The media merger of the century is finally official, leaving the sports world wondering what will become of Skydance’s myriad sports rights deals, from the untouchables to the possibly disposable. And...

Oct 8, 2026 John Ourand Welcome back to The Varsity, back in D.C. after a whirlwind New York trip. Pod alert: We’re about a week into the NHL season, so I asked my fellow Terp, ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski, ...

The Varsity · Episode

The Varsity · Episode

The Varsity · Episode

The game wasn't good, unless you're a die-hard Falcons fan.

A veteran documentary dealmaker’s new model pairs athletes with production opportunities. You don’t have to be a Peyton or Lebron to get in.

Ted Leonsis built the Capitals into a D.C. sports empire spanning teams, media, and Capital One Arena. Next stop: women’s sports dominance.

The Varsity · Episode

Platforms are trying to re-create the bygone days of switching between games with one button. Plus, Michael Nathanson on Roku-Fox.

Sep 15, 2026 John Ourand Welcome back to The Varsity and congrats to John Tornow, Puck’s C.T.O., whose Tortured Backfield Dept. looks like the team to beat in Puck’s ultra-competitive office fantasy f...

The Varsity · Episode

After a summer in which much of the sports media tried to unpack his megadeal with ESPN—which remains unsigned, for the record—his omnipotence says almost everything one needs to know about the state of the business.

Sep 8, 2026 John Ourand Welcome to The Varsity. It’s the NFL’s opening week, which can’t get here soon enough. Baseball season ended for me after that disastrous four-game series in Camden Yards over ...

The Varsity · Episode

The Varsity · Episode

YouTube video by Puck

The only surprising element of the NBA’s punishment of the L.A. Clippers is its severity—and how ferociously Steve Ballmer, the league’s richest owner, is fighting back. Is this a harbinger for future...

The Varsity · Episode

With volatile forces (the transfer portal’s Wild West, the Lakers and Seahawks valuations, football’s international endgame, etcetera) reshaping the business of sports, Sportscorp C.E.O. Marc Ganis—th...

Sep 1, 2026 John Ourand Welcome back to The Varsity. It’s that time of year when it feels like half of my source calls are coming from people wandering around the Billie Jean King National Tennis Cent...

Aug 31, 2026 John Ourand Welcome back to The Varsity. Pour one out for Red Sox radio play-by-player Will Flemming, who issued an apology for calling for on-field fisticuffs after the Yankees’ Jazz Chi...

Podcast Episode · The Varsity · August 30 · 44m

LSU coach Lane Kiffin’s attempt to land a pair of players who previously signed NFL deals struck a nerve with just about everyone in college football this week. Was the act so audacious that Congress ...

The Varsity · Episode

NASCAR is trying to turn media fragmentation into a growth engine, pairing resilient traditional ratings with younger digital audiences and Hollywood ambition.

The Timberwolves are the new face of skyrocketing team valuations, tripling in worth in a year. Turns out tech money needs a home—just not in the MLB.

John Ourand, sports correspondent at Puck, talks about skyrocketing sports team valuations, a new private equity investment in the Yankees, and the potential 2027 MLB lockout.

The Varsity · Episode

John Ourand Welcome back to The Varsity. It promises to be a big weekend in the Ourand household. We’re taking our youngest to Villanova for her senior year, our final college move-in. How many popes ...

With last week’s sale of the Lakers to Josh Kushner and Bob Iger for $12.5 billion, pro sports is increasingly functioning as a blue-chip asset class—and a hedge for fortunes made in tech, finance, an...

Aug 18, 2026 John Ourand Welcome back to The Varsity. By the time this hits your inbox, I will be noshing on crab cakes with Michael Nathanson from a Camden Yards suite. Let’s go O’s! R.I.P. to Bill R...

The Varsity · Episode

The Varsity · Episode

While some media types wonder if Bob Iger and Josh Kushner have minted the top of the market for franchise ownership, a whole new tidal wave of money is beginning to look at this asset class as a hedg...

Podcast Episode · The Varsity · August 12 · 44m

Most insiders assumed Larry Berg would sail into MLS’s top job. But it took four votes to beat David Nathanson—hinting at quiet dissent in its ranks.

Aug 6, 2026 John Ourand Welcome back to The Varsity. It’s football season again! By the time this hits your inbox tonight, Carolina’s taxi squad players will be just about ready to take the field agai...

Aug 4, 2026 WELCOME BACK! You’re receiving a complimentary version of The Varsity as a welcome gift to new readers. Start a free 14-day trial to unlock access to Puck.   John Ourand Welcome back to Th...

The Varsity · Episode

The Varsity · Episode

The Varsity · Episode

As post-linear media enters particular uncertainty, evidenced by the WarnerMount pause, streamers seem poised to make deeper runs on the sports rights market.

Jul 28, 2026 John Ourand Welcome back to The Varsity. I’m John Ourand, once again spending far too much of the college football preseason thinking about Chapel Hill. Last year, it was Bill Belichick’s...

Mark Cuban thought he was trading a stake in the Mavs for access to an even bigger prize: stadium-adjacent real estate development deal flow. A new legal filing suggests he may have gotten screwed out...

Jul 27, 2026 John Ourand Welcome back to The Varsity. Like Gianni Infantino, I would like to offer a special shout-out to all the haters out there. Yesterday, the FIFA president posted a strange World...

The Varsity · Episode