Ira Boudway

2 weeks ago | bloomberg.com | Daniel Cancel |Vanessa Perdomo |Ira Boudway

We’ve gone Q&A heavy this week. Normally we like to use this newsletter as a rare chance to pontificate, but sometimes we have to put our hands up and admit other people know a lot more than we do. We chat to the CEO of the Florida Panthers about how they’ve turned the team around, and what comes next now that college athletes are paid-up professionals. And we take a quick look at the Club World Cup again. Also check out Ira’s great piece about how athletes are hooked on chess.com.

2 weeks ago | bloomberg.com | Ira Boudway

Social media is a minefield for pro sports players. But online chess offers rankings, instant analysis, wholesome interactions and few trolls. Last summer, Will Palmer, a 28-year-old consultant, ran into one of the world’s most famous soccer players in the lobby of a hotel in downtown Pittsburgh. Mohamed Salah, an Egyptian winger for Liverpool FC, was in town for a preseason exhibition match when Palmer spotted him sitting with a couple of teammates.

2 weeks ago | bloomberg.com | Ira Boudway

(Bloomberg Businessweek) -- Last fall, when the Los Angeles Clippers lost their first four home games of the season, team owner Steve Ballmer was in a bad way. This was the first season in the Intuit Dome, a $2 billion arena constructed at Ballmer’s personal expense and to his idiosyncratic demands. The idea, as reported last year before Intuit opened, was to create a raucous environment where fans would help propel the Clippers to victory.

1 month ago | bloomberg.com | Ira Boudway |Randall Williams |Vanessa Perdomo

This week, we speak with Doug Boles, president of Indycar, about the crazy tale of the Italian team taking pole position in this weekend’s Indy 500 in their first ever season. We also give James Dolan some credit for the Knicks (not something that’s happened in the past), and wrap up our visit to a very busy NFL owners meeting. As always, send us any feedback, tips or ideas here. If you aren’t yet signed up to receive this newsletter, you can do so here. Hey, it’s Ira.

1 month ago | bloomberg.com | Ira Boudway

(Bloomberg Businessweek) -- Last season the Boston Red Sox were the picture of mediocrity, finishing 81-81, dead middle of the American League East Division, and failing to make the playoffs. The Red Sox were expected to be meh, and they were. So my expectations for , an eight-episode docuseries released by Netflix Inc. in April, were low. The idea of spending eight hours rehashing their humdrum season sounded like a chore, even for this Sox fan.