SPORTS
John Ourand
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July 7, 2026
Waiting for Goodell
As talk of a new suite of NFL deals cools, analyst Steven Cahall predicts a bruising rights fight that will reshape media economics, while casting doubt on blockbuster M&A scenarios for NBC and Fox.
Eriq Gardner
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July 6, 2026
FIFA’s Eras Tour Moment
Fans who’ve strayed from the FIFA-sanctioned resale channels have seen their seats—and cash—disappear. Predictably, a new lawsuit is looking for remedy.
John Ourand
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June 30, 2026
Shanks United
With World Cup ratings smashing expectations, Fox Sports C.E.O. Eric Shanks opens up about his network’s long bet on soccer, the Zlatan phenomenon, and the virtue of hydration breaks.
Eriq Gardner
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June 29, 2026
The Three Russini Lunch
The New York Times’s uncomfortable self-reporting into star journalist Dianna Russini’s affair with a source was more than just an extraordinary exposé. It may also create precedents that outlast the scandal itself.
Sports Docs’ Drive to Survive
Since their pandemic-era Last Dance peak, sports documentaries have become harder and harder to get greenlit—even at Netflix. Superstars and monoculture nostalgia plays can still find a home, but the bar has been raised while the payouts have fallen. So what’s a sports doc producer to do?
John Ourand
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June 23, 2026
Sports Betting Enters Its World Cup Era
FanDuel president Christian Genetski is only six weeks into his newly expanded role running the company, but he’s got plenty of thoughts about the state of the sports-betting business—from FanDuel’s move into prediction markets to the Sorsby headache and why this year’s World Cup is like March Madness on steroids.
Eriq Gardner
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June 22, 2026
Midnight in the Garden
An apparently massive cybersecurity breach at Madison Square Garden was all but lost in the chatter surrounding the Knicks’ NBA Finals win. But as the confetti is swept up and the offseason begins, here come the inevitable lawsuits.
YouTube’s Skinny Sports Rights Diet
For a while, it seemed as though YouTube was coming to eat everyone’s lunch in the sports media business. But after its recent miss on a suite of NFL games, many media insiders are wondering how much the Google guys really want to be in on the actual game action—and if they need the league at all.
John Ourand
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June 16, 2026
Zen Garden
After decades of dysfunction, the Knicks won their first title since 1973 thanks to Jim Dolan, of all people, finally trusting the right basketball specialists and resisting the mistakes that defined the previous 25 years. Mike Breen, the voice of the team, and clutch ESPN analyst Brian Windhorst break it down.
Eriq Gardner
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June 15, 2026
Five Hard Truths About NFL Inflation
As Congress tries to prevent streamers from taking NFL market share, they’ve increasingly homed in on the anachronistic Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961, which includes the antitrust exemption that allows the league’s teams to collectively market their games. But as the recent House Judiciary Committee hearing made clear, no one knows what they are talking about.
Can Fox Avoid the Skipper Tax?
As the NFL continues to draw congressional heat, it’s growing increasingly tired with Rupert Murdoch for instigating the fuss. With the league’s coveted antitrust exemption theoretically in the crosshairs, might Fox have bitten the hand that feeds it?
John Ourand
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June 9, 2026
YouTube’s NFL Discipline & NFL Partner Math
Rich Greenfield, the LightShed partner and sports guru, weighs in on the looming NFL rights renegotiation bonanza: who wins, who blinks first, and why the league still has all the leverage in the post-cord-cutting era.
Eriq Gardner
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June 8, 2026
Could Brendan Sorsby End the NCAA’s “Pay-for-Play” Era?
The University of Cincinnati is suing to collect $1 million in N.I.L. damages after Sorsby defected to Texas Tech—a ticking time bomb case that could imperil player contracts across all of college sports.
Searching for Conor McGregor
The UFC is at the beginning of a seven-year, $7.7 billion media deal, the envy of every other emerging sports outfit in the world, and about to reach the ultimate mark of Trump II cultural dominance with a much-hyped fight card on the White House lawn. So where are all its new stars?
John Ourand
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June 2, 2026
The Magnus Carta
ESPN’s indomitable content chief, Burke Magnus, on losing talent to the NBA sidelines, the heat around the NHL, and what he learns from the way his kids watch sports.
Eriq Gardner
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June 1, 2026
The Anti-Netflix Amendment
Tucked inside Congress’s latest college sports proposal is a provocative idea: Some games may simply be too important to disappear behind a paywall.
Sankey Is From Mars, Petitti Is From Venus
The commissioners of college sports’ two biggest conferences have thrown a stray shot or two at each other this spring over the College Football Playoff. But as just about everyone acknowledges, they both know they’ll have to be much more aligned to tackle the myriad issues they face.