ESPN Daily

When Michael Jordan began to cry during his Basketball Hall of Fame induction speech, that moment would turn one of basketball’s greatest players to the meme seen ‘round the Internet. Now, 10 years after Crying Jordan first became a meme, it's still just as popular as ever, popping up anywhere and everywhere. ESPN’s Dave Fleming once again brings us the origin story of this legendary meme, and tells us why every corner of society just can’t get enough of it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

With over 20 million people from 20 different countries across the most populated continent on the planet, you can make a pretty good case that the very concept of an “Asian-American” is incredibly oversimplified. There are some experiences however, that happen to unite Asian-Americans. For example, almost any Asian-American working in sports media can tell you about their shared experiences, from media personalities to NBA point guards…to the guy who ran the Minnesota Timberwolves until yesterday, Sachin Gupta. As part of Asian American, Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander Heritage Month, SportsCenter anchor Kevin Negandhi tells us the story of the first Indian-American to ever be President of Basketball Operations for an NBA team, why the smartest people in the NBA respect him so much, and what his still-unfolding journey says about all of us. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When Jimmy Butler didn’t return to the second half of Game 3 vs. the Celtics, the Heat showed no signs of cooling down. Career performances from Kyle Lowry and Bam Adebayo and yes, even Max Strus, gave Miami the surge it needed to take the series lead, up 2-1. Ahead of Game 4 in Boston, Nick Friedell dissects the finest sample of Heat Culture we’ve seen so far…and he tells us what it means for the rest of the series. Then, a check in on the Western Conference Finals…where the Mavs are in danger of turning into dust…on the verge of being swept by the Warriors, now down 3-0. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Novak Djokovic is arguably the greatest men’s tennis player of all time. His 20 Grand Slam titles place him just one behind Rafael Nadal for the most ever. He’s been ranked #1 in the world for a record 370 consecutive weeks. And he’s the defending champion heading into the French Open, which begins this weekend. But despite his brilliance on the court, Djokovic has never been beloved by tennis fans in the same way his rivals Nadal and Roger Federer have been. This past January, Djokovic found himself the center of controversy ahead of the Australian Open, when he was deported by the Australian government because of his vaccine status. Sam Borden traveled to Djokovic’s native Serbia to learn how he is preparing for his return to Grand Slam tennis following the fiasco in Australia. Borden also explains how Djokovic’s upbringing in a country that was torn apart by war has shaped his identity. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Florida Panthers are at home tonight for Game 2 of their 2nd round series against the Tampa Bay Lightning. And while the Panthers are down 1-0 in the series…Florida’s league-leading offense has reinvigorated their fans for the first time in a generation. They are so excited, in fact, that they have begun throwing rats onto the ice. It’s a hair-raising tradition that dates back to the ‘95-’96 season, when a Cinderella Panthers team made the Stanley Cup Final in just their third year of existence. Emily Kaplan is here to explain how the Panthers rat tradition started, if it may or may not have contributed to the team’s long misfortunes…and the ways in which this generation’s Panthers are trying to write a new ending to their own tale. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

WNBA All-Star Brittney Griner has been detained in Russia since February. She’s been accused of carrying vape cartridges that contained cannabis oil in her luggage…charges that could carry a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. Last week, news came out that Griner’s pretrial detention in Russia had been extended by another month, and the US State Department announced that it now regards Griner as wrongfully detained. ESPN’s T.J. Quinn explains what these developments mean for Griner’s case, and what the US government may be doing to help win her release. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

May is Mental Health Awareness Month and it’s a major topic in sports right now, as more elite athletes share personal struggles. Olympic skier Mikaela Shiffrin is one of the greatest of all time, hurtling down the slopes at breakneck speed. But in Beijing this year she stopped just seconds into a race where she was expected to take gold. Alyssa Roenigk talked to Shiffrin about this moment in Beijing, and how she’s taken a new approach to speaking her mind, public scrutiny and processing family grief. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The best two words in sports are Game Seven, and we got two…in the form of major beatdowns. Grant Williams and the Celtics shut down Giannis and the Bucks at home to punch their ticket to the Eastern Conference Finals. In the West, Playoff Luka added to his growing legacy with a shower of 3s to lead the Mavericks past the Suns. Brian Windhorst helps us process what happened Sunday, and sets up the Conference Finals. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Picture a baseball manager. Whatever image you’ve conjured in your mind of, say, a slightly out of shape, older man who’s all business - it probably doesn’t match Gabe Kapler, who manages the San Francisco Giants. Kapler is an enigma: an uber-buff fitness geek who only eats red meat. He sports well manicured facial hair and speaks in verse, sounding more like a poet than a baseball player. Tim Keown introduces us to Kapler, and how he’s rewriting baseball’s unwritten rules…and reimagining what it means to be a manager. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Brad Marchand contains multitudes. Sure, the Boston Bruins winger could be called the most hated man in hockey…he’s served two suspensions in just this season. But Marchand is also one of the top scorers in the NHL, integral to the Bruins’ offense. He’s known for cheap shots, punching opposing players, licking faces, and was once given the nickname “Little Ball of Hate” from former President Barack Obama. With the Bruins facing elimination from the playoffs tonight, Greg Wyshynski tells us what Marchand can do to help his team, and explains his complicated legacy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

These NBA playoffs are full of flopping. You’ve seen it: the flailing of the arms, the swing of the head, or the legs going akimbo. NBA players over the years have honed their skills in making it look like they got fouled, and some take it to the level of an artform. Retired NBA veteran, current ESPN analyst and “Old Man and the Three” podcast host JJ Redick gives us a masterclass in flopping, from his time in the game and a professional giver of takes today. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When the Supreme Court ruled last summer that college athletes could earn money from their Name, Image, and Likeness, it was hailed as a positive breakthrough in college sports. But now that the NIL era is here, the reality is not so binary…rather, this new economy in college sports is getting very messy, very quickly. ESPN’s David Hale is here to tell us what’s really going on across the collegiate landscape, what the hidden cost of NIL is for athletes, and how to fix a system that might already be broken. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The NBA playoffs are bringing it! The 76ers held off the Heat on Sunday to tie the series at two games apiece, while the Mavericks stayed hot at home and beat the Suns 101-111. In Milwaukee the Bucks took Game 3 against the Celtics in a Saturday buzzer beater and face off again Monday night. Plus, with Ja Morant likely out for Monday the Grizzlies are in poor position to win against the Warriors, coming off a 30-point Game 3 loss. ESPN’s Brian Windhorst is here to tell you what to watch for as the playoffs remain open to many paths ahead. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We’re talking about practice…no, really. It’s been 20 years since Allen Iverson’s infamous rant, the one you’ve seen clips of pretty much everywhere, where Iverson goes off in response to a question about his practice habits. That roughly one-minute sound bite has come to be one of the most lasting moments of Iverson’s career…but it was the rest of that press conference that truly offers a window into Iverson’s life and career. It was the culmination of frustrating ends to two consecutive seasons, grief over the murder of his best friend…and the microscope he had been under since he was 17 years old. Justin Tinsley joins us to reflect on Iverson’s press conference, the fallout from it, and what everyone got wrong in the two decades since. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

If Sue Bird’s WNBA career was a person, it would be old enough to drink. The 12-time All-Star, five-time first-team All-WNBA selection, Olympic Gold Medalist, four-time world champion, and recent NCAA women’s tournament megacast star may (or may not) hang it up after this 21st season. As the WNBA tips off, Bird and Pablo discuss her legendary career, how she’s seen the league change, and important ephemera like AOL screen names. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Last season’s F1 drama was off the charts. The controversial, showstopper ending crowned Max Verstappen champion even as fans grumbled that all-time great Lewis Hamilton got robbed. Now, it’s mechanical challenges causing grief for Hamilton as he heads to the first-ever Miami Grand Prix with half a dozen drivers ahead of him. ESPN F1 editor and lifelong fan Laurence Edmondson catches us up on all the racing gossip, what to expect in Miami, and why US fans are finally catching on to Formula One. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When it comes to NBA referees, especially in the postseason, it’s hard not to think of that proverb about children: “They should be seen, and not heard.” But in recent days, NBA fans have been hearing plenty about the refs. Everyone from Draymond Green to Chris Paul to Joel Embiid have weighed in, frustrated by how the playoffs have been called. But in the eyes of NBA writer Ben Dowsett — our referee whisperer if you will — there’s also a lot more to this fraught dynamic than meets the eye. Dowsett takes us inside the world of NBA officiating to show us why everyone is frustrated with them, whether or not the league’s quest for accountability is doing anything…and why some teams are quietly redefining what it means to “work the refs.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The NHL playoffs begin tonight and if you, like us, need to play catch up, ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski is here to give us his annual lapsed fan’s guide. From the back-to-back defending champion Tampa Bay Lightning to the Alex Ovechkin-less Washington Capitals, to the surprising resurgence of the LA Kings, Wyshynski has everything you need to know about whichever team you’re backing. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

30 years ago today, April 29, 1992, the city of Los Angeles went to war with itself. Riots erupted on the streets following the acquittal of four LAPD officers in the beating of motorist Rodney King. It was a verdict that provoked outrage because the incident was captured on video, triggering a national debate over police brutality. Philadelphia 76ers head coach Doc Rivers was a guard for the Los Angeles Clippers in 1992. Doc shares how the sports world at large reacted to the verdict and the riots that followed, and how the social responsibilities of an athlete have changed in the 30 years since. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Derek Stingley Jr. is one of the most coveted defensive backs in tonight’s NFL Draft, and his name might sound familiar to older NFL fans. Derek Jr. is the grandson of Darryl Stingley, a young New England Patriots wide receiver who was paralyzed by a notorious, vicious hit from Oakland Raiders safety Jack Tatum in 1978. ESPN’s Gene Wojciechowski brings us the story of how the Stingley family endured despite that tragedy, and continued to pursue an NFL legacy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

With the NFL Draft just one day away, you’ll likely hear all about a player’s hand size, or their 40-yard-dash time, or their wingspan…but there’s one measurement that NFL scouts pay more attention to than you might realize…and it’s right behind you. Yes, NFL scouts love big butts, and they cannot lie. But there’s a lot more to it than scouts simply gossiping about gluteals. There’s plenty of science behind why rear ends matter for athletic performance. And ESPN’s Dave Fleming joins us to share the data that can back it up. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When the NFL Draft kicks off Thursday night from Las Vegas, the Jacksonville Jaguars will be first on the clock. What happens from there is pretty much anyone's guess. Will Michigan’s Aidan Hutchinson be first off the board? Or will Georgia’s Travon Walker complete his rapid ascent to the very top of draft boards? Will Liberty’s Malik Willis or Pitt’s Kenny Pickett be the first QB taken? Like so much in Vegas, the answers are very much up in the air. Mina Kimes has been grinding tape in preparation for NFL Draft 2022 and was courteous enough to let us copy off her homework. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Celtics-Nets series started off as one of the more intriguing matchups in the first-round of the NBA playoffs. But after a pair of late-game meltdowns by Brooklyn, the herculean efforts of Jayson Tatum, and a blowout at home in Game 3, the Nets find themselves facing a sweep at home. We called up our Nets correspondent Nick Friedell ahead of Game 4 to get a sense of what’s at stake for Brooklyn in this series…and why a broom might not be enough to clean up this mess. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Athletes often say they love the city where they play, but Giannis Antetokounmpo takes it to a new level. He’s called Milwaukee home since the team drafted him in 2013. It wasn’t a given that the Greek native, a son of Nigerian immigrants, would stay in the midwestern city. But his massive 2020 contract extension shows the love is mutual. As the Bucks seek to defend their NBA title, our own ESPN Daily producer (and Wisconsin native) Ryan Nantell digs into a legendary anecdote from Giannis’ rookie season that shows why he and Milwaukee have been such a good fit. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Aidan Hutchinson made football his destiny. His childhood dream was to follow in the footsteps of his father Chris Hutchinson, the former Michigan linebacker who won a Rose Bowl and has the fourth-most sacks in Wolverine history. This dream was much more than just a passive thought: it was one of the many written goals that Aidan used as a guiding principle in his life and led him to breaking his dad’s records, bouncing back from a season-ending injury, and being a Heisman finalist. Ryan Hockensmith tells us about Hutchinson and the path that presumably will culminate in him being the first pick in this year’s NFL Draft. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

For decades the NBA has been in an intricate, expensive dance with China’s government. While the league has become wildly popular in China, its business there is increasingly complicated over issues like free speech and China’s record on human rights. If there’s one man who personifies the layers and complexities of NBA-China relations it’s Joe Tsai, the Chinese billionaire who owns the Brooklyn Nets. ESPN investigative reporter Mark Fainaru-Wada breaks down the ties of Tsai’s company, Alibaba, to the Chinese government, and his stance on social and political issues in China compared to the US. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

If ever there was an NFL team that was going to be investigated by the United States Congress, it was going to be the Washington Commanders. From allegations of fostering a toxic workplace environment to sexual harrassment to their long overdue name change, the franchise under owner Daniel Snyder is constantly in the news…and not for success on the field. But if previous scandals and offenses haven’t seemed to move the needle enough for the league, now Snyder and the Commanders are under scrutiny for something we know the NFL cares about: money. ESPN’s Commanders reporter John Keim explains why politicians on Capitol Hill are now digging into the team’s finances, and whether this latest scandal could finally bring the league to step in and force out owner Daniel Snyder. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The NFL Draft is an American institution. And for the past four decades, the unmistakable voice of that institution has been Mel Kiper Jr. His “Big Board” and mock drafts have become a rite of spring, a yearly ritual that signals your team will soon be “on the clock.” It is a remarkable climb for someone who used a typewriter to compile draft reports as a teenager, before the NFL Draft was even televised. Mel joins the show to explain how he helped turn his personal obsession into a national obsession…and made us all draft nerds in the process. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It’s been 75 years since Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in baseball, becoming the first Black player to take the field in Major League Baseball in 1947. Jackie was a specific player chosen at a specific time, when baseball was highly aligned with Black popular culture. But what happened between baseball and Black America in the decades after Jackie’s pivotal act? Why didn’t baseball become a majority Black sport, like basketball and football? Why didn’t MLB follow the culture into hip hop or grow its Black fan base? Jesse Washington uses his own lapsed baseball fandom to explore these questions with guests like Public Enemy’s Chuck D, Jackie’s son David Robinson, and current players and executives. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The NCAA Women’s Gymnastics Championships begin today in Fort Worth, but you’d be forgiven if you mistook it for the Tokyo Olympics this past summer. That’s because no sport has been transformed by the Name, Image and Likeness revolution across college athletics as much as Women’s Gymnastics. Previously, Olympic stars like Tokyo All-Around Gold Medalist Suni Lee had to choose between cashing in on the lucrative endorsement deals that come with Olympic success, or competing in college. Now, under NIL, that is no longer an issue, meaning Lee will compete for an NCAA title this weekend as a freshman at Auburn. And Lee is not alone. Fellow US Olympians Jade Carey (Oregon St.), Jordan Chiles (UCLA), and Grace McCallum (Utah) will all be competing in Fort Worth, in what is shaping up to be perhaps the most competitive NCAA championships ever. Alyssa Roenigk breaks down how the sport is being transformed, as well as the names and teams you need to know before this weekend’s championship. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sports betting has become exponentially more popular and accessible, with gambling on games now legal in more than 30 states. It’s a wildly difficult industry to oversee, though, with a patchwork of legislative details in each state, and varying rules on the types of bets that are legal or not. Even who has jurisdiction over what changes when you cross state lines. Paula Lavigne took a deep dive into the private companies that sell their services for oversight and fraud detection. She explains what they do - and don’t do. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When Michael Jordan began to cry during his Basketball Hall of Fame induction speech, that moment would turn one of basketball’s greatest players to the meme seen ‘round the Internet. Now, 10 years after Crying Jordan first became a meme, it's still just as popular as ever, popping up anywhere and everywhere. ESPN’s Dave Fleming brings us the origin story of this legendary meme, and tells us why every corner of society just can’t get enough of it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We catch America’s Caddie, Michael Collins, fresh off the Masters in Augusta. He breaks down how Scheffler staved off the competition, and what got him his first winning green jacket. Plus, why Tiger Woods’ return was full of a different kind of love than we’ve seen from him in the past, even as all of us fans managed our greedy expectations. And what can we expect from the all-time great, as he continues to recover from a harrowing 2021 car accident. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

An NBA halftime lasts just 15 minutes. It’s a time for players to leave the court, fans to run to the bathroom or grab another beer, or, a break, for all intents and purposes. But for Rong Niu - it’s her time to shine. Rong, better known to audiences as the Red Panda, has been astounding NBA fans around the country for thirty years, with her 7-and-a-half-foot-tall unicycle, a stack of white bowls, and not much else. Rong Niu, the Red Panda herself, joins the show today to tell us her story - and how she became an NBA legend. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After a lockout that put the entire 2022 MLB season in jeopardy, Opening Day has miraculously arrived. The start of a new season represents a blank slate for all teams, both contenders and pretenders. MLB Insider Jeff Passan makes sense of the offseason’s most dramatic moves and shares which teams he finds most intriguing this coming season. Are the Dodgers setting up for a World Series repeat? Will Pablo’s beloved Yankees be able to overcome their AL East rivals, the talented Toronto Blue Jays and Tampa Bay Rays? Plus, Jeff fills us in on MLB’s new tech to fight sign-stealing. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The 2022 Masters Tournament tees off Thursday, but it will be without at least one of golf’s all-time greats: Phil Mickelson, who has won three times at Augusta and in 2021 became the oldest major champion ever by winning the PGA Championship at the age of 50. Mark Schlabach shares the stunning story of how Mickelson flirted with joining a breakaway golf league funded by the Saudi Arabian government, and in the process took aim at the PGA itself. It’s a saga that has made Mickelson a persona non grata in the golf world, essentially an exile from golf, and uncertain future on the PGA tour. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As the NBA regular season winds down, there’s plenty of drama unfolding across the league. In Los Angeles, LeBron and the Lakers’ experiment continues to implode, hampered by injuries and a porous defense. Is there enough time for the team to bounce back and sneak into the postseason? And in the Eastern Conference, where Kyrie Irving is now free to play in Brooklyn’s home games: could the Nets be the most dangerous last-team-in in NBA postseason history? Brian Windhorst helps us parse through these questions and more, as we inch closer to the NBA playoffs. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dawn Staley’s South Carolina Gamecocks are your women’s NCAA basketball champions! Katie Barnes joins us from Minneapolis to break down how Aliyah Boston and company steamrolled over the Huskies, and handed UConn head coach Geno Auriemma his first ever loss in a championship game. Then, Myron Medcalf sets the scene for the men’s championship tonight, after a pair of semifinal matchups which saw Duke and Coach K taken down by their rival UNC in a thriller, and Villanova falling to David McCormack and the Kansas Jayhawks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Love him or hate him, the mark that Mike Krzyzewski has left on men’s college basketball is indelible. Nobody has won more Division I men’s college basketball games than Coach K; he has won five national titles, made 13 Final Fours, and turned Duke University into one of the most iconic institutions in American life. And now, with his retirement imminent, he heads into his final Final Four, where he and Duke will take on their biggest rival North Carolina. In this special encore presentation, Wright Thompson takes us back to share exactly where Coach K came from, what it means for his reign to come to an end, and the legacy he’ll leave behind. This episode originally ran on March 4, 2022. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Shocking upsets. Buzzer beaters. Cinderella stories. This year’s Women’s NCAA Basketball Tournament has been overflowing with drama and thrills. But last March, Oregon’s Sedona Prince posted a TikTok revealing the drastic differences between the women’s and men’s college basketball weight rooms during the NCAA tournament. After the video went viral, and reports of other disparities circulated, the NCAA was forced to apologize, and promised to review and remedy inequities throughout the game. So as the Women’s Final Four tips off tonight, ESPN’s Dan Murphy explains how much progress has been made in the past year, and how the business of women’s college basketball is still limited, economically, in ways that have nothing to do with the quality of their game itself. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Duke vs. UNC: when a rivalry is as storied as the one, it's hard to find ground that hasn’t already been tread. However, through the grace of the sports gods, that rivalry is headed towards uncharted territory. This Saturday, Duke will face UNC in the NCAA’s Final Four - and it’s the very first time these two teams have met in the tournament. ESPN Senior Writer and North Carolina native Ryan McGee explains why one of college basketball’s longest-running rivalries means so much to so many, and how excited UNC is at the prospect of playing spoiler to Coach K one more time. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In the fall of 2017, the US Men’s National Soccer Team lost a decisive qualifying match against Trinidad & Tobago, and with it, a spot in the 2018 FIFA World Cup. It was a humiliating defeat for a team that hadn’t missed a World Cup since 1986. Afterwards, ESPN analyst Taylor Twellman delivered an epic rant, blasting the culture of US Soccer that, in his view, had grown complacent and arrogant. Now, more than four years later, the Americans are on the cusp of redemption. Barring a complete blowout loss tonight against Costa Rica, the Americans can book their ticket to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. Taylor Twellman explains how the USMNT has changed their ways following the debacle in Trinidad, and what we can expect from a young roster that appears to be just getting started. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NBA veteran Aron Baynes arrived at the Tokyo Olympics as one of Team Australia's most trusted big men. But during a group stage game against Italy, Baynes mysteriously fell in the bathroom during a break. When he was discovered by team staff, he had lost the ability to walk and had to be carried out on a stretcher. No one knew what was wrong. Brian Windhorst tells the story of Baynes’ medical mystery and the ordeal that followed: from being isolated in a Japanese hospital, weeping in pain day after day, to learning how to walk again...and what his path back to the NBA looks like. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Final Four is set! On Sunday, we learned UNC and Duke will meet for the first time ever in the NCAA tournament. And the Kansas Jayhawks punched their ticket to the next round, taking down Miami 76-50. And this year’s Cinderella story, the Saint Peter’s Peacocks, finally got turned back into a pumpkin by UNC. On Saturday, Duke beat Arkansas 78-69, sending Coach K to his 13th and final Final Four. And Villanova stuck to their fundamentals in their takedown of Houston, 50-44. Myron Medcalf takes us inside all of the tournament action and tells us what to watch for in the Final Four. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The South Carolina Gamecocks are the women’s number one overall seed, and take the court in the Sweet Sixteen tonight. After blowing out their first two opponents by an average of 37 points, SC coach Dawn Staley will be looking to take another step towards her second national title. But before Staley won her first championship came coach Carolyn Peck, the first Black woman to coach a team to an NCAA basketball title, with Purdue in 1999. Today, Carolyn Peck shares her story with us, and explains how she actually invited Dawn Staley to become the second member of her all too exclusive club … and what came next for both of these trailblazers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It’s been over a decade since NBA veteran Lorenzen Wright was murdered. Wright’s twin sons, Lamar and Shamar were just ten years old when their father was killed. Their mother, and Wright’s ex-wife, Sherra pleaded guilty to facilitating the murder of her husband in 2019, then attempted to reverse her plea to not guilty, but has since dropped the bid and will serve out the remainder of her sentence. And this week, one of the suspects who was accused of the crime, Billy Ray Turner, was found guilty of murder by a Tennessee jury. Through the loss of their father and the arrest of their mother, Lamar and Shamar Wright have pushed on, and are now playing college basketball together. Lisa Salters shares the story of Wright’s murder and the family he left behind, also covered in the E:60 A Murder in Memphis, available on demand now in the ESPN app. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Gonzaga’s Drew Timme might be the biggest star in college basketball. From his questionable facial hair to his taunting theatrics, Timme is more than just the top scorer on the #1 team in the country. He’s an entertainer who is part of a dying species in the one-and-done era: a star upper-classman who lives and plays like he never wants college to end. Timme and the Zags are in search of redemption after last year’s loss in the NCAA Championship game to Baylor. But first, they’ll have to get past Arkansas in the Sweet 16. Tim Keown explains what makes Timme tick, how the tournament’s going for him, and what we should expect to see next. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Bryce Weiler grew up listening to the likes of Brian Barnhart call Illinois basketball games, and as a young man who’d been blind since infancy, he fell in love with the pictures painted on the radio. During college in Indiana Weiler forged a relationship with the basketball team, and then found his way to the broadcast booth himself. ESPN’s Sam Borden went to visit Weiler and learn more about his process as a live game analyst for college hoops (see more coverage from College GameDay here). He shares the story of a broadcaster motivated to prove that everyone deserves opportunity. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On Friday, the Cleveland Browns acquired QB Deshaun Watson, in a massive trade that sent shockwaves across the NFL. Last year, Watson was accused of sexual misconduct and inappropriate behavior by multiple massage therapists, and there are currently 22 pending civil lawsuits against him. The Watson trade comes on the heels of a Texas grand jury declining to indict Watson on criminal charges, which re-ignited interest for several NFL teams, including Cleveland, who went big to make the trade happen. However, Watson could still face disciplinary action from the NFL as a result of the allegations. Mina Kimes discusses the timeline of events surrounding Watson, and what his deal means for the NFL at large. Mina and Pablo also unpack the other biggest NFL trades from the last week, including Davante Adams to the Raiders and Von Miller to the Bills. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Iditarod is the most famous dog sled race in the entire world, run across 1000 miles through the Alaskan wilderness. And while the event brings to mind images of furry dogs and beautiful landscapes, the race is incredibly challenging and dangerous. Liz Merrill traveled up north and spent time with Bridgett Watkins, an ER nurse who is competing in the race for the first time this year despite her team enduring a brutal attack by a bull moose in February. Merrill shares Watkins’ experience and story of survival. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices