It is a good time to be a sports fan.
March Madness is in full swing, and the energy in New York City is electric.
Hometown heroes St.
John's are back in the Sweet 16 for the first time since 1999, and tonight they face the ultimate test, the number one overall seed Duke.
And America's pastime is also back for the first time ever.
Teams were able to challenge balls and strikes yesterday, but don't blink because the 2027 MLB season might be hit by a long lasting lockout and Tom Brady throwing cold water on hopes for a comeback.
He says the NFL doesn't like the idea of a player who is also an owner.
Well joining me on this Friday morning is Rick Horrow, a sports business analyst at FINTECH.TV.
Rick, Happy Friday to you.
Thank you so much for joining me.
So a shortage of upsets in the first round, but March Madness is heating up.
So give us your take.
And also I do want to get your opinion when it comes to the NCAA's copyright infringement claims against DraftKings.
First of all, my opinion is you've got to be a little neutral.
Your St.
John's comment was a little more emotional than it should be.
I'm a dukey, and that upset train ends tonight.
That's number one.
Number two, it is a $1.4 billion a year television business.
It stakes, the NCAA men's side, and all.
They've got to protect their revenue streams.
So what's happening?
They filed a very large lawsuit, first one ever, against DraftKings.
Why?
Well, because Elite Eight, Sweet 16, March.
Madness Final Four are all terms that the NCAA has very well copyrighted protected.
Two-pronged argument.
They say that it confuses student athletes because they think they're associated with each other.
And second of all, the young adults shouldn't be exposed to this.
I find it ultimately ironic because the take from March Madness this year from gambling $4 billion.
So let's see how the lawsuit plays out. and while I have you here.
Let's try to talk about baseball.
Baseball is back and also Poly market is the MLB's exclusive prediction markets platform.
The MLB also has a memorandum of understanding when it comes to monitoring integrity in sports contracts with the CFTC.
So what key storylines are you paying attention to here on and off the diamond?
It's all about money and it's all about unique sponsorships and you know, Pollymarket and Calci are in a fight to wrap up that prediction market sponsorship piece and baseball, football, hockey, soccer, wrestling, UFC, they all love it because it means sponsorship for everybody.
The baseball deal is about $300 million over 3 or 5 years, $150 million a year.
The details haven't been released, but the CFTC is regulating. them and they make the argument that this is even better than gambling because you come from a regulated industry.
It's even better, and they'll be looking for the kind of funny stuff, balls and strikes, managers' challenges because it is, after all, hard to find because for example, if you and I are in a polymarket process and I am told that I can get off of this interview and predictably under 3 minutes, you know, I'll take the money and I'll cut you off right now.
Well, finally, Rick, before I let you go, football fans are always speculating that Tom Brady wants to play football again.
We saw him play while in the Fanatics flag Football Classic last weekend.
So what do his latest comments about the NFL not supporting the idea of a player owner reveal about a potential comeback.
I shouldn't probably say this because I know him well and I may get a call, but there were players Jalen Hurts, Devonte Adams, Stefon Diggs, who played that sport against guys who play flag football for years and ready for the LA Olympics.
By the way, the NFL guys lost 106 to 44, so Tom Brady can argue that the league doesn't like a player owner playing, and that's probably right, but hey, he's a pretty old guy.
I'm not sure he runs around very well with those guys.
We'll have to see what happens, but at the end of the day, flag football, as you know, is in the Olympics.
It's a very significant way for the NFL to capture the international market, and frankly, I can't wait for this team that rolled over NFL players to take it out on poor countries around the world.
Well, Rick, we will have to leave it there for this Friday morning, but great talking to you.
Thank you so much for joining me.
I'm sure both of us will be busy with all of our screens this weekend.
Yes, we will talk to you next week, maybe.
Bye.
See you.
