After two decades, the PGA Tour is retiring its popular slogan, "These Guys Are Good."
In its place is a new advertising campaign intended to attract a wider audience. The slogan is "Live Under Par," playing off golf's scoring system to par. Joe Arcuri, the tour's chief marketing officer, said it tries to go beyond players' performances to show how they connect with fans and other players.
"The new campaign captures not just a way to play but a way to be," Arcuri said.
It's part of a "fan-first" mentality at the tour, which began with relaxing its mobile phone policy and social media guidelines at tournaments. In recent years, the PGA Tour has gone from banning photos during competition days to fielding complaints that tournaments need to boost the cell service at tournaments because so many fans are trying to use social media.
"We are pulling the camera lens out, so to speak, to highlight the fun and excitement on tour and highlight the special interaction we see every week between our players and fans," Arcuri said. "We believe this, in turn, will help spur broader interest among a more diverse group of fans."
Bed bugs
According to Chicago Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo, a bed is the reason for his most recent stint on the disabled list. He told ESPN he believes sleeping on a bad bed in a Cincinnati hotel room may have aggravated his back.
"I think the next time I go [to Cincinnati], I'll sleep on the floor," Rizzo said.
Valuable team
The New York Yankees are the most valuable franchise in baseball at an estimated value of $4 billion, according to Forbes.
The Los Angeles Dodgers are second at $3 billion, followed by the Chicago Cubs ($2.9 billion), San Francisco Giants ($2.85 billion) and Boston Red Sox ($2.8 billion).
The Yankees' YES Network broadcasts Forbes' SportsMoney television show, and the Forbes article accompanying the franchise values released Wednesday was written by the managing editor of the show.
Tampa Bay is the least valuable team, estimated to be worth $900 million.
Valuable card
Shohei Ohtani's incredible MLB debut has created excitement in baseball circles, and for collectors as well.
If you need evidence of that, you need look no further than the market value of a signed Ohtani rookie card. According to ESPN's Darren Rovell, that autographed Topps card sold on eBay on Monday for $6,725.
"It's a truly foreign market that is buying his memorabilia," said Rick Probstein, whose company had the card up for sale.
While such a card still would have been expensive toward the end of spring training, it could have been had for $2,000 or less after a difficult spring that left many doubts about the Japanese rookie.
"His autographed cards have tripled or quadrupled in the last two to three weeks," Probstein said.
Sports on 04/12/2018