John Ourand

Jun 1, 2026 John Ourand Welcome back to The Varsity. I’m John Ourand. Several sources have told me that, between the World Cup, the UFC America 250 event, and the Knicks’ Finals run, they’ve never had to field more requests for tickets. Even network and league executives have lamented being thrust into the unusual position […]

ESPN’s indomitable content chief, Burke Magnus, on losing talent to the NBA sidelines, the heat around the NHL, and what he learns from the way his kids watch sports.

The UFC is at the beginning of a seven-year, $7.7 billion media deal, the envy of every other emerging sports outfit in the world, and about to reach the ultimate mark of Trump II cultural dominance with a much-hyped fight card on the White House lawn. So where are all its new stars?

Rich Greenfield, the LightShed partner and sports guru, weighs in on the looming NFL rights renegotiation bonanza: who wins, who blinks first, and why the league still has all the leverage in the post-cord-cutting era.

As the NFL continues to draw congressional heat, it’s growing increasingly tired with Rupert Murdoch for instigating the fuss. With the league’s coveted antitrust exemption theoretically in the crosshairs, might Fox have bitten the hand that feeds it?

Jun 15, 2026 John Ourand Welcome back to The Varsity. I’m a bit bleary-eyed after a late night at the White House hanging out with Mark Zuckerberg, David Ellison, and the ear-to-ear grinning Jim Dolan, among others. TKO’s might was on full display. It was a UFC event, sure, but I spotted WWE’s Paul “Triple […]

After decades of dysfunction, the Knicks won their first title since 1973 thanks to Jim Dolan, of all people, finally trusting the right basketball specialists and resisting the mistakes that defined the previous 25 years. Mike Breen, the voice of the team, and clutch ESPN analyst Brian Windhorst break it down.

For a while, it seemed as though YouTube was coming to eat everyone’s lunch in the sports media business. But after its recent miss on a suite of NFL games, many media insiders are wondering how much the Google guys really want to be in on the actual game action—and if they need the league at all.

John Ourand Welcome back to The Varsity, heading into one of my favorite weekends of the year. No, not Father’s Day—the U.S. Open. I plan to spend a significant portion of the weekend mesmerized by the sight of the best golfers in the world out at Shinnecock, looking like your average weekend duffers. Check this […]

FanDuel president Christian Genetski is only six weeks into his newly expanded role running the company, but he’s got plenty of thoughts about the state of the sports betting business—from FanDuel’s move into prediction markets to the Sorsby headache and why this year’s World Cup is like March Madness on steroids.