Lately (not all the time), I’ve been feeling an urge to write about the Actual Games. Yaknow, like Seahawks-Rams. Is this an outlet that can breakdown McVay tape and determine if the Hawks have the interior pass rush to get Stafford off his spot? Will the game come down to a 3rd and 6 where Stafford doesn’t have the space to step up in the pocket and Byron Murphy II can get to him with a backside stunt? But honestly, it’s hard to direct that kind of focus to the gridiron when baseball is careening towards a 2027 work stoppage and I have to formulate a position on whether or not a salary cap can fix(?) the sport. It’s hard man.

Dodgers minority partner Todd Boehly sat down with Sportico today in Davos. Cap or no cap (and Boehly is against), most of baseball’s issues revolve around an imbalance in financial agency between ownership groups. Did Pirates owner Bob Nutting even get a Davos invite? No. Nutting inherited a regional newspaper conglomerate from his grandparents before buying a controlling stake in the Pirates. If this publication’s success is any indication, then newspapers ain’t doing so hot! But baseball can’t force owners to sell, and they can’t dictate that every Jeff Bezos has to buy the Pirates (or Reds, Cardinals, Rays, etc….). So do I have a solution? Nope. But maybe once we get past the NFL playoffs, I’ll have a little more bandwidth. Stay tuned.

It’s here folks. The PGA is back. You’ve heard me say it before, but there’s absolutely nothing better than sitting through an East Coast winter and watching the Boys tackle the Tour’s West Coast Swing dripped in Sun. I’M PRETTY SURE THERE’S NOTHING BETTER. Golf heads to Palm Springs (La Quinta to be exact) for The American Express.

John Rahm once bemoaned this as a glorified putting competition and the course won’t actually present much teeth. It’s a Pete Dye stadium design with holes backing up to the San Jacinto Mountains. You’ll see the greenest of fairways surrounded by dormant bermuda rough. Cool stuff.

Originally known as the Bob Hope Desert Classic, the Amex tapped Phil Mickelson to be the permanent host before Phil lost his mind. Once a collection of Hollywood’s elite, recent years have seen the pro-am format feature a significant collection of Business Luminaries. Davos might’ve taken a chunk out of this version, but a pro-am entry still runs $30k. In exchange, the Scions of the World enjoy three or four days of desert golf next to Scottie Scheffler (or Alex Noren for the lesser luminary). So who’s here this week? Thanks for asking:

- Mookie Betts, paired with Alejandro Tosti and Marcelo Rozo

- Ed Bastian (Delta CEO), paired with Pat Cantaly and Noel Wallace (Colgate CEO)

- Jim Zelter (Apollo President), paired with Ricky Castillo (?) and Chris Nassetta (Hilton CEO)

- John Waldron (Goldman COO), paired with SCOT SCHEFF and Eddy Cue (Apple SVP of Services)

- Steve Squeri (Amex CEO and Baltusrol Member), paired with Tony Finau and Phillip Schindler (Google Chief Business Office)

That’s a brief listing. You’re probably asking yourself: KMARK, is this insider trading? Good question! For those in the Fintech world, you’re probably wondering what Eddy Cue and John Waldron are discussing on the third tee if Apple just moved the Apple Credit Card line of business from Goldman to Chase. We’ll never know. But for those of you with a Particular Set of Skills, and an inclination to trade equities based on a tee sheet, here’s the whole field: Amex Pairings Day 1. Happy trading!