BBCollective

Latest Episodes:

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

Show notes

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

Show notes

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

Show notes

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

Show notes

Zak Bonus

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

Show notes

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

Show notes

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

Show notes

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

Show notes

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

Show notes

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

Show notes

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.

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected