Sports & Entertainment Beat

For the very last time in 2023, welcome back to the Spotlight! I know there’s still 2 weeks left in the year but I figure my readers are either going to be checked-out or buried in work to complete before end of the year. If you can’t wait for more puns and dad jokes until 2024 (like a shoe store for Shaquille O’Neal, that’s no small feat) you can email me at josh.bloomgarden@foster.com and/or add me on LinkedIn. But if Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani can wait 10 years to start receiving the $680 million deferred compensation balance of his recently signed 10 year, $700 million contract, I think you will manage. From mega contracts to the SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes, to Messi’s move to Miami, to Taylor Swift’s global domination, to artificial intelligence’s emergence to the mainstream, to the continued growth of women’s sports, to pickleball and the expansion of athletes’ investment portfolios, the year has been packed with huge stories and developments in the sports and entertainment industries occurrences and I look forward to seeing what’s in store for the next pages of the calendar. Until then, I leave you with best wishes for Happy Holidays and of course the following:

• • The Washington Commanders are moving business operations off-site from their home stadium, FedEx Field. No word on whether there are plans to move winning operations in. 
    
    
  • The Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team is due to be featured in a docuseries on streaming platform Peacock, virtually guaranteeing a Sean Astin cameo appearance. 
    
    
  • On the heels of the Netflix Cup golf tournament, the streaming service is continuing a push into live sporting events with a tennis match between two Grand Slam champions Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz. A perfect event for viewers seeking to get their net fix.