The Indiana Pacers have made more NBA contract history. Indiana has signed No. 31 overall pick Andrew Nembhard to a four-year deal worth $8.6 million. The contract guarantees the guard $6.4 million over the first three years which is the most guaranteed money ever given to a collegiate second round selection. According to ESPN’s Bobby Marks, the guard will make more guaranteed money than picks 18-30 in the first round of the 2022 NBA Draft. On Thursday night, the Pacers also signed late second round pick Kendall Brown to a two-way contract meaning that all three 2022 draft picks have signed some sort of deal with Indiana.
The Indy Car series is in Iowa this weekend for two races at Iowa Speedway in the Hy-VeeDeals.com 250 and the Hy-Vee Salute to Farmers 300. Unlike a normal one-race weekend, drivers will turn two laps in qualifying each. The first of the two laps serves as the qualifying lap for Saturday’s race will the second one placing drivers in the grid for Sunday’s 300-lap contest. Josef Newgarden returns to another track where he is the co-defending champion. Newgarden won the second race in 2020, the last time the series visited Iowa, and Simon Pagenaud won the dash to the checkered flag in the first race. Practice starts Friday afternoon with qualifications for both races coming on Saturday morning. The Hy-VeeDeals.com 250 green flag waves around 4:00 pm on Saturday afternoon followed by the 3000 laps race on Sunday afternoon.
Indiana Sports Corp has a new president, his name is Patrick Talty. The organization that spearheads the effort to bring the biggest events in sports to Indianapolis is changing leadership after eight years. Former president Ryan Vaughn announced his resignation in May and Talty will vacate his former role as the chief operating officer of Indiana Sports Corp to become its next president. He is the seventh president in the group’s over 40-year history. Before coming to Indianapolis, Talty was previously the general manager of US Bank Stadium in Minneapolis. While overseeing one of the newest NFL stadiums in the country, the venue hosted a Super Bowl and the 2019 men’s Final Four. He also worked for WWE as the senior vice president of live events.
