🏀 “No Rings Attached” — The Knicks’ phishing debacle. Warhound’s $1B super-puppy. Country Clubs’ fun-pivot. +Pop-Biz Costumes

0:29This is Nick. This is Jack. next Mars. We got tickets in the episode description or at tboypod.com. But in the meantime, Jack, we got three fantastic stories for the coolest place of capitalism. What do we got on today's T-Boy? Yetis, we hope to see you there November 1st. But for our first story, the New York Knicks got their championship rings last week, but some staffers didn't get theirs as punishment. And the reason they didn't is AI, cybersecurity, and one wild fake scam. For our second story, country clubs are booming by pivoting from golf to fun. And it's thanks to modern families and a tidal wave of trends.

1:01And as a very much not scratch golfer, yeah, I just said golf wasn't fun. And our third and final story, Nick, a startup called Warhound worth$1 billion is genetically engineering mutant police dogs. Besties, this is Paw Patrol in real life, but it's not as scary as it sounds. But yet is before we hit that wonderful mix of stories. Wild mix, best mix in business. No one else is doing that mix. Happy Halloween week to all those who celebrate. Ah, it's the costume countdown, isn't it, Jack? Jack, five days to Halloween, you probably have outfit paralysis right now. But before you go DoorDash from Spirit or Instacart a wig, Jack and I, we've got some ideas for you.

1:36Because it's our annual T-Boy business-themed Halloween costume contest. All right, Jack, why don't you toss on the bunny ears and whip out the whiteboard for us? What do we got this year? You could go this year as a Nike zombie. Because Nike stock keeps digging its own grave. Or go as a sexy data center. Because nothing hotter these days than energy demand. How about the ghost of all birds? The sneaker is back from the dead. Or a werewolf of Wall Street. Goldman by day, calls you by night. But there's no costume scarier this year than an AI bubble. An AI bubble. But wait, besties, we know what you're thinking.

2:09What about the couples costumes, Jack? The easy one is SpaceX and Tesla. Or you could do Elizabeth Holmes and Nathan Fielder. Or how about you go this year as an iPhone duo? Yeah. Two halves, one phone,$2 ,000 costume. Or go to Starbucks and Chipotle, but then you break up by the end of the night. Now, we're sure somebody's going to go as a pooping Hirox runner. Or a vampire Sam Altman, right, Jack? I want your prompts. Whatever you do, whatever you do, besties, just don't go as Claude. Because from personal experience, people are rude to their chatbots. Everyone's going to want to touch your chips.

2:40Now, if you still can't think of a costume, what do you do next? Then just say it got stolen from the Louvre with a box of Pokemon cards. Yetis, this week is our annual T-Boy Halloween Pop Business Costume Challenge. So like every year, we want to hear your best business theme costume ideas. Drop them in the comments. Get creative because the winner gets a shout out on this pot. And maybe a hat. But in the meantime, whatever you do wear, just remember to cover your assets. Jack, look at our three stories.

3:21on your at list. If you know, you know, cause we ready to go. We can't wait no more. So just start the show.

3:30Start the show. First, a quick word from our sponsor.

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4:39Monarch. In 2015, after my third banking bonus, I finally paid off my student debt. Then in 2019, after we sold our startup, I finally paid off my graduate student debt. Yeah, and is everyone throwing random parties these days? Well, Jack threw a long overdue debt payoff party. Gotta love that party. Yeah, because for 10 years, I kept a manual Excel spreadsheet tracking my debt payoff progress. And it was very satisfying watching the bad numbers get smaller and the good numbers get bigger. You see, when you're paying down your debt, it helps to have a target date to plan your celebration around.

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5:41For our first story, the New York Knicks fell victim to a fake hack and it resulted in empty ring boxes on championship banner night. But 70 % of our internet is very vulnerable right now to a real hack. But first, the New York Knicks, a championship that brought the city together like no other time since, honestly, since 9-11. On Tuesday night last week, the city celebrated at Madison Square Garden by raising the Knicks' first championship banner since 1973. And the players got bling. The players got rings. Some call these the most beautiful championship rings of all time. Because they've got 800 diamonds and sapphires, but that's not why they are so wild, is it, Jack?

6:20The engineering is incredible. You can pop off the top of this ring and pull it up, and it will make it look like a Madison Square Garden arena. And then if you keep pulling it up, Nick, it reveals the inside of Madison Square Garden with stands and the basketball court. It's insane. It honestly seemed like a ring out of Harry Potter. I did not believe what I was saying. Diagon Alley? No, Madison Square. Nixius, Winius. But besties, the coaches were handed ring boxes as well during the ceremony. But interestingly, they remained closed. Congratulations to the Knicks. Jalen Brunson is the absolute man.

6:54And the comeback kids won it all. Knicks in five. Knicks in five. 5, Knicks in 5. But Jack, back to those ring boxes that the coaches were handed that remained closed. According to multiple anonymous sources, the boxes for many of the Knicks coaches were actually empty. They were props. There was no ring inside. Not because the rings haven't arrived yet. No, the boxes were empty, Nick, because the owner of the Knicks was teaching those coaches a painful and frankly cruel lesson. And MSG SportsDoc fell 6 % the day after that opening season loss, and maybe this ring drama is why. Because in September, according to reporting from The Athletic, the New York Knicks staff received an email about these rings.

7:36Here's the email. MSG is issuing a complimentary employee championship ring personalized with your name, no cost to you. This is awesome. There's two styles to choose. Click the one that you prefer. Go Knicks. But what's the problem with this really nice email, Jack? It was a phishing email. Oh boy. Apparently the kind of email that you definitely shouldn't click, especially if you're on a work computer. And those who clicked on that email link didn't pick their ring. They end up getting sent to class. They were told it was a fake phishing email. It was just a test by the Knicks, fortunately. But since you failed the test, you have to take a mandatory cybersecurity training.

8:10This was a sting operation, basically. Ordered from the boss, Knicks owner, James Dolan. But the punishment didn't stop with that mandatory cybersecurity training. No, it didn't. The employees who failed the test didn't get championship rings at all as punishment. And we should sprinkle on some context yetis because historically teams are very generous when they give out championship rings. Well, the Chicago Cubs gave Steve Bartman a ring. Wow. And the Red Sox gave a ring to Nomar, even though he wasn't on the team when they finally won in 2004. So everyone is doling out championship rings when they win, except for the Knicks, James Dolan.

8:42James Dolan, who inherited the Knicks and the Rangers from his dad. He's known for being extremely paranoid and a very petty owner. And Nick, I'm glad I'm saying this because now that I've said this, I'm probably banned from Madison Square Garden. I know. I'm going to have to FaceTime you in for the next Rangers game, Jack. But in the meantime, Yetis, we do hope these Knicks coaches and staff eventually get their ring. And we thought there's an even bigger AI story here. So Jack, what's the takeaway for all our buddies? Just want a championship ring. This is Black October. Not for stocks, for cybersecurity.

9:12And of course, AI is involved. Yetis, last week, The NSA issued a wild warning. If your website uses something called PHP, then it could get hacked. You down with PHP? PHP. Every website's like, yeah, you know me. Because PHP is a programming language used by millions of websites. In fact, 70 % of the World Wide Web. And a research firm using AI discovered this security flaw affecting 70 % of all websites. We appreciate that research firm making the announcement, Nick. But hackers also using AI can exploit that security flaw to steal information, take over the website, or freeze a company's systems.

9:48Now that research firm announced a fix, patches are official and publicly available right now. But we have a website, and we haven't patched it, have we, Nick? No, we haven't. I don't even know how to patch it. We don't have an IT department. I don't even know what a patch is, honestly, Jack. But by Monday, today, it is expected only 30 % to 40 % of websites will be patched. 60 % to 70 % remain unlocked, and hackers could come right in using AI. Yetis, we're in a new era of online safety, where you have AI attacking us and AI defending us with our digital economy at stake. So Jim Dolan, he tricked his Knicks employees and then punished them by withholding a ring.

10:21Let that be a memorable example that this is Black October, not for stocks, for cybersecurity.

10:31For our second story, millennial families are redefining the country club, less golf, more fun. The country club's business model ain't for boys anymore. Nope. It's for toys. Yeah, this funny thing from this past weekend, did you notice the golfers at your local club are shouting four more than they used to? Or more likely, have you noticed that the clubhouse is packed, but the golf course is actually empty? Or more likely, more likely, fewer nine irons, more pool noodles? Not just you. According to the Wall Street Journal, country clubs are transforming from boys clubs to bounce houses. And we should point out the private club is exclusive by design, is it not, Jack?

11:07The stuffy dress code of a country club, it helps identify the people who don't belong there. But as of 2026, that business model is dead. Because modern families are more likely to have two working parents. And from our personal experience, modern dads have way less time for five and a half hours of golf on a Sunday evening. Dude, if I'm going to play 18 holes of golf, I need to spend like six months of political capital with my wife. Jack, I'm big on the four hole golf course. I'm just putting it out there. Four holes, I'm good to go. So country clubs are adapting to survive. They're loosening the dress code and they're canceling the no phone policy.

11:39But they are interestingly also investing. Country clubs are increasingly building water park style water slides for the kids, gorgeous Pilates studios for the wives, and offering no golf social memberships. Check out the CapEx on these clubs. Is that a glow in the dark bowling alley over there? I think it is. Here at the country club? Yes, it is. Because initiation is$3 ,000, then$3 ,000 a year in dues and a$600 a year mandatory spent. It pays for it. Add it all up yet is this is a continuation of the casualization trend. During the pandemic, the comfort economy came through close and now it's come for the country clubs.

12:13But here's what Nick and I find fascinating. The country club industry is huge and it's panicking. According to the New York Times, there are 3 ,880 clubs in America that generate more than a million bucks in revenue a year. That's about the same number of country clubs as there are Chipotles. And the guac at the clubs, it's extra. Oh, it's extra. Just about all of them, by the way, got built originally as adult male preppy playgrounds. You leave the kids and the wives at home, you smoke a cigar, you watch sports, you play sports in a men-only grill room with a whiskey fridge and a female-only waitstaff.

12:46But the 2008 financial crisis popped the traditional business model of the club forever. Tech started taking over the world, challenging the power dynamics of the status quo. Sheryl Sandberg told women to lean in, and they leaned in to get into the club. The clubs that survived are the ones that catered to entire families, not just guys named Frank. The capital of which is Naples, Florida, where both of our in-laws are currently hanging out and asking us to come down as soon as possible. That actually brings up a good point. There is an intergenerational difference here. You see country clubs in Florida catering to retired boomers.

13:16Those are the businesses booming right now. Those country clubs don't have a$4 ,000 initiation fee. They're$400 ,000. And the grandparent stock portfolios are the profit puppy. But country clubs in non-retirement communities, where most of you probably live, are downplaying golf, downplaying the dress code, and downplaying their meet-only Monday tradition your grandpa used to benefit. The new target, it isn't men, it's families. And the new goal is a place where kids can safely have fun off screens while the parents spend money. Quote one of the great TV shows of all time, in the club, we all fam.

13:52So Jack, what's the takeaway for all our buddies looking at the new country club business model? Parents need help. The market for alt babysitting is huge. Yeah, look, Jack and I have said modern family twice in this story already. What the heck, let's make it three. Parents of kids in 2026 face safety concerns that previous parents didn't. We do. Both in real life and online. And they face costs of raising kids that previous parents did not. Childcare, it's basically a second rent. And a lot of the public places that families used to gather have closed due to budget cuts. So the result? Parents need help.

14:25And they are willing to pay for that help. Anyone with a kid right now knows who Miss Rachel is. The ex-kindergarten teacher who teaches toddlers the ABCs on YouTube. And the most watched movie of 2026? We don't even need to check. We guarantee you it's a Disney movie. But parents don't want to just park their kids in front of a screen. They want better alt-babysitting than that. So a business that feeds the parents two birds with one scone is winning. one that occupies the kids and lets the parents relax. That's why clubs that include non-golf family amenities can demand initiation fees twice as expensive than golf-only country clubs, according to the Times.

14:59Besties call the sitter substitute the Mary Poppins economy or BAS, babysitting as a service. There's huge demand from parents for alt-babysitting. Now, a quick word from our sponsor. You know what's a fun habit? Getting to hang with you guys every day on this show. It's what we do. Another fun habit, listening to audiobooks about habits. Like Atomic Habits, the legendary piece about building habits that better your life, right? And the Atomic Habits audiobook is on Audible. We're excited to collab with Audible because it's how we find our road trip companion. The written word, spoken. So besties, you can create a habit of enjoying audiobooks while you multitask.

15:36Which I believe is chapter three of Atomic Habits. That's right, Jack. Wash pots and pans, awkwardly fold those fitted bedsheets, floss your teeth while you're winding down listening on Audible. If your hands are full while listening to Audible, then you're doing it right. So summer's not over. Replace doom scrolling by listening to an audiobook that a human put all their thought and effort into. Audible. It's stories that speak to you. And new members can start listening with a 30-day free trial at audible.com slash tboy. That's a 30-day free trial at audible.com slash tboy. Take it from a couple guys with a lot of habits who have become your habit.

16:07This is a paid partnership with Apple Card. The coolest flex at brunch these days is not the Bloody Mary with the bottomless gold flake caviar topping. It's not whipping out your wallet to pay. It's not having a wallet at all. Jack's been an Apple Card user since 2019. That's the same year he tossed his wallet in the trash. Because Apple Card holders earn 2 % daily cash back on purchases made using Apple Pay. It's the only credit card designed for the iPhone. I tap to pay with Apple Card at the grocery store, at the gas station, at restaurants. And yes, I use it at my second home, the farmer's market.

16:37Jack tapping to pay with his Apple Card with Apple Pay is his favorite thing to do. And the pleasant vibration and chime sound means I just got 2 % daily cash back on my latest purchase. Apply in the wallet app on your iPhone today. Subject to credit approval. Apple Card issued by Goldman Sachs Bank USA, Salt Lake City Branch. Terms and more at AppleCard.com. For our third and final story, Warhound just raised$200 million for genetically engineered military dogs. It's the wildest startup of 2026, and it's actually a collab. Now, Yetis, Palmer Lucky is a name you should know. He is the best, worst-dressed entrepreneur in tech history.

17:17Hawaiian shirt, always. Yes. Goatee, unfortunately. And cargo shorts, extra, unfortunately. Palmer Lucky kind of looks like a generic family guy extra. You can picture this now. But his techie military arms startup, Anderil, is worth an estimated$90 billion. Which makes him the Tony Stark of tech, if Tony chose his wardrobe to antagonize his detractors. Yes, his autonomous drones that Andrew makes have names like Barracuda and Fury. But here's where our story really begins. Because last year, Palmer met the co-founder of Colossal. Colossal, the de-extinction company that's trying to bring animals back to life.

17:55We covered them on the pod. They're a Jurassic Park business. They revived the direwolf, and now they're working on the woolly mammoth. Well, these two startups just collabed like Nike and Skims. Yes, they did. To launch Warhound at a$1.2 billion launch valuation. Warhound genetically engineered military dogs for high risk tasks. The CIA's venture capital arm has invested too. Yes, they have. We call this Paw Patrol. If Paw Patrol wasn't a kid's show, it was like a war video game or something. Robocop. I mean, Jack, it's like Lassie and that pit bull in John Wick had a baby raised by the 101 Dalmatians.

18:31Now, when I first heard this news, I thought it was like a dystopian comic joke. We even considered not covering it. Yeah, we were like picturing a German shepherd with jacked biceps holding a hand grenade. More specifically, I thought of that dog that in the Hunger Games, they sick to try to kill Katniss at the end of the first movie. Spoiler. Katniss survives. Yes, she does. But Jack, why don't we sprinkle on more context to this whole wild, genetically imagined your dog. The end market of this startup is military and police dogs, who are actually heroes, if you think about it, and wildly underappreciated by a society.

19:06Service dogs, they go toward the danger that we humans run away from very swiftly. And we have a shortage of these trained police dogs in America that would make you bark twice. Get this, 80 % of US military dogs come from Europe, and less than half of them are currently fit for service. The main problem with these dogs is genetics. They have poor eyesight, they might have cancer, they may have muscle atrophy issues. As a result, the majority bred don't even finish training because of an inherited issue. So Warhound has a wildly intimidating and intense name and a logo that's even more intimidating.

19:36But it's not breeding dogs with like a fifth arm, extra teeth, and freaking laser beams attached to their heads. Colossal takes the dogs that are top performing in smell, agility, and age and extracts their genes to pass on to future dogs. Then Anduril will outfit those dogs with military equipment, vests, goggles, and sensors. Not weapons, by the way. Now, on the one hand, gene editing animals, that is a new and controversial field. But it also solves a national security risk and increases the chance that these military dogs survive in battle by turning them into Iron Man mutts. And this first litter of Paw Patrol super pooch puppies will be born early next year if the business plan works out.

20:14And the American Humane Society is on board with this startup. That surprised us, and it was kind of like pleasant. I don't know, it made me feel a little better about the story. Apparently you can actually adopt one of these dogs after they retire, Jack. And name him Chase, because Chase is on the case. I don't think you know what I'm talking about. I don't know what you're talking about, but I assume Chase the puppy will teach you karate, Jack. So Jack wants the takeaway for our buddies over at Warhound. Gray areas are green opportunities. Yeti's gray areas are those spots that exist between black and white.

20:47Like athleisure. There was a gap between workout clothes and casual clothes. Athleisure filled it. Or hybrid cars. Some want to gas, some want electric, but maybe the best option is hybrid in between. In this case, some military missions are too dangerous for humans, but require nimblest that machines can't do. Bomb detection, special ops, there's no perfect option between the robot and the human. But if trained dogs were available, that's a gray area between humans and robots. Because besties, money ain't always green. Sometimes it's gray. Jack, could you whip up the takeaways for us to kick off the week?

21:21Nick's owner, James Dolan, is withholding championship rings from staff, according to reports, for failing a cybersecurity test. Welcome to Black October, besties. Not for stocks, for cybersecurity. For our second story, country clubs are investing big in non-golf activities for the whole family. Because parents need help, and a country club membership with a pool is a form of alt-babysitting that's booming. And our third and final story is Warhound. It's the startup breeding police and military super dogs that's now worth over$1 billion. Green is in the gray areas like Paw Patrol 2.0. But besties, this pod's not over yet.

21:55Here's what else you need to know today. First, Nasdaq had its worst day last week since June. On reports, President Trump plans to escalate the war in Iran after Election Day. As a result, oil prices hit$116 on Friday for the first time since May. Now Iran is threatening asymmetric warfare, basically targeting our economic assets, not our military assets. And interestingly, Berkshire Hathaway stock has returned to an all-time high, because when AI stocks fall, Berkshire tends to rise. And second, the McRib sandwich is back for the, I don't know, millionth time, returning to McDonald's tomorrow.

22:30And the McDonald's not-really-Ribs McRib sandwiches actually have a bizarre connection to the stock market. Yeah, what did data analyst Nick Magooley crunch the numbers on and find out the other year, Jack? He determined that if McRib is on the menu, which it is like half the time, by the way, The S &P 500 rises three times more than the days that the McRib is not on the menu. It's like the McDonald's jingle, ba-da-ba-ba-ba, buy the dip. And finally, a wild stat about Meta's AI agent. The average Muse purchase is over$200. And one quarter of Muse users have used Muse to make a purchase on their behalf.

23:09Spending, on average,$200, which means not using Muse for toothpaste and toilet paper, they're probably buying sneakers and snowboards on it. I've tested out Muse, but I actually deleted it because I don't want Zuck knowing what I buy. Which would have been over$200. Now time for the best fact yet, which because it's Monday means some T-boy trivia. What do we got, Jack? Is the average NFL game this season shorter or longer than last season? You're watching this weekend. What do you think? Was it shorter or longer than when you usually see? I think longer. I would have said shorter, but I was not paying attention apparently.

23:43Well, the answer is longer. The average NFL game so far this season lasted three hours and 11 minutes. The longest average game since the 1980s. New York Giants game, it was nearly three and a half hours last weekend. Significantly longer than the average Major League Baseball game this season, which was two hours and 45 minutes. Now, the reason NFL games have gotten so long, what is it, Jack? Lack of discipline. I'm referring to penalties. Yeah, that's what Jack's coach would You see, the average football game this season has had 15 flags thrown, the most penalties of any season so far. One way to solve this problem, double the penalties of penalties.

24:20Instead of a 15-yard penalty, make it 30. Another way to solve this problem, tell someone's mom. How is that? I think moms don't like penalties, and I think if Travis hears about it, he won't be doing as much of it. Travis who? All the mothers out there know what I'm talking about, Jack. I'm kind of loving the randomness of this aside by you right now. Yeah, it is. You look fantastic to start the week. Jack, you are glowing over there, my friend. Oh, thank you, Dick. This is a great show. The best one yet. The best one yet. And we can't wait to see you on November 4th at our final live show of the year in Seattle.

24:55Seattle. It's become like the epicenter of the rocket industry. And Beju Bhatt, a new founder of the rocket industry, is going to be there. So grab your tickets in the episode link today or at tboypod.com. We can't wait to see him. And Nick and I, we'll see you tomorrow.

25:13And before we go, a happy birthday to legendary Eddie Bradley Lomb, the elite puppy daddy of Tucson, Arizona. And happy birthday to Megan Kay, celebrating her golden birthday in New York City, running the New York Marathon later this year. And George Munez is listening to us in the shower right now, celebrating the birthday in Highland Park. Don't slip, George! And Tyler Oleski, great to see you at the DC Live show. Thanks for coming and happy birthday, buddy. Happy birthday to Tristan Meyer in Paris, France, who loves this show as much as he loves PSG. Hope you're safe and well in Paris, by the way.

25:43And happy birthday to Brian Daniel, who's on a three-state road trip with his kids for his birthday, starting in Milwaukee. Go Brewers. And Bailey Estes is running 34 miles for the 34th birthday down in Arlington. Happy birthday to Benjamin B.A.C. Hayes in Nottingham, England. And finally, a shout-out to Daniel Paul in Denver, the legendary Yeti who's gone through five RAV4s. Jack, you know what they say about Raft Forest? What do they say again? I'll take three. Me too, because it's the best one. Toyota, run with that. And to anyone else celebrating something today, make it a T-boy. Celebrate the wins.

26:19This is Jack. I own stock of Disney. Nick owns stock of Nike. And we both own stock of Robinhood and Chipotle. Yetis, this holiday season, don't miss your chance to turn just looking into just bought it. Make it easy for your customers to say yes on the spot. PayPal checkout is a trusted conversion engine fueled by 400 million active PayPal and Venmo accounts. And when you add pay later, you can turn holiday shoppers into regulars. 96 % of pay later shoppers are repeat users. So if you give them pay later flexibility now, it could help earn their loyalty all year long. PayPal is built for all business.

26:51Get started at paypal.com slash business. PayPal data, eight markets, March, 2025 to February, 2026. Repeat users defined as more than one pay later purchase in the past year.