Vinson Cunningham and Stefan Fatsis are joined by Slate’s Jack Hamilton to talk about the NBA playoffs and the dawn of de facto free agency in college sports. Also, Kalyn Kahler of Defector discusses the NFL draft and her reporting on a rape allegation against an NFL lineman.

NBA playoffs (2:03): Giannis Antetokounmpo led the Bucks to an easy win over the Celtics. Can Boston turn it around?

College sports (25:07): Name, image, and likeness rights have quickly ushered in a new era.

NFL draft (42:26): Edge rushers and wide receivers, not quarterbacks, were the hot commodities in Vegas.

Afterball (1:05:40): Stefan on the rise of the “edge”—or it is “EDGE”?—in the NFL.

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Vinson Cunningham, Stefan Fatsis, and Josh Levin talk about the decline of the Brooklyn Nets and the rise of the New Orleans Pelicans. They also discuss Wimbledon’s decision to ban Russian and Belarusian athletes, and they review the HBO series Winning Time, on the 1980s Los Angeles Lakers.

NBA playoffs (3:55): What’s gone wrong for Brooklyn? What’s going right for New Orleans?

Wimbledon (25:34): Is there any logic to banning individual Russian athletes?

Winning Time (49:08): What the show gets right and what it gets wrong.

Afterball (1:09:52): Josh on hiding in sports.

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Vinson Cunningham, Stefan Fatsis, and Josh Levin discuss the epic Game 1 of the Nets-Celtics series. They also talk about the Minnesota Timberwolves, young playoff stars, and Brooklyn Nets owner Joe Tsai. Finally, the Ringer’s Ben Lindbergh joins for a conversation about near-perfection at the start of the baseball season.

Nets-Celtics (3:05): Jayson Tatum, Kyrie Irving, and a whole lot more.

NBA playoffs (26:39): What we’re watching this postseason.

Baseball (49:02): The sadness of two perfect games that almost were.

Afterball (1:09:34): Vinson on the Timberwolves’ spotty playoff history.

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Vinson Cunningham, Stefan Fatsis, and Josh Levin discuss the death of quarterback Dwayne Haskins. Slate’s Jim Newell also joins to discuss Tiger Woods’ dramatic return at the Masters. Finally, they assess the Los Angeles Lakers’ terrible season.

Dwayne Haskins (1:29): How should we talk about athletes who die young?

Tiger Woods (24:57): What comes after his miraculous comeback?

Lakers (47:58): What went so horribly wrong?

Afterball (1:08:17): Stefan on major leaguers who went for 7-for-7 in a single game.

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Joel Anderson, Stefan Fatsis, and Josh Levin discuss Kansas’ win over North Carolina’s in the men’s basketball title game, and the Athletic’s Chantel Jennings joins to talk about South Carolina’s win over UConn for the women’s title. Finally, they talk about Eric Church, and when it’s OK for sports to trump social and professional obligations.

NCAA men (2:21): How the Jayhawks turned it around against the Tar Heels.

NCAA women (22:16): How the Gamecocks steamrolled the Huskies.

Eric Church (46:47): Was he wrong to cancel a concert to go to the Final Four?

Afterball (1:06:51): Josh on a crazy two months in pro tennis.

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Slate’s sports podcast on the NCAA basketball tournaments and U.S. soccer. Plus, an interview with Bomani Jones.

NCAA basketball (3:26): After two weeks of upsets, it’s Duke, UNC, Kansas, and Villanova. 

World Cup (24:20): The U.S. men’s national soccer team is on the brink of qualifying after a 5-1 win over Panama.

Bomani Jones (47:33): Joel interviews ESPN personality Bomani Jones about his new HBO show, “Game Theory With Bomani Jones.”

Afterball (1:03:44): Stefan on watching last week’s U.S.-Mexico soccer game in Estadio Azteca.

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Joel Anderson, Stefan Fatsis, and Josh Levin discuss the top storylines from the men’s NCAA tournament, and they’re joined by the Athletic’s Chantel Jennings for a conversation about the women’s tournament. Finally, they talk about the Cleveland Browns’ trade for Deshaun Watson.

NCAA men (3:07): TCU’s heartbreaking loss, Cinderella Saint Peter’s, and more.

NCAA women (24:34): Why are there more upsets all of a sudden? And has the NCAA really made its tourneys more equitable?

Deshaun Watson (48:23): What should we make of the robust market for a quarterback who’s been accused of sexual misconduct?

Afterball (1:05:24): Josh on Wordle variants for sports fans.

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Joel Anderson and Josh Levin are joined by the Ringer’s Bryan Curtis to discuss Tom Brady’s unretirement and other huge quarterback news. Alex Kirshner also joins to discuss March Madness storylines and Falcons wide receiver Calvin Ridley’s suspension for betting on NFL games.

Quarterbacks (3:36): Brady back to Tampa, Russell Wilson to Denver, Deshaun Watson to … somewhere.

March Madness (23:20): What to watch out for in the men’s and women’s tournaments.

NFL and gambling (47:03): Football, betting, and “the integrity of the game.”

Afterball (1:09:06): Joel on the history of conference basketball tournaments.

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Joel Anderson, Stefan Fatsis, and Josh Levin are joined by Yahoo’s Hannah Keyser to discuss the Major League Baseball lockout. They also talk about WNBA star Brittney Griner’s detention in Russia and assess the spectacle of Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski’s final home game.

Baseball (3:28): When will the lockout end? What’s at stake?

Griner (23:16): Why was she in Russia in the first place, and what comes next for her and women’s basketball?

Coach K (46:35): Was this the perfect regular-season ending to his illustrious career?

Afterball (1:07:57): Stefan on Sports Illustrated’s profile of Lia Thomas and the anti-trans, anti-Thomas backlash.

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Stefan Fatsis, Josh Levin, and the New Yorker’s Vinson Cunningham discuss the sports world’s reaction to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. They also talk about LeBron James’ plan to play alongside his son Bronny. And ESPN’s Katie Barnes joins Stefan and Josh for a conversation about trans swimmer Lia Thomas.

Russia (2:33): What’s happened so far and what should come next.

Bronny (24:25): Is LeBron putting too much pressure on his son? How good is Bronny anyway?

Lia Thomas (49:47): The UPenn swimmer is setting records amid controversy over whether she should be eligible to compete against other women.

Afterball (1:14:00): Josh on yet another basketball problem that the Elam Ending fixes.

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