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Good Thursday Morning. Bringing you an abbreviated, “snack size” version of SBP this week.

#1: The NCAA hits a speedbump in getting the House settlement passed

🗯️ My thought bubble: As I wrote about two weeks ago following the end of March Madness — and effectively the end of the “NIL Era” — this roster limit was one of two big issues Judge Wilken flagged as non-starters for her approving the settlement.

Now, the NCAA has 14 days to come to an agreement on phasing these roster limits in over time instead of next year or risk having the settlement denied.

This is the type of strong language that will likely shake the NCAA enough to make a deal, but in the event the organization tries to play chicken with the judge one more time and she follows through on her promise to deny the settlement, we are looking at a situation that is the worst version of what we’ve seen the past four years, in my opinion. Lawsuits against the NCAA on anything and everything will likely restart immediately, schools will push the envelope on NIL rules towards brazen pay-for-play even further than before, and we’ll see players begin to test their luck even more with hard-nosed negotiations.

The only silver lining to this scenario I can see would be that it may also push the power conferences to break further away with the NCAA, which is where this is ultimately heading — the question is just of when.

#2: Finally! A non-cringe gender reveal shtick

#3: Despite concerns earlier this year, the NBA is riding a hot streak the back of the season and in the first few days of the playoffs

🗯️ My thought bubble: Much has been written about the NBA’s early season slump. Despite trending towards a double digit decline year-over-year in the first few months, the league finished the season on the high note and only ended up down 2% for the year. With several marquee teams in the playoffs, the league is going to have a big postseason.

This year is about as good of a representation of the standard NBA season as we can get. There is low interest from fans for the first few months of what is a long, six-month season, football season is finishing up and is taking much of America’s attention, and the players are easing into the year and not going full out. Yes, these are generalizations, but they’re directionally correct reasons for why the NBA really sees interest pick up only after the All-Star Break and once the Super Bowl has finished.

The question to ponder: does it matter?

The league obviously wants to drive more viewership for all games, and it has tried to create concepts — i.e, the Play-in Tournament — to create more interest in the early parts of the season. But, they’re competing against an apex predator in football and there is a palpable difference in energy from the players and fans in games in October/November compared to March/April. Those are two tall mountains to climb.

The reality is these early season games and the shoulder programming still eat up time blocks for networks, and the league makes up for sluggish starts with big numbers later in the year.

My two cents — expect this to be the norm.

#4: I’m fascinated by Sportico writer Eben Novy-Williams’ questions here about the ownership group of MLS’ Real Salt Lake and the NWSL’s Utah Royals selling the clubs for $600 million before the 2026 World Cup that is projected to generate a huge surge in interest in soccer in the States 🤔 

#5: Tonight is the first round of the NFL Draft. Check out this interesting story on the first ever player drafted in the NFL, but he never played a down

Shoutout to long-time reader Joyce A. for sending this to me!

Playoff hockey bonus 🏒! Tired hockey superstition: playoff beards. Wired hockey superstition: bringing back the old ladies of the LA Koreatown Senior and Community Center who performed the national anthem on harmonicas before a Game 1 win to do it again before Game 2

Until next time, sports fans!

-Alex