You thought the sports calendar went quiet. YOU THOUGHT! Let’s catch-up:

- James Franklin is the new coach of Virginia Tech and no one is more excited than any Penn State booster. While staggering coach buyouts make the headlines whenever someone is fired, the buyouts are usually accompanied with offset clauses. Any dollar Franklin receives from Va Tech is one less dollar Penn State needs to payout. James can chase 9 wins in Blacksburg and the Nittany Lions can keep pretending they have a shot at Paterno-year glory. It’s been more than 40 years since Happy Valley produced a title.

- The NBA has been dominated with mock Anthony Davis trades. This is annoying for a few reasons. One, Davis isn’t a Needle Mover. He’s not. Close your eyes and picture his post-game. Seriously, picture it. If you’ve seen one Alperen Sengun game in the last three years, then you need not watch any AD. Two, the overwhelming consensus is that Davis needs to rehab his trade value (see above). Sure. That means playing (but not too much that he gets re-injured). Three, the most annoying part. Each of the mock trade lists promises that Davis has a limited market, but each article outlines no less than 5 potential partners. More than that, I’ve canvassed the NBA Mediascape and the 5 trade partners hardly overlap. Davis will generate a sucker’s bidding war. But will the new Mavs GM know what to look for? The last wrinkle: Davis is somehow in the first year of a 3yr extension, but also eligible to sign for additional years this summer. He can turn his 3yr extension into 5. Does he have enough leverage to steer his ship to the preferred port? Is his preferred destination whatever city agrees to extend him? This is AD’s last crack at the Mega Check. I think he’s winding up in Chicago (his hometown), but in reality, he could be the 4man for half the league.

Can I confess something? Commissioner of the MLB is on my short list of dream jobs. But KMARK, you’re not a lawyer with a background in labor negotiation. I know. NOT YET AT LEAST! But in reality, the Commish role comes with virtually no prerequisites. At various points of conflict, I’ve seen Barack Obama floated as a potential Adam Silver (NBA) replacement. If Barry can do it, so can I. A commissioner is a manager, a public face, and a fall guy. No one (least of all me) is equally qualified to negotiate multi-billion dollar media deals, unionized labor contracts, practical game/competition improvements, and extra-judicial employee discipline. Commissioners are chosen because 30 billionaires mutually agree that one man (or women) is equipped to steer their investments to the promise land and eat shit from the public whenever something goes wrong. Sign me up! As for Manfred, his rope ends in 2029. He’s promised to retire, but he’s got a few things to wrap up before then. Follow me, because they impact today:

- Manfred just announced deals with ESPN and Netflix for the 2026, 2027, and 2028 seasons. Netflix will take over the Home Run Derby. ESPN loses Sunday Night Baseball to NBC/Peacock, but picks up distribution rights for MLB.TV as well as a handful of local markets (6 to be exact), and national weekday games. In their endless pursuit to fill their direct to consumer subscription service with content, ESPN now becomes the go-to source for anyone that wants wall-to-wall baseball. In exchange, they give NBC the glamour of Sunday Night Baseball. Sound familiar? That’s right, NBC is the King of Sunday Night across the NFL, MLB, and NBA. Big move. What actually matters here? Well, MLB’s deal with each partner expires after 2028. MLB’s media deals with existing partners (Fox, Turner) likewise expire after 2028. Manfred set up one national media right negotiation across all partners before he rides off into the sunset in 2029. One last crack to shape how America’s Pastime is delivered to the masses.

- MLB’s current labor contract expires after 2026. That’s one full year of players and owners barking at each other, threatening strikes and lockouts, and generally ruining all the positive momentum the sport has garnered over the last couple seasons. I absolutely do not know what will become of the negotiations. No one does. The Game Theorists are running amuck because the labor negotiations will have a direct impact on the media rights Manfred is hoping to reset before 2029. Netflix isn’t ponying up if an uncertain labor future is on the horizon. Apart from all of that, now is an absolutely horrible time to be a free agent. Teams (owners) are vary wary of handing out long term deals without understanding the salary cap, luxury tax, and revenue sharing implications of the next labor pact. Does that mean Kyle Tucker gets a 2 year deal? No. But does he top 7? That’s a lot less likely now than in a normal year.

If I’ve said it once, I’ll say it again: where my Econs at? The world’s most analytical sport is now also it’s most economic. My advice: remove emotion, don’t take sides, and follow the ride. I think Leagues (MLB in particular) should lean as much into their Bloomberg side as their Sportscenter side. That’s what KMARK’s for. So, until 2029, keep following Manfred’s Twitter and then never think about him again.