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This year, week 8 in the NFL was a holiday. No, not Halloween, but, National Tight Ends Day.  And the Tight Ends were front and center, none more than George Kittle - the holiday’s “creator.” But since you heard plenty about it on every broadcast, today, Ben Solak is here to break down the Sunday night brawl between the 49ers and Cowboys. And to explain just how wild the end of the Commanders and...

Yankees, Dodgers, World Series. Those words evoke memories of Major League baseball becoming the national pastime generations ago.  Both franchises fielded some of the absolute giants in the history of the sport. Babe and Jackie. Mantle and Koufax. And today Ohtani and Judge.  So as the baseball world gets ready for game one of the Fall Classic, we turn to Claire Smith, a legend in her own right,...

The story told of World War II and America is one of triumph over the Axis powers of Germany and Japan; a time when our entire nation stood together as one.  It has served as both an anchor and a beacon of virtue in our nation’s history. But often forgotten from this time is the Executive Order signed by President Roosevelt that called for forcible removal of all Japanese Americans from the West C...

There’s one thing for certain, the San Antonio Spurs sure can pick ‘em. From David Robinson to Tim Duncan and now Victor Wembanyama, whenever the Spurs have the No. 1 pick in the draft, they always seem to get their hands on a generational talent. And no one knows that more than lifelong Spurs superfan Shea Serrano, who has lived and breathed all of it.  Today Serrano joins us to break down the vi...

The NBA season starts tonight, and much has happened since the end of the NBA Finals. The Eastern Conference has loaded up on top, with the Knicks and the 76ers making big moves over the summer to compete with the reigning champion Celtics. Over in the Western Conference there is as competitive a race to the playoffs as ever, where almost every team has a chance to make it to the postseason.  Toda...

Week 7 in the NFL featured several of the biggest regular season battles that we’ve seen this season. While a Super Bowl rematch between the Chiefs and 49ers sort of fizzled out. Games between the Packers and Texans, and Lions and Vikings came down to the wire. And that’s before we even look at the newest toy in Aaron Rodgers toybox. So today, Ben Solak helps us understand all the highlights and s...

It wasn’t until the late 1960s that Black men were really allowed to play quarterback in professional football. And it took another 20 years or so for Black stars to emerge at the position.  The lineage of runs from James “Shack” Harrris, the first black player to start a season at quarterback in the history of pro football, to Doug Williams, the first black player to start and win a Super Bowl, t...

Though the play has been a bit ugly at times, the New York Yankees are sitting pretty with a 2-0 lead over the Cleveland Guardians in the ALCS. Meanwhile, the New York Mets are looking to keep their improbable run alive as they face a crucial Game 4 against the prohibitive favorite L.A. Dodgers. No doubt October baseball takes on a different flavor when both New York teams make deep runs.  So toda...

The New York Liberty were one of the original franchises when the WNBA debuted in 1997. And despite the chaos of getting a professional sports team off the ground in six months, they were able to hit the ground running, making multiple appearances in the Finals. That magic run screeched to a halt as quickly as it started and the Liberty suddenly found themselves exiled out of New York City and pla...

On Sunday, Jerry West became the first person inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as a player and contributor. West, who passed away in June of this year, left behind a legacy as a player, coach, executive, and is known for literally being the logo of the NBA. But he was also known for his obsessive pursuit of greatness, one that often left him incapable of enjoying the fru...

One season, one achilles injury, and a meager two wins in 2024 is all the Robert Saleh - Aaron Rodgers pairing has to show for itself with the Jets. Saleh is out as head coach of Gang Green after a rough start to the season. But for Saleh, his team, and pundits everywhere, it came as a surprise. Especially considering that with a win tonight, the Jets would be in first place in the AFC East. So to...

On the eve of yet another chapter of the iconic Red River Rivalry between Texas and Oklahoma, Barry Switzer – at the age of 87 – stands alone as the link from college football’s colorful past to its explosive present. And his story is a true American tale. From growing up as the son of a bootlegger to winning national titles at Oklahoma to running a sought-after Airbnb on game days, Coach Switzer...

With NBA media days behind us and preseason games under way, we are officially counting down the days until the start of the NBA season on October 22. And though the defending champion Boston Celtics are looking to run it back with more or less the same roster, there are plenty of new faces in new places for us to get used to.  Today, Brian Windhorst tells us why Bronny James’ arrival might actual...

Postseason baseball is theater in the greatest sense. Taking the scale of sport’s longest season and distilling it down to a short series just ratchets up the intensity like nowhere else. And this year, the bad blood between the teams in all four of the divisional series creates a soap opera like none other. So today, MLB Insider, Jeff Passan, looks ahead at tonight's ALDS action and checks in on...

In June, we saw the NHL season culminate in an epic Stanley Cup Final. Connor McDavid, the biggest star in the game, nearly led his Oilers back from a three, nothing deficit. But in the end, the Florida Panthers, once the laughing stock of the league, took the title in a decisive game seven.  So today, with a new season getting underway, Greg Wyshynski is here to help us get used to the idea of a...

Week 5 was a wild one. No lead was safe, and more than a couple of games came down to last second heroics. We even saw things that we don’t normally see, like a blocked field goal returned for a touchdown sealing the deal in Seattle. Today Ben Solak helps us digest everything we saw on the gridiron on Sunday. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A’ja Wilson just finished what is arguably one of the best WNBA seasons of all time. From being the second ever unanimous MVP, to being the first player to have a 1000-point season; to winning an Olympic gold medal and the MVP of that tournament, this doesn't begin to cover all she's accomplished in 2024. Throughout all of this, Wilson’s family and faith has been a guiding light for her and she is...

Ever since Dikembe Mutombo first stepped on to the court for the Georgetown Hoyas in 1988, his presence was impossible to ignore.   The 7’2” center who hails from Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo, was a shot-blocking machine with a smile, a voice and signature gesture that would make him a star across the world. And beyond his tall stature was a man with one of the biggest hearts on eart...

The soul of the Champions League isn’t the players or the teams, but the fans. And every one of them has a story on how their squad earned their undying loyalty. ESPN’s very own Luis Miguel Echegaray is no different. His tale is of a stirring, intercontinental journey into the ranks of Birmingham’s Aston Villa that continues to be written. So today, as he makes his way to their big Champions Leagu...

Last Thursday, the Athletics played their final game ever in Oakland, the city they’ve called home for 57 years. As friend of the show Jeff Passan wrote, baseball in the East Bay was “killed by greed… John Fisher did not have to move this team… This was a choice. A wrong one. History will sneer.”  For the conclusion of our Death of a Sports Town series, we trekked to the Oakland Coliseum and bore...

Four weeks of the NFL season are just about in the bag, and some things are just starting to come into focus. For example, how even at 3-1, the new look Buffalo Bills are facing an uphill climb against the true contenders in the AFC and how the Minnesota Vikings — who NOBODY saw coming — could shake up the NFC all season. So today, Ben Solak takes us through everything you need to know about the l...

The college football landscape, once the bedrock of tradition in sports, now seems to shock us every few months with more changes and teams on the move. And with the transfer portal, NIL and this year’s expanded college football playoff, just about anything and anyone is up for grabs. Which brings to our latest storm on the college football radar: The Pac-12.  Left for dead only a year ago, this o...

Three weeks in the question surrounding the 2024 NFL season? Where’s the offense at? With teams practicing less in training camps, starters playing less in the preseason, and more youth than ever lining up under center, things have been kind of ugly for a lot of teams. So our friend Mina Kimes explores how all of that is manifesting at the most important spot on each team. Quarterback. From Caleb...

Major League Baseball is a sport that celebrates its history through, among other things, its records. So when you break a 60-year old mark, people take notice. But when it’s for the most losses in a season, that’s not the kind of attention you ever want for your franchise. That is where the 2024 Chicago White Sox find themselves at 120 losses and counting while dethroning the 1962 Mets’ losing re...

In covering Oakland’s unraveling as a big time sports town, we’ve documented the greed, the loss, the dubious decisions, and the rich sports community soon to be left behind. But we’ve yet to fully examine the most pertinent question of all––does the Athletics planned move to Las Vegas make any sense at all?  Today, in part four of our series Death of a Sports Town, we take stock of why the A’s (a...