won’t solve the problem. Creating a more holistic employment scenario that allows athletes real downtime during the year will go a long way toward injury prevention.

The NHL has confirmed that it will purchase carbon credits to offset the airline emissions produced during the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The announcement, which coincided with Earth Day, is part of the NHL’s ongoing efforts to tackle climate change. This effort marks the first time the NHL will offset carbon emissions. The league will purchase credits for all four rounds of the competition which will equate to approximately 2,000 tons of CO2 emissions in total. The NHL will purchase carbon offsets from a non-profit organization based in Oregon that provides environmentally friendly product solutions. For the first playoff round, the NHL offset more than 465 tons of CO2, which is the equivalent of taking 99 cars off the road for one year. NHL Green, which was launched in 2010, is committed to developing green business practices across the league and maintaining efforts to preserve the environment. Last season, the NHL released its second sustainability report which detailed the body’s efforts to manage its environmental impacts on all levels of hockey

Tiger Woods used a Bridgestone Tour B XS ball to win The Masters, and now the ball maker is congratulating both Woods and fans by releasing a commemorative box of the product. According to GolfWeek, the commemorative TW Wrap box, on sale for $44.99, "hit store shelves" the Friday after The Masters. Bridgestone "started selling the special boxes to stores last week, and within 24 hours they sold out." In fact, Bridgestone said that "every Tour B XS ball it has made has been sold to retailers.” ESPN.com noted Bridgestone doesn't yet know whether its exposure through Woods’ victory at The Masters will “translate to long-term sales, but it is anticipating increases based on the consumer interest displayed already." Bridgestone Golf President and CEO Dan Murphy said, "We're pretty excited to see the order bank starting to increase. I'd say for the specific models that (Woods) plays, we're looking at 20 to 30 percent we can bump up the sales on that product." After The Masters, Bridgestone saw a 209% increase in engagement on Twitter, a 400% increase on Facebook, and a 205% increase in website traffic as compared to last year's Masters

Ahead of National Golf Day, the National Golf Foundation has released its annual Golf Industry Report, a comprehensive state-of-the-industry overview. The Golf Industry Report aims to provide the most holistic view of the business of golf and the health of the game within the U.S. According to the latest numbers, golf’s participation base remains stable, with an estimated 24.2 million people who played golf on a course in 2018 — a slight increase from 23.8 million a year earlier. Almost as many people play off-course forms of the game, with 23 million hitting golf balls with clubs at golf-entertainment facilities like Topgolf and Drive Shack, indoor simulators and driving ranges. With 9.3 million people exclusively playing golf off-course, the game’s overall participant pool has increased 4% to 33.5 million. Despite rainy weather’s impact last year, there are 14.7 million people who didn’t play golf last year but say they are “very interested” in playing golf on a course. Another great stat – the U.S. remains the best-supplied golf market in the world, with 14,613 facilities and 16,693 courses – more than 75% of which are open to all players, the highest public-to-private ratio in history

Serena Williams has become the latest athlete to announce her own VC firm. In an Instagram post, the 23-time Grand Slam winner revealed that Serena Ventures has quietly been investing in a variety of startups since 2014. The firm’s website counts 30 startups in its portfolio, with an accumulated market capitalization of $12 billion. Among the startups that the investment vehicle has already backed are meal-delivery services Daily Harvest and Gobble, home fitness system Tonal, women’s razor brand Billie, cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase, female co-working startup the Wing, and Propel, which offers financial software for low-income Americans. Serena Ventures’ website states that the company invests in firms that “embrace diverse leadership, individual empowerment, creativity and opportunity.” According to Forbes, Williams was the highest paid female athlete in 2018, bringing in $18.1 million thanks to an unmatched endorsement portfolio that includes deals with Nike, Intel, Audemars Piguet, JPMorgan Chase, Lincoln, Gatorade, and Beats. This week, Serena is involved in another massive undertaking, as she and sister Venus co-chair the prestigious Met Gala, which benefits the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute in New York City.

Sneaker marketplace StockX to cross $1 billion mark with new investor. Online sneaker resale marketplace StockX is in "advanced talks" to be valued at least $1 billion in a new round of financing, according to Recode. Sources said that DST Global, the venture firm run by Russian-American billionaire Yuri Milner, is "expected to lead the deal." The exact size of the financing round "couldn’t be learned." StockX is "planning to make some other major company announcements when it unveils the fundraising round, which is likely to be closed in the next few weeks." StockX launched in 2016 and was founded by Cleveland Cavaliers Owner Dan Gilbert, COO Greg Schwartz, and CEO Josh Luber. StockX plays "matchmaker for sneakerheads looking for rare kicks and resellers looking to flip unworn, in-demand sneakers for a profit." The company has "benefited from the rising popularity of acquiring tough-to-buy sneakers, especially among millennial men and teenage boys.” You only have to look at the success of hard-to-find designer handbag sites Baghunter and Rebag to realize that a dedicated sneaker marketplace foots a lot of potential.

The newest revolution taking place in high school and college sports is AI-automated production, powered and pioneered by Pixellot. The impact to date has been tremendous, and its projected growth is even bigger. Within high school sports, in partnership with the NFHS Network since 2017, Pixellot has installed over 1,500 systems across the country, producing over 100,000 live games, reaching over 25,000 live hours per month. The company is projected to install 20,000 systems over the next seven years, with a goal of broadcasting more than 1 million live events per year. And in collegiate sports, a new partnership with SIDEARM Sports will lead to producing 50,000+ live college events per year. Schools within the NFHS Network or SIDEARM Sports pay an up-front fee to install a Pixellot solution. End-users then pay a one-time subscription fee to gain access to the live games and highlights. Not only do adopting schools gain an additional marketing platform, as well as a new revenue stream for their sports programs, but the Pixellot system is a godsend for both high school and collegiate athletes looking for exposure to help them get to the next level. It’s also great for fans. 

Top Five Tech

The National Lacrosse League announces a partnership with Fanseat to live stream all remaining games, including playoffs, to viewers outside of North America. The National Lacrosse League (NLL), the largest and most successful professional lacrosse property in the world, has announced a partnership with Fanseat to offer live streaming of all NLL games, including playoffs, to viewers outside of North America for the remainder of the 2018-2019 season. All games will be accessible live and on demand on the sports entertainment service Fanseat. With viewers in six continents, the NLL has a rapid, passionate fan base. Fans from across the globe will now have the opportunity to watch all NLL games live and keep up to date with their favorite teams. Lacrosse has grown 9% year over year since 2001, with the 2018 World Lacrosse Championships in Israel being the strongest indicator of the sports growth. The games featured 46 participating countries, up from 38 teams in 2014 and 29 teams in 2010. The Fanseat partnership will provide another way to bring lacrosse to a growing global audience.

Wave Sports Media is making a splash in the sports industry thanks to its social native content and newsroom model. According to JohnWallStreet, not yet two years old, Wave has positioned itself to become the “alternative to TV consumption for the next generation of fans.” Wave has an audience of 150 million millennial (20%) and Gen-Z (80%) fans (monthly) across 120+ Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Snapchat channels. The concept is to differentiate itself from Turner or ESPN by providing a laid back platform where consumers feel like they are talking to a peer rather than hearing from a broadcast personality. Although the business model is based upon creator submissions, it is different than SB Nation as it rewards its top talent with jobs and salaries. Although there is a risk to building a company on top of third party platforms, it seems that Wave has been able to hone in on a fan base that looks for the comfort of an online community.

The WNBA slams home a multi-year broadcast deal with CBS. Starting this season, the broadcaster will feature 40 matches per season starting May 25 as the Minnesota Lynx host the Chicago Sky during the opening weekend of the new WNBA campaign. According to SportsPro, 11-time All-Star Sue Bird and the defending WNBA champion Seattle Storm will make six appearances on CBS Sports Network this season, including a WNBA finals rematch against the Washington Mystics on June 14. The 12-team WNBA has been consistently overshadowed by their male counterpart NBA league, however the new CBS broadcasts may pave ways for the women’s league to find new economic avenues and exposure to different fans. If the WNBA wants to take their push one step further, the next investment would be further exposure on OTT platforms since the sports market is trending toward more a-la-carte basketball media interactivity. 

T-Mobile's Metro uses influencers during NBA playoffs to play H-O-R-S-E. T-Mobile's prepaid wireless brand Metro is running a social influencer campaign for the NBA Playoffs in which contestants must follow one or more basketball influencers including Tristan Jass, Jesser, Kris London, and Cash on Instagram to try and copy the trick shot and later post the video on social media with the hashtag #MetroFreak. According to Mobile Marketer, each influencer will choose a single winner from video submissions after five weeks to be his teammate in a June tournament. Those selected teams will then go head-to-head in H-O-R-S-E, with the winner receiving a trip to meet the "Greek Freak" (Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks) who will give the campaign its name at a TV commercial shoot. T-Mobile has previously helped fundraise for natural disasters during the MLB Playoffs using #HR4HR and now is trying to cash in on user-based content to build its online fan base during the NBA Playoffs.

Sportradar and SportsGrid are set to launch a free 24-hour sports-betting network. According to Sports Video Group, the partnership brings together Sportradar’s ad tech, OTT technology, and data with SportsGrid’s programming, which features coverage and analysis of stats and betting odds across professional sports on both TV and digital formats. Sportradar is the official data partner of the NBA, NFL, NHL, MLB, NASCAR, FIFA, and UEFA, monitoring, analyzing, and delivering insights from more than 400,000 matches annually across 60 sports. After launching in 2017, SportsGrid is the first free 24-hour audio and video sports wagering network. The network can be heard or viewed on Amazon Fire TV, AppleTV, Pluto TV, Xumo, Xbox, iHeartRadio, TuneIn, and Stitcher. It also owns industry leading subscription properties DailyRoto and RotoExperts, in addition to the FNTSY Sports Network. Already, SportsGrid is an official partner of the NBA, FanDuel, The Elvis Duran Group, and other industry leaders. Thanks to the lifting of the federal ban on sports gambling last May, a constant voice can now be read or heard to deliver breaking news in the sports betting silo.

Power of Sports Five

The Dallas Mavericks’ Dirk Nowitzki sails off into the sunset with some baseball charity. After 21 seasons in the NBA, Nowitzki’s 2019 Heroes Celebrity Baseball Game will draw in big names from the Dallas Cowboys, as well as the Texas Rangers, Mavs teammates, and Hollywood celebrities. According to 247 Sports, the game will be held in Frisco, Texas, and benefit the children's charities of The Dirk Nowitzki Foundation and Heroes Foundation. The event will take place for its 18th year with Dirk in charge for the past eight and is scheduled for Friday, June 7, 2019. Although Nowitzki is saying goodbye to the NBA, he will remain an important sports philanthropist and example for other up and coming stars on how to give back to the communities and fan bases that support athletes. 

During the NHL Playoffs, a group of retired Bruins return to the ice for a cause. According to whdh.com, Hockey Cares for Kids and Bruins Alumni teamed up for an annual charity hockey game aimed at connecting kids with local hockey legends by teaching them life lessons. Specifically, the organization helps vulnerable urban youth develop traits such as integrity, respect, accountability, character, self- discipline, personal responsibility, and teamwork. The charity has three different means of approaching this tall task: skating, ice hockey, and street hockey. Meanwhile, an up-and-coming anti-bully and drug prevention program is in the works. The Boston Bruins Alumni team plays 26 games around New England each year to raise money for different charities. In Stoneham, New England, hockey culture is well and alive, and helping to give back to economically underprivileged youth and their families.

The Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl Challenge is bringing together a 12-team field of NCAA coaches and celebrities for a charity golf tournament. According to tigernet.com, the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl Challenge has provided a total of $7.6 million in charity over the past 12 years. Proceeds from the event benefit scholarships at the participating universities and charitable foundations selected by the coaches. Some of the names competing in the tournament include: Urban Meyer, Dabo Swinney, Brian Kelly, and Kirby Smart. The nation’s premier head coach and celebrity golf event will be held April 28-30 outside Atlanta and will be broadcast on ESPN in August and December. This tournament allows college rivalries to exist off the gridiron while the total prize purse of $650,000 incentivizes the coaches to deliver their best game on the green for the benefit of students and other charities.

NBA Cares Community Assist Award nominees highlight the best of charity work in basketball. According to CBS 3 Philly, the season-long NBA Cares Community Assist Award recognizes an NBA player who reflects the passion of giving back to a community. The ten 2019 finalists include the Philadelphia 76ers’ Tobias Harris, Brooklyn Nets’ Jarrett Allen, Washington Wizards’ Bradley Beal, Memphis Grizzlies’ Mike Conley, Los Angeles Lakers’ LeBron James, Portland Trailblazers’ Damian Lillard, Milwaukee Bucks’ Khris Middleton, Utah Jazz’s Donovan Mitchell, Dallas Mavericks’ Dwight Powell, and Toronto Raptors’ Pascal Siakam. Each player has gone above and beyond off the court this season. Harris, for example, has pushed for the construction of a school in Haiti and for further representation and fair treatment of women in sports and technology. The awards will be announced at the 2019 NBA Awards on June 24 with some of the game’s most recognizable names up for the award.

Messier NHL Leadership Award finalists showcase the most well-rounded and charitable hockey players. According to the NHL, Calgary Flames defenseman Mark Giordano, Nashville Predators right wing Wayne Simmonds, and Carolina Hurricanes right wing Justin Williams are the three finalists for the 2018-2019 Mark Messier NHL Leadership Award for their contributions on and off the ice. The Calgary defenseman launched "Team Giordano" in 2014 alongside the Calgary Board of Education to promote improved physical fitness and academics, as well as leadership development, at five high-needs schools in the area and has already raised $400,000. Simmonds participates as a board member of the Ed Snider Youth Hockey Foundation for the sixth consecutive year, worked with the planning committee in hosting the organization's Willie O'Ree Skills Weekend, and donated a private Flyers suite to military personnel as part of his "Wayne's Warriors" program. Lastly, Williams mentored the youth hockey community in North Carolina, where he helped coach the Junior Hurricanes U10 team and assisted during local girls' hockey events. Overall, all three candidates are role models for younger NHL players and remind us that hockey goes beyond the ice; the winner will be announced June 19 in Las Vegas.