The Varsity

In this special recording live from Puck’s In the Arena earlier this month, LA28 chairman Casey Wasserman and NBC’s Molly Solomon join John to discuss the vision and the logistics of pulling off L.A. ’28—the first time the Summer Olympics come back to American soil since Atlanta in 1996. They chew over which new sports could capture the public’s imagination, the parlor game of who lights the Olympic flame, what it takes to stage the biggest live event on Earth, and plenty more.

In this special live recording from In the Arena, NCAA president Charlie Baker joins John to discuss the state and future of college athletics—which Baker describes as uncertain rather than chaotic, amid a swirl of court rulings, N.I.L., and revenue sharing. He also weighs in on the Protect College Sports Act, NCAA Tournament expansion, whether SEC and Big Ten self-governance concerns him, and more.

Wolfe Research’s Peter Supino joins John to discuss what comes next for Netflix’s sports strategy in the wake of Bela Bajaria’s abrupt exit. Peter explains why Netflix should partner with rivals like Peacock and pivot from one-off sports events to full-season slates—and lays out his case for why the streamer should buy NBCUniversal outright. They also dig into the sports-media fallout from the Skydance merger.

Axios’s Sara Fischer returns to the pod to discuss Bela Bajaria’s exit from Netflix and whether her successor, former Disney and Fox executive Peter Rice, will lean more heavily into live sports. They also get into ESPN’s Super Bowl debut, sports rights in a Skydance world, the dramas playing out across the NFL’s broadcast booths, and more.

ESPN’s Jay Bilas joins John for a temperature check on the college sports landscape. Jay argues that the talent has never been better, and scrutinizes the NCAA for blaming the disorder it created while refusing to fix it—and hoping Congress will instead. He shares the reforms he’d like to see, his critiques of the Protect College Sports Act, and why he believes the NCAA neither needs nor deserves an antitrust exemption.

ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski joins John to preview the NHL season and assess the league’s business outlook. They get into the new 84-game schedule, league expansion, the NHL’s international ambitions, Bettman succession plans, and more.

In this special live recording from Puck’s In the Arena, NBA commissioner Adam Silver joins John to reflect on the first year of the league's 11-year media deal, which delivered the NBA’s highest regular-season viewership in more than two decades. Silver also gets into the Clippers scandal, the Lakers’ eye-popping $12.5 billion valuation, his embrace of A.I. to enhance fan engagement, and much more.

John is joined by Words + Pictures co-founder Connor Schell and chief creative officer Aaron Cohen to discuss their new six-part Saban documentary, chronicling the life and career of the legendary college football coach. They also discuss the evolution of '30 for 30,' the state of the sports documentary genre, and why the market is bigger than just ESPN, Amazon, and Netflix.

Andy Johnson, founder of Fried Egg Golf, joins John to discuss the state of the PGA Tour under Brian Rolapp’s stewardship. He highlights Rolapp’s star-centric vision, argues that LIV’s real legacy may be forcing the Tour to innovate, and digs into the shrinking pool of rights bidders, golf’s equipment regulation debate, and more.

Fan favorite Andrew Marchand joins John to run through the sports-media news of the week. They dig into the NFL’s underwhelming early-season ratings, Joe Buck’s $108 million extension with ESPN, Brian Rolapp’s new plans for the PGA Tour, the growing scrutiny around College GameDay, and more.