The NBA’s Global Bet: How Basketball Became America’s Most Valuable Export

The NBA tipped off another season last night, and for those of us who have followed the game since Reggie and Rik, something feels different this time. The league is no longer chasing the NFL. It is quietly outgrowing it. The NFL still makes more money, but that’s not the same as momentum. Football owns Read More “The NBA’s Global Bet: How Basketball Became America’s Most Valuable Export”

After Mamdani: Where Does the Center Go When the Edges Take Over?

Zohran Mamdani’s victory in the New York City Democratic primary is being celebrated as a historic breakthrough for the progressive left. Rightfully so. A 33 year old democratic socialist backed by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Bernie Sanders unseated not only a former governor, but decades of centrist machinery in the nation’s most iconic city. We saw Read More “After Mamdani: Where Does the Center Go When the Edges Take Over?”

The Bridge We’re Building

They say when the economy contracts, it takes a while for the layoffs to reach the surface. But in Indiana, they’ve arrived. Ivy Tech, our statewide community college system, just announced the elimination of over 200 jobs. Most people will read that and think “budget tightening.” But if you’ve worked in public education or research, Read More “The Bridge We’re Building”

At the Crossroads of Fandom & Investing, the currency is made of cardboard

There was a time when a baseball card was a keepsake of childhood, folded into a bike spoke, tucked into a shoebox, traded across lunch tables. Today, that same card might be encased in Lucite, auctioned at Sotheby’s, or, if you’re Dick’s Sporting Goods, acquired for $1.1 million and put on display like a Rembrandt. Read More “At the Crossroads of Fandom & Investing, the currency is made of cardboard”

The Art of Professional Transformation

In Bloomington, Indiana, a small independent newspaper called The Ryder provided an unlikely launchpad for my writing career. A motley crew of locals and students worked tirelessly to put out a publication that was as synergistic as it was eclectic. The publisher, the late great Peter LoPilato, was a man of few but potent words. Read More “The Art of Professional Transformation”

Excellence is a universal language

Baseball, long hailed as America’s pastime, has been transformed by two extraordinary talents: Ichiro Suzuki and Shohei Ohtani. Their stories are not merely records of athletic achievement but testaments to the power of transcending boundaries. Each has left an indelible mark on a game that now feels as much an international symphony as a national Read More “Excellence is a universal language”

AOC Signals a Turning Point for the Democratic Party

Amid the unsettling aftermath of the UnitedHealthcare CEO’s tragic killing and the societal unease it symbolizes, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s ascension within the Democratic Party serves as both a reflection and a reckoning. It’s tempting to compartmentalize these events—to see an act of violence as the aberration of one individual. Similarly, political shifts are often viewed as Read More “AOC Signals a Turning Point for the Democratic Party”