Crunching Tackles

Early into his presidency, Donald Trump signed an executive order preventing transgender women from competing in women's sports in public schools and under the NCAA. Charlie Baker—president of the NCAA—responded with immediate compliance. On today's show, Chad and John discuss: 2:50 - The remarkable Four Nations NHL tournament, the USA v. Canada hockey rivalry fueled by politics, and the state of...

The big game in New Orleans is in the books, and the Philadelphia Eagles came out on top! On today's podcast, we discuss the game and the broader implications. We also recap Kendrick Lamar's halftime show, Donald Trump's surprise appearance, and the abysmal state of Super Bowl commercials. As always, make sure to share this episode if you enjoyed it, and give us a follow on all your social media p...

In a whirlwind podcast, Chad and John discuss the 2025 Australian Open, briefly revisit the Champions League Group Stage, and preview the Super Bowl between the Chiefs and the Eagles. 7:30 - 2025 Australian Open Review 25:20 - Champions League Group Stage Review 30:30 - The Super Bowl talk 56:40 - A brief discussion of The Brutalist and the Oscar nominations. As always, make sure to share this epi...

The NFL and NCAA Football playoffs are in full swing, and we are locked into all the action. Plus, tennis has gotten underway in Australia. Chad and John make sure you are aware of all the exciting action coming in the first month of 2025. As always, make sure to share this episode if you enjoyed it, and give us a follow on all your social media platforms!

As 2024 comes to a close, we are recapping and revisiting our top stories in sports, and our favorite movies, for the year! 4:07: We highlight 2 current sports stories from the NFL and College Football 8:00: Sports Stories—Number 5 20:00: Number 4 27:50: Number 3 34:50: Number 2 45:40: Number 1 58:15: Top Movies—Number 5 1:04:30: Number 4 1:09:30: Number 3 1:13:34: Number 2 1:18:00: Number 1 As al...

With more than half-a-dozen brawls and flag planting attempts in college football last week, it's fair to say that rivalry week was heated. We discuss all the drama from Saturday on today's podcast. 2:45: What happened to the Chicago Bears on Thanksgiving? 5:00: General Motors—aka Cadillac—is joining Formula 1 in 2026. 10:35: Jameis Winston is the viral sensation of 2024. 19:22: Panic time at Manc...

The 2024 election happened last week, and Donald Trump will return to the White House in 2025. But if you were up at 3 a.m. on election night, you may have seen a familiar face in the sports world addressing Trump's victory party: Dana White. What does White's involvement in politics say about Trump's success? Before that, we briefly touch on three controversies in international soccer, from a ref...

We got our dream matchup in the World Series: Yankees vs. Dodgers; Ohtani vs. Judge. We take stock of the first 3 games of the series and consider if the games so far have lived up to the hype. We also check in briefly with Formula One, a sad story out of N.C. State football, and the award for best player in world soccer. As always, make sure to share this episode if you enjoyed it, and give us a...

Many different sports around the world are expanding their postseason format to maximize the amount of high profile games that top teams play each year. Is this a benefit to fans, or just another desperate money grab? As always, make sure to share this episode if you enjoyed it, and give us a follow on all your social media platforms!

Shohei Ohtani has put together one of the most impressive seasons in baseball history. After spending some time discussing the Premier League and the NFL, we turn the focus of this podcast to MLB, and try to put Ohtani's historic season into context. As always, make sure to share this episode if you enjoyed it, and give us a follow on all your social media platforms!

Tyreek Hill was pulled over and detained by Miami police on his way to Week 1 of the NFL season. The reaction has been understandably and expectedly strong. John and Chad break down every angle of the incident and what we can learn. 10:20 - We look at Jannik Sinner and Aryna Sabalenka winning the U.S. Open and where the state of tennis is going into 2025. 27:30 - We recap Week 1 of the NFL season,...

For the first time in over 3 years, Chad and John are in person together for a podcast! They celebrate this occasion by discussing the U.S. Open, Jannik Sinner, and Alien: Romulus. As always, make sure to share this episode if you enjoyed it, and give us a follow on all your social media platforms!

The 2024 Olympics were incredible, and we convene one more time to go through all the final stories from the games. On today's episode, we discuss: 2:15 - Our general impressions and what we loved about this Olympics 9:30 - The closing ceremony, including Tom Cruise's stunts 214:00 - The final medal count and who won the games 29:00 - We recap the most interesting stories from the final week of ev...

The Olympics have soared to an incredible level of success, and we are here to recap the most important moments we've seen this week. Simone Biles, Novak Djokovic, Scottie Scheffler, Mondo Duplantis, and Imane Khelif are just a few of the athletes we mention. On today's episode, we discuss: 10:00 - We recap the medal table and see where Team USA is stacking up 13:20 - Pole Vaulter Mondo Duplantis...

The medals are flying in Paris as we take stock of an action packed first week of the Olympic Games! From the Opening Ceremony to the tennis to the swimming, we have it all covered for you right here! On today's episode, we discuss: 3:10 - We open with some general thoughts about the games and how we feel about the experience of watching so far. 8:10 - We turn quickly to the medal count, tracking...

The COPA America Final was delayed by over an hour because of a brutal crowd crush at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami. Fans and police officers were injured, and 27 people were arrested as Colombia fans attempted to storm the stadium. On today's episode, we discuss: 4:15 - We open with a conversation about the assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump, our desire for unity, and we als...

The 2024 Paris Olympics Opening Ceremonies are less than a month away, and we are here to prime you for the events and athletes that you need to be paying attention to this year. On today's episode, we discuss the international soccer tournaments currently going on, the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics, and an extremely controversial decision by NBC for their Olympic coverage. As always, make sure to sh...

As the city of Paris and the nation of France prepares to host the 2024 Summer Olympic Games, there's one area they need to focus on that previous hosts of the games haven't: cybersecurity. On today's episode, we discuss: 4:15 - We briefly consider how to choose a British soccer team as American fans and who we would support if we were doing it all over again. 13:50 - We recap the first week of th...

Although college sports have been trending toward professionalization in recent years, it's still a historic day when the NCAA finally agreed to pay its athletes. On today's episode, we discuss: 1:20 - We briefly discuss Scottie Scheffler's charges being dropped and what was most strange about his situation. 4:30 - Caitlin Clark has had a very controversial rookie season, not because of her play,...

The Premier League title came down to the final day, but it never really felt close. Manchester City won their fourth consecutive title, and we are here to figure out what all the other teams need to do to challenge the champs. On today's episode, we discuss: 4:26 - We take a look at the NBA Playoffs, focusing on the Denver Nuggets Game 7 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves. 10:20 - We react to the...

Scottie Scheffler won the 2024 Masters Tournament, but he wanted to talk about something different: his faith in God. So we are going to spend some time discussing the various intersections between religion and sports. On today's episode, we discuss: 2:45 - We take a brief look at the collapse of PSG in France and look ahead to a very tense week for Arsenal fans. 8:20 - We recap The Roast of Tom B...

As sports gambling continues to dominate our culture, we take a closer look at the issues surrounding sports betting. We react to how the sports leagues and sports media have responded, as well as offer some legislative suggestions on how to fix some of the most problematic issues. On today's episode, we discuss: 1:30 - We start with a really quick look at the NBA Playoffs and the matchups that ar...

For the first time in television history, the women's NCAA basketball championship had more viewership than the men's. What does this mean for the future of the game? How important is this breakthrough in the present? On today's episode, we discuss: 8:15 - We start with the women's tournament, talking about South Carolina's dominance, Caitlin Clark's unprecedented greatness, and the breakthrough i...

Major League Baseball superstar Shohei Ohtani has been implicated in a major sports gambling story concerning his professional interpreter. While it seems like at the moment Ohtani is unscathed, this investigation opens the door into a wider conversation about sports gambling in our culture. On today's episode, we discuss: 3:45 - March Madness Opening Weekend and previewing the Sweet 16! The baske...

The world's most controversial sport is enmeshed in one of its biggest controversies to date. Christian Horner—the team principal of Red Bull F1 racing—has held onto his job despite a tremendous amount of scrutiny. On today's episode, we discuss: 3:45 - We briefly recap the Oscars, covering subjects like Oppenheimer , Ryan Gosling, Lily Gladstone, and the controversial acceptance speech by Jonatha...