Good morning and welcome back to the Tip Sheet, a weekly newsletter from Tom Dudchik’s Capitol Report written by Mike Cerulli.

It was a weekend filled with mixed emotions across Connecticut. On Saturday, there were protests. On Sunday, there was celebration. Hanging over all of it was fear of a worsening market sell-off triggered by the president's tariffs. Heck of a situation to return to if you happen to be the guy in charge of running the state...

Let's dive in...

After a weekend of charged protests and exhilarating hoops, an uncertain week awaits

Imagine you’re 71. In many respects, you’re at the top of your game. You’re coming off a big win and you can already see the outlines of the narrative that will be written about you in the history books.

But now, you face a choice.

The world is changing. The business you’ve risen to the top of is shifting under your feet.

So, what do you do?

Do you pen another chapter in your own story and try to sustain your success, or do you hang up the towel now and leave while the confetti is still falling?

For Connecticut’s two most famous 71-year olds, Geno Auriemma and Ned Lamont, questions like that are as plentiful as the banners hanging in the rafters of Gampel Pavilion.

In Auriemma’s case, the 12-time national champ apparently gives a lot of thought to the prospect of retirement. The Athletic's Chantel Jennings recently chronicled how, in moments after particularly frustrating practices, Geno has considered leaving it all behind. But he keeps coming back and he keeps producing great results. His bench of talent is deep and momentum seems to be on his side. Speculation about the coach’s plans is inevitable, but the veteran sportswriter Michael Voepel wrote last night that “it sounds like Auriemma is willing to spend more time where he has been since taking over the UConn program in 1985.”

In the case of Connecticut’s 89th governor, there's a firm, self-imposted deadline and arguably more uncertainty when it comes to answering the question of longevity.

This week might prove to be Lamont's equivalent of one of Auriemma's frustrating practices. For starters, Lamont will have to assess the damage of the worsening market sell-off triggered by the president's tariffs. How will the market rout affect a state heavily reliant on the financial services industry? If the downward dive continues, how much of a blow will the state's tax revenues take? Can the state simultaneously absorb the blow of a downturn in the markets and the loss of millions in expected federal grant money?

These are questions that demand answers. And, of course, the steady drumbeat of curiosity about the governor’s plans grows louder by the day.

Case in point, one of the first things on the governor’s calendar upon his return to Connecticut from Tampa is a Monday morning meeting with all of his commissioners. The Tip Sheet has been reliably informed of grumblings from some of those commissioners and those close to them about a desire to get a sign, any sign, of their boss’s intentions.

Unfortunately for those curious commishes, the Tip Sheet is told that this morning’s meeting will focus less on political intrigue and more on the practicalities of governing in an era of increasing uncertainty. Crafting a more unified, cross-agency approach to communicating about changes at the federal level will be a focus of this particular all-hands, we’re told. A firm answer from the governor about 2026 will have to wait.

By the way, for those Tip Sheet readers who will be privy to the details of that meeting, feel free to reach out if anything interesting comes up. Shoot us a text or drop us an email: Michael.Cerulli@protonmail.com. We’ll keep you anonymous.

On Wednesday, the governor will huddle with another crowd very keen to know his future plans and his thoughts on the daily tsunami of developments impacting the state's economy. He’ll be at Rentschler Field for the first in a series of business leadership events produced by his team at the Department of Economic and Community Development. The event is branded as “MADE” – a nod to the state’s new marketing campaign. As part of the event, the governor will take on a unique role: moderating a panel of college students on Gen Z’s view on the modern workplace. Hartford HealthCare CEO Jeff Flaks, Bigelow Tea CEO Cindi Bigelow, Athletic Brewing Co. CEO Bill Shufelt, CBIA CEO Chris DiPentima, DECD chief Dan O’Keefe, Social Equity Council CEO Brandon McGee, state DEI czar Mariana Monteiro, and state marketing boss Anthony Anthony will all feature in the event’s programming.

Like Geno in his moments of doubt, Lamont might see an opportunity to give the crowd at Rentschler a bit of a pep talk in a shaky moment.

In between addressing constant questions about his plans for reelection and pressing concerns about the state of Connecticut's economy, Lamont will also presumably be asked to do a once-over on plans for the state's third annual UConn victory parade. Preparations are already underway.

Perhaps the guv and Geno will have some time a the parade to discuss the virtues and the pitfalls of making another run in 2026. Or maybe they’ll just chat about wine.

A humble suggestion…

On the topic of the victory parade, the Tip Sheet would like to take a moment to editorialize.

In the coming days, there will be an instinctive rush by Connecticut’s politicians to get in front of cameras and speak at length about how much they love UConn and how amazing it is that the national championship trophy is once again coming home to Connecticut.

That’s all great. Pretty much everyone in the Nutmeg State agrees with that! Another thing pretty much everyone agrees with is that nobody wants to hear from politicians at a victory parade.

Ok, ok…maybe it’d be nice to hear a few words from the mayor and the governor welcoming everyone to Hartford and congratulating the pride of Connecticut on a history-making win. But beyond that, let’s leave the speeches to the folks who actually cut down the net.

A weekend of rallies

Speaking of speeches…

It turns out there are at least a few thousand Connecticut residents who do want to hear from the state’s elected leaders. They turned out in force across the state this weekend to do just that.

This past Saturday saw a nationwide wave of “hands off” rallies protesting President Trump and the policies his administration has enacted in the whirlwind period since January 20.

The rallies provided the most visible representation to date of the so-called “resistance” movement to Trump’s second term. They also provided a stage for the state’s most high-profile and ambitious Democrats. If you’ve been on social media lately, you might’ve seen some of their clips from the rallies. As Mark Pazniokas put it, the state’s top Democrats “pinballed around Connecticut” from Stamford to Hartford in what functioned as a sort of resistance roadshow.

For Tip Sheet readers who attended any of this past weekend's protests, which speakers do you think stole the show on the stump? Drop us a line.

That’s all for the Tip Sheet this week.

We’ll be back with another edition next Monday!