BBCollective

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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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.

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