Aug 3, 2020 - Sports

XFL sold to group that includes Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson for $15 million

Photo: Abbie Parr/Getty Images

The XFL sold Monday for $15 million to a group that includes former WWE star Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, Sportico reports.

The state of play: The move does not necessarily mean the upstart football league is returning.

  • Axios has learned that the buyers — who also include Johnson's ex-wife Dany Garcia and RedBird Capital's Gerry Cardinale — first plan to seek major media deals before committing to the major capital expense of launching a new season.
  • They landed the deal just hours before the league was set to be up for sale at an auction.

The bottom line: It's a $15 million option on something that Vince McMahon previously poured around $200 million into.

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Fadel Allassan
Aug 2, 2020 - Sports

More athletes opt out as U.S. struggles with coronavirus

The Los Angeles Dodgers play against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field on July 31 in Phoenix. Photo: Christian Petersen/Getty Images

A growing number of pro athletes in the U.S. are opting out of the 2020 season, or league restarts, citing concerns related to the coronavirus pandemic.

Why it matters: The pandemic continues to disrupt the world of sports, despite many fans hoping that a return for the major leagues would spell some semblance of normalcy for other aspects of life.

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Mike Allen, author of AM
10 mins ago - Politics & Policy

Trump sees court fight as virus respite

Spotted at Trump's rally last night at Harrisburg International Airport in Middletown, Pa. Photo: Joshua Roberts/Reuters

At a rally in Pennsylvania last night, President Trump basked in adulation for Judge Amy Coney Barrett and said: "She should be running for president!"

Why it matters: She might as well be. The Trump campaign is thrilled to be talking about something besides the president's handling of COVID, and is going all-in to amp up the court conversation.

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Mike Allen, author of AM
10 mins ago - Politics & Policy

Democrats feel boxed in on strategy for Barrett confirmation fight

Photo: Chen Mengtong/China News Service via Getty Images

Democrats privately fear that going too hard on Judge Amy Coney Barrett in her confirmation hearings could wind up backfiring, if senators are perceived as being nasty to an accomplished woman.

Driving the news: Yesterday afternoon, NBC posted video of Coney Barrett outside her house in South Bend, Ind., loading four of her seven children — two of the seven adopted from Haiti, and another with Down Syndrome — into her Honda Odyssey minivan, then driving them all to her Air Force ride to Washington. "Good luck, Democrats," a Republican tweeted.

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