Phantom Island

Ryan Nanni is joined by Sports Business Journal's Ben Portnoy to discuss how we can make sense of the steady trickle of news linking universities and conferences to private capital/equity, why investors think college sports are a good place to park millions of dollars, what schools actually plan to do with new capital, and whether this will close financial gaps between programs or widen them. Phantom Island is presented by Homefield and produced by Michael Surber.

Former UNC football player and current TarHeel247 analyst Michael Felder joins Ryan Nanni to discuss the football failures of Bill Belichick's first year in Chapel Hill. Where did the defense find improvement over the course of the season? Was the offensive failure an issue of identity or execution? What's the case for optimism in year two? And what does Felder think is the root problem that will determine whether this team ever works under Belichick? Phantom Island is presented by Homefield and produced by Michael Surber.

It's early May, which means it's the perfect time for Steven Godfrey and Ryan Nanni to sit down and scheme up a plan to build a Week 2 in college football that helps address realignment fatigue, geographic rivalries, and NFL creep. And we'll only need the cooperation of Oklahoma, Air Force, USC, Missouri, Miami, Baylor, Cal, Notre Dame, Maryland, Nebraska, Virginia Tech, and a few dozen others to make it real. No sweat!

This is a preview of the full episode, which is available to paid subscribers – go to phantomisland.show to sign up today. Phantom Island is presented by Homefield and produced by Michael Surber.

Steven Godfrey is joined by Lindsay Crosby, host of Braves Today, to discuss The Battery, the mixed-use development that opened in 2017 with retail, office space, and residences that functions as one little mini economy all benefiting the fortunes of the Atlanta Braves. What did people think of The Battery when it was announced? Why do so many other teams want their own version? And could Cobb County children one day go to Braves Elementary before growing up to buy houses from Braves Homebuilders? Phantom Island is presented by Homefield and produced by Michael Surber.

A Phantom Island subscriber asks Ryan Nanni and Steven Godfrey whether labor discussions in sports will change the way we think about the topic in the broader world, and that prompts a much longer conversation between the two about media work as advocacy, sports as an escape from the burdens of politics, and, yes, the Josh Pate interview of Trump. Phantom Island is presented by Homefield and produced by Michael Surber.

Steven Godfrey returns to take questions from Phantom Island listeners on a variety of subjects, including the Brendan Sorsby gambling saga, flag football's emergence as a college sport, the reasonable outlook for Rich Rodriguez in his second year back in Morgantown, and a partial review of Godfrey's collection of Atlanta Braves hats.

This is a preview of the full episode, which is available to paid subscribers – go to phantomisland.show to sign up today. Phantom Island is presented by Homefield and produced by Michael Surber.

Rodger Sherman, writer of Sports!, joins Ryan Nanni to discuss the sale and impending move of the Connecticut Sun to Houston, which will end nearly a quarter century of WNBA play in the Nutmeg State. How does the Sun move evoke painful memories of Hartford losing the Whalers? Statistically, where does Connecticut fall amongst other cities and states in the pro sports pecking order? And is the absence of prominent pro sports good or bad for UConn? Phantom Island is presented by Homefield and produced by Michael Surber.

Ryan Nanni sits down with Steven Godfrey to review a classic of offseason sportswriting: the coach profile. Examining the work Godfrey did interviewing coaches from James Franklin to Tom Herman to Geoff Collins, this episode explores how these pieces come together, what agendas they serve for both sides, whether you can get actual journalism from these stories, and why Godfrey eventually decided to abandon the format.

This is a preview of the full episode, which is available to paid subscribers – go to phantomisland.show to sign up today. Phantom Island is presented by Homefield and produced by Michael Surber.

Steven Godfrey is joined by Hector Diaz to discuss recent WWE Hall of Fame inductee AJ Styles and how his path in the world of wrestling reveals about the business – the fights over the "right" kind of body frame, the challenges of promoting talent outside of WWE, and the reality that all bumps count the same. Phantom Island is presented by Homefield and produced by Michael Surber.

Typically, the Single Wing is where Steven Godfrey answers questions from Phantom Island subscribers about football, the media, and life in general. But today, Ryan Nanni steps into the parasocial chair to discuss whether Indiana will be the exception or the rule, why lawyers love to get into sports media, mourning the end of being a parent to just one child, and important SEC breakfast comparisons.

This is a preview of the full episode, which is available to paid subscribers – go to phantomisland.show to sign up today. Phantom Island is presented by Homefield and produced by Michael Surber.