AI Summary
5 min read“The Lakers have officially become a Mickey Mouse franchise,” Ben Maller declared on his overnight sports talk show, after news broke that the team was being sold for $12.5 billion to a group including former Disney CEO Bob Iger and investor Josh Kushner. The sale came just nine months after Mark Walter had bought controlling interest from the Buss family for roughly $10 billion, meaning the franchise’s value had jumped $2.5 billion in under a year. But Maller wasn’t interested in celebrating the windfall. He used the sale as a launching pad to examine what kind of owner Iger would be, why Walter was selling so quickly, and what it might mean for the Los Angeles Dodgers—and then pivoted to Russell Westbrook’s retirement, Travis Kelce’s decline, and a rookie quarterback’s meltdown in Cleveland.
Bob Iger and the Disneyfication of the Lakers
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What you'll learn
- 1 (04:32) **Lakers Sale to Kushner and Iger** - Ben Maller breaks the news that the Los Angeles Lakers are being sold for $12.5 billion to Josh Kushner and Bob Iger, just months after Mark Walter bought the team.
- 2 (08:48) **What Kind of Owner Will Bob Iger Be?** - Maller predicts Iger will turn the Lakers into a "Mickey Mouse franchise" focused on extracting maximum revenue from fans.
- 3 (13:07) **Mark Walter's FBI Investigation** - Maller pivots to "scandal radio," revealing that Mark Walter's sudden sale of the Lakers is likely connected to a federal probe into his business dealings.
- 4 (19:26) **Russell Westbrook Retires from the NBA** - Maller covers Westbrook's retirement announcement, arguing the star didn't retire so much as get "evicted from the NBA" after failing to find a new team.
- 5 (29:40) **Travis Kelce's "Prove It" Season** - Maller discusses Travis Kelce's declaration that he still has another level left, expressing deep skepticism about the 36-year-old tight end's ability to bounce back.
- 6 (34:38) **Browns QB Competition: Watson and Sanders** - Maller covers Deshaun Watson being named the preseason QB1 for the Browns, while Shadur Sanders issues an apology to the media for being difficult.
- 7 (39:58) **Michigan Coach Says He Doesn't Hate Ohio State** - Maller reacts to new Michigan coach Kyle Whittingham saying hate is "a strong word" and refusing to manufacture animosity toward Ryan Day.
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Guests on this episode
Show Notes
Big Ben talks about the Lakers being sold to Bob Iger and Josh Kushner for $12 billion, Travis Kelce declaring to the media that he has another level left, Maller to the Third Degree, #AskBen, and more!
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