The Lead

Carissa Moore is not your typical surfer. Before she could walk, her father had her on his surfboard so that she could get the feel of the water. By age ten, she had been labeled a prodigy. At 14, she defeated the top-ranked women's surfer in the world (twice). And now, at age 28, she is a four-time world champion -- and one of the favorites to win gold at the Tokyo Olympics. But, on top of all he...

The Opening Ceremony of the Tokyo Olympics is tonight, and one of the biggest stars to watch on the U.S. team is five-time Olympic gold medalist Katie Ledecky. Today, The Athletic’s Nicole Auerbach joins us to tell the story of the backyard pool where Ledecky kept her training going in the spring of 2020, the bond she formed with the family who shared the same space, and how the whole thing could...

At every Olympic Games, there are thousands of stories. This year, Simone Manuel looks to solidify her legacy as the greatest gymnast of all time. Katie Ledecky could become the most decorated female athlete in Olympic history. And Trayvon Bromell aims to claim the title of 'world's fastest man.' But there are also so many more. The Athletic's Zack Pierce joins us to talk through some of the bigge...

In each of the past two seasons, the Milwaukee Bucks came up short in the playoffs after amassing incredible regular season records. With each loss, the questions over whether this team, its coach, and its star player could ever get to the mountaintop grew. On Tuesday night, all those questions were answered. Giannis Antetokounmpo had an historic night, becoming only the 7th player in history to s...

The 2021 NBA Draft is next Thursday, and one guy who has defied the odds (in a truly unprecedented way) to become a projected pick is Ohio University junior Jason Preston. The Athletic's James Edwards III recently interviewed Preston, and he joins us to explain how the late-blooming guard went from being a high school benchwarmer in Florida, to an aspiring basketball journalist, to an overnight co...

U.S. track and field legend Allyson Felix is on the way to her fifth Olympic Games after qualifying for the 400 meter and the 4 x 400 meter relay. She and her 2-year-old daughter Camryn also stole the show (and kinda broke the Internet) at the Olympic Trials last month with an incredible display of cuteness after the race. The Athletic's Kavitha Davidson -- our very own former co-host! -- recently...

The U.S. Men's National Basketball team has won four straight gold medals and looked pretty much unbeatable since 2004. That is, until recently. In the run-up to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, the Americans lost back to back games against Australia and Nigeria, and raised doubts over whether this team has what it takes to continue the streak of basketball dominance that the U.S. men's team has enjoyed f...

The 2021 NFL offseason has delivered a lot of surprising decisions, from the Bears moving up to draft Justin Fields to the Falcons moving on from franchise legend Julio Jones to the Raiders completely remaking their offensive line (for reasons that aren't entirely clear). Today, The Athletic’s Robert Mays joins us to break down some of the best, worst and most notable decisions of the NFL offseaso...

For weeks, Japanese citizens have been holding protests about the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and saying that Japan should not be hosting the Games in the midst of a worsening coronavirus pandemic. A recent poll showed that 80 percent of the public opposes holding the Olympics, and medical experts have warned that the Games could be a super-spreader event that will further strain the country's health care...

Chris Paul is not everyone's cup of tea. During the course of his career, the diminutive point guard has often rubbed teammates the wrong way during his career and that became an easy knock against one of the greatest players of his generation who never made an NBA Finals. Over the past few seasons, Paul has seemed to turn over a new leaf, and in Phoenix he's found a group of teammates who want to...

Major League Baseball has arrived at the All-Star break, and during the first half of the season, no player has put on a more amazing all-around show than Angels slugger/ace Shohei Ohtani. Today, The Athletic’s Joe Posnanski joins us to break down some of the season’s biggest story lines, including Ohtani’s superhuman feats, Jacob deGrom’s brilliance, the return to dominance of baseball’s most con...

After more than 50 years of waiting, England fans saw their team reach the final of a major tournament on Wednesday after the Three Lions knocked off Denmark at Wembley Stadium. The soundtrack for this historic run is a song that debuted 25 years ago, the last time England hosted a European tournament, and produced a memorable slogan for English fans, 'It's Coming Home.' Today, The Athletic's Jack...

Two years ago, the Scripps National Spelling Bee had arguably the most dramatic -- and delightful -- ending in its nearly hundred-year history. After five rounds and forty-seven words spelled correctly, the judges threw in the towel and declared eight co-champions, much to the joy of the contestants and the millions who tuned in on television. So, now that the kids have bested the competition, the...

Heading into the 2021 MLB season, the NL West was supposed to be a showdown between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Diego Padres. But for the first half of the year, the San Francisco Giants stole the show. Today, we’re joined by The Athletic’s Andrew Baggarly to look at how this team of veterans (including Buster Posey, Brandon Crawford and Evan Longoria) has managed to exceed basically all e...

Two years ago, the Tampa Bay Lightning suffered one of the most humiliating defeats in NHL history, getting swept in the first round of the playoffs by the #8 seed Columbus Blue Jackets (after compiling the best regular season record in league history). It was the latest in a series of playoff failures for the talented Bolts, and many people began wondering if they needed a new coach and a roster...

Fernando Tatis Jr. has been red hot lately. So, today, we're replaying an episode that originally aired back in February, after the superstar signed his massive deal with the Padres. The Athletic’s Dennis Lin joined us to look at how the idea for Tatis Jr.’s deal was inspired by a pair of statues, and how a unique bond between player and general manager helped this contract become a reality. More...

The hottest bat in baseball doesn’t belong to Fernando Tatis Jr. or even Shohei Ohtani. No that title currently belongs to Washington Nationals left fielder Kyle Schwarber. After the worst season of his career in 2020, Schwarber has managed to get his groove back and take his game to new heights in 2021. Today, The Athletic’s Maria Torres joins us to talk about the hitting coach who helped Schwarb...

On Tuesday night, we saw yet another injury to a star player during these NBA Playoffs, as Giannis Antetokounmpo went down with a knee injury in a loss to the Atlanta Hawks in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals. Today, The Athletic’s Eric Nehm on the Bucks chances for survival if they are without the two-time MVP, and why former second-round pick Khris Middleton could be the guy to carry them...

The Italian men's national soccer team is off to a flying start at the 2020 European Championship, and is now one of the favorites to win the tournament. Which makes it easy to forget that, just a few years ago, the Azzuri suffered through an almost unspeakable tragedy that the Italian press dubbed “The Apocalypse" -- failing to quality for the World Cup. Today, The Athletic’s James Horncastle joi...

In April, less than a month after their team was eliminated from the 2021 NCAA tournament, eleven players from the Syracuse Women's Basketball program had announced that they would be transferring from the program -- the most of any basketball program in the country. Head coach Quentin Hillsman said it was nothing to be concerned about and indicated that the new NCAA transfer portal, which allows...

The Stanley Cup Finals begin tonight, with the defending champion Tampa Bay Lightning hosting the upstart darlings of Quebec, the Montreal Canadiens. For the Lightning, all eyes will be on their superstar who missed the entire regular season, only to come back and lead them in scoring during the playoffs -- former Hart Trophy winner Nikita Kucherov. The Athletic's Joe Smith has been following the...

When Albert Pujols was released by the Angels, it seemed like it might the unceremonious end to a decorated career in Major League Baseball. Then Pujols raised eyebrows by signing with the Dodgers, a team in the National League with no designated hitter slot. People around the league wondered if Pujols had any gas left in the tank, and the man with over 670 home runs to his name has proven that he...

Four years ago, BIG3, the 3-on-3 basketball league founded by hip-hop artist Ice Cube and entertainment executive Jeff Kwatinetz, was rolled out amidst a healthy dose of skepticism. But now, after a year off because of the pandemic, the league is still alive and is trying to pick up steam. The Athletic's Tashan Reed recently spoke with Ice Cube, Kwatinetz, and NBA legend Clyde Drexler (BIG3's comm...

On Monday, Raiders defensive end Carl Nassib made history by becoming the first active NFL player to publicly come out as gay. The 28-year-old Nassib, who had previously played for the Cleveland Browns and Tampa Bay Buccaneers (and who was one of the breakout stars of HBO's Hard Knocks in 2019) made the announcement in a one-minute video on Instagram. The Athletic's Steve Buckley faced many of the...

The Phoenix Suns have been the most dominant team in the playoffs so far. Despite being without their star point guard, Chris Paul, due to COVID-19, the Suns won their eighth straight playoff game on Sunday in Game 1 of their Western Conference Finals matchup with the Los Angeles Clippers. The Athletic's Jovan Buha has been covering the Suns remarkable postseason run and he joins us today to talk...