The Lead

The first round of the (virtual) NFL Draft went much more smoothly than many people expected. There were no major technical glitches during the four-hour event, which included NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell receiving pre-recorded boos in his basement and a rare look into the homes of NFL head coaches and GMs. The Athletic’s Mike Sando joins us to break down the picks, to assess the winners and los...

One of the most talked-about players leading up to the NFL Draft — which starts tonight — is Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa. Once considered a lock to be the No. 1 pick, he’s been slowed by a number of injuries, most notably a dislocated hip, leaving many franchises to ask if the left-hander is worth the risk. On draft day, we’re joined by Andy Staples of The Athletic to look at Tua’s ama...

Rob Gronkowski is hanging up the wrestling belt and picking up his cleats to reunite with Tom Brady in Tampa Bay. The Athletic’s Greg Auman joins us to discuss how this reunion came about at breakneck speed, what it means for the Bucs chances in the playoffs, and whether Gronk will help Brady prove that he can win without Bill Belichick after all. Follow Greg Auman's coverage of the Tampa Bay...

With pro days being canceled, players on the cusp of getting drafted into the NFL are having to get creative as they try to get on the radar of teams. The Athletic’s Stephen Holder joins us to discuss how college players who are on the bubble have been scrambling to get noticed, by doing everything from producing their own videos to working out with sandbags and in public parks. Read Stephen Holde...

The NFL Draft is usually a spectacle, but this year will be different. Teams will make selections remotely, top prospects will be at home instead of walking across the stage and Commissioner Roger Goodell is running the whole thing from his basement. Despite all of that, this year's draft class is stacked with a few potentially franchise-changing quarterbacks, some amazing defenders and a wide rec...

Steph Curry is considered by some to be the best shooter in the history of basketball. Now, a new documentary film (on which Curry is credited as an executive producer) tells the story of Kenny Sailors, the man who invented the skill that Curry has since perfected -- the jump shot. Filmmaker Jacob Hamilton joins us to discuss the film, why Kenny Sailors has largely been forgotten by the basketball...

Wednesday would have been the final day of the NBA regular season. With that in mind — and because we are all missing basketball — we’re looking back at one of the most amazing regular season performances of all time. That would be Russell Westbrook’s iconic 50-point triple-double to break Oscar Robertson’s single-season record in 2017, and The Athletic’s Erik Horne joins us to revisit W...

One of the cities hit hardest by the coronavirus right now is New Orleans, where the number of confirmed cases is among the highest in the country. The city has faced daunting circumstances before, particularly during Hurricane Katrina. And its most celebrated sports team, the Saints, played a big role in the city’s recovery from that disaster. Today we’re joined by The Athletic’s Larry Holder to...

From NBA players playing HORSE to baseball announcers calling MLB The Show video games, it seems just about anything can make it onto the airwaves and pass for sports these days. The Athletic’s Jordan Bianchi joins us to break down two recent broadcasts -- an iRacing event featuring real-life NASCAR drivers, and the recent NBA 2K competition featuring NBA stars -- to help us figure out what’s work...

The XFL officially called it quits on Friday, suspending operations and laying off all of its employees, except for a handful of executives. Vince McMahon's quirky league, which included a bunch of unusual rules, surprised a lot of people with its relative success over the past few months and in some ways seemed ready for the long run. The Athletic’s Arif Hasan, who covers the Minnesota Vikings (a...

Actor Hank Azaria is perhaps best known for his work voicing multiple classic characters on The Simpsons, but he's also the star of the hit show Brockmire. Azaria plays the title character, Jim Brockmire, a washed-up baseball announcer with alcohol problems and a sharp wit. Today we're joined by Azaria, a big baseball fan himself, to talk about his love of the Mets and his work on Brockmire, which...

The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal joins us to discuss a radical new plan from Major League Baseball, which would see the league returning to play as early as May. The plan, which reportedly has the support of high-ranking federal public health officials, would involve empty stadiums, players sitting six feet apart in the stands, and no touching or high-fives -- all broadcast live on national television...

Football and men's basketball are the main financial drivers of college sports. With March Madness having been canceled, many athletic departments are now more dependent than ever on a successful college football season. But will there be one? The Athletic’s Nicole Auerbach joins us to talk about how colleges are (and are not) preparing for football season, why college sports are more financially...

Before coronavirus brought sports to a halt, Liverpool was having a historically great Premier League season and was about to clinch its first top flight title in three decades. The Athletic's David Ornstein joins us to explain how the EPL is now desperately trying to find a way to finish the season, why some owners are taking heat over their business decisions, and what the uncertain future of th...

Many people only know Dick Vitale through his happy-go-lucky, extremely energetic and at times almost cartoonish on-air persona. Today, on what would have been the day of the men's college basketball national title game, Seth Davis of The Athletic joins us to talk about the iconic broadcaster's remarkable career — and some of the very human struggles he has endured over the years. Follow Seth...

Just about every professional sports league has come to a grinding halt in recent weeks, with one notable exception: the NFL. As other leagues have shut down because of COVID-19, the NFL has allowed new player signings, plans to hold the NFL draft as planned in late April, and has said that its season will start on time in September. The Athletic’s Lindsay Jones joins us to talk about how the NFL’...

Normally, this weekend would have been the Final Four of the women’s NCAA tournament, and potentially a big sendoff for the best player in college basketball, Sabrina Ionescu. Instead, Oregon’s superstar now turns her focus to the WNBA Draft, where she will almost certainly be the number one pick. Today, we’re joined by Seth Davis of The Athletic to discuss Ionescu’s rise from unassuming kid...

After months of speculation, the Carolina Panthers released longtime quarterback Cam Newton on March 24. While the move was expected by some, it still came as a shock to fans and the football world. And the whole separation itself was rather messy. After the Panthers announced they would allow Newton to seek a trade, Cam took to the comments on the team's Instagram page to give his side of the sto...

Just before the coronavirus put a halt to every sport seemingly overnight, there were some big developments in the WNBA. The union signed a new contract with the league, players started making more money and some big trades generated a lot of excitement. But it could be argued that none of this would have been possible without pioneering women like Nancy Lieberman, whose legacy includes a legendar...

Steph Curry interviewed Dr. Anthony Fauci about COVID-19 live on Instagram last week. Joel Embiid has pledged half a million dollars to help laid off arena workers. Karl-Anthony Towns recently opened up about his mother being in a medically-induced coma because of the coronavirus. In short, pro athletes are doing a lot to help in the fight against the pandemic. But are they also benefitting from a...

In the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, some big college basketball news flew under the radar last week, with Hall of Famer Rick Pitino returning to the NCAA to coach Iona after nearly three years out of the college game. Today, we speak with The Athletic's Seth Davis about Pitino's rise to prominence with Providence in the 1980's, the series of scandals that left him without a job, and whether...

With the Tokyo Olympics now officially postponed, 5-time Olympic gold medalist swimmer Nathan Adrian joins us to talk about what the uncertainty of the past few weeks has been like, how he and his fellow Olympic athletes will now be adjusting their lives to meet this new timetable, and how the threat of postponement impacted him in unexpected ways (hint: he developed an unexpected affinity for swe...

Earlier this month, U.S. Soccer made a legal argument that many people found deeply offensive, and that led to the resignation of the organization’s president. As part of an ongoing lawsuit over equal pay, U.S. Soccer essentially argued that men deserve to be paid more money than women because they are biologically superior and play in more difficult conditions. The Athletic’s Megan Linehan joins...

(Note: A few hours after we published this episode, Japan and the IOC announced that the Olympics will, in fact, be postponed until 2021.) Yesterday, a member of the International Olympic Committee told a reporter that the 2020 Tokyo Olympics will be postponed until next year. This came a day after the IOC announced that it would make a decision within the next four weeks, and after both Canada an...

Last week, Italy surpassed China as the country with the most deaths from COVID-19. Italy also happens to be a country where a number of WNBA players go in the offseason to supplement their income. The Athletic’s Alexis Mansanarez joins us to tell the story of an American player who was quarantined in Italy and attempted to get out of the country as it went into lockdown. Read Alexis Mansanarez's...