Bryan is joined by Nora Princiotti, a few weeks before from the Super Bowl, to unpack NFL playoff media topics, ranging from Colts owner Jim Irsay potentially hiring Jeff Saturday, to Tom Brady thanking beat writers after his last game of the season (1:55). Then, ‘Wall Street Journal’ columnist Jason Gay joins to remember the legendary sports announcer Billy Packer and how his career transformed college basketball (33:18).

Host: Bryan Curtis

Guests: Nora Princiotti and Jason Gay

Associate Producer: Erika Cervantes
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Nora Princiotti on the NFL, Damar Hamlin, and Tom Brady. Plus: Jason Gay Toasts Billy Packer.

The Ringer’s Bryan Curtis and David Shoemaker catch you up on the biggest media stories, from sports to politics and everything in between.

Sports

Hello, media consumers! Bryan welcomes the Ringer’s ultimate team player, Mallory Rubin. They kick off the show by discussing the live coverage of the Trump trial deliberations (4:47). Then they discuss baseball’s place in the media lineup as networks are willing to pay $2 billion for the NBA while ESPN is trying to get out of a $540 million deal with MLB (16:12). They close with a fun discussion about Mallory’s career, which includes a chat about the things she has done a nerd culture deep dive on (33:40).

Plus, David Shoemaker Guesses the Strained-Pun Headline.

Bryan and Mallory’s conversation was recorded before the jury of the Donald Trump trial was finished deliberating.

Host: Bryan Curtis
Guest: Mallory Rubin
Producer: Brian H. Waters 
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The Strange End of the Trump Trial, Baseball’s Spot in the Sports-World Lineup, and Nerd Culture Deep Dives With Mallory Rubin

Hello, media consumers! We lost a basketball and media legend this week, the one and only Bill Walton. Bryan and David kick off the show by reading some of his quotes and discussing how he was ahead of his time (0:20). Then, they get into the current reported plan to save The Washington Post, which includes subscription tiers and additional content for superfans (10:43).

Later, in the Notebook Dump, they talk about how the NBA playoff pregame shows have added a member to the panel (32:10), the Mavericks’ “commanding” lead in the Western Conference finals (40:02), and the latest on NBA media rights and how Turner could have maintained the rights without a bidding war (42:37).
Bryan closes the show with a fun story from the movies (47:29).

Plus, the Overworked Twitter Joke of the Week and David Shoemaker Guesses the Strained-Pun Headline.

Hosts: Bryan Curtis and David Shoemaker
Producer: Brian H. Waters

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Remembering Bill Walton, Saving the Washington Post, and the Latest on the NBA Rights Scramble

Hello media consumers! We close out a busy week with two appearances! First, Howard Beck joins Bryan to discuss the NBA finalizing the rights deal (1:20), what is intriguing about NBC and Amazon’s coverage (9:30), and the NBA going back to broadcast television (18:00).

Then, Sheil Kapadia joins to discuss whether or not Charles Barkley would work with his ‘Inside the NBA’ teammates elsewhere (21:51), thoughts on ESPN’s number one announce team (25:23), ESPN’s ‘Up for Debate’ docuseries (36:55), and more.

Host: Bryan Curtis
Guests: Howard Beck and Sheil Kapadia
Producer: Brian H. Waters
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NBA Inches Closer to a Rights Deal, ESPN’s No. 1 Team, and Stephen A.’s History of Debate TV With Howard Beck and Sheil Kapadia

Last week, Bryan went to the Santa Fe International Literary Festival and was able to speak with Patrick Radden Keefe. They discussed a few things about Patrick’s career, including:

How Patrick discovered magazines in junior high school and what stood out about them (2:21)

How he pitches a story to The New Yorker today (12:20)

His attraction to crime stories (17:19)

Whether there are too many crime stories in the era of Netflix (25:07)

Write-arounds and no-access journalism (31:20)


Host: Bryan Curtis
Guest: Patrick Radden Keefe
Producer: Brian H. Waters
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Patrick Radden Keefe on Crime Stories, No-Access Journalism, Getting Tenure at The New Yorker, and Turning 'Say Nothing' Into a Series

Hello, media consumers! David kicks off the show with a fun story for you (0:40), then he and Bryan get into NBA playoff talk with the following:

How much does sports media know about Minnesota (7:05)

Anthony Edwards and Karl-Anthony Towns's reactions to being told they are supposed to lose (12:25)

Stephen A. Smith and ESPN’s love for the New York Knicks (15:01)


Later in the Notebook Dump they discuss:

Scarlett Johansson’s voice being used for AI (26:42)

Netflix and the NFL (31:00)

Cam’ron’s appearance on CNN with Abby Phillip (38:05)


Plus, the Overworked Twitter Joke of the Week and David Shoemaker Guesses the Strained-Pun Headline.
Hosts: Bryan Curtis and David Shoemaker
Producer: Brian H. Waters
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Nora Princiotti on the NFL, Damar Hamlin, and Tom Brady. Plus: Jason Gay Toasts Billy Packer.

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