Bloomberg Business of Sports

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Who Knew You Could Insure a Championship? (Podcast) Jul 24, 2020

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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.

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D'Antonio on the Complexity Facing the Colonial League Jul 22, 2020

Show notes

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.

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The Score's John Levy is Betting Sports are Back Jul 20, 2020

Show notes

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.

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Paul Rabil Is Not Your Typical Lax Bro Jul 16, 2020

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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.

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The Bundesliga Finds a Way to Finish First Jul 15, 2020

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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.

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Minor League Baseball is Closed Jul 13, 2020

Show notes

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.

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Trevor Bauer is Worried about MLB's Economics Jul 09, 2020

Show notes

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.

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Coyotes CEO Gutierrez Arrived Just in Time Jul 08, 2020

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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.

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Barr is Back! NASCAR, Names and (Cam) Newton Jul 06, 2020

Show notes

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 Lynch

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The Atlanta Hawks Want to Change How America Votes Jul 02, 2020

Show notes

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.

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