Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by Mike Vorkunov

Mike Vorkunov @mikevorkunov.bsky.social · 14d

I started my own podcast/YouTubeshow. It's called Business Decision. It's about where money + sports intersect. Some will be traditional podcast eps. Some will be different formats. I'll experiment.

PLEASE SUBSCRIBE:
www.youtube.com/@MikeVorkuno...

AS A PODCAST:
open.spotify.com/show/19Rl9cZ...

Mike Vorkunov

Welcome to Mike Vorkunov's show. Mike is a reporter who covers the NBA and the business of sports. This show will be a place to discuss the intersection of money and sports, and all the funny business...

www.youtube.com

3 10

Mike Vorkunov @mikevorkunov.bsky.social · 17h

A generationally great Milwaukee Bucks star decides he wants out. He decides he wants to go to the New York Knicks. The teams start working on a trade. The information leaks out and is reported. It starts a butterfly effect

Why am I bringing this up? Oh, no reason... www.nytimes.com/athletic/179...

The cruel twists that might’ve cost the Knicks Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in his prime

Two star-crossed suitors who wanted the same thing but could find no way to get it done.

www.nytimes.com

3 18

Mike Vorkunov @mikevorkunov.bsky.social · 17h

Only @conororr.bsky.social www.si.com/nfl/brain-fa...

A Brain Fart Scientist Explains Why NFL Players Drop the Ball at the Goal Line

A silly blunder has occurred two weeks in a row. Experts weigh in on multitasking deficits, bottom-up actions and why this keeps happening.

www.si.com

1 6

Mike Vorkunov @mikevorkunov.bsky.social · 1d

Damn, Yaron is in Vanity Fair. Shit, you know this book is gonna be big.

Yaron Weitzman @yaronweitzman.bsky.social · 1d

First A HOLLYWOOND ENDING excerpt is up today, over at @vanityfair.com:

Highlights Include:

- The never-before-told story about the first time LeBron and Bronny shared the court with NBA players.

- LeBron on Mr. Piano Man: "I ain’t listening to no Billy Joel!"

www.vanityfair.com/culture/stor...

The Inside Story of How Bronny Got the Lakers Gig

As preseason kicks off and fans await LeBron James’s return to the court, Yaron Weitzman digs into the machinations behind the history-making father-son deal.

www.vanityfair.com

1 7

Reposted by Mike Vorkunov

Yaron Weitzman @yaronweitzman.bsky.social · 4d

Been teasing some of my favorite random stories from A HOLLYWOOD ENDING (www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/736427...) on TikTok, going to thread them here:

A Hollywood Ending by Yaron Weitzman: 9780385550222 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books

NBA journalist Yaron Weitzman lays out the high stakes drama happening inside the Lakers' organization as they try to juggle the warring priorities between LeBron James and the Buss family. When LeBron...

www.penguinrandomhouse.com

1 2 2

Mike Vorkunov @mikevorkunov.bsky.social · 2d

Hey, we did an episode of Business Decision about this!

Sports Gambling Has Taken Over Sports (and we're still at risk of "the big one")

youtu.be/XigDZrj2OZo?...

3 9

Mike Vorkunov @mikevorkunov.bsky.social · 2d

Weird Al is all things to all people

1 1 5

Mike Vorkunov @mikevorkunov.bsky.social · 2d

I'm also a huge fantasy football junkie so I've started a list for accounts who can be helpful for fantasy football junkies like me (and I'll keep updating it and adding to it). It's here: bsky.app/profile/did:...

Mike Vorkunov @mikevorkunov.bsky.social · 2d

It feels like people are continuing to trickle onto Bluesky and we're getting more users here. If you're looking for NBA and WNBA accounts to follow, I've got a starter pack for you. Just click the button and follow everyone
go.bsky.app/FGmgtea

1 7

Mike Vorkunov @mikevorkunov.bsky.social · 2d

I'm sure there are those out there. I think Mina Kimes has a football one

1

Mike Vorkunov @mikevorkunov.bsky.social · 2d

It feels like people are continuing to trickle onto Bluesky and we're getting more users here. If you're looking for NBA and WNBA accounts to follow, I've got a starter pack for you. Just click the button and follow everyone
go.bsky.app/FGmgtea

9 23 75

Mike Vorkunov @mikevorkunov.bsky.social · 2d

I've read this book. It's great. You should get it and read it too!

Yaron Weitzman @yaronweitzman.bsky.social · Jun 18

So I've spent the past three years working with the awesome folks @doubledaybooks.bsky.social on a new book, this one on the LeBron-era Lakers. It comes out October 21 and is now available for pre-order:

www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/736427...

A Hollywood Ending by Yaron Weitzman: 9780385550222 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books

NBA journalist Yaron Weitzman lays out the high stakes drama happening inside the Lakers' organization at a crucial juncture in their history, as they try to juggle the warring priorities between Lebr...

www.penguinrandomhouse.com

Reposted by Mike Vorkunov

The -30- Newsletter @30newsletter.bsky.social · 5d

Posted 50+ #journalismjobs, like:

• Eagles beat writer
• LA influence reporter
• Sports business reporter
• Activist investing reporter

Jobs at Esquire, Bon Appétit, KC Star, ELLE, ABC News, TIME, MLive, BBC, US Weekly, Politico, Andscape, NPR, USA Today, NY Mag + more www.patreon.com/30newsletter

Get more from The -30- on Patreon

creating a weekly newsletter

www.patreon.com

3 2

Mike Vorkunov @mikevorkunov.bsky.social · 3d

What a goal by Philogene. A lightning bolt. Ipswich back up

1

Mike Vorkunov @mikevorkunov.bsky.social · 4d

👇

The -30- Newsletter @30newsletter.bsky.social · 5d

Posted 50+ #journalismjobs, like:

• Eagles beat writer
• LA influence reporter
• Sports business reporter
• Activist investing reporter

Jobs at Esquire, Bon Appétit, KC Star, ELLE, ABC News, TIME, MLive, BBC, US Weekly, Politico, Andscape, NPR, USA Today, NY Mag + more www.patreon.com/30newsletter

Get more from The -30- on Patreon

creating a weekly newsletter

www.patreon.com

Reposted by Mike Vorkunov

southpaw @nycsouthpaw.bsky.social · 5d

I love when student journalists break a crazy story, especially about their own school. This one is extraordinarily macabre. www.uscannenbergmedia.com/2025/10/01/u...

USC sold dead bodies to U.S. military to train IDF medical personnel

A review of seven years’ worth of contracts unveiled more than $860,000 to use cadavers in surgical trainings involving the Israeli Defense Forces.

www.uscannenbergmedia.com

85 1.3K 3.6K

Reposted by Mike Vorkunov

Alan Sepinwall @sepinwall.bsky.social · 22d

Some news: yesterday was my last at Rolling Stone. For now, I'm going solo, doing all my TV reviewing, recapping, etc., at my newsletter. I hope you'll consider subscribing. Many more details here:

Don't stop believing

Some news, as they say

alansepinwall.ghost.io

140 670 4.1K

Reposted by Mike Vorkunov

Chris Vannini @chrisvannini.com · 6d

On the Big Ten and private capital, @scottdochterman.bsky.social talked to several people in the conference in the summer on why the league was looking into it.

www.nytimes.com/athletic/653...

4 5 14

Mike Vorkunov @mikevorkunov.bsky.social · 5d

Wonder how + when the public opinion of sports betting will bump against the revenue motive of the sports teams and leagues that are in business with sports betting companies, and if there will be any legislation to curb it after states put themselves in the sports gambling business the last 7 years

John Gramlich @johngramlich.bsky.social · 5d

% of US men under 30 who say legal sports betting is a *bad thing* for society

22% in 2022
47% in 2025

No other demographic group has seen a bigger increase.

Americans increasingly see legal sports betting as a bad thing for society and sports

Today, 43% of U.S. adults say the fact that sports betting is now legal in much of the country is a bad thing for society, up from 34% in 2022.

www.pewresearch.org

2 21

Reposted by Mike Vorkunov

Ben Pickman @benpickman.bsky.social · 6d

My latest feature @theathletic.com

I went long about the possibility of a WNBA work stoppage, and its would-be impact

On what lessons the W and WNBPA can learn from other sports’ past CBA talks (cc: NHL, MLB esp.), and potential scenarios in these W talks:

www.nytimes.com/athletic/668...

8 24

Mike Vorkunov @mikevorkunov.bsky.social · 5d

I thought it was a smart chess move by Napheesa Collier to bring up the Caitlin Clark anecdote in her statement the other day. We discussed why on the show www.youtube.com/shorts/49W9y...

5

Mike Vorkunov @mikevorkunov.bsky.social · 5d

People need to chill out. As someone who listens to and enjoys JJ's podcast, he does great work. And people can do their own research and Google where the game is lol (this might be the only time I advocate for folks to do their own research)

JJ Zachariason @lateroundqb.bsky.social · 5d

4

Reposted by Mike Vorkunov

The -30- Newsletter @30newsletter.bsky.social · 6d

ESPN is looking for an editor-in-chief "to lead and integrate our Digital Editorial, Investigative & Enterprise Journalism, and Newsgathering teams. This role is responsible for shaping and executing ESPN’s editorial strategy." www.disneycareers.com/en/job/brist...

1 1 2

Reposted by Mike Vorkunov

The -30- Newsletter @30newsletter.bsky.social · 6d

The Philadelphia Inquirer is looking for an Eagles beat writer inquirer.rec.pro.ukg.net/PHI1500PHILI...

3 4

Mike Vorkunov @mikevorkunov.bsky.social · 6d

Very good story here. Making sense of college sports nowadays is hard but stories like these can help us understand it, at least

Jesse Dougherty @jessedougherty.bsky.social · 7d

Caden Pierce, one of the Ivy League's best players the past few seasons, officially entered the transfer portal this morning.

Yes, it's Oct. 1.

So ... why? And why now?

@washingtonpost.com profile here:

washingtonpost.com/sports/2025/10/01/caden-pierce-princeton-nil/?itid=sf_sports_toptable_1_1

Why is the Ivy League’s best player taking a year off from basketball?

Caden Pierce wants to earn his degree from Princeton and get paid like other elite college athletes. He can’t do both at the same time.

washingtonpost.com

1 1 6

Reposted by Mike Vorkunov

The -30- Newsletter @30newsletter.bsky.social · 6d

Andscape needs a digital video senior manager www.disneycareers.com/en/job/new-y...

2