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Good Thursday Morning. Bringing you an abbreviated, “snack size” version of SBP this week.

Five Interesting, Funny, and Touching Things that Happened in Sports This Week

#1: Rogers Communications increases its stake in Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment

🗯️ My thought bubble: MLSE is one of the modern sports conglomerates: it has nearly 10 entities in its portfolio, including the Toronto Maple Leafs, Toronto Raptors, and Toronto FC. It has a similar profile to the private equity-style rollup companies where the sum of the whole is greater than the parts — with the benefit that one of those parts is the most valuable NHL team (Maple Leafs at $2.65 billion).

Rogers looks a lot like the Canadian version of ATT, being the largest provider of wireless, cable, and media in the country — doing $15B in revenue last year. The difference is they have significant sports portfolio, including ownership of the Sportsnet network, the Blue Jays, and its Rogers Centre home, and it also has strategic partnerships with the Canucks, Oilers, Flames and NHL league.

Their likely angle here is both holding strong assets that are poised to appreciate, but also cr

#2: The UFC took over the Sphere, and it did not disappoint

#3: With the news of the 15th WNBA franchise going to Portland, the W continues its strategic growth

#4 Two hockey clubs finding creative ways to thank their season ticket holders

#5: Feels only right we get a Woj Bomb to announce his retirement. Fitting that his new job is a pure passion play with his alma mater

Until next time, sports fans!

-Alex