đź’° Celtics sold for $6.1 Billion

From Uber Driver to Yankee, March Madness brackets, NHL GM Meeting recap, and more!

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Sportie Newsletter
March 24, 2025

🏀 Basketball

Celtics sold for $6.1 billion, highest price in North American sports history

The Boston Celtics will have a new owner for the first time in more than two decades. Bill Chisholm, the managing partner of Symphony Technology Group (STG), will buy the franchise at a $6.1 billion valuation, Boston’s current ownership group announced Thursday.

The sale price is the largest for a North American sports franchise, topping the $6.05 billion a group led by Josh Harris paid for the NFL’s Washington Commanders in 2023 and far surpassing the $4 billion valuation the Phoenix Suns got.

NCAA March Madness: Just 2 Brackets Remain Perfect

Only two brackets submitted for this year’s NCAA March Madness men’s tournament remained perfect Sunday afternoon, during the fourth day of the college basketball competition, as entrants face near-impossible odds of perfectly predicting the outcomes of the tournament’s 63 games.

Most brackets were busted after the first game of the tournament Thursday afternoon, when No. 9 seed Creighton’s win over No. 8 seed Louisville busted more than 13.3 million of the nearly 24.4 million brackets submitted to ESPN.

🏒 Hockey

4 Nations Face-Off success has NHL rethinking 2026 All-Star plans

The smashing success of the 4 Nations Face-Off replacing All-Star festivities with a compelling, competitive international tournament has the NHL rethinking what to do next February before players go to the Olympics.

The league announced 13 months ago that the New York Islanders would host All-Star Weekend in early February 2026, and Commissioner Gary Bettman envisioned it as the ideal jumping off point for the Olympians to board planes for Italy. What that looks like, or when, is now up in the air.

Everything Gary Bettman said at NHL's GM meetings

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman spoke with the media for nearly 20 minutes Wednesday after three days of meetings with the league's general managers.

Here’s everything he covered

⚾️ Baseball

JC Escarra Goes From Uber Driver to New York Yankee

On Saturday afternoon, Escarra — who turns 30 next month — was told by manager Aaron Boone that he had made the Yankees as a lefty-hitting backup catcher and designated hitter.

Escarra’s .333 batting average, .936 OPS in 17 games (3 HR, 48 AB) and solid catching ability had earned him a spot, but the suspense about officially making the club was drawn out a little longer.

Escarra was added to the Yankees’ 40-man roster in November, after finishing with Class AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and posting a .930 OPS in 52 games. He finished 2024 in the Dominican Winter League, winning a batting title.

Skenes MLB debut patch card sells for $1.11M at auction

Pirates ace Paul Skenes' 1-of-1 Rookie Debut Patch Autograph card sold for $1.11 million at auction via Fanatics Collect early Friday morning, one of the highest prices paid for a baseball card. The winning bidder was Dick's Sporting Goods.

The Skenes card features a patch worn by the big right-hander during his highly anticipated MLB debut on May 11, 2024, part of a Topps initiative launched in 2023.