Sports & Entertainment Beat

Welcome back to the “Spotlight!” “I’m going to Disney World” is a hallowed (and trademarked) phrase in pop culture, uttered by MVPs of major sports championships, Olympians and even “American Idol” winners before an all-expenses-paid trip to the Happiest Place on Earth (the “Spotlight” being a distant second place). Incidentally, I am none of the above and all expenses remain payable, but I am nevertheless giving you and the other seven of my readers the heads up that the “Spotlight” will be on a one-week hiatus while I don a pair of mouse ears in lieu of my writers’ hat because, well… I’m going to Disney World. Upon my return, I plan to bring back a “Tomorrowland” of my own, piloting a new section of the “Spotlight,” focused on emerging (perhaps Cinderella?) sports—whether it be relatively recent sports skyrocketing in popularity such as pickleball, cornhole and eSports, or sports such as rugby that are well-established elsewhere in the world that are on the precipice of taking a foothold in the U.S. It might sound goofy, daze-y, further out than Pluto, but I might as well “let it go” and give these fields of growth a deserved Spotlight.

• • Speaking of tomorrows in sports, Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy’s tech-infused sports, entertainment and media company TMRW Sports announces investment backing by some of the biggest names in the business. I guess my invitation got lost in the mail.
  • Speaking of cartoon characters, as if there aren’t more pressing (let alone real) issues for figureheads in our society to address, another high-profile persona with millions of social media followers, Kyrie Irving used his platform to promote a film that pushes antisemitic disinformation and conspiracy theories. And while he has faced some public backlash, he seems unlikely to face the same response Kanye West received from his sponsorship and endorsement partners.
  • Speaking of Cinderella Story, Christmas comes early for Mariah Carey as the $60 million copyright case alleging infringement by her “All I Want For Christmas Is You” was dropped. Perhaps the plaintiff realized lottery tickets were less expensive than legal fees.