Power Players New York

We hosted Bloomberg Power Players New York on September 5, with a slate that spanned WWE star Roman Reigns to NBA icon Steph Curry. Finance heavyweights and team owners Steve Pagliuca(Boston Celtics) and Tony Ressler(Atlanta Hawks) also stopped by. For a full recap head to the Bloomberg Live YouTube channel. Check out some highlights:

Ripken’s Role Reversal

Baltimore Orioles legend Cal Ripken Jr. is now a part-owner of the MLB team, and that’s changed his perspective on negotiating player salaries. “It’s about ego, and it’s about breaking the bank and it’s agents wanting to continue to make it go up for other people that come through,” Ripken said during an interview with David Rubenstein, a fellow Orioles owner.

Cal Ripken Jr. talking baseball and becoming an owner at Bloomberg Power Players New York.

“I try to think of what are the other intangible values that you can offer a player beside the bottom line dollars, because the bottom-line dollars are so big,” Ripken said. — Ira Boudway

Gold or Bust

Grant Hill is an NCAA champion and former Olympian who starred in the NBA. But across his entire career, there's little that matched the pressure of overseeing the two national teams as managing director of USA Basketball. "It was gold or bust," Hill said. “You really felt that.”

Grant Hill, managing director of USA Basketball, was all smiles at Bloomberg Power Players New York in talking about the US winning gold at the Paris Olympics.

Fortunately for him, both the men's and women's teams won their respective tournaments, though not easily. The tough road demonstrated just how global the game of basketball has become. That's a challenge for Hill in his job running USA basketball, but great news for him as a co-owner of the Atlanta Hawks and an investor in NBA Africa. Basketball is catching up to soccer (aka football) as the most popular game in the world.

“Both teams were pushed and tested, you saw excellence on the court from all over the world,” Hill said in a Bloomberg Radio interview on the Power Players sidelines. “All across the globe, if you're a fan of the game, the Olympic scene was spectacular.” — Jason Kelly

Women Rising

Several panelists talked about the rising popularity of women’s sports for fans and investors.

Grant Hill said that the Caitlin Clark effect on the WNBA is legit, only increasing his regrets about not buying the league's Atlanta franchise last decade.

The NWSL is still waiting for its players to get headlines the way Clark has, but Gotham FC star Midge Purce is taking that into own hands with her new show, The Offseason.

She rounded up players from around the league to live in a house together and train. The series is a mix of a reality show and sports documentary — part of a broader trend of using behind-the-scenes content to boost interest in athletes.

The series shows what it really looks like when a player gets traded and the drama that can build up from training to drinks at night.

Not only are players now taking control of their own narratives and storytelling, but the league recently signed a new collective bargaining agreement that ends the draft, allowing college players to sign with any team. They also have to agree to any trade.

So the power really looks like it's in the hands of the players in the NWSL. — Vanessa Perdomo

Curry Cooks

Steph Curry compared his first Olympics experience to March Madness and said taking home the gold was more a relief than anything. He even brought it with him and almost left it behind.

We’re Team USA basketball,” said Curry, who exploded for 36 points in leading a comeback win over Serbia in the semifinals. “We’re supposed to win.”

Bloomberg’s Vanessa Perdomo talks with Steph Curry and Under Armour CEO Kevin Plank about brand building at Bloomberg Power Players New York.

Now the NBA star is busy trying to build his Curry brand with Under Armour. He’s headed to China before the season to promote the line and help the athletic-gear company get back on track after several years of disappointing results.

“I’m part of the design, the evolution of the line, and I’m excited that this is something that can continue even after done playing basketball,” Curry said. — Vanessa Perdomo