The Golf Showdown Years In The Making

…These two heavyweights got the Netflix documentary treatment before their duel in Riyadh, revealing a heated rivalry between two vulnerable humans. We can’t wait for this sequel to produce another classic.

Taylor Rooks is taking over Amazon Prime Video. On top of being the features reporter for Thursday Night Football, she’ll be the lead host for its NBA studio coverage. Well deserved.

It’s not X, it’s not Threads, it’s not Instagram. Reddit is still king. The platform saw record growth in sports-themed Subreddits as it organically owns the sports social media crown.

Messi is taking his talents to the big screen. His life journey is getting the Disney treatment with a new animated sci-fi series, “Messi and the Giants.”

What a year it’s been for soccer kits. From vintage looks to modern designs, there was an aesthetically pleasing kit for everyone in Urban Pitch’s 2024 roundup.

PGA vs. LIV has been golf’s version of Drake vs. Kendrick – two leagues beefing about who’s the top dog in the sport. This beef, however, could be ending. Through The Showdown, we’ll get our first glimpse into a potential post-golf world war, and it looks pretty damn appealing.

Tuesday’s exhibition between the two factions – Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy repping PGA, while Brooks Koepka and Bryson DeChambeau rep LIV – takes center stage. Koepka and DeChambeau went from enemies to step brothers since joining LIV, while McIlroy still isn’t over his U.S. Open collapse to DeChambeau.

The unique 18-hole format and prize purse of “at least $10 million” in crypto – a first in golf – are huge victories for LIV. It set out to disrupt the game and has successfully forced the sport to reexamine these two pillars for a more compelling experience.

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Who you got? #theshowdown

The drama has made golf more popular driven by the PGA’s clout and legacy but with conversation focused on LIV. Even though the PGA lost some star names to LIV, it still dominates the culture – dwarfing viewership and public interest over its competitors and off-course content with Full Swing.

Golf history will be made at Shadow Creek Golf Club. This grudge match will be the biggest non-major golf event in 2024, and hopefully the start of a golf peace treaty.

You can’t escape Melo. Like many retired athletes, he’s chasing many pursuits in his life after basketball. But his taste separates him from his counterparts as he successfully transitions into a post-retirement career.

StayMe7o is the hub for all of his disruptive cultural ventures, including his VII(N) The Seventh Estate wine brand co-founded with business partner, Asani Swann, that’s jumped from one to nine different bottles in the last four years. He’s the influencer who inspired the Banana Boat posse to become wine aficionados.

Carmelo is also making news as an interviewer, and not the subject. His podcast, 7PM in Brooklyn, has been a hit in the crowded athlete podcast space. The additions of Rudy Gay, Kazeem Famuyide, and Monica McNutt have elevated the platform into a must-listen.

When he’s not podcasting, Melo is building out his own venture capital firm (Melo7 Tech Partners), a fashion line (STAYME7O), owning an Australian basketball team, and guiding his son to become the next big Syracuse star.

The world is Melo’s oyster, and 2025 will be the biggest one yet for the NBA legend.