Adam Cheek's Sports Week

I sat down with VCU Gold Rush dance team captain Ryane Jones and lieutenant Zeariah Reeves to talk about their roles with the team -- from being leaders on the sidelines during the game to being the team's senior leadership outside the game.

We talk about what goes into their on-court performance -- auditions, practices, gameday prep -- and how they balance the dance team with classes. I also ask them about how they got into the art form and what the Siegel Center atmosphere is like from their vantage point, along with and how they manage keeping up with the game, staying in sync with each other on the sidelines and memorizing choreography.

Also check out my interview with one of their coaches, Christian Robb, and a conversation with the longtime coach of the team, Vicki Wells!

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Original intro/outro music created by Christina von Claparede-Crola and Justin Paciocco

My buddy Jackson Hardy joins the podcast this week to talk about Hustle, the 2022 basketball movie starring Adam Sandler! This completes a sort of Sandler / Safdies arc on the podcast, which started with The Smashing Machine, then went to Uncut Gems and Marty Supreme, and concluded with the (other) Sandler basketball film.

Jackson and I talk about how well-crafted the movie is and how it has such a pure love for the game of basketball. We talk about its setting -- Philadelphia -- and how that plays into the 76ers being the film's central team; Anthony Edwards' acting turn (just kind of playing himself); how good Juancho Hernangómez is as Bo Cruz; and the craftsmanship behind the basketball scenes.

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Original intro/outro music created by Christina von Claparede-Crola and Justin Paciocco

After a quick Seahawks-themed introduction, I sit down with VCU freshman guard Nyk Lewis to talk about his 2025-26 season and joining Phil Martelli Jr.'s squad to begin his college career (listen for us cracking up when some of his teammates stopped to offer him food during the interview).

He also talked about his thoughts on the Siegel Center's iconic atmosphere, starting a majority of the Rams' games this year and winning the Atlantic 10 Conference Rookie of the Week award multiple times early on in the season.

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Original intro/outro music created by Christina von Claparede-Crola and Justin Paciocco

SB Nation's Mark Schofield is back! We vowed that if my Seahawks and his Patriots won their respective conference title games, we'd do another podcast previewing them facing off in the Super Bowl.

We break down offense and defense for both Seattle and New England. For the Seahawks, we talk about if Sam Darnold can avoid seeing ghosts; how receiving weapons like Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Cooper Kupp can factor in; if Kenneth Walker III can carry the ground game; and how their "terrifying" defense will play a role with Leonard Williams, DeMarcus Lawrence and DROTY contender Nick Emmanwori.

For the Patriots, we discuss if Drake Maye will even be healthy; how the running game with Rhamondre Stevenson can play a part; and we also talk about the turnaround of the team under Mike Vrabel's leadership from last season to this season. We also discuss how Super Bowl parties this Sunday should be renamed "Adam Cheek's Five-Hour Nervous Breakdown" instead.

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Original intro/outro music created by Christina von Claparede-Crola and Justin Paciocco 

My friend Brandon Shillingford is back on the podcast for the Sports Movie Showcase's third straight Safdie spotlight!

This time, we look at Josh Safdie's solo directorial venture from 2025 Marty Supreme, which scored nine Oscar nominations. We talk about Timothée Chalamet's lead performance and if it can land him the Oscar, Safdie's trademark anxiety-inducing direction, the table tennis scenes and the Safides as sports-movie directors.

We also talk the Oscar nominations at large, get sidetracked a bunch and a lot more.

Stay tuned for Brandon's work with Exposure Cinema and showings at Studio Two Three and other spots around Richmond!

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Original intro/outro music created by Christina von Claparede-Crola and Justin Paciocco 

One of my favorite and most recurring guests is SB Nation's Mark Schofield, who is back on the podcast ahead of conference championship weekend in the NFL!

As he's a Patriots fan and I'm a Seahawks fan, we give our predictions for how our teams will do this weekend, and look ahead to Super Bowl LX. We talk about whether the Seahawks can keep their best-team-in-the-NFL status and the domination going; if Matthew Stafford's veteran status can help the Rams win out; if the Patriots can avoid a massive upset in Denver; and if Jarrett Stidham and the Broncos can pull off what seems like the impossible.

We also discuss how each of the four potential Super Bowl matchups will shake out, Sam Darnold's incredible comeback arc and break down the current silly season of coaching moves so far.

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Original intro/outro music created by Christina von Claparede-Crola and Justin Paciocco 

I sat down with my friend Christina von Claparede-Crola -- aka Christina Louise in the Richmond music scene -- to talk about her upcoming single, "Half-Smoked Cigarettes," her Jan. 19 release show at Révéler in Carytown and being a part of the Richmond music scene since 2018.

This is in collaboration with Richmond Magazine; I wrote about Christina's new song and show for the magazine's January issue (pick up a copy or read the article below!) and they allowed me to publish the full interview as part of the podcast.

We also discuss Christina's songwriting process, how "Half-Smoked Cigarettes" took form, playing gigs throughout 2025, her goals & much more 🎵

Read the Richmond Magazine piece

Pre-save "Half-Smoked Cigarettes"

Buy tickets to the Reveler show

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Original intro/outro music created by Christina von Claparede-Crola and Justin Paciocco 

Join me as I ramble about 100 episodes of Adam Cheek's Sports Week! I talked to some friends about how they've seen me change over the past couple years that I've been doing this podcast -- as a person, professionally, everything -- and that kind of serves as the basis for this episode.

I talk about finding the balance between work and then doing this podcast in my free time while still making time for my personal life. I also had zero clue what I was doing when I started this podcast, and I still don't, but that's totally fine and I have a great time doing it. Here's to 100 more!

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Original intro/outro music created by Christina von Claparede-Crola and Justin Paciocco 

My buddy Alex Soderstrom is back on the podcast and back for another College Football Playoff preview for the second straight year! This time, Indiana unseated Ohio State for the top seed heading into the postseason, and we've got some fun underdog teams like JMU and Tulane in the mix.

Alex and I break down the first-round matchups and the teams with byes the winners will face heading into the second round. And since he's a Georgia alum, he also details what he's seen from the Bulldogs this season and how Kirby Smart's coaching style has evolved since he covered football at UGA.

We make our predictions and give our final four teams, as well as who we think will win it all in January.

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Original intro/outro music created by Christina von Claparede-Crola and Justin Paciocco 

In a somewhat non-sports edition of the podcast, my buddy and Richmond musician Justin Paciocco sits down with me to talk about his new EP, X, and the two singles he's released from the record so far. He also talks about his career in the RVA music scene, some of his favorite venues and his upcoming release show at Révéler in early January.

Justin is also a Rams fan, and since I'm a Seahawks fan, we trade some barbs about the upcoming Seattle/LA Thursday Night Football game. And as if that wasn't enough, he's also a University of Richmond fan, so we talk about the Spiders and VCU Rams' basketball seasons so far and look ahead to the Capital City Classic.

Follow & check out Villages on Spotify

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Original intro/outro music created by Christina von Claparede-Crola and Justin Paciocco