Welcome back to The Varsity, my twice-weekly private email about the sports media business—the executives making the best deals, and the ones blaming others for their misfortune, plus everyone else in between. Happy WNBA Draft Day to all who celebrate.

My travel schedule this week includes a stop in New York, where I’ll be attending a dinner honoring Sean McManus, the legendary sports executive who ran CBS Sports from 1996 until his retirement this past weekend. Sean is probably best known for his deep relationships in the business, so I am expecting a room filled with muckety-mucks befitting the man of honor.

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Let’s get to it…

1. Goodbye, Sean!: What a farewell for McManus, who briefly returned to his production roots at the conclusion of CBS’s coverage of The Masters, on Sunday, for his...

First, there was the exposition phase, during which...