Sports & Entertainment Beat

Welcome to the Spotlight!  Whether you’re a returning visitor or the planets have aligned in the sky to bring you here for the very first time, it’s clear that the Universe is telling you you’re doing something right and maybe it’s time to subscribe and/or tell your friends, family, clients and colleagues to do the same.  Indeed, those looking skyward towards the stars tonight will be able to see each of the other seven planets (many of which by the naked eye) in our Solar System—an event not supposed to happen again until Saturday Night Live approaches eligibility for Social Security (I wonder how well this statement will age…).  Of course, a few weeks ago, was opportunity to see the stellar, star-studded 50^th Anniversary Concert and Special r for Saturday Night Live, which garnered record ratings of 15 million viewers – a testament to the show’s music and comedy that has permeated pop culture since its debut.  Not to be outdone, this weekend you’ll also have a chance to catch a glimpse of your favorite stars in tuxedos, evening gowns and anything in between at the 97^th Academy Awards (your eye might not be the only thing naked if the Grammys fashion were any indication).  For now, let’s get into this week’s Spotlight:

• • As Amazon MGM Studios acquired full creative control over the James Bond franchise for a cool $1 billion, Executive Chairman Jeff Bezos solicited public feedback over who should be cast as the next 007.  That should be a much more difficult task than finding a Bond villain particularly one of the bald, megayacht-owning, billionaire archetype.
     
  • Speaking of yachts, rapper Lil Yachty wades into the alcohol business with a spiked sparkling beverage brand called “Yacht Water”—a name I have a hard time not saying in an obnoxious Long Island (“Longuyland”) accent.  
     
  • Not content to have his own line of suits, NFL Hall of Famer Michael Strahan (LET’S GO G-MEN) seeks horizontal integration opening his own tailoring business. A notable choice for someone used to putting people in sacks.
     
  • A proposal by newly sworn-in Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. would put television advertisements for pharmaceutical companies – a cash cow for professional sports – on the chopping block. Potential side effects could include fewer celebrity endorsements, increased beer advertisements, dry mouth, fatigue and decreased hypochondriasis.

For inquiries and/or unabashed compliments, please feel free to contact me at josh.bloomgarden@foster.com or add me on LinkedIn. 

Welcome back to the Spotlight!

For inquiries and/or unabashed compliments, please feel free to contact me at josh.bloomgarden@foster.com or add me on LinkedIn. 

Welcome back to the Spotlight! Love is in the air around here for Valentine’s Day, which is more than can be said for last weekend’s Super Bowl. For one thing, the Philadelphia Eagles, a team for whom I hold no love, handily defeated the two-time defending champion Kansas City Chiefs. In so doing, the Eagles may have at least temporarily blunted Cupid’s arrowhead and forestalled a marriage proposal from Travis Kelce to Taylor Swift. Meanwhile, in Kendrick Lamar’s halftime show notable on its own for its storytelling and use of hidden and overt symbolism, the artist proved in front of 133.5 million viewers—the most ever for a Super Bowl halftime show—that there is no love lost between him and “Not Like Us” subject Drake. Lastly, and by far most disgraceful was the airing of a bizarre commercial featuring a washed-up rapper/producer (who spent the week leading up to the commercial spewing antisemitism and championing Nazism) filming himself in a dentist’s chair, inviting viewers to his brand’s e-commerce shop that was offering one item: a white T-shirt emblazoned with a black swastika across the chest. How such a hateful commercial was able to air is beyond disturbing, and made an anti-hate commercial featuring Snoop Dogg and Tom Brady that aired during the first half of the game a distant memory. Serious questions need to be answered—and there ought to be a clear rejection by the entertainment industry of this person’s ideas, but for now I suppose I can take a modicum of comfort in the fact there are still some people with moral clarity—the aforementioned rapper/producer had his e-commerce shop shut down and received a divorce petition from his would-be Valentine. Without further ado, allow me to change the crocodile tears to tears of laughter (or at least that’s the goal).

• • National Women’s Soccer League’s Gotham FC strikes a sponsorship deal with Unilever’s Dove brand to appear on the back of players’ jerseys. A much more attractive partnership than a similar deal with “Kick Me.”
     
  • Donald Trump, Jr. is investing in a startup seeking to launch an Olympics-style competition in which the competitors can use performance-enhancing drugs. Or as Russia calls it, “The Olympics.”
     
  • A production studio called Promise is offering content development deals for AI “talent.” Long term, such a move is likely to raise its own set of questions as it could have broad implications for intellectual property law, as well as for human entertainers. In the short term, one question I have is how the “talent” celebrates the news.

For inquiries and/or unabashed compliments, please feel free to contact me at josh.bloomgarden@foster.com or add me on LinkedIn. 

Welcome back to the Spotlight! If you missed the GRAMMY Awards last week—as nearly 10% fewer did TV-ratings-wise, as compared to the last year’s show—allow me to start off with a little primer.  Females largely owned the night, with Beyoncé winning both Best Country Album and Album of the Year, Chappell Roan winning Best New Artist, Doechii winning Best Rap Album and Sabrina Carpenter winning Best Pop Vocal Album.  That’s to say nothing of Bianca Censori’s very un-censor-y award for least dressed. Meanwhile, Taylor Swift, nominated for six awards, walked away without any trophies, though she may cross paths with the Lombardi Trophy and at least one ring this Sunday at Super Bowl LIX. Speaking of which, bucking the female trend, Super Bowl halftime performer Kendrick Lamar kicked off a memorable week for himself, bringing home five GRAMMYs, including for Record of the Year and Song of the Year for his diss track of fellow rapper Drake, “Not Like Us.” As sure as I favor drums and blue cheese over flats and ranch, that song is likely to be performed in the halftime spotlighta.

• Curiously, the price of Super Bowl tickets has actually been trending downward this year. Clearly, no eggs are being served in the stadium.
   
• NBA Executive and Hall of Famer Pat Riley is poised to make some money off of a Kansas City Chiefs victory on Sunday, having agreed to license the use of his trademark ‘THREEPEAT’ for use on merchandise celebrating a prospective third straight Super Bowl title. There go my plans to license “Number Threesy in the Big Easy.”
   
• The Los Angeles Rams are scheduled to play the NFL’s first game in Melbourne, Australia – which is great news for bringing in an even larger global audience and for those curious to see a football spiral the opposite way.

For inquiries and/or unabashed compliments, please feel free to contact me at josh.bloomgarden@foster.com or add me on LinkedIn.