Grading the World

Darryl pulls off the highway on his way to Vermont so we can talk Paul Riley, a Citizen Kane correction, TBIs, the MLB one-game playoffs, Candace Parker, Kyrie Irving, the true victims of anti-vaxxers, an insult to toilets, and the QB baton being passed in Foxboro. Also: Urban Meyer digs a neck-deep hole and Joe makes him a promise.

Brooklyn Harker, Sofia LaSpina, AbbyDiCenzo, the WNBA playoffs, the Ben Simmons fiasco-drama, judging The Process, five rookie QBs, a musical revelation that will change your life, and MLB's final weekend. (Just of the 2021 regular season, not for eternity. That's still at least a couple years off.)

Human, environmental, in the Giants and Red Sox front offices, in youth football, and in Joe's brain. Also: Tom Brady's HGH supplier says Bill Belichick is just another coach, the importance or lack thereof of MLB regular season series wins, and our TV watching habits and histories.

Pantsless interviews, undisciplined Giants, one game playoffs, Penn State's institutional judgment, and the bottom of the NFL barrel.

Traumatic imagery in childrens entertainment, highway robbery, the war on a woman's right to body autonomy, caring for a dying spouse, memories and the legacy of 9/11, the politicalization of public health, government conspiracies and cover-ups, the death of the American Dream, and baseball's gambling and drug scandals. 
 
• Contains adult language •

Selfish idiots (no not us), Cam Newton and NFL cuts, hanging on too long (also not us), Matt sings the Big Blue Blues, the Met fans respond to Javy Baez' thumbs down, and getting wealthy from NIL endorsements (once again, not us).

Darryl is back and we cover lots of familiar ground: COVID classroom havoc, the death of baseball, putrid UMass football, NIL implementation, Pats and Giants questions, Yankees/Red Sox, and Joe has a crabby outburst.

With Darryl still in California, Joe and Matt are joined by Nkwa Asonye of Fox61 in Hartford to celebrate breaking Jeopardy news, along with a sadder discussion of Trevor Bauer, framing athletes' mental health issues, the Malice in the Palace documentary, and back to school concerns.

With Darryl off visiting family in San Diego, fellow WMUA Sports alum Dave Hock joins Matt and Joe for corny cornfield baseball, the long-awaited draft abolition debate, and the NFL and NHL's horrendous excuses for sexual assault investigations.
 
SI article by Jenny Vrentas: https://www.si.com/nfl/2021/08/13/the-problems-with-deshaun-watson-nfl-investigation

Gendered language, Joe's new favorite Yankee, NBA moves, Olympic legacies and memories, and the Giants' implosion. Links mentioned in opening segment:https://www.forbes.com/sites/kimelsesser/2020/07/08/how-to-use-gender-neutral-language-and-why-its-important-to-try/
https://www.britishcouncil.org/voices-magazine/what-is-gendered-language
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2019/12/15/guide-how-gender-neutral-language-is-developing-around-world/
https://writingcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/gender-inclusive-language/