MLB attorney: Loss of Comcast ‘devastating’
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Alden Gonzalez, ESPN Staff Writer
Attorneys for MLB, the NBA and the NHL expressed strong concerns with Diamond Sports Group’s ability to emerge from bankruptcy during a status conference on Wednesday, less than five weeks after a scheduled confirmation hearing. Their uneasiness stemmed largely from Diamond’s inability to secure a new contract with its third-largest distributor, Comcast, which prompted the carrier to pull Bally Sports channels off the air at the start of May, leaving baseball fans throughout the country — most notably within the Southeast region of the United States — without the ability to watch their favorite teams.
“I think it’s important, from the perspective of Major League Baseball, to understand exactly how devastating it is to lose carriage on Comcast,” MLB lawyer James Bromley said in bankruptcy court.
Diamond has secured multiyear agreements with three of its four other major distributors in Charter, DirecTV and Cox. An attorney representing the company announced in court on Wednesday that it is also “getting very close” to securing a new naming rights deal that would begin in 2025, at which point Diamond’s broadcasts would no longer carry the “Bally Sports” branding. But Diamond has yet to secure new linear cable and digital rights deals with the NBA or the NHL, two leagues that saw their contracts expire at the end of their respective regular seasons, and the Comcast uncertainty continues to hang over all of it.
Diamond attorney Brian Hermann acknowledged that the company is “disappointed” by the impasse with Comcast but said it is “optimistic” a new contract will come to fruition before the June 18 confirmation, which would essentially mark the end of Diamond’s 15-month-long reorganization phase. But Bromley said “everything is up in the air” at the moment and brought up a lack of transparency, highlighting a continued tension between MLB and Diamond.
“As we stand here today, we are just over a month from the scheduled confirmation hearing,” he added. “We have no information with respect to revenue, and we have no information with respect to major expenses. How in the world are we going to be able to have a hearing, which I think is going to be contested, and discovery with respect to the viability of a plan of reorganization when we’re just over 30 days and we have simply no information?”
Diamond entered bankruptcy with 14 MLB teams in its portfolio but shed the San Diego Padres and the Arizona Diamondbacks around the midway point of the 2023 season, prompting MLB to take over broadcasts. Uncertainty over regional sports contracts, a major revenue source for teams, hung over the offseason, particularly with regard to the Texas Rangers, Minnesota Twins and Cleveland Guardians, all of whom navigated it unsure of where they stood in their relationship with Diamond. Those three teams have since agreed to new deals that only cover the 2024 season.
A major step in Diamond’s desire to emerge from bankruptcy was revealed around the middle of January, when it announced it was bringing in Amazon as a minority investor that would enter into a commercial agreement to provide access to Diamond’s services via its streaming arm, Prime Video. But Diamond doesn’t currently possess the streaming rights to any NBA or NHL teams and has it only for five smaller market baseball teams, prompting further questions about the company’s viability.
Bankruptcy judge Chris Lopez approved Diamond’s disclosure statement on April 17, but the company’s hopes of emerging from bankruptcy were dealt a major blow on May 1, when Comcast, which operates under the Xfinity brand, pulled Bally Sports channels off its air at the expiration of their contract. The breakdown stemmed largely from Comcast’s desire to place Bally Sports channels on a higher, more-expensive tier, sources said. On May 7, Diamond sent what it described as an open letter to sports fans urging them to “raise your voices, let Xfinity know you want your teams back on the air.”
Lawyers representing the NBA and the NHL echoed concerns Wednesday about Diamond’s ability to produce a viable business plan ahead of the June 18 confirmation.
“We simply cannot afford to have our next season disrupted by the uncertainty as to whether Diamond will or will not have a viable business,” NBA attorney Vincent Indelicato said.
Added NHL attorney Shana Elberg: “The day-to-day approach of whether or not a professional sports team’s games will be broadcast doesn’t work for us and can’t continue.”
MLB on Tuesday issued a statement in advance of the status conference in which it wrote that Diamond’s restructuring plan would “likely” be “unconfirmable” if it can’t reach a carriage renewal with Comcast and raised a litany of concerns about its restructuring plans. MLB’s attorney emphasized those concerns in court the following day.
“We are sitting here with the nation’s pastime in the middle of its season, and we have … millions of viewers who are simply unable to watch their baseball,” Bromley said. “That doesn’t seem to be an appropriate thing to be doing to give these debtors optionality for any more time. It’s our view that this needs to be solved immediately, and if it can’t be solved immediately we are going to have to take steps to put in alternate broadcasting opportunities. That’s exactly what we had to do last year, and right now we have to completely ramp up because we don’t know what’s going to happen with Comcast and we frankly, once again and yet again, don’t know what’s gonna happen with Diamond.”
The 2025 NCAA men’s hockey tournament is set, with the 16-team bracket in place and all roads leading to the Frozen Four in St. Louis.
Regional play begins Thursday, with regional finals Saturday and Sunday, and the Frozen Four will be in St. Louis on April 10 and 12. All games will air on the ESPN networks and stream on ESPN+.
The winners of the six conference tournaments win automatic NCAA berths, while the top 10 at-large teams (based on the PairWise rankings) round out the field.
Boston College, the overall No. 1 seed, will play in the Manchester, New Hampshire, regional — with Big Ten champion Michigan State (Toledo, Ohio), Hockey East champ Maine (Allentown, Pennsylvania) and NCHC champion Western Michigan (Fargo, North Dakota) earning the other three top seeds.
Denver, last year’s national champion, will defend its title as the No. 3 seed in Manchester, while UConn (No. 2 in Allentown) and Bentley (No. 4 in Manchester) are in the NCAA tournament for the first time.
Below is the schedule for entire tournament, which will be updated with results as games are played, plus a look at each of the 16 teams.
Every NCAA tournament game will be available on ESPN+. Subscribe to watch.
Schedule
All times Eastern
Toledo (Ohio) Regional
Semifinals, March 27
Boston University vs. Ohio State, 2 p.m., ESPNU
Michigan State vs. Cornell, 5:30 p.m., ESPN+
Final, March 29
Semifinal winners, 4 or 6:30 p.m., ESPNU
Fargo (N.D.) Regional
Semifinals, March 27
Western Michigan vs. Minnesota State, 5 p.m., ESPNU
Minnesota vs. UMass, 8:30 p.m., ESPN2
Final, March 29
Semifinal winners, 4 or 6:30 p.m., ESPNU
Manchester (N.H.) Regional
Semifinals, March 28
Boston College vs. Bentley, 2 p.m., ESPNU
Providence vs. Denver, 5:30 p.m., ESPN+
Final, March 30
Semifinal winners, 4:30 or 7 p.m., ESPN2
Allentown (Penn.) Regional
Semifinals, March 28
UConn vs. Quinnipiac, 5 p.m., ESPNU
Maine vs. Penn State, 8:30 p.m., ESPN2
Final, March 30
Semifinal winners, 4:30 or 7 p.m., ESPN2
FROZEN FOUR
at Enterprise Center, St. Louis
National semifinals, April 10
Manchester winner vs. Fargo winner, Time TBD, ESPN2
Toledo winner vs. Allentown winner, Time TBD, ESPN2
National championship game, April 12
Semifinal winners, 7:30 p.m., ESPN2
Teams at a glance
Toledo Regional
No. 1 Michigan State
Record: 26-6-4
PairWise rating: No. 2
How the Spartans got here: Big Ten champion
Last 10 games: 6-3-1
History lesson: This is Michigan State’s 29th NCAA appearance. The Spartans have been to the Frozen Four 11 times and have won three national titles, the last in 2007. Michigan State lost to Michigan in the regional finals last season, which was its first time in the tournament since 2012.
No. 2 Boston University
Record: 21-13-2
PairWise rating: 7
How the Terriers got here: At-large bid
Last 10 games: 6-3-1 (lost Hockey East semifinal to Maine)
History lesson: This is BU’s 40th NCAA appearance, including three of the past four years. The Terriers have been to the Frozen Four 24 times and have won five national titles, the last in 2009. The Terriers lost in overtime to Denver in the national semifinals last season, the second straight year they lost in the national semis.
No. 3 Ohio State
Record: 24-13-2
PairWise rating: 10
How the Buckeyes got here: At-large bid
Last 10 games: 5-5 (lost Big Ten final to Michigan State)
History lesson: This is Ohio State’s 12th NCAA appearance and its second in three years. The Buckeyes have been to the Frozen Four twice, most recently in 2018, and have never won the national title.
No. 4 Cornell
Record: 18-10-6
PairWise rating: 17
How the Big Red got here: ECAC champion
Last 10 games: 8-2
History lesson: This is Cornell’s 27th NCAA appearance, including the past three years in a row. The Big Red have been to the Frozen Four eight times and have won the national championship twice, most recently in 1970. Cornell lost to Denver in the regional finals last season.
Fargo Regional
No. 1 Western Michigan
Record: 30-7-1
PairWise rating: 4
How the Broncos got here: NCHC champion
Last 10 games: 8-2
History lesson: This is Western Michigan’s 10th NCAA appearance, including the past four years. The Broncos lost in overtime to Michigan State in the first round last season, falling to 1-10 all time in NCAA tournament play.
No. 2 Minnesota
Record: 25-10-4
PairWise rating: 5
How the Golden Gophers got here: At-large bid
Last 10 games: 5-4-1 (lost Big Ten quarterfinal series to Notre Dame)
History lesson: This is Minnesota’s 42nd NCAA appearance, including the past five years. The Gophers have been to the Frozen Four 23 times and have won five national titles, the last in 2003. Minnesota lost to Boston University in the regional finals last season.
No. 3 UMass
Record: 20-13-5
PairWise rating: 11
How the Minutemen got here: At-large bid
Last 10 games: 5-2-3 (lost Hockey East quarterfinal to BU in overtime)
History lesson: This is UMass’ seventh NCAA appearance, including five of the past six tournaments. The Minutemen have been to the Frozen Four twice and won one national title, in 2021. UMass lost to Denver in double overtime in the first round of last year’s tournament.
No. 4 Minnesota State
Record: 27-8-3
PairWise rating: 14
How the Mavericks got here: CCHA champion
Last 10 games: 9-0-1
History lesson: This is Minnesota State’s 12th NCAA appearance, including six of the last seven tournaments. The Mavericks have been to the Frozen Four twice and are still looking for their first national championship. Minnesota State didn’t make the tournament last year and lost to St. Cloud State in the first round in 2023.
Manchester Regional
No. 1 Boston College
Record: 26-7-2
PairWise rating: 1
How the Eagles got here: At-large bid
Last 10 games: 6-3-1 (lost Hockey East quarterfinal to Northeastern)
History lesson: This is BC’s 39th NCAA appearance. The Eagles have been to the Frozen Four 26 times and have won five national titles, the last in 2012. BC lost to Denver 2-0 in last year’s championship game after not making the tournament the previous two years.
No. 2 Providence
Record: 21-10-5
PairWise rating: 8
How the Friars got here: At-large bid
Last 10 games: 5-4-1 (lost Hockey East quarterfinal to UConn)
History lesson: This is Providence’s 16th NCAA appearance, its first since 2019. The Friars have been to the Frozen Four five times and won the national title once, in 2015.
No. 3 Denver
Record: 29-11-1
PairWise rating: 9
How the Pioneers got here: At-large bid
Last 10 games: 7-3 (lost NCHC final to Western Michigan in double overtime)
History lesson: This is Denver’s 34th NCAA appearance, including 15 of the past 16 tournaments. The Pios have been to the Frozen Four 18 times and won 10 national titles, the most ever. Denver beat BC for the national championship last season, its second title in three years.
No. 4 Bentley
Record: 23-14-2
PairWise rating: 22
How the Falcons got here: Atlantic champion
Last 10 games: 8-2
History lesson: This is Bentley’s first NCAA appearance in the program’s 26th season in Division I and the second year with Andy Jones as coach. The Falcons have set a school record for victories and are enjoying their first winning season since 2020.
Allentown Regional
No. 1 Maine
Record: 24-7-6
PairWise rating: 3
How the Black Bears got here: Hockey East champion
Last 10 games: 6-2-2
History lesson: This is Maine’s 21st NCAA appearance. The Black Bears have been to the Frozen Four 11 times and have won two national titles, the last in 1999. Maine lost to Cornell in the first round last season, its first tournament appearance since 2012.
No. 2 UConn
Record: 22-11-4
PairWise rating: 6
How the Huskies got here: At-large bid
Last 10 games: 8-1-1
History lesson: This is UConn’s first NCAA appearance in the program’s 27 years in Division I. The Huskies set a school record for wins as a Div. 1 team in Mike Cavanaugh’s 11th season at the helm.
No. 3 Quinnipiac
Record: 24-11-2
PairWise ranking: 12
How the Bobcats got here: At-large bid
Last 10 games: 7-3 (lost ECAC semifinal to Cornell in overtime)
History lesson: This is Quinnipiac’s 11th NCAA appearance, including each of the last six tournaments. The Bobcats have been to the Frozen Four three times and won one national title, in 2023. Quinnipiac lost to Boston College in overtime in the regional finals last season.
No. 4 Penn State
Record: 20-13-4
PairWise rating: 13
How the Nittany Lions got here: At-large bid
Last 10 games: 7-2-1 (lost Big Ten semifinal to Ohio State in overtime)
History lesson: This is Penn State’s fifth NCAA appearance. In 2023, the Nittany Lions lost in the regional finals to Michigan in overtime. Penn State has never been to the Frozen Four.
ST. LOUIS — Three-time Stanley Cup champion Patrick Maroon said he is retiring after this season.
Maroon, who turns 37 next month, made the announcement in a pregame television interview before he and the Chicago Blackhawks played at his hometown St. Louis Blues.
“Sometimes, you’ve got to give up everything you know and everything you dreamed of your whole life,” Maroon told Darren Pang on Chicago Sports Network. “I just know it’s time for me and it’s time for my family to go start a new chapter in our lives.”
Maroon helped the Blues win their first championship in franchise history in 2019. He then joined the Tampa Bay Lightning and won back-to-back in 2020 and ’21.
Maroon became the fourth player in NHL history and first since 1964 to win the Cup three years in a row with two different teams. It was not a coincidence he revealed that he’s calling it a career while in St. Louis with family in attendance.
“It’s tough,” Maroon said. “It’s hard to go through things like this. You can’t really process it, but I think it’s special for me and my family to go start a new chapter.”
Maroon has played 1,002 regular-season and playoff games with Anaheim, Edmonton, New Jersey, St. Louis, Minnesota, Boston and Chicago after getting drafted in the sixth round in 2007 by Philadelphia.
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