Sports & Entertainment Spotlight

Welcome back to the Spotlight! Is it just me or are sports scandals becoming more and more prevalent? Perhaps it’s that there’s so much money changing hands, including in legalized gambling, there is more opportunity and temptation to game the system. Perhaps it’s that digital fingerprints make it easier for bad actors to get caught. Perhaps morals are loosening. Or perhaps people are just flouting Mary J. Blige’s (shoutout to the 914) pleas for “No More Drama.” Whatever the explanation (I’m pretty sure it is the last one), new indictments and punishments came down this week stemming from game manipulation for betting purposes—just weeks after similar allegations taking place in the NBA. The NCAA announced that a handful of former student-athletes were involved in schemes in which they intentionally did not score or “threw” their game.

Not to be outdone, in the MLB, Cleveland Guardians’ pitchers Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz allegedly purposely threw balls so that gamblers could bet on pitches being balls or strikes. Clase and Ortiz are both excellent relief pitchers—the former being one of the top closers in all Major League Baseball—but the ultimate relief would be that each of these allegations prove to be false. However, all indications seem to be that the allegations are credible. Unfortunately, these incidents do not happen in a vacuum and inject a level of cynicism and skepticism whenever an umpire or referee makes a questionable call, a player sits out with an injury or makes a bone-headed play. Hopefully, all of these events will in the long run serve as examples of what not to do, but at least in the near term these instances all are unsettling affronts to the integrity of the games to which these scandals relate.

• • Twelve years after Under Armour beat out a notoriously ill-prepared Nike pitch to sign then NBA superstar Steph Curry to an endorsement deal, Curry and Under Armour are parting ways, with Curry taking all of his IP out on the open market. If you listen closely, you can hear an army of brand executives rehearsing the proper pronunciation of Curry’s name.
  • Financial giant Goldman Sachs buys a majority stake of sports talent agency Excel Sports Management. As part of the deal, Excel will get a direct pipeline to capital, while Goldman will get a direct pipeline of talent to appear at its executives’ children’s bar/bat mitzvahs, christenings, sweet 16s and quinceañeras.
  • Actors Michael Caine and Matthew McConaughey link up with AI audio company ElevenLabs, allowing virtual reproduction their famous voices. McConaughey’s voice is not yet available through ElevenLabs’ marketplace out of the company’s fear that users will overwhelm the system with requests for “Alright, alright, alright.”

For inquiries and/or unabashed compliments, please feel free to contact me at josh.bloomgarden@foster.com or add me on LinkedIn.

Welcome back to the Spotlight! This past week, amidst Halloween candy sorting (and sampling…and re-sampling…) a recording artist by the name of Xania Monet generated enough radio play to make a historic appearance on the Billboard R&B charts. Why was it historic? Not because Xania Monet is a relative of French impressionist Claude (though, kudos to you for retaining art history), but rather because Xania Monet is a relative of Claude…and Alexa…and Siri…and Grok. You see, Xania Monet is a creation of Telisha “Nikki” Jones, who uses generative software and her own lyrics to bring Monet to “life.”

On the one hand, this represents a democratization of the music industry. On the other hand, it’s an anxiety-inducing moment for recording artists of the human variety. Put differently, the ease with which new AI-generated music can be pushed out makes it more likely for consumers’ mass consumption of Xania and likelier still for traditional musicians’ mass consumption of Xanax. Whether this is a passing fad or a sign of things to come (probably the latter), one thing is for certain: the Spotlight is proudly AI-free and authentic since its very first founding. And based on what I’ve seen from my late night trials, that’s not in danger of that changing any time soon!

• • Highly decorated Men’s tennis star adds a deal to his endorsement portfolio, leading a $5 million seed round for “corn-free popcorn” brand Cob. What’s this corn-free popcorn, you ask? It is a snack product made with sorghum – which is incidentally exactly what I experience when I get a corn kernel stuck in my teeth.
  • Following on the heels of this week’s Mayoral election in New York City, President Trump published (and was forced to take down) a doctored New York Knicks logo to satirize a different doctored New York Knicks logo that Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani used (for which he received a cease and desist letter) during his campaign. While I am relieved to see the Knicks not wading into the political morass, I am confused about why there seem to be more graphic designers than IP lawyers on both sides of the aisle.
  • Just when you thought the “K-Pop Demon Hunters” craze might be winding down after Halloween, Netflix announced that a sequel will be made, triggering a $15 million cash bonus for Sony film studio. Golden indeed.

For inquiries and/or unabashed compliments, please feel free to contact me at josh.bloomgarden@foster.com or add me on LinkedIn.

Welcome back to the Spotlight, boos and ghouls. On this Hallow’s Eve, the only thing scarier than brain-eating zombies is not having anything for said zombies to dine on. After all, as your mummy would say, “a brain is a terrible thing to waste.” Fortunately, I am leaving out a big bowl of knowledge treats and there is no limit per customer—witch, to be frank(enstein), is great news for those of you looking for your fill of sports and entertainment business updates on the web. Make no bones about it, you can count on it like Dracula. Hopefully, these light-hearted holiday puns won’t spook you off, and before long you’ll be gob(b)lin more down for Thanksgiving. For now, open up your bags and get a handful of what I have to offer below.

• • Gymnast/model Livvy Dunne turns a viral moment in which cameras captured her stress-sweating through her boyfriend Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher (and presumptive National League Cy Young award winner) Paul Skenes’ final outing of the season, from a stain into gold, as she endorses Secret Anti-perspirant. No sweat indeed.
  • Shadow Lion, the entertainment and marketing studio of Hall of Fame quarterback Tom Brady, gets a strategic investment from Brady’s current employer, Fox Sports—the same company that pays him $37.5 million per year. Talk about being outfoxed.
  • Legendary R&B singer Patti LaBelle enters a partnership with Primary Wave involving such hits from her music catalog as “Lady Marmalade.” Presumably the offer letter included the business version of the words, “vous le vous coucher avec moi?”

For inquiries and/or unabashed compliments, please feel free to contact me at josh.bloomgarden@foster.com or add me on LinkedIn.

Welcome back to the Spotlight! This time of year, the color orange not only evokes pumpkins and falling leaves, but also basketball. Indeed, the NBA season tipped off this past week, replete with intrigue and excitement on and off the court. Notably, the offseason media rights shuffle reunited the NBA with NBC (reviving the sweet sounds of John Tesh’s “Roundball Rock”) and brought old faces to new places with the “Inside the NBA” team of Ernie Johnson, Shaquille O’Neal, Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith debuting on ESPN after having moved over from TNT (the latter two hosts predicted a certain orange (and blue) team from New York would be playing for an NBA championship this year).

Regrettably, however, orange also evokes jumpsuits as much as it does jump shots, with the Department of Justice announcing the FBI’s arrest of current and former NBA players Chauncey Billups, Damon Jones and Terry Rozier in connection with a federal gambling probe that uncovered several alleged conspiracies involving fixed poker games and sharing of inside information with bettors. To be sure, the timing is awful for the NBA (if there ever was a time for a sports league to have its integrity called into question). But it is also rather inauspicious timing for it to be announced this very same week that collegiate athletes and schools’ athletics staff will now be permitted to gamble on professional sports. Perhaps the conduct of the pros will serve as a cautionary tale for collegiate athletes rather than a foreshadowing of things to come in this sports business environment. At the very least, it should serve as a reminder of the need for athletes’ mentors and advisors to encourage the exercise of better judgment regarding the use of money and the privileged position that allows them to earn it.

• • Having already launched a lifestyle brand, “American Riviera Orchard” (recently rebranded “As Ever”) Meghan Markle looks poised to be next to wade into the crowded waters of celebrity-branded beauty products. A word of advice to Markle’s potential business partner: go heavy on the equity – she tends to distance herself from royalties.
  • Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Bruce Springsteen, when asked about Jeremy Allen White’s portrayal of him in the biopic “Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere,” said that he could not tell the difference between White’s voice and that of his own on certain recordings. AI-driven music companies, when asked about Jeremy Allen White’s portrayal of Springsteen in the biopic “Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere” said “stay in your lane!”
  • Ari Emanuel’s global events and experience company MARI acquired digital ticketing platform TodayTix, in what I can only assume is a gross overpayment for tickets to see “Wicked” on Broadway.

For inquiries and/or unabashed compliments, please feel free to contact me at josh.bloomgarden@foster.com or add me on LinkedIn.

Welcome back to the Spotlight! One thing I love about this season is the memorable fall pastime of apple picking, with another installment of that chapter coming for me this weekend. Something about the experience makes paying above retail prices for the opportunity to pick your own fruit off trees just gets my juices flowing. But that’s not what I’m here to talk about. As you know, the core of the Spotlight is to plant seeds of sports and entertainment industry with a dash of humor (or at least that’s what I call it). I guess you could say my writing style stems from my desire to make the reading more a-peeling so that you may pick from a tree in my orchard of knowledge—by the bushel, and always free (or at least until I figure out how to monetize this). For those who are feeling rotten from all this wordplay, apple-y for you, I have other fruits to bear.

• • Netflix’s viral sensation film “K-Pop Demon Hunters” is rolling out sing-along screenings of the film around Halloween. It’s perhaps the scariest house of horrors for introverts around.
  • New Balance ink UCLA Basketball’s shooting guards on the men’s and women’s side to NIL endorsement deals, giving their bank accounts new balances.
  • With sights set on a “Rat Pack” themed venue in Las Vegas, Irving Azoff’s Iconic Artists Group acquires the rights to Frank Sinatra’s name, image and likeness. No word on what the venue would be named but the pizzeria there will almost assuredly be named “Amore.”

For inquiries and/or unabashed compliments, please feel free to contact me at josh.bloomgarden@foster.com or add me on LinkedIn.

Welcome back to the Spotlight! After an exciting Game 3 of the American League Division Series in which Aaron Judge hit a memorable, almost impossible game-tying home run to help propel the New York Yankees to a comeback victory over the Toronto Blue Jays on Tuesday night, the Yankees showed a glimmer of hope that they could mount a comeback and win two more games to advance to the next round of the MLB postseason. Sure enough, aided by the Toronto Blue Jays’ unorthodox decision to swap out their baseball bats for pool noodles and to wear cinderblock cleats, the Yankees had a resounding Game 4 victory on Wednesday night to set up a decisive Game 5 tonight in Toronto.

OK, so that part didn’t actually happen in real life (the Yankees were eliminated in Game 4 after the Yankees’ bats might as well have been pool noodles), but it did appear to happen with the aid of OpenAI’s new hyper-realistic Sora 2 video generation AI model. The absurdity of my account of Game 4 undoubtedly provided a big hint that it was contrived. But, what happens when the model gets so advanced, and the absurdity gets removed?  People will have an exceedingly difficult time separating fact from fiction and the individuals depicted in these videos may find themselves losing control of their personas.  That is exactly why Hollywood’s talent agencies have voiced concern over the technology—with WME going so far as to opt-out from having their talent’s likenesses licensed for use by Sora 2. It will be interesting to see whether OpenAI puts safeguards in place to protect brands’ and individuals’ intellectual property from unauthorized exploitation by Sora 2. But for now, I think I’ll try to create a video of me at the New York Yankees’ ticker tape parade that never was.

• • LeBron James teased a “Second Decision” making light of his infamous 2010 television special surrounding his NBA free agency in which he announced he would be signing with the Miami Heat. This time around, the “Decision” turned out to be an endorsement for Hennessy Cognac. Incidentally, for New York Knicks fans like myself, the initial Decision was also taken as an endorsement of liquor.
  • Innovative Artists Entertainment signs 6’10” NBA Hall of Famer Dwight Howard for representing him in broadcasting opportunities. In a related story, Innovative Artists Entertainment signs a purchase order for larger door frames.
  • This year’s selection of Puerto Rican recording artist Bad Bunny Super Bowl Halftime Show has roiled many to the point that Conservative organization Turning Point USA will be counterprogramming the halftime show. In other words, halftime will be as much about the divide between the first and second halves of a football game as it will be about the divide between Americans.

For inquiries and/or unabashed compliments, please feel free to contact me at josh.bloomgarden@foster.com or add me on LinkedIn.

Welcome back to the Spotlight and Shana Tovah to those, like me, who celebrate Rosh Hashanah—the Jewish New Year. Here’s to hoping that the year ahead will be as sweet as apples and honey. The Spotlight will be off next week as I fast in observance of Yom Kippur (the Jewish day of atonement). For those who haven’t been around me when I am hungry, consider yourself lucky. For those who have, you’re welcome and I am truly sorry. While I am at it, I might as well atone for the words that I have said (or will say while stuck in Long Island traffic due to the Ryder Cup this weekend). I am SOOOO sorry for my sarcasm. And most of all, I am sorry that I am not sorry for my corny dad jokes (some of which appear below!).

• • Actor Ben Stiller (who also observes Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur) launches his own low calorie soda brand called Stiller’s. At 30 calories per serving, it is a better-for-you option that even Derek Zoolander could indulge in. It also already has a huge NFL fanbase in Pittsburgh.
  • Having portrayed the New York Yankees’ Assistant to the Traveling Secretary in his role as George Costanza (Ben Stiller’s father Jerry’s on-screen son) on Seinfeld, Jason Alexander is the face of lifestyle brand KITH’s New York Yankees collection. You might need to read this one a few times.
  • Director Christopher Nolan was elected the new president of the Directors Guild of America—which means that he’ll probably hire Cillian Murphy as a union organizer.

For inquiries and/or unabashed compliments, please feel free to contact me at josh.bloomgarden@foster.com or add me on LinkedIn.

Welcome back to the Spotlight! If you feel a chill in the air, it might be because the seasons are changing and Fall is nearly upon us. Or perhaps, it’s the free speech and expression that Americans have held dear being chilled out of fear of reprisal or getting silenced whether it be by force or coercion. If the eggshells that I am walking upon are any indication, it seems like it is the latter. Call me old fashioned, but I miss the days of when people could hold differences of opinion, have civil discourse and engage in sifting and winnowing (shoutout to my alma mater University of Wisconsin) as opposed to resorting to violence or “cancelling” someone. In any event, I fear I have probably said too much, but yet not enough—so let’s switch gears…

• • Fresh off her album release, Sabrina Carpenter is grabbing headlines with a cup giveaway and promotional “daydream” hotline with brand partner Dunkin’, and an announced October 18 host and musical guest appearance on Saturday Night Live (assuming the show is still on air).
  • Tom Brady is coming out of retirement again – sort of. The future NFL Hall of Fame quarterback is slated to compete in a Fanatics-sponsored flag football exhibition in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Chances are that he’ll lead his team to victory--as long as Eli Manning isn’t there.
  • Pop-punk singer and songwriter Avril Lavigne is launching a wine brand of the same name as her early 2000s song that put her on the map: “Complicated.” Consumers are encouraged to remember to stay well hy-drated and not to drive while intox-icated.

For inquiries and/or unabashed compliments, please feel free to contact me at josh.bloomgarden@foster.com or add me on LinkedIn.

Welcome back to the Spotlight! After the September 11, 2001 terror attacks on American soil, today’s date (September 12) has become synonymous not only with a profound paradigm shift, but also with historic levels of unity, patriotism, mutual aid, resiliency and resolve that emerged in the wake of the attacks. The sports and entertainment world did a tremendous job in the ensuing days to do their part to lift people’s spirits—whether it be through tribute songs or New York Mets catcher Mike Piazza’s go-ahead home run in the first game played after 9/11. It is amazing to think that as much as it feels like 9/11/2001 was just yesterday, the polarization, hate and violence we see on a daily basis (in no small part due to mass distortions and disinformation on social media), makes it feel as if we’re a long way off from September 12. It has been said that the best way to honor the lives lost on September 11 is to be the people we were on September 12. So, go take a break from social media (influencer/branded content deals that I have negotiated and dog photos excluded) and be kind -- hold a door for someone, let someone go ahead of you in line, talk to each other and find common ground.

• • Music duo Twenty One Pilots sues online marketplace Temu over peddling of counterfeit, knock-off merchandise—which might explain why I recently received a “Twelve Sailors” t-shirt.
  • Artificial Intelligence company Anthropic enters into a class action settlement to pay a group of book authors $1.5 billion for having pirated works to train its chatbot. That’s a lot of booty.
  • Speaking of boot-y, filmmaker Spike Lee enters an endorsement deal with Timberland to help commemorate the iconic yellow workwear boots’ 50th anniversary.

For inquiries and/or unabashed compliments, please feel free to contact me at josh.bloomgarden@foster.com or add me on LinkedIn.

Welcome back! School is back in session and so too is this Sports and Entertainment business classroom we like to call the “Spotlight.” Here, the sharpness of your pencils will be matched only by that of my wit, the sardonic humor flows free like a hallway water fountain and that rectangular, cafeteria pizza is almost as cheesy as my jokes. Heck, you might even learn something along the way. Without further ado, please take your seats and have a look at your assigned reading below.

• • Everything is coming up Travis Kelce, as the All-Pro Kansas City Chiefs Tight End scores a partnership with American Eagle, while Garage Beer, the company in which he and his brother Jason are major investors, closes a funding round valuing it at $200M (a 10x increase in just about a year’s time).  Oh, also his newly betrothed happens to be a billionaire singer-songwriter.
  • Rapper and producer Lil Jon wins third place at the 2025 Muscle Beach fitness competition in Venice, CA. In recognition of the achievement, he received a bronze medal and will henceforth be referred to as “Jon."
  • A British man named Oliver McCann (professionally known as “imoliver”) makes (AI-generated) waves in the music industry, garnering a record deal from indie label Hallwood Media for his creation of AI-generated music. Certainly not the first time someone with minimal music talent has gotten a record deal and it won’t be the last. One thing is for certain: clearing the rights to the music must be a nightmare.

For inquiries and/or unabashed compliments, please feel free to contact me at josh.bloomgarden@foster.com or add me on LinkedIn.