Unused Ticket from MJ’s Debut Gets $486K, Nearly Equaling his $500K Rookie Salary
The only known unused ticket from Michael Jordan’s NBA debut sold for $468,000. The ticket previously belonged to Mike Cole, who at the time of the game was a student at Northwestern and received two tickets to the 1984 matchup against the Washington Bullets, but couldn’t find anyone to go with him. He’s held onto the unused stub for nearly 40 years, and it paid off with the close of the auction. It beat the previous ticket record from MJ’s debut, which sold for $264K in December. Elsewhere, a stub in poor condition sold for $99,000 on Sunday. For comparison, MJ made $500,000 as a rookie with the Bulls.
Raptors and Maple Leafs Link for Nostalgic Jersey Collab
If Vince Carter’s 2000 Slam Dunk competition performance lives rent-free in your head, there’s the perfect jersey for you. Toronto’s hometown teams paired up for a jersey collab rooted in nostalgia, with the Maple Leafs’ City Edition jerseys. They feature the animated raptor mascot alongside a Maple Leafs patch on the sleeve.
Churchill Downs Announces Plans to Exit Sports Betting Space
In 2017, Churchill Downs galloped into the sports betting space. Nearly five years into the experiment the company has decided to divest, with the exception of its stake in the horse racing sector under its Twin Spires subdivision. Execs told investors on an earnings call that they had decided to cease their investments due to the competition in the space, and expect to fully do so in the next six months.
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FIFA Places Restrictions on Russian National Team
The impact of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has sent reverberations through the soccer world. Poland announced that it would not play its scheduled World Cup qualifier match against Russia on Saturday. And then FIFA instituted punishments on the Russian national team. As part of the sanctions FIFA will not play any games on Russian soil, instead relocating them to neutral locations with no fans and without any sort of Russian patriotic celebrations – including flag displays and the playing of the national anthem.
American WNBA Stars Seek Exit from Russia
The WNBA’s top talent routinely head overseas to play on international teams and pad their pockets during the off season. For example, Diana Taurasi spent much of the 2010s playing for UMMC Ekaterinburg, where she was even joined by Candace Parker for a season. This year, players are seeking to escape from Russia amidst its invasion of Ukraine. Due to safety concerns, the names of the players have not been released at this time.
LeBron James and Uninterrupted Back History Channel Doc About Black Baseball Players
What happened after Jackie Robinson? A new documentary coming to the History Channel seeks to examine the chain of events that followed No. 42’s historic breaking of the color barrier in Major League Baseball. The film will be directed by Stanley Nelson and has support from the MLB and the Jackie Robinson Foundation. After Jackie will be produced by LeBron James and Maverick Carter‘s Uninterrupted.
Hope Solo Gets Major Podcast Deal with Sirius XM
Hope Solo is having a great year so far. In January, the former USWNT goalkeeper was tapped to head to the U.S. Soccer Hall of Fame, and over the weekend, she announced that she has inked a deal with Sirius XM for a “lucrative deal” inside sources to World Soccer Talk. The news comes just a week after Solo went on record calling the USWNT’s settlement “heartbreaking and infuriating,” indicating that it did not actually ensure equal pay. Soccer fans can look forward to further discussion of these topics on the podcast.
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