The Lead

We are five days away from college football’s national championship game, a David and Goliath showdown between the defending champion Georgia Bulldogs, and the team no one expected to be here: the TCU Horned Frogs. Today, we’re joined by Seth Emerson — who covers Georgia for The Athletic — to look at Stetson Bennett’s encore, and what has made this edition of the Bulldogs so unstoppable. Then...

The man who many people consider the greatest sports broadcaster of all time, Vin Scully, died this summer at the age of 94. For 67 years, Scully was the iconic and unmistakable voice of the Dodgers, and began calling games in Brooklyn in 1950. Five writers share their memories of Scully the broadcaster, the storyteller, and the person. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and Californi...

Lusia Harris is one of the best basketball players to ever live: a 3-time collegiate national champion, an Olympics silver medalist, and the only woman to be officially drafted by an NBA team. But chances are, you've never heard of her. Ben Proudfoot, the director of an Academy Award-winning short documentary about Harris's life, tells the story of her unlikely journey from the Mississippi Delta t...

Phoenix Suns star Devin Booker got into a hilarious spat with the Toronto Raptors' mascot -- a big, red dinosaur in a basketball jersey -- back in January. Things spilled over into the post-game press conference and onto Twitter, and the basketball world was hooked. Inspired by this hilarity, we called up Dave Raymond, the founder of the Mascot Hall of Fame (and the man inside the Phillie Phanatic...

For the past month, millions of people have been glued to the television, watching as many Word Cup games as possible. And for fans in the U.S., that has meant spending a lot of time with the broadcast team at Fox. With the dust still settling on the tournament, sports media journalist Richard Deitsch joins us to discuss Fox's coverage, what they did and didn't do well, and why, no matter what you...

Plus: Two NFC contenders see their playoff prospects head in opposite directions. And the Lakers find themselves in a familiar position — with a key piece out of action. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

One week ago, Grant Wahl – perhaps the best known soccer journalist in the U.S. – died suddenly while covering the World Cup in Qatar. He was just 49 years old. Today, four people who knew Grant share stories about his life, and the impact he had on the beautiful game and the people who cover it. Guests: Alexi Lalas, Chris Stone, Samara Kelly, Luis Miguel Echegaray See Privacy Policy at https://ar...

Behind every great sports broadcaster is a great statistician -- the person who digs up the numbers that tell us a story about the game we're watching, or help us make sense of the action unfolding before our eyes. Today, The Athletic’s Dan Brown tells us the story of one such statistician, Bo Chapman, who became one of the best and most beloved sports statisticians around, before his life was tra...

There is perhaps no greater theater in all of sports than a penalty kick shootout at the World Cup. Players take turns walking into the spotlight with millions, if not billions of people around the world watching them, and engage in a high-stakes battle of skill and nerves with the goalkeeper. Score, and you are cheered -- miss, and your legacy might forever be tainted. And yet, despite the huge i...

Back in March, Aaliyah Gayles -- a talented point guard from Las Vegas -- played in the McDonald's Girls All-American Basketball Game. It was just the latest achievement in her already impressive high school career, which included her being named a top ten national recruit. But just a few weeks after that game, Gayles’s life and promising basketball career changed forever. Today, reporter David Ga...

Plus: Two top NFL contenders get worrying injury news at the most important position. And two young superstars guide their countries into the round of eight in Qatar. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

Being a long snapper in the NFL is one of the stranger jobs in all of sports. You spend your time hunched over, trying to throw perfect spirals backwards and between your legs -- in high pressure situations – and no one really knows about you or cares about you unless something goes terribly, horribly wrong. Sports Illustrated’s Alex Prewitt recently went down the long snapping rabbit hole, and to...

It's been a while since there has been this much hype around an NBA prospect. Victor Wembanyama, the 7-foot-3-inch,18-year-old French basketball sensation, has been turning heads around the world for years now, and has even captured the imaginations of the NBA's biggest superstars, who have all gushed about his skills and incredible potential. But what makes Wembanyama even more intriguing is his...

Plus: An unexpected hero keeps Germany World Cup dreams afloat. And after 30 near misses, a decorated skier finally ends up on top.  See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

On Wednesday, Canada played its first game of the 2022 World Cup against the team ranked #2 in the world -- Belgium. And despite losing the game 1-0, Canada absolutely dominated and, in the process, sent a powerful message to the world: Canada is no joke. Our team here at The Lead is off enjoying the Thanksgiving holiday, so today we're replaying an episode that first aired back in January, about...

New York Giants head coach Brian Daboll has pulled a few rabbits out of his hat this year. For one thing, he’s taken a team that finished 4-13 last season and, without significant roster changes, started out this season 7-3. And it turns out, Daboll literally has quite a few tricks up his sleeve. The Athletic’s Dan Pompei recently spent time with Daboll (and got a first hand look at his sleight of...

Plus: The Vikings officially go on fraud watch after a drubbing at the hands of the Cowboys. And the top two teams in women’s college hoops put on a show in Palo Alto — and send an important message along the way. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

Lionel Messi has won just about everything there is to win in soccer -- scoring titles, Champions League trophies, a Copa America championship, and a record seven Ballon d'Ors as the world's top player. But the one thing that has eluded him is the prize that matters most to him and his fellow Argentines -- the World Cup. With the tournament set to kick off on Sunday in Qatar, The Athletic's Ed Mal...

Heading into this season, a lot of people weren’t expecting much from the Seattle Seahawks, as they went from Russell Wilson to 32-year-old journeyman Geno Smith. Fast forward 10 weeks into the season, and Smith — the quarterback people wrote off — is playing at an MVP level. Today, The Athletic’s Michael-Shawn Dugar helps us take a closer look at how the synergy between Geno Smith and P...

Plus: Joel Embiid puts up an all-time stat line in a much needed win for the Sixers. And the PAC-12 sees two College Football Playoff contenders go down hard. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

All throughout the offseason, and even into the start of this season, we thought we knew what the Utah Jazz were supposed to be. This team was supposed to be tanking, one of the many hoping to land generational prospect Victor Wembanyama. But so far this year, the Jazz are doing basically the exact opposite of tanking. Today, The Athletic's Tony Jones tells us how the Jazz have put together the be...

For the past 12 years, the tiny, extremely wealthy nation of Qatar has been preparing for the 2022 World Cup, building beautiful new stadiums, roads, and hotels. And, for years, one journalist in particular has been telling the stories of the people who have been doing the actual building, as well as the terrible, sometimes deadly conditions they’ve been working in. Today, that journalist, Pete Pa...

The Houston Astros get manager Dusty Baker the only thing missing from his resume. The Jets' defense shines in a surprising win over the Bills. And Major League Soccer wraps up its season with a championship game for the ages. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

Friday marks seven months to the day since Kansas pulled off its stunning comeback over UNC in the men’s college basketball national title game. And, at the start of this upcoming week, college hoops — and some of its most celebrated stars — are back. Today, The Athletic’s Eamonn Brennan gives us a crash course on the upcoming season, including the landscape for Kentucky’s Oscar Tshiebwe...