Baracketology will not have a successor. PRESIDENT TRUMP declined to fill out an NCAA tournament bracket on ESPN, as BARACK OBAMA had done for eight years. Is this a boon or a loss for the network? Despite claiming to be politically impartial, ESPN has been accused of taking a leftward lurch in recent years. Having Trump on would have been a bipartisan olive branch to those criticizing them. But ESPN is a sports network and doesn’t need to be constricted by impartiality. It doesn’t need the potential blowback either. Think of UNDER ARMOUR as a cautionary tale. The WHITE HOUSE held out the possibility of the two working in "the near future." What will ESPN do then?... The NFL's growth continues globally. It now has the world's most valuable team... A catalog of the NBA's jersey advertiser patches... The COYOTES' attempt to get out of their 13-year-old arena has new life. ARIZONA SENATE BILL 1149 would force taxpayers to pay for 57% of the NHL team's new home. The team and the state senate are on the same side, but how will taxpayers respond to being asked to pay for a new sports arena to replace one that is barely a teenager?... The SLOAN SPORTS ANALYTICS CONFERENCE is one of the best events I've ever attended. But even I admit sometimes the panel names can be odd. "Investing in a Four-Letter Word that Starts with 'D'" is on the agenda. It's too cute by half. But that's also what makes the conference unique. Some just might not get it... When UBER is your side hustle... College sports remains about the amateur student-athletes... Is the NHL making a political statement with its HOCKEY IS FOR EVERYONE campaign this month? Maybe by default, because a message of equality is now taken as dissent even if it's not intended to be. The league is learning the same lesson SUPER BOWL advertisers received. But if the NHL shares the values it projects then any criticism should only embolden it... The NFL vs. the state of TEXAS.