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13. Vetoed! Dec 22, 2020

Show notes

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

Show notes

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

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“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

Show notes

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

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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

Show notes

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

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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

Show notes

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

Show notes

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

Show notes

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.

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