We are less than 50 days away from the BIGGEST sporting event in the WORLD. The World Cup is coming to the US, Mexico, and Canada starting on June 11th and going until July 19th. Our crew today (Julian, Andrew, Max, and Jacob) gives an in-depth breakdown of the top teams at the tournament, a group stage preview, and a solemn brief on the state of the US Men's National Team. There are many questions answered in this behemoth of an episode, with several goodies for you to enjoy. No matter where you are, tune in for this episode and turn out for a game close to you, as this will be an unforgettable experience.

In our final episode of the semester, we look back on a great year of Against The Grain. From great takes and total misses to unforgettable quotes and memorable moments, we recap the highlights from all of last year! Tune in to hear our end-of-the-year awards segment ("The Grainies")!!

After looking inward, we turn our attention to what was an unbelievable 1st round draft night. Who were the biggest steals of the evening? Which teams reached too far? Why are Jacob's Rams getting absolutely flamed? Listen in to hear the rant of the year from Neil and much more.

In our final game of the year, team captains Seth and Neil square off in another wheel of categories duel. What happened to Garret and David's brains? I couldn't tell you.

It was a great episode. It was a great year. We'll miss the hours of preparation that went into the show each week. We'll miss getting way off topic in production meetings. We'll miss yelling at each other over egregious takes. But, most of all, we'll miss the people who helped make this a show.

Sincerely, Garret Lowe and Ian Kleppinger

As our motivation for school fades away, our excitement for sports goes on an absolute heater with the beginning of the NBA & NHL playoffs. Nothing beats this part of the year, and the crew has you covered with the best analysis and predictions set for every first-round matchup in the NBA & NHL. Who will come out of the West? Are the Lakers really nothing without Luka & Reaves? Will MJ's Knicks really make it to the NBA finals? How bad is the Pacific Division really? Will we see Seth's Wild make a cheeky run deep into the playoffs? Do the Sabres have the potential to edge out the Bruins? So many questions that will be answered in this jammed-packed episode!

Rice Baseball has been on a hot streak recently. Can they carry this momentum to take them to the top of the conference? MJ and Jacob break down an analysis for the outlook for the rest of the Owl's Season.

Oh, and we can't forget about WrestleMania (ft. iShowSpeed)! Jackson, Garret, and MJ give us a powerful preview of what people can expect to see this weekend in Houston.

Stay tuned in for a performance that would make the Hornets-Heat play-in game jealous...

On this week's episode of Against the Grain, we take a deep dive into our beloved Rice University's greatest tradition: Beer Bike! In a bold attempt to explain this borderline inconceivable event to a broader audience, we were joined by friend of the show, Sandra Alb, a captain of the Duncan College women's bike and chug teams, as well as a college beer bike coordinator. She gave us insight into race day strategy, the surprisingly intense training that goes into this slightly bizarre event, and the rarely discussed world of the week-long beer bike events and sponsorships powering each residential college through Rice's biggest tradition.

After the interview (approximately 35 minutes in), we fulfilled a long-time wish of ours to do nothing but play sports trivia games on air for an entire hour. We appointed captains a la 5th-grade recess, ran a snake draft with the entire staff, and had the two teams battle it out for a four-game series. It's not the most intellectually compelling content we've ever put out, but boy, does it have its entertaining moments. We hope you enjoy the beer bike feature and more than enough bonus shenanigans to go around, and we'll see you at 9 AM next Saturday on 96.1 FM!

Get ready for an all-basketball week! Your Against the Grain hosts give a full breakdown of each of your Final Four teams. Can Keaton Wagler keep the Illinois offense chugging amidst their defensive resurgence? Is Arizona v Michigan set to be the best Final Four game of all time? Is Dan Hurley going to chest bump a ref again? We have all these answers and more.

The gang follows up our college basketball analysis with a deep dive into the NBA. Why is Luka getting robbed of MVP this year? Can anyone overcome the Thunder of Oklahoma City? Could Wemby ascend to the best player in the world?

Finally, we finish up with our official predictions of both the men's and women's brackets! Tune in for a great show.

This episode rocks!! Rachel gives a wild statement about March Madness brackets that must be put in the record books. Our resident baseball knowers, Jacob and Seth, give a full breakdown of the upcoming MLB season (and why the Dodgers are a shoo-in). We run back the youngins (Seth & Neil) and the oldheads (Garret & Fox) in a game to be remembered (for dubious reasons).

Garret and Ian lament a brutal Nebraska loss but show love to the best fanbase in the country. Wrapping us up, Neil explains why Waddle could push the Broncos over the top, and the gang picks the NCAA tournament!

We sit down with Rice WBB senior Shelby Hayes to start off this week's episode of Against the Grain, where she gives us an inside look into the Owl squad that has now won a program record 22 straight games, a streak that dates all the way back to Thanksgiving. The crew also discusses if anyone can stop Arsenal in the Champions League, and if anyone can stop the big 3 powerhouses in college basketball: Michigan, Duke, and Arizona. Spoiler: the hometown Houston Cougars have as good a shot as anyone. Due to Rice University spring break we'll be gone for the next two weeks but will do our best to bring you a bonus March Madness preview sometime after Selection Sunday, so stay tuned for that.

Last year we never would've thought that we'd end up talking so much about hockey, but lo and behold! We also preview the upcoming World Baseball Classic and give our Owls their flowers as Swim and Dive wins their second consecutive American Conference championship and the Rice women's basketball team wins their 20th game in a row headed into the final stretch of the season. Tune in next Saturday at 9 AM to KTRU 96.1 FM for another episode of Against the Grain!

We sure do! Whether it's ski jumping, curling, the NBA tankathon, or MJ and the alleged dollar hot dog night at Rice baseball, there's plenty to talk about this week on Against the Grain. As the final weekend of the Olympics approaches, we broke down the biggest storylines and results from sports you may not have even known existed. Rice Women's Basketball goes on the road looking for their 19th straight win, and resident hoops experts David, Garret, and Fox generate their best plan to save the NBA. Stay tuned every Saturday at 9 AM on KTRU 96.1 FM for more sports news from Rice, Houston, and the world!

Do your local Whataburger employees know your name? Here at Against the Grain, they absolutely do! Today, we break down an NBA trade deadline chock-full of moves. Are people sleeping on Jared McCain to the thunder? Should you be sound-asleep on the Jaren Jackson Jr. trade? Is Grand Theft Alvarado 6 going to drop this year? We answer all these questions and take guesses at who the absolute worst front office in the league is.

If you weren't aware, there is a football game happening this Sunday. We deep dive the Gatorade color that will be dumped on the winning coach and whether we'll see heads or tails in the coin toss. We also mention Drake "Drake Maye" Maye and the ginger to end all gingers, Sam Darnold. Tune in for another episode of Absolute Cinema!

Going forward, we'll still be airing live on KTRU 96.1 FM, but our time has moved to 9 AM. I repeat, we're broadcasting live every Saturday at 9 AM. There will be no episode next week due to midterm recess, but we will be back on February 21st! Follow us @KTRU.sports on Instagram to stay in the loop!