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Leagues and Governing Bodies

Brian France Discusses The Start Of The '11 NASCAR Season During ESPN Visit

NASCAR Chair & CEO Brian France made the rounds at ESPN’s HQs yesterday, appearing on multiple shows during the course of the day. France noted the sport has "momentum" this year. France: "We started off with a really neat champion in the Daytona 500 in Trevor Bayne, a young kid with an old team, so we had some neat storylines. Some of the drivers that had been struggling, like Jeff Gordon, have already won and they put notice they're going to contend for the championship. … And then Dale Earnhardt Jr. is running well." France noted Earnhardt is the "biggest franchise in NASCAR" and it would be "great if he continues to figure out the chemistry of the team." France: "He went through a pretty good slump, but it's nice to see him competing at a high level" (“SportsCenter,” ESPN, 5/2). France also said the sport needs rivalries, but admitted there may be a hesitancy from some drivers because of “obligations that drivers have with their sponsors.” He said, “They don't think they can express themselves in the way that maybe everybody would like to see. I hope that changes over time. We're encouraging that. 'Boys have at it' is part of that." Meanwhile, France was asked if NASCAR had any initiatives to try and attract new fans and take advantage of the labor issues affecting the NFL and possibly the NBA. France: “We're not planning on that. We're fans of most other sports. I hope they get their labor issues resolved and we certainly wouldn't plan in or around that. It's out of our control obviously" (“NASCAR Now,” ESPN2, 5/2).

SBJ Morning Buzzcast: March 25, 2024

NFL meeting preview; MLB's opening week ad effort and remembering Peter Angelos.

Big Get Jay Wright, March Madness is upon us and ESPN locks up CFP

On this week’s pod, our Big Get is CBS Sports college basketball analyst Jay Wright. The NCAA Championship-winning coach shares his insight with SBJ’s Austin Karp on key hoops issues and why being well dressed is an important part of his success. Also on the show, Poynter Institute senior writer Tom Jones shares who he has up and who is down in sports media. Later, SBJ’s Ben Portnoy talks the latest on ESPN’s CFP extension and who CBS, TNT Sports and ESPN need to make deep runs in the men’s and women's NCAA basketball tournaments.

SBJ I Factor: Nana-Yaw Asamoah

SBJ I Factor features an interview with AMB Sports and Entertainment Chief Commercial Office Nana-Yaw Asamoah. Asamoah, who moved over to AMBSE last year after 14 years at the NFL, talks with SBJ’s Ben Fischer about how his role model parents and older sisters pushed him to shrive, how the power of lifelong learning fuels successful people, and why AMBSE was an opportunity he could not pass up. Asamoah is 2021 SBJ Forty Under 40 honoree. SBJ I Factor is a monthly podcast offering interviews with sports executives who have been recipients of one of the magazine’s awards.

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