The first NBA sale of the Covid era | Innovative arena technology | A historic point spread

Plus: Why Jimmie Johnson is leaving Nascar for IndyCar

Pro Basketball

Qualtrics cofounder Ryan Smith is buying a majority stake in the Jazz, the first sale of an NBA franchise since the coronavirus struck. Sources confirm the $1.66 billion purchase price, on par with our $1.55 billion valuation of the team from February, which speaks to the strength of the league's prospects. Gail Miller, a car dealership tycoon and one of America's richest self-made women, is selling the team for nearly 70 times what she and her family paid for it.

The home of the Nuggets and the NHL's Avalanche is getting a new name, Ball Arena, in a partnership that stretches far beyond Denver, with a focus on sustainability.

Baseball

Despite the Rays' World Series loss, this has been an incredible year for Tampa Bay sports. All three pro teams remain laggards off the field, however.

Commissioner Rob Manfred has voiced support for keeping some of the new MLB rules implemented this year, including an expanded postseason and a three-batter minimum for pitchers. Not everyone in baseball is a fan of the new rules, however; insiders including super-agent Scott Boras and Royals executive Gene Lamont explain their objections.

Pro Football

The Super Bowl champion Chiefs opened as 20.5-point favorites over the 0-7 Jets, among the ten biggest NFL spreads since at least 1976. But the line has been drifting down; two betting experts tell us why.

Soccer

The Premier League could see goal-scoring records fall. The mark for hat tricks in a season appears within reach, and Tottenham Hotspur's Son Heung-min and Harry Kane are combining on goals at a historic rate.

NWSL star Crystal Dunn requested a trade to the Thorns, and got one, taking advantage of the league's allocation money rule.

Auto Racing

As Denny Hamlin and Michael Jordan announced the name of their new Nascar organization—23XI Racing—racing luminaries from Brad Keselowski to Kevin Harvick to Dale Earnhardt Jr. offered up advice on running a team. Hamlin and Jordan are getting into the ownership game at an interesting time for Nascar: The next-generation racecar is set to make its debut in 2022, which Harvick believes could create an entirely new financial model for the sport.

Nascar legend Jimmie Johnson is jumping to IndyCar. He and team owner Chip Ganassi explain why the move could seal Johnson's place among the greatest drivers ever—and why he's skipping the Indianapolis 500.

Featured Story

UBS Arena, the new home of the Islanders, set to open next year, will have the largest lower bowl in the NHL and clean sight lines, a far cry from the obstructed views of Barclays Center. But the arena's builders are proud of a less obvious feature, too: the venue's air ventilation system, a particularly valuable tool in the Covid-19 era. For more on how the coronavirus and new stadium technologies shaped the arena's design, read the full story here.

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Upon Further Review

Mayor Bill de Blasio of New York is injecting himself into the sale of the Mets to Steve Cohen, saying that because Citi Field sits on city-owned land, "the city always has to have a role when there is an ownership change." Experts say, however, that any notion that de Blasio would block the sale is "far-fetched." The price in the Cohen deal is just above the $2.4 billion valuation we placed on the Mets in April; see our full ranking of MLB team values here.

The Last Word

“Let everybody else hype it up and all that, but we’re not believing the hype. We’re going to work.”

Gio Rodriguez

Jasson Dominguez, a 17-year-old baseball prodigy from the Dominican Republic, is already being compared to Mike Trout, Bo Jackson and Mickey Mantle. Last year, he received a franchise-record $5.1 million international signing bonus from the Yankees, but his agent, Gio Rodriguez, is making sure he keeps working hard. "Jasson Dominguez wants to be the best player in the game," Rodriguez tells us. "That's his goal." For more on a prospect whom scouts and executives describe as "unreal," read the full story here.