Nicklaus vs. “Nicklaus,” Art Market Murmurs, Shams’ Side Step

Welcome back to The Daily Courant, your afternoon assortment of Puck’s best new reporting.

First up today, Eriq Gardner dissects the potentially precedent-setting, stranger-than-fiction legal war pitting golf legend Jack Nicklaus against the Nicklaus Companies to reclaim the rights to his own name, image, and likeness—some 15 years after signing away his life rights (for $145 million) to his business partner. Do famous people actually cede control over their personas in N.I.L. deals?

Plus, below the fold: Marion Maneker looks under the hood of Frieze London. Julia Ioffe delivers a striking reflection on the state of the war in the Middle East and why the present moment has “exceeded even my eternal pessimism.” On The Varsity, John Ourand and WaPo’s Ben Strauss dig into ESPN’s insider strategy and the WNBA’s Caitlin-centric coverage. And on The Powers That Be, Julia joins Dylan Byers to offer her penetrating analysis of the convoluted and dangerously muddled media narratives surrounding the conflagration consuming Israel, Gaza, Iran, and Lebanon.

ERIQ GARDNER

Fifteen years after signing away his life rights to a business partner, golfing legend Jack Nicklaus is fighting a messy, potentially precedent-setting legal war to reclaim his name and image—including from an A.I. double.

MARION MANEKER

News and notes from the British art fair circuit surrounding Frieze: the biggest sales, the debate over activity in the private market, attendance anxiety, and the battle with Paris.

JULIA IOFFE

Of all the worst-case scenarios I imagined for Israel, the cruel reality of the present moment—with tens of thousands dead and Israel fighting two wars, one in Gaza and one in Lebanon—has exceeded even my eternal pessimism. Will Israel, which was created as a safe haven for Jews, always be like this?

JOHN OURAND

John is joined by WaPo sports media reporter Ben Strauss for a wide-ranging conversation on ESPN’s looming media rights negotiation with MLB, how ESPN scooped up Shams after the departure of Woj, and the WNBA’s Caitlin-centric coverage.