The Beat of Sports

Marc runs through the numbers for the attendance of the World League Of American Football and explains that when you look about what the crowds were for those games back in the 90s that spring leagues need to be evaluated differently than other sports that have been around for decades.

You've all the seen the commercials for Peloton the indoor cycling bicycle but now the company is transitioning into a lifestyle brand, and it is paying on big time money wise. The company is now valued at $2 billion dollars but how did that happen so quickly that at the start was bleeding money.

Daniel Kaplan from the Sports Business Journal joins the show to talk about what the investment by Carolina Hurricanes owner Tom Dundon really is and why the $250 million won't be one lump sum. He and Marc discuss what will be sustainable for the league when it comes to television partners and if they should be worried about what the XFL is planning. Plus Kaplan talks about whether or not Colin Kaepernick would really move the needle for spring football leagues.

It is already a foregone conclusion that Zion Williamson will end up the #1 pick in the upcoming NBA Draft. Devin Gordon of GQ joins us to talk about his profile on Williamson and he talks about how his season at Duke has gone. He and Marc discuss whether or not the NBA needs Zion to end up in a major market plus they discuss the talk about if he will sit out the rest of the college season to prepare for the draft.

This past weekend members of the Ole Miss men's basketball team knelt during the national anthem in response to a rally happening on the campus at the same time. As Marc points out that most fans will immediately react negatively to what they did but they won't take the time to learn the full story about what was happening and when the happens no real change can occur.

If all the facts involving Robert Kraft are what we know now then we already know what the penalty from the league will be, a $500,000 fine. That is it. He won't have the team stripped away from him. Now if more comes out and the story gets worse than all options will be on the table for the league.

The last few years Major League Baseball has worked to speed up the game, whether its limiting mound visits or keeping pitchers on a pitch clock but there is one thing the league can't control. The number of foul balls. Every time there is a foul ball it just adds more and more time to the game and with the evolution of the baseball stadium there has been an increase in the number of foul balls.

The future of Zion Williamson has been the topic of conversation this week after he left the Duke-North Carolina game with an injury. Many have screamed that the NBA rule should go away but as Marc points out that maybe it is necessary. Jaden McDaniels, Cole Anthony, and Veron Carey are the biggest names in high school basketball but they are relatively unknown but if they end up at big-time college programs then the exposure will help make them a household name.

The biggest story in all of basketball right now has nothing to do with LeBron James, it has to do with Zion Wiliamson and his future. Should he sit out the rest of the season and prepare for the draft, should the NBA change their draft rules, or should Zion sue Nike of his shoe blowing out. During our sports legal segment Marc and Richard Hale discuss what would go into a lawsuit against Nike and if it would be a smart financial decision.

Heisman trophy winning quarterback and former NBA player Charlie Ward joins the show to talk about what his thought process was between choosing between the NFL and the NBA. He and Marc discuss the similarities between his decision and the one that Kyler Murray made recently.