Bloomberg Business of Sports

Michael Barr, Rich Trueman, and Damian Sassower reflect on week 5 of NFL action, and look ahead to week 6. Check out Rich’s fantasy football column every Thursday on the Bloomberg Terminal.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We take a hard look at underworld of professional running with Matt Hart, journalist and author of “Win At All Costs: Inside Nike Running And its Culture of Deception." Hart depicts the saga of the Nike Oregon Project, a talent-stacked team of athletes with the goal of building a homegrown Olympic running champion that would help the corporation dominate the market and sell product. Hart details the effort to uncover a win-at-all-costs culture of abuse, gender discrimination and systemic cheating at the highest levels of professional running.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Racial justice and social responsibility have become intertwined with professional sports, in a world coping with a pandemic that is shifting the direction of our daily lives. Doug Whaley, COO & Managing Partner Beautiful Game Group and former Buffalo Bills GM joins the show to discuss the impact pro athletes have in shaping future generations and the legacy of Colin Kaepernick, which he says is comparable to that of Muhammad Ali. They talk about the outlook for the NFL season amid the pandemic, draft day jitters, and much more.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Michael Barr, Rich Trueman, and Damian Sassower reflect on week 4 of NFL action, and look ahead to week 5. Check out Rich’s fantasy football column every Thursday on the Bloomberg Terminal.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Any parent who's rolled their eyes at their kid claiming there was money in playing video games...listen up. Ken Hersh, part of the Texas Rangers ownership group and long-time Dallas-based private equity investor is now the chairman of Envy Gaming. Hersh dispels Jason, Mike and Michael's skepticism, maps out the future potential and talks about getting into business with Post Malone.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Who thought it would happen? Major League Baseball playoffs are going on, and it's been must-see TV. That's great news for MLB Network President Rob McGlarry. He joined Jason, Mike and Michael to discuss how much work has gone into making all this possible, how it's not over yet, and how baseball isn't wasting the crisis by trying all sorts of new things to appeal to the next generation of fans.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tomorrow is the start of week 4 in the NFL season. Now with the first positive tests since the season started with the Minnesota Vikings and Tennessee Titans.Teams have suspended activities until Saturday.How will this affect your season and how you position players?Not too mention the major injures that are still ravaging through the league.Oh and wait until you hear the major trade Rich pulled off in his league. And don’t forget to catch his weekly fantasy football column that comes out every Thursday this season on the terminal.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jason and Lynchie were champing at the bit to get Barr's take on the massive NASCAR news that Michael Jordan is getting into the fast-car business. Before the trio takes that on, they dig into the seemingly full return of college football, albeit delayed and diminished. And Jason admits that he's less excited about Saturday afternoon football amid the ongoing NBA playoffs, especially now that we're onto the Finals, with LeBron James chasing that fourth ring against his old Miami Heat team.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Nearly two months ago the NBA returned to play, and after a busy schedule, we’re on the brink of the NBA finals. Bain Capital Co-Chairman and Boston Celtics owner Steve Pagliuca joins Jason Kelly and Mike Lynch to reflect on an unprecedented season in the bubble, and to talk about his role in maximizing the fan experience and quality of product that has established the NBA as one of the most dominant sports in the industry. They discuss the emergence of private equity in sports ownership, the legacy of Celtics basketball, and the tumultuous year for social justice.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jason Kelly, Rich Trueman, and Damian Sassower reflect on week 2 of NFL action, and look ahead to week 3. Check out Rich’s fantasy football column every Thursday on the Bloomberg Terminal.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Talk about the business of sports -- meet the banker in the midst of the some of the biggest stadium and team deals. Bill Mulvihill, Managing Director and Head of Sports and Entertainment at U.S. Bank, joins the podcast to discuss the evolution of team ownership and sports empires, and the transformation of stadium design and the nuances of getting fans safely back to arenas.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Super Bowl LIV feels like it happened an eternity ago, we last spoke with former Baltimore Ravens head coach Brian Billick on radio row in Miami and boy has the world changed since then. Jason Kelly, Michael Barr and Mike Lynch sit down with the coach to discuss week 1 in the NFL, the covid-19 changes that might be here to stay, and how the players on field protection has changed since Mike Lynch's playing days. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Michael Barr, Rich Trueman, and Damian Sassower reflect on week 1 of NFL action, and look ahead to week 2. Check out Rich’s fantasy football column every Thursday on the Bloomberg Terminal.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It was a jam-packed weekend for American sports, as the NFL's first week coincided with NBA and NHL playoff action, MLB, and U.S. Open tennis finals. Jason Kelly, Michael Barr, and Mike Lynch speak with a veteran of sports gambling, Steve Budin, Chief Executive Officer of Sportsinfo.com. They discuss the impact the pandemic has had on the industry, the outlook for the professional and college football seasons, and the potential e-sports has for the future of legal gambling.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Three months into a widespread, national reckoning on racial inequalities, and on the eve of pro football returning, NFL Hall of Famer Terrell Davis returns to take on all of it. And amid a wide-ranging discussion touching on systemic racism, player safety and health, the football great pauses to ruminate on Michael Barr's bowling injury -- proving once and for all why he's the show's favorite guest.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Your fantasy football draft is probably over. Now your searching the waiver wire and combing through the free agent pool to bolster your team right before week 1.Who do you pick up? Who do you stay away from? Who do you stash for a later dater?Well Michael Barr, Damian Sassower and Rich Trueman clue you in to some pick ups.Also Rich and Michael are looking to spice up their team names? Any ideas send them to Barr at Big Barr Sports on twitterCheck out Rich's weekly column that comes out every Thursday on the Bloomberg Terminal.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

An empty Arthur Ashe Stadium isn't stopping the U.S. Open from being one of the most important sporting events of the year. Tennis Channel President Ken Solomon joins Jason, Michael and Mike to talk about how his sport has survived -- and even thrived -- amid the pandemic. He discusses both the social distance, and the social activism, that have defined tennis for decades, and his hope for a new generation of empowered players to continue the legacy of Ashe and Billie Jean King.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Football, and the world, have changed a lot since Amani Toomer stopped playing. The former New York Giants and University of Michigan great weighs in from Denmark on the pending NFL season and the trickiness of non-bubbled pro football. He also talks to Jason, Michael and Mike about the gross inequalities built into college athletics and how social media has radically transformed what it means to be an athlete.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What's the best strategy for picking a fantasy football team when we might not have any football at all? Michael Barr and Mike Lynch speak with our in house fantasy football experts, Bloomberg Intelligence's Damian Sassower and Bloomberg Radio producer Richard Trueman. Do you diversify picks among NFL teams? How many backup quarterbacks do you hold? Do you change the structure of your league? Our team will answer these and many other questions and prepare you for your upcoming drafts so you'll end up holding the trophy at the end of the season. Don't forget to catch Rich Trueman's Fantasy Football column released every Thursday during the season. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

He’s the co-founder of the Home Depot who’s now better known as one of the most influential team owners in the U.S. Arthur Blank joins Jason Kelly to talk about his new book, and the lessons along the course of decades in business. Blank talks about the advice he got from Robert Kraft, Michael Vick’s remorse and the role his adopted hometown plays in a time of massive tumult and discussion around racial injustice.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The first four days of Jason Wright's new job as the Washington Football Team's new president are even more challenging than anyone thought they could be, and that's saying something. The first Black man to run an NFL team is facing scandal in his own organization, and social unrest in the broader world; he'll draw on every experience as a former NFL player and a McKinsey & Co. partner to tackle them. Wright talks to Jason, Michael and Mike between conversations with head coach Ron Rivera and ahead of an all-hands meeting with his team, about changing the team's culture, coping with structural racism and running a major franchise all at the same time.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How the Dodgers left Brooklyn has spawned a cottage industry of books, but very little has been written about how they got to Los Angeles -- and how the city picked a site for the ballpark. "Stealing Home: Los Angeles, the Dodgers, and the Lives Caught in Between" is Eric Nusbaum's gripping new history of one of sport's iconics ballparks and it's a must-read, detailing the lives torn apart ahead of the baseball's team arrival. Jason Kelly, Michael Barr and Mike Lynch talk with Nusbaum about how many of the issues around inequality unfortunately resonate today, and how sports fans can be more than an "armchair GM" and think about their home team critically.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

She was a ball kid for the Dallas Mavericks, and cut her teeth in social media at the Cowboys and ESPN. Now Neeta Sreekanth is the chief operating officer at INFLCR, where she's working with hundreds of colleges and thousands of college athletes to get smart about engaging the world at a time of increased empowerment. She talks with Jason Kelly, Mike Lynch and Michael Barr about what college sports may look like this fall, making big waves with a small following, and that Luka Doncic buzzer beater.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

After months of being shut down, gyms in New York have a timeline for reopening. Retro Fitness CEO Andrew Alfano wasn't even a year into the top job when Covid-19 ravaged the economy and shuttered his franchises. He tells Jason Kelly, Michael Barr and Mike Lynch about the demand for fitness centers, the biggest hurdles to reopening, and the attention the pandemic has brought to health and wellness.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Author, screenwriter, and former pro hockey player Bill Keenan joins the podcast to discuss his transition from playing professional puck in Europe, to investment banking, and everything in between. He speaks with Michael Barr, Mike Lynch, and Scarlet Fu about pro hockey in a Covid-19 world, and adapting his first book, Odd Man Rush, to film.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Michael Barr, Mike Lynch, and Jon Stashower discuss the decision to name former pro running back and business consultant, Jason Wright, as the new President of the Washington Football team. He is the first African-American to hold such a position in league history. Also discussed is college football, and the economic impact small towns like Iowa City, Iowa, and State College, Pennsylvania will feel as athletic conferences decide on the future of the fall season.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Have you ever wanted to get face to face with your favorite sports teams chief executive? If you’re an Oakland A's fan this is more realistic than you might think. Jon Stashower, Michael Barr and Mike Lynch sit down with Athletics president Dave Kaval and talked about his aggressive marketing plan, how he plans to keep the team in Oakland and why he schedules "Office Hours" to meet the Athletics fan base face to face. Bloomberg 960 AM in the bay area is Oakland's home for play by play coverage of the entire 2020 A's season.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Earlier this week two of the NCAA's power 5 conferences decided to postpone fall football. The Pac 12 and Big 10 will not play any games until at least 2021. Jon Stashower, Michael Barr and Mike Lynch discuss the effects this may have over the rest of the NCAA and how it could alter the NFL's plans to get back on the field. We also discuss the thrilling finish to golf's first major in the covid-19 era. Was 23-year-old Collin Morikawa's dazzling final round enough to bring views back to golf? Well find out…See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Great power requires great responsibility... as one of the largest social media platforms in the world Twitter has found itself at the forefront of the call for social justice in the sports world and it continues to grow in digital content distribution. Twitters Head of US Sports, TJ Adeshola joins Jason Kelly, Michael Barr and Mike Lynch for a wide ranging conversation about the impact the company has had on the sports world. From content distribution to activism, athletes globally have used Twitter as a way to directly engage with their fans and help to elevate their voice in the fight for social justice. TJ also touches on some of the many mentors he's had throughout his career, his journey into this industry as a man of color and how he wants to pay it forward for the next generation.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Motivational speaker, restaurateur, philanthropist, investor, and oh yeah… Super Bowl winning quarterback! Jason Kelly, Michael Barr and Mike Lynch sit down with former Washington Redskin Joe Theismann to find out how his life’s changed since we last spoke at Super Bowl LIV in Miami. Joe talks about how he picks his investments, the current state of the NFL season and his thoughts on the future of the “Washington Football Team”See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If you made up Mike Repole's life story, folks might tell you it was a bit much. He's sold a company to Coca-Cola, owned a Breeder's Cup Champion and gone into business with the late Kobe Bryant. With that last business, BodyArmor, he's got his sights set on the dominant player in sports drinks: Gatorade. That's not all: This son of Queens is part of a group, with Alex Rodriguez and Jennifer Lopez, to buy the New York Mets. He talked about all of it with Jason Kelly, Mike Lynch and Michael Barr (who elicited a stunning stat about the cash machine that is a championship race horse).See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

He's been a college football player, a professional wrestler, a movie and TV star, producer and entrepreneur. Now Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson can add "league owner" to his resume, with his purchase of the assets of the XFL. He and his partners will try to pull off what his old boss Vince McMahon couldn't, and stand up a successful non-NFL pro football league. Jason Kelly, Mike Lynch and Michael Barr break down the challenge ahead, and chat about what they watched over the first real weekend of live sports in months.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tim Leiweke's the go-to guy when it comes to the modern sports arena. The former CEO of Maple Leaf Sports and AEG, he's in the midst of massive projects from Milan to Long Island to Seattle. Leiweke joins Jason Kelly, Michael Barr and Mike Lynch to break down some of the cutting edge mobile technology he's bringing to the New York Islanders's newly named UBS arena, negotiating the needs of Jeff Bezos in Seattle, and how he's able to work his magic using nothing but private funding.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We may have booked one of Michael Barr's favorite guests in the world… no it's not Barry Sanders…. It's FanDuel CEO Matthew King! On today's podcast, Barr, Jason Kelly and Mike Lynch break down the current state of sports betting in a Covid-19 world, the strength of their casino business and the future of expansion as states and municipalities look to generate revenue.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As the Miami Marlins Covid-19 news broke this morning Jason, Mike and Lynchie had an opportunity sit down with Legendary Red Sox broadcaster Joe Castiglione. Initially our interview was planned to be a reflection on opening weekend, we quickly pivoted and dove right into the headlines as they hit the wire. We chatted about the effect the positive test results will have on the season and what its like calling a game in an empty ballpark.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

NBA general counsel, USA Basketball President, WNBA President, Women's Basketball Hall Of Famer…. You may need a resume this deep to manage an NCAA power conference through a pandemic. Big East Commissioner Val Ackerman joins Jason Kelly, Michael Barr and Mike Lynch to discuss Covid-19's impact on the legendary basketball league, how a unique insurance policy helped solidify the conference's financials and when we might see Jason's Hoyas back on the hardwood.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

College football's near-term prospects continue to look bleak. Colonial Athletic Association Commissioner Joe D'Antonio describes the 3D chess game he and his colleagues are playing to balance sports, academics and safety across schools and regions. He tells Jason Kelly, Michael Barr and Mike Lynch about the decision to cancel conference play for football, the economic implications of this crisis, and how he's seeing all the uncertainty as both a manager and a dad.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

With Major League Baseball, the NBA and the NHL all geared up for a cautious return, John Levy can barely contain himself. He's a fan first, but he's also got a lot riding on the return. The Score, based in Canada, blends sports news and information with a betting platform; both the company and its customers are ready to put some money on the line. Levy joins Jason Kelly, Michael Barr and Mike Lynch to talk about how his company cuts against the sports media grain and how he kept his team together in the pandemic shutdown.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It sounds like something ripped from a 10-year-old's daydream: Being the star player in the professional sports league you and your older brother create. But that's just what Paul Rabil did last year, and now he and the rest of the Premier Lacrosse League are on the verge of bringing pro lacrosse back to the field next week -- albeit with no fans, and in a Utah "bubble." The tournament could be the most important step in taking lacrosse mainstream, as it's broadcast via NBC to its biggest audience ever. Rabil joined Jason Kelly, Michael Barr and Mike Lynch for a conversation that ran from medical protocols and media rights to social media and social justice.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Germany's Bundesliga had the distinction -- and pressure -- of returning to the field ahead of any other pro sports league. Now Robert Klein, the CEO of Bundesliga International, is fielding calls from across the world as to how the league did it, and what he learned. He joined Jason Kelly to talk about making all the stakeholders (including players, sponsors and fans) happy, working with the country's government and how it might change the game of soccer. Klein joined as part of a Bloomberg Television special, "Sports at the Crossroads," airing this weekend on BTV.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The decision last month to cancel the entire minor league baseball season had a profound affect not just for tens of millions of fans, but more than 150 towns across America. David Wright, the league's chief commercial and marketing officer, calls the league "the front porch of local communities." Wright, who prior to MiLB spent a decade-plus building Major League Soccer, talks with Jason Kelly, Michael Barr and Mike Lynch about keeping fans engaged without play, supporting those local communities and lessons from other sports leagues finding their way back.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Managers, teammates and and fans know Trevor Bauer is restless and relentless. With baseball about to get back to work, the Cincinnati Reds pitcher walks Jason Kelly, Michael Barr and Mike Lynch through the contentious negotiations that got us to "summer camp." He also talks about what motivates him as both a player and an entrepreneur, and what's spurred him to consistently push the envelope in everything from rest days to representation to reaching a new, younger fan base.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A hockey fan since his Harvard days, Xavier Gutierrez never expected to run a team. But here he is, recently relocated from a career in the investment world in Southern California, overseeing a franchise on the rise in one of America's fastest growing -- and most diverse -- cities. The first Latino to head an NHL team, he spoke to Jason Kelly, Michael Barr and Mike Lynch about the responsibility that entails, and the power of sports in building a fair and inclusive community.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The team welcomes back Michael Barr and gets down to business making sense of all that's happened in the month he's been away. He breaks down his reaction to the Bubba Wallace/NASCAR incident, and the group aims to answer some big questions: Is the optimism around sports returning increasingly misplaced as players balk -- and leagues look at the virus surging right where they're meant to play? Is Cam Newton just the newest way the Patriots will enrage everyone else by winning? And has the moment come for teams in Washington and Cleveland (and Atlanta) to finally change their names?Hosts: Jason Kelly, Michael Barr and Mike LynchSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As protests roiled Atlanta, thrusting the Southern capital back into the civil rights spotlight, Hawks CEO Steve Koonin had an idea -- turn his team's home into the largest polling station in the U.S. Now State Farm Arena may be the model for how the increasingly activist NBA can attack systemic racism, simply by making it easier and safer to vote. Koonin, a native Atlantan and former Coca-Cola and Turner executive, joins Jason Kelly and Mike Lynch for an exclusive conversation about his city's heritage, the power of players and teams, and the push to make Election Day a holiday, at least in the NBA.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

With most gyms and fitness studios still shuttered, the fitness business -- like so many industries -- has been radically disrupted. To makes sense of it, Jason Kelly and Mike Lynch turn to Goldman Sachs's Aarti Kapoor, one of the top investment bankers across the wellness and exercise landscape. It's a reunion of sorts for Jason and Aarti, who was featured prominently in his 2016 book, "Sweat Equity: Inside the New Economy of Mind and Body." She talks about how the pandemic acclerated digitally delivered fitness, the crisis's role in focusing us all on nutrition and sleep, and which studios will survive this shutdown.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Our pal, Bloomberg Opinion columnist (plus bestselling author and podcaster extraordinaire) Joe Nocera stops by to talk about the prospects for a college football season and why the door may be closing for a fall as we're used to. Plus, he tells us why he's bullish on the NBA's chances to get back to work late next month.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the eve of the pandemic, LeBron James and Maverick Carter -- lifelong friends from Akron who became business partners -- cut their biggest deal yet: a $100 million investment to create The SpringHill Co., a Nike-Disney-Patagonia hybrid. They want to change the way content is made, and consumed by the world. In an exclusive interview, James and Carter go deep with Jason Kelly about Black Lives Matter, Colin Kaepernick, and changing society by changing who's in the conversation.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Cathy Engelbert unwittingly spent decades training for this moment. A dual-sport Division I athlete, she spent a career at Deloitte, ultimately becoming its CEO, before taking the top job at the WNBA last year. In conversation with Jason Kelly and Mike Lynch, Engelbert talks about how she held a draft during the crisis, the plans for a restart and what the "player first" mentality means to the WNBA.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Former WNBA Champion and Four-time All-Star Alana Beard says her new job is a lot like being a rookie again. After 16 years in the league, she's moved to Silicon Valley and the world of venture capital and it's competitive in a very different way. She talks with Jason Kelly and Mike Lynch about her early business ventures (including a pizza joint) and reckoning as a Black woman with what may be a monumental moment in racial justice.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.