Sports & Entertainment Beat

We’re just a few days away from Halloween, but I don’t feel the same excitement about the holiday as I once did. Maybe it is because I am older and eat less candy (I have the before and after pictures to prove it).  Maybe it is because the world is a scarier place right now than any horror movie could be.  Maybe it is because I am dreading all of the Barbie-Ken and Travis Kelce-Taylor Swift costumes.  Or, even more troubling, it is because I am looking forward to all of the Barbie-Ken and Travis Kelce-Taylor Swift costumes.  I’ll ponder that some more as I snack on some candy corn (controversial choice, I know--if only that was the most divisive issue facing us in our time…).  In any event, practice safe trick-or-treating: look both ways before crossing the street and carry both a flashlight and the knowledge from this spotlight.
 

• • Collectibles company Rally is selling fractional ownership of New York Yankees legend Mickey Mantle’s childhood home.  One can only assume the space above the fireplace will garner top dollar.
     
  • Unable to secure the $30 million per year that he was seeking for NBA jersey sponsorship rights for the Las Vegas Sphere, Sphere Entertainment Executive Chairman James Dolan found another suitor: Madison Square Garden Sports Executive Chairman James Dolan. As a result, the New York Knicks’ jerseys and warm-up shirts will bear Sphere branding.  Hopefully, I’ll be as excited to watch the Knicks as I am the animations on the outside of the Sphere – but I’m not holding my breath.
     
  • Taking cues from Universal Music Group, music streaming platform Spotify unveils a new royalty structure designed to address fraud that siphons royalties away from legitimate human artists. My dog’s recording career will have to be put on paws.