Sigh. Parting is such sweet sorrow. Nobody likes goodbyes, so let’s just say what needs to be said.

Thanks for coming on the ride, and I hope you’ve gotten something out of the last couple hours. (Because you can’t have them back. This docuseries was marked Final Sale, and rules are rules.)

Just one more to go. We’re almost there!

It’s Episode 6: The End Game.

Guests featured (in order):

• Andy Coats: Lead Attorney, NCAA v. Board of Regents

• Nicole Auerbach: Senior Writer, College Football, The Athletic

• Sarah Fields: Professor, University of Colorado Denver

• J.A. Adande: Director of Sports Journalism, Northwestern University

• Jeffrey Kessler: Lead Attorney, NCAA v. Alston

• Paul McDonald: Lead Attorney, NCAA v. Johnson

• Ben Portnoy: College Sports Reporter, Sports Business Journal

• Rick Karcher: Professor, Eastern Michigan University

• Ben Strauss: Sports and Media Reporter, Washington Post

• Damon Stoudamire: Head Basketball Coach, Georgia Tech

• Ellen Staurowsky: Professor, Ithaca College

• Dennis Deninger: Professor, Syracuse University

• : College Basketball Writer, Buzzer (here on Substack!!!)
  

Again — thank you so, so much for sticking it out with us on The Option.

We’ll get back on our newsletter grind in due course, and since the world of college sports is constantly changing, I’m sure we’ll be back to revisit some of this stuff soon enough.

So I guess that’s all to say: stay tuned.

Thanks again. Over and out.

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Enough about the “revenue sports,” am I right? We spend enough time on those guys. What about everybody else?

There’s a lot going on with what I’ve taken to calling the 99%. Stick around and find out.

It’s Episode 5: Majority Rule.

Guests featured (in order):

• Abbey Forbes: Tennis Player, UNC Chapel Hill

• Grant House: Swimmer, Arizona State

• Amanda Christovich: Reporter, Front Office Sports

• Jaime Gordon: CEO, American Volleyball Coaches Association

• Christine Brennan: Columnist, USA Today

• Victoria Jackson: Professor, Arizona State University

And hey, as long as you’re over there, you might as well put 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 stars on there and share it whoever else might want to listen.

We’re back next week for the grand finale.

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Was this supposed to go out yesterday morning? You bet.

Did I forget? You bet.

Did anyone else of note place any bets lately? You… bet…?

Anyways! I know I already said I don’t play favorites, but if I did it would have been Episode 2, but now I’ve gone back on that and decided that, in fact, this is my favorite (were I to play favorites, which, again, as established, I don’t.)

Why this one? Well, sometimes it’s nice to press the ol’ rewind button to get up to speed. So let’s wind it on back to 1905 and see where this all started.

Here’s Episode 4: The Way Back.

Guests featured (in order):

• Dennis Deninger: Professor, Syracuse University

• Ellen Staurowsky: Professor, Ithaca College

• Ben Strauss: Sports and Media Reporter, Washington Post

• Nicole Auerbach: Senior Writer, College Football, The Athletic

• Chase Griffin: Quarterback, UCLA (who now publishes The Athlete’s Bureau here on Substack!)

• J.A. Adande: Director of Sports Journalism, Northwestern University

• Theo John: NBA G-League Player

• Laine Higgins: Reporter, Wall Street Journal
  

Always a pleasure, folks. And please, if you haven’t already, go ahead and share this with your people.

Till next time, everybody.

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Any of you guys remember when I was writing about rising tennis star Jannik Sinner back in February, and I told you he looked like somebody?

This week’s episode is about that somebody. His name is Charlie Baker, and he runs the NCAA. You’re gonna wanna see this.

Or well, listen to this. You get it.

Welcome to Episode 3: Hail Charlie.

Guests featured (in order):

• Amy Perko: CEO, Knight Commission

• Matt Stout: Reporter, Boston Globe

• Blake Lawrence: CEO, Opendorse

• Ross Dellenger: Senior College Football Reporter, Yahoo! Sports

• Andy Schwarz: Economist, OSKR

• Rick Karcher: Professor, Eastern Michigan University

• Jay Bilas: College Basketball Analyst, ESPN
  

And don’t you dare forget — ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐!!! Make it happen! We live for praise.

Catch you next Friday.

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I’m a proud podfather, so let me say this at the outset: I love all my episodes equally. That being said, this one’s my favorite.

It’s Episode 2: Pocket Pressure.

Guests featured (in order):

• Amanda Christovich: Reporter, Front Office Sports

• Andy Coats: Lead Attorney, NCAA v. Board of Regents

• Andrew Zimbalist: President, Drake Group

• Amy Perko: CEO, Knight Commission

• Jaime Gordon: CEO, American Volleyball Coaches Association

• Victoria Jackson: Professor, Arizona State University

• Jay Bilas: College Basketball Analyst, ESPN

• Sarah Fields: Professor, University of Colorado Denver
  

And just a friendly reminder: 5 stars, people. Keep that energy. It really does help.

Cheers, folks. Till next time.

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Game time, everybody. Just like on Entourage, it’s pilot season, and just like Vinny, we’re getting the part.

Here’s Episode 1: Amateur Hour (first on Apple, then Spotify).

Guests featured (in order):

• Jay Bilas: College Basketball Analyst, ESPN

• Jeffrey Kessler: Lead Attorney, NCAA v. Alston

• Andrew Zimbalist: President, Drake Group

• Charles Grantham: Fmr. Executive Vice President, NBA Players’ Union

• Cody McDavis: Fmr. College Basketball Player, Univ. of Northern Colorado

• Bubba Cunningham: Director of Athletics, UNC Chapel Hill

• Jennifer Heppel: Commissioner, Patriot League

• Blake Lawrence: CEO, Opendorse

• Stewart Mandel: Editor-in Chief, College Football, The Athletic

• Jason Gay: Sports and Humor Columnist, Wall Street Journal

Hit us with a 5-star review and you’ll make our day. Share the podcast on your group chats and you’ll make our week.

Since we’re putting this out on our own, we’ve got the tiniest of little baby promo budgets. Nice as that would be, I regret to report that we can’t afford to buy praise. Instead, we have to earn it. Lame! How devastatingly provincial.

With that in mind, it’ll be word of mouth that makes the difference, so please, share this far and wide if you like what you hear.

Or even if you don’t, I guess? All press is good press? Should we try and trigger a scandal?

I’m gonna go. Catch you next week.

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Wait — it’s Monday! And this post has a different sender. And a weird name. Trailer for what? What’s your angle, slick?

As I mentioned a few weeks ago, we’ll be rolling out a six-episode podcast docuseries called The Option via this newsletter as well as on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, etc., starting… today! Soft launch with the trailer. Classic.

It’s almost March Madness szn, so this felt like the perfect time to try and tackle the chaos of college sports in all its convoluted majesty.

Here’s a quick trailer for a preview:

Or, if you’d rather, you can watch it in video form right here and get a little ‘80s Barry Switzer footage in your life:

You can also find it on Apple, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you prefer to listen.

A lot of time and work has gone into this project, and I hope all of you who choose to listen will get something out of it. I’d especially like to thank my partners on The Option, who are…

• All the incredible guests who joined us for interviews — and yes, I’m about to list every last one:

  • Jay Bilas, Jeffrey Kessler, Andy Zimbalist, Charles Grantham, Cody McDavis, Bubba Cunningham, Jennifer Heppel, Blake Lawrence, Adi Kunalic, Stewart Mandel, Jason Gay, Amanda Christovich, Andy Coats, Amy Perko, Jaime Gordon, Victoria Jackson, Sarah Fields, Matt Stout, Ross Dellenger, Andy Schwarz, Rick Karcher, Dennis Deninger, Ellen Staurowsky, Ben Strauss, Nicole Auerbach, Chase Griffin (who has a great Substack you should absolutely be reading), J.A. Adande, Theo John, Laine Higgins, Abbey Forbes, Grant House, Christine Brennan, Ben Portnoy, Paul McDonald, Eamonn Brennan (who also has a great Substack you should absolutely be reading), and the one and only Damon Stoudamire. Pretty impressive restraint to hold Mighty Mouse until the end, no?

• Joe Engelbrekt, audio producer extraordinaire, who was the first to join me on this project and thus made it possible;

• Dean Metherell, ace sound engineer, who stepped in to handle the majority of the editing duties and offered sage counsel throughout;

• Sam Ball, graphic artist wizard, who designed the logo for this newsletter as well as this podcast;

• and especially Laura Volgenau, pretty cool lady, without whom I would never accomplish much of anything. Your support and guidance mean the world to me. Love you!

For the next six weeks, the podcast will largely be replacing the regular newsletter. I’ve got one more coming out this Friday, which happens to be related to this college sports morass, but after that, I’m gonna ask you to look for word from me on Mondays instead, and from this sender: The Option Podcast. Apologies if that’s a disappointment, but this’ll be cool, promise.

Our first episode drops a week from today, March 4, and they’ll continue running weekly through April 8, which just so happens to be the same day as the NCAA Men’s Basketball Final. What luck!

As for the newsletter, I reserve the right to write some other stuff in that period if I feel like it, but I can’t afford to pay myself OT, so don’t count on it.

See ya Monday. Five bars, charged AirPods, can’t lose.