Fanatics has raised $1.5 billion in a new round of funding that now values the company at $27 billion, Axios has confirmed. The investment was first reported by the Wall Street Journal.
Why it matters: Fanatics' valuation is the proverbial hockey stick, up more than four times in the past 18 months.
Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich is looking to sell Chelsea FC, the British soccer team he's owned since 2003, amid calls for him to be sanctioned for his ties to President Vladimir Putin, he announced Wednesday.
Driving the news: The walls were closing in around Abramovich's ownership of the club this week, as Britain proposed legislation targeting oligarchs like Abramovich who obtained their wealth through ties with Putin.
NHL star Alex Ovechkin, a longtime supporter of Russian President Vladimir Putin, has an opportunity to become as impactful off the ice as he is on it.
Driving the news: Ovechkin's comments on Friday regarding Russia's invasion of Ukraine felt purposefully non-committal.
EA Sports will remove the Russian National Team and all Russian club soccer teams from its FIFA video game franchise, and remove all Russian and Belarusian hockey teams from the latest NHL video game franchise, the gaming developer announced on Wednesday.
Why it matters:Ā The sports world's rebuke of the invasion signals a swift rebuke of the Russian government. The Ukrainian government has also called on video game companies and esports operators to bar Russian gamers and esports teams.
Oksana Masters, already primed to be one of Team USA's biggest stars at the upcoming Paralympics, will be under an even bigger spotlight given her Ukrainian roots.
Driving the news: Masters, 32, was born in Ukraine with several radiation-induced defects due to the nearby Chernobyl nuclear disaster.
The Warriors are poised to have the NBA's highest local TV ratings for the fifth time in six years, while the Nuggets are staring down the wrong kind of history.
By the numbers: Golden State averaged a 7.63 rating on NBC Sports Bay Area through mid-February, SBJ's John Ourand reports. That's more than double the second-place Cavaliers' 3.74 rating on Bally Sports Ohio.
The International Paralympic Committee announced Wednesday that athletes from Russia and Belarus will be allowed to compete at the upcoming 2022 Beijing Paralympic Games but not as representatives of their countries.
Why it matters: IPC's decision adds to the growing list of teams, athletes and international sports organizations, including FIFA and Formula 1, that have announced boycotts or other restrictions against Russia's government over its unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.
Major League Baseball's Opening Day, which was scheduled for March 31, will be canceled after the league and the players' association failed to reach a deal, commissioner Rob Manfred announced Tuesday.
Why it matters: It will be the first time in 27 years that regular-season games have been canceled due to a labor dispute between the two sides.
Russian and Belarusian tennis players will not be allowed to compete under the name or flag of their countries but will still be allowed to play in tournaments, the international governing bodies of tennis announced on Tuesday.
Driving the news: The Women's Tennis Association and the Association of Tennis Professionals will also be suspending a joint scheduled event in October in Moscow.
Three House Democrats reintroduced a bill last week that would eliminate public subsidies for the construction of professional sports stadiums.
Why it matters: Since 2000, 43 professional stadiums have been at least partially funded using $16.7 billion worth of such tax-exempt bonds, costing the federal government $4.3 billion in lost tax revenue, per a 2020 study in the National Tax Journal.
The U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee early on Tuesday called for a "complete ban on international sport participation" for Russian and Belarusian athletes and officials over the invasion of Ukraine, "effective immediately."
Why it matters: If this were to happen, the countries' athletes would be barred from competing in the Beijing 2022 Paralympic Winter Games, which start this Friday.
