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Welcome back to The Varsity, my twice-weekly private email on the egos, front offices, and executive teams driving the business of sports. Happy Dan Hurley Day to all who celebrate.
Today’s issue includes my in-depth interview with WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert. We discussed the league’s “existential” 2020 season, its slow build to the current Caitlinsanity, and how she’s deploying a recent $75 million capital raise. Engelbert, who used to run Deloitte, is a thoughtful and talented exec, and I’m sure you will learn a lot from this interview.
Okay, here’s your polite twice-weekly reminder to stop forwarding this email to your friends and minions! Unless you want Fritz, Puck’s email concierge, to start spamming you with Marchand’s pointillist self-portraits.
Let’s get to it…
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| The Starting Five: French Open Edition |
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- WBD’s French Open connection: My spies spotted David Zaslav, TNT Sports C.E.O. Luis Silberwasser, and Turner Sports chief content officer Craig Barry at Roland-Garros over the weekend, putting the finishing touches on WBD’s deal to...
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| Caitlinsanity: A Pre-History |
| A very candid chat with Cathy Engelbert, the former Deloitte C.E.O. who became the commissioner of the WNBA in 2019. |
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| I went over to a college buddy’s house last night to watch Game 2 of the NBA Finals. And at some point during the second quarter, my friend offered his opinion on USA Basketball’s controversial decision to leave Caitlin Clark off the Olympics roster. He thought it was an abject mistake—a view consistent with much of the punditocracy, who want to see Clark rewarded for her impact on the sport, even if her WNBA debut has not matched the hype. On the bright side, I reminded him, Clark’s impact on the sport has been profound in ways both quantifiable (the WNBA set attendance and TV records in May) and cultural. To wit: I can’t remember the last time... |
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| FOUR STORIES WE’RE TALKING ABOUT |
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| License to Will |
| Uncovering the dueling narratives at the Washington Post. |
| DYLAN BYERS |
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