Monthly Archives: May 2022

The NCAA is trying to crack down on the current climate of name, image and likeness (NIL) payments.

The NCAAs Division I Board of Directors announced Monday that it has issued new guidance to schools regarding the intersection between recruiting activities and the name, image and likeness environment.

The guidance, which is effective immediately, specifically addresses the collectives established at schools across the country designed to pool funds together to attract top recruits. These groups are now deemed as boosters by the NCAA, which is still attempting to enforce its longstanding policies against pay-for-play.

The guidance defines a booster as any third-party entity that promotes an athletics program, assists with recruiting or assists with providing benefits to recruits, enrolled student-athletes or their family members, an NCAA release said. The definition could include collectives set up to funnel name, image and likeness deals to prospective student-athletes or enrolled student-athletes who might be considering transferring. NCAA recruiting rules preclude boosters from recruiting and/or providing benefits to prospective student-athletes.

The board said it directed enforcement staff to retroactively look into NIL deals that were brokered prior to Mondays communication with schools. However, the board said NCAA enforcement should pursue only those actions that clearly are contrary to the interim NIL policy that was set on July 1, 2021.

That policy suspended NCAA rules barring college athletes from earning income via the use of their NIL. The NCAA held on to those rules as long as it could until states around the country began enacting laws laws that supersede NCAA rules to allow college athletes to pursue NIL deals.

INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA - JANUARY 20: General view of NCAA headquarters exterior on January 20, 2022 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)

In the 10 months since, there have been hundreds of deals struck by college athletes, including some involving booster groups that reportedly have been as lucrative as six or seven figures. While those are outliers, Mondays guidance is an attempt to curb the most severe violations of recruiting rules or payment for athletics performance.

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While the NCAA may pursue the most outrageous violations that were clearly contrary to the interim policy adopted last summer, our focus is on the future, said board chair Jere Morehead, the president of the University of Georgia. The new guidance establishes a common set of expectations for the Division I institutions moving forward, and the board expects all Division I institutions to follow our recruiting rules and operate within these reasonable expectations.

The board said that its guidance is focused on the involvement of boosters and not intended to question the eligibility of the athletes (both recruits and those already enrolled) involved in the NIL deals.

Only the most serious actions that clearly violate the previously published interim policy would have eligibility implications, the NCAA release said.

The booster groups that worry the NCAA will contend that they are abiding by the NIL laws enacted in their respective states.

So if the NCAA really wants to pursue cases involving NIL deals, it would almost certainly cause lawsuits in response. To put it lightly, the NCAA has not performed well in court with the unanimous Supreme Court loss in the Alston case from last summer looming large.

With NIL laws varying from state to state, leaders in collegiate athletics have been pleading to Congress for some sort of assistance. Just last week, SEC commissioner Greg Sankey and Pac-12 commissioner George Kliavkoff were in Washington D.C. meeting with lawmakers in another effort for a federal NIL mandate.

The NCAA had decades to get with the times and establish its own NIL rules, but it continued to cling to its amateurism ideal. That all started to crumble once California passed its NIL bill in late 2019, opening the door for other states to follow suit.

At the time, the NCAA said it would consider updates to its NIL rules. None of the proposed changes came to fruition and the NCAA predictably passed the buck to the federal government. When Congress was unable to reach a consensus on the best approach for NIL, individual state laws began going into effect on July 1 of last year.

Ten months later, very little, if anything, has changed.

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NCAA trying to crack down on booster involvement in NIL deals - Yahoo Sports

If youve looked at the MLB standings recently, the line most likely to cause a double take belongs to the Cincinnati Reds. Specifically, the win column, which stood at a shockingly meager 5 on Monday morning, and had been stuck at 3 only shortly before.

A recent "hot streak" involving a weekend series win and a Monday night win over the Milwaukee Brewers finally eased the ignominy of having fewer 2022 wins than the local football team that hadnt played since February.

So they stand at 6-23, but we're going to focus on their 5-23 start through Monday, roughly the season's first month.

Five wins in 28 games. It looked like a typo. As did the Reds' -79 run differential, which is a prodigious amount of inferiority racked up in a month. It is, for reference, one more run on the wrong side of the tally than the 2021 Miami Marlins managed in a full 67-95 season.

Making matters worse, its hard to view it as anything other than a cosmic test after Reds president Phil Castellini, a member of the family who owns the team, responded to fan discontent over an offseason sell-off by quipping, Well, where are you going to go?

There was little mystery to the motivation for a winter surrender that saw five prominent 2021 contributors traded away, two lost uncontested to free agency and useful starting pitcher Wade Miley literally given away on waivers. The Castellini family had ordered a serious budget reduction. Or, as general manager Nick Krall put it, in an all-time example of transparent PR mumbo jumbo, the Reds were aligning our payroll with our resources.

The teardown the Reds undertook was not even the winters most extreme example of the form. They didnt enter the season projected to be the worst team in baseball or even in their division.

So how did the Reds get here? And is it as bad as it looks from under those paper bags?

That eye-popping 5-23 was eye-popping for a reason. Only three teams since 1903 have started out the season with a worse record. The 2003 Detroit Tigers and 1988 Baltimore Orioles started 3-25, while the 1936 St. Louis Browns went 4-24 as manager Rogers Hornsby was apparently betting on horse racing during games. So, not illustrious company.

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This seasons Reds are one of seven teams to get out of the gates with a 5-23 record, the most recent being the 1981 Chicago Cubs.

But! The historically bad month is not as historically bad when compared to all 28-game stretches instead of just season-opening ones. Like anything else, the no good, terrible, very bad record is more noticeable when it comes at the beginning of the season.

Most seasons actually feature a team or two going through it like the Reds have, or worse. The 2021 season had the Arizona Diamondbacks and Baltimore Orioles. The 2019 season had the Pittsburgh Pirates and Detroit Tigers. Overall, 44 different teams have had at least one 28-game span of 5-23 or worse since the 1995 strike.

Are the Reds toast? Yes. Are they the worst team youve ever seen? Theyre probably not even the worst team youve seen recently.

In terms of any measure of success, the Reds have completely doomed their 2022 season. On the morning of opening day, FanGraphs projected them to win 85.5 games, with a 48.6% chance of reaching MLBs newly expanded postseason. Theyre now projected for 58.4 wins and their playoff odds are down to 0.2%, which is basically maths version of a courtesy trot.

Still, that 85-win projection didnt appear out of thin air.

After a series of obvious cost-cutting moves, the Reds came into spring looking like a frustrating, middling team that decided to punt instead of pursuing wins in a mediocre division. But they didnt look like a total disaster. Then, just about everything that could go wrong has gone wrong and the ship sank.

Their best position player 2021 NL Rookie of the Year Jonathan India has scraped together only 11 games and 45 plate appearances between injuries. Their second-best position player Joey Votto slumped mightily to start the season, might be especially affected by the deadened ball AND is currently on the COVID IL.

While everything about the Reds has been awful, the decimation of the pitching staff stands out like a glaring sore thumb on a whole hand of sore thumbs.

Their best pitcher by a mile, Luis Castillo, made his first start of the season Monday after dealing with a shoulder injury in spring. Super-hyped prospect Hunter Greene has been called into action and had his fastball routinely pulverized. Another top prospect, Nick Lodolo, fared somewhat better (only a 5.52 ERA) but also hit the IL. One of the rare reinforcements who could have helped immediately, pitcher Mike Minor, has also been out with an injury.

The Reds team ERA stands at 6.55 in a season with minimal offense around the league. The second-worst team ERA belongs to the Washington Nationals at 4.92. Basically, the home run surge is dead except when youre playing the Reds.

As Castillo returns, the odds are that things will get less dire at least until the trade deadline, when Castillo himself figures to be on the block. No. 2 starter Tyler Mahle probably wont trudge through a whole season with his ERA hovering almost three whole runs above his FIP a metric that estimates ERA based on outcomes the pitcher more directly controls.

Perfect storms of maladies and misfortune happen. The Diamondbacks experienced such a storm last season when they won only two games over 28 games between May and June. Madison Bumgarner had the worst month of his life. Several lineup constants hit a cold streak simultaneously. A barrage of rookie pitchers took serious lumps. A similarly innocuous team saw a meh season turn into a disaster. Now this year's Arizona team is exceeding expectations with only moderately different personnel.

There are ... a lot of differences between Arizona's path and the one the Reds are blazing, but the wild swings in fortune are illustrative. Sometimes everything goes wrong at once. In the long run, that record will probably float closer to the team's true talent. The series the Reds won this weekend a first on the season may have been the beginning of that equalizing force.

They took two of three from the Pirates, a team trying to win even less vigorously. A team projected to be the second-worst in baseball for the rest of the season.

FanGraphs projects that the Reds will be only the seventh-worst team in baseball from here on out. It might still leave them with the worst record in baseball, but it will be a gentler, more anonymous version of worst. Like the kind that comes from a 5-23 stretch in June.

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Where does the Reds' ridiculously bad start to 2022 rank in MLB history? - Yahoo Sports

Richard Sherman is reportedly heading toward a career in broadcasting but only if his time in the NFL is really at an end.

According to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, Sherman, who was a cornerback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2021, is "deep in talks" with Amazon to join their broadcasting team for the 2022 season.

Amazon's Prime Video is taking over as the exclusive broadcaster of "Thursday Night Football" later this year, with legendary play-by-play man Al Michaels calling the games and longtime ESPN college football announcer Kirk Herbstreit joining him in the booth.

With those two crucial spots filled, it's not clear how Sherman, 34, would fit in. Prime Video, which has broadcast alternate feeds of TNF football games for a few seasons, already has a pre-show called "NFL Next." In 2021 it was hosted by analyst Kay Adams, former defensive end Chris Long, former wide receiver Andrew Hawkins and former scout and current Los Angeles Chargers radio announcer Daniel Jeremiah. Prime Video also offered a scout's feed and a Twitch feed during games, which were dotted with former NFL players and analysts.

While Prime Video had a full house for their 2021 TNF programming, they haven't made any announcements regarding their lineup for the 2022 season. Since Prime Video is taking over TNF a year early (they were originally slated to begin their exclusive broadcast agreement in 2023), "NFL Next" and all of their alternate feeds could be headed for a major reshuffle.

With his boisterous personality and penchant for trash talk, Sherman could theoretically slot in anywhere though as his NFL career reaches the finish line, it seems unlikely he'd be featured on anything but a high-profile show like "NFL Next" or a project Prime Video creates especially for him.

It's important to note that while Sherman is reportedly "deep in talks" with Prime Video, his NFL career might not be over. According to Rapoport, the former Seattle Seahawks and San Francisco 49ers CB is staying in shape in case an NFL offer comes along. He's been in the NFL for 11 years, playing for the Seattle Seahawks and San Francisco 49ers in addition to the Bucs. As we've seen over the years (Tom Brady, Brett Favre), it's hard to say goodbye. But if he is done, it appears that he's well on his way to locking down that crucial post-NFL gig.

Cornerback Richard Sherman is reportedly in talks with Amazon about taking on a broadcasting role in the upcoming seasn. Amazon's Prime Video has exclusive 'Thursday Night Football' broadcast rights starting in 2022. (Photo by Doug Murray/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

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Richard Sherman reportedly 'deep in talks' with Amazon for broadcasting role - Yahoo Sports

Chicago Sky forward Candace Parker doesn't have much more to accomplish in the WNBA. She's a six-time All-Star, two-time MVP winner and two-time champion the last of which came with her hometown team last year.

Parker, 36, is in the final year of her contract with the Sky, and said she is treating this year as if it will be her last in the WNBA.

That seems like a pretty strong hint at retirement. Parker did not directly use that word, but it seems clear that, at the very least, she's going to strongly consider retiring after this season.

Parker hasn't really made it a secret that the end of her career was coming soon.

After spending the first 13 seasons of her career with the Los Angeles Sparks, Parker left to join the Sky for the 2021 WNBA season. Parker was born in Missouri, but moved to Naperville, a suburb of Chicago, at a young age and grew up in Illinois.

Parker accomplished her biggest goal in her first season with the Sky, helping lead the team to a championship.

With that under her belt, Parker doesn't have much more to cross off on her list of career accomplishments. She's never won back-to-back championships in the WNBA, so perhaps that can be her final goal before she hangs up her WNBA sneakers for good.

Candace Parker will consider retiring after the 2022 WNBA season. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images)

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Candace Parker says she's treating this year as her final season in the WNBA - Yahoo Sports

The Philadelphia Eagles made arguably the biggest move of NFL draft weekend when they traded for receiver A.J. Brown.

Bettors thought about Brown's new quarterback.

Since the NFL draft, the most MVP bets at BetMGM have come in on Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts.

Hurts has been the Eagles starter since late in his rookie season of 2020. He was up and down as a player last season, and whether he should be the Eagles' starter of the future has been debated many times. But plenty of bettors think he could have an MVP breakout in his third season, at least given his current odds.

Hurts is +4000, or 40-to-1, to win NFL MVP. There is value there, and bettors see it.

Since the draft, 18 percent of bets made on MVP have come in on Hurts. That's a big bump. Even with that rush, Hurts still has just four percent of MVP bets made since odds opened right after the Super Bowl.

There's an argument to be made for Hurts. First, he's a quarterback and we know the history of voters overlooking any other player to give MVP (or rookie of the year, or Super Bowl MVP, or the Heisman Trophy, or comeback player of the year, or ... ) to a quarterback. When you cut down the MVP field to 32 names at the start, it makes things easier.

Then, Hurts put up numbers last year. Fantasy managers know that. It wasn't always pretty but Hurts would usually end up with a decent stat line. His 3,144 passing yards and 16 passing touchdowns don't jump off the page but he had 784 rushing yards and 10 rushing touchdowns. Hurts also didn't have a receiver like Brown to work with. Brown is one of the most talented receivers in the NFL and it's surprising that the Tennessee Titans traded him at a prime age. DeVonta Smith, last year's first-round pick by Philadelphia, had a solid rookie season and he'll be better in year two, especially with Brown taking a lot of defensive attention. It wouldn't be a surprise if Hurts had a huge jump in passing stats with upgraded receivers. The Eagles' passing game shouldn't be that bad.

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The Eagles will need to make the playoffs for Hurts to have a chance. Only two MVPs have ever come from non-playoff teams and the last instance was 1973. Philadelphia made it to the playoffs last season and in a weak NFC the Eagles can do it again. Hurts can check that box too.

You can tell yourself a story that Hurts can be in the MVP race. With a 40-to-1 shot, that's all you can ask.

Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts has been a recent favorite of MVP bettors (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)

Hurts has a ways to go to catch the most popular bet for NFL MVP, which is new Denver Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson.

Wilson has 19 percent of the bets since the odds opened. That's far ahead of Buffalo Bills QB Josh Allen, who is in second place with 12 percent of the bets. Tom Brady is in third place at 10 percent. Hurts has the eighth-most bets since odds opened after the Super Bowl, but he's gaining.

Since the draft, Wilson and Allen have both gotten 15 percent of the bets, just behind Hurts.

All we know now is that MVP is likely going to a quarterback. Bettors are hoping that their long shot bet on Hurts is the right play.

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NFL betting: Eagles QB Jalen Hurts is the most popular MVP bet since the draft - Yahoo Sports

It was a thrilling end to the inaugural Miami F1 Grand Prix, in which Red Bull F1 driver Max Verstappen took the win despite a Ferrari (RACE) lockout of the first row of the grid after qualifying. After five rounds of the 2022 season, Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc still leads the drivers championship over Verstappen, but that lead has shrunk to only 19 points.

While it was a win for Verstappen and Red Bull, the Miami GP was also a big win for Formula 1 (FWONK) and its various teams and sponsors, several of which are multinational publicly-traded companies keen to be associated with the growing F1 audience in the U.S.

MIAMI GARDENS, FLORIDA - MAY 08: Belgian-Dutch driver Max Verstappen (L) of Red Bull Racing celebrates after winning the F1 Grand Prix of Miami at the Miami International Autodrome on May 08, 2022 in Miami Gardens, Florida. (Photo by Eva Marie Uzcategui Trinkl/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Recent ratings bear this out and justify F1 majority owner Liberty Medias investment and strategy for U.S. growth.

ESPN, which owns the rights to F1 in the U.S. market, has seen its F1 viewership surge, with the 2021 season the most watched in the U.S. Thus far through the 2022 season, F1 races are averaging 1.1 million viewers, a 22% jump over the same period last year.

The much-discussed Netflix (NFLX) effect, following the release of the Drive to Survive F1 docu-series, has clearly given the sport a boost in the U.S., with the show coinciding with rising F1 viewership and interest. And with F1 and Miami getting lots of coverage ahead of the race, Netflix recently announced it's renewed Drive to Survive for an additional two more seasons.

MIAMI GARDENS, FL - MAY 08: BWT Alpine driver Fernando Alonso leads Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant driver Lance Stroll during the Formula 1 CRYPTO.COM Miami Grand Prix on May 8, 2022 at Miami Autodrome in Miami Gardens, FL. (Photo by Doug Murray/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Miami is now the second U.S. race to join the F1 calendar, following the current GP in Austin, Texas.

It's long overdue as half of the motorsports market in the world [is here], Laurent Rossi, CEO of Alpine F1 (RNO.PA) says about the addition of Miami to the schedule during an interview with Yahoo Finance. It's the reason why Formula 1 gets stronger, again because of Netflix, and Netflix obviously [had a] big year in terms of viewership. So it's only normal when you think about the economic weight of the U.S. that having more than just one grand prix makes sense.

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Alpines rival on and off the track, Aston Martin (AML.L), agrees with the importance of the U.S. market and Miamis special place.

This is a city that is alive, it's alive with design, it's alive with creativity, Marek Reichman, Aston Martins chief creative officer said in an interview from the teams hospitality center at the race. America is vitally important; Miami within that is huge. If you then take into consideration next year, America will have three races Austin, Miami, Las Vegas as a marketing platform that the Netflix effect, which has brought consumers into this.

With the U.S. being Aston Martins number one market, its not surprising the brand was happy to see another race in the states. (Astons rivals McLaren and Ferrari also count the U.S. as their top markets.)

MIAMI GARDENS, FL - MAY 08: Former NBA player Dwayne Wade on pit lane prior to the Formula 1 CRYPTO.COM Miami Grand Prix on May 8, 2022 at Miami International Autodrome in Miami Gardens, FL.(Photo by Jeff Robinson/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

So why do I come [to Miami]? Reichman rhetorically asked. Because last night [at the Aston DBX 707 reveal], there were at least 200 customers. We sell just over 6,000 cars [a year]. If I can meet 200 customers at every race weekend throughout the world, 23 times 200 is pretty close to over 50% of our customer base.

And it is that face time at glitzy tracks like Miami that lead to more customer goodwill and sales. Ive never seen a paddock club this big, with 300 Aston Martin guests, Aston Martin U.S. President Adam Chamberlain said on race day. Miami and Formula 1 together, people want to be at the race One of our customers literally ordered another car last night, and said, You guys have done such a good job [at the event], I feel like I need to buy a car! And thats what you want.

MIAMI, FLORIDA - MAY 08: Charles Leclerc of Monaco driving (16) the Ferrari F1-75 on track during the F1 Grand Prix of Miami at the Miami International Autodrome on May 08, 2022 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)

Around 13 years ago following the great financial crisis, teams like BMW, Honda, and Toyota exited the series, as did numerous sponsors. The Brawn F1 car, which won the championship in 2009, started the year with an all-white car with nary a sponsor on its livery.

As popularity of the sport rose, it was only a matter of time before big, global brands came knocking on the door to not only enter the sport but to also sponsor the 10 teams that make up the F1 championship.

Cut to 2022, in which tech giant Oracle just inked a five-year, $500 million deal to be the title sponsor of the Red Bull F1 team, a deal considered to be the largest sponsorship one in F1 history.

F1 is the fastest growing sport that were seeing in terms of an excitement here and around the world and for technology companies, Oracle (ORCL) CMO Ariel Kelman said during a media call. Its just such a perfect fit because its the most high-tech sport, the most data-driven sport. So it just provides an amazing showcase for all the amazing technology.

MIAMI GARDENS, FL - MAY 08: Oracle Red Bull Racing Honda driver Sergio Perez (11) of Mexico enters turn 14 during the Formula 1 CRYPTO.COM Miami Grand Prix on May 8, 2022 at Miami International Autodrome in Miami Gardens, FL.(Photo by Jeff Robinson/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Among the big tech names with sponsorship deals in the sport include Dell Technologies (DELL), Alphabet's Google (GOOGL), Microsoft (MSFT), Amazon (AMZN), Cisco (CSCO), and AMD (AMD). Yahoo Finances parent Yahoo is also a sponsor of the Alpine F1 team.

But its not just the eyeballs big tech companies covet. Its the association with a data-driven, win-at-all-costs sport that leverages technology and R&D to the maximum in order to extract performance from every inch of the car.

Take for example data and connectivity. F1 teams rely on their data partners and sponsors to not only help the race team, but also the road car business as well.

The connectivity of these cars is incredible. If the rules allowed, these cars could probably drive themselves around, because they can adjust [via] the telemetry, Astons Reichman said about the reams of data collected from the race cars. But it's when you then consider the amount of data you're collecting how do we transfer that knowledge? And what do we do in our road cars, which are all going to be connected in the future with electrification. It's a very, very important factor.

Besides the natural attraction of the sport to tech companies, more traditional companies like Walmart (WMT), UPS (UPS), Unilever (UL), Stanley Black & Decker (SWK), and Monster Beverage (MNST) have also taken interest.

With F1s global audience close to around 70 million viewers every race weekend, the reach of the sport allows for these large brands is likely unmatched anywhere in the sporting world on a week-to-week basis. Especially for brands that sign on with top teams, which tend to garner more on-air time during the race weekend coverage.

F1 teams famously keep their rate card, or what they charge for the real estate on their cars for sponsors, close to the vest, but its believed the tiniest portion on car for a logo could go for a couple hundred thousand dollars to upwards of tens of millions for locations on the sidepods, rear wing, or on the center air intake.

And just seeing that logo or car on screen can actually translate into tangible interest. Take for example Aston Martins sponsorship of the safety car and medical car, a deal that uses Aston vehicles for half the races and Mercedes cars for the other half.

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - APRIL 6: Aston Martin medical cars before the star of the 2022 Australian Formula 1 Grand Prix on 6th April 2022 (Photo credit should read Chris Putnam/Future Publishing via Getty Images)

When we have our pace car and our medical car on the circuit, we see a 40% uplift in internet inquiries on that weekend, Aston U.S. president Chamberlain said. Its a huge uplift and we absolutely see that translate [into customer interest].

Leave it to the data-hungry and crafty F1 teams to figure out how quantifiable something as staid as the F1 medical car can be to the teams bottom line.

Pras Subramanian is a senior autos reporter for Yahoo Finance. You can follow him on Twitter and on Instagram.

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Miami F1 race a big boon for the sport and for big brands - Yahoo Finance

The Supreme Court is apparently poised to repeal the federal abortion protection of Roe v. Wade, and CEOs around the country are being called out. Some are decrying the move. Others are saying nothing. Few, if any, are publicly cheering.

There is no easy playbook here. While companies have zero obligationlegal or otherwiseto take a stand on any social or political issue, they have in recent years waded into those waters (consider after George Floyd's killing, North Carolina's bathroom ban, and Georgia's voting laws). And of course companies dont have opinions, CEOs do, which they may or may not share, andas Brian Moynihan, CEO of Bank of America stressed this week on CBS re: Roemay or may not be the prevailing view of their constituents.

It's the settled law of the land. We believe people should have that access," Moynihan said, cautioning that his opinion does not reflect that of all the company's 200,000 U.S. employees. "I could have a personal point of view, but that's not what we do," he said.

Then, there's the issue itself its fate still hanging in the balance. Abortion has long been a third rail of American politics. Some CEOs are stating their positions more forcefully than Moynihan, either because they feel strongly about the issue or because doing so is good for their businessor both. Those who are loathe to speak out about abortion may believe they risk alienating 40% or so of not just their employees, but customers and shareholdersnever mind local citizens and politicians. (BTW, parsing pro-choice and pro-life opinion polls is a fraught science all its own.)

The paradox is the more these difficult issues come to the fore, the more chief executives are being asked to weigh in. And theyve watched with alarm as Disney CEO Bob Chapek fumbled the handling of his companys response to Floridas Parental Rights in Education Act, or what critics have dubbed the "Don't Say Gay" bill.

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At the Milken Conference this week, I asked Mary Barra, CEO of GMand Disney board memberabout this.

Serwer: Social issues are difficult right now. How do you think about that?

WASHINGTON, DC - MAY 03: Pro-choice activists protest in response to the leaked Supreme Court draft decision to overturn Roe v. Wade (Getty Images)

Barra: Well, at General Motors, we really focus on what are our values, and because we know our employees joined the company, because they want to join a company that has, you know, values that they share. And so when we make statements, it's usually around our values of what we believe. And, you know, General Motors stands for inclusion, we want everyone to participate in our all electric future. And we value all of our customers and all of our employees. So that's our focus. And when we make statements, it's associated with our values and what we believe.

Not a lot of meat on them bones, but to be fair, depending on where you sit and what you believe, its tricky stuff.

Last Saturday in Omaha I listened as Warren Buffett offered sage context at his annual meeting:

The last time that the country was [this] tribal was when I was a kid and Roosevelt was in. Either you hated Roosevelt, or you loved him People are always going to be partisan. They're going to have religious beliefs. They [always] had a certain amount of tribal[ism] alwaysbut I don't think it's a good development for society

As for abortion rights specifically, the controversy is both a moral debate between a womens right to choose and when life begins, and a political one over which entity should adjudicate that question, federal or state government. With the potential demise of Roe v. Wade, state abortion laws, which are already quite varied, will become even more so, further accentuating the distinction between blue states and red states. Will it follow that we will have blue companies and red companies? Well, we kind of already do.

As Yahoo Finances Alexis Keenan reports: Amazon (AMZN), Apple (AAPL), Bumble (BMBL), Citigroup (C), Levi Strauss (LEVI), Match Group (MTCH), and Yelp (YELP) reimburse travel expenses incurred to obtain abortion care that's legally unavailable within their home state.

U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) joins demonstrators during a pro-choice protest outside the U.S. Supreme Court to support abortion rights (Getty Images)

Meanwhile, Salesforce (CRM) is offering to pick up moving expenses for its employees who live in a state with an abortion ban exceeding that of Roe, and move to another without such restrictions.

On the other hand companies like Walmart, American Airlines, and the aforementioned Disney have made no statements. As for CEOs who are in favor of overturning Roe v. Wade, Im sure theyre some out there, but I couldnt find any. However, The New York Times reports this on a related note:

In September, John Gibson, the chief executive of Tripwire Interactive, a gaming company based in Georgia, wrote on Twitter that he was "proud" of the Supreme Court for affirming the Texas law banning abortion for babies with a heartbeat. His comments angered colleagues, and within a few days he was replaced.

CEOs who are pro-life may be keeping mum because theyre scared of losing their jobs. But if abortion is such a divisive issue, why are pro-choice CEOs speaking out? If conservative CEOs think it's because theyll be attacked by the woke, Twitter troll mob, well, the un-woke Twitter troll mob is none too friendly, either.

Its not a coincidence that the demise of constructive government (aka gridlock) has occurred at the same time we're seeing companies having to step into the political and social arena, i.e. practice stakeholder capitalism. Someone or something has to fill the breach and take the lead. Im glad CEOs are stepping up in many cases, but it really isnt their purview. We need lawmakers to come together and do their jobs,

George Mitchell, a Democrat and former Senate Majority Leader, once told me he had dinner with his GOP counterpart, the late Bob Dole, every week without fail in the early 1990s. And then theres this from an obituary this week in the New York Times of Norman Mineta, former congressman and cabinet member who as a Japanese American was interned in a U.S. prison camp as a boy: Mr. Mineta quickly made it clear that, for him, transportation was not partisan. There are no Democratic or Republican highways, he told reporters.

Sadly, the tribal trolls disagree.

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CEOs and Twitter trolls take on Roe v. Wade - Yahoo Finance

The NBA playoffs continue Monday at 7:30 pm ET as the Boston Celtics attempt to stop the human freight train and reigning NBA Finals MVP, Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Antetokounmpo's 42 points fueled the Bucks' big win on Saturday, earning them a 2-1 lead in the Eastern Conference semifinals. Despite Milwaukee's edge in the series, Boston has been the better bet, covering in each of the last two games. The oddsmakers made a slight adjustment as the Celtics open as a small road underdog (+1.5) with their backs against the wall, fighting to avoid heading back to Boston in a 3-1 series deficit.

All three games thus far have finished under the closing total, which has dropped six points from Game 1 (217.5-211.5). The defensive battle should continue the rest of the way, as Boston looks to limit possessions to slow down Milwaukee's transition offense.

I always pictured this series going seven games, so I am going to stick to my initial prediction and take Boston to recapture homecourt advantage tonight. Here are my thoughts on the best ways to play Boston in a pivotal Game 4.

One of the reasons I liked Boston's chances in this series is Celtics coach Ime Udoka. After a discouraging loss in Game 1, we saw Udoka make adjustments on both sides of the court to help the Celtics get back in the series with a blowout win of their own. The chess match is on, and it's Udoka's time to counter. I am confident he can find ways to get Jayson Tatum some space through screens, so he isn't forced to drive deep into the paint where he's struggled all postseason. Boston can build off knowing that it played the Bucks close, down to the final possession with Tatum struggling while Holiday and Antetokounmpo were at the top of their games.

A big turning point in Saturday's game was the third quarter, when poor perimeter shooting (1-7 from 3-point range) coupled with some mental defensive lapses in transition turned a four-point halftime lead to a 13-point deficit. Boston was still able to battle back and put themselves into a position to send the game to overtime on the final possession. I am betting the Celtics capitalize tonight, making this a best-of-three series heading into Game 5. Boston has been the second-most profitable road team to the number all season (25-15-1 ATS) and has been a perfect 3-0 ATS in the playoffs. Considering how important it is for them to tie the series, I see more value in the moneyline here than the +1.5 points.

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The first two games of the series were won by wide margins (12, 23), but I never expected that to continue considering how evenly matched these two teams are. In Game 3, the action tightened up and the outcome was decided on the final possession. That's classic Boston Celtics basketball, and what we should expect going forward. In road games during the regular season, their average margin of victory was only 7.2 points. Even in their sweep of Brooklyn, they won their two road games by six and four points. I like Boston to win the game outright, and so if I can grab +400 for the Bucks to stay within two buckets, I will take it.

Getting Tatum on track is critical for the Celtics' chances at long-term success throughout the series, but Boston should look to Jaylen Brown to carry them on the perimeter tonight. He was the catalyst for their quick start in Game 2 while shooting 6-of-10 from beyond the arc and racking up 17 points in the first quarter alone. Brown went over the 2.5 mark in both of the first two games in Boston before being limited to a single trey in Game 3. With Boston looking to even up the series, I expect Brown to come out very aggressive, making this a solid bet to the over.

Stats provided by NBA.com, evanalytics.com, teamrankings.com

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NBA betting: 3 ways to bet on Celtics in crucial Game 4 vs. Bucks - Yahoo Sports

When Top Gun: Maverickfinally lands in theaters May 24, it will even sound different than once planned.

Twenty One Pilots lead singer Tyler Joseph said Tuesday, during an interview with Los Angeles radio station KROQ, that he was once involved with the music.

"Funny thing, I was working with the music-placement person for the new Top Gun, on writing a new song for them, and then I believe Tom Cruise came in and just fired everyone," Joseph said. "You've seen that new Top Gun trailer has been out for like three years. There's been a few overhauls, and I was part of that."

However, Joseph said that he hadn't gotten far.

"I saw some scenes," Joseph said. "They brought me in to show me some scenes and stuff, and I actually don't think I started writing.

Tyler Joseph of Twenty One Pilots performs in Los Angeles on Jan. 15, 2022. (Photo: Kevin Winter/Getty Images for iHeartRadio)

A source close to the production says Joseph's comments are "just not true" and that Cruise never saw any songs submitted by the band.

Yahoo Entertainment has reached out to reps for both Cruise and the movie's studio, Paramount, for comment and will update this story with any statements.

Cruise has a reputation as a harsh taskmaster. In December 2020, audio was leaked from the set of Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning in which Cruise can be heard threatening to fire anyone not following COVID-19 protocols.

The sequel to 1986's Top Gun, on which Cruise is a producer, has been delayed multiple times, at least partly because of the pandemic. The first trailer was released way back in July 2019.

Just last week, Lady Gaga released her new song for the flick, "Hold My Hand," which she described as "a love letter to the world during and after a very hard time."

"When I wrote this song for Top Gun: Maverick, I didn't even realize the multiple layers it spanned across the film's heart, my own psyche, and nature of the world we've been living in," Gaga wrote. "I've been working on it for years, perfecting it, to make it ours. I wanted to make music into a song where we share our deep need to both be understood and try to understand each other a longing to be close when we feel so far away and an ability to celebrate life's heroes."

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She called working with Cruise on the song and the movie's score "a beautiful experience."

Cruise had good things to say, too, about the Oscar- and Grammy-winning artist's song.

"It's like that moment when things just came together in such a beautiful way," Cruise told James Corden this month during an appearance on The Late Late Show. "Her song that she'd written just fell right in and became really the underlying score and the heartbeat of our film. She's amazing."

The original soundtrack was, of course, a huge blockbuster, having moved more than 9 million copies to date. Hits such as Berlin's "Take My Breath Away" (which won the Oscar for Best Song) and "Danger Zone" by Kenny Loggins, plus tunes from '80s favorites Cheap Trick, Loverboy and Miami Sound Machine, propelled the collection to No. 1 on the Billboard pop charts and the best-selling soundtrack of 1986.

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Tom Cruise 'came in and just fired everyone' on 'Top Gun: Maverick,' 21 Pilots singer says - Yahoo Singapore News

Books editor Catherine Woulfe on the Ockham New Zealand Book Awards, which were presented at a ceremony in Tmaki Makaurau moments ago.

All bow down to the birdwoman and her magnificent story Whiti Hereakas Kurangaituku (Huia Publishers) has won the richest and most prestigious prize in New Zealand fiction, and rightfully so.

When the finalists for the Jann Medlicott Acorn Prize for Fiction were announced we said:

If the judges are out to recognise innovation, audacity, brilliance, give the Acorn to Whiti Hereaka for this book she spent 10 years building

[The] story belongs to Kurangaituku, the bird-woman, the monstrous ktuku, known for being bested by wily young warrior Hatupatu. She has a different version of the story. Terrible, vulnerable, lusty, a weaver, I adored her and remain in awe of her. Kura knows it, too. In sharing her story she is making her nest in your brain, she says. I will lurk in the shadows of your mind. The designers at Huia have gone for elegant long em dashes and as I read I started to feel they were Kuras ktuku feet, stalking alongside me.

We also published a reverent review by essa may ranapiri, who wrote of the way Kura mirrors and speaks to them as takatpui. Reading Kurangaituku felt like coming home, they wrote. In a way all of us queer whine, whine takatpui, have felt some form of shelter under the feathered arms of this bird-woman, who is ready to kill for us if need be.

Sixty grand will be winging its way to Whitis bank account any day now. Caw!

The other novel we liked heaps, the scarily clever and funny Greta & Valdin by Rebecca K Reilly (Ngti Hine, Ngti Wai) (Te Herenga Waka University Press) won the Crystal Arts Trust Best First Book Award in the category, and with it $2500. You should absolutely buy this book if you just need a break from the shitness for a bit.

Joanna Preston wins for Tumble (Otago University Press). Back in March, our poetry editor Chris Tse wrote: based on gut feeling (which is how I bluff my way to winning Oscar prediction contests every year) I think its Tumble for the win.

Hes now frantically busy over at the Brisbane Writers Festival but sent us this snippet:

A really well-crafted poem is like a precious stone that you can slip into your pocket to reach for when you need reassurance or to connect with something beyond time and space. Joanna Prestons rich and rewarding collection Tumble is a basket of precious stones, each a representation of the steps and missteps taken through life. Tackling the world around us with hungry eyes, a full heart and sparkling feminist streak, Prestons collection is one many readers will keep returning to as they accumulate their own stories.

The Crystal Arts Trust Best First Book Award for poetry went to Whai by Nicole Titihuia Hawkins (Ngti Kahungunu ki te Wairoa, Ngti Phauwera) (We are Babies Press). Congratulations!

Onwards we press, to the land of pretty pictures and stylish coffee-tablers. And the first big surprise: this award went to Claire Regnault for Dressed: Fashionable Dress in Aotearoa New Zealand 1840 to 1910 (Te Papa Press).

I adored the cover on Dressed, and spent a lot of time squishing it its quilted, and millennial pink, and just sumptuous. Then I gave it to Sam Brooks, who squished it too, and wrote this in his review:

It makes sense that a book about fashion literally the human version of a book cover should have such a good cover. But the quality of Dressed goes deeper. This is a meticulously researched, well-detailed look into fashion, an art and a craft that can often be dismissed as frippery. Its not, obviously: the history of fashion is deeply entwined with the history of the world. Fashion is art, fashion is economics, fashion is culture, fashion is function. World history didnt happen naked (except for all the times it did, I suppose).

Regnault sums up her thesis, and the scope of her project, early on: Every garment prompts a set of questions: Who made it? Who wore it and where, and what were their lives like?

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Regnaults vivid descriptions are supported by photos both archival and current, and its the current photos that make Dressed such a vital, and fascinating, document.

Despite the above I had backed Bridget Hackshaw for the win for her light-drenched, gorgeously put-together study of stained glass The Architect and the Artists: Hackshaw, McCahon, Dibble (Massey University Press). She did, however, win this categorys Crystal Arts Trust Best First Book Award.

That leaves the other widely-touted frontrunner, Lucy Mackintosh, out in the cold with her impressive history of Auckland, Shifting Grounds (Bridget Williams Books). A confrontation of ignorance, but a gentle one, wrote Anna Rawhiti-Connell in her review.

Speaking of upsets: Charlotte Grimshaw is leaving tonights ceremony empty-handed despite writing The Mirror Book, a sensation, indisputably the book of the year.

Grimshaw was a finalist in this wildly overstuffed and eclectic category, which surely now needs to change whats happening is unfair on the writers and on the judges.

Vincent OMalley wins the category this year for his history book Voices From the New Zealand Wars / He Reo n ng Pakanga o Aotearoa (Bridget Williams Books). The book is compassionate and stirring and nuanced, the sort of history book that people actually read and connect with, the work of a great scholar, with a stirring foreword by Arama Rata. (We published an excerpt from the book, with commentary from OMalley, to commemorate the passing of the hugely significant New Zealand Settlements Act.) And of course a nod for this book is also a nod to OMalleys previous terrific books on the wars.

OMalley deserves the win. Its just, Grimshaw does, too. And the judges shouldnt have had to pit them against one another. Pure incandescent memoir versus a careful, arresting work of historical scholarship: it makes no sense. Its as absurd as squeezing novels and poetry into just one category. Its not working. As well as Grimshaw dipping out, this year the judges also ended up ditching a slew of brilliant essayists before the finals: Michelle Langstone, Nina Mingya Powles, Danyl McLauchlan, Megan Dunn and Ingrid Horrocks all produced wonders and deserved a spot at the table. (Dave Lowe won the Crystal Arts Trust Best First Book Award for his climate crisis memoir The Alarmist (Te Herenga Waka University Press); we published a review by young glaciologist Clarrie Macklin.)

Solution: a new category. One for creative nonfiction, that is memoirs and essays, the books that use truth as a jumping-off point as opposed to a raison detre. Weve said this before. Its getting boring.

Apparently the major roadblock is money. A new category wont happen without a sponsor to cover the prize money $10,000, if its to match the other big four. Theres also probably a bit of admin that needs paying for. That sounds like heaps of money to me but it is not heaps for big or even medium corporates. Are you a big or medium corporate or just someone cool with money to spare? Do it. Dooooo it.

For your money you get your name attached to the cultural moment, and to a bunch of achingly cool, popular books. Readers adore memoir and essays. These books routinely outsell local fiction. They get Canvas covers and Kim Hill interviews and ecstatic reviews at this here Spinoff and just generally heaps and heaps of traction. I dont understand why sponsorship has been so hard to find. It seems like a sitter. So, quick: if you have a bit of cash and want to be cool and support cool writers please for the love of god and good books email manager@nzbookawards.org.nz.

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Yahoo! Whiti Hereaka wins the 2022 Jann Medlicott Acorn Prize for Fiction - The Spinoff