Our namesake, Cassandra, was the astonishingly beautiful daughter of the King of Troy, who was given the gift of prophecy but cursed so that no one believed her. So we weren’t disappointed this morning to see that we made it into TTPD. OK, maybe this isn’t about us. Maybe it’s about Kim. Maybe it's about Scooter. Maybe it’s about Kanye. The Tortured Poets Department dropped at midnight last night, with 17 tracks, and then the surprise reveal of an additional 15 tracks (which included Cassandra). One thing is absolutely for sure, the cultural impact of Taylor Swift knows no bounds!

Scrabble first came out in 1948, and for the last 75 years the rules haven’t changed. Until last week. Scrabble Together was launched with the specific aim of attracting more new, Gen Z players into the franchise. With the insight that Zs are interested in more collaborative (and less competitive) play, Scrabble Together is designed to be played as a team, with players of varying skill levels. The new game is billed as easier, faster, more accessible and less “intimidating” than the original. But this new innovation is not without its detractors. Over on X (8 points) #wokeScrabble is trending as yet another example of changing a good thing to cater to a new generation of players. Considering that only 39% of Gen Zs report playing board games in the past 6 months (compared to 64% who play mobile app games), it seems to us that attracting new players isn’t a bad idea. (And, for more on games and play, keep an eye out for Cassandra’s report on Gen Z and Play later this month).

The hype is real! The 2024 WNBA draft took place in Brooklyn, NY on Monday night at the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM). Entrance to this year’s draft was a hot ticket, with 1,000 seats selling out in less than 15 minutes and a record setting 2.45 million viewers – for reference the 2023 draft brought in just over 500K viewers. Not surprisingly, Caitlin Clark went #1 overall and will be heading to play for the Indiana Fever. And for those wondering, the “Caitlin Clark Effect” continues to make an impact as she pursues her dream of playing in the WNBA, and is helping set record ticket prices, forcing teams like the Las Vegas Aces to secure larger venues to play in to accommodate fan support, and dwindling inventory for games in August even though the season has yet to tipoff – claim your spot while you can!