McLaren CEO Zak Brown confirmed he will attend this weekend’s Verizon IndyCar Series Detroit Grand Prix doubleheader on Belle Isle. This comes as the F1 team is exploring joining IndyCar full time in ’19. With the U.S. being McLaren’s biggest market for its road car business, joining IndyCar would give it a new avenue to market its products in the U.S. while also giving IndyCar the positive news of a luxury car brand joining its series full time after a host of one-off Indy 500 entries over the last half century (Adam Stern, Staff Writer).
A SWING AND A MISS: In Boston, Sean McAdam noted MLB "can’t get some of its top stars to take part" in this year's Home Run Derby, including Red Sox OFs Mookie Betts and J.D. Martinez and Yankees RF Aaron Judge, last year's champ. It is "impossible to imagine an NBA player declining an invitation to ... the slam dunk contest." While MLB has been "properly criticized for not doing enough to market its own stars, here’s an example of the game trying to do just that -- only to be met with resistance from the players themselves" (BOSTONSPORTSJOURNAL.com, 5/26).
PERFECT FIT: In Minneapolis, Jim Souhan wrote the next time an NFL franchise "goes up for sale," the league should position Vikings COO Kevin Warren to "buy it." Warren would be an "ideal point person for a new ownership group." He is "exceptional at what he does." He is the "highest-ranking black person on the business side of an NFL franchise." He is "universally liked and respected" and he would "command respect" (Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE, 5/27).
