Eben Novy-Williams and Ira Boudway discuss a host of issues related to the business of sports, including the legal battle between Nike Inc. and lawyer Michael Avenatti. Avenatti has been accused of extorting the sportswear giant, but filings from the case, which appear to detail numerous Nike employees discussing the payment of youth basketball players, may have other far-reaching ramifications. Also discussed is Boudway’s recent Bloomberg Businessweek story about the Athletic, a subscription sports news service whose success has become a litmus test for many in the news industry. Also talked about is the deeper story behind an English soccer fan who was told to stop texting at a game earlier this month. Stadium security thought he was engaging in the act of ’courtsiding,’ where fans in attendance at games relay information as fast as they can to bettors or sports betting operators.