*By Michael Teich*
Instagram, not Snapchat, is the preferred off-court platform for the LA Clippers to win over fans, said the basketball team's director of social media, Sandro Gasparro.
"Instagram is probably our most engaged platform and also our fastest-growing," Gasparro said Tuesday in an interview on Cheddar. "Most of our fans are there. We get a lot more metrics as well."
The Clippers on Monday became the NBA's first team to introduce player GIFs to Instagram Stories, choosing the Facebook-owned ($FB) app over the similar offering from Snap ($SNAP), which is based in the LA area.
Gasparro said the decision largely came down to user preference. With 400 million daily active users, Instagram Stories attracts more than double Snapchat's count of daily visitors ー which stood at 188 million at the end of June.
"It allows us to unlock the personalities of our players a little bit and show what they are like off the court," Gasparro said of the Instagram Stories platform. "It also allows our fans to really contribute to the conversation around the team in unique and fun ways."
The NBA's early adoption and savvy strategy for social media has created a strong, engaged fan base.
The NBA's Twitter ($TWTR) account has 27.3 million followers. The NFL, MLB, and NHL all fail to measure up, with 24.1 million, 8.2 million, and 6.14 million, respectively.
Gasparro said it's a team effort ー Clippers execs are collaborating with players to capitalize on the digital trend.
"We're definitely working really closely with our guys, not only in terms of supplying them with great content they can use on their channels, but also helping them craft their own content strategy," he said.
For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/la-clippers-do-it-for-the-gram-2).
The 2022 Masters Tournament is slated to begin on Thursday, and one of golf's most iconic players is set to return to Augusta National, just 14 months after a devastating car accident. In a press conference, Tiger Woods told reporters that not only is he planning to play in the tournament, but that he also thinks he can win. Cam Rogers, national sports betting and golf analyst, and host of 'Lock It In'
for the Bleav Podcast Network, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
Carsten Koerl, CEO of Sportradar, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell, where he explains how his company is bolstering the platforms of sports betting and streaming networks, and discusses basketball legend and Sportradar investor Michael Jordan's role in helping the company grow.
Catching you up on what you need to know on April 4, 2022, with reports of Russian war crimes in Ukraine, a weekend shooting in Sacramento killing six and injuring 12, Mexico ending its gas subsidization for U.S. drivers, and the University of South Carolina winning the women's NCAA basketball championship, and more.
Between Bells EP Conor White recaps some of the biggest stories of the week, while Baker Machado and Hena Doba test their knowledge, and maybe learn a thing or two. It's This Week in Trivia!
David Salituro, MLB and PGA sportswriter for Fansided.com, joins Cheddar Bets to break down his favorite futures bets in the MLB and at The Masters.
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For the first time in the history of the storied men's college basketball rivalry between Duke University and the University of North Carolina, the two teams will be meeting directly in the NCAA tournament — and in the Final Four! Sean Green, the co-founder of the Sports Gambling Podcast Network, joined Cheddar to give his take on the possible final game of legendary Duke coach, Mike Krzyzewski. "Now, if you recall, UNC actually beat Duke in Coach K's final home regular-season game, so revenge is going to be on the mind of Duke in this Final Four game, and I think they have the best of UNC. I like them laying four points," Green said. He also picked Villanova with an upset win over Kansas.
This June marks the 25th anniversary of the infamous 1997 "Bite Fight”, the iconic boxing rematch between Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield when Tyson shockingly bit a piece of his opponent’s ear off. As a macabre tribute to the incident, the boxing legend’s line of cannabis products, Tyson 2.0, has released “Mike Bites", edibles in the shape of an ear complete with a bite mark. Tyson, the chief brand officer and co-founder, along with CEO Adam Wilks joined Cheddar News to talk about the unique gummies. "I just think this is just me owning what I did. I'm owning my responsibility. I've done that. That was pretty bad at the time, but I turned it over to make it pretty good," the former heavyweight champion said.
U.S. Figure Skating Hall of Famer and former Olympian Nancy Kerrigan spoke to Cheddar News about joining Ice Dreams, a national skating tour that connects legends of the sport with its next generation. Kerrigan spoke of the lessons she learned from the sport and how grateful she is for the opportunity to give something back. “I mean skating has taught me some of the greatest things in in my life," she said. "You know, you fall down, things get hard, but you get back up and you keep on trying. And if you're performing and doing something you love, I think you would actually do even better.”
