BBCollective

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

Show notes

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

Show notes

.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

Show notes

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

Show notes

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

Show notes

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

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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

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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

Show notes

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

Show notes

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

Show notes

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.

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