Sports Illustrated Weekly

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Rugby vs. the Mafia, Urban Meyer Debacle, Ja Morant Is the Code May 11, 2022

Show notes

In the Sicilian suburb of Librino, an upstart rugby club defies Mafia violence and forges an identity for their community. Sean Williams traveled to the foot of Mount Etna and brought back the story of Briganti di Librino.

SI Daily Cover, A Rugby Club Vs. the Mafia | The Underworld Podcast

With rumors swirling that Urban Meyer is set to take a job at Fox, everyone, including Jaguars owner Shahid Khan, is taking shots at Meyer’s short and disastrous stint on the NFL sidelines. SI staffer Conor Orr is here to review the long list of problems that led to Meyer being fired after just 13 games.

Article, Urban Meyer Is Bringing Nothing to the Jaguars

When Grizzlies point guard Ja Morant suffered a knee injury against the Warriors, he was playing some of the best basketball of anyone in the playoffs — continuing on his incredible season. SI staffer Michael Pina joins us to discuss Ja’s leap to superstardom.

Daily Cover, Behind Ja Morant’s Sudden Ascent to NBA Superstardom

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Bob Baffert vs. the Derby, the Queen of Cheer, Goodbye to the Shift May 04, 2022

Show notes

The Kentucky Derby is this weekend, but one of the sport’s most notable—and notorious—figures won’t be there. Bob Baffert has had more than 30 of his horses fail drug tests and was subsequently banned from Churchill Downs for two years due to doping allegations. Sports Illustrated senior writer Pat Forde joins us to discuss the controversial horse trainer.

Pat Forde on SI.com

The Netflix show Cheer took viewers inside the world of competitive cheerleading and made stars out of its athletes and coaches. Our producer Jess Yarmosky sits down with the Queen of Cheer, Monica Aldama, to discuss winning her latest national championship and the sport’s explosion in popularity.

Cheer on Netflix | Cheer Tour | 2022 Navarro College winning routine

MLB teams are using the shift more than ever. SI stafferEmma Baccellieri explains why that is, why the shift is so effective—and why baseball is changing the rules next season.

The Last Hurrah of Infield Shifts

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BONUS: Investigating 0-16: Inside Hue Jackson’s Tanking Allegations Against the Browns May 03, 2022

Show notes

On Monday, the NFL said an investigation found "no evidence" to support the allegations of tanking made by former Browns head coach Hue Jackson. The team went 3-36-1 during Jackson's stint with the team and he believes the Browns front office should share some of that blame. Despite the league investigation clearing the Browns, that doesn't mean the team is innocent of the accusations made against the franchise. SI Staffers Conor Orr and Gary Gramling reviewed more than 1000 documents pertaining to the case. Unsurprisingly, they reached some very different conclusions than the NFL.

Hear Conor and Gary on The MMQB Podcast

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Mina Kimes NFL Draft, NFL Media Carousel, Brittney Griner Update Apr 27, 2022

Show notes

The NFL draft is upon us, and ESPN’s Mina Kimes joins us for a primer on the big event happening in Las Vegas.

The Mina Kimes Show Featuring Lenny

When Troy Aikman left Fox for ESPN, it set off a chain reaction in the NFL broadcast booth for multiple networks. Jimmy Traina, host of the SI Media Podcast, breaks down the game of musical chairs involving Al Michaels, Joe Buck and more.

Sports Illustrated Media Podcast

WNBA star Brittney Griner has been detained in Russia for two months. We have a report from Howard Megdal on Griner’s situation and how it has impacted the way women’s basketball operates.

Daily Cover, How Russia Pushed the WNBA to a Crossroads

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BONUS: Murder at Pinetree Country Club Apr 26, 2022

Show notes

On July 3rd of last year, Gene Siller went to work at the Pinetree Country Club to help staff set up for Independence Day celebrations. Unfortunately, he never made it back home, leaving his wife without a husband and his kids without a father. The story made headlines at the time, but none have gone as deep as a new piece from Sports Illustrated contributing writer Brian Burnsed.

Article, He Followed His Golf Dream. In the End, It Was a Nightmare.

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Michael Lewis, Sportswashing, Jimmy Butler is Caffeinated Apr 20, 2022

Show notes

Best-selling author Michael Lewis is here some 20 years after he began the reporting on Moneyball. Season 3 of his podcast Against the Rules is titled “The Ballad of Expertise.”

Podcast, Against the Rules

SI senior writer Michael Rosenberg reads his essay on how authoritarian regimes like China, Russia and Saudi Arabia use sports for their political benefit, also known as sportswashing.

Daily Cover, Sportswashing Is Everywhere, but It’s Not New

Whether or not you drink coffee, you’re probably not nearly as into it as Jimmy Butler. SI staffer Rohan Nadkarni tells us just how much the Heat star really loves coffee.

Article, Jimmy Butler, the NBA's Biggest Coffee Aficionado

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NBA Playoff Picture and Tiger’s Return to Augusta Apr 13, 2022

Show notes

The NBA playoffs are here, and we have our Eastern and Western Conference playoff previews. Get comfortable for our extended and extensive conversation with SI senior writers Chris Mannix and Howard Beck.

Mannix and Beck on The Crossover podcast

Barely a year removed from a car crash that could have killed him, Tiger Woods surprised a lot of people by playing in the Masters. SI senior writer Stephanie Apstein joins us for her report on how Woods looked at Augusta.

Article, Tiger Woods Recognizes This Masters Was One of His Great Achievements—Among Non-Wins

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MLB Opening Day, Is ‘Winning Time’ Good?, Dirk Nowitzki’s History in SI Apr 06, 2022

Show notes

Major League Baseball has its Opening Day on Thursday. We have the SI baseball braintrust gathered for a roundtable: senior writers Tom Verducci and Stephanie Apstein and editor Matt Martell. They’ll tell us what’s exciting about this season, what’s wrong with baseball, and what’s changed forever after the lockout.

Sports Illustrated MLB coverage | @si_mlb on Twitter

With the nightly implosion of LeBron’s Lakers, HBO lures us into Showtime-era nostalgia with their hit-in-waiting, Winning Time. We welcome Jordan Ligons of the Spinsters podcast and The Ringer’s TV critic Alison Herman to answer a simple question: Is Winning Time any good? And is anyone watching?

HBO Max | Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty (YouTube)

Dirk Nowitzki entered the NBA in 1998 with no shortage of hype. Twenty-one seasons later, collecting an MVP award in 2007 and the Larry O’Brien trophy with a Finals MVP in ’11, it’s safe to say he lived up to the hype and then some. Howard Beck had Dirk on The Crossover podcast and took a few minutes to ask about his history with SI.

SI Vault: Fast Developing After A Rookie Year in Which the Negatives Prevailed, the Mavericks' Dirk Nowitzki Looks Like a Budding Star by Jon Wertheim

The Great Nowitzki: Basketball and the Meaning of Life by Thomas Pletzinger

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Your Mascot Is a Lie Mar 30, 2022

Show notes

The NCAA men’s and women’s tournaments each feature 64 teams—and 64 mascots. But while you might have love for your school,Conor Orrhas consulted with Dr. Hopi Hoekstra, noted mammalogist at Harvard University, and he’s here to tell you why your mascot is a lie.

SI Daily Cover: Fuzzy Logic by Hopi Hoekstra and Conor Orr

The South Carolina Gamecocks are one of the best teams in women’s basketball, and they’re once again headed back to the Final Four. SI staffer Wilton Jackson talked to star player Aliyah Boston on the quest for a championship, her journey from Saint Thomas to South Carolina and her ever-changing personal style.

Article: She Wanted a Scholarship. Now She’s the Face of Women’s College Basketball

Finally, the story of one lucky college basketball gambler who turned a single $25 parlay bet into more than $237,000. We call him the Parlay King of New Jersey.

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Deshaun Watson Report with NYT’s Jenny Vrentas Mar 23, 2022

Show notes

With DeShaun Watson being traded to the Cleveland Browns, former Sports Illustrated staffer Jenny Vrentas, now a reporter for The New York Times, walks us through her reporting on the controversial quarterback and the allegations of sexual misconduct made against him.

SI Daily Cover: A Massage Therapist on Her Session With Deshaun Watson

SI Daily Cover: The Problems in the Deshaun Watson Cases Go Beyond Deshaun Watson

Jenny Vrentas’s reporting for The New York Times

After Russia invaded, thousands of Ukrainians who weren’t in the armed forces took up arms to defend their country—including several current and former professional athletes. One of them was recently retired tennis star Sergiy Stakhovsky. We spoke with Stakhovsky, as well as SI senior writer Jon Wertheim, about what it’s been like for Ukrainian athletes who’ve joined the fight.

SI Article: Alex Dolgopolov, From ATP to Defending Ukraine: ‘Maybe I’ll Be Killed, Maybe I Have to Kill’

Finally, NFL Hall of Famer Jerry Rice stops by to tell us about all the times he graced the cover of Sports Illustrated, his new SI NFTs and what it’s like to be the GOAT after all the years.

SI’s first NFT collection featuring Jerry Rice

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