Sports & Politics Intersect: WWE's Crown Jewel loses its sparkle

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• The end of Chief Wahoo? Not exactly - The Houston Astros’ sweep of the Cleveland Indians during the ALDS ended the Tribe’s season and seemingly signaled the end of the infamous Chief Wahoo logo on the team’s uniforms. However, while we won’t see the controversial insignia on the field, it will still be featured on a limited amount of merchandise sold in the team’s shop at the ironically named Progressive Field.

• FIFA, NBA hoping to boost women’s sports - FIFA announced plans to work with its member organizations to help grow women’s soccer throughout the world. The NBA has also announced its partnership with the WNBA, its sister league, to start “Her Time to Play,” which aims to keep young girls involved in sports while mentoring female coaches.

• The left is getting “Gritty” - The political discourse, for better or worse, is littered with appropriated symbols. The latest may be a bit of a surprise, as the Philadelphia Flyers’ new mascot, Gritty, has been adopted by some liberal-leaning publications, much to the chagrin of the more conservative Wall Street Journal.

• MLB wants in on some new tax breaks - The IRS may be getting sweet-talked by Major League Baseball, as team owners want to be excluded from a proposal that makes their teams ineligible for a 20 percent tax deduction. That specific deduction came from the 2017 federal tax code overhaul, and it ideally benefits sports teams and other entertainment companies.

• Political campaign ads flooding televised live sports - Hockey and basketball aren’t the only things coming back to the sports viewer. In an increasingly hostile election season, live sporting events are primary targets for campaign spending. While this is nothing new, the attack ads make the Red Sox’s recent celebration at Yankee Stadium look quite tame.

• Study reveals that bad football, not protests, impacted NFL ratings - USA Today took a deep dive into the NFL’s television viewership during the 2016 and 2017 seasons, determining that team performance through various local markets played a bigger role in the league’s ratings woes than the player protests during the national anthem or President Trump’s combative rhetoric. That said, the findings are somewhat incomplete, as the discussions in recent seasons tend to ignore the impact of minority viewership.

• Pence’s walkout cost even more than initially believed - It was a year ago back in his home state of Indiana when Vice President Mike Pence staged his own walkout after “The Star-Spangled Banner” played before the 49ers and Colts kicked off. Newly released but largely redacted documents from the Department of Homeland Security showed just how costly Pence’s protest was, and it was quite far from cheap.

• Putin sympathizes with his countryman, UFC champ Nurmagomedov - The post-match brawl that overshadowed UFC 229 inspired reaction from all sides, but at least Khabib Nurmagomedov can call upon Russian president Vladimir Putin for sympathy . The lead-up to his win over Conor McGregor, however, was an ugly reminder of how bigotry is part of the promotional package in combat sports.

• New Colts safety says slow market a result of Reid - Mike Mitchell, who just signed with the Colts, said that the market for safeties in the NFL had been relatively slow because teams didn’t want to give off the appearance of collusion against Eric Reid. The former 49ers safety and teammate of Colin Kaepernick signed with Carolina last week but decided to not drop his case against the NFL.

• Could merged league come from North America’s World Cup? - Enrique Bonilla, president of Liga MX, believes that the 2026 men’s World Cup could lead to the merging of North America’s two top-flight leagues: Mexico’s Liga MX and Major League Soccer from the U.S. and Canada.

• Penguins hire mayor’s former chief of staff - The Pittsburgh Penguins hired Kevin Acklin as their  new senior vice president and general counsel. Once the chief of staff for Mayor Bill Peduto, Acklin will spearhead the redevelopment of the site where the Civic Center once stood. “The Igloo” was the Pens’ longtime home before moving to PPG Paints Arena.

• Knicks’ Kanter undecided on London trip - Labeled as a political dissident back home, New York Knicks center Enes Kanter can’t return to Turkey due to a warrant for his arrest. While it may not affect most of his games this season, he’s unsure if he will play with his team for a regular-season game in London this coming January.

• Goodell, Bush speak on Spanos’ passing - Los Angeles Chargers owner Alex Spanos died on Oct. 9 at the age of 95, prompting condolences from NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and former president George W. Bush.

• Chelsea may send racist fans to visit Auschwitz  - Chelsea, which has been under fire for the behavior of some racist fans, is considering something more drastic than banning bigots from its games. To combat anti-semitism, club owner Roman Abramovich — who is Jewish — wants to send those fans to Auschwitz, the infamous Nazi concentration camp, to educate them on the horrors of discrimination.

• Show-cause violates California state law - In a final ruling in Los Angeles, Superior Court Judge Frederick Shaller ruled that the NCAA’s “show-cause” penalty against former USC assistant coach Todd McNair demonstrates an “unlawful restraint” on his ability to pursue another coaching position.

• Sports court to rule on disputed Olympic boxing election - In an election for president of the International Boxing Association, interim president Gafur Rakhimov refuses to stay off the ballot despite being implicated by U.S. authorities for heroin trafficking. The organization only selected him as candidate for the position, signaling an aspiring opponent to take the case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

This week in sports and politics history: 1998 NBA season lands with a brick

“You work for six years to get to the place you’ve dreamed of, and once you reach the front door - wouldn’t you know it? - you’re locked out.” - NBA forward Tom Gugliotta to Sports Illustrated during the 1998-99 NBA lockout.

An ambivalent fan base, creatively humorous player commercials and David Stern’s beard. Just some of the memorable aspects of the 1998-99 NBA lockout. The third of the NBA’s four lockouts, and first work stoppage in the league’s history, lasted from July 1, 1998 to Jan. 20, 1999.

It was 20 years ago this week that Stern, the NBA’s long-time commissioner sporting a salt-and-pepper beard, announced that the first two weeks of the regular season would be canceled. The main issue at hand was player salaries. While a majority of the league’s talent were fine in their pursuit to see pay raises for those making the league minimum, stars like Shaquille O’Neal knew fans would grow more disgruntled — or further indifferent — if the lockout lingered and arenas remained empty.

Owners, who decisively voted to reopen the league’s collective bargaining agreement in hopes of revising the NBA salary cap, were free from paying players with guaranteed contracts during the overall lockout. Players, meanwhile, didn’t do much to ingratiate themselves to NBA fans through whining or poking fun at their current unemployment.

In time, however, the lockout ended when in early January 1999 Stern threatened to cancel the entire season. As part of the agreement, players salaries were capped between $9 million and $14 million, the league minimum was increased by $15,000 and a rookie pay scale was created. 

On the court, the season was condensed to 50 games after 464 were lost during the stoppage. Before play began, Michael Jordan had retired for the second time, and when the games ended, the San Antonio Spurs beat the New York Knicks in five games to win their first NBA title. 

In 2005, a new six-year CBA was agreed upon; however, when that expired another lockout occured in 2011, costing each team 16 games during the 2011-12 season.