Technically, the NHL regular season does not finish until Thursday, with a few teams still fighting for the last playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. But the true contenders to raise Lord Stanley’s Cup have already become pretty clear. So with the playoffs officially starting this weekend, we find ourselves filled with pressing questions. Is Canada finally poised to end its three decade title drought? Can Connor McDavid get over the hump? Are the New York Rangers for real? Our NHL expert Emil...
Apr 16, 2024•27 min
When a six-foot tall, 265-pound bronze statue of Jackie Robinson went missing from McAdams Park in Wichita, Kansas, it felt like a hate crime. An ugly echo of America’s unjust past and a crime leveled not just at the man who broke Major League’s color barrier in 1947 but also at an urban community within the city. But as Bob Lutz, the founder of League 42, a youth organization geared towards exposing the city’s black and brown youth to baseball and more, learned, Jackie Robinson was more of an a...
Apr 15, 2024•26 min
When the starter’s gun goes off on Monday for the 128th Boston Marathon, sadly Kelvin Kiptum will not be among the runners. The Kenyan running superstar lost his life earlier this year and that tragedy has been compounded by what appeared to be limitless potential. In a brief three year marathon career, Kiptum had built a Hall of Fame resume that seemed to push the boundaries of what a human can accomplish. So today, ultramarathoner Kelaine Conochan joins us to explain just how much the world lo...
Apr 12, 2024•28 min
John Calipari’s tenure at Kentucky included a national championship and four Final Fours. At most other programs, that kind of resume would have guaranteed him a job for life. But things are different in Lexington, as the Wildcats’ five year streak of no Sweet 16 appearances made Calipari’s recent decision to jump to Arkansas shocking but not surprising. So today, SportsCenter anchor and lifelong Kentucky fan Michael Eaves gives us the view inside the Big Blue fanbase and explains why picking th...
Apr 11, 2024•25 min
On the eve of the Masters, it’s no secret that the world of men’s professional golf is currently in chaos. And there is nobody more in tune with anything and everything going on in that universe than Michael Collins, America’s Caddy. So as this year’s Masters gets ready to tee off down in Augusta, Collins delivers everything from the latest on the PGA/LIV cold war, who to watch on the course and why Tiger Woods isn’t ready to walk away just yet. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastcho...
Apr 10, 2024•30 min
This past Sunday, 18.7 million sets of eyes were on the women's NCAA Basketball National Championship game between the Iowa Hawkeyes and the South Carolina Gamecocks. But beyond the meteoric rise in the game’s popularity, there was another underlying story unfolding on the sidelines. That was the coaches, rocking all types of exciting fashion, from bold prints, to designer pieces worth thousands of dollars. The ladies leading these teams are setting a trend for how a coach can look. So today, An...
Apr 09, 2024•30 min
The finale of the men’s NCAA tournament is tonight, and features a matchup of the best two teams in the nation, UConn and Purdue, and the best big men in the country, Purdue’s Zach Edey and UConn’s Donovan Clingan. ESPN basketball writer and host Myron Medcalf breaks down the battle between the two behemoths, and explains how each side can come out on top. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Apr 08, 2024•29 min
We spent much of the men’s college basketball season lamenting the lack of buzz and star power on the court. But few sporting events are as good at building stars and storylines as the NCAA tournament. And despite fewer upsets and no true buzzer-beaters, the 2024 edition has still delivered. It all comes to a head in Saturday’s Final Four as DJ Burns and NC State face Zach Edey and Purdue, followed by Mark Sears and Alabama taking on Donovan Clingan and Connecticut. So today, our Myron Medcalf s...
Apr 05, 2024•29 min
If you need any more evidence of the explosive growth of women’s basketball, look no further than Monday night, when Iowa’s elite eight victory over LSU drew 12.3 million viewers. It’s not just the most ever for a women’s college game, it also eclipsed average viewers for last year’s World Series and NBA Finals. So as the Final Four gets ready to tip off in Cleveland Friday night, our expert Alexa Philippou reads between the now-officially measured lines to tell us everything we need to know. Le...
Apr 04, 2024•28 min
As expected, Max Verstappen and his Red Bull team are off to a strong start in the 2024 Formula 1 season. But despite Verstappen and his teammate Sergio Perez finishing first and second in two of the season’s first three races, the focus has been on things happening off the track. Team principle Christian Horner has had a complaint of sexual harassment, coercion, and abusive behavior lodged against him by a female employee of the team, leading to questions about whether Verstappen’s future is wi...
Apr 03, 2024•28 min
Ippei Mizuhara was more than a friend and interpreter for Shohei Ohtani. He was the man that held the door shut between Ohtani and the outside world. With Mizuhara gone in the wake of this massive sports betting scandal, Ohtani is now a man alone. Tim Keown spent time watching the Dodgers’ newest star up close and personal recently, and he explains to us how Ohtani’s newfound isolation might actually be the key to him opening up to the Dodgers, and maybe eventually the rest of us all. Learn more...
Apr 02, 2024•31 min
He may have been the biggest such star to become entangled in a gambling drama, but Dodgers’ star Shohei Ohtani was not the first. Days after the scandal surrounding the global baseball star’s interpreter came to light, a different set of suspicious bets emerged. Last Monday, news broke of an investigation into Toronto Raptors reserve center Jontay Porter. As more and more states have legalized sports betting, we’ve seen more and more athletes, many of them lesser known players, drawing headline...
Apr 01, 2024•24 min
The women’s NCAA Tournament is back in action tonight with a slate of Sweet 16 games that could set the stage for an unforgettable weekend. Will Iowa and LSU renew their championship rivalry? Can UConn make a triumphant return to the Final Four? And can anyone even come close to stopping the South Carolina juggernaut? ESPN women’s basketball expert Alexa Philippou joins us from Portland, to answer our questions, tell us what she’s seen so far in the tournament and predict what’s to come. Learn m...
Mar 29, 2024•29 min
March Madness returns tonight with the Sweet 16, and the storylines are just getting good. Following a pair of stunning losses by blue bloods Kentucky and Kansas, and a return to form by Gonzaga, we’re asking ourselves if UConn can be villainous enough to capture the first two-peat since the 2007 Florida Gators? Whether Zach Edey can get Purdue over the top? And if NC State can be the Cinderella story to sweep through this tournament? ESPN host and college basketball writer Myron Medcalf gives u...
Mar 28, 2024•29 min
Even as the Shohei Ohtani sports betting scandal dominates the headlines, there are other off-the-field stories bouncing around Major League Baseball. Just last week, for example, following an offseason that saw free agent spending decline by nearly a billion dollars, there was a battle for control within the MLB Players Association. So today, ESPN MLB writer Jeff Passan details a story full of palace intrigue, conniving characters, and breaks down a battle for the future of the MLBPA more suite...
Mar 27, 2024•28 min
For any star, the path to greatness is paved with pitfalls most of us will never encounter. The burden of being the best person on the court. The challenges of trusting teammates who’s physical gifts and talents are so far removed from your own. The responsibility of setting the tone for everyone around you. That is the road Iowa’s Caitlin Clark walks. So today, in the wake of the Hawkeyes’ second Sweet 16 birth in as many years, our Wright Thompson brings us closer to Clark’s inner circle and r...
Mar 26, 2024•28 min
The escalating conflict between Israel and Hamas has been the biggest story in the world for months. And it’s been devastating for Palestinians in Gaza, where more than 30,000 people have been killed. But through it all, the Palestine national football team has continued to compete, as it seeks a World Cup bid for the first time ever. So with their fourth of six qualifying matches scheduled for Tuesday, ESPN investigative reporter T.J. Quinn tells us what he’s learned about the team, and how in ...
Mar 25, 2024•29 min
This isn’t the kind of attention that Major League Baseball was looking for to open the season. Almost as soon as the league got to celebrate Shohei Ohtani leading his new Dodgers teammates to victory in South Korea, news broke that Ohtani’s name was being dragged into a sports betting scandal involving his longtime friend and interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara. ESPN investigative journalist Tisha Thompson takes us through her reporting to tell us what happened, and how baseball's biggest unicorn finds...
Mar 22, 2024•24 min
There’s a new level of excitement surrounding the women’s college basketball game as the NCAA Tournament approaches. That’s because the rivalries are tougher, the game is faster, and the stars are shining brighter than maybe ever before. So today, ESPN women’s basketball reporter, Alexa Philippou, takes us through the teams, matchups, and players she has her eyes on, as the madness gets ready to begin. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Mar 21, 2024•27 min
This season of men's college basketball has lacked the buzz and attention we're used to seeing, but now that the tournament is here and bracket bets are rolling in, that is sure to change. We already saw the drama ramp up last weekend as several “bid-thieves” won their conference tournaments and stole slots from a handful of bubble teams. So can UConn become the first back-to-back champ in 17-years? Can Purdue overcome the stigma of last year's first-round upset? And what’s the deal with Long Be...
Mar 20, 2024•27 min
For the first time in 38 years, the University of Southern California has earned a No. 1 seed in the NCAA women’s basketball tournament. It’s the culmination of coach Lindsey Gottlieb’s three-year rehabilitation project for the once proud program. But for former high school phenom Aaliyah Gayles, who’d committed to the Trojans before Gottlieb took over, injuries from a shooting in 2022 had her wondering if she’d ever be able to play basketball again. ESPN Writer Katie Barnes started reporting on...
Mar 19, 2024•31 min
In 2019, Dr. Gregg Nigl, a neuropsychologist in Columbus, Ohio put forth what many consider the best bracket in history, correctly picking the first 49 games of the tournament while briefly bedridden with an illness. But the exact details of how he pulled it off have remained a secret for years. So today, with this year’s bracket now revealed and fans everywhere entertaining their own dreams of perfection (looking at you dear listener), our Ryan Hockensmith gets to the bottom of the greatest run...
Mar 18, 2024•30 min
In December, Ted Leonsis, owner of the Washington Wizards and Capitals, announced the teams were leaving their downtown home of 26 years and building a new arena south of the city in the Virginia suburbs. For many longtime fans of the team, moving to a community they didn’t feel welcome was seen as a betrayal. But it’s also a trend we’re seeing throughout sports, as owners increasingly use new venue projects as a tool to expand their real estate empires. So today, Clinton Yates and Martenzie Joh...
Mar 15, 2024•31 min
It’s hard not to notice that championships are often the end all, be all in sports discourse. But in the case of the 2023-24 Boston Celtics, it may just be true. Boston has been one of the most successful franchises in the NBA in recent seasons, but the Celtics have not yet captured a ring in 16 years. Today, ESPN NBA writer Tim Bontemps explains why this Celtics team has been as good as almost any other squad in basketball history. But he also tells us that without a title at the end of the day...
Mar 14, 2024•27 min
The day that college administrators have long dreaded has finally arrived. Last week, the Dartmouth men's basketball team officially formed the first-ever labor union in college sports. And though it may prove to be a union-in-name-only, it is a watershed moment for student athletes, schools, conferences, and the NCAA itself. So today, ESPN senior writer Dan Murphy explains what it all means and why the professionalization of college athletes looks ready to go into hyperdrive. You can watch Dan ...
Mar 13, 2024•27 min
Six years ago, a simple 3am tweet from All-star DeMar DeRozan inadvertently kicked off a new conversation about mental health in the NBA. And in the years since, he's embraced his role as a mental health advocate. Now, DeMar has launched a new web series, titled Dinners with DeMar featuring some of the likes of Draymond Green, Dwyane Wade, and Damian Lillard opening up about their own internal struggles. So today, our Jamal Collier takes us inside DeMar DeRozan's mental health journey, and how h...
Mar 12, 2024•30 min
NFL free agency is set to start this week, meaning teams are looking to add talent, and players are looking to get paid. So today, Mina Kimes helps us understand who is available, and which teams will be looking to buy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Mar 11, 2024•23 min
The Minnesota Timberwolves are one of the NBA’s top contenders right now, battling for the #1 seed in the West. But it hasn’t always been this way. As a lifelong T-Wolves fan: author, critic, and poet Hanif Abdurraqib is a historian of the many eras of this franchise, from the Kevin Garnett era in the early 2000s through some dismal seasons in the 2010s. Throughout it all, Abdurraqib has nurtured a love for the team and its key players. Today he joins the show to tell the story of how the T-Wolv...
Mar 08, 2024•33 min
The Big 12 Women’s basketball tournament starts today, but of all the teams in attendance, none have had a season of ups and downs like the Texas Christian University. After starting out the year surprisingly strong and entering the top 25, a series of injuries sidelined several players, including stars Sedona Price and Madison Connor. By mid-January, the Horned Frogs had only six players available. So head coach Mark Campbell put an emergency plan into effect: hold open tryouts. Today, Dave Wil...
Mar 07, 2024•30 min
The Oklahoma City Thunder are currently sitting at the top of the Western Conference, which is not bad for a team that’s also one of the youngest in the NBA. But how are they dominating the league the way that they are so quickly? ESPN Senior Writer Chris Herring recently wrote about how the Thunder’s on-court presence is starting to resemble a 2014 Golden State Warriors team preparing to make a dynastic, four-championship run. With an emerging big three featuring an MVP candidate in Shai Gilgeo...
Mar 06, 2024•26 min
