The Cotton Bowl Storyline

PLUS The Future Of Golf, LA Wildfires, NFL Power Rankings

January 08, 2025

Welcome to Office Chair Sports! Your home for everything Sports & Biz! Today, we’re covering top news about:

  • The Future Of Golf

  • NFL Power Rankings

  • The Cotton Bowl Storyline

  • Harvard Enters The NIL Arena

  • LA Wildfires

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The Future Of Golf

Golf just got a major tech upgrade!

Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy just launched this wild new indoor golf league called TGL, and it's basically golf meets video games meets the future.

Picture this: Players are hitting balls into a massive screen (like, 24 times bigger than your normal golf simulator), there's lava fields and cliff-top fairways, and the green actually rotates between holes. The whole thing is happening in this purpose-built arena in Florida with 1,500 fans watching and booing bad shots like it's a basketball game 😂

The first match saw The Bay Club crush New York Golf Club 9-2 and the best part? They knocked out 15 holes in just two hours thanks to a 40-second shot clock. No more five-hour rounds!

Tiger and Rory are hyped about "taking golf into another stratosphere," but the real question is…

Will fans buy into this high-tech, fast-paced version of golf? Maybe, since there’s $21 million up for grabs.

NFL Power Rankings

Here’s how the top 10 is stacking up.

  1. Detroit Lions

  2. Kansas City Chiefs

  3. Buffalo Bills

  4. Philadelphia Eagles

  5. Baltimore Ravens

  6. Minnesota Vikings

  7. Green Bay Packers

  8. Washington Commanders

  9. Los Angeles Chargers

  10. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Who do you think is taking it all this year?

The Cotton Bowl Storyline

Talk about a wild full-circle moment.

Quinn Ewers is about to face his old squad in the biggest game of his career, and there's some serious money behind this story.

Back in 2021, Ewers, the top recruit in the country, shocked everyone by ditching his senior year of Texas high school football to head to... Ohio State? Why? Because Texas didn't allow high school athletes to make NIL money, and Ohio State was dangling a casual $1.4 MILLION deal in front of him. I mean, who wouldn't take that bag?

But plot twist - Ewers bounced from Columbus after just one semester and landed back home at Texas. Now he's got the Longhorns in the playoff semifinals against... those same Buckeyes he originally signed with.

Ewers says he's got no regrets about the whole thing (With $1.4M in the bank, who would?), but you know this game's personal.

Harvard Enters The NIL Arena

Harvard's getting in on the NIL game.

The Crimson just launched their "One Crimson NIL Exchange" with Teamworks Influencer, basically creating a LinkedIn-style platform for their athletes to cash in on their fame.

Here's what's cool - they've made it super easy for businesses to connect with Harvard athletes for all sorts of deals: social media promos, autograph sessions, public appearances, you name it. Plus, it's all built to keep things kosher with NCAA, Ivy League, and Harvard rules.

Wild to think that even Harvard athletes can now turn their TikToks into cash.

LA Wildfires 

Lakers coach JJ Redick and Warriors coach Steve Kerr both have family caught up in this massive wildfire tearing through Pacific Palisades.

Redick's whole family had to evacuate, including his wife's twin sister, and Kerr's 90-year-old mom was forced out too. Even worse, one of Golden State's player development guys just lost his childhood home to the flames.

The Lakers even had to worry about whether they could fly back home after their game in Dallas because of all the smoke.

Both coaches made it clear that basketball takes a backseat when your family's dealing with something like this. As Kerr put it, really puts things in perspective.

Internships 🙋

1. 2025 Spring Marketing Internship - As a Marketing Intern, you will assist the Assistant Director of Operations in executing and developing marketing strategies for Play9 Sports’ themed tournaments.

2. Intern - Business Intelligence (Pittsburgh Pirates) - The Business Intelligence Intern will utilize analytical and strategy skills to conduct research, analyze insights, and manage reporting that impacts all areas of Business Operations.

3. Corporate Partnerships Internship (Fairleigh Dickinson Athletics) - Summer 2025 - As a Corporate Partnerships Intern, you'll gain hands-on experience in sports marketing, sales, and corporate relations.

4. Sports Pathways Internship (Miami Marlins) - We’re not like other internships — when you join us, you’ll get hands-on experience and work alongside our front office pros in departments like: Marketing, Communications, Operations, Community Relations, Ticket Sales, And more!

5. Social Media Internship (Baltimore Orioles) - The Baltimore Orioles are seeking a Social Media Intern to join our Social team for the 2025 season. This intern will need to be available to work in person in Baltimore, MD from approximately April – October 2025.

Job Board 💰

1. Sports Performance - We are looking for a highly motivated and detail-oriented individual with experience in sport science and performance training.

2. Sports Information Director - The SID will provide media, website, home contest administration, and statistical oversight for all university athletic programs.

3. Partnership Strategy & Service Coordinator ( Phoenix Suns) - We are seeking an experienced and highly motivated Partnership Strategy & Service Coordinator to assist team members with managing the corporate partnership portfolio for the Phoenix Suns, Phoenix Mercury, and Valley Suns.

4. Brand Communications Assistant (Atlanta Hawks) - The role will report to the Director, Brand Communications, and will assist the Brand Communications staff with daily activities to assist members of the media and various internal stakeholders.

5. Manager, Human Resources (Sacramento Kings) - The Sacramento Kings seek a dynamic HR Leader who will help shape our organizational culture and drive employee success in our fast-paced, event-driven environment.

Thanks for reading - see you soon!