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The Varsity

Puck | Audacy

Puck Sports Correspondent John Ourand and a rotating cast of industry insiders take you deep inside the executive suites and owner boxes that run the entire sports business. You’ll hear interviews with everyone from players to network execs and everyone in between. The Varsity is an extension of John's private email for Puck by the same name. New episodes publish twice-weekly, every Wednesday and Sunday.

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48 episodes
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Avg 43 min
English

Episodes 48

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Yesterday · 43 min
College Park’s Finest!
In this special episode, John takes the stage with fellow Maryland journalism alums Monica McNutt, Frank Isola, Tim Kurkjian, and Jimmy Roberts for a panel moderated by Kevin Blackistone on the biggest challenges and pressures facing journalists today. They get into journalistic integrity, surviving the “hot take” era, staying authentic, and much more.
Wednesday · 43 min
Why Hollywood Money Is Fleeing to Sports
George Pyne, Bruin Capital C.E.O. and former IMG president, joins John to explain why the rights game has never been more nuanced, and why sports has become a safe harbor for money fleeing an increasingly commoditized entertainment business. He also lays out what the NBA should know before it plants a flag in Europe, and makes the case that the chaos in college sports is simply the growing pain of its own success.
November 1 · 43 min
ESPN’s Aikman & McAfee Messes
Varsity favorite Andrew Marchand joins John to dig into his recent reporting on what’s really going on behind the scenes of the Aikman-Buck beef. Marchand handicaps the chances Aikman is back at ESPN next season, and what happens to Monday Night Football if the duo splits after the Super Bowl, ending a 25-year run in the booth together. He also weighs in on Pat McAfee’s latest controversy, Ernie Johnson’s retirement from Inside the NBA, and more.
October 28 · 43 min
The Road to L.A. ’28
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.
October 25 · 43 min
Charlie Baker’s NCAA Vision
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.
October 21 · 43 min
Should Netflix Buy NBCU?
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.
October 18 · 43 min
Is Netflix About To Go Big On Sports?
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.
October 14 · 43 min
Jay Bilas’s NCAA Gospel
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.
October 11 · 43 min
Can the NHL Really Go Global?
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.
October 7 · 43 min
What’s Next For Adam Silver’s NBA?
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.
October 4 · 43 min
The Passion of Saint Nick
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.
September 30 · 43 min
Golf’s Rolapp Revolution
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.
September 27 · 43 min
The NFL’s Ratings Slump & PGA Tour’s New Swing
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.
September 23 · 46 min
Ted’s Monumental Adventure
Ted Leonsis, C.E.O. of Monumental Sports, joins John to talk about the ins and outs of owning the Washington Capitals, Wizards, and Mystics. He gets into the billion-dollar rebuild of Capital One Arena, why the Lakers’ $12.5 billion sale makes him nervous, his conviction that D.C. should become the women’s sports capital of the world, and more.
September 20 · 43 min
Kevin Burkhardt's Art of "Not Showing How Smart You Are"
Fox's go-to guy for the Super Bowl and World Series joins John to discuss his enviable broadcast career, his weekly prep routine during the NFL season, and the zen of knowing when not to let your research get in the way of the game. Join us at In the Arena on Oct. 1 in NYC. Tickets here: https://puck.events/inthearena/
September 16 · 42 min
TV’s New Gatekeepers
Super analyst Michael Nathanson returns to the pod to discuss the tectonic forces reshaping how America watches sports. He and John unpack the logic behind Fox’s bid for Roku, why YouTube TV could save cable, Charter’s streaming-bundle strategy, and Netflix’s “eventization” of everything. Join us at In the Arena on Oct. 1 in NYC. Tickets here: https://puck.events/inthearena/
September 13 · 43 min
Peter Schrager’s Big Day
ESPN's Peter Schrager joins John to discuss his winding road to hosting his own daytime show. The two also dig into the Rams’ rough Australia opener, the NFL’s flag football and international push, the next wave of team owners, and the NFL’s standoff with YouTube over live rights. Join us at In the Arena on Oct. 1 in NYC. Tickets here: https://puck.events/inthearena/
September 9 · 43 min
Nick Khan's Plan to Let the Boxers Box
WWE president and TKO board member Nick Khan joins John ahead of Saturday’s Ryan Garcia-Connor Benn welterweight title fight to lay out the Zuffa Boxing strategy. The two dig into why past boxing broadcasters bailed on the sport, WWE’s Netflix and ESPN Unlimited deals, the soaring valuations behind the Lakers and Commanders sales, and why Khan tunes out the noise on social media. Join us at In the Arena on Oct. 1 in NYC. Tickets here: https://puck.events/inthearena/
September 6 · 43 min
Jim Gray’s History Lessons
The Zelig-esque sportscaster joins John on the eve of a new NFL season to discuss why football has a stranglehold on the sports-watching public. Plus he recounts the backstories behind his memorable interviews with George W. Bush, Mike Tyson, Pete Rose, and more. Join us at In the Arena on Oct. 1 in NYC. Tickets here: https://puck.events/inthearena/
September 2 · 43 min
Can Washington Actually Fix College Sports?
Industry consultant Marc Ganis, a member of President Trump’s College Sports Council, joins John to break down the bipartisan Senate bill aimed at saving college athletics from itself. The two dig into runaway transfer chaos, the Lakers’ $12.5 billion sale, why the Seahawks fetched over $9 billion, Lachlan Murdoch’s risky bet on NFL media rights, the league’s flag football and international expansion push, and the never-ending saga of the Bears’ stadium search. Join us at In the Arena on Oct. 1 in NYC. Tickets here: https://puck.events/inthearena/

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