We’re hard launching this show now. A podcast about where pop culture and sports culture collide… inspired by the relationship between Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce. Culture critic and novelist Zan Romanoff and journalist and Scamfluencers senior producer Sarah Enni discuss the Stanley Cup’s adventures, the NBA draft, Joe Burrow bares his back, the NFL owes the Mucky Duck, and DUH the London shows (!!!). We also chat with pro basketball reporter Katie Heindl!

Links:

Reggie Jackson talks about returning to Rickwood field (Twitter)

Florida Panthers party hardy at Elbo Room in Fort Lauderdale after winning Stanley Cup (YouTube)

Florida Panthers star Matthew Tkachuk jumps into ocean with Stanley Cup (YouTube)

22 Things You Might Not Know About the Stanley Cup (MentalFloss)

@KeeperoftheCup (TikTok)

Everywhere the Panthers have been with the Stanley Cup since their championship win (NBC6 South Florida)

The Craziest Places the Stanley Cup Has Visited (CBS News)

How Mexican-Themed Bar La Cita Bridges L.A.'s Diverse Communities (PBS)

Tom’s One Hour Photo and Lab (Instagram)

Buck Showalter shares scouting wisdom: No full beards or pancake rears (Awful Announcing)

Zaccharie Risacher (Instagram)

Matas Buzelis survived his NBA audition. Now he’s ready for the show (SBNation)

Black Woman Says JJ Redick Called Her The N-Word During His Time At Duke; New Lakers Coach Denies Claims (Yahoo! Sports)

Fans in China use 'polite booing' for Sixers' JJ Redick (ESPN)

KENDRICK LAMAR UNITES CRIPS & BLOODS ON STAGE IN L.A.: 'THIS IS UNITY AT ITS FINEST' (Hip Hop DX)

Joe Burrow’s back (TikTok)

NFL ordered to pay over $4 billion in Sunday Ticket lawsuit: Reports (The Athletic)

The royal families (Instagram)

Travis on stage at Eras (TikTok)

Travis Kelce Talks Dating Taylor Swift + Winning Back To Back Super Bowls (YouTube)

Basketball Feelings (Substack)

Scoop Dreams (New York Magazine)

Bad Gays: Violette Morris (Apple Podcasts)

Caitlin Clark’s New Reality (The New Yorker)

The Spy Who Signed Me (30 For 30)

Diana Taurasi Kisses Seimone Augustus (YouTube)

We’re always saying the quiet part loud. A podcast about where pop culture and sports culture collide… inspired by the relationship between Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce. Culture critic and novelist Zan Romanoff and journalist and Scamfluencers senior producer Sarah Enni discuss the Drake curse, the Stanley Cup finals, the Grimace Mets, Jell-O rally shots, JJ Redick, Bill Belichick, an Around the NFL status update, Olympics + billionaires, the pending End of Eras, and a sneak peek at this week’s Patreon episode featuring Sophie Brookover.

Links:

Willie Mays Was the Greatest Baseball Player Who Ever Lived (The Ringer)

Willie Mays is a monument to an era of Black baseball gone but never forgotten (The Athletic)

Drake on Brink of $1M Bitcoin Loss as NHL and NBA Bets Sour (CoinDesk)

What’s the deal with the Grimace Shake? (Reddit)

WFAN’s Sal Licata rips Grimace for stealing Mets’ spotlight: ‘Fat, purple a**’ (Awful Announcing) 

The story behind the most famous Jell-O shots in America (Yahoo! Sports)

How Kentucky's 'Get Weird' mentality got the Wildcats to the MCWS (ESPN)

Bill Belichick Dating a 23-Year Old Cheerleader (TMZ)

Sources: Lakers hiring JJ Redick to four-year deal to coach team (ESPN)

Roger Goodell Rips ‘Below Standard’ NFL Network Broadcasts in Trial Testimony (Front Office Sports)

NFL Declined ESPN Offer to Drastically Reduce Sunday Ticket Price (Front Office Sports)

The World’s Richest Family Is About to Remake the Olympics. Here’s How (GQ)

We want to talk to people in bars about lots of things. A podcast about where pop culture and sports culture collide… inspired by the relationship between Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce. Culture critic and novelist Zan Romanoff and journalist and Scamfluencers senior producer Sarah Enni discuss the important sports stories we haven’t talked about at all, women’s basketball in the Olympics, competitive eating, what the Taylor v Billie says about the difference between pop and sports fandom… and an ongoing NFL podcast mystery.

Links:

Kyrie Irving explains why he burned sage around TD Garden court prior to Nets preseason game against Celtics (CBS Sports)

What Was Kyrie Irving Thinking? (New York Magazine)

Connor McDavid shows off ultra-modern mansion, immediately gets heckled (New York Post)

McDavid’s House is the Death Star (Reddit)

The ugly, gory, bloody secret life of NHL dentists (ESPN)

The $21 Billion Lawsuit That Could Break the NFL (Wall Street Journal)

Whatever You Think of Caitlin Clark Snub, NBC Sports Cannot Be Happy (Front Office Sports)

Dave Portnoy slams ‘unreal dumb’ Caitlin Clark 2024 Olympics snub that stunned sports world (New York Post)

Nathan’s Famous Splits From Joey Chestnut Over Vegan Hot Dog Beef (Eater)

Jamie Loftus on Joey Chestnut (TikTok

Competitive eating legend Takeru Kobayashi retires, says he no longer feels hungry (The New York Post)

Chestnut vs. Kobayashi announcement (Twitter)

Designing Niche Social Media-Driven Sports (Front Office Sports)

Mailbag for June 7, 2024 (The Squawk)

Get your vents checked everyone! (Twitter)

The Around the NFL subreddit (Reddit)

We’re releasing three different vinyl versions of this episode. A podcast about where pop culture and sports culture collide… inspired by the relationship between Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce. Culture critic and novelist Zan Romanoff and journalist and Scamfluencers senior producer Sarah Enni discuss Simone Biles, Matt and Ben OTP, Travis at the White House and Taylor in TikTok comments, the battle for Billboard dominance and the shitstorm around Catilin Clark, plus a conversation with Slate’s Scaachi Koul. 

Links:

Simone Biles’ floor routine (YouTube)

Chiles channels Beyoncé and Pucci. Biles evokes Chanel. In gymnastics, leotards bridge fashion and sport (The Athletic)

Which Could Mean Nothing (The Squawk / Substack)

MLB bans Padres’ Tucupita Marcano permanently for betting on baseball (The Athletic)

Ippei Mizuhara, ex-interpreter for Shohei Ohtani, pleads guilty (ESPN)

Travis Kelce spotted at birthday party for Taylor Swift’s BFF Jack Antonoff (Page Six)

Secret Service Says Warning to Travis Kelce That They Would 'Tase' Him Was Just 'Friendly Banter' (Exclusive) (People)

Jason Sudeikis Asks Travis Kelce When He's 'Going to Make an Honest Woman' of Taylor Swift During Big Slick Skit (People)

Taylor Swift Defends Lady Gaga Against 'Invasive' Pregnancy Rumors: She 'Doesn't Owe Anyone an Explanation'  (People)

Bills sign Olympic gold medalist wrestler Gable Steveson (The Athletic)

GABLE STEVESON CLEARS THE AIR AFTER PAST ASSAULT ALLEGATION RESURFACES (Ringside News)

Louis Rees-Zammit Takes Another Step Toward Becoming Chiefs' Best Special Teamer (KC Kingdom)

Billie Eilish and Taylor Swift Race for No. 1 (The New York Times)

Sky's Angel Reese thanks Alyssa Thomas for 'sending a message' after veteran was ejected for flagrant foul (CBS Sports)

Caitlin Clark blasts Chennedy Carter’s blatant shove on hard foul: ‘Not a basketball play’ (Page Six)

Angel Reese deserves better: Sky rookie's Caitlin Clark comment went viral for all the wrong reasons (The Sporting News)

Caitlin Clark's boyfriend and brother like tweets SLAMMING Angel Reese as WNBA beef escalates in the wake of brutal bodycheck (The Daily Mail)

Column: The latest WNBA discourse is downright messy — and it’s not about basketball (The Chicago Tribune)

The One Downside of Gender Equality in Sports (The Atlantic)

ESPN host Pat McAfee apologizes for calling Caitlin Clark ‘White b*tch’ (CNN)

Chicago Sky players harassed outside team hotel: ‘Couldn’t even step off the bus’ (The Athletic)

Scaachi Koul (Slate)

One Day We’ll All Be Dead and None of This Will Matter (Bookshop.org)

Sucker Punch (Macmillan)

In the Belly of the Barbz (Vulture)

Drake Curse and History Complete Timeline (FanDuel)

How Did Lauren Duca’s Revolution Backfire? (BuzzFeed)

Don’t Piss Off Trisha Paytas (BuzzFeed)

We're on a bye this week, so we opened up the Patreon vault and let everyone hear Professor Stephanie Burt on The Bolter! 

We find it hard not to be romantic about baseball… and the WNBA and so many sports, really. A podcast about where pop culture and sports culture collide… inspired by the relationship between Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce. Culture critic and novelist Zan Romanoff and journalist and Scamfluencers senior producer Sarah Enni discuss WAG swag, our new favorite WNBA players, update on the NCAA paying athletes, and a conversation with The Atlantic’s Kaitlyn Tiffany about the shift from obsessing about boy bands to obsessing about baseball. 

Links:

Meryl Streep (Instagram)

NHL stars' significant others continue custom jacket playoff tradition (ESPN)

Lexi LaFleur Brown (TikTok)

The NFL scheduled around Taylor Swift (Twitter)

How Big is Taylor Swift? (NY Times)

Is “Love Is Blind” a Toxic Workplace? (The New Yorker)

California Love (SLAM Magazine)

WNBA Stars in the Skims Spotlight (The New York Times)

DiJonai Carrington (Instagram)

A normal way to help someone up off the court (Twitter)

LSU star Angel Reese’s world of double-doubles, trash-talking, winning and stardom (The Athletic)

LSU's Angel Reese rejects Jill Biden's White House invite explanation: 'I don't accept that' (USA Today)

Angel Reese is Taking Her Talents to the WNBA (Vogue)

Sky rookie Angel Reese named newest owner of DC Power Football Club (The Athletic)

From Revenue Sharing to Private Equity: Breaking Down the NCAA’s Historic Week (Front Office Sports)

NCAA, Power Five Conferences Approve Settlement to Allow for Revenue Sharing (Front Office Sports)

‘A Breathtaking Lobbying Campaign’: The NCAA’s Sophisticated Effort to Save Amateurism (Front Office Sports)

Everything I Need I Get From You: How Fangirls Created the Internet As We Know It (Bookshop.org)

A Bloop and a Blast (Bookforum)

Gentle Sports Touches (Twitter)

Sean Murphy (not Mark Canha) gets hit by a pitch on the butt (TikTok)

Why the Internet Hates Amber Heard (The Atlantic)

Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend: Women Writers on Baseball (ThriftBooks)

We keep living convivially. A podcast about where pop culture and sports culture collide… inspired by the relationship between Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce. Culture critic and novelist Zan Romanoff and journalist and Scamfluencers senior producer Sarah Enni discuss Joe Burrow’s thickness, TTPD performances on Eras, sex in the Olympic Village, a billionaire using AI to exact petty vengeance, and we talk about that Tavi zine with fandom historian Allegra Rosenberg. 

Links:

Joe Burrow isn’t skipping leg, arm, or any kind of day (NBC Sports)

Tom Brady says he wouldn’t do Netflix roast again: ‘I didn’t like how it affected my kids’ (The Athletic)

Caitlin Clark’s Pro Debut: Inside the Connecticut Casino Pressure Cooker (Front Office Sports)

Jason Kelce breaks down the Twilight Saga (EXTENDED CUT) (YouTube)

‘Anti-sex’ beds have arrived at Paris Olympics — after horny athletes admit to orgies amid competition (NY Post)

Paris Olympics lifts intimacy ban for athletes and is stocking up on 300,000 condoms (CBS News)

A Stimulating History of Free Condoms at the Olympics (Mental Floss)

Will You Still Medal in the Morning? (ESPN)

The Haves and Have-Nots: How the Knicks’ Celebrity Row Works (Front Office Sports)

He’s Known for Being Petty (Vanity Fair)

New Yorkers Love to Hate Him. Can a $2.3 Billion Sphere Redeem James Dolan? (NYT)

The Veldt by Ray Bradbury

Netflix gets NFL Christmas Day games, a fire-breathing shot at its competitors (The Athletic)

Post Adolescents (T: The New York Times Style Magazine)

Fan Fiction: A Satire (mirrorball.org)

Tavi & I (Substack)

The Infinity Diaries (Rookie)

Tavi Gevinson Has More to Say About Taylor Swift (The Cut)

‘Terror Camp’ Could Be a Glimpse of the Future of Fandom and Scholarship (Atlas Obscura)

We’ve also got some Rob Gronkowski zingers. A podcast about where pop culture and sports culture collide… inspired by the relationship between Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce. Culture critic and novelist Zan Romanoff and journalist and Scamfluencers senior producer Sarah Enni discuss the Tom Brady roast, Taylor references in Kendrick v Drake, the take that Taylor’s music is now only for her most hardcore fans, and Professor Stephanie Burt is back to talk Tortured Poets! 

 Links:

‘Challengers’ and That Ending: Our Critics Have Thoughts (New York Times)

When Did Minor League Baseball Get Raunchy? (Wall Street Journal)

Tom Brady ripped by Bill Belichick, Kevin Hart, former Patriots teammates during roast (The Athletic)

The Man Who Gossiped Too Much (Vulture)

Taylor Swift adds 7 new songs to Eras Tour, plus all the other changes she's made to the show (Entertainment Weekly)

Kendrick Lamar Appears to Respond to Drake Name-Dropping Taylor Swift by Recruiting Jack Antonoff (Us Weekly)

Xian Divine (TikTok)

This is What the Internet Looks Like Now (Garbage Day)

Why Normal Music Reviews No Longer Make Sense for Taylor Swift (The New Yorker)

A Poet on Taylor Swift’s Complicated Embrace of Tortured Poets (Time)

Far from the Tree: Parents, Children, and the Search for Identity (Bookshop.org)

Call the amateurs and cut em from the team! A podcast about where pop culture and sports culture collide… inspired by the relationship between Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce. Culture critic and novelist Zan Romanoff and journalist and Scamfluencers senior producer Sarah Enni discuss MLB uniform updates, the Kelce bros sign new contracts, Tree Pain’s real name (!), free agency and draft day analysis, and an interview with journalist and TV host Chris Connelly.  

Links:

Taylor Swift Making Feature Directing Debut for Searchlight Pictures (Variety)

Nike agrees to fix the fucked-up MLB uniforms (NBC News)

Jason Kelce heading to ESPN for Monday Night Countdown pregame show role (The Athletic)

Travis Kelce signs new contract with the Chiefs (ESPN)

Calling the Masters Can Make You– Or Break You (Front Office Sports)

Travis Kelce Refers to Taylor Swift As His “Significant Other” During Patrick Mahomes’ Charity Auction Where Eras Tour Tickets Sell for $80K (Vanity Fair)

The Real Reason Taylor Swift Dresses Like That (The Cut)

There Are Plenty of Power Publicists. But Only One Works for Taylor Swift. (WSJ)

More NFL Draft Prospects Are Staying Home, and TV Networks Are Adjusting (Front Office Sports)

Tom Cruise: Winging It (Rolling Stone)

The Couch Jump That Rocked Hollywood (The Ringer)

The Crossover: 50 Years of Hip Hop and Sports (ESPN)

Taylor Swift’s Message to Joe Jonas (YouTube)

Taylor Swift feat. T-Pain, Thug Life (YouTube)

Taylor launched an album and we're launching a Patreon! A podcast about where pop culture and sports culture collide… inspired by the relationship between Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce. Culture critic and novelist Zan Romanoff and journalist and Scamfluencers senior producer Sarah Enni are in Florida!!! down bad crying at the gym!

Links:

Our Patreon!! (Patreon)

OJ Simpson: Made In America (Hulu)

Women’s Handball Players Are Fined for Rejecting Bikini Uniforms (New York Times)

Cries of Sexism Greet a Nike Olympic Reveal (New York Times)

Ryan Gosling monologue (YouTube) 

Where to Stream Barb and Star Go to Vista del Mar (Decider)

Weekend Update: Caitlin Clark on the WNBA Draft (YouTube)

Wait, Caitlin Clark Is Only Getting Paid $76,000? (Wall Street Journal) 

Ticketmaster news (Twitter)

Patrick Mahomes Is Already Thinking About His Next Super Bowl Win (Time)

New Heights hat (New Heights)

Taylor’s Coachella skirt details (Instagram)

Taylor Swift Poses for Photo with Teresa Giudice at Coachella — Taken by Reality Star's Husband Luis Ruelas! (People) 

Taylor poses with a Swastika (Reddit)

Taylor reacting to an unexpected Cruel Summer remix (Twitter)

Taylor Swift and a dog (Facebook)

Fan Fiction: A Satire (Mirrorball.org)

Taylor Swift Throws It Back, Dropping ‘Tortured Poets Department’ Easter Eggs in Song Liners (Us Weekly)

Inside Taylor Swift’s Tortured Poets Spotify Pop-Up Library (Elle)

Taylor Swift Chicago QR code mural drawing crowds in anticipation of 'Tortured Poets' release (Chicago Sun Times)

Ending a Friendship Over Taylor Swift (The Cut)