About this podcast
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.
Episodes
The newest 20 of 237 episodes
- ESPN’s Aikman & McAfee Messes · 44 minVarsity 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…
- The Road to L.A. ’28 · 44 minIn 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…
- Charlie Baker’s NCAA Vision · 44 minIn 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…
- Should Netflix Buy NBCU? · 44 minWolfe 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…
- Is Netflix About To Go Big On Sports? · 44 minAxios’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…
- Jay Bilas’s NCAA Gospel · 44 minESPN’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…
- Can the NHL Really Go Global? · 44 minESPN’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…
- What’s Next For Adam Silver’s NBA? · 44 minIn 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 Passion of Saint Nick · 44 minJohn 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…
- Golf’s Rolapp Revolution · 44 minAndy 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…
- The NFL’s Ratings Slump & PGA Tour’s New Swing · 44 minFan 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…
- Ted’s Monumental Adventure · 47 minTed 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…
- Kevin Burkhardt's Art of "Not Showing How Smart You Are" · 44 minFox'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…
- TV’s New Gatekeepers · 43 minSuper 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…
- Peter Schrager’s Big Day · 44 minESPN'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…
- Nick Khan's Plan to Let the Boxers Box · 44 minWWE 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…
- Jim Gray’s History Lessons · 43 minThe 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…
- Can Washington Actually Fix College Sports? · 44 minIndustry 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…
- The NFL’s Broadcasting Shake-Up · 44 minThe Athletic’s Andrew Marchand returns to the pod to break down the biggest storylines in sports media ahead of the NFL season. He and John weigh Tony Romo’s odds of returning to…
- NASCAR’s $7.7 Billion Bet · 44 minBrian Herbst, the executive who negotiated the sport’s media rights deals, joins John to assess a landscape reshaped since he signed them. The two dig into the new Chase playoff…
