It's Buzzer mailbag time!

Summer is officially here. There's a lot happening. Let's mailbag about it

Vintage mailbox stock photos: A Buzzer tradition unlike any other

Hello friends. Lot going on right now, huh?

The NBA Finals are ferocious and captivating. The US-2026 World Cup has begun, and our pre-tournament ambivalence and cynicism is already melting away. School’s out for summer. The pool is open. The draft is 12 days away.

Then there’s college sports, where earlier this week a judge decided to allow an admitted problem gambler — who gambled on his own team (and against his own teammate) a few dozen times, among thousands of other bets — to play quarterback for Texas Tech next season. It did not feel possible for college athletics to face more structural chaos than it already has in the past few months, as the NCAA attempts to rewire eligibility rules, put limits on international players, and begs for Congress to pass sweeping (and maybe constitutionally dubious) legislation. But the Brendan Sorsby ruling managed it. Other schools are threatening to boycott Texas Tech and talking about stripping the NCAA of governance once and for all. The Big 12 is freaking out. Tech donors are whatabout-ing. Kirby Hocutt seems overwhelmed. The whole system is suddenly wobbling — and for profoundly stupid reasons.

Meanwhile, we’re broadly looking forward to what will be another incredible college basketball season which, judging by the way rosters have come together after the draft deadline, will be defined yet again by more concentrated talent than the sport has enjoyed since, well, when? The mid-1990s?!

What a time to be alive. What a time for a mailbag.

That’s right: The Buzzer Mailbag returns! Your questions; my answers; you know the drill. (And, as a general guideline, no question goes unanswered.)

As usual, you can submit your queries in the comment section below. To do so, you have to be a paying subscriber — it’s one of the perks of the sub, after all — and to do that you can click on this button and kick in a few bucks each month:

Buzzer’s continued existence relies on our wonderful subscribers, who are, to a person, extremely attractive and highly intelligent. Many of them have supported us continuously since we launched this endeavor in the middle of the offseason nearly three years ago. We love them. Together, they have formed a tightknit but vibrant community. They infuse this newsletter with life. (They were also early to leave positive reviews for the podcast we launched in 2025, which, if we may say so, is really rounding into an enjoyable comfort zone with Tate, and which we’ll be expanding for the 2026-27 season.) And they always ask really good mailbag questions.

So, hey, join us! Sign up, toss in your question, fire off your hot take, and we’ll discuss all of that and more in a mailbag post next week. Thanks so much. Talk to you then.