Jacob Feldman

NFL’s $20M Coaching Staffs Still Build Playbooks With $15 Apps NFL coaches have been creating their play designs in Microsoft Visio for 25 years, even as modern education technology seeps into team facilities.

NFL coaches found Microsoft Visio 25 years ago as they sought faster ways to create their playbooks.

They've been using it ever since.

Software mastery offered a leg up for a generation of future head coaches. For one coach it even became a business.

www.sportico.com/business/tec...

NFL’s $20M Coaching Staffs Still Build Playbooks With $15 Apps NFL coaches have been creating their play designs in Microsoft Visio for 25 years, even as modern education technology seeps into team facilities.

NFL plays are increasingly intricate. But they've been created in the same app for 25 years.

A look inside the world of play design from my colleague @jacobfeldman.bsky.social at @sportico.bsky.social: www.sportico.com/business/tec...

Three Mothers, One Struggle: Saving Their Children with Schizophrenia When their sons began to suffer from profound mental illness, these Colorado women learned to lean on each other.

"It felt as though I was holding my breath the entire time I read this extraordinary piece, which follows the stories of three mothers in Colorado and their three children who were diagnosed with schizophrenia."-Guest editor @rainesford.bsky.social's top pick magazine.atavist.com/2026/thats-s...

For the next two weeks, @sportico.bsky.social is handing our AM newsletter over to a different writer each morning to look back on 2025 🔙 and ahead to 2026 🔮.

Here are some excerpts so far from Lev, Anthony and @jacobfeldman.bsky.social 👇

We'll be releasing a new episode of the SLR podcast tomorrow (here's a little preview)! We speak to editor Alana Newhouse about Tablet Magazine's most recent cover story, American Trief: www.tabletmag.com/sections/new...

Can you figure out what's happening in these three circles?

In today's Club Sportico essay, @jacobfeldman.bsky.social lets you in on a fun little trivia challenge: deciphering the oddities in the NFL's Sunday TV map.

Just want to say @splitzoneduo.com eps have been S-tier as college football manages to find new levels of chaos.

Playing Santa Does Strange Things to a Man. What It Did to Bob Rutan Was Even Stranger. Bob Rutan is legendary among the tight-knit fraternity of Macy’s Santa Clauses. Like many of these men, playing Santa changed Bob. Profoundly. His story is one of struggle and failure, heartbreak and ...

David Gauvey Herbert does some great shoe leather reporting to track down a series of men who played Santa Claus at Macy's famous Santaland in New York. Their stories are even more amazing than you could imagine. @jacobfeldman.bsky.social's top pick www.esquire.com/lifestyle/a6...

Why is NBC Sports Network coming back? And what's up with USA Sports' recent rights acquisitions?

@jacobfeldman.bsky.social has the answers: sportico.com/business/med...

Here's the cheatsheet version 👇

Apple, MLS Deal Will End in 2029 With Revised Payment Structure MLS and Apple's streaming rights agreement will now end three and half years early, letting the league explore new partners after the 2026 World Cup.

SCOOP: @jacobfeldman.bsky.social and I got details of MLS's
revised Apple deal

- Ends in June 2029 (3.5 years early)
- Apple gave up 2027 opt-out
- MLS gets: $200M in 2026, $107M for 2027 "sprint" season, $275M in final two seasons

Via @sportico.bsky.social 👇
www.sportico.com/leagues/socc...

If you’re in DC today and looking for a good (history minded) time…

Thanks so much for the recommendation—and your awesome work!!

As we went from surfing the web to scrolling in apps, we lost something.

Luke smartly identified that departure—and seeks to make it right—in our Father’s Day edition of The Sunday Long Read.

Oh, his intro also made me blush!

The murder, the museum and the monument - High Country News How the discovery of a long-lost monument shattered trust between a Japanese American community and the museum built to preserve its history.

A patch of dusty land and a few stones, half-buried, set the stage for a dramatic, emotional story about unearthing the past. But as @korisuzuki.com points out, this is no Indiana Jones tale. It's far more real. @jacobfeldman.bsky.social's favorite www.hcn.org/issues/57-4/...

Meet the People Fighting the “Crisis in Sperm” One man journeys through the many startups, clubs and retreats urgently addressing the impending spermpocalypse.

Proof that a good writer can make anything interesting. Rosecrans Baldwin on sperm…? Yup, that’s right. Sperm. @gqmagazine.bsky.social
h/t @dvnjr.bsky.social , @jacobfeldman.bsky.social

www.gq.com/story/are-me...

The Cinderella 2025 Deserves McNeese State knows that March Madness is a business

Reminder that we're doing daily March Madness nuggets in the @clubsportico.bsky.social newsletter. Great way to get a dose of NCAA Tourney talk without wading into social media!

club.sportico.com/p/mcneese-st...

Caitlin Clark’s Fever Boss Sees ‘America’s Team’ Potential The Indiana Fever overhauled their organization before Caitlin Clark's second season. New team president shares update on ticket sales, 2025 goals.

I talked with the Indiana Fever's new president about the present and future of America's fastest-growing team(?)...

www.sportico.com/leagues/bask...

Netflix Sparked a Sports Doc Frenzy. Has Fatigue Set In? Netflix, Full Swing executives share what to expect from new golf show season, Drive to Survive and more sports docs to watch releasing in 2025.

Do sports follow-docs have staying power?

6 years after Drive to Survive's debut, no similarly constructed show has matched its impact, though many have tried.

Now Full Swing Season 3 is returning to the tone that turned it into a 2023 hit...

www.sportico.com/business/med...

Forget Rankings—Here’s the Most ‘Influential’ Teen Basketball Star Eli Ellis used social media to get time with future NBA stars—and D-I offers. Now the South Carolina commit offers tips for high school recruits.

Going relatively unnoticed in the traditional avenues of prep basketball, Eli Ellis took things into his own hands on social media while dominating @overtimeelite.bsky.social.

A fun @sportico.bsky.social story from @jacobfeldman.bsky.social and me.

www.sportico.com/personalitie...

Call Mahomes a flop artist. Say the Chiefs are reliant on the refs' favor. Admit that you're bored with their success. But keep in mind: a plurality of Americans are rooting for Kansas City... still.

This is so fascinating. You can't tell the story of the internet's impact on society without saying:

***Our identities used to be tied to activities. Now they're built around preferences.***

55% of kids said their top fandom had an enormous influence on their daily lives.

No One Trolls Like Buffalo Bills Fans Bills supporters have innovated a new form of fandom. What might they do if they win it all?

Today, Bills fans have me wondering, what if we could troll ... productively? ⬇️

club.sportico.com/p/no-one-tro...

Why can't NFL teams have accounts on Bluesky?

"The NFL and its franchises only have official presences on platforms with league partnership agreements, a league source told Sportico, and no such deal with Bluesky is currently in the works."

More: www.sportico.com/business/tec...

Adam Schefter just invited his followers to instead follow him directly via the ESPN app. Is he setting up a potential off-ramp from X?

The Pussy Hat Protests (2017) Podcast Episode · This Day in Esoteric Political History · 01/21/2025 · 21m

Today on @thisdaypod.com: we talk about the millions of people who turned out for the Women’s March in 2017–and why the streets are quieter today podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t...

☀️ The Sunday Long Read: Megan Greenwell, Chance Encounter, Free Press The best longform journalism—every Sunday.

Guest curating the excellent @thesundaylongread.bsky.social newsletter for the second time was an absolute thrill. I wrote about my favorite stories of the week, retooling my media diet, my love for local news, the joy of discovering new magazines, and more.

Numbers say these are the most (and least) successful sports cities since 2000 Has Boston or LA had the best pro sports run of the 21st Century so far? It depends on how you count.

Which pro sports markets have had the best 21st century, 25 years in? @levakabas.bsky.social did the math... ⬇️

club.sportico.com/p/numbers-sa...

YouTube TV vs. Fubo Sports Bundle Could Be Next Streaming Fight Sports fans looking for YouTube TV alternatives have options in 2025, including soon-to-launch Fubo, Venu, ESPN, and DirecTV services at new prices

Fubo engaged in an existential fight with Disney, Fox, and Warner Bros. Discovery last year. It came out alive.

Now can New Fubo take on Google’s YouTube TV and Amazon’s video platforms?

Here's what its CEO said:

www.sportico.com/business/tec...

Did You Hear About Caitlin Clark Leaving the WNBA?? As social media becomes less and less reliable, what are sports fans—and sports reporters—supposed to do?

On today's Club Sportico I wrote about:

- Our holiday party 🎉
- John Elway's early Twitter usage 🏈
- Caitlin Clark misinformation 🏀
- My New Year's Resolution to use less X 📉

club.sportico.com/p/did-you-he...

It’s Time for College Football’s Best Mascots to Get Paid, Too The Oregon Duck has stood out for its creative independence, helping Oregon build a national brand as it goes for first college football championship

I talked to some Oregon Duck and Brutus Buckeye "insiders" (get it?) about being the one point of continuity amid college football's chaos—and soon enough maybe being the only ones *not* getting paid for their work.

www.sportico.com/leagues/coll...