ESPN Daily

David Olson is a quiet, Midwestern father of three, living an ordinary life. That is until one day this summer, when doing some home renovation, he discovered some bowling balls buried under the steps leading to his backyard. And not just two, or three, or 10 or 20 bowling balls. In total, Olson uncovered a whopping 162 bowling balls from his property, and ended up going viral with his story. Wher...

“Play Like a Champion Today.” It’s one of the most iconic phrases in sports, and it’s long been synonymous with Notre Dame. Over the years, legendary Notre Dame head coach Lou Holtz has told the story of the team’s famous sign, and the traditional pregame slap that’s performed as they take the field. Holtz put up the sign, yes. But where did he get the idea? Another powerhouse college program has...

Deep in the heart of Texas we find Jeff Passan, as the Houston Astros host Game 1 of the World Series tonight against the Atlanta Braves. For the Astros, it’s a chance for some vindication, after being baseball’s public enemy number one for their sign stealing scheme in 2017. For the Braves, it’s a chance to win their first World Series in a quarter century, and cap a stunning postseason run for a...

Jared Goff returned to his former team at SoFi Stadium as a member of the Detroit Lions on Sunday, after the QB’s new coach made critical remarks about his performance, with the Rams’ Matt Stafford facing his old Lions teammates. Our own Monday Quarterback Alex Smith breaks down that ex’s matchup and more. Smith and guest host Emily Kaplan talk the Kansas City Chiefs’ blowout loss to the Tennessee...

Intense arguments that give way laughter: it's a feature on the set of Pardon The Interruption. In this fourth and final installment of the PTI podcast series, we look at how Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon can tick each other off *and* bring out the best in the other. Because behind the yelling, there is always love and respect. Their contrasting thoughts and behaviors have sparked important c...

Bob Voulgaris turned his career as a professional, data-driven NBA bettor into a team job when Mark Cuban made him Director of Quantitative Research and Analysis for the Dallas Mavericks. But tension built between Voulgaris and then-GM Donnie Nelson, and relationships with players got muddy. Reports in The Athletic this year claimed the former bettor was running the show behind the scenes in Dalla...

Turf toe. It’s a known injury in football. But behind the cutesy name lies an injury NFL players dread more than any other, involving a teeny tiny bone in the foot. Turf toe can be incredibly painful and long lasting, with no real remedy for players other than time. And it can lead to permanent damage, if not properly healed. ESPN Senior Writer Dave Fleming takes us inside his cabinet of sports cu...

For the people of Philadelphia, and of the basketball world, the relationship between Ben Simmons and the 76ers was broken the moment he passed up a dunk in Game 7 of the second round of the playoffs against the Hawks. After the game, head coach Doc Rivers and star Joel Embiid appeared to point the finger at Simmons in their press conference, and it seemed all but certain that Simmons’ days in Phi...

It was a wild Sunday across sports…from the Cowboys and Patriots overtime thriller…to the Chicago Sky claiming their first ever WNBA title. Across the NFL, it was a week that featured no shortage of close games and marquee matchups. The Steelers held off a second-half rally from the Seattle Seahawks with a game-winning overtime field goal. Dak Prescott and Mac Jones battled back-and-forth until th...

From the beginning of PTI, Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon created a whole new world in the realm of sports talk television. But this didn’t happen without the help of notable athletes, coaches, and sportscasters joining them on set. Hear why sports figures loved joining the guys to tell them their best stories for segments like "Five Good Minutes." And the PTI team reminisces about how a casua...

The new NBA season tips off this Tuesday, and the pool of contenders for the championship is deeper than it’s been in years. The consensus favorites just months ago were the Brooklyn Nets, but with Kyrie Irving potentially being unable to play due to vaccination requirements, the Eastern Conference is far from assured. Can the Bucks repeat their stunning run of a season ago? Will the 76ers be able...

When the Columbus Blue Jackets open their season this evening, they will be missing one of their own. Over the summer, Blue Jackets goaltender Matiss Kivlenieks was struck and killed by fireworks at a 4th of July celebration in Michigan. It was a tragedy that hit especially hard for Kivlenieks’ friend and teammate, fellow netminder Elvis Merzlikins. The two goaltenders shared more than just their...

Last Friday, a 2011 email from Las Vegas Raiders head coach Jon Gruden containing racist language surfaced in reporting by the Wall Street Journal. Gruden apologized in his postgame press conference following the Raiders loss to the Chicago Bears on Sunday. But by Monday, additional reporting uncovered many more of Gruden’s emails containing sexist, racist, and homophobic remarks, sent in correspo...

The 2021-22 National Hockey League season gets going tonight, back on ESPN after 16 years. Our Greg Wyshynski shares what's at stake for hockey’s biggest stars, what we’ll see from defending champs the Tampa Bay Lightning, and expectations for the league's newest team, the Seattle Kraken. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After an hour plus rain delay in Kansas City, Josh Allen and the Bills delivered a statement win and literally hurdled past the Chiefs. Across the AFC, the Chargers and the Browns put up a combined eighty nine points, as Justin Herbert led the Chargers to a thrilling comeback win. Elsewhere, NFL kickers had a terrible, no good, very bad Sunday. In addition to a number of missed extra points, the e...

Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon made first impressions at The Washington Post that went on to influence two decades of television, and counting. In the early years of PTI they created a world within the show. That included “Stat Boy” Tony Reali to correct them, a cast of singular journalists who joined them on set, and legendary pranks that were so convincing they rocked the sports world. Learn...

Former National Women’s Soccer League players Sinead Farrelly and Mana Shim went public last week with accusations against coach Paul Riley of sexual coercion and harassment, in an investigative report from The Athletic. Teams cancelled games, the league commissioner stepped down, and players re-took the field with demands for reform. Reporter Caitlin Murray has covered women’s pro soccer since th...

When the Houston Astros host the Chicago White Sox this afternoon in Game 1 of the ALDS, they will remain, to many, as one thing: the most hated team in baseball. It’s a stigma the Astros have carried for the past two seasons, ever since the cheating scandal from their 2017 World Series run came to light. But at the same time, the Astros have had a spectacular run of success. They’ve won their div...

The Brooklyn Nets held their first practice at home in New York Tuesday and there was one notable absence: Kyrie Irving. The seven-time All-Star had been with the team last week as they held training camp in San Diego. But in New York City, where proof of Covid-19 vaccination is required for indoor activities, Kyrie has been absent. It’s a situation that could potentially force Irving to miss ever...

MLB playoffs begin tonight with the Yankees visiting the Red Sox in the AL Wild Card game. Jeff Passan returns to tell us what we should be keeping an eye on at Fenway, and what the Dodgers vs. Cardinals matchup could bring on Wednesday. Then, Jeremy Schaap shares his story of attending a crucial Yankees vs. Red Sox game over 40 years ago...when Bucky bleeping Dent hit the home run which gave the...

Back in Foxborough to play his old team and his old coach, Tom Brady became the NFL’s all-time leading passer as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers eeked out a win after a missed field goal by the Patriots. Kyler Murray and the Cardinals established themselves with a 37-20 thrashing of the Rams in LA, while the Cowboys’ hot start continued with a win over the previously undefeated Panthers … AND the Jets go...

You know the show PTI, you love the show PTI. But how did it all start? Twenty years into “Pardon the Interruption,” co-hosts Tony Kornheiser, Michael Wilbon and a cast of media luminaries share the tale of the duo's meeting at The Washington Post. Hear how the dynamic in the legendary newsroom unexpectedly set them up for success with the show. Kornheiser and Wilbon reflect on their reluctant beg...

In the first three weeks of the NFL season, the 2021 rookie quarterback class has...struggled. Bears QB Justin Fields was sacked nine times on Sunday, Jaguars’ playcaller Trevor Lawrence has been turning over the ball under pressure, and Zach Wilson hasn’t been set up to succeed by the Jets. Bill Barnwell assesses what’s gone wrong for the rookie QBs so far, and whether we’ll see improvement. Then...

Baseball is supposed to be romantic, right? America’s pastime is predicated on tradition, hard work, and luck in getting to the show of MLB. But making it to the big leagues has become harder than ever. Minor leaguers today face pay that puts them below the poverty line, grueling schedules, and little support for the mental health and other problems that can arise from that. Joon Lee brings us a d...

It might be the most hyped regular season game in NFL history, as Tom Brady returns to New England on Sunday night to face his old mentor, Bill Belichick. For 20 years, the relationship between Brady and Belichick, along with owner Robert Kraft, was the foundation of the Patriots dynasty. And no one has covered Patriots dynasty, and divorce, like Seth Wickersham, whose new book “It’s Better To Be...