When DP & McGhee’s guest cancels at the last minute due to unforeseen circumstances, your intrepid hosts are forced to adjust on the fly. And adjust they did.  Creating a veritable potpourri of #sportsbiz chat combined with a healthy dose of popular culture (Pop Culture is a relative concept, keep in mind). The show starts like most other episodes with a discussion ranging from the (Amazon) Prime Video Thursday Night Football production to the NBA’s handling of Suns’ owner Robert Sarver. Quick Hits included the NASCAR race in Wilkesboro with a nice anecdote from DP about riding through the woods of Caroline, the soft opening of Lusail Stadium in Qatar, Yvon Chouinard’s decision to give away Patagonia, and the feud between Luka Doncic and his mom. After the break, things really take a turn with the conversation running from song lyrics about baseball, great sports movies, and our favorite/unfavorite topic, LIV Golf.

Enjoy the show.  We sure did making it!

DP & McGhee are joined by George Pyne, the founder and CEO of Bruin Capital, an investment and operating company specializing in working with capital partners and management teams to build best-in-class, global sports, media, entertainment, marketing, and technology companies. George has been at the center of some of the biggest stories in sports over the past 25 years, including the explosive growth of NASCAR in the 1990s and the consolidation of collegiate multi-media rights in the new millennium. He shares his thoughts on where the sports industry is growing, and the importance of technology to that continued growth. Much to the enjoyment of the show's hosts, George also shares his personal feelings on being the father of a big-time college student-athlete. Many other topical issues are touched on during this episode, including the recently completed US Open, MLB rule changes, and NFL opening night ratings. And before welcoming their guest, DP & McGhee take a rare opportunity to toot their own horns during the "Spotlight on Sponsorship" segment.

As we close the book on summer, our focus shifts to the big news coming out of college football (off to a roaring start, by the way), the approaching NFL season, and the changing of the guard at the US Open. DP & McGhee were honored to welcome Mike McCann, director of the Sports & Entertainment Law Institute at the University of New Hampshire Franklin Pierce School of Law. In addition to addressing the myriad legal matters facing the sports industry, Mike provides a captivating narration of his career journey. Never ones to rest on their laurels, DP & McGhee formally introduce a new feature entitled “Quick Hits," which, of course, means one thing: another segment theme parody. DP is completely incorrigible.

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DP kicks off this episode talking about the recent successes (and a few failures) of Amazon in its quest to grow share and reach in live sports, while McGhee, the resident sports-card geek waxes (poetically?) about the recent sale of a 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle rookie card. Before getting to their quick hits, DP & McGhee touch upon their favorite (or at least most-frequent) subject, LIV Golf.  Not a week goes by without major news breaking about the rogue golf league. Visa VP of Sponsorship Strategy, Andrew Cohen, joins the podcast to talk about innovation, future-proofing a sponsorship and the importance of aligning with other leadership brands. With a sponsorship portfolio that includes FIFA World Cup, the Olympic Games, the NFL and a host of major women's sports properties, Visa is unquestionably a global sponsorship leader.

Ishwara Glassman Chrein, President of Business Operations for the Chicago Fire joins “Wait…What” to talk about things going on both off and on the pitch.  Among other topics, Ishwara discusses the future of soccer at Chicago's Soldier Field, the new Apple+ media deal with MLS, working for fans, and the importance of culture to an organization’s success. DP & McGhee start off the episode with yet another conversation about the soap opera that is the world of professional golf before talking in admiring tones about the recently announced Big Ten media rights deal, the biggest in collegiate sports history. In closing, the co-hosts pay tribute to Jamey Rootes, a sports industry titan who recently passed away.  The best way to honor his memory is to continue to shine a light on mental health issues and the importance of taking care of your own, while being aware of others around you.

On Episode 31, Wells Fargo Senior VP, Sponsorships and Brand Engagement, Pam Batalis, joins DP & McGhee to talk about her long and successful career across a number of organizations in the sports industry. Pam delivers a detailed look at the strategy behind Wells Fargo's sponsorships and the company's approach to activation. As a former star college basketball player, Pam talks about Title IX and the role it played in her Hall of Fame career as a student athlete and a business leader. And, given her experience in the collegiate multi-media rights space, Pam is extremely knowledgeable when weighing in on conference realignment in college sports. DP & McGhee bounce between a number of topical issues including the passing of a legend (Vin Scully), the retirement of a legend (Serena Williams), a possible legend testing the limits of his legendariness (Kevin Durant), and a legendary baseball card (Honus Wagner).

Sweet is a leading NFT platform and marketplace, working with some of the world's leading brands and sports properties. On today’s episode, Sweet founder and CEO, Tom Mizzone talks about what NFTs are, how the utility they unlock can drive deeper consumer engagement, and the cool (pun intended) new program Sweet is launching with the NHL. DP & McGhee go around the horn touching on numerous topics, starting with the death of the legendary Bill Russell, someone who was the epitome of a life well lived. The co-hosts also talk about the success of England's Lionesses (both on the pitch and on the airwaves) in the recently completed Women’s Euro 2022, Kyler Murray being let out of detention, Deshaun Watson getting off easy and NYCFC’s new home. And of course, what would an episode be without some discussion about LIV Golf?

How we view sports is in a constant state of change and on this episode of "Wait...What?" we direct the #sportsbiz chat to an emerging technology that will most certainly affect how we engage with live sports. Jed Corenthal, CMO of Phenix, a provider of real-time video solutions, joins the podcast to discuss the benefits of "real-time" streaming for fans and what we can expect in the future. While sports betting obviously was a major topic covered, Jed touches on a number of other potential interactive applications. As they are wont to do, DP & McGhee touch on a number of additional topics, including NASCAR hitting the Windy City, Kyler Murray hitting the books, NFL+ hitting the market, and the Boston Red Sox hitting pay dirt with a new jersey patch sponsor.

And it wouldn’t be a Wait…What? Episode without a reference to LIV Golf.

It may be Major League Baseball's All-Star Break, but given the spate of big news coming out of Major League Soccer, the #sportsbiz chat was thrilled to welcome Chris Schlosser, SVP – Emerging Ventures at MLS. Topics include the league's recent media rights deal with Apple, a data partnership with IMG Arena that has broad implications, and the continued growth and success of soccer in the US. As always, there were plenty of other storylines to cover during the episode (which we did), including the business of baseball, LeBron dissing Boston, an early Silly Season in motorsports, and, of course, LIV Golf.

With the Major League Baseball All-Star Game set for next week in Los Angeles, DP & McGhee welcome Adam Zimmerman, SVP of Marketing and Content for the defending World Series Champion Atlanta Braves to the chat to talk about the importance of fan engagement, thinking big, and how a digital experience is still “real”. A truly creative marketing leader, Adam relates some great stories about successful club campaigns. Your co-hosts also talk about the latest stirrings around college realignment, LIV Golf, this week's Open Championship from St. Andrews, the WNBA’s tribute to Brittney Griner, and give shoutouts to Sabrina Ianescu, the US Women’s National Team, Novak Djokavic, Elena Rybakina, the Raiders' new president, Sandra Douglass Morgan, Sacha Baron Cohen, James Caan, Brian Piccolo, and the people of Sri Lanka.