BBCollective

Timeless Ties: A Quadrennial Adventure in Sports and Friendship Dec 26, 2023

Timeless Ties: A Quadrennial Adventure in Sports and Friendship

Shifting Landscapes: Sports' Latest and Greatest Changes Dec 19, 2023

Shifting Landscapes: Sports' Latest and Greatest Changes

Retro Rants Live: A Crowd-Powered 4th of July Special Dec 12, 2023

Retro Rants Live: A Crowd-Powered 4th of July Special

The Power of Bloodlines: The Roosevelt Chronicles Dec 05, 2023

The Power of Bloodlines: The Roosevelt Chronicles

Democracy in Dismay: Imagining the Impact of 2024's Election Nov 28, 2023

Democracy in Dismay: Imagining the Impact of 2024's Election

Mastering the Greens: A Lone Star's Dynasty Nov 21, 2023

Mastering the Greens: A Lone Star's Dynasty

Sitting on Top of the World: The Story of 'Shipwreck' Kelly Nov 14, 2023

Sitting on Top of the World: The Story of 'Shipwreck' Kelly

Calls, Cameras, and Cheating: Inside Michigan Football Nov 07, 2023

Calls, Cameras, and Cheating: Inside Michigan Football

“I am such an idiot.”: The Mickelson Meltdown Oct 31, 2023

“I am such an idiot.”: The Mickelson Meltdown

A Players Voice: Empowerment in Sports Media Oct 24, 2023

A Players Voice: Empowerment in Sports Media

Electile Dysfunction: A Speaker Selection Sh*t Show Oct 17, 2023

Electile Dysfunction: A Speaker Selection Sh*t Show

From Founding Fathers to Political Heirs: The Adams Legacy Oct 10, 2023

From Founding Fathers to Political Heirs: The Adams Legacy

When Worlds Collide: The Octagon Meets the Squared Circle Sep 26, 2023

When Worlds Collide: The Octagon Meets the Squared Circle

Heartbreak in Green & White: Navigating Sports' Emotional Terrain Sep 19, 2023

Heartbreak in Green & White: Navigating Sports' Emotional Terrain

Glory Days: A Look Back at Washington's Dynasty Sep 12, 2023

Glory Days: A Look Back at Washington's Dynasty

The Umpire of History: Baseball's Forgotten Influencer Sep 05, 2023

The Umpire of History: Baseball's Forgotten Influencer

Whistle While They Debate: Trump's 7 Dwarfs on the Debate Stage Aug 29, 2023

Whistle While They Debate: Trump's 7 Dwarfs on the Debate Stage

Carbon Chronicles: From Causes to Cures of Climate Crisis Aug 22, 2023

Carbon Chronicles: From Causes to Cures of Climate Crisis

The Final Whistle: Discussing the Last Hurrahs in Golf, Football, and Beyond Aug 15, 2023

In this episode of The Bill Bradley Collective, join us as we dive into the notable 'last hurrahs' of this year in both golf and college football. We'll unpack the closing chapters of PGA Golf and the restructuring of the Pac-12 in college football. Tune in for insightful analysis and discussions on the impactful intersection of sports and politics in these farewell moments.

Beyond the Script: Uniting the Arts Against AI Aug 08, 2023

Step into the world of Hollywood turmoil as writers, producers, and musicians join forces in an unprecedented strike against artificial intelligence. Join us as we delve into the complexities of this groundbreaking movement, exploring the collision of creativity, technology, and artistic expression in "Beyond the Script: Uniting the Arts Against AI. - Title and Summary generated using AI

Battle for the Crown: Reds vs. A's Rivalry Aug 01, 2023

Step back in time to the exhilarating 1970s, where baseball history was written with passion, rivalry, and unforgettable moments. In our podcast we delve deep into the epic showdown between the Cincinnati Reds and the Oakland A's. Join us as we relive the clashes of these baseball giants, the legendary Big Red Machine against the dynamic Swingin' A's. Discover the stories behind iconic players, game-changing plays, and the fierce competition that defined this golden era. Through our analysis, captivating anecdotes, and historical insights, we uncover how this rivalry left an indelible mark on the sport and captured the hearts of fans across the nation. So grab your peanuts and crackerjacks and embark on a thrilling journey through the unforgettable battles on the diamond that continue to resonate with baseball enthusiasts to this day.

Time Capsule of Climate: Pre-Pandemic Takes Jul 25, 2023

Take a journey back in time with this vintage episode from the vault, as the Bill Bradley Collective delves into a wide range of topics that continue to resonate today. Join us as we explore pressing issues such as Global Warming, Donald Trump, the pay gap in US Women's Soccer, and cheating in Major League Baseball.

903-Rising Stars in SnP Jul 18, 2023

903-Rising Stars in SnP

ESPN Layoffs Jul 11, 2023

ESPN Layoffs

901-The Kennedys Jul 04, 2023

901-The Kennedys

Rantapalooza VI Jun 27, 2023

Rantapalooza VI

824EDebs&Trump Jun 20, 2023

824EDebs&Trump

LIV & Let Die Jun 13, 2023

LIV & Let Die

Debating Destiny: Unraveling the Lincoln-Douglas Dialogue Jun 05, 2023

822-RivalsLinDou

Welcome to the Block Party: Everyday People in Sports and Politics May 31, 2023

Welcome back to the Bill Bradley Collective, where this week your hosts seek to define what constitutes an “every-man” (or -woman) and then examine some notable examples of these every-day folk both in sports and in politics. Club professional Michael Block recently captivated the golf world with his 15th-place finish at the PGA Championship, remarkably outplaying most of the game’s elite. His week and common-man bonafides are discussed, as well as the the back stories of a pair of notably ideologically opposed young congresswoman, a controversial figure skating champion from famously humble beginnings, and a similarly underdog boxer who found fame and success against improbable odds. But first, we rant: as Ed takes on the Los Angeles Dodgers’ sorry capitulation to Christian interest groups in the wake of a Pride Night celebration; Zak surveys what’s left of the DeSantis 2024 Presidential campaign following a troubled and largely pathetic running announcement all too reflective of the Florida governor’s future political capital; and finally Andrew reflects on the week that was for now five-time major champion Brooks Koepka and what comes next for the LIV signee who once again found himself moonlighting as perhaps golf’s foremost active alpha-dog. Title: Welcome to the Block Party: Everyday People in Sports and Politics

820-NhlNbaPlayoffs_01 May 23, 2023

820-NhlNbaPlayoffs_01

Three Major League Decisions May 16, 2023

Welcome back to the Bill Bradley Collective, where this week we reflect on a week in the courtroom across the country, and three significant decisions involving the presumptive Republican nominee for President in 2024, a junior New York Congressional representative amidst his ongoing biographical and professional roller coaster, and a former collegiate “punt-God” drafted and shortly thereafter released following an alarming accusation of abhorrent personal conduct. In order: Donald J. Trump found liable for the sexual abuse and defamation of journalist E. Jean Carroll; “George Santos” indicted under *thirteen* different counts; finally Matt Araiza will controversially not be served criminal charges regarding his alleged involvement in the gang rape of a 17-year-old girl. We break down the legal-ese of these decisions, and the broader picture of what these rulings mean right now and moving forward for all three parties. But first the rants are ‘a-coming; where Ed shines a critical light on the conservative right’s continued assault on female autonomy with a glimpse into efforts in Texas to end no-fault divorce; Andrew calls bullshit on St. John’s University and their attempt to defame an ex-coach on grounds based in ageism and cultural deficiency while simultaneously hiring an older and far more morally cretinous successor; and Zak leads us into the main topic with a critical but understanding eye with regards to CNN’s dalliance with the aforementioned Trump: a case not-quite-for a New Hampshire town hall/television ratings bonanza criticized for granting exposure, but argued in favor of taking the typical CNN viewer out of their accustomed left-center echo chamber, amidst an admitted myriad of lies and falsehoods.

Rivalries Matter: The Best of the Rest May 10, 2023

Welcome back to the Bill Bradley Collective, where this week your hosts highlight some of the best of the rest in rivalries across sports and politics. This season at the top of every month we’ve gone long on the best rivalries across both sports and politics, and as rivalries are the lifeblood of sports and a heated, spirited discourse drive the best (and perhaps worst) of our politics, there are frankly too many left un-discussed. Contained within: the NFL’s longest, most storied story of contention; a four-year NBA-tilt from the 20th century reinvigorated in this postseason cycle; podium disagreements involving the presidential and punditry; a legendary modern sweet science quadrilogy and a back-page squabble pitting columnist versus Hall of Fame ace. Six great stories, six great rivalries falling just short of episodic contention recounted, this week. All of that, plus another trilogy of rants: Ed sings the “Deacon Blues,” where they’ve got a name for the winners in the world, and it’s not the moral high ground of athletic programs at the University of Alabama, aka the Crimson Tide; Andrew lays a skeptic eye on boxing’s latest young star with a look to his potential and a nod to his troubled history; and finally Zak champions the actions of Zooey Zephyr, and the significance of elected officials of minority color, sexuality and identity in this country under siege by LGBTQ-phobia.

NFL's 📺 The Odd Couple: Al Davis & Pete Rozelle. May 02, 2023

Welcome back to the Bill Bradley Collective, where it is the first Tuesday in May and that means one thing (no, not the tired *NSYNC meme), its rivalry week and In this installment we present the saga of Al Davis and Pete Rozelle. Quite possibly the most significant off-field feud in NFL history, Rozelle and Davis are two of the architects of the National Football League behemoth as we know it, but never did these two contrasting visionaries work well in concert with one another. Join us as we start at the beginning, as Rozelle rises to NFL commissionership at a young age as both his league and American professional football are about to grab a lion share of the sports marketplace. Davis enters the fray as a pivotal figure in the upstart AFL, as both league commissioner and later owner of the Oakland Raiders. The two rival leagues merge in 1970 due in large part to their individual efforts, but the contention stayed live and well. The 1970s and 80s brought it to a fever pitch, where our protagonists spent plenty of time on opposing sides of the courtroom, over both Davis’ Raider players and the renegade owner’s desire to relocate the franchise from Oakland to Los Angeles in a famed anti-trust case. All the backstory, detail and legacy: it’s Al Davis v. Pete Rozelle, this week on the Bill Bradley Collective.

Debt Ceiling: The Now, the When, the Future Apr 25, 2023

Welcome back to the Bill Bradley Collective, where this week in light of recent news we revisit the seemingly evergreen news cycle encircling the American debt ceiling. In a prior episode we set out to define what exactly in the fuck constitutes the “debt ceiling,” and this week we take it even further with an examination of how legislative threats and weaponization of the debt ceiling have affected our fiscal politics across recent Presidential administrations. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy decreed this week that any negotiations with regard to the debt ceiling would be met with GOP-sanctioned rebuke of certain keystone elements of Biden-regime economic policy. Join us this week with a look at how we got here with the “ceiling” and how coverage and exploitation of our national debt has evolved over our recent political timeline. But first comes a rant or three, where Zak forecasts some early but likely prescient 2024 electoral prognostications with a dismissal of the Florida GOP’s once-upon-a-time golden boy, head-scratching at the latest Kennedy family entrant and some kinda-, sorta- optimism for a gemstone endorsing Biden primary rival; Andrew makes the case for the potential end of the NBA’s latest (and as of now still chugging) dynasty with some shade for one of their pillar’s latest bit of mercurial on-court conduct; and Ed details the continued red-state effort opposed to the participatory rights of trans-athletes in high school and intercollegiate competition.

Red Pilled: The Right-Wing War on Abortion Rights Rages On Apr 18, 2023

Welcome back to the Bill Bradley Collective, where this week your hosts examine the fallout following a U.S. District Court decision in Texas suspending FDA approval of abortion drug mifepristone. Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk’s decision is the latest in a recent series of attempts by conservative legislators and heads of court to not simply restrict but to eradicate any and all abortion rights afforded American women. Mifepristone, used to bring about abortion and manage early miscarriage, has since the year 2000 stood up to rigorous vetting by the Food and Drug Administration. Its suspension of approval has drawn massive rebuke from not just abortion rights groups, but the scientific and medical communities at large. Join us this week as the Collective examines how it is we got to this point, the expected response of the Supreme Court, and just how significant the consequences of federal court appointments really are. But first, some somewhat lighter listening with a three-ball of rants headed directly for the corner pocket: where Ed details the thunderous whimper emanating from Dallas following the pitiful conclusion to a Mavs’ season where both their present and future combusted following the acquisition of Kyrie Irving; Andrew observes the 25th anniversary of a famed Spike Lee joint that carried a fair bit of prescience with regard to the future of collegiate sports and recruiting, and Zak foreshadows some of this week’s main discussion with a look at the potentially irrevocable damage being done to the Biden agenda surrounding Dianne Feinstein’s continued (lack of) presence on the Senate Judiciary Committee.

“Free Agency”? In this NFL? Apr 12, 2023

Welcome back to the Bill Bradley Collective, where with the NFL Draft merely a couple of weeks ago and the free agency period wading in the deep end of the pool, your hosts examine the very relationship at hand: that between what constitutes “free agency” and the labor movement, at large. The curious cases of QB’s Aaron Rodgers and Lamar Jackson take centerstage, but the conversation dives deeper into the factors that have made this offseason in particular markedly more owner/franchise-friendly than beneficial to the league’s rank-and-file union member. But first a rant or three: where Zak plays Cronkite and runs through the week in another horrifying (if you’re not a conscienceless right-wing ghoul) in this week’s news cycle with special attention paid to the inhumanity being afforded both trans-gender teens and anti-gun state legislators by conservative government constituencies; Andrew takes a victory lap upon UConn men’s basketball’s 5th national title and the young men, coach and conference that made it possible; and finally Ed submits the triangulations of one of perhaps this country’s eldest, most corrupt and certainly most interminable under our Constitution’s bylaws conservative idealogues. Just another jam-packed week here on the Bill Bradley Collective. Title

Fear, Loathing and Northeast Elites: The Yankee/Red Sox Saga Apr 04, 2023

Welcome back to the Bill Bradley Collective, where it is rivalry week, and with baseball back in action what better athletic struggle of epic proportion to profile than that between the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees. Likely the most visible rivalry professional sports has to offer and one with it’s geographic profile at the center of the BBCollective Universe, Sox/Yanks is more than a century old with hostilities perhaps hitting their peak within the last twenty years. The sale of a guy named Ruth from Boston to New York altered the baseball narrative for the next 100 years plus. Four Boston early 20th-century championships gave way to 85 years of subsequent Yankee dominance. But along came 2004, where the Sox staged the greatest comeback in the history of postseason sport and set the stage for a run that made them MLB’s most successful to now 21st century franchise. You know the players. Williams/DiMaggio. Fisk/Munson. Yaz/Reggie. Jeter/Ortiz. You know the fights. Spaceman/Nettles. Zimmer/Pedro. A-Rod/Varitek. You know the personalities. Clemens and Schilling. Rivera and Buckner. Martin and Francona. This week, you get a Collective cross-examination of the Boston Red Sox/New York Yankees rivalry through estimations of their greatest players, greatest games, and their vast economic advantages over much of baseball in the modern era. “Yankees Suck, “Boston Sucks,” this week, on the Bill Bradley Collective.

AndrewBonus06Huskies Mar 28, 2023

AndrewBonus06Huskies

Ides of March: College Basketball at the Crossroads Mar 21, 2023

Welcome back to the Bill Bradley Collective, where March Madness has arrived and this week your hosts set out to forecast the future of the college basketball. With the transfer portal humming and student athletes’ taking advantage of fifth-year eligibility, the sport as a whole hit some historic statistical benchmarks amidst great parody and competitive balance. All is not so bullish as it pertains to the future though. Despite the arrival of NIL and athletes finally able to legally profit off themselves, the emergence of the G-League as an alternative to college for elite high school recruits, the inevitable downsides of power conference expansion and re-alignment, and the potential havoc these factors may wreak upon the on-court college basketball product are all signs of a sport in a state of serious flux. But first, let there be rants: where Zak reviews another week in behavioral dereliction with the presumptive loser of the 2024 GOP Presidential primary Ron DeSantis; Ed presents Dr. Aaron Donald Rodgers or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Embrace My New Asshole Quarterback; and finally Andrew chastises Hollywood’s celebration of amoral billionaire sneaker mavens in light of Ben Affleck’s forthcoming Phil Knight/Sonny Vaccaro biopic.

The Original Frenemies: Adams and Jefferson Mar 14, 2023

Welcome back to the Bill Bradley Collective, where it is once again rivalry week with a conversation about the complicated relationship between Founding Fathers John Adams and Thomas Jefferson. The two chief architects and drafters of the Declaration of Independence, and the second and third men to hold the office of the Presidency, Adams and Jefferson’s individual histories are tied at the hip. For all they accomplished together in their early years serving in the Continental Congress, their ideological differences gave way to great political conflict while in office, and a personal impasse post-Presidency that was eventually reconciled via prolonged written correspondence. Those ideological differences and the contrasting lives and legacies of Adams and Jefferson guide much of the discussion. The hosts also examine how their politics and philosophies have come to shape and still influence today’s affairs of state. A political rivalry that perhaps did more than any other to push forward the best interests of country over self, Adams and Jefferson, this week on the Bill Bradley Collective.

Misadventures in the Forest City: the 1899 Cleveland Spiders Mar 07, 2023

Welcome back to the Bill Bradley Collective, where it is another installment in our critically acclaimed series of Dollop-style bonus episodes. This week Ed presents the story of the 1899 Cleveland Spiders baseball team. There are often brutal seasonal campaigns across team sports, but the Spiders of 1899 set high marks for futility that have lasted well over a century. Join us this week for a deep dive into a team that managed a near impossible 20 wins against 134 losses, found themselves outscored by a mind-blowing 723 runs, averaged a mere 145 fans per home game despite only playing 42 of them, and unsurprisingly ended the franchise as the Spiders disbanded at season’s end. That story, the 1899 Cleveland Spiders, is this week on the Bill Bradley Collective, and be sure to tune in next week for our next conversation on rivalries across sports and politics, as we examine John Adams and Thomas Jefferson.

From the Peanut Farm to the Presidency Feb 28, 2023

Welcome back to the Bill Bradley Collective, where this week your hosts deep dive the life and presidency of James Earl “Jimmy” Carter Jr. With Carter recently placed in hospice care in this the 99th year of an illustrious American life, now seems a better time than ever to examine the history of America’s oldest living former President. Carter’s history is complicated, and that is the tenor of this week’s episode. Join us as we look at the man and politician responsible for granting amnesty to Vietnam War defectors as a first act in office, establishing the Departments of both Energy and Education, and a post-Presidential life devoted to charity and ambitious social and political projects. The flip side of the Carter coin is his pre-Presidency, with tenures as State Senator and Governor of his native Georgia, terms and elections marred by appeals to racist rhetoric in the name of electoral expediency. The life, times and legacy of Jimmy Carter: this week on the Bill Bradley Collective. But not before another epic trilogy of rants from your hosts, where Ed decries the tragic victory of star player, hot-shot coach, and a collegiate program enjoying unprecedented success over material accountability in the fatal shooting over a 23-year old woman; Zak gets you up to speed on the many ills surrounding Collective villainess MTG’s call for a “national divorce”; and finally Andrew offers a preview of LIV Golf’s follow-up season with hopes for yet another large-scale failure both on-course and in trying to sports-wash their Saudi financiers.

Federalism is a Failure Feb 21, 2023

Welcome back to the Bill Bradley Collective, where this week your examine the ongoing fallout from a February 3 train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio. That evening a Norfolk Southern freight train carrying, among other freight, hazardous materials (namely vinyl chloride) derailed in northeastern Ohio following mechanical failure exacerbated by a lack of ECP brakes. The hazardous materials on board the train were subjected to a controlled burn, causing hydrogen chloride and phosgene to be released in the air causing an evacuation of local residents and a crisis situation. Tune in as your hosts evaluate both the local and federal response to the accident; the connection between this crisis and the broken rail strike covered last season; the right wing news media echo chamber decrying the situation as a failure of the Biden administration; and finally the state of our federal government and it’s functionality. But first we rant, as Zak pillories the uncouth behavior of Republican members of Congress during the 2023 State of the Union Address; Andrew laments Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy once again being left on the outside looking in at an NFL head coaching position; and finally Ed welcomes Tulsi Gabbard to the race for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination with a recap of her heretofore ignoble behavior.

Zak Bonus Feb 14, 2023

Zak Bonus

Pod of the Century (by way of the Philippines): Ali Vs. Frazier Feb 07, 2023

Welcome back to the Bill Bradley Collective, where this week it is the second in our season-long, monthly deep-dives focusing on this season’s main-topic: rivalries. Boxing has been the stage for many of sports’ greatest rivalries: think Leonard/Hearns, Morales/Barrera, Pacquaio/Marquez, among others. But the one that goes beyond the others, both for it’s legendary in-ring trilogy and the shared personal animus, is the rivalry between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier. Tune in this week as we break down not only the three epic contests between the greatest heavyweight there ever was and his fiercest, most competitive rival, but the discord that enveloped their relationship outside of the ropes. From the spectacle that was the Fight of the Century to the unforgettable war of the Thrilla in Manila; from the changing tides of Vietnam War sentiment to blackness and celebrity in 1970’s America; the Ali/Frazier story is one that carries as much to talk about outside the ropes as in. Perhaps no athlete’s legacy greater represents the intersection of sports and politics than Muhammad Ali’s, and his greatest individual foil, professionally and even socially, was Joe Frazier. The most significant individual rivalry sports has and will ever see, Ali/Frazier, is this week on the Bill Bradley Collective.

The Bill Bradley Collective Book Club Jan 31, 2023

Welcome to the first meeting of the Bill Bradley Collective Book Club. On this week’s episode your hosts put their literary critic hats on and share their favorite books on both sports and politics. Remember making that New Years’ resolution to read more? Trying to get a several months head start on curating that summer reading list? Tune in and get the jump on both as the panel induct their first class of literary essentials to the Collective library. But first, we rant: where Ed lambastes the pathetic submissiveness of NHL owners in standing down in the face of more anti-woke drivel from FL Gov. Ron DeSantis; Zak investigates the firing of a Division 3 basketball coach and the bigger picture of coaching culture at the youth levels; finally Andrew submits more evidence in support of the NFL’s media indomitability via the PGA Tour’s shifting of a flagship early season tournament. Link: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/bbcollective/id1503626266?i=1000533854140

O-VER-RA-TED! O-VER-RA-TED! Jan 24, 2023

Welcome back to the Bill Bradley Collective, where this week your hosts tackle everything “overrated,” across sports and politics. It is a draft-ish episode this week, as the boys informally select what they each consider to be the most overrated in each of the following categories: most overrated political/sporting institution, most overrated athlete/coach, and most overrated politician (spoiler alert: President). There’s no scoring or ranking, just a chance for the panel to expose a bit of truth on the failings of otherwise widely celebrated staples and persons across our sporting and political landscapes. Stay for the main discussion, but as always come for the rants: where Andrew shines a light on the Warner Bros.-Discovery conglomerate and the hypocrisy behind whom they choose and choose not to grant exposure across their many platforms; Zak kicks a little more dirt over the political grave of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and the future of proxy voting in Congress, and finally Ed targets one of the Collective’s favorite billionaire fail-sons James Dolan and his absurd move to use facial recognition as a means to keep personal foes and rivals removed from entering Madison Square Garden.

NFL Picks, this Week, Tomorrow & Forever Jan 17, 2023

Welcome back to the Bill Bradley Collective, where the NFL postseason has arrived and football is the focus. Tune in this week as your hosts put their prognosticating hats on with picks and predictions for the sport in 2023. Super Bowl predictions and hot takes for Wild Card Weekend start things off, but there’s plenty more on top of that, including what to expect at the top of this spring’s Draft, who will take the quarterbacking reins of the Collective’s beloved New York Jets, and what 2023 may have in store for Patriots’ head coach Bill Belichick and his offensive staff. But first, we’re ranting: as Ed ponders the political capital of Grover Norquist in the context of the Republican Party in 2023; Andrew details Vince McMahon’s unseemly return to WWE and what it means for the company’s future; and finally Zak outlines the hilariously dubious history of New York congressman George Santos amidst new revelations.

Post-Insurrection: Where Do We Stand Two Years Later? Jan 10, 2023

Welcome back to the Bill Bradley Collective and what is surely one of our most jam-packed episodes. The focus this week is a look at the continued fallout from the January 6, 2021 attack on the United States capitol, two years removed. Your hosts assess the findings of the House Select Committee on the January 6 attacks, the key players that served on the committee, and both Donald Trump’s political and personal future amidst the investigation’s conclusions, conclusions suggestive of criminal conduct by the disgraced ex-President. Before rants, we open the show with a conversation on the sporting world’s dominant news story of the week. In a Monday night contest against the Cincinnati Bengals, Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin suffered cardiac arrest following a seemingly routine tackle. The moment itself, reactions across the league and media, the league’s decision to scrap the game and Hamlin’s inspiring recovery lead us off this week. Then come the rants: where Ed pays a heartfelt tribute to late Connecticut state representative and friend Quentin Williams just a day after his tragic passing; Andrew holds ESPN and Warner Bros. Discovery to the fire for their silence on UFC President Dana White following a recorded physical altercation with his wife; and finally Zak sums up a surreal week in Congress as far-right Republican house members did their best to keep Kevin McCarthy from being elected House speaker and C-SPAN made for must-see-TV.

The Game: Michigan/Ohio State and Why Rivalries Matter Jan 03, 2023

Welcome back to the Bill Bradley Collective, where it’s out with 2022 and in with 2023 and our season eight premier. Rivalries in both sports and politics will be the focus of our next six months, and where better than to start but with college football’s premier conflict between the Ohio State Buckeyes and Michigan Wolverines. With beginnings dating back to the virtually bloodless Toledo War, a territorially dispute in 1836-37, the football hostilities would begin at centuries end. Tune in this week, as we outline the narrative history of this uniquely competitive and impactful rivalry. From Michigan’s dominant early run, the arrival of coach Woody Hayes and the famous Ten Year War of 1969-78 featuring Hayes and then Michigan coach Bo Schembechler, the Wolverines turning the tide back under Lloyd Carr leading to an era of unprecedented Buckeye dominance in the 21st century with Jim Tressel and Urban Mayer, all the way to the present: with both teams featured in this week’s College Football Playoff and Michigan capturing consecutive victories for the first time in over twenty years under alum and prodigal son Jim Harbaugh. Michigan/Ohio State has long been one of the sport’s consequential regular season showdown and continues to frame the narrative of the national college football landscape. It may be a new year, a new Collective season, but Ohio State/Michigan remains the same: arguably the greatest rivalry in all of sports.

This Aged (not so) Well: the Worst People in Sports Dec 27, 2022

Welcome back to the Bill Bradley Collective, where we have reached season’s end and you know what that means. That’s right, it is time to look back to our July draft of the worst people in sports and grade the picks! Each of your hosts drafted *five* sports figures: players, owners, executives, pundits alike, anyone with a presence in the sporting realm is fair game and draft eligible. Basically the fifteen people across sport most deserving of that giant lump of coal in the stocking. Each of the fifteen selections are evaluated on a 10-point scale by the two non-selecting hosts. “Worst” is rewarded here today, as the judging criteria boils down to qualifying what constitutes the very bottom class of our on- and off-field sports personalities. Add up the totals and at episode’s end we crown a winner. It is our typical end of season feature, our alternating worst people in sports/politics draft. It is also where we begin the transition into next season. New season, new theme. So join us next week, as the Collective returns with a premier episode focused on our seasonal topic of rivalries across both sports and politics. Here’s to our next season, and to all of our Collective heads out there a very safe and happy holiday season. As always, thanks for listening.

Rantapalooza V Dec 20, 2022

Welcome back to the Bill Bradley Collective, where this week we proudly present our bi-annual tradition unlike any other: Rantapalooza. That’s right, it is the Collective’s late season spectacular where in lieu of a main topic it is all the rants fit to record. Nine rants to be specific, a veritable pu pu platter of sports takes and political musings. Among the topics addressed on this installment of Rantapolooza: for-profit hospitals and the continued disgrace of the American healthcare model; the career and legacy of one of college football’s foremost originals; the inevitable entry of a certain ex-President/self-styled superhero into the thrilling world of non-fungible tokens; the state of professional men’s golf as the PGA Tour and LIV Golf get set to enter the new year; another former white NFL player jumps the line en route to a coaching job despite an alarming lack of qualification; the Democratic Party says good-bye and good night to a once-upon-a-time Presidential hopeful turned CPAC saleswoman and Tucker Carlson comrade. All of that and much more as we begin to draw the curtain on another season. But first things first. It’s Rantapoolza V and it is this week on the Bill Bradley Collective.

Off the Rails: Strike Averted Dec 13, 2022

Welcome back to the Bill Bradley Collective, where this week your hosts examine the ongoing labor dispute between freight railroads and workers. A tentative deal was struck between the rail companies and unions only to be voted down by the unions' rank-and-file during attempted ratification. President Biden became actively involved dating back to this summer, and on December 2 Biden signed the rejected agreement into law, averting a strike. Join us as we deep dive these negotiations, the bargaining positions of both the rail companies and unions workers, the state of the labor movement in 2022, and Biden's labor legacy on the heels of his controversial intervention. In lieu of our regularly scheduled rants, the Collective offer their thoughts on Brittney Griner's release from Russian detention, the exchange of incarcerated Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout for Griner that unfortunately did not also involve imprisoned U.S. Marine Paul Whelan, and all of the worst reactions from America's news punditry.

Sportswashing: The NFL in the Spin Cycle Dec 06, 2022

Welcome back to the Bill Bradley Collective, where this week we present the final episode in our season-long examination of sportswashing. All season we’ve examined sportswashing as government manipulation of sports as a means to enhance disreputable standing and to cover-up abuses. But governments are not the only guilty parties. Look no further than the men in control of the NFL: individuals (not governments) wielding sport as a way to improve reputations sullied by misconduct. Amongst their peers, Robert Kraft, Jerry Jones, Jim Irsay and (soon to be jettisoned) Daniel Snyder are all apart of the most exclusive and powerful fraternity in sports as owners of NFL franchises. Despite tenures fraught with significant personal and professional indiscretion, these men mostly skate, and in the cases of Kraft and Jones, are lauded by their players, fans, and local/national media, alike. How do they do it? Because of 18 Sundays September thru December. Because of Monday nights, playoffs, fantasy and gambling. Because NFL owners brandish this product to absolve their sins and we culpably grant forgiveness with our time, attention and dollar. It is sportswashing through a different lens, and it’s here on the Bill Bradley Collective.

2022 Midterms: Now, Next and Beyond Nov 30, 2022

Welcome back to the Bill Bradley Collective, where this week your hosts wrap (for now) their coverage of the 2022 Midterm elections. What happened with the results, what to expect over the next 24 months, and where we’ll be when the 2024 Presidential election arrives are the entrees for this buffet of political discourse. Trump’s seemingly anti-Midas touch, the makeup of the impending Trump/DeSantis showdown for control of the national GOP, and how Dems proceed having avoided a fully-formed Red Wave while still conceding control of the House are your prominent talking points on today’s show. But we’re back together in-person again and that means one thing: a trilogy of sport-centric rants to balance our politically-driven main topic. Zak leads off with a bit of justified angst pointed towards the daily cable television takeover of the legalized sports betting cabal; Ed draws down on Fox’s continued relationship with disgraced ex-NCAA and NFL head man Urban Meyer in light of his continued presence across the network’s college football telecasts; finally Andrew brings it home with his latest bit of part-homer, part-realist assessment of a UConn men’s basketball team looking the part of world-beater at this season’s quarter-mark.

As the Mavs Turn: a Big 3 Soap Opera Nov 22, 2022

Welcome back to the Bill Bradley Collective, where it is a bonus week here as Ed continues on his Parisian honeymoon excursion. Today Andrew recounts the story of the Dallas Mavericks of the early 1990’s and the A-list recording artist who may (or may not) have played a hand in their demise and dissolution. So-called big 3’s have been a dominant narrative in NBA team building for much of modern history, reaching something of an apex when LeBron James famously took his talents to South Beach to team with fellow stars Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. Some twenty years before the Decision, Dallas’ flagship sports franchise, the football Cowboys, were able to rise from their post-Tom Landry depths with their own big 3, selecting future Hall of Famers’ Michael Irvin, Troy Aikman and Emmitt Smith with first round picks from 1988 thru 1990. The basketball Mavs found themselves in a similarly disconsolate situation in the early ‘90s, but where the Cowboys struck gold in assembling their cornerstone big 3, their hardwood counterparts struck out. Join us for the story of the Three J’s: Jim Jackson, Jamal Mashburn and Jason Kidd. These three consecutive Dallas lottery picks never quite got off the ground together, for real on-court reasons like chemistry issues, lack of continuity at head coach and roster deficiencies. But perhaps the biggest impediment to success for the Mavs: R&B superstar Toni Braxton and the fragile egos of Jackson and Kidd. That story is this week on the Bill Bradley Collective.

Best & Worst Couples in Sports/Politics Nov 15, 2022

Welcome back to the Bill Bradley Collective, where wedding weekend has come and gone and our resident newly-wed is Paris-bound as a honeymooner. But not before, and by before we mean RIGHT before our patriarch Ed officially tied the knot, we carved out some time to discuss our favorite, least favorite, and most fascinating marriages, past and present, across political and sporting landscapes. Whether it is a power couples using their on-court/on-pitch greatness to influence positive social change; the unlikely partnership of high profile strategists working for opposing parties; the longest wed Presidential couple in history in this their 76th year together; or a Hollywood heavyweight marrying into the great political dynasty of the 20th century on the way to becoming Governor of California (those and more), we have you covered on all the most significant marriages across sports and politics. In lieu of rants, we open (and close) with a look at the results from last week’s bets on some of the elections that made up the 2022 primaries. With some of the outcomes not yet decided, the ultimate fate of the Collective wagers remain as of yet too soon to call. Alas, it’s the Bill Bradley Collective on the road in beautiful Shelton, CT in observation and celebration of brother Ed’s eventful and wonderful wedding.

Putting Fake Money Where Our Mouth Is Nov 08, 2022

Welcome back to the Bill Bradley Collective, where Election Day 2022 has arrived. To preview today’s enormously consequential midterms, your hosts have each been given $1,000 in fake money with which to wager on the biggest races across this election. Those races and outcomes include: the makeup of the U.S. Senate and whether Democrats can take back a majority; the Georgia senate race between incumbent Rev. Raphael Warnock and Herschel Walker; the race for Pennsylvania’s Senate seat pitting John Fetterman against Dr. Mehmet Oz; as well other contests across Arizona and Nevada. We will tally the results and crown a winning prognosticator on next week’s show, where we will be coming to you on location from Shelton, CT, as good brother and Collective elder Ed will officially retire himself from the position of New England’s most eligible bachelor. First we rant, as Ed weighs in on the ongoing Kyrie Irving situation with a look at both his endorsement of anti-Semitic drivel and deteriorating on-court performance; Zak critiques right-wing media reaction to the murderous attack on Paul Pelosi and the continued excusing of politically-motivated violence Andrew examines the signing of convicted bully and racist Mitchell Miller to an NHL contract and the league’s prevalent toxic culture issues.

Panic on the Tarmac: When WWE met the KSA Nov 01, 2022

Welcome back to the Bill Bradley Collective, where it is a seasonal focus week. That’s right, join us for a conversation show examining the relationship between World Wrestling Entertainment, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and sportswashing. WWE has been the world’s dominant professional wrestling company for the greater part of the last half century. A publicly traded entity boasting gross revenues in excess of $1 billion in 2021, the WWE maintains lucrative rights deals with both NBCUniversal and Fox that are expected to expand when they come up for renewal next year. Despite this fiscal prosperity, WWE made the decision to involve themselves in Saudi Arabian efforts to legitimize and Western-ize themselves in their economic endeavors. Join us, where on the eve of WWE Crown Jewel in Riyadh’s MRSOOL Park we examine the active strategic partnership between WWE and the Saudi General Sports Authority. Among our topics: North Korean involvement with two non-WWE wrestling outfits for an infamous two-day exhibition in 1995; a who’s who of top stars refusal to participate in the wake of the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi; the simultaneous touting of an internal “women’s revolution” whilst staging shows in greatly gender-discriminatory territory; the flight delay from hell AKA “panic on the tarmac” following Crown Jewel’s 2019 installment; and finally A-list social media celebrity Logan Paul’s main event involvement later this week in the main event. For even the most progressively optimistic of wrestling enthusiasts, it is impossible not to consider the WWE/Saudi marriage born perfectly from the worst of capitalistic inclinations.
SPEAKING OF MARRIAGES...it may be a week from Election Day but more importantly we are less than two weeks away from the nuptials of Collective host, tribal elder and leading voice Ed’s wedding. He and his wonderful bride-to-be and dear friend of the pod Alisha will be tying the knot, and the Bill Bradley Collective will be on location two weeks from now with a very special road-show episode.

Our Pastime on the Brink: the 2022 World Series Oct 25, 2022

Welcome back to the Bill Bradley Collective, where we are a mere two days away from first pitch of the 2022 World Series, the very topic of week’s conversation. The baseball postseason has been noteworthy for some true parody on the National League side, as the two surviving teams began seeded 5th and 6th, and the top four teams bombed out in the wild card and division series rounds. We start with a look at MLB’s newly installed playoff format, which has been debated by many in the media following this unlikely NLCS featuring the underdog Padres and Phillies. Your hosts offer some quick dispatches on those teams, as well as the Yankees on the precipice of yet another in a long line of early playoff flameouts; the conquering Astros who continue on as baseball’s closest thing to a modern dynasty while still wearing stench of 2017’s cheating scandal, and finally taking the interest-level temperature of the World Series on a Collective and presumed national level. First we rant: Ed’s in the lead-off spot with an examination of the nepotism enveloping Iowa Hawkeye football’s success at setting offense in college football back forty years every Saturday; Andrew’s on-deck with the factors in play leading pod-fave Terence Crawford to step away from a potential super-fight with P4P rival Errol Spence, Jr.; and finally Zak bats out of the hole with an assessment of the fallout from Georgia’s Senatorial debate, wherein Herschel Walker flashed a badge that wouldn’t have gotten him on Andy Griffith’s Mayberry detail.

Be Very Afraid: We Have Unisex Bathrooms Oct 18, 2022

Welcome back to the Bill Bradley Collective, where with both Halloween and Election Day fast approaching, what better time for a conversation about the scariest possible outcomes and scenarios come November 9th. With so many Republican candidates hostilely banging election-denying, anti-choice, anti-semitic, homo-, trans- and xenophobic drums, it is fair to say the stakes in these midterm elections have never been higher. And the higher the stakes, the graver the potential ramifications of red victories at the municipal, state and federal levels. That and more, but first we rant, as Zak returns to welfare fraudster Brett Favre and the nefarious text messages that would seem to seal his criminal fate; Andrew checks in on the state of LIV Golf while hammering a few excess nails in the Phil Mickelson integrity coffin; and finally Ed salutes the freshly union-minted men and women of New Jersey’s Medieval Times, aka the Collective’s preferred home for theatrical jousting and turkey legs.

CTE: Collective Trauma Endurance Oct 11, 2022

Welcome back to the Bill Bradley Collective, where in light of the situation enveloping the Miami Dolphins and QB Tua Tagovailoa, this week your hosts examine the NFL’s ongoing struggle with concussion protocols and head injuries. Long swept under the rug, the shield has in recent years become it’s lone grandest advocate for the fastidiousness of said concussion-related protocols. The optics of a stumbling Tua in a week 3 contest and his graphic exit from a week 4 game played a mere four days removed provided quite a bit of pushback against the NFL’s grotesque self-service. Tua’s future and that of Dolphins coaches and medical staff involved set the table for a conversation that, in the wake of other recent news considers chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) and the potential effect it may have on retired NFL back and Georgia Senatorial candidate Herschel Walker amidst disturbing behavioral revelations and numerous public oratory gaffes, as well as HOF LB Junior Seau’s tragic suicide and inactive WR Antonio Brown’s increasingly mercurial behavior following a devastating blow to the head in a 2016 playoff game. What, if any, is the answer to this crisis? All of that and more, but first rants, where Zak decries the excessive adulation sent Aaron Judge’s way in the run-up to achieving an *exclusively* American League record; Andrew relays an awed dispatch upon witnessing the televised debut of the NBA’s likely next sensation; and finally Ed reconciles the hypocrisy of retired NFL great Richard Sherman’s not-so-distant criticism of the league’s Thursday product with his current analyst position on those very same telecasts.

Fat City: Heavyweight History in Sensitive Settings Oct 04, 2022

Welcome back to the Bill Bradley Collective, where this week it is the latest installment in our season-wide focus on sportswashing, with the spotlight focused on boxing. Perhaps the sport’s preeminent power-broker, promoter Eddie Hearn has staged two heavyweight championship fights: a 2019 tilt featuring Andy Ruiz and Anthony Joshua and a 2022 bout between the aforementioned Joshua and Oleksandr Usyk in Saudi Arabia. How and why these fights, contested for the sport’s showcase prize, could occur in such a locale with a record so poor on human rights set the table for a conversation that works in reverse chronology. 1974’s George Foreman/Muhammad Ali “Rumble in the Jungle” and 1975’s Ali/Joe Frazier “Thrilla in Manila” were contests of the highest profile, perhaps the two most famous in heavyweight championship history, controversially staged in Zaire and the Philippines, respectively. Both promoted by the ever-problematic Don King, these bouts and their eventually decided host venues laid the groundwork for Hearn’s modern appeal to the cash-rich coiffeurs of Saudi Arabia and their vast Public Investment Fund. It is a discussion of then and now, presented with a shot of fight nerd discourse and a broader chaser consideration of sportwashing in a sport where such a thing has existed for half a century or more. It’s this week, on the Bill Bradley Collective.

Who will run the show? Sep 27, 2022

Welcome back to the Bill Bradley Collective, where this week your hosts dive into election season with a preview of four of this November’s most consequential gubernatorial races. Tune in for analysis, predictions, big-picture ramifications and much more on the Pennsylvania race between moderate Dem Josh Shapiro and far-right Trumpophant Doug Mastriano; the Arizona contest pitting Katie Hobbs against anti-Semitic election skeptic Kari Lake; and finally a pair of rematches from 2018, first Georgia’s showdown featuring incumbent Republican Brian Kemp and the widely celebrated yet seemingly overmatched Democrat Stacey Abrams and our native Connecticut, where Bob Stefanowski again challenges Collective favorite Ned Lamont. But first, a trilogy of rants, led off with Andrew’s reflections on the career ups and ills of a once-mulleted Big 12 head coach on the anniversary of his most (in)famous turn; Ed details the laughable and cliched criteria outlined by the NCAA in an actual job posting for their next President; and finally Zak places Brett Favre and a mostly silent media on blast for a lack of coverage of his prominent role in a Mississippi welfare fraud scandal.

Miller Time Sep 20, 2022

Welcome back to the Bill Bradley Collective, where this week your hosts deep dive the history of the Major League Baseball Players Association and the recent inclusion of minor league players into the union. The union under Marvin Miller made considerable gains during his tenure as leader from 1966-83, including negotiation of a maiden collective bargaining agreement with owners, birth of the modern free agency system, increased salaries, and increased pensions, among other achievements. Modern history has not been quite so fruitful for the MLBPA, as recently negotiated CBA’s have seemingly swung the player/owner power dynamic increasingly to favor the latter. Now, with minor leaguers brought under the umbrella, nearly quintupling union membership, labor has struck a massive victory in the baseball ecosystem. What does the future hold for the MLBPA and their 5,500 newly minted members? But first we rant, as Andrew observes the fall out from the NBA’s investigation into Suns’ owner Robert Sarver and the inadequacy of the discipline handed down, Ed decries the racism at the fore of Jackson, Mississippi’s water crisis and some reprehensible comments from the state’s sitting governor; and finally Zak provides a history of baseball closers and entrance music and the panel settles on a unanimous choice for best entrance/closer combo of all time.

Get your passports ready: American Leagues in foreign countries Sep 13, 2022

Welcome back to the Bill Bradley Collective, where this week we are sports-centric, with a main topic focused on the potential future for international expansion of Major League Baseball, the NBA and the NFL. Will a league with a heavy Latin, Spanish-speaking makeup like MLB consider expansion into Mexico, the Dominican Republic or perhaps even Cuba? Would the NBA, with their extensive investment in China ever consider planting a franchise or more in the Far East in the wake of Brittney Griner’s detention in neighboring Russia? Most importantly, will Roger Goodell and his 32 constituents be tuning in this week to hear Ed’s earnest case for a a global 40-team National Football League? Those questions and more, but first, we rant: as Ed shouts out the power of the labor movement and even commish Rob Manfred for his role in finally getting MLB to voluntarily recognize a minor league baseball union; Zak lowers the curtain on this year’s US Open with a dispatch on men’s semi-finalist Frances Tiafoe and his amazing story that dominated the tournament’s second-week headlines; and finally Andrew examines the unfortunate LIV presence at this week’s flagship European Tour event with some pointed condemnation for a once-celebrated champion’s disgraced withdrawal.

China Syndrome: the NBA and Eastern Authoritarianism Sep 07, 2022

Welcome back to the Bill Bradley Collective, where this week we continue our season-long focus on sportswashing with a conversation centered on NBA business interests in China. Basketball exploded in the PRC upon native son Yao Ming’s arrival to the league as the first overall pick in the 2002 draft. Since then, the NBA has grown into China’s most popular sports brand and in return the league oversees a large piece in the operation of NBA China, valued in total at over $4 billion. This relationship is wildly controversial, and the circumstances of such form the crux of this discussion. Join us as we examine China’s authoritarian regime and the ongoing atrocities being committed; a pro-Hong Kong tweet from the phone of NBA GM Daryl Morey that upended the China/NBA relationship for nearly three years; the league’s response to the tweet and the bipartisan condemnation of said response from American politicians; LeBron James’ place in withholding criticism of Chinese oppression; and finally a consideration of whether this partnership of league and nation, however troubling, explicitly constitutes “sportswashing” when compared to Saudi-financed endeavors within professional golf and the English Premier League.

College players get NIL? Aug 30, 2022

Welcome back to the Bill Bradley Collective, where this week college football is back and with it a conversation about the current state of compensating collegiate athletes. In this brave new world where student athletes are finally able to obtain NIL (name, image, likeness) deals for their own profit, the landscape remains controversial and complicated. Join us as we examine the unprecedented television rights contract inked between the Big 10 and CBS; how female athletes across less-exposed collegiate sports have prospered under the NIL rules; NCAA efforts to reel NIL in with threats of an appeal to Congress; the expected sentiments of college football’s white coaching elite; and finally another unanimous verdict from the panel in favor of compensating our scholar athletes. First we set the table with rants: as Zak throws jabs at a Collective cohort by highlighting some rather embarrassing truths about the man chosen to patrol the home sidelines of Rentschler Field this season; Ed continues to point the verbal flame thrower in the direction of Florida’s small-handed senior Senator following some inane commentary decrying student loan relief; and finally Andrew talks LIV Golf’s latest arrivals, the future of the PGA Tour’s seasonal structure, and the greatness of the newly crowned Tour Champion.

We did this before the Dollop!! Aug 23, 2022

Welcome back to the Bill Bradley Collective, where it is a special bonus week documenting the intersection of Rafael Trujillo’s rise to power in the Dominican Republic and the legendary career of baseball legend Satchel Paige. Trujillo rules the Dominican for north of thirty years, both officially as President and an unelected military warlord. Trujillo rises up the ranks of the Dominican military swiftly, despite an extensive criminal reputation and finds himself elected President in 1930. Trujillo oversaw one of the bloodiest political regimes in global history, aided by a cult of personality promoted by the leader. As part of that effort, Trujillo looked towards baseball as a means to reinforce his appeal. By 1937, Satchel Paige is a legend of the Negro Leagues, a rubber-armed fire-baller firmly established as one of, if not the greatest of baseball’s blacklisted by segregation in the major leagues. Trujillo recruits Paige and a handful of some of the great black ballplayers in history, most notably “Cool” Papa Bell and Josh Gibson to play for Los Dragones, a team operated by the dictator himself. The circus of that season, in which the Dragones dominate en route to a league championship observed by a military firing squad patrolling Paige and his teammates, is detailed as the story’s climax. It is as direct an intersection of sports and politics as can be told: brutal Caribbean dictator enlists services of natively segregated star ballplayers as a means of enhancing his public image. And that story is here on the Bill Bradley Collective.

The Donald’s Gambit Aug 16, 2022

Welcome back to the Bill Bradley Collective, where this week the road to the November midterms continues as your hosts examine the primary landscape after a busy week of elections. The Collective’s native Connecticut held primaries this week, not without some interesting results with regard to the Donald Trump shadow that seems to loom large over so many elections nationwide. The Trump effect is real, as Trump-endorsed Republican candidates for Senate and Governor in Connecticut came through victoriously. But the conversation doesn’t end here at home, but seems to be at the very center of Republican primaries in Arizona, Georgia, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin among others, where Trump has played the role of king-maker in this Republican primary season. The true litmus test for this largely pro-“stolen election” set of nominees and the so-called Trump effect will ultimately come this November as the makeup of both national and many statewide houses hangs in the balance. But first come the rants: where Andrew cedes his normal beat with a look at a newsworthy week in boxing with a nod to some of the big fights to come this fall; Ed details the latest terrible, horrible, no good, very bad week in the life of disgraced GOP buffoon Marco Rubio; and finally Zak takes the reins on this week in LIV Golf, following a rough afternoon in court exposing some apparent holes in the outfit’s financial arrangement with contracted players.

Low Block to the Cell Block; A Russian Hostage Crisis Aug 09, 2022

Welcome back to the Bill Bradley Collective, where this week we focus on the ongoing plight of American basketball star Brittney Griner. Unjustly detained in Russia for months under suspect charges of drug possession, Griner’s “trial” has now come and gone, and the result is a conviction and sentence of nine years. Your hosts cover this troubling situation from an assortment of angles: the trial and conviction; what to make of negotiations between the State Department and Russian officials with regard to the prospect of a prisoner exchange; American right-wing reaction to Griner’s circumstances reeking of racist and anti-LGBTQ sentiment; and finally how we expect this situation to ultimately unfold: how much of this sentence does Griner serve? What is the next move of the Biden administration in procuring her return home? When do we expect this return? We all agree that Griner’s release should come as soon as possible. But first a troika of rants, perhaps this week best described as a trilogy of evisceration. Zak leads off with a hostile takedown of the recent workings of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee; Andrew fires away on LIV Golf’s glowing reception of Donald Trump and other deplorable Republican ideologues at their latest sham sportswashing exhibition; and finally Ed calls bullshit on Arizona’s (among others) prison labor system amidst claims that the state’s economy would collapse if not for what amounts to institutional slavery.

Getting their Kicks: Oligarchical Interests in Soccer Aug 02, 2022

Welcome back to the Bill Bradley Collective, where this week your hosts unveil the second installment of our season-long concentration on sportswashing with an examination of global soccer’s role. Two organizations drive the conversation, the Premier League of England and the sport’s global governing body FIFA, or the International Federation of Association Football. Considered by European audiences as a domestic league at the competitive and interest-level of what the NBA and NFL are in the States, the Premier League is among the very hottest of sport-related brands, globally. And the level of exposure and legitimacy created by fiduciary counts of one of the league’s top clubs has in turn brought about investment from some of the world’s most unsavory entities. Join us as we break down the long-held controlling interest in arguably the world’s premier club Manchester City F.C. by United Arab Emirate-based oil tycoons and the recent purchase of Newcastle United F.C. by the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia. The conversation transitions to FIFA, and while an examination of that group’s corruption could span a season-long’s worth of recordings, we focus on the how, what and why of Qatar’s successful bid to host the upcoming men’s World Cup. Quite literally being built on the back of slave labor, how is it did an Arab middle-power the geographic size of Connecticut acquire the right to host the globe’s largest sporting event?

Cheatstrong: The Story of the Tour de France Jul 26, 2022

Welcome back to the Bill Bradley Collective, where in late July we are in the proverbial dog days of both summer and sports. Unless you’re an MLB trade deadline follower, an NFL training camp devotee or fan of European club soccer friendlies abroad, there’s not much on the docket. But there is an event of great prestige; just concluded, on the global sport landscape, the Tour de France that is the focus of this week’s conversation. Cycling’s premier event dates back to the infancy of the 20th century, and the early history leads this discourse. A near century’s worth of competition precedes American interest in the event before native son Greg LeMond pockets three tour wins in the late 80s. Interest wanes post-Lemond amidst doping scandals that mar the event from it’s very beginning. Until we get to Lance Armstrong, who becomes one of American sport’s great celebrities and icons on the back of seven consecutive tour wins, victories later exposed as being done under the veil of performance enhancing drugs. The Tour is a massive European summer sport sensation, but viewed with great cynicism by American viewers in a post-Armstrong world. Where the tour stands today concludes our conversation. But FIRST, a trilogy of rants, leading off with Zak taking aim at the Susan Collins/Joe Manchin led Reform of Electoral Count Act and the future of electoral politics in our splintered world; Ed fires off on Washington whatever the fuck they call themselves owner Dan Snyder and his off-shore yacht occupancy in the wake of a Congressional subpoena into long-term cultural indiscretion; and in closing Andrew pens a eulogy for Europe’s Ryder Cup side, as pillars disqualify themselves to the LIV outfit and a (briefly) once proud captain joins their ranks.

The Road Not Taken: 3rd parties in American politics Jul 19, 2022

Welcome back to the Bill Bradley Collective, where this week your hosts set course on a journey in search of answering a simple, yet nuanced question: do “third” (political) parties matter? Historical and contemporary electoral landscapes are littered with candidates and movements from outside the two-headed Democratic/Republican stranglehold: Whig, Reform, Libertarian, Green, Working Families and on down the line. What place at the table: yesterday, today and moving forward, do the presence of these parties and their respective candidates have? The question takes a complicated turn when considering efficacy on the national versus the local/municipal level. Where third parties nationally often sway elections to one of the two aforementioned major players, outsider candidates at the local level have found some degree of success finding their way to elected office. But as we’ve been known to do in this space, we lead with an explosive trilogy of rants: where Zak considers track and field’s place in the sports ecosystem in light of the ongoing World Athletics Championships American debut and primetime coverage on network television; Ed brings us up to speed on the most recent inequities of Texas AG Ken Paxton and his continued dogged pursuit of “state-sanctioned femicide;” and finally Andrew offers a three-quarter recap of the Open Championship and the significance of Tiger Woods’ perhaps final on-course chapter playing out on the sport’s grandest and most storied stage.

LeBron, Harden, Kyrie, Simmons, oh my: Player Empowerment in 2022 Jul 12, 2022

Welcome back to the Bill Bradley Collective, where we are back on the grounds of the Leavy-berg Compound, returned from a one-week road trip to the tremendous Social Bar & Kitchen. We are back to get season seven off the ground and running, with a conversation show considering whether or not the NBA’s so-called era of player empowerment has made like Arthur Fonzarelli and jumped-the-shark. Where we begin with the conception of player-empowerment is up for some debate, may it be Kareem Abdul-Jabar’s move from Milwaukee to Los Angeles in the early 70’s, ascendent post-Jordan superstars Tracy McGrady and Vince Carter’s demand for respective departures from Toronto, or a LeBron James initiated play to make Miami the center of the basket-verse in teaming up with peers and fellow stars Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. A lot has changed since 1975; 2004; 2010. Individual player influence has grown exponentially, and as salaries have grown within some proportion to the NBA’s increasingly exorbitant televised rights’ fees, so have the influence of certain less-than-exemplary professionals: namely Ben Simmons, Kyrie Irving and James Harden. But first, the rants are back, baby, and with a vengeance. Ed sounds off at the start with a heated condemnation of an anti-abortion rights’ amendment backed by both houses of Pennsylvania’s state legislature; Andrew sets the stage for the Wimbledon gentlemen’s final with long held animus for one finalist and begrudging fascination for the other less-accomplished, more mercurial opponent; and Zak brings it home with some dour news regarding the future of American democracy: the expected/pending outcome of Moore v. Harper in the Supreme Court likely coming down in support of independent state legislature doctrine.

LIV, Laugh, Golf: Lipstick on an Oppressive Pig’s Head Jul 05, 2022

Welcome back to the Bill Bradley Collective, where we raise the curtain on our seventh season, live from the Social Bar and Kitchen in downtown New London, with an examination of the Saudi-bankrolled LIV Golf tour in the context of our season-long theme of “sportswashing” and the presence of oppressive oligarchies across sports. LIV Golf claims to want to change the landscape of professional golf in aspiring to host the world’s best players, playing for the world’s biggest purses, with a reduced 54-hole, no cut format while also introducing a team-scoring format. But LIV’s on-course ambitions pale in comparison to their seemingly greater purpose: to legitimize the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in the face of vast human rights’ abuses and enhance their standing in the global economic world order. Professional golf marketed and weaponized as a means to cover for a regime of institutionalized oppression: the early legacy of the LIV Golf Tour. Your hosts set out on a conversation that explains the concept of “sportswashing,” contextualizes the movement to rival the incumbent PGA Tour with an autonomous so-called Super League, the success or lack thereof two events and a debut American event in, and what kind of impact this sordid venture will have down the road with respect to the future of professional golf and Saudi Arabia’s global footprint. We thank The Social for hosting our maiden season 7 episode, fans and family, alike, for taking time out of their holiday weekend to join us live, and all of the listeners that have enabled us to even see a seventh season. Keep up with us, next week and beyond, on the Bill Bradley Collective.

Six Months in a Leaky Boat: The Worst of Our Politics Jun 28, 2022

Welcome back to the Bill Bradley Collective, where we have reached season’s end and you know what that means. That’s right, it is time to look back to our January draft of the worst people in politics and grade the picks! Each of your hosts drafted *five* political figures: a minimum of one Democrat and maximum of one pundit. Each of the fifteen selections are evaluated on a 10-point scale by the two non-selecting hosts. “Worst” is rewarded here today, as the judging criteria boils down to qualifying what constitutes the very bottom class of our elected officials and news pundits. Add up the totals and at episode’s end we crown a winner. It is our typical end of season feature, our alternating worst people in sports/politics draft, but it is an atypical edition of our rants. Our season-long theme was women in sports, and on the heels of an episode centered around Title IX and female empowerment, this week the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, throwing women’s abortion rights into grave peril. In lieu of our normal rant offerings, your hosts instead assess the immediate fallout of the ruling, initial reactions and emotions, how this came together fifty years removed, and what could make for the Court’s next attack on civil liberties. A tragic conversation to have to have following one of the darker days in American political history, there is great work ahead of us to be done on behalf of women’s reproductive rights. Time to fight. One season closes, another one starts anew this Saturday, July 2 at 12:00. Join us live at New London’s own Social Bar & Kitchen as we raise the curtain on season *7* with a discussion of Saudi Arabian sports washing in the world of golf, as their LIV Golf tour makes their American debut this weekend. Come down for hot takes and a cold beverage or two this Saturday, when we hope you’ll join us in-person on the Bill Bradley Collective.

Rantapalooza iV Jun 21, 2022

Welcome back to the Bill Bradley Collective, where we have reached the climax of yet another season, our sixth, which now ties us with iconic television series including The Sopranos, Lost, Oz and Nash Bridges, among many others. As we do to cap off our seasons we present the fourth installment of Rantapalooza. That’s right, Rantapalooza IV is live, and while Super Bowl IV featured one of the great upsets in NFL history and Rocky IV single-handedly cooled off longstanding American-Soviet hostilities, this fourth iteration is up to that lofty standard. In lieu of a concentrated main topic, this is a show where our regular appetizer features as the main course. Nine rants, three from each of your esteemed hosts, across the spectrum of sports and politics. Normally we would tip our hand in this space by detailing the contents of what’s to come, but not this week. Smash that play button and enjoy an extended play of the rants you’ve come to know and love and anticipate most every week. In addition to that, we wish to extend a cordial invitation to all of our Collective-heads for what will surely be a grand occasion. Cap your 4th of July weekend revelry by joining us that Saturday the 2nd at The Social Bar & Kitchen for a live installment of the Bill Bradley Collective. New London’s home for great beer, craft cocktails and terrific food plays host to the Collective for a second time, and we hope to see you all there. Grab a bite, raise a pint and listen in as we will be launching season number seven with a deep dive on the Saudi-backed LIV Golf ahead of their maiden event on American soil, and also our annual draft of the worst people across sports.

Revolution Title IX Jun 14, 2022

Welcome back to the Bill Bradley Collective, where we begin to tie the bow on this season celebrating women in sports with a conversation about Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972. We are mere days from the 50th anniversary of Title IX being signed into law by President Richard Nixon, and it is likely no piece of legislation has had a greater, more positive impact on women’s sports. But this act was not conceived at the time with that effect in mind. Your hosts dive into the history of this law, enacted in the moment as an amendment to the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to address sex-based discrimination in higher education. We touch on the architects of this legislation, specifically Senator Birch Bayh and Congresswoman Patsy Mink; how interpretation of the bill has evolved over the presidential administrations since; and the tremendous impact it has had on female sports, how we’ve come to consume female sports’, the handling of sexual assault cases at the collegiate level and what the future holds in the representative growth of women in sport and the enduring legacy of Title IX. But first a rant or three, as Zak censures the sentiments of disgraced Washington Commanders’ DC Jack Del Rio that likened the January 6th U.S. Capitol attack to a “dust-up” whilst trying to equate said insurrection to the George Floyd protests of 2020; Ed weighs in on the NFL’s abhorrent handling of Deshaun Watson’s countless sexual Improprieties in light of news linking him to *66* individual massage therapists over 17 months; and finally Andrew leads us into what will be a big part of both our next season focus and live opener with a look at the golfing landscape following the Saudi-funded LIV golf tour’s debut event.

The King of Her Court Jun 07, 2022

Welcome back to the Bill Bradley Collective, where it is our regularly scheduled second drop on a back-to-back, belly-to-belly twin bill: a conversational profile about tennis legend and iconic activist/advocate Billie Jean King. Few, if any, athletes can boast the combined on- and off-court level of achievement that can King. An owner of the rare career singles’ Grand Slam and 12 singles’ Slams in total, a further 27 were won in combined women’s and mixed doubles. In a pre-Evert/Navratilova landscape, King, along with Margaret Court, were the standard-bearers of the time. Perhaps King’s most notable on-court accomplishment also created great waves off the court, as her dominant 1973 victory over veteran male Bobby Riggs in the greatly publicized “Battle of the Sexes” in the wake of Title IX brought women in sports to a level heretofore not realized. King’s activism both within and outside tennis, founding the modern Women’s Tennis Association, advocating both for tennis to appeal to a broader socioeconomic audience and for commensurate pay on the women’s side, but also fighting the broader fight for societal gender equality and championing LBGTQ activism as the first openly out prominent female athlete in history, lay the groundwork for this profile. On-court bonafides and off-court altruism tell the broad strokes, but join us also for the details of the palimony case that led to King’s coming out and perhaps the greatest spotlight shown on the Virginia Slims’ brand since Fatboy Slim’s “You’ve Come a Long Way Baby.” Billie Jean King is both a legend on the tennis court, and as a heavy puncher in the fight for gender and sexual equality. No more apropos a subject for a profile in this the season of women in sports, on the Bill Bradley Collective.

Where has The Magic gone Jun 06, 2022

Welcome back to the Bill Bradley Collective, where we have for you the rare Monday drop: a subject we just had to get some takes off on that didn’t quite fit into tomorrow’s episode. When a man of one Ryan Fitzpatrick’s magnitude walks away from football before the end of an eternal prime, that is means for commemorating one of the game’s most distinct and unique careers. Fitzpatrick has stepped away from quarterbacking in the NFL, but not before your hosts put some proper respect on his distinguished career. The Ivy League’s greatest contribution to the NFL, Fitz lasted nearly two decades occupying one of the 32 hottest seats in all of sports, across nine franchises, while more often than not playing an aesthetically entertaining style of ball while always playing well above the level of his presumed vagabond status. Your hosts share some of their favorite magical Fitzpatrick moments, consider his place in *Jets’* history, and put a bow on the career of a truly one-of-a-kind talent in this bonus drop of the Bill Bradley Collective.

Midway to the Midterms May 31, 2022

Welcome back to the Bill Bradley Collective, where it is primary season and your hosts are here to break down all of the results and narratives on the heels of primary elections that have set the table for forthcoming midterm elections this November. Among the highlights of the conversation include a trio of Republican Georgia races where perhaps Donald Trump’s influence or lack thereof made dominated headlines; the end of the Madison Cawthorn error in North Carolina’s 11th congressional district; the prospects of flipping departing Pennsylvania senator Pat Toomey’s seat blue following John Fetterman’s landslide primary victory; progressive victories in Oregon and elsewhere; and finally a nod to November as we take the temperature of how fights over abortion and gun rights will influence the midterms. But first, let there be rants, as Ed brings us up to speed on the increasingly diminished NFL Pro Bowl and everyone’s favorite commish’s intent to spice up the meaningless affair; Andrew remembers a shooting star of the film world, highlighting his most famous turn and lamenting the lack of notable success that followed; and finally Zak applauds the impassioned words of Warriors’ head coach Steve Kerr and the thoughtful choice to use his media availabilty to address the tragic mass shooting of a Uvalde, Texas elementary school.

#FreeBrittney May 24, 2022

Welcome back to the Bill Bradley Collective, where this week your hosts examine WNBA star Brittney Griner’s ongoing detention in Russia following a dubious arrest on drug charges earlier this year. Griner is one of the faces of the WNBA: a perennial all-league performer, Olympic gold medalist and historic collegiate standout at Baylor. As is the case for many of her peers, financial inequities force Griner to ply her trade overseas during the WNBA offseason. When she arrived in Russia on February 17 to rejoin her team, UMMC Ekaterinburg of the Russian Premier League, Griner was detained on charges of possessing vaporizer cartridges containing weed oil. Three months later, Griner remains in detention awaiting trial. Your panel seek to unpack and reckon with the complicated circumstances of her situation. Griner’s unique position as an American celebrity in Russia amidst aggressive Western sanctions resulting from the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine and her probable characterization as a hostage; the integrity of a Russian media report claiming a potential exchange of Griner for a high profile imprisoned arms dealer; the efficacy of the American response: that of the public, the State Department and the White House; and expectations for resolution flesh out the conversation. While our collective hope is that of a swift return home for Brittney Griner, the forecast is not quite so optimistic. But first a rant or three, as Zak vets CT gubernatorial candidate Bob Stefanowski’s summit with Pete Ricketts and the conflicting virtue signaling of the GOP hopeful’s abortion position; Ed details how disaster can result from the mundane with a look at a seemingly innocuous security fraud case where two far-right judges rendered a decision calling into question government’s right to enforce its own regulations; finally Andrew recaps the week in golf outside the ropes, where Jack Nicklaus met cancel culture and golf course architecture met MAGA Twitter-outrage.

The 2030s: A Sporting Landscape Odyssey May 17, 2022

Welcome back to the Bill Bradley Collective, where this week your hosts offer a look to the future with a nod to the present: a conversation about the state of American sports’ so-called “big four” and the chances of an upstart brand or property moving into that esteemed tier. Here’s what we know. The NFL is king. The NBA continues to broaden the gap between themselves and everyone else. Major League Baseball is flush with regional network dollars and some early season buzz following an offseason lockout. The NHL is enjoying nice early returns in the first year of their content partnership with ESPN and Turner (TNT/TBS). The purpose of this exercise is to evaluate the prospects of those outside this exclusive group in entering that level of recognition a decade from now. Can the PGA Tour overcome it’s clear demographic shortfalls? Will NASCAR ever ascend back to the status it enjoyed in the early 2000’s, or will it be the more globally branded Formula 1 that more successfully expands into the American marketplace? MLS appears a long shot, but will the EPL or another domestic European league punch soccer’s ticket into the American top four? The WNBA? Combat sports and the rise of female athletes in the UFC and boxing? The Collective surveys the field and assesses what the American sporting hierarchy will look like a decade from now. But first, yet another epic trilogy of rants: as Zak revels in the early season success of his New York Mets with a look at their recent multi-pitcher no-hitter and how such a feat compares to the more conventional solo no-no; Ed decries right-wing sob stories over the peaceful protest demonstrations outside the homes of Supreme Court justices behind leaked efforts to overturn Roe v. Wade; and finally Andrew lights a candle in memory of the 2021-22 Philadelphia 76ers, with condolences to Joel Embiid and all sorts of smoke for an alleged superstar guard and professed coaching legend. A full-on, full-length smorgasbord of sports, politics, prognostication, vitriol and some laughs, this week on the Bill Bradley Collective.

Head of the Class May 10, 2022

Welcome again to the Bill Bradley Collective, where it is part two of this week’s double drop: a conversation profiling legendary Tennessee women’s college basketball coach Pat Summitt. Over a career spanning nearly four decades, the late Summitt set the record book for all to try and catch. Eight national titles, eighteen Final Four appearances, 1,000+ wins and an Olympic gold medal are among her many notable accomplishments, but her legacy goes far beyond the stat sheet and the hardware. Summitt’s career and eventual ascension of her and the Lady Vols’ program coincide with the rise and growth of the sport, itself. The greatest and highest profile rivalry the sport has ever seen, matching Tennessee and UConn, has attracted more eyes to the women’s game than any other and is in large part responsible for the elevated profile the sport maintains today, and Summitt and Huskies coach Geno Auriemma were the catalysts. Her place among the greatest coaches in college basketball history; the fight with early-onset Alzheimer’s disease that ended her career and took her life far prematurely; and the brief but sordid coaching career of son Tyler are all also considered in this week’s profile of the late coach Pat Summitt on the Bill Bradley Collective.

Welcome to Gilead May 09, 2022

Welcome back to the Bill Bradley Collective, where we present the rare Monday drop: a conversation show on the fallout of a leaked Samuel Alito Supreme Court draft striking down the decision rendered in 1973 in the case of Roe v. Wade. The right-wing framing of the story: that a “leak” from the Supreme Court is the dominant narrative versus the content of said “leak” sets the Collective story. As we sit on the precipice of delegalizing abortion and criminalizing aiding and abetting the process, your hosts attempt to figure out how we got to this place; how in 2022 the ball has moved so far to the favor of so-called pro-life Republican interests, and what the future holds in the wake of the most politically-charged Court draft/leak that perhaps we’ve ever seen.

Elon and his Muskovites May 03, 2022

Welcome again to the Bill Bradley Collective, where this week we examine billionaire Tesla CEO Elon Musk move to acquire social media giant Twitter and the broader picture of billionaire influence over our news media and free speech. But first a rant or three, as Zak highlights the passage of a Connecticut bill aimed to protect abortion rights for recipients and providers against out-of-state legal backlash from the many other far more restrictive states; Ed spotlights the fallout from the watershed Katie Taylor-Amanda Serrano unification bout from last weekend and the promising future of headline female prize-fighting; and finally Andrew decries the decision of the All England Club to ban competitors from Russia and Belarus amidst the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian War. This leads us to Musk, and his many peers among the billionaire class: Peter Thiel, Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos most notably, that control both news and social media as we know it. How we use and interact with Twitter, what to expect under Musk’s control and whether or not we continue to engage the platform going forward comprise the bulk of this conversation. But to comprehend and begin to understand Musk’s ascension to a controlling interest in Twitter, means also considering Zuckerberg and Facebook; Jeff Bezos’ ownership of the Washington Post, Peter Thiel’s funding of the destruction of independent Gawker Media, Sheldon Adleson, Ru0ert Murdoch, et al. What does free speech look like in the media: broadcast, news and social alike, when that speech is controlled by the world’s richest men? Your panel seeks seeks an answer to that question and others this week on the Bill Bradley Collective.

Draft: Political Movies Apr 26, 2022

Welcome back to the Bill Bradley Collective, where in deference to the forthcoming NFL Player Selection Meeting, your hosts present the inaugural Political Movie Draft. You’ve heard us draft the best and worst men and women across each sports and politics, as well as our choices for best sports movies, and this week follows a similar format. *Five* selections per collective host, drafted in snake fashion following a hotly contested session of roshambo determining the all important order. Choices are discussed and analyzed for the extent and substance of their political content, as well as cinematic quality. No formal genre requirements were imposed, but eclecticism in draft choices was encouraged. The Collective cover many classics of the genre, including historical dramas, biopics, thrillers, satires, animated comedies and documentary features. In true Collective fashion, the nature and veracity of the “political” movie is brought into question from the very beginning with a nod to the many un-drafted works of one Aaron Sorkin. Located at the intersections of Mel Kiper and Siskel & Ebert, Hollywood and Washington, D.C., be sure to join us this week on the Bill Bradley Collective.

From the Locker Room to SCOTUS - Lisa Olson & Misogyny Apr 19, 2022

Welcome back to the Bill Bradley Collective, where this week we continue our season long feature on women in sports with a profile of sports journalist Lisa Olson and her place in the NFL’s problematic history of female disenfranchisement. Olson got her start fresh out of college at the Boston Herald, where she quickly ascended to cover the New England Patriots beat. Shortly into her first season, Olson was sexually harassed and psychologically assaulted by three Patriots in a disgusting locker-room incident, one seemingly abetted and endorsed by team higher-ups including owner Victor Kiam. The league investigation and subsequent “punishment” reflected an extreme dereliction of duty in meeting the severity of the player’s and organization’s actions and effect on Olson’s livelihood. If anyone came out punished, it was the victimized reporter, forced to relocate to Australia in order to continue her journalistic career for the better part of the next decade. What should have served as a positive tipping point for the advancement of women in sports journalism, was merely a harbinger of how the league would continue to regard women in their orbit for the next thirty-plus years. The NFL culture as it regards treatment of females is no less, if not more, dubious today than it was all the way back in 1990. How the league has handled Dan Snyder and the environment he has presided over in Washington; the failure to assess any culpability to Deshaun Watson amidst myriad credible assault accusations; Greg Hardy; comments by Cam Newton; all reflect an open hostility towards any and all women with experiences potentially damaging to the league’s mythical shield. Lisa Olson’s plight, which in a moral world may have snapped the NFL out of it’s abhorrent sexual biases and mores, instead shows that as everything changes, everything stays the same, and what has stayed the same is the continued degradation and abasement of women victimized by the league. Come for Olson’s profile in courage, stay for an NFL profile in ignominy, this week on the Bill Bradley Collective.

🎶🎤 “Sorry Ms. Jackson (You Are For Real)” 🎼🎵 Apr 13, 2022

Welcome back to the Bill Bradley Collective, where this week your hosts shine a deserved spotlight on the latest appointee to the Supreme Court, one Ketanji Brown Jackson. But first, we set the table with a rant or three, as Ed details the pending fate of Lizelle Herrera, charged with murder in the wake of Texas’ on-going legislative anti-abortion crusade; Andrew decries some of the coverage surrounding NFL QB Dwayne Haskins’ tragic and untimely passing, and Zak censures the right wing characterization of the Disney Company as supporters of so-called child “grooming” in response to the media behemoth’s opposition to Florida’s newly instituted anti-LGBTQ laws. This provides something of an unfortunate transition to this week’s main subject, newly appointed Supreme Court justice Ketanji Brown-Jackson. Much of the rhetoric from the Senate Judiciary Committee’s GOP contingent focused on Brown-Jackson having a perceived “softness” on crimes involving pedophilia, a case most mainstream news outlets as well as your hosts disapprovingly fact checked. The newest justice’s background and bonafides are also detailed, as well as the abhorrently partisan nature of her confirmation hearings, a vote that saw three(!) GOP senators vote to confirm Brown-Jackson to the bench, and how/if her appointment may shift the ideological makeup of the court in the years to come. A historic week for the Supreme Court, a seismic achievement for black women in our government, and more calamity brought to you courtesy of the Republican Party, all laid out in both great and grave detail this week on the Bill Bradley Collective.

FORE! A Coup Incoming Apr 05, 2022

Welcome back to the Bill Bradley Collective, where it is a Dollop-style bonus week, as Andrew presents the story of golf icon Jack Nicklaus’ failed endeavor at removing then-PGA Tour commissioner Deane Beman in an attempted PGA Tour coup. As tour profits and assets sky-rocketed through much of the 70’s and early 80’s under Beman’s watch, golfers prospered in lock-step, competing for increasingly lucrative purses in-line with the tour’s respective growth. The explosion of competitive income was not enough for Nicklaus, nor was it for Arnold Palmer or Tom Watson, recruited by the old bear to combat what they perceived as over-reach on the part of Bemoan and the PGA Tour. The crux of Nicklaus’ case is that the Tour has grown to become a business adversary to his and notably Palmer’s own off-course interests: apparel, equipment, course design and assorted Madison Avenue dalliances. By way of venturing into these outlets, the PGA Tour and Beman, in Nicklaus’ mind, undercut his and other top players’ branding efforts and subsequent bottom lines. It all comes to a head in the summer of 1983, where Nicklaus’ star-power and omnipresence as the game’s top player and pitchman collides head on with Beman and the tour’s rank and file at the negotiating table. It is a story with some renewed relevance in 2022, as a few of golf’s veteran power brokers, namely Phil Mickelson and Greg Norman, have wed themselves to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in an attempt to launch a rival circuit to the PGA Tour in the name of craven economic greed. The efforts of Nicklaus (and Palmer and Watson) are something of a forerunner to the movement championed by Mickelson in the present in trying to wrest financial leverage away from the Tour. That story is this week on the Bill Bradley Collective.

presents the 2nd Annual Grover's Mar 29, 2022

Welcome back to the Bill Bradley Collective, where this week we reward the best and worst in sports and politics over the last year with the 2nd annual Grover Awards. First a troika of red carpet rants; as Zak celebrates the inspired Cinderella run of Jersey City’s own Saint Peter’s Peacocks to the NCAA Tournament’s elite eight; Ed rails in the direction of South Dakota governor Kristi Noem and her contribution towards the torpedoing of abortion rights; and finally Andrew considers the disposability of college athletes following a gruesome season-ending leg injury suffered Villanova’s Justin Moore. From there it is on to the podium to hand out some well-deserved hardware. If you’re new to the Grovers, let’s bring you up to speed. Loosely inspired by the other prominent award ceremony happening this week, the Grovers set out to honor the best that the intersectionality of sports and politics had to offer in the last twelve months, including individual awards for a leading man, woman and breakthrough, and also a Collective Best Picture-type prize for a best event/movement. While the Oscars and Razzies operate separately in rewarding the best and worst in the film industry, the Grovers endeavor to both celebrate the best and desecrate the worst. Sometimes the race to the bottom is the most compelling of all, and so we have figurative statuettes to hand out for our worst leading man and woman and the worst event/development/movement spanning sports and politics. Fear not, as though some awards were debated contentiously, no GI Jane jokes were made and no palm strikes were thrown by any of your hosts.

Fear Strikes Out For Good Mar 22, 2022

Welcome again to the Bill Bradley Collective, where this week your hosts survey the evolving relationship between sports and mental health awareness. Rants set the table, where Ed lays out the abhorrent details of a proposed Tennessee bill granting individuals the right to sue abortion providers and thusly allowing charges to be brought upon rape victims; Andrew wraps up day one of the NCAA Tournament with a post-mortem dissection of UConn’s performance in a losing effort and what the future might hold; and finally Zak denounces disgraced ex-New York Governor Andrew Cuomo following the latest stop on his no apology tour and the continued fallacious coverage of his so-called comeback. We then transition into our conversation on mental health and sports, with a focus on how the cultural perception of athletes dealing with mood and/or anxiety disorders has evolved over time. From Jimmy Piersall’s struggle with bipolar disorder in the 1950’s to Simone Biles and Naomi Osaka’s recent public disclosure of their mental health issues, we’ve come a long way in how we grasp the struggle many have with their own psychological well-beings. The conversation is also a deeply personal one, as our brother Zak opens up about his mental health battle. Whether you’re a world-class athlete or ordinary Joe/Jane, there is no greater self-care one can take than that of their psychological well-being. It is our collective hope this week to bring greater awareness to the importance of mental health and attempt to further destigmatize mental illness.

MLBPA: The Union takes another L Mar 15, 2022

Welcome back to the Bill Bradley Collective, where this week your hosts examine the recently settled Major League Baseball lockout. The ninth work stoppage in league history and first since 1994-95 that cancelled the ’94 World Series, players and owners came to terms on a new collective bargaining agreement following a three month-plus impasse. Union leaders sought most notably to increase the competitive balance tax threshold disrupt ownership manipulation of player service time in the interest of the game’s younger and middle classes, as well as competitive balance within the league. Whether or not they succeeded is the question. The details of the agreement, that appeared to only further erode the power of the once-mighty MLBPA, are considered, as well as the exact bargaining positions of each side, a background on this and past stoppages and the representative dilemma facing the union ratification process. But first we rant, as Zak bids a hopeful adieu to the David Cox era of URI Rams men’s basketball while making a spirited case for a certain notable alumnus to take the reins of the slumping program; Ed unmasks yet another ghastly piece of proposed legislature in the form of a horrifying Missouri anti-abortion bill; and finally Andrew describes the scene in Durham, North Carolina the night a coaching legend went out with a whimper in his home curtain call against his most storied rival.

Best of Frenemies Mar 08, 2022

Welcome back to the Bill Bradley Collective, where it is seasonal profile week as we present a deep dive on the lives of and rivalry between tennis greats Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert. Two of the greatest to ever pick up a racket, male or female, Navratilova and Evert each re-wrote the record book during their era and the only one stopping each of them from greater success was the other. As their careers largely intersect one another, the on-court rivalry between the two is one of the greatest across gender or sport. Join us as we examine the rivalry and the women behind it. Contrasting public images, physical appearances and on-court playing styles belie a rivalry perhaps best remembered for the class and sportsmanship of the combatants and the enduring friendship that it helped create. While we celebrate both Evert and Navratilova for their achievements both on- and off-court, it is a conversation about a relationship not without some controversy, as both of our subjects have recently made public statements regarding the competitive rights of trans-gender athletes. Catalysts for a tennis boom in the 1970’s and 80’s, Evert and Navratilova represented themselves and their sport with dignity and grace, while many of their male contemporaries were better known for their boorish and outspoken personalities. The professional rivalry and personal relationship between Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova is a lengthy chapter in the history of women in sports, and that chapter is examined this week on the Bill Bradley Collective.

Brian Flores: A Profile in Courage Mar 01, 2022

Welcome again to the Bill Bradley Collective, where this week your hosts revisit the NFL’s Rooney Rule in the wake of Brian Flores’ lawsuit against the league alleging racial discrimination of minority coaches and executives. Flores’ lawsuit comes on the heels of his termination as Dolphins head coach and his discovery, thanks to former boss Bill Belichick, that the New York Giants had settled on Bills coordinator Brian Daboll to be their next coach BEFORE Flores was scheduled to interview for the same position. Another coaching cycle has passed, and again many well-credentialed minority candidates have been passed over, yet again in the case of many. It is not merely a hiring issue, but a retention one, as well, for teams have been proven to give black coaches far less margin for error and minimal in the way of consideration should a minority coach be seeking a second opportunity. Finally your hosts predict what effect the Flores suit will have both on the obsolete Rooney Rule and the NFL hiring process for minority candidates. But first we rant, as Zak leads off with both an extended tribute to the heroism of the brothers Klitschko as they take up arms on behalf of their native Ukraine in the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian War and a broader look at the war in its first week; Ed takes a figurative flamethrower to despicable anti-LGBTQ legislation in Florida and Texas targeting trans children gay and trans children and their families; finally Andrew examines the hiring of disgraced ex-Baylor head football coach Art Briles by of all places, former HBCU powerhouse Grambling State.

WHYYYYY WHYYYYY MEEE!!! Feb 22, 2022

Welcome back to the Bill Bradley Collective, where after a brief in-person pause we are here to put out the torch on these Winter Olympics with a look back on the scandal that embroiled the 1994 games involving Tonya Harding, Nancy Kerrigan and a collection of goons straight out of the blackest of Hollywood comedies. Presumptive Olympic favorite and so-called America’s sweetheart Kerrigan arrived to a national trial run and left the victim of a telescopic baton-assault to the leg concluding a plot “masterminded” by Harding’s ex-husband Jeff Gillooly and friend/Harding bodyguard Shawn Eckardt. What ensues is a controversy that made women’s figure skating front page news around the world and the lead story of those forthcoming Winter Olympics in Lillehammer. The assault and the eventual Olympic results wherein Kerrigan takes silver and Harding misses the podium altogether take a backseat in the conversation to an examination of the contrasting pre- and post-Olympic lives of Nancy Kerrigan and Tonya Harding and more importantly the deeply problematic manner in how the media and public estimate what constitutes the feminine ideal, both then and now. But first, being back in person, a trio of proper rants: where Andrew orates the hopeful epilogue for the Saudi Golf League with a look at Phil Mickelson’s characteristically brazen comments defending his support for the mercifully doomed golfing off-shoot; Ed sizes up the prospective Republican nominees in the running for Michigan’s Attorney General position in light of their shared and woefully archaic stance opposed to a landmark 1965 Supreme Court ruling; and finally Zak attempts to reconcile Russian skater Kamila Valieva’s doping violation with American sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson’s ban from last summer’s Olympics and the forever inequities of the IOC.

At least there was no biting: Holyfield-Romney I Feb 15, 2022

Another one of our Dollop inspired bonus episodes, where Zak tells the story of a truly classic American boxing match.

The Winter of Our Discontent Feb 08, 2022

Welcome to the Bill Bradley Collective, where this week your hosts examine the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing and the many complications surrounding these games. A cloud exists over these Olympics, and that cloud is the authoritarian regime of host China and, amongst other human rights offenses include most prominently the ongoing Uyghur genocide. How Beijing came to host these Olympic Games in spite of the nation’s deplorable record on human right issues begins the conversation, followed by a look at the efficacy of the diplomatic boycott of the United States and others, the pros and cons of a hypothetical boycott by American Olympians, and finally how we approach these games as both enthusiastic observers of the events themselves and ardent critics of the host country’s record of rhetoric and action. But first, a trio of rants cometh: Zak sees and raises Ed’s prior bet on Aaron Rodgers as the NFL’s principal attention whore with insight on the drawn out saga of Tom Brady’s retirement announcement with a little shade thrown toward TB12’s “neglected” fanboys across New England; Ed censures the censure enacted by one Ronna (Romney) McDaniel, disgraced RNC chair and water carrier-in-chief for our deposed previous President; and finally Andrew leads us into the valley of morally compromised athletic spectacles with a look at the latest in Saudi efforts to buy golf following the conclusion of a tradition unlike any other bankrolled by blood money.

Jack Donagahy's Worst Dates Feb 01, 2022

Welcome back to the Bill Bradley Collective, where this week we profile one of history’s most significant African American women, Condoleezza Rice. National security advisor during President George W. Bush’s first term and U.S. Secretary of State for his second, Rice was the highest ranking African American woman in U.S. history until Kamala Harris’ ascension to the vice presidency in 2021. Her upbringing in Birmingham, Alabama in the era of Jim Crow and entry into politics during the Carter administration set the table for a conversation about a career and legacy notable for both historic professional achievement and also examples of disgrace and cronyism. Rice comes to prominence working in the National Security Council under the H.W. Bush administration with a concentration on Soviet and Eastern European policy, service that accelerates her rise in the cabinet of Bush’s son George W. Much like in the way you think “sports and politics” and the Bill Bradley Collective immediately comes to mind, for many Condoleezza Rice has a similar association with the Iraq War and the foreign policy of the Bush administration. Her culpability for those spectacular failures is the meat of this portrait, but her relationship to the sporting world takes us home. Once floated as a candidate for an NFL head coaching job, the first(!) chairperson of the College Football Playoff committee and first female member of the Augusta National Golf Club, Rice’s political career and forays into sport share parallels. On paper a resume fit for one of history’s pre-eminent civil servants, but in actuality a career propped up by being long held in the favor of those in power and as something of a black effigy for conservative white America, giving way to results and realities that don’t measure up to certain commendations and appointments. A fascinating study of ambition and race and legacy is Condoleezza Rice, and this is the home for it, on the Bill Bradley Collective.

Freshman Grades @ W.H.U. Jan 25, 2022

Welcome back to the Bill Bradley Collective, where this week your hosts put on their professorial hats with a critical assessment of President Joseph R. Biden’s freshman year at White House University. That’s right, letter grades from the Collective faculty for long-time Senator, two-term Vice President, and incumbent frosh President Biden as we enter the second year of his administration. Biden inherited a nation embroiled in a pandemic and fresh off the heels of the most divisive and polarizing figure the White House has ever hosted. Curve or no curve, what say we on Biden: immigration, foreign policy, COVID and more. Do underwhelming returns rest at the feet of perhaps Delaware’s greatest son or at those of his disgraced yet still viable and widely visible predecessor? Father and son go hard at one another and it is great. But first, there will be rants, as Ed examines the latest premature playoff departure of presumptive MVP and noted COVID truther Aaron Rodgers through the lens of yet another self-serving media exit interview; Zak juxtaposes Ed’s QB critique with a profile in acclaim of Collective favorite and all-around righteous dude Ryan Fitzpatrick; and finally Andrew calls foul on retired basketball great John Stockton for disgracing his alma mater by way of failure to comply with Gonzaga’s indoor mask mandate.

A Mob is After Our Democracy Jan 18, 2022

Welcome again to the Bill Bradley Collective, where this week your hosts tackle the January 6th, 2021 attack on the United States Capitol one year later. Not just what happened that day, where a group of Donald Trump stormed the Capitol Building in Washington, D.C. in the interest of overturning his defeat in the previous November’s election, but everything that has happened since. We assess the efforts of Congress in attempting to bring the parties responsible for stoking the fire of the Trump mob that day to justice. A January 6 commission was proposed and then shut down by Senate Republicans, giving way to a House Select Committee that remains active in investigating the events of that fateful day. What we expect the committee to ultimately uncover, what kind of consequences may await some of the star witnesses, and just what the future holds for democracy as a result rounds out the conversation. But first we rant, as Ed takes aim at another in a long line of proposed bills, this one in Virginia, intended to further suppress the teaching of critical race theory in social studies curriculum; Andrew examines Novak Djokovic’s dogged refusal to get vaccinated and his resulting banishment from the first major of the tennis season; and finally Zak confronts the Biden White House over alterations to the federal collection of COVID data from hospitals nation-wide.

Renee Montgomery #woman #huskie #champion #dream Jan 11, 2022

Welcome back to the Bill Bradley Collective, where this week we present our much anticipated season six premier with a profile of women’s basketball great, broadcaster, business executive and philanthropist Renee Montgomery. This season is centered around women in sports, and there is perhaps no better subject when taking into account off-court purpose and achievement than Montgomery. A standout at the University of Connecticut and a multi-time WNBA champion, her on-court career is outdone by a second act that is virtually unprecedented for an athlete. Amidst the wave of racial unrest that enveloped the country during the summer of 2020, Montgomery pressed pause on her basketball career and later retired in deference to social and racial justice initiatives. Join us as we discuss everything Renee Montgomery has achieved in her post-basketball career: from her role in the Atlanta Dream’s support of Raphael Warnock’s successful Senate bid, being the catalyst behind the downfall of sworn Collective enemy Kelly Loeffler, contributions to the Black Lives Matter movement and her Atlanta community, and to eventually being one of three owners of the aforementioned Dream, those are just a few of the boxes Montgomery has checked in her brief retirement from the court. In a space where the content can often be dour and downbeat particularly in light of some recent episodes, the story of Renee Montgomery is every bit as inspiring and encouraging. A model athlete, activist, and executive, Montgomery is as impressive as public figures come, and makes for a true high note with which to kick off our examination of women in sports, this season on the Bill Bradley Collective.

Cobb: Baseball’s Labor Bellwether? Jan 04, 2022

textWelcome back to the Bill Bradley Collective, where this week we present something of a bittersweet Dollop-style bonus in lieu of our regularly scheduled season premier. COVID reared its ugly head into the Collective game plan, but fear not, we will be raising the curtain on season six very soon and for the time being Ed has a thing or two to say on the life, career and legacy of Tyrus Raymond “Ty” Cobb. Conventional wisdom might suggest the focus be placed on Cobb’s standing amongst the greats of baseball’s dead-ball era, or perhaps his reputation for being among the game’s foremost assholes (rightly or wrongly), but no, because in true Collective fashion the focal point of this week’s episode is Ty Cobb as one of sport’s earliest and most prominent labor figures. Join us for the latest in Ed’s continued documentation of baseball in the early part of the 20th century, and stick around for a story that takes a surprising turn in the favor for one of the sport’s otherwise more polarizing greats. Stay tuned next week, as barring a prolonged or new set of COVID circumstances, we will be kicking off season number six with a profile of one of the most distinguished women in all of sports. As far as our next live remote show, be sure to keep an eye on our Facebook page for updates. We hope to see you all soon and as always we thank you for pressing play and joining us here on the Bill Bradley Collective.

2021 - Worst People in Sports Draft Dec 28, 2021

Welcome back to the Bill Bradley Collective, where this week we present the epilogue to season number five, also known as the results of our annual draft of the worst people in sports. That’s right, because six months ago your hosts drafted their respective choices of the absolute worst the world of sports had to offer and here we are six months later to appraise, debate and litigate all of the choices. If you are new to this space, here is how we roll: fantasy/snake-style Zak, Ed and Andrew drafted a curated and researched collection of their believed most-deficient characters occupying the sporting landscape. Athletes, coaches, administrators, owners and media personas, alike; with a nod to who they were that 4th of July weekend and a consideration of how they may age for the worse throughout the duration of 2021. The selector announces their pick and stumps for their choice, and the other Collective members reckon each pick on a 10-point scale. At the end we tally the totals of each drafter’s selection valuations and crown a winner for he who drafted the most esteemed collection of the worst sporting figures of 2021. Want an insider tip? Join us live and on location this Sunday, January 2nd at the official sports bar of the Bill Bradley Collective, New London’s own the Draft Choice. We will be launching season number *six* with a seasonal profile we cannot wait to unveil, but also, our annual draft of the worst people in politics. It’s like Marty McFly with the Sports Almanac, knowing your beloved hosts’ choices six months in advance of your fellow but non-live participatory listeners AND with the added bonus of craft beer, craft cocktails, delicious food and taking in a football Sunday with real-time takes from the Bill Bradley Collective family. While we hope to see you all next weekend, to every listener out there that may not be able to trek to New London, we wish you nothing short of the healthiest and happiest of New Years. Stay positive, test negative, join us and stay tuned for more great content from the Bill Bradley Collective in 2022.

Rantapalooza III Dec 21, 2021

Welcome back to the Bill Bradley Collective, where this week the panel bids farewell to season five with another installment of Rantapalooza. That’s right, our biannual extravaganza devoted entirely to the extended musings, gripes and observations from the members of the Collective troika. This season’s edition totals nine rants, three from each host: one focused on the political side, one sport-centric dispatch, and one final wild-card harangue of the host’s choosing. Zak gets the ball rolling from the political end with a broadside aimed at House Speaker and Collective favorite Nancy Pelosi and her stance on Congressional stock trading; Ed drives the final nail in the coffin of Urban Meyer’s NFL coaching tenure with a closing takedown of the newly terminated but forever disgraced pariah to highlight our sports portion; and finally Andrew concludes with one from down memory lane: a look back at Miguel Cotto’s career-defining performance against Antonio Margarito to commemorate the fight’s tenth anniversary. The Collective looks forward to seeing you all live and in person Sunday, January 2nd at New London’s own Draft Choice, as we will be raising the curtain on season six with both a seasonal profile and our annual draft of the worst people in politics. Until then, from all of us at the Bill Bradley Collective, we wish you a Merry Christmas and a safe and happy holiday season.

We’ve got 🎁 🎁 Dec 14, 2021

Welcome back to the Bill Bradley Collective, where the holiday season is upon us, and to celebrate your hosts unpack a sleigh load of gifts for the naughty and nice, alike, across the sporting and political landscapes. In addition to that, this is a long overdue stop on the Collective road show, as we come to you live from the lovely Ledyard, Connecticut home of two great friends and supporters of the podcast, Shannon and Byron. If you came to this summary to snoop for presents you are out of luck, as you’ll have to hit play to unwrap what’s under the Collective Christmas tree. But our select recipients include many of the names oft-critiqued in this space, including the worst of our elected congresspersons, a pair of disgraced cable news anchors, the Collective’s favorite coach/punching bag, and golf’s most iconic figure. It all starts with some rants, as Zak outlines the abject callousness behind an online entrepreneur’s move to lay off 900 employees via teleconference on the eve of the holidays; Ed details the inane and dangerous fight being waged by appointed officials in Missouri and elsewhere over imposed mask mandates; finally Andrew examines coach Mario Cristobal’s move to Miami and the unseemly source affording his contract and the buyouts of both he and his predecessor.

Running from Himself: The Lawrence Phillips Tragedy Dec 07, 2021

Welcome back to the Bill Bradley Collective, where this week in the last of our season-wide profiles through the lens of criminal justice we discuss the life and times and crimes of Lawrence Phillips. Phillips’ story is not one for the faint of heart, but one that incapsulates everything this Collective attempts to capture from a sporting, moral, judicial and human perspective. Phillips is best remembered as a prodigious yet highly-troubled collegiate running back at the University of Nebraska and a controversial early first round pick of the then-St. Louis Rams, but the narrative of this man goes far deeper. Join us for a chronological narrative of a simultaneous football phenom and serial criminal. From an adolescence marked by abuse and neglect at the hands of parents and the foster-care system both, to being allegedly “saved” by the so-called constructs of football and almost endless opportunities at salvation granted by coaching greats the likes of Osbourne, Vermeil and others, and to when said chances run dry and incarceration for violent crimes becomes inevitable, the Collective does their best to cover every angle of Phillips’ life. Lawrence Phillips as victim of a broken foster care system, a compromised collegiate and pro football infrastructure and a victim of racial criminal justice inequity: yes. But with serious consideration given to the undue justice given his many victims, namely one Kate EcEwen, and for others whom seem grossly neglected and almost forgotten, we also attempt to bring light to, this week on the Bill Bradley Collective.

Thanks & No Thanks Nov 30, 2021

Welcome back to the Bill Bradley Collective, where it is Thanksgiving week and in observance your hosts share what they are thankful and not thankful for as we begin to wind down season five. Some of the highlights include an opus on the twin brothers patrolling the front court in Kingston, R.I.; reconciling another lost Jets season with some hope reserved for next year’s draft possibilities; and a critique of the continuing trend of star fighters retaining their fathers as chief seconds, often to the detriment of career prospects. It is a cognitive Thanksgiving spread with all the Collective trimmings, and we get it started with rants, as Zak considers the latest iteration of golf’s The Match and the head-scratching decision to play two-thirds of a round; Ed lambastes the Mount Rushmore of GOP treachery and their influence over the party’s rhetoric; finally Andrew examines the big picture of coach Lincoln Riley’s move from Oklahoma for the sunnier and greener($$$) pastures of USC.

Requiem for our Justice System Nov 23, 2021

Welcome back to the Bill Bradley Collective, where today we wrap our collective heads around a week that provided us with both the very best that boxing has to offer while showing us the absolute worst our broken criminal justice system has to offer. We lead with dispatches following the Terence Crawford/Shawn Porter championship fight, covering the high caliber performances of both, the victorious Crawford’s legacy both present and historical, and what to expect next from Omaha’s favorite native son. We are forced, unexpectedly, to turn to Kyle Rittenhouse’s acquittal of all charges following the shooting deaths of two protestors in Kenosha, Wisconsin last summer. Where are we, as a country, when a white man armed with an assault weapon can cross state lines, arrive at a protest, take two lives and wound a third, and be faced with not only zero consequences but celebration from many prominent names on the right? The trial of Ahmaud Arbery’s killers in Glynn County, Georgia is also underway, and if the verdict delivered in Rittenhouse’s favor is any indication, we may soon be witness to yet another atrocity by the hands of our broken legal and justice system. In between we carve out a few rants, as Zak examines the entrance of a new rival for his beloved URI Rams following Loyola-Chicago’s departure from the Missouri Valley Conference for the greener pastures of the Atlantic 10; Andrew considers pundit and ex-Jets’ coach Rex Ryan’s bewildering change of heart on the the coaching acumen of present Jets’ head Robert Saleh; and Ed rounds us out with takeaways from the inane ramblings our esteemed House Minority Leader provided us during his marathon 8-hour turn on the House floor this week.

Changes in Attitudes, Unchanges in Altitudes Nov 16, 2021

Welcome back to the Bill Bradley Collective, where this week your hosts take the temperature of some of the recent changes in leadership across sports and politics. To the shock of no one, the expected returns are not great! Tune in, as we take Collective flamethrowers to UConn’s hiring of noted failson (but former NFL coach!!!) Jim Mora, Jr.; the Virginia gubernatorial election with a focus on victorious businessman/huckster Glenn Youngkin; fissure in New York’s Democratic Party following a Buffalo mayoral election pitting moderate incumbent and GOP-favored Byron Brown versus progressive socialist India Walton who had originally defeated Brown in the party’s primary; and finally Jason Kidd, a curious choice by the Dallas Mavericks as head coach for obvious on-the-court reasons but also considering Kidd’s history of domestic violence coupled with the organization’s recent problems regarding sexual harassment and improper workplace conduct. But it’s not all bad, as we conclude with a toast to Boston mayor-elect Michelle Wu following a victory that made her the first woman and person of color to be elected mayor of the city on a hill. But first some rants, as Zak leads us off with, to put as mildly as one can, a scathing rebuke of Dave Portnoy and his merry band of twisted sycophants for their efforts to downplay graphic accounts of sexual impropriety committed by the aforementioned scumbag; Ed details the hypocrisy of the Baseball Hall of Fame in the case of member Bud Selig and how it could be that many of his meal tickets, namely Barry Bonds, continue to sit on the outside of Hall induction; and finally Andrew comments on the myth of Coach Mike Krzyzewski and the shameless self-indulgence of the athletic farewell tour.

Workplace Culture in Major Sports Nov 09, 2021

Welcome again to the Bill Bradley Collective, where this week your hosts examine three organizations across three different sports all overtaken by scandal in recent weeks. We start with the Chicago Blackhawks, where an investigation into sexual assault allegations dating back to 2010 found that coaches and management chose not to address the matter until season’s end so as not to be a “distraction.” ESPN published a bombshell exposé on Phoenix Suns’ owner Robert Sarver, detailing a work environment enveloped by racist and sexist behavior perpetrated by Sarver. Finally, we weigh in on the Washington Football Team, and how a proven toxic workplace culture of sexual harassment, bullying and intimidation has here to this point yielded merely an insignificant fine and protection from accountability by Roger Goodell. We assess and compare how each league has or has not addressed these respective scandals and what to expect moving forward. But first we rant, as a Collective, on this week’s first release of the College Football Playoff rankings. Your hosts return a unanimous decision opposing undefeated Cincinnati’s exclusion from the top four slots, and cry foul on a committee made up of power-five kingmakers protecting their own in the face of competitive integrity.

George Steinbrenner: The original Trump Nov 02, 2021

Welcome again to the Bill Bradley Collective, where this week in deference to our season-wide theme of criminal justice and sports, your hosts examine the life and crimes of George M. Steinbrenner III. Like many bull’s-eyes on the proverbial Collective dartboard, Steinbrenner is born into the dual advantage of white privilege and inherited wealth. His beginnings as a shipping magnate of the Great Lakes eventually leads to ownership of the New York Yankees in 1973. Until his death in 2010, George assumes a massive celebrity persona in New York City, not unlike a certain businessman who failed all the way upwards to eventually become President. Like Donald Trump, Steinbrenner’s outspoken brand of cult of celebrity somewhat overshadows a life of serious white-collar crime. A tale of two cases: illegal contributions to then President Richard Nixon in 1974 under the veil of “bonuses” to shipbuilding cohorts that results in a paltry fifteen month suspension from commissioner Bowie Kuhn, and what was a mere 2-year suspension in 1990 from Fay Vincent for employing honorable gambler/snitch Howard Spira in a vain attempt to accrue unsavory information on future Hall-of-Famer and noteworthy Steinbrenner free-agent signee Dave Winfield. A “Seinfeld” caricature, Miller Lite pitchman and presiding “boss” of 7 world championship Yankee teams seems to mask a far more unsavory legacy. This is the story of George Steinbrenner: authoritarian, thug, bully and criminal, this week on the Bill Bradley Collective.

“The Arrival of the Golf Hooligan” Oct 26, 2021

Welcome back to the Bill Bradley Collective, where it is a bonus week! That’s right, join us for the newest addition to our catalogue of critically acclaimed Dollop-inspired installments. This week Andrew submits the definitive history of the 1999 Ryder Cup Matches. The bi-annual golf exhibition/corporate outing, profiled in broader strokes on a recent Collective episode, hit an unprecedented fever pitch in ’99 at the Country Club of Brookline, Massachusetts. On the course it is a tale of two events. The underdog European side rode sublime play in the team sessions to get out to a seemingly insurmountable lead by the eve of the concluding singles session. But the Americans flipped the script on that final Sunday, matching the European level of play at the start of the week and then some en route to a historic come-from-behind victory. Yet the golf is merely part of the story, as this Ryder Cup is remembered well beyond the 14.5-13.5 outcome. The major talking points include: financial grievances from top American stars in the run-up to the event; the abhorrent conduct of some patrons in the direction of the European contingent; the putt that ensured American victory and the indecent celebration that followed, and American captain Ben Crenshaw deploying a video message from fellow Texan and future president George W. Bush for inspiration on the eve of the final day. The 1999 Ryder Cup will forever have a complicated legacy in the annals of golf history, and the legacy of that week is the story here, on the Bill Bradley Collective.

The Myth of the Moderate Oct 19, 2021

Welcome again to the Bill Bradley Collective, where this week your hosts channel their combined furor in the direction of the elected political moderate of 2021. Manchin. Sinema. Romney. Collins. Murkowski. Chances are you’ve been inundated with the names of these five U.S. senators through the Trump/Biden presidential news cycles, but why? Because they allegedly straddle the lines of left and right, of liberal and conservative, much to the admiration of modern news outlets and political journos, merely to fulfill the false narrative that “moderates” broker deals and “moderates” bridge the gap between the opposed sides of the political aisle. A complete fallacy, and one your noble hosts aim to explain this week, but not before submitting a pair of somewhat collective rants aimed at two principals: an enigmatic pariah who formerly ran the Brooklyn Nets backcourt and the NFL’s most influential scribe/hypeman. Join us, as Zak and Andrew break down the details of and fallout from Kyrie Irving’s removal from the Nets’ 2021-’22 campaign amidst vaccine refusal and nonsensical explanation via Instagram; and Ed brings us home with a takedown on of ESPN’s Adam Schefter in the fallout of the Jon Gruden termination and recently brought to light editorial malfeasance performed at the seeming behest of the Washington Football Team’s upper management.

Urban Blight Oct 12, 2021

Welcome again to the Bill Bradley Collective, where this week your hosts deep dive the career and present legacy of collegiate and for the time-being NFL coach Urban Meyer. His tremendous on-field success at the reigns of Utah, Florida and Ohio State are perhaps only overshadowed by Meyer’s unseemly departures from the latter two programs. A tenure in Gainesville that yielded two national titles is blown up at the end by the toxic culture cultivated by Meyer’s lack of accountability or oversight for rampant off-field transgressions by his players. He later bolts Columbus following an explicit cover-up of domestic abuse by a prized assistant. This leads us to his maiden challenge in the pro’s as the current head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars, a tenure just months in that is in serious jeopardy on the heals of an 0-5 start and much worse a post-game interaction with a female patron in Meyer’s own restaurant that appeared to be no less than wildly inappropriate and perhaps bordering on predatory. The question of Meyer’s future is a question about the very soul of college football, the media and how accountable we hold so-called “leaders of men.” Will the heretofore failure, both on and more importantly off the field, of an NFL Meyer experiment coupled with disgraced exits from multiple college jobs expel he and his shamed legacy from the sideline and/or commentary table going forward? First we rant, as Zak continues his offensive on the billionaire ruling class with a look into the Panama Papers and the contemptible means being taken to hide and withhold wealth; Ed considers the perilous state of what it is to be female in Texas and the unconscionable evil of those behind the Texas Heartbeat Act; Andrew examines a racist faux pas committed on-air during a nationally televised postseason contest and how Major League Baseball has no one to blame but themselves.

A Cocaine Car Wash Oct 05, 2021

Welcome back to the Bill Bradley Collective, where this week as part of to our season-long theme of criminal justice in sports we deep-dive the life and crimes of baseball ne’er do well, Lenny Dykstra. Coming to you from the intersection of the BBCollective and E! True Hollywood Story, “Nails’” footprint in our sporting culture is one of both brief on-field excellence and protracted off-field delinquency. Born into the great cocaine and ego-fueled Mets’ of the mid-to-late ‘80s and later the overachieving Phillies of the early-‘90s, Dykstra’s baseball career excels and declines as a product of injury and platoon, while off the field it is, to paraphrase Zak’s hopeful conquering hero of Florham Park: all gas, no brakes. Dykstra’s post-career rap sheet is one that would make some of the 20th century’s most esteemed gangsters blush. A supremely accomplished con-artist and white-collar criminal par excellence, Dysktra’s offenses run a proverbial gauntlet: sexual assault/harassment amok, drug abuse and DWI, economic impropriety and fraud, racial abuse, and on and on we go. And yet, Lenny Dykstra remains welcome on Howard Stern’s airwaves and in the Barstool media sphere. Criminal justice, the cult of white blue-collar celebrity, and the fallacy of accountability: It is all this week, on the Bill Bradley Collective.

What the Fuck is the Debt Ceiling? Sep 28, 2021

Welcome back to the Bill Bradley Collective, where this week your hosts attempt to answer the question many economic neophytes have had through our latest news cycle: what the f--- is the debt ceiling? At the center of recent political discourse amidst our latest Congressional standoff, the debt ceiling is something many find hard to grasp (including one of our very own), but fear not, for our resident politicos Zak and Ed are here to outline the debt ceiling’s history and relevance to modern politics and economic policy. Exploited for electoral gain and manipulated for political expediency, the names change throughout the last half-century. Ronald Reagan, Newt Gingrich and his Republican controlled house, and most recently Trump; as one party decries government spending under the auspices of blue-controlled executive and legislative bodies, the very same party in fact raises the arbitrary spending allowance of our government to the extent that it fits their opportunistic intentions. But first we present a trio of appetizers in rant form, as Zak details the Geno Auriemma-cosplay of West Virginia’s failed highest elected official; Andrew examines NBA COVID protocols with a nod to a former number one pick’s refusal to take the most efficient shot of his underwhelming career; and finally Ed spotlights the irrelevancy of the man behind FiveThirtyEight via the lack of accountability taken by his oft-failed predictive models.

The "Winona" Ryder Cup Sep 21, 2021

Welcome back to the Bill Bradley Collective, where this week, in the run up to this year’s event, we examine the Ryder Cup matches, a biannual contest between the United States and Europe featuring the top-12 golfers from each side. The Cup’s unique format, where for three days perhaps the world’s foremost individual athletic pursuit is contested collectively, is put under the microscope. The event’s history, with a nod to 1979’s introduction of continental Europe, 1991 as the year the Cup as we know it today came to be, and the manner in which the event has transitioned from American dominance to European supremacy is also highlighted. This year’s host course, Whistling Straits in Wisconsin, and what to look forward to from the forthcoming 43rd Ryder Cup matches fill out the conversation Andrew’s been waiting to have before a live mic his entire life. But first we rant, as Ed considers a Pennsylvania school district’s outrageous decision to ban materials critical about race and racism, Andrew details a cringe-worthy 2018 campaign video that inexplicably led to victory for old Collective nemesis Brian Kemp, and finally Zak arraigns usual pod-hero Ms. Ocasio-Cortez for her bit of performative politics in her choice of wardrobe at this year’s Met Gala.

To Catch an “Alleged” Murderer Sep 14, 2021

Welcome back to the Bill Bradley Collective, where this week your hosts examine the 2000 murder trial of future Hall of Fame linebacker Ray Lewis. Lewis’ acclaimed career and distinguished on-field place among the game’s greats are briefly detailed before moving to the events of January 31, 2000, where following a post-Super Bowl XXXIV party in Atlanta, a brawl involving Lewis broke out resulting in the stabbing deaths of Jacinth Baker and Richard Lollar. Shortly thereafter, Lewis and two associates were arrested on murder charges. Despite some evidence and suspicion pointing strongly in his direction, charges against Lewis are dropped in exchange for testimony against his companions from that night, Reginald Oakley and Joseph Sweeting, testimony that proves useless as both men are acquitted that summer. The discussion turns to Lewis’ life and career following that night. A year removed he is the MVP of Super Bowl XXXV and over the next two decades his celebrity in the game grows exponentially and in retirement he receives major studio exposure on ESPN and elsewhere. Controversial on-air and in-print statements from Lewis have also been a notable part of his post-NFL career, but strangely, much like the murky circumstances surrounding the night of January 30, 2000, seemed to have done little to diminish Lewis’ legacy and place in the game. Why? That’s what the panel attempt to flesh out by conversation’s end. But first, as we are wont to do, a trilogy of rants: Andrew assesses the damage being levied to boxing by Triller’s commitment to bogus contests and spurious grifters; Zak rails against the 12-figure theft in the name of tax evasion perpetrated annually by our top 1%; and finally Ed heaps a fresh round of shame on a certain $40 million dollar punching bag and Collective favorite following the commish’s continued refusal to take even the slightest bit of action regarding Deshaun Watson.

Labor Day the Collective Way Sep 07, 2021

Welcome back to the Bill Bradley Collective, where this week in observance of Labor Day your hosts put the relationship between the NFL and labor rights and conditions under the microscope. A chronology of relations between the league and NFLPA sets the table: a look at work stoppages in 1982 and 1987 and the fallout and legacy of each, the famous collection of scab players that crossed the picket line, the legal fights that give way to the implementation of free agency, and the touchy historical maneuvering that grants the league certain antitrust protections. This gives way to the consideration of a column from former league player, NFLPA executive and now writer and on-air talent for ESPN Domonique Foxworth that outlines his belief in how and why decertification of the NFLPA would be beneficial to the union’s membership. Foxworth contends the downsides of decertification: agent regulation, the financial risks in transitioning from union to association and the prospect of a separate entity unionizing the players and ratifying a new CBA, are outweighed by the fact that as advertising and television revenues have made the league’s owners richer and more entrenched than ever before, it is only the sport’s elite class that has benefitted financially, and in Foxworth’s own words, those whose share has not grown “deserve to negotiate on a level playing field.” Consider it Labor Day the Collective way, but not before we throw three fists to the face of sports and politics with another fresh trio of rants, where Ed zags positive in celebration of Renee Montgomery and her direct role in the most recent chapter in Kelly Loeffler’s demise, Andrew welcomes(?) an MLB journalist to the #resistance following his bitch-slap of a “proud father” and D-list Trump flunky on Twitter, and Zak leads us into the main topic in examining the controversial vaccination sentiments from friend-of-the-program Urban Meyer that produced (from this panel) an abnormal round of agreement, while conversely drawing considerable ire from the NFLPA.

To Catch (but not hit) a Spy Aug 31, 2021

Welcome to the Bill Bradley Collective, where this week we present yet another of our award-winning Dollop-style in-season bonus installments, as Ed unveils the remarkably strange but true story of one Morris “Moe” Berg. Located directly at the three-way intersection of baseball mediocrity, higher education and international espionage, Ed’s chronology of Berg’s life and times render his Collective brethren floored well before even the halfway mark. Join us for the narrative of baseball’s fourth greatest non-Gentile catcher, an adult life that commences with a pair of Ivy League degrees, followed by a professional baseball career that though otherwise feeble somehow spans nearly two decades across the AL, NL and Japan, before reaching his life’s apex mountain in “retirement,” both as the Ken Jennings of the radio age and as an agent of the CIA-predecessor Office of Strategic Services involved in increasingly consequential and delicate situations in Eastern Europe. Labeled “difficult” by direct kin, fluent in seven languages but unable to hit in any of them, for a time confused with a celebrity comedic ignoramus sharing the same forename, and later portrayed on film by Phoebe Buffay’s husband, Moe Berg’s life was one of achievement academically, athletically and in service to his country, while also providing we, the Bill Bradley Collective, with a great bit of posthumous humor this week. Berg homered six (6!) times over the span of a fifteen-year MLB career, and yet it takes Ed a mere forty minutes to hit Moe’s story out of the park.

A Called Strike: Baseball, 1994 Aug 24, 2021

Welcome back to the Bill Bradley Collective, where with the dog weeks of the sporting calendar upon us, your hosts dive back into time with an examination of perhaps the most impactful labor stoppage in history, the 1994-95 MLB players’ strike. Twenty-seven years ago to the month, the MLBPA, working amidst an expired collective bargaining agreement for the season’s first five months, walked on August 12, 1994 and were not to be seen in a competitive game until April 25, 1995. The first time a labor stoppage eliminated an entire postseason across all sports and the first and only season in the World Series-era without one since 1904, the players’ strike resonates to this day. Join us as we discuss the specific conditions that led to the strike in the early ‘90s, a history of labor/management relations in baseball leading up to 1994, the unique competitive and individual storylines that the strike sent to the wayside that season, and the ups-and-mostly downs Major League Baseball has experienced in the twenty-six years post-resolution. But first, another oppressive summer afternoon brings about a further round of hot Collective rants, as Ed lights a match under the ass of yet another GOP governor following his taking a particularly reprehensible position regarding COVID-19 protocols in our schools; Andrew examines a sordid political/social life intertwined with an historically accomplished pugilistic career on the day of what may be Manny Pacquaio’s boxing swan song; and finally Zak welcomes a certain SpaceX and Tesla CEO back to the Collective firing line with a critical appraisal of his latest bit of tech-porn while considering what drives public interest in his vanity endeavors.

Wall Street: Sports Never Sleep. Aug 17, 2021

Welcome back to the Bill Bradley Collective, where this week we are coming to you from the intersection of Lambeau Field and the Fortune 500: an examination of the corporatization of sports. As consumers of sport we are exposed to it on a nightly basis: pre/post-show brought to you by “x,” halftime/intermission brought to you by “y,” telecast presented by “z.” Every athlete, franchise, broadcast and league are all to leveraged degrees beholden to corporate interests. The questions we seek to answer this week are fairly straightforward. Has the inundation of corporate advertising across each of the live and televised sports experiences hijacked enjoyment of the contests themselves? Does the athlete have corporatization to thank as the root for greater salary, social presence and Madison Avenue opportunity? Has corporate influence somehow “well-actually’d” their way into the good graces of the socially conscious fan in affecting some degree of real progress? All of that and more, but what’s a Tuesday commute without a fresh batch of rants to set the table? First, with unabashed joy, Zak looks forward to the post-basketball career of a retired prep-to-pro eccentric with a look at his attempted foray into collegiate golf; with unabashed disdain Ed unloads on the overdue exit of Andrew Cuomo, the immoral return of Deshaun Watson, and the grim labels we accord to women in power versus women in peril; finally Andrew assesses baseball’s wannabe second mid-summer classic, with a bit of love for the aesthetic but mostly shade for the game’s namesake and messaging on racial equality throughout the sport’s history.

- "They’re All Gone": Munich ‘72 Aug 10, 2021

Welcome back to the Bill Bradley Collective, where this week your hosts hop in the DeLorean and head back to 1972 with an examination of that summer’s Olympic Games. Hosted by Munich on the heels of the problematic ’68 affair in Mexico City, these so-called “serene” Olympics are best remembered for the Munich massacre, in which members of the Palestinian Black September Organization took nine members of the Israeli Olympic team hostage, after murdering two more. All nine hostages were killed shortly thereafter. The attack itself and how/why it unfolded as it did, media coverage and the decision to continue the Games in the wake of the tragedy are the focus. Also highlighted is the highly controversial gold medal game in men’s basketball between the U.S. and the Soviet Union, as well as looks at two of the biggest individual stars of the games, American swimmer Mark Spitz and Soviet gymnast Olga Korbut. But first come an Olympic triathlon of rants, where Zak runs the duck test on the Russian Olympic Committee in calling bullshit on the entire purpose, Ed spotlights the peculiarities of both the modern pentathlon and the bylaws of karate; finally Andrew documents overcoming the inanity of the NBC/Peacock schedule en route to appreciating the triumphant performances of the American men’s and women’s basketball teams.

Profile - The Story of The "Hurricane" Aug 03, 2021

Welcome back to the Bill Bradley Collective, where today we present the second episode of this special double-drop week, centered around the life and impact of late American-Canadian middleweight contender, Rubin “Hurricane” Carter. The theme for this season is criminal justice and sports, and as Carter’s boxing career was cut short by a 20-year imprisonment following a wrongful conviction for murder in 1967, his story is well-fit for this season’s profile feature. The circumstances of Carter’s troubled early life set the table, as he bounces from juvenile detention to the U.S. Army to prison in his native New Jersey for assault. It is in the Army where Carter discovers boxing, and following his release from prison Carter turns professional and works his way up to a world-class level in the middleweight division. Not five years removed from prison, Carter finds himself and a late night triple homicide occurs in a Paterson, New Jersey bar and Carter finds himself and acquaintance John Artis as the principle suspects. The only “crimes” Carter commits that night are those of being black and perhaps in the wrong place at the wrong time, but that does not stop an all-white jury of convicting he and Artis of the three murders. A 1976 re-trial inexplicably finds Carter convicted for a second time, and it is not until 1985 following a petition of habeas corpus in federal court that Carter is finally freed. Carter’s life and case famously gain the attention of Bob Dylan, as his 1975 song “Hurricane” asserts the singer’s belief in Carter’s innocence. A well-received 1999 biopic featuring Denzel Washington as Carter, “The Hurricane,” depicts Carter’s trials, time in prison and eventual release. His is a complicated life. A life marked by violence, criminally as a youth and professionally by later occupation, gives way to a legacy as a foremost face of victimhood perpetrated by the ills of our criminal justice system. It’s a story, broadly, about the black American experience, but just as important is that somehow, over fifty years removed from Carter’s wrongful conviction, the circumstances of his life have never been more relevant to the discourse on criminal justice reform in this country.

5 - A Case Of The Mondays Aug 02, 2021

Do not adjust your calendars, yes it is Monday and yes, we are the Bill Bradley Collective kicking off your work week with a special Monday drop. Following a busy and tumultuous week across the sporting world, your hosts had takes we couldn’t fit into Tuesday’s season profile so we went ahead and recorded a bonus installment for you, our faithful listener. Tune in as the panel examines the expected fallout from Texas’ and Oklahoma’s pending exit from the the Big 12 for the “greener” pastures of the SEC; a look at the just concluded NBA Draft and the biggest news item of that night, Russell Westbrook’s trade to the Lakers and what to anticipate from Bodie’s L.A. homecoming; and a conversation about the fire sale that was the MLB trade deadline, as a pair of recent World Champions gutted their rosters while fortifying baseball’s big market powerhouses. What’s a BBCollective experience without a proper rant or 3? Andrew describes the drastic stakes that awaited South Korea’s top two male golfers entering the Tokyo Games; Zak condemns the tasteless jabs thrown from an A-list comedian at Simone Biles’ in the fallout of her withdrawal from Olympic competition; and finally Ed details the latest bit of intellectual insolvency from a rising star in the GOP sphere following a mind-boggling take on socialized medicine. Don’t forget tomorrow is Tuesday, and you know what that means. Coming to you tomorrow with this season’s profile feature, something perfectly aligned with this season’s theme of sports and criminal justice, we are the Bill Bradley Collective.

Toky-no? & Our uncertain Olympic future. Jul 27, 2021

Welcome back to the Bill Bradley Collective, where this week the Games of the XXXII Olympiad, more commonly referred to as the 2020 (2021?) Summer Olympics are underway, and your hosts are here to break down many of the major themes enveloping the events through a political and social lens. Ed frames the conversation around a terrific piece written on these games that asks a number of questions: what is the world doing in a country wishing they had never bid for these games in the first place? How does the United States leave home a premier sprinter for a positive marijuana test and in turn endorse CBD training supplements? How do we reckon the long-term kleptocracy of the governing bodies overseeing these games and our patronage of said spectacle? And perhaps most importantly, what does the future hold for the Olympic Games going forward and their very existence? But as we do in this space, the rants lead us in; as Andrew examines the Woodstock ’99 music festival with a focus on the machinations that made the festivities the horror-show they were and how little we’ve learned as a country now over two decades later; Zak surveys the pissing contest between a pair of very public billionaire "entrepreneurs” following the culmination of their latest high-profile vanity projects, while asking why exactly we should actually care; and finally Ed puts England’s PM’s feet to the fire in the wake of his half-assed effort to assuage the despicable racial backlash hurled upon black English footballers following Euro 2020’s (2021?) finale.

- Our Draft Choices Jul 20, 2021

This week on the Bill Bradley Collective, your hosts venture into some familiar waters. You’ve heard us draft our favorite sports movies, draft our respective choices for the worst people in sports and in politics, respectively. But this week, we try our collective hand at amending sports drafts, namely the NBA and NFL’s, with a concerted concentration on labor rights and economic feasibility. But first, we rant, as Zak implores high-profile athletes to set a precedent on behalf of COVID vaccination efforts in light of the fallout from the MLB All Star Game and postponement of 2021’s most lucrative prizefight; Andrew assesses the latest set of falsities presented from the chaise lounge of President #45 regarding golf’s grandest championship; finally Ed considers Illinois’ formal ban of lying to minors under interrogation by police and the potential fallout nationwide

The War on Drugs is back on Track Jul 13, 2021

Welcome back to the Bill Bradley Collective, where with the Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo somehow set to commence, we examine the suspension of American track and field sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson following a positive test for marijuana. Richardson recorded the fastest time at the U.S. Olympic trials in the 100-meter, just months after recording the sixth-fastest 100-time in women’s history, qualifying her for the Tokyo games. She admitted to using marijuana following the recent death of her mother as well as to cope with anxieties brought on the pressure of Olympic qualification. Expected to be one of the brightest stars on Team U.S.A., how Richardson could be subject to discipline (from one of the most corrupt bodies in sport) for doing something *completely legal* (in Oregon) and how common sense was unable to prevail in getting her suspension overturned is the main focus of the conversation, while additionally touching on the opposite reaction afforded Michael Phelps by both the USOC and public several years ago, and also President Biden’s soft both-sides messaging on Richardson’s situation. But first we rant, where Ed tells an Orwellian tale of seemingly impossible wretchedness regarding passage in Texas of an-anti abortion bill that taps citizens to collect bounties on anyone remotely involved in the process; Andrew describes toxicity at ESPN in the context of serious journalists being stripped of the ability to do serious journalism on entities that the “world leader” has billions of dollars at stake in while Ed and Zak take on the Bristol cesspool in lieu of this week’s Rachel Nichols/Maria Taylor controversy; Zak brings it home with a stark condemnation of American tax policy by contrasting the individual tax situations of the billionaire franchise owner, the millionaire athlete and the low-wage arena-concession laborer.

OJ & America Jul 06, 2021

This week the Bill Bradley Collective ushers in season five on location before a live audience of friends, family and listeners at New London’s own Draft Choice. The topic of conversation centers around the many lives of O.J. Simpson. One of the great collegiate and professional football players in modern history, Simpson’s second act saw him stay immersed in the public limelight as a network commentator, screen presence and Madison Avenue pitchman. His celebrity hits a crescendo in 1994, as he stands trial for the murder of both his ex-wife and an acquaintance of her’s in what may have been the most publicized criminal trial in history. Simpson’s life is a microcosm of the collision of sports, politics, fame and race in America, and this conversation seeks to unearth what coverage of Simpson across each of his different acts says about society and how we reconcile the intersection of those forces. But first we rant, as Ed examines some of the recent transgressions of Florida’s highest elected official; Andrew delivers a mid-season eulogy for his New York Yankees and laments the underlying forces behind their failure, and finally Zak considers the results of C-SPAN’s Presidential Historians Survey and offers a harsh critique of the selection at number 29. A huge thanks to our fantastic hosts at Draft Choice and to everyone who came out and joined us live. The Bill Bradley Collective is humbled by your continued patronage, and hope you will join us next week and beyond for this, now our FIFTH, season with you.

- Worst People In Politics Draft Results Jun 29, 2021

Welcome back to the Bill Bradley Collective, where this week we close the curtain on season four and revisit our selections from January 2nd of the worst people across politics. It would not be a proper Collective draft without a little competition, so the format is as follows. 18 politicos were drafted in total, representing three six-member teams. Each host defends their pick in the order they were originally plucked, on the grounds of where they stood six months ago, what has happened since to perhaps enhance they’re reprehensible standing, and the relative value of the pick: i.e., bonus regard for a selection perhaps drafted later that may have moved their way up the pecking order of political abhorrence in 2021. The other two panelists grade each pick on a 10-point scale using said criteria, and the average of the total is used as a grade. Super producer Brandon then tallies the grades for each pick by team, and the host with the highest cumulative point total takes the crown for their prowess in evaluating political abomination. The contest is decided by the narrowest of margins, proving there is no shortage of atrocities occupying political office or media soapboxes. Feel free to score along with your hosts and share your opinions on our Facebook page, or even better yet, join us live and in person this Saturday, July 3rd at New London’s own Draft Choice and pepper us to our face with your dissent or accord. We will be kicking off season number *5* with a similar live draft, this one of the worst people across sports. Join us for great food, craft beers, or whatever you fancy and the kind of conversation that has kept you engaged enough to keep us going strong into a fifth season. Hope to see you all then, and thanks as always for listening, to the Bill Bradley Collective.

Bonds’ Bushes and...Balls’ Jun 22, 2021

Welcome back to the Bill Bradley Collective, where it is Father’s Day weekend and we are here to commemorate it with a deep dive into paternalism at work across the spectrums of both sports and politics. We lead with a mini-draft of sorts, as each of your hosts highlight a series of father/son pairs in seeking to find the most athletically accomplished duo of them all. The positive and negative impacts a “sports dad” have had historically on their gifted progeny at the highest athletic level lead out the sports end of our conversation to the political. Fathers/offspring both achieving high reaches of elected office may not be terribly common, but is always newsworthy. A pair of libertarian “physicians” who between them combined approximately 15 minutes as beacons of GOP hipsterism, and a war criminal and the somehow nouveau riche de la résistance sharing his last name and record on foreign policy are singled out. We shift to the concept of the American political dynasty, and the machinations that have allowed singular bloodlines to influence our politics and the politics of high office across multiple generations. But first the rants, where Zak eviscerates the retired “Round Mound of Rebound” for his condemnation of cancel culture despite Sir Mound’s own growing physical resemblance to a compound and an inglorious run on cable that should have seen him cancelled many years ago; a tandem run at COVID-protocols across sports in our as-yet-not-realized vaccinated future, as Ed examines an NBA superstar on the precipice of his greatest professional achievement and the positive test that has set that back for the foreseeable future and Andrew reconciles with the aggressive anti-vaccination position of a certain gritty, scrappy, high football/low real-life IQ guy in the wake of announced NFL COVID-protocols. In two weeks, ring in your 4th of July Weekend by joining us on July 3rd at New Londons own Draft Choice, where your hosts will both usher in a new season and will draft whom we believe to be the very worst people across sports. Hope to see you then, and as always, thanks for joining us on the Bill Bradley Collective.

Rantapalooza II Jun 15, 2021

Welcome back...to the Bill Bradley Collective, where this week you are cordially invited to the second installment of what we call Rantapalooza. That’s right, three fists to the face of sports and politics in our rawest form: the rants that typically set the table for a singular conversation on a broader topic are the chef d’oeuvre on this Saturday where our individual grievances and musings are the headline attraction. Join us for this bi-annual tradition unlike any other, where Zak (without the use of Spider Tack!) retires the latest New York Yankee bilk on called strikes, buries a pair of big money bro donors and and the purported Dem they have their fangs sunk into, and finally details what happens when an Eagles fan in high elected office, a bankrupt reality TV business maven and a billionaire massage enthusiast walk into a bar; Andrew highlights an unfortunate double-standard in accountability within top-level women’s athletics, calls bullshit on the “motivation” behind expanding the College Football Playoff, and sends Bob Knight’s foremost apprentice off in a a blaze of ignominy; Ed exposes a dark racial underbelly to an institution better known for blue fields and underdog football theatrics; decries the categorization of “non-profit” to an entity with vast compensatory inequity betwixt member and charity, and a hopefully final thank you, fuck you, bye to the (VERY literally) old resident of BBCollective rants still representing 1% of our not-so-greatest deliberative body. Come for rants galore, stay for the details of our next remote: 4th of July weekend, Saturday the 3rd we will be live on location at New London’s own The Draft Choice. We hope to see you all there and hope you join us this week and in the interim, at the Bill Bradley Collective.

- La Lutte pour les Droits des Athlètes Jun 08, 2021

Welcome once again to the Bill Bradley Collective, where the topic de la semaine concerns the rights of athletes, specifically their rights as laborers, performers and/or contractors and how they are acknowledged and treated as such across sports by different leagues and institutions. Among the angles explored include the franchise/athlete dynamic in today’s NBA era of player empowerment; the racial overtones that exist there in contrast to the current self-inflicted situation a discontented present and all-time NFL great finds himself in; the power of player unions in affording their members their rights; and the circumstances behind a star female tennis player’s forced withdrawal from a Grand Slam event following her refusal to adhere to arbitrary media obligations in the name of mental health awareness. But first nous fulminons, as Zak highlights the repugnant convenience behind a social media behemoth’s decision to censure the disgraced 45’s presence for a mere *2* years; Andrew recounts some social media grenades, an all-time great (albeit scrubbed) post-round Q&A and a newfound macro-brew promotional effort in telling the tale of golf’s latest petty war; and Ed circles back to Zak’s Trump touchback, with an evisceration of our mainstream print news media’s legitimization of falsehoods and fallacies from the desk of the shift manager at Mar-a-Lago. Thanks as always for joining us, and vive la Bill Bradley Collective!

- # “resistance” Jun 01, 2021

Welcome back to the Bill Bradley Collective, where this week we dive into the deep-end of The Resistance. Formally adopted as liberal opposition to the Trump presidency, the #resistance movement grew to include many who have otherwise exclusively served GOP and conservative interests. Their credibility and bonafides in taking up the anti-Trump fight are examined, as is how an anti-Biden resistance is beginning to take shape five months into his administration. The conversation concludes with thoughts on resistance efforts in sports, with special consideration given to a WNBA team and their ability to turn a Senate election and the potential for Olympic boycotts both this and next year in opposition to social messaging censorship and human rights’ crises. But first we rant, as Ed details the creepily puritanical and blatantly sexist motives behind a Florida school board’s decision to digitally alter high school yearbook photos; Andrew rails about unruly fan behavior in NBA arenas casting a dark cloud over a week where the return of near-capacity crowds may otherwise have been cause for celebration; and Zak levies the blame for the Senate’s failure to pass an investigation into the January 6th Capitol insurrection at the feet of a pathetic West Virginian’s baseless optimism.

- “Playoffs?! Playoffs?! You kidding me?” May 25, 2021

Welcome back to the Bill Bradley Collective, “Yes Jim Mora, we are talking about THE playoffs.” your hosts preview the now-underway NBA and Stanley Cup Playoffs. The matchups to watch, the narratives to monitor, and the picks to advance and eventually hoist the both the Cup and Larry O’Brien trophy in the next twelve weeks outline a conversation that also shines special light on two of the Collective home teams: one a pre-tournament favorite off to a hot start in a series holding the early clubhouse lead for “best,” and the other seemingly destined to ignite and then quickly extinguish the outsized expectations of their aggrieved fanbase. First we come-a-ranting, as Zak (briefly) checks in on America’s favorite choirboy and the merit of the latest addition to his sterling professional résumé; Andrew connects the dots between Tony LaRussa, unwritten rules, “respect for the game,” and the decline of baseball in the present day; Ed details the abhorrent race-norming being employed by an again odious NFL in how they have chosen to determine eligibility for payouts of the league’s billion dollar settlement for brain injury claims.

Titleless in Seattle May 18, 2021

Welcome back to the Bill Bradley Collective, where this week your hosts grant super-producer Brandon’s request for the weekend off following his FUCKING COLLEGE GRADUATION(!!!) with another pre-recorded Dollop-inspired bonus presentation. That’s right, tune in as Andrew tells the story of the 1994 NBA Western Conference first-round playoff tilt between the Seattle SuperSonics (Brandon’s childhood NBA team of choice and who can blame him) and Denver Nuggets. One of the great upsets in modern sports history, the 8th seeded Nuggets took the last 3 in a best-of-5 series where the heavily favored Sonics squandered perhaps their clearest window to an NBA championship in a full season where the league was devoid of Michael Jordan. The personas of the primary on-court figures and contexts of both franchises within the window of the spring of 1994 set the table for a conversation about a week in time where a dynamic Seattle trio failed to reach their apex collective outcome, an out-sized star made it mainstream and parlayed what began in this series into a HOF career as player and insurance pitchman, and a coach “successful” in many locales; fired in all the same locales; with enough self-believe to think none of these terminations are any fault of his own achieved his grandest failing. The discussion shifts to the political end for the homestretch, as the collegiate and social legacy of one of the Nuggets’ stars of 1994 are dissected. His sublime collegian scoring record on an LSU team that never was, a conversion to the Nation of Islam, and an ill-received national anthem boycott made Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf a sports cautionary tale in his time but perhaps served as a table-setter for Colin Kaepernick, Eric Reid and countless others in their similar protests in the interest of social awareness to racial progress. The post-career business partnership of The Glove and The Reign Man provide a much-needed positive chaser to a story otherwise ridden with failure, under-achievement and a buried figure in the history of sports activism.

Live @ The Social... Time to Clean our Inbox May 11, 2021

Coming to you via remote from the back patio of New London’s own The Social Bar and Kitchen, we welcome you back to the Bill Bradley Collective. In the outdoor company of friends, listeners and a wonderful stewardess, this week your hosts empty out our mailbag full of questions and return correspondence with some of our most ardent listeners. The questions are great and they span the breadth of the Collective universe. Who is the sporting equivalent to the most noteworthy imbecile amongst Georgia’s elected officials? What would be the one change we’d make to the many archaic mandates that exist in our politics and government? Whom would each panelist surround themselves on a like-minded podcast assuming their other two co-hosts Marty McFly’d themselves before the Enchantment Under the Sea-dance climax of Back to the Future? That and much more, plus one reunion and one cameo appearance featuring the worst in New York and Boston media sports takes. First cometh some rants, where Andrew examines the bigger picture of the NHL’s bungling of the fallout of a heinous on-ice assault, Zak brings us up to speed on the estranged great grandmother of this podcast in the wake of her latest bit of octogenarian drivel, and Ed is forced to exhume old foil Avery Brundage in a critical takedown of the IOC’s move to ban Black Lives Matter apparel from the forthcoming Summer Olympic Games. To the Social for being such a terrific host and to all of you who came out and made your presence felt both as friends and as fans, the four of us express our deepest gratitude. We thank you for listening and engaging, and can’t wait to be with you again next week, here, on the Bill Bradley Collective.

Our First Collective Q & A May 10, 2021

Welcome back to the Bill Bradley Collective, where we present yet another bonus Monday installment as something of an appetizer for what’s to come in tomorrow’s regularly scheduled release. Listen in for a Collective Q&A, as some of our wonderful friends who joined us live on the patio of New London’s own The Social Bar & Kitchen probe your hosts with a serious of thoughtful queries. The potentially broader angle of the Deshaun Watson situation; great unrest in the fanbase of an EPL mega-power; the personal culpability of fighters and footballers entering their respectively violent fields; gambling advice for both European club soccer’s pre-eminent championship and a massive boxing title-unification bout; and an inquiry from the poised leader of the as-yet unofficial Collective’s junior fan-club are the proverbial offerings at the heart of this intellectual potluck. Be sure to join us tomorrow as we present another special Q&A-themed episode recorded outdoors along the beautiful New London coast/Shore Line East rail line, all here at the Bill Bradley Collective.

Not Maywether v Logan Paul May 04, 2021

Welcome back to the Bill Bradley Collective, where this week your hosts are three imaginary fists in the face of the politics of boxing. The Paul brothers, faded MMA stars and the forthcoming business of a former pound-for-pound king are not the focus of this boxing conversation, but rather why it is we are not at the very least previewing a potential super-fight in the real world of the sweet science week in and week out. The best no longer fight the best with much regularity, and the forces that have created this climate and the fights each of your hosts want most to see, whether it be unification bouts at the higher weights, consolidation at the ever-deep 126-135 pound classes, or the hopeful though complicated pairings of Tyson Fury with Anthony Joshua and Terence Crawford with Errol Spence are the crucible of this survey of the boxing landscape in 2021 and beyond. The panel concludes with a veritable nerd-out on dream-hypothetical bouts between fighters of varying generations and timelines. But first come a rant or three, where Andrew attempts to rationalize the necessity of the PGA Tour’s Player Impact Program in maintaining an eco-system of 200 very rich guys as opposed to 40 absurdly rich guys, Ed reflects on an NFL Draft telecast especially noteworthy for the execrable pairing of a booger and cut-ins to conference rooms’ lacking anything remotely resembling racial or gender equity, and Zak commemorates May Day with a metaphorical flame-thrower directed at Connecticut’s failure to properly compensate lower-income frontline workers through this pandemic.

Bonus - NFL Draft Talk May 03, 2021

Welcome back to the Bill Bradley Collective, where here you can sink your teeth into an abbreviated, perhaps bonus “episode,” as your hosts tackle all things 2021 NFL Draft-related. The Collective enters a busy week where tomorrow you’ll hear three fists in the face of boxing punditry regarding everything boxing; past, present, future. And then Saturday we are on location at New London’s own The Social Bar & Kitchen, for an outdoor, socially distanced conversation touching on sports, politics and their cross-section at a tremendous New London gastro-pub. Hit play today, as Zak and Andrew try to come to grips with the arrival of actual competence in the Jets’ front office, Ed sounds off with numerous scorching-hot takes on the events of the first three rounds, and super-producer slash resident Packers-owner Brandon fires off on the intriguing future of the man who stole draft headlines and dominated the NFL-news cycle, the great yet mercurial Aaron Rodgers. What could brighten a back-to-work Monday more than a bit of timely bonus content from your three (plus one more!) noble panelists here, at the Bill Bradley Collective.

The Collective’s Eleven Apr 27, 2021

Welcome back to the Bill Bradley Collective, where this week your hosts appraise the landscapes of both the fantasy sports and sports gambling industries in the U.S., and the ever-closing intersectionality between the two. No this is not a never-ending fable of bad beats and variance-induced injustices perpetrated at the expense of the members of this panel, but rather a discussion about the effects the increasing omnipresence of fantasy leagues across all sports and the inevitability of legalized and regulated sports betting nationwide has had and will continue to have on how we as fans consume the games we love. As the two biggest operators in fantasy sports have now become two of the most powerful in American sports wagering, the trio examine how the divide between the the two institutions has never been more confluent. Changes to certain fantasy norms and traditions and predictions for the landscape’s future are offered to round out the conversation. But first cometh the rants, where Ed welcomes back long-time guest and nemesis Roger Goodell with questions regarding both the newsworthiness and morality of his vaxxed-enabled ability to embrace unwilling members of the 2021 NFL Draft class, Andrew reflects on twenty years in the life of a Knicks’ fan with a toast to this season’s fruitful efforts; last and most certainly not least Zak segues into our main discussion this and next week as he laments he and super-producer Brandon’s ill-placed bets on this past week’s Ben Askren/Jake Paul foray with a critical dissection of boxing’s eco-system in the context of post-millennial social media.

BBCollective presents the 1st Annual Grover’s Apr 20, 2021

Welcome back to the Bill Bradley Collective, where this week your hosts present the Grovers, a dual celebration and desecration of the best and worst respectively; in the actions of athletes, power brokers and political figures over the last calendar year. Broadly modeled off the soon forthcoming 93rd Academy Awards intended to award excellence in film in a year where there was minimal excellence in film, the sports and political world unearthed a similarly finite level of greatness but a true abundance of abhorrence. The namesake, shared by both our first and only non-consecutive term President and a Hall of Fame dead-ball era pitcher reflect the intersectionality of our nomination process and “ceremony.” Best and worst male and female in a leading role in the collective sport and political domain, a best and worst movement/event, and a nod for distinguished breakthrough round out our categories, but not before deciding who would conclude our hypothetical recreation of the Oscars’ “in memoriam” segment, in either disgrace or tribute. In contrast to the mutual admiration society that is the Oscars, this was a process and presentation that though much funnier (intentionally) than what Anne Hathaway and James Franco presided over in 2011, was genuinely committed to both highlighting the few in our content realm that inspire and vilifying the countless worthy that do the very opposite.

Pay Inequality in Women's Sports Apr 13, 2021

This week on the Bill Bradley Collective, women are rightly at the forefront, as your hosts present something akin to a “state of the union” on the condition of the top women’s sports in the U.S. and abroad. Three unique situations: the 21st century achievement of women in professional tennis finally garnering equality in prize and sponsorship compensation, the present fight of top female American soccer players for similarly deserved recompense, and the now quarter century-old WNBA and what’s kept their athletes below a compensatory curve befitting their quality and what appears to be behind what may bring them closer to something more merited. The state of women’s golf and the superstardom a very notable few have achieved in the combat world round out the conversation. Tune in to a women’s event, because if not for a lack of requisite promotion, you just may have found yourself there in the first place. First, we depart from the regularly scheduled airing of grievances from three white males with an ashamed dispatch from Andrew on the abhorrent efforts of two of golf’s grandest figures to undermine the long overdue tribute to and celebration of Lee Elder’s great life’s work and perseverance at this year’s Masters Tournament opening ceremony, and Ed presents “Requiem for a Jets Quarterback,” the first (and hopefully last for at least this decade) remembrance of a failed NYJ signal-caller, specifically Sam Darnold following his trade to Carolina after three inglorious, though complicated years taking the snaps for Gang Green. Zak facing a live microphone in the wake of yet another in his lifetime full of premature Jets postmortems? It’s all coming to you this week on the Bill Bradley Collective.

Clarence Asked a Question Apr 06, 2021

This week on the Bill Bradley Collective, your hosts tackle the just-commenced NCAA v. Shawne Alston Supreme Court case, following the opening oral arguments of this past week. The history and (false) precedents upon which the NCAA argues to maintain in previous cases in their belief in denying their “amateur” labor force commensurate compensation set the table. Their lone prior appearance before the Supreme Court rendered a decision not in their favor, as the University of Oklahoma’s Board of Regents argued rightly that television rights were not to be determined solely by the whim of the NCAA, but by the individual schools and in more recent times, conferences, throwing cold water on their market belief in a monopsony. In the wake of NIL (name, image, likeness) lawsuits from the likes of Sam Keller and Ed O’Bannon coming down in near unanimity on the side of the college athlete at the federal level the NCAA appears to be down bad, and after opening oral arguments before a court comprised largely of BBCollective villains, your hosts nevertheless come down with a unanimous verdict on how they project this case’s outcome. Before we delve into the legalese, we rant; Ed unveils his latest work, Matt Gaetz: A portrait of the Trump-sycophant as rapist and pathological liar; Andrew calls on golf’s power brokers to put their money where with mouth is in making a good-faith effort to combat voter suppression in Georgia; finally Zak documents Kim Mulkey’s transcendent job at turning her Baylor team from victim to foil following her crash-course in how not to mitigate a fatally contagious disease.

The Fire-Fighting, Tackle-Missing, Rose-Stealing Colorado Phenomenon Mar 30, 2021

This week the Bill Bradley Collective presents another installment of our in-season Dollop-inspired features, as Zak documents the life and times of Ryan Sutter. Coming to you from the intersection of sports and pop culture, Sutter’s NFL career is here and gone in a mere five second kick return, but it is his second life five years later as the winner of The Bachelorette’s very first season (and the heart of one, Trista Rehn) that people most remember(?) the safety turned firefighter for. Zak’s yarn sets the table for a conversation that includes some of Ed’s memories and anecdotes on other famous Bachelor/Bachelorette moments and personalities, Andrew’s odd fascination with Sutter’s lone NFL foil, the 1998 New York Jets, and special guest Laura proves that her fantasy sports expertise is perhaps only matched by her command of the Bachelor-universe. Join us for the inspiring and heart-warming tale of how one man parlayed a broken piece of special teams coverage into being one half of reality television’s longest-enduring marriage.

- Our First Year: Sports Politics, & a Podcast Mar 23, 2021

Welcome back to the Bill Bradley Collective, where this week your hosts reflect on both a full year in the COVID-19 pandemic and the completion of our first year as a podcast. The conversation focuses on the effect COVID has had on how we consume, critique and appreciate sports, and how this unprecedented year has shaped our consideration of this country’s politics and government. One of the silver linings of 2020 and this first quarter of 2021 has been the ability to record this podcast safely distanced and largely outdoors. Commencing a project centered on sports and politics days before the plug was essentially pulled on sports for months may have been something of a fool’s errand, but we’re still here a year later because of anyone and everyone that’s given the Bill Bradley Collective a listen. We are truly humbled by your patronage. First the rants, where we learn about Zak’s experience living in the shadow of wife Laura’s prodigious fantasy sports acumen; Andrew questions the continued decision to use ill-prepared, incurious NBA pundits in NCAA tournament coverage, and finally Ed examines the media’s sorry fascination with an oft-disgraced hoops coach and his latest career turn.

- Racism Boston & Sports Mar 16, 2021

Welcome back to the Bill Bradley Collective, where this week your hosts examine the complicated history of Boston sports and race. The focus centers on the Red Sox and Celtics franchises, but not before acknowledging one team’s ethos of “white slot receiver/failed white college quarterback” need not even apply. From Tom Yawkey’s steadfast refusal to employ top black ballplayers to an oft-described mercurial pitcher’s racially prescient comments decades later and the subsequent dealing of a black superstar in recent times the Sox racial history is surely an unbalanced one. Like their north-end based brethren, the Celtics history is convoluted; a franchise that embraced Bill Russell and an unprecedented black starting five also felt the need to surround a diverse core with a largely white, undeserving supporting cast in later similarly fruitful years to appease a white demographic. We close with a tribute to a just-passed boxing mega-star, aptly-Massachusetts based with a truly marvelous legacy left behind. But first we rant, as Zak leads off with a well-deserved evisceration of a once-upon-a-time Democratic effigy turned widely accused sex criminal,; Ed reconciles his hostility for a villainous GOP Senator in the wake of his pro-labor sentiment towards Alabama-based Amazon factory workers; finally Andrew recaps the Big East tournament and specifically the long and complicated week had by the conquering head coach.

- Madness Mar 09, 2021

Wellcome back to the Bill Bradley Collective, where this week your hosts put a proverbial bow on the 2020-21 college basketball regular season and preview the madness to come later this March. As it has everything in it’s wake, the COVID-19 pandemic ravaged the season and the tournament itself is set to be presented entirely from the state of Indiana, with hopes that a confined geographic venue will diminish the potential for further virus-induced havoc. Pandemic notwithstanding, college basketball appears to be an institution in decline, and your hosts set out to diagnose what has brought about said decline from its more halcyon times. Coach misconduct, the advent of the one-and-done, and general overexposure are among the culprits examined. Fear not bettors, for your hosts conclude with their picks to cut down the nets in Indianapolis and a few sleepers to keep in mind as you fill out your bracket. But first we rant, where Andrew offers a mea culpa to Donyell but doubles down on his beef with the unrelated but still lesser Marshall; Zak critiques the farcical outrage over an apt Biden analogy of premature mask censure to something becoming of primeval man; finally Ed presents another installment of “old white men in sports that have zero accountability” in a pointed takedown of a certain “Mad Hatter” in the wake of a now public history of sexual misconduct.

- The Lesser Marshall Brother Mar 02, 2021

This week on the Bill Bradley Collective, your hosts dive into the Games of the XI Olympiad, better known as the 1936 Summer Olympics. Contested in Nazi-controlled Berlin, Germany, these games also exist at the precise intersection of sports and politics. The conversation focuses on American participation and the resistance of old friend Avery Brundage to a boycott. Contrary to Brundage’s stance that the Olympics stay out of politics, Hitler in turn uses the games as little more than a promotional tool for his antisemitic and racial supremacist ideology. The event is not without certain highlights, most notably Jesse Owens’ sublime performance on the track en route to four gold medals, Betty Robinson’s virtual return from the dead to the medal podium, and an opening ceremony conclusion befitting such a regime, where thousands of pigeons defecated upon the procession. But first we rant, as Zak recaps some of the inanity emanating from an Orlando Hyatt Regency this weekend; Ed asks the question of “why do we care what this guy says” with regard to a certain middling coach turned pundit and his MVP takes; and Andrew details a 13 year old feud rekindled Saturday concerning the impropriety of jean-wearing.

A Bad Strike Call Feb 23, 2021

This week the Bill Bradley Collective present another installment of our Dollop-style bonus episodes. Join us as Ed documents the rise and fall of late MLUA (Major League Umpires Association) executive director Richie Phillips. Phillips’ ascent in the world of sports labor begins with working on behalf of NBA officials, before taking the reins of the MLUA in 1978. Ed details the circumstances behind the successful umpires strike of 1979 and the and what Phillips was able to achieve for his union members. Phillips’ run comes to an abrupt end in 1999, after calling for his umpires to resign en masse in an attempt to press MLB for a new labor agreement. The strategy backfires when the league instead accepts a number of the resignations, hires new umpires and ultimately leads to the decertification of the MLUA. Phillips’ arc and career in baseball is a fascinating one, but Ed’s narrative also presents a timeline of sorts for umpires in the last half century, their position in the game, and some of the controversies that have enveloped baseball officiating across this chronology. Come for a thoughtful portrait of an influential labor leader and his membership, stay for the detailed recounting of Zak’s brief but volatile pitching career.

- Why an All Star Game? Feb 16, 2021

Welcome back to the Bill Bradley Collective, where this week the panel examines the NBA’s decision to go forth with their annual All-Star game March 7, amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. Your hosts return an unanimous verdict opposing the game being staged, but not before detailing the economic factors responsible for the inevitability of the league’s decision to proceed with the event. The game’s integrity and watchability are put under the microscope when considering a weekend tailored to the fan being held before so few and the vocal indifference of many of the weekend’s expected participants. If you can’t prevent it, why not preview it, so the Collective conclude with some takes on who to expect to see suiting up for the East and West sides. But first the rants, where Zak attempts to autopsy the substandard performance of Super Bowl LV’s referees and the broader issues afflicting officiating across sports; Ed frames Urban Meyer’s latest in a long line of indiscretions in the context of continued malfeasance in the NFL hiring process; finally Andrew describes the sordid actions behind the resignation of a Biden deputy press secretary less than a month into the administration’s term.

- Trump 2: Impeachment Boogaloo Feb 09, 2021

This week the Bill Bradley Collective present Trump 2: Impeachment Boogaloo, the most electrifying sequel since the famed 1984 companion to the motion picture classic, “Breakin’.” Donald Trump is the first president in history to be impeached twice, and his second trial is set to commence this week. Join us, as the boys dissect how insurrection brought us here; the “question” of impeaching a non-sitting president and the importance of holding Trump accountable; some key Senate members and what to expect from their votes; and finally a consideration of the related censuring of Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene and some of her pals on the congressional fringe. But first we rant, where Andrew takes on a prominent tour golfer for his financially convenient reversal on the ethics of the Saudi Kingdom; Ed decries a Utah charter school’s decision allowing racist parents to withdraw their children from Black History Month curriculum; and finally Zak details a former Jet’s first day on the job in Congress and his inability to outrun his former team’s legacy in avoiding getting smacked down by a member of the opposition.

Profile - Henry “Hank” Aaron Feb 02, 2021

This week on the Bill Bradley Collective, your hosts consider the life, career and legacy of recently passed baseball icon, Henry “Hank” Aaron. The subject of this season’s individual profile, Aaron’s twenty-three year career is among the most accomplished across any sport. The panel delves into his many accolades and achievements, as well as his standing among the game’s other titans, but not before examining his youth in Mobile, AL, his entry into the pros with the Indianapolis Clowns of the Negro American League, and the circumstances that led him to the Braves instead of the Giants and a possible career partnership with fellow legend Willie Mays. The conditions of Aaron’s career and the conditions of this country over his lifetime lay at the center of conversation, as while he chased baseball’s most hallowed record, he experienced death threats, an voluminous amounts of hate mail and racist vitriol from all corners of the nation. Aaron’s professional merits are outshone only by his courage and resoluteness in overcoming the bigoted hostilities from so many of his fellow countrymen. Few athletes are almost too grand in stature and legacy to attempt to do justice with words in remembrance. Hank Aaron was one of them, and we’ll try our best to do just that, this week, on the Bill Bradley Collective.

- The Long National Nightmare is OVER!!! Jan 26, 2021

This week on the Bill Bradley Collective, your hosts put the first four days of the Biden administration under the microscope and evaluate some of the early returns. The inauguration itself is given a quick review, before the boys get to examining some of Biden’s cabinet nominees and political appointees, including Marty Walsh, Janet Yellen and Merrick Garland, among others. In a week where the newly minted President signed 30 executive orders and actions, the panel weigh in on the repeal of Schedule F, as well as the immediate enactment of many COVID-19 and environmental policies. But first the rants, where Andrew considers where sports will fit in the on-going streaming wars following the shuttering of NBC Sports Network; Ed upbraids NFL owners as another hiring cycle appears set to close with virtually no progress achieved on diversity; finally Zak probes the troubling lionization and seeming absolution of George W. Bush in the wake of an inauguration chat with Rep. Jim Clyburn. The Bill Bradley Collective was honored this week to be joined by a man at the center of the week’s news and meme cycles, hero of the progressive movement, and the pride of Midwood, Brooklyn, the one and only Sen. Bernie Sanders. Sen. Sanders was kind enough to carve out a couple of minutes for us, so be sure to tune in for his takes on our new President, men’s winter hand fashions, and his hometown Nets and their new cadre of superstars.

Things that have Gone on Tooooooo Long Jan 19, 2021

As we eagerly count down the final days, hours and minutes of Donald Trump’s first and god-willing last term as President, in tribute, the Bill Bradley Collective presents their desired collection of the things in sports, politics and media, that have gone on far too long and should simply go the fuck away. In this first intra-season bonus episode, join your hosts as they each describe in detail why certain athletes, coaches, institutions, members of the media and a certain multi-billion dollar movie franchise would be best served to make both like a tree and the Trump administration (just a day from now), and kindly leave. You, our loyal listener, we ask that you do the exact opposite. Stay tuned for what’s to come in season FOUR of the Bill Bradley Collective, as we will soon be getting deep into topics ranging from the newly minted Biden administration, the Super Bowl, where the NBA stands going forth in the wake of the still ravaging COVID-19 pandemic and another installment of our seasonal individual profile

- Insurrections and Interceptions Jan 12, 2021

This week, the Bill Bradley Collective presents its 2020 NFL regular season in review. Join us as each of your hosts nominate a best and worst moment, as well as the moment that best encapsulated the year 2020. A star QB’s close brush with premature evacuation, the return to the field of another signal caller from a catastrophic leg injury, and the league’s continued race problem in hiring practices are among the high- and lowlights of a season that for better and (mostly) worse will not soon be forgotten. The conversation then turns to the post-season, where your anchors handicap what to expect over the next two weeks of play and whom will be left standing to compete for a trip to Tampa and the Lombardi Trophy. In lieu of our normally presented rants, The Collective allots that time to discuss the events of January 6, where an armed insurgency of Donald Trump supporters stormed the United States Capitol in disgraced defiance of the result of the 2020 Presidential election. The emotions of watching this display as it unfolded; upon whom and where to lay the blame for this deeply disturbed and ruinous demonstration; how our politics has been and will be affected moving forward are just a few of the themes the panel considers following a tragic day in American history.

- The Supreme Court Jan 05, 2021

It’s Tuesday. You know what that means. That’s right, season four of the Bill Bradley Collective is off and running and how else to ring in the new year than with a conversation about our nation’s Supreme Court. On the heels of two historically unqualified appointments and an election fallout dominated by the question of whether or not the court would back efforts to challenge the veracity of the results, the focus on the Supreme Court’s composition, size and tenure has never been more in question. Join your hosts as they weigh in with their thoughts on that, just how influential the body is relative to other branches in government, and what to expect from the court going forward within the Biden administration, with special consideration given to the pending NCAA v. Alston case pertaining to the compensation of collegiate athletes. But first we set the table with the rants, where Zak attempts to make some sense of a sham penalty called in a sham playoff semifinal within a sham college football campaign; Ed throws cold water on the fetishizing of an increasingly immaterial box-score benchmark; finally Andrew examines the career and legacy of an ace southpaw following the recent release of a documentary on the pitcher’s life.

14. Rantapalooza Dec 29, 2020

This week on the Bill Bradley Collective, the hosts round out season three with the very first installment of “Rantapalooza.” Inspired in part by the eclectic annual concert festival bearing a similar name, Rantapalooza is the proper embodiment of the two words it combines. The rants: the backbone of this catalogue and the concentration of this episode. What of a-palooza? Well, it “emphasizes or exaggerates the element of a situation.” Because this week for your listening pleasure, Ed, Zak and Andrew rant not once, not twice nor thrice, but four individual times; covering our intertwined landscape of the athletic, political and whatever the fuck it is that chaps one’s ass over the course of a particular week. These dispatches are, quite literally, on the clock, as super-producer Brandon has the stop watch set for two minutes on each of the twelve Collective dissertations. A one-minute reply/endorsement/rebuttal is permitted for each host in response to two of their cohort’s diatribes. The COVID-19 pandemic has made much of 2020 a devastating burden on all of us. Producing this podcast in a safe, distanced and sometimes remote environment has been quite the opposite; a pleasure and something for the four of us to look forward to in this otherwise dystopian year, and it is because of you, the listener. Your hosts and producer thank you for sticking with us for these now three, (yeah, THREE) seasons. We look forward to kicking off season four and 2021 next week. Until then, cheers, and Happy New Year.

13. Vetoed! Dec 22, 2020

This week on the Bill Bradley Collective, your noble hosts are granted the opportunity to wield the kind of power normally reserved for officers of state: the power of the veto. Join your panel as they enter their respective chambers to argue the merits of six individual vetoes of legislation impacting the world of sports and in one case our very Constitution. The rules are simple. Each host presents two vetoes, and whether the veto goes forth rests in the hands of his two cohorts. Just as two-thirds votes in the House and Senate override presidential vetoes, the presenting host needs one of his cadre to accord. The rants get it all going, where Zak lays out the ghastly details of our latest legislative impasse while finding time to raise a toast to Stannard, Vermont’s favorite adopted son; Ed details the sordid effort to nominate another “son,” this one the failed progeny of the legal ace heading Donald Trump’s crack outfit, to the board of the Holocaust Memorial Museum; Andrew raises an issue with Tiger Woods’ decision to unveil his 11-year-old son’s golf game to a national television audience; finally super-producer and resident cornhusker Brandon cameos with some thoughts on the latest sports franchise to officially reconsider a controversial name and mascot.

12. Sports in a Biden White House Dec 15, 2020

This week on the Bill Bradley Collective, the hosts outline how they expect the transition from a Trump presidency to a Biden White House to impact the sporting world. Among the major topics addressed include whether the new administration will seek to push for stricter and more centralized protocols for leagues with regard to COVID-19, the impact an ideological shift in our judicial system could have on athletes both pro and collegiate, and if to expect actual enthusiasm and participation in the once-esteemed White House tradition of annually hosting each championship team across sports. We start with the rants, as Ed probes the legitimacy of this college football season following the Big 10’s decision to kowtow to a league powerhouse, Zak recounts the latest calamity to befall his Jets fandom and the curiously enthusiastic reaction from many within the Gang Green faithful, and Andrew evaluates the trade landscape for an NBA superstar in search of a new home for his MVP-calibre brand of play that often doubles as hard on the eyes.

B2. The Rules Make No Sense Dec 09, 2020

“Boys, the rules don’t make much sense. But I believe in the rules. Some of us broke them. I broke them. I can’t do this. I can’t win like this.” From Coach Pete Bell’s mouth to our ears, this week the Bill Bradley Collective return to the movies for a discussion of William Friedkin and Ron Shelton’s 1994 basketball drama, Blue Chips. Tepidly received by critics and audiences alike upon release, the Collective return a unanimous positive appraisal of the film’s artistic merits: the strong performances of Nick Nolte as the aforementioned Coach Bell, Alfre Woodard, J.T. Walsh, Mary McDonnell and the host of cameos from a who’s who of the early 1990’s hoops scene, the soundtrack, and the portrayal of on-court basketball sequences. Nuanced cinema critique quickly gives way to an examination of Blue Chips’ message, namely the question: what does this movie have to say about amateurism in college sports and the forces that continue to refuse collegiate athletes be given commensurate compensation within the very rules Pete Bell struggles to reckon with. Brought to you remotely thanks to the efforts of our esteemed producer in light of adverse weather and necessary COVID precaution, we are three fists in the face of sports and politics (and occasionally the movies), the Bill Bradley Collective.

11. Is there hope for the hardwood? Dec 01, 2020

This week on the Bill Bradley Collective, the hosts preview the fast-approaching 2020-21 NBA season. Determined to plow ahead bubble-less amidst the still devastating COVID-19 pandemic, the league believes they have the protocols in place to complete a full campaign. Do they? The Collective examines that question among other league topics, as we consider the changes being implemented to both the regular and post-season structure with additional commentary on what to expect on the court following a brief but frenetic offseason full of player movement and coaching/front office overhaul. The rants set the table, where Andrew outlines his trepidation for the just-tipped college basketball season and the slim hope that it survives to March, they try to make him welcome Brian Kemp to the resistance but Ed says “no, no, no,” and finally Zak drops the hammer on the continued failure of the NFL’s COVID-19 guidelines, with a fortuitous spotlight on the now thrice-delayed Steelers/Ravens matchup.

B1. It’s All Right - weighing in on Caddyshack Nov 24, 2020

In this intra-season bonus episode, we present the Bill Bradley Collective: At the Movies, as your hosts dive into the famed 1980 sports comedy, Caddyshack. A modest success upon release, subsequent re-appraisal has garnered Caddyshack a massive cult following and frequent citation as one of the great sports movies of all time. The Collective set out to assess this legacy, as we detail the cocaine-fueled production responsible for both the film’s gaping plot issues and most iconic comedic sequences, how some of these sequences and lines have aged with respect to racial and gender sensitivity and good-taste, and how exactly a screwball, gross-out comedy may or may not have something smart to say about class distinction. Coming to you from the burial cul-de-sac of Vidal, Deford and Kael, who needs incautious holiday gatherings over-run by outspoken uncles when you have three in your AirPods or car speakers every week, here, on the Bill Bradley Collective. Wishing all a safe and happy Thanksgiving, and if you would like for us to tackle a particular movie, whether sports or political in a future bonus episode; drop us a line on Facebook with your recommendation @BillBradleyCollective.

10. The Good, The Bad.... It's the NFL. Nov 17, 2020

This week on the Bill Bradley Collective, the hosts review all things NFL as the league’s season passes it’s mid-point. The on-field and off-field, the good (yes, there’s some) and the bad, join us as the panel weighs in on the superlative young crop of quarterbacks spread across the league, year one for both Brady and Belichick as each goes it without the other for the first time, the continued futility of North Jersey’s disgraced second tenant, and the myriad shortcomings in the NFL’s COVID protocols and the directions the season may take as a result. As always, the rants lead it off, as Zak targets Nancy Pelosi’s latest failing, following the 11th-hour cancellation of a Congressional soirée opposing every bit of responsible COVID messaging on gatherings, Ed reviews the latest episode of “Meet the McCloskeys,” where the proud faces of the 2020 GOP seek restitution from the very photog responsible for their long-expired 15 seconds, and Andrew celebrates a pair of sports pioneers while decrying the institutions that for far too long failed to acknowledge them. The home for personalized short-form rants and longer-form discussion on a curated subject; all located at the intersection of sports and politics; and now the host for not one, but two, of America’s hottest new game shows taking the podcasting world by storm. Where? Here, at the Bill. Bradley. Collective.

9. The Longest (Tues)Day Nov 10, 2020

This week the Bill Bradley Collective comes to you in the immediate aftermath of the 2020 Presidential election being called for Joe Biden, completing a near five-day odyssey of sleep-deprivation, cable news consumption and alcohol intake the likes of which we recommend be left to us, your noble hosts. The fallout from this election is the focus, as the panel covers everything from the late-arriving call delivered in Biden’s favor, plus thoughts on all of the media coverage, another heavily flawed performance by those in the predictive model game, and where exactly, as we await the last-ditch bad-faith litigious efforts of the outgoing administration to contest ballots, we will stand come Inauguration Day 2021. But first come a set of somewhat diversionary sports-centric rants, where Zak rebukes Rob Manfred’s failure to levy any discipline on Justin Turner for his mask-less escapade following last week’s World Series clincher, Ed raises Zak’s bet on Manfred with a treatise on Pac-12 commissioner Larry Scott and the already fast-dissolving football season of which he oversees, and Andrew considers the impact of boxing’s marquee box-office attraction going forward with neither a promoter or home network. All told, it was a good day.

8. The Year is 2024 Nov 03, 2020

Election Day 2020 is here, and as a final supplement to our election coverage, the Bill Bradley Collective consult their proverbial crystal balls and preview what the lay of both the political and sporting landscapes will look like in 2024. Who will represent each party’s ticket, how the hierarchy of professional sports will stand, and what exactly college sports will look like are the questions on the table as each of the hosts play prognosticator. The rants lead it off, where the junior panelists both take aim at the just-completed World Series as Zak lambastes both the actions of COVID-positive Justin Turner and the protocols that put him on the field still pending a test result and Andrew considers baseball’s strategic future following the premature knee-jerk removal of an ace starter in an elimination game. Finally, Ed details the White House proclamation of a National Day of Remembrance meant solely to advance the continued xenophobic rhetoric of what we hope is a soon departing Trump administration.

7. Dark Clouds Playbook Oct 27, 2020

This week on the Bill Bradley Collective, the panel give their respective impressions on the second and final Presidential debate between Donald Trump and Joe Biden, before giving way to a broader discussion of how we all project November 3rd (and the probable weeks beyond) unfolding. Consider it a forecast, as the hosts each outline what they perceive to be best- and worst-case scenarios, with closing prognostications on the eventual outcomes of both the Presidential election and upon which side of the aisle the Senate majority lands. As always we lead with the rants, where Zak thoroughly censures the long-game of the establishment GOP operatives helming the anti-Trump Lincoln Project, Ed considers Antonio Brown’s imminent return to the NFL and the convenient epilogue a certain Foxborough-based franchise is peddling as reason for his leave of absence, and Andrew details the résumé of a certain failson cashing a White House paycheck who just coincidentally happens to share a last name with the head of Trump’s legal counsel.

6. Snakes in the Senate Oct 20, 2020

This week, the Bill Bradley Collective presents “Snakes in the Senate,” a snake-draft style conversation about the forthcoming Senate races where red incumbents find their prospects for (re-)election in varying degrees of peril. The eligible contests are broken down into three categories, as round one examines those where the Democratic candidate appears likely to win, round two focuses on the “coin-flip” seats, and finally round three surveys blue challengers facing seemingly long-odds. What ensues is a thorough primer of what to watch for November 3rd as Democrats look to regain control of the Senate in this election year of immeasurable consequence. But first the rants, where Andrew considers the market context and value of running backs in today’s NFL following Le’Veon Bell’s departure from the Jets, Zak castigates Dianne Feinstein for her pitiful display during the week’s Barrett Supreme Court hearings, and Ed excoriates a Feinstein colleague for his latest bit of sanctimonious Trump critiques, despite his lengthy voting record in lock-step with 45’s objectives.

5. The Consolation Debate Oct 13, 2020

This week on the Bill Bradley Collective, the hosts weigh in on the Vice Presidential debate between Mike Pence and Kamala Harris. In assessing the performance of incumbent, candidate and moderator, the panel uses the 1965 NCAA Tournament consolation game and collegiate adieu of our very namesake as the guide for evaluation. While the debate mirrored Princeton’s 36-point evisceration of Wichita State to the respective advantage of Sen. Harris, how her showing stands up to that of Bill Bradley’s 58-point masterclass is just one example of what to expect from the conversation. But first the rants do cometh, where two-thirds of our body give HBO a bit of free pub, as Zak critiques the cultural efficacy of Aaron Sorkin’s narrative political prose leading into this week’s not-so-eagerly anticipated “The West Wing” reunion/reprisal special, Andrew examines the troublingly generous tenor of a new documentary centering the life and crimes of a a disgraced New York radio show host, and finally Ed presents the vile personal and political history of a Trump senior adviser who somehow remains a fixture on cable news/interview programming.

4. The 1st Presidential Debate (finally) Oct 06, 2020

This week on the Bill Bradley Collective, the hosts break down the first Presidential debate between Donald Trump and Joe Biden. The virtually nonexistent good, largely bad and often ugly highlights of this spectacle are the focus of a conversation that attempts to gauge the respective performance of each candidate, as well as moderator Chris Wallace. Before we assess the debate, Zak outlines how to expect the Senate to proceed with regard to Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett, in light of the White House COVID outbreak that enveloped not only Trump but a considerable swath of GOP leadership including three senators. But first come the rants, where Zak salutes Ed’s esteemed prior tenure as Subway franchise baker in the wake of a curious Irish court ruling, Ed condemns the toxic fallacy of the “warrior” mentality with a special nod to the straw man heading the New York Jets and Andrew considers the NFL’s head-scratching decisions following the league’s first collection of positive COVID tests.

3. Trump, Sports, COVID Sep 29, 2020

This week on the Bill Bradley Collective, the hosts examine Donald Trump’s efforts from high atop his Twitter pulpit to influence how our sporting landscape navigates the COVID-19 pandemic. A concentrated nod to Trump’s perceived-electorally expedient (and answered) call on the Big 10 to salvage their previously-aborted college football season sets the table for a discussion that attempts to hammer home how every amoral machination from 45’s mouth and cell-phone as it regards to sports comes solely in the interest of retaining his position post-November 3rd. First the rants, as Zak gives a precursor to the election-oriented content coming your way from the Collective with a preview of what to watch for this week as Trump and Joe Biden share the stage for the 1st of their three debates, Ed (and Zak with some real venom) blast away in the direction of failson Matt Lieberman, the latest in his lineage to disgrace the Democratic Party and the most likely recipient of a thank-you card from the desk of Kelly Loeffler five weeks from now, and Andrew gives an update on Colby Covington’s place in the worst-person-in-sports hierarchy following his latest audition for the position of America’s Next Top Sycophant.

Profile - Tommie Smith & John Carlos Sep 22, 2020

On the first of our intra-season bonus episodes, the Bill Bradley Collective discuss the history and legacy of Tommie Smith and John Carlos and their black-glove fisted salute whilst on the medal podium during the 1968 Summer Olympics. Regarded as one of the most influential and overtly political declarations made in Olympic history, the gesture drew wrongful condemnation from many in the moment, but has become the impetus for the national anthem statements made in the name of social and racial justice in our contemporary sports landscape. The societal context of the salute, 1968 in the crucible of the Civll rights movement in America; and the Olympic Project for Human Rights that brought about the podium demonstration kickstart a conversation that examines the lives and legacies of Smith and Carlos, their detractors and supporters, and the integral role that their statement has long-played in forging a 2020 where by the day sports and politics grow increasingly intertwined.

2. Who are these books aimed at? Sep 15, 2020

This week on the Bill Bradley Collective, the hosts examine the complicated nature of the “tell-all” book, from the three narrative perspectives of insider, embedded journalist, and outside reporter. These tell-all documents represent a significant, in-demand segment of the sport and political publishing arenas, most recently brought to public focus in the wake of books detailing the Trump presidency from John Bolton, Michael Cohen and veteran journalist Bob Woodward, of which the latter’s grim details regarding presidential (and perhaps journalistic) inaction sit at the forefront of our current news cycle. But first the rants, where Andrew applauds Len Elmore’s takedown of increased “shut up and dribble” bullshit following the NFL’s season opener, Zak goes in on GOP wonder-boy and doofus par excellence Ben Sasse after his inglorious turn on the WSJ editorial page, and Ed targets billionaire entrepreneur and right-wing donor/bootlicker emeritus Peter Thiel for his latest bit of dangerous grift with a nod to his already vastly sordid résumé.

1. The Day (most) Sports Stood Still Sep 08, 2020

On the season three premier of the Bill Bradley Collective, the hosts examine protest in sports within the broader context of the national movement. As the NBA, followed by the NHL and select MLB teams, withheld their professional services following the police shooting of Jacob Blake, the panel discusses the actions of these athletes, how their response was covered by the sports and mainstream media, their role in the national protest movement for racial equality and social justice, and most importantly, what comes next. But first the rants, where Zak implores the “anonymous” sources leaking out the many Trump improprieties to own their truth and put name to tape, Ed challenges the professional and personal merits of latest Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient and self-believed paragon of Catholic virtue Lou Holtz, and Andrew reflects on the legacy of the late Tom Seaver and how Mets ownership deserves neither legends of his stature nor the voices for social reform occupying their clubhouse today. Come for the conversation, enjoy the rants, but stick around as one host is officially set to pop his tattoo cherry, while the others engage in some truly horrific karaoke.

The Best of Season 2 Sep 05, 2020

For the best of season two of the Bill Bradley Collective, we highlight a pair of profiles in ignominy, as Zak rakes departed Trump NSA John Bolton for his self-serving swing for the Times’ best-seller list and Ed debuts his vitriol for disreputable GA Senator and Atlanta Dream owner Kelly Loeffler that underscores much of this season. Lastly for rants, Andrew fires from his wheel-house with a portrait of the golfer as a young man, mercurial pro Haotong Li. No main subject perhaps better encompasses the essence of this podcast, so revisit our discussion on the “sportification” of news media; how respective coverage of sports and politics has come to mirror one another for better and for worse. Stay tuned for season three of the Bill Bradley Collective.

B3. Draft: The Worst People in Politics Sep 01, 2020

On our third and final post-season two bonus episode, the Bill Bradley Collective draft whom we consider to be the worst of the worst amongst elected officials in American politics. *Elected* members of both houses of Congress, state Governors and mayors of major U.S. cities are all on the board. In the interest of bipartisanship, both parties are up for rightful condemnation, as no less than two Democrats and Republicans each of the six respective choices are required. Coming to you from the cul-de-sac of legislative, state and municipal government, engage us on Facebook with any thoughts on our picks and your case for anyone we may have missed, and please stay tuned for season three of the Bill Bradley Collective.

B2. Draft: Best Sports Movies Aug 25, 2020

For the second of our post-season two bonus episodes, the Bill Bradley Collective play Siskel & Ebert as we draft the best of the best from the sports movie canon. Six movies each, structured identical to last week’s draft of sport’s worst people, the panel revisit (and disparage) some classics, stump for some controversial and lesser known selections and consider just how much “sport” is required for qualification to this process. For the first time coming to you from the rotary of sports, politics and Hollywood, we invite you to join us on Facebook and give us your thoughts on the picks, any movies we may have missed, and which of our contrarian dismissals of an otherwise lauded film offended you most.

B1. Draft: The Worst People in Sports Aug 18, 2020

For our first post-season 2 bonus episode, the members of the Bill Bradley Collective draft teams comprised of whom we deem to be the worst people in sports. Join us as we outline detailed cases for why 18 certain individuals (athletes, owners and broadcasters, among them) all in their own way represent the worst of our society. Be sure to join us on Facebook and weigh in with your vote for which of our three drafted teams reflects the best of the downright worst in sports. The stakes are very high.

8. The Worst #45 in Sports Aug 11, 2020

On the season 2 finale of the Bill Bradley Collective, the hosts examine Donald Trump’s history of involvement in the sporting landscape. The starting point is his association with the USFL, where Trump was the majority owner of the New Jersey Generals franchise and due in large part to some of his signature rapacity and ineptitude was largely responsible for the league’s suspension after merely 3 seasons. Next, we size up Don’s sordid presence in the world of golf, where all of the man’s worst traits are reflected both in the manner of how he plays the game and the amoral exploitation of his golf properties for personal and political gain. The panel concludes with a consideration of Trump’s stance against anthem protests, and how his failure with the USFL and later rejected ownership bid for the Buffalo Bills underscore the profound insecurities in our wishful alpha-male of a president. First come the rants, where Ed reflects on an electricity-less week with some smoke for the privatization of public utilities, Zak applauds (yes, really) the NHL’s return to play and the success of their dual Canadian bubble, and Andrew assesses the quirks of a Chinese golf enigma, perhaps on the doorstep of a major championship victory.

7. Hosting the Olympics Aug 04, 2020

.On this week’s episode of the Bill Bradley Collective, the hosts tackle the Olympic Games. Originally scheduled for, in part, this current early August window, we are without the Games of the XXXII Olympiad in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. In lieu of our medalist predictions for male tae-kwon-do, the panel assesses whether or not the games are really all that missed from the dual perspectives of the sports fan starved for world-class competition in the course of a usually largely vacant late summer sports calendar and the benevolent observer well-versed in the Games’ sordid history of corruption and economical foul-play. But first the rants, where Andrew details the fallout from Joe Kelly doing MLB’s dirty work with some erratic relief work against the convicted but unpenalized cheaters occupying the Astro lineup, Ed excoriates the folly of the Miami Marlins’ effort towards braving a season in which their own clubhouse is a COVID-19 hotspot, and Zak adjusts his dumbest elected member of Congress in Texas depth chart to highlight Rep. Louie Gohmert’s brand of mask trutherism.

6. The "Sportification" of News Media Jul 28, 2020

On this week’s episode of the Bill Bradley Collective, the hosts tackle the “sportification” of news media. We examine how debate culture, expanded use of quantitative research, and intensified tribalism within sports and politics have rendered coverage of each virtually indistinguishable from the other. Where sports are “the playground of life,” political outcomes affect the livelihoods of each and every one of us, and that’s where the conversation leads. Why does the nature of how the news media covers Congressional votes, high court decisions and federal elections so closely mirror the way in which sports media covers the likes of a championship series or free agency period? But first the rants, where Zak throws high and tight on Elon Musk’s stimulus package opposition, Ed rebukes the appalling culture inside the WFT organization and why the man at the helm comes out unscathed, and Andrew reflects on the memory and legacy of a late UConn basketball standout.

5. Sports in the Middle East Jul 21, 2020

On this week’s episode of the Bill Bradley Collective, the hosts discuss the state of professional sports in Saudi Arabia. We start by describing the financial incentives that resulted in the UFC and European Tour expanding their products to the Middle East to begin with, namely to Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Saudi Arabia is the focus, as we examine the entry of the WWE, prominent global golf professionals and a massive heavyweight prizefight into a country with manifest failings across a number of human rights considerations, all in the name of Western profit. We conclude by addressing the question of why it is we hold athletes to a higher standard than the government that exploits the same country for oil and aids their militaristic presence. But first the rants, where Andrew reckons the pros and cons of MLB entering the Nashville market, Ed weighs in on the broader picture fallout from the two-word “Woj-bomb” dropped upon Sen. Josh Hawley last week, and Zak puts NBA ignoramus Dwight Howard on blast after being exposed for not wearing a mask in the league’s COVID-19 bubble.

4. Can sports beat COVID? Jul 14, 2020

On this week’s episode of the Bill Bradley Collective, the hosts analyze the few pros and many cons in how each major North American sports league plans to return to action by month’s end and later this fall. Topics of player health, competitive integrity, scheduling ambition and geographical relocation are the backdrop to a conversation that considers the relative feasibility of each league’s plan and whether any of these re-openings are ultimately worth the potentially serious personal cost involved. But first the rants, where Zak profiles Keisha Bottoms’ efforts to combat the surge in Atlanta COVID-19 cases against opposition from disgraced Trump-ally Gov. Brian Kemp, Andrew describes the sole beneficiary and real victims of food service in the NBA bubble, and Ed reflects upon July 10th, 2020, perhaps the worst in a long few months of dark days in America, with a special nod to the alleged “Most Magical Place on Earth.”

3. NASCAR in America today Jul 07, 2020

On this week’s episode of the Bill Bradley Collective, the hosts examine the cultural evolution of NASCAR. Their 20th century footprint as a deeply Southern, union-suppressing institution is first summarized, giving way to a conversation about more recent attempts to expand the product to a broader audience. The backlash from the Southern base towards improvements to driver safety and race culture, and the geographic diversification of the schedule and circuit roster lead us into the much more progressive NASCAR of 2020, where the flag of the confederacy is now persona non grata and the sport as a whole finds itself unabashedly circling the wagons for it’s lone black driver, Bubba Wallace, in the wake of a suspected hate crime. But first the rants, where Ed casts aspersions on the NFL in it’s latest insincere endeavor at promoting racial equity, Andrew considers the potential lack of competitive integrity in the NBA’s Orlando reset, and Zak details why Washington’s football club is now closer than ever towards finally moving away from their deeply offensive name and logo.

2. Activism in College Sports Jun 30, 2020

On this week’s episode, the panel dives into the recent surge in activism on the part of collegiate athletes. The conversation leads with a hat-tip to a pair of basketball legends and their public stance against the Vietnam War. Fast forward to 2013 for an examination of the attempted unionization of Northwestern football, spearheaded by QB Kain Colter. From there, the recent work of college athletes across the country, in fighting for protections in returning to football amidst the continued COVID-19 pandemic and calling for solidarity and support from coaches in their fight for racial equality highlight the discussion. But first come the rants, where Ed posits Senator Kelly Loeffler atop the trash heap of American politicians, Andrew describes the continued failure at COVID-containment by the PGA Tour, and Zak addresses Bubba Wallace’s busy week at the center of NASCAR’s latest racial controversy.

1. Maya Moore Jun 23, 2020

On the season 2 premiere of the Bill Bradley Collective, the hosts discuss modern basketball great Maya Moore and her dedicated work towards criminal justice reform. Moore’s extensive basketball legacy and local collegiate ties to the panel are the backdrop to a conversation focused around her work specific to the case of wrongfully imprisoned Jonathan Irons, deep-rooted systemic problems within our justice system, and the present and future of athletes as activists. But first, the rants, as Zak takes former White House NSA John Bolton to task for his self-expedient memoirs of a flunky, Andrew examines how the PGA Tour’s COVID-bubble burst inside of two weeks, and Ed lays out the unconscionable details of Ohio State football’s “Buckeye Pledge.”

The Best of Season 1 Jun 16, 2020

For the best of season 1 of the Bill Bradley Collective, we feature Zak’s conflicted takeaways from the NFL Draft, Ed’s dive into Trump press secretaries and how each mirrors a different member of the Cleveland Browns quarterbacking fraternity, and Andrew’s thoughts on a controversial heavyweight champion that never was. Our chosen main topic, a conversation about the NCAA and most notably the need to properly compensate collegiate athletes, is one we find particularly relevant at this time, in light of current news surrounding the transfer portal and eligibility issues, and the question of how institutions plan to manage their fall seasons and beyond in the continued wake of COVID-19. Be sure to join us next week as season 2 premieres with an on- and off-the-court profile and discussion of Maya Moore.

B4 - The "Fan Man" Jun 09, 2020

For the third and final of our post-season 1 bonus episodes, Andrew submits the 1993 heavyweight title rematch between Riddick Bowe and Evander Holyfield for discussion, a fight best remembered as the night the world was introduced to parachutist James Miller, aka the “Fan Man.” Miller’s mid-fight descent into Caesar’s Palace steals the night and the laughs, but the conversation extends to cover the fight itself, the careers and complicated legacies of all those involved and how the pre-eminent heavyweights of today hypothetically stack up to their pugilistic predecessors.

B3 - "Eddie the Eagle" Jun 02, 2020

For the BBCollective’s second post-season bonus episode, Zak presents the story of Michael Edwards, AKA “Eddie the Eagle,” the English Olympic ski-jumper par not quite excellence who most famously captured the world’s attention with his “performance” in the 1988 Calgary Winter Olympics. Zak charts Edwards’ rise from humble every-man craftsman to international Olympic celebrity/influencer, and his ultimate transition to British cultural sensation in deep factual and humorous detail.

B2 - The Players League May 26, 2020

In our first post-season 1 bonus episode, the Collective experiments with a Dollop-inspired main topic, as Ed discusses the formation, brief existence and enduring legacy of the Players’ League. The league’s founder, John Montgomery Ward, it’s place in the baseball landscape of the 19th century, and the possibility of whether a fully labor-operated league could exist in today’s sporting world provide the focus of Ed’s chronicle.

8. The Last Dance May 19, 2020

For our season finale, the BBCollective tackles “The Last Dance,” the acclaimed 10-part ESPN documentary of the Michael Jordan-led Chicago Bulls dynasty of the 1990’s. While Jordan rules as the fulcrum of the conversation, the complicated legacies of Jerry Krause, Scottie Pippen and Phil Jackson, among others are also all examined in depth. But first, Andrew addresses the NFL’s latest sorry attempt at enhancing the Rooney Rule, Ed amplifies the otherwise under-reported travails of New Orleans sanitation workers in the wake of COVID, and Zak takes Brian Kemp to task for his latest bit of gross incompetence.

7. Paying College Players May 12, 2020

On this week’s episode, the Collective discuss the myth of amateurism and the NCAA, with a deep-dive on an exploitative culture where coaches, administrators and sneaker executives reap seemingly endless dollars in salary at the expense of the uninsured, uncompensated “student athletes” that generate the revenue. But first, Ed leads off with an assessment of the inglorious post-career exploits of Curt Schilling, Zak sets the tone for the main topic with a critical look at the immorality of the McDonald’s All-American Game, and Andrew goes all-in at the thought of a resurgent UConn men’s basketball program.

6. The Kentucky Derby May 05, 2020

On this week’s episode, the Collective tackles the cultural legacy and social context of the Kentucky Derby, originally slated for this past weekend in it’s traditional first Saturday of May slot but postponed to the fall in the wake of COVID-19. In lieu of picks for the race, we instead pick some very serious nits with regard to the event’s deeply troubled history with issues of race and class, and the immorality in both the gambling culture that envelops the race, and in the abject objectification of the contest’s participants. We open with Ed’s assessment of the career and legacy of Don Mattingly, Zak’s thoughts on the continued rejection of equal pay for women by the USSF and complicity of the federal court system in doing so, and Andrew’s view of the Bad Boy Detroit Pistons teams and their foothold in basketball’s modern history.

5. Rooney Rule/NFL Draft Apr 28, 2020

On this week’s episode, the panel examines the effectivity, or lack there of, of the NFL’s Rooney Rule in insuring minority candidates a fair shake in the league’s coaching hire process. The policy’s history, shortcomings and potential improvements are all highlighted. But first, Zak describes the conflicting emotions surrounding the optics of last week’s NFL Draft, Ed considers the NBA’s broader responsibility in their plan for a return in the wake of COVID-19, and Andrew attempts to reconcile how an exhibition golf match may qualify as essential business.

4. The Masters Apr 21, 2020

This week, the Bill Bradley Collective discuss the highly troubled discriminatory history of the Augusta National Golf Club and Masters Tournament. Both the club’s racial and gender issues are examined, with a focus examining the club’s inception, the esteemed first African American competitor, the sexist mores that still permeate and finally whether there is any hope for a progressive transition in Augusta National’s values and attitudes. In this week’s rants, Zak considers our sporting world devoid of fans in the wake of COVID-19, Ed calls out the political expediency of Trump encouraging protests against shelter-in-place orders, and Andrew summarizes the aided self-destruction of a once-promising heavyweight contender.

3. Sports Resurrection Apr 14, 2020

This week, the Collective presents a “resurrection”-themed discussion in observation of Easter Sunday. In a wide-ranging conversation, the hosts first reflect on the Boston Red Sox, in pre- and post-2004 context. Golf’s two foremost legends and their respective last(?) Masters triumphs are next examined, followed by an evaluation of the talented neophytes occupying NBA backcourts, who we’d rather be watching than projecting in our hopefully soon-resurrected sports world. In addition, Zak buries the the right wing’s efforts to tie COVID-19 to various inane conspiracy theories, Andrew says a eulogy for the XFL (again), and Ed draws comps between two collections of sad sacks from the political and sporting worlds that we are not about to just give away in this summary. Brought to you from the great outdoors, finally together in person and most assuredly in observance of social distancing measures, join us for a fun, eclectic episode.

2. Bill Bradley Apr 07, 2020

For this week’s episode, the hosts dive into the athletic and political lives of their very namesake, Bill Bradley. We discuss the superlative collegiate career at Princeton and ten-year NBA run that follows. His second act as U.S. Senator and Democratic presidential nominee is also examined. Also this week, Zak rebukes the myth of cancel culture vis-a-vis John Rocker, Ed considers the charitable efforts of old friend Robert Kraft in the wake of our global pandemic, and Andrew highlights three of the newest inductees to the Basketball Hall of Fame. Come for our rants and the Bill Bradley profile, stay for 1965 NBA Draft minutiae!

1. NFL CBA Mar 31, 2020

On this week’s episode Andrew talks about his COVID-19 movie choices (including our first guest as Zak’s wife Laura talks about The Cutting Edge), Ed talks about Bill Simmons and Simmons’ claims about cancel culture, and Zak talks about the NBA holding a tournament championship. The main topic discusses the new collective bargaining agreement in the NFL and its impact on players and the season

Best of Season 0. Mar 25, 2020

Here are some highlights from our practice season. Where we discuss the loss of a sports icon, Zak discusses the NFL franchise tag, Andrew reminisces on a classic boxing match, and Ed gives his take on Robert Craft's "Tug-Gate". Then a deeper discussion on the impact of franchises on cities. Be sure to stay tuned to the end to hear some extra predictions!!!

Bonus - COVID-19 Mar 19, 2020

We couldn't wait till our debut episode!!!! The hosts examine the costs COVID-19 has levied upon the sporting world. From the NCAA Tournament to the NBA season, from combat sports to professional golf, The Collective breaks down the good, bad and ugly of how the power brokers of sport have managed this fast-evolving global crisis.

Welcome to the Bill Bradley Collective Mar 16, 2020

Andrew, Ed, and Zak introduce themselves and discuss what to expect from the BBCollective

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