ESPN Daily

For Washington Commanders fans, the Daniel Snyder ownership era was a brutal 24-year stretch. The once proud franchise became a laughingstock both on the football field and off, as the NFL and Congress launched various investigations into misconduct, sexual harassment, and financial improprieties. 

Then in 2023, financial executive Josh Harris bought the team and oversaw its decision to draft budding superstar quarterback Jayden Daniels. Even with close losses to good teams over the last two weeks, optimism in the nation’s capital is at its highest level in decades. 

Actor Jeffery Wright has lived that story. The Emmy, Tony and Golden Globe Award-winning performer has not only been rooting for the burgundy and gold since the Nixon administration, but also grew up with Josh Harris. And that made him the perfect person to help our resident D.C. native Clinton Yates explore a complicated relationship with the Commanders. 

Today, we dig into all that, as well as Wright’s love for Arsenal, his days as a Lacrosse player, and his new TV series “The Agency.”

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

11 weeks into the NFL season, playoff possibilities are starting to take shape.

But who has a shot at each conferences’ coveted Number 1 seed?

It's the envious position every team desires as it ensures not only an extra week of rest and recovery when the playoffs start, but also home field advantage all the way through the conference championship round. That would be the easy road to Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans.

So today, we are joined by our intrepid NFL expert Bill Barnwell, who looks at every squad that could take the top spot, but he also saves room on his plate for another serving of Tommy Cutlets.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A generation later, the images of one of the worst scenes to ever take place in an NBA arena are still shocking. A cup full of liquid hurtling through the air, striking Indiana Pacers small forward Ron Artest, and setting off a powder keg - as coaches, security, members of the Pacers, and fans came to blows in the stands, the tunnel, and on the court itself.

When the bad blood between the Pacers and rival Detroit Pistons boiled over in Auburn Hills, it was impossible to ignore the sight of mostly black players clashing with mostly white fans. And elements around the NBA used the ugly night, and fear that it caused, to force changes in the NBA dress code that could only be called draconian today.

So Andscape senior writer David Dennis Jr. joins Clinton Yates to remember how it all went down, and explore how it changed the NBA forever.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

There was a lot of action across the NFL in week 11. And games ending on blocked field goals in back to back weeks was just the tip of the iceberg. 

Because even as the Chicago Bears failed to end their now 11 game losing streak against the Green Bay Packers at Soldier Field, we also saw Jared Goff, Amon-Ra St. Brown, David Montgomery, Jahmyr Gibbs and the rest of the Detroit Lions put up a league high 52 points on a hapless Jacksonville Jaguars team missing Trevor Lawrence.

In one of Sunday’s marquee matchups between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens, The Steel Curtain burst out of the past, stifling MVP front runner Lamar Jackson. While in Orchard Park, Josh Allen put on his Superman cape and handed Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce, Andy Reid and the rest of the Kansas City Chiefs their first loss of the season. So Mercury Morris and all of the 1972 Miami Dolphins can pop some champagne and relax as they remain the lone undefeated team in NFL history.

Ben Solak takes us through what stood out to him in week 11.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On Saturday night at Madison Square Garden, UFC 309 will take place, and the main event will be the long-delayed match between arguably the greatest of all time in Jon Jones and possibly the greatest heavyweight of all time in Stipe Miocic. 

Even though these two are getting all the hype, there are still plenty of questions.

Is this the fight everyone wants to see? What do these two fighters have to prove? When it’s over, will these two legends fight anymore or walk away with their legacies?

And what about interim champion, Tom Aspinall? Where does he fit into all this drama? 

To clear all this up, our combat sports expert Andreas Hale joins us to break down everything we should be watching for Saturday night and why – when it’s all said and done – we still might have more questions than answers.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In 1986, 20-year-old Mike Tyson became the youngest Heavyweight Champion ever, kicking off four years of utter dominance that made him one of the biggest icons in sports. But by the time he officially retired in 2005, it was hard to imagine ever seeing him in a ring again. So news that, in 2024, he would fight a 27-year-old Jake Paul in an officially sanctioned fight caught everyone by surprise. 

Today, Andreas Hale joins David Dennis Jr. to explain why Mike Tyson remains a fixture of sports culture and explores whether or not Friday’s bout versus Jake Paul is actually a good idea. 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Bears were already a mess coming into last Sunday’s matchup against the Patriots. But since they fell 19-3 to the hapless Pats at Soldier Field, things have gotten even worse. 

On Tuesday, head coach Matt Eberflus announced the firing of offensive coordinator Shane Waldron as one last hail mary to try and rescue this season.

Courtney Cronin covers the Bears and is here to discuss what made this team crumble and what is to come for quarterback Caleb Williams and the whole team as they face some of the best teams in the NFL in the coming weeks.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The NBA season is officially in full swing and for many it’s a start that no one could have predicted.

Who would have thought that even a few weeks into the season the Milwaukee Bucks would be fighting to stay out of the NBA cellar? Or that the Cleveland Cavaliers would be putting up numbers that King James couldn’t even muster during his reign?

And let’s not forget the Golden State Warriors, who are going back to their old championship playbook and now find themselves sitting near the top of an elite Western Conference.

But the drama by the Bay doesn’t end there, because tonight the Warriors welcome home Splash Brother Klay Thompson, who is making his first appearance in a Mavs uniform.

Brian Windhorst joins us to sort out everything we’ve seen so far and gives a sneak peek at what might be coming next.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Coming into the season, few, if any, NFL watchers would have picked the Pittsburgh Steelers and Arizona Cardinals to win their divisions. But here we are, after ten weeks of play, and both teams are in first place and control their own destiny toward a division title. For each of them, the sudden resurgence of once written-off quarterbacks have been a crucial piece of the puzzle. 

Today, Ben Solak joins Michele Steele to break down how Russell Wilson and Kyler Murray got their grooves back. Plus, the Niners get a bittersweet win, the Lions pull off the strangest of victories, and the Commanders try to make sense of costly mistakes. 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The National Women's Soccer League playoffs kick off tonight with a matchup between No. 1 Orlando Pride and No. 8 Chicago Red Stars, followed by more quarterfinal round matches on Saturday and Sunday. 

But both on and off the pitch, the NWSL has arrived in a new era. Jeff Kassouf, lead women’s soccer writer at ESPN, is here to discuss the league’s recent seismic shifts, including the players’ new collective bargaining agreement – both the unprecedented power it gives players and the ripple effect it’s creating for management. 

Plus, a preview of the game action itself, including a primer for the less-initiated into the league’s most exciting players like Temwa Chawinga and Barbra Banda, and what to watch for in the most-anticipated matchups.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices