The Beat of Sports

After purchasing the Alliance of American Football and becoming the principal owner Tom Dundon made the decision this week to shut the league down. This has led to players funding their own way home, vendors and stadiums looking for money owed, and television networks scrambling for new programming. So could people go after Tom Dundon looking for money they were owed? Plus the latest with Robert Kraft and his ongoing legal situation.

Did Tom Dundon have a plan to keep the Alliance around for multiple years? He pulled the plug just weeks after being the principal owner. Reports are trickling out that the AAF and NFLPA were having discussions about trying to work together. Nothing was set in stone but the talks were happening. So what was his plan?

The collegiate career for talented freshmen Zion Williamson is over, right? In just over a month the NBA Draft Lottery will take place and it will show some of the incoming talent where they will end up playing. Marc lays out an out there scenario that if the Cavaliers or Suns end up with the first pick in the draft, maybe Zion doesn't want to play for those teams. Could he decide to return to Duke for another season rather than play for an NBA team that won't help his career.

Chris Martin played football at UCF and after he bounced around with a few NFL teams he saw an opportunity to continue his football career with the Orlando Apollos. Yesterday Chris along with his teammates was notified that the AAF is suspending operations and will need to continue playing elsewhere. Chris joined the show to talk about what yesterday was like when they were told, and what happens next for the players. He tells Marc about his experiences in the league even with the looming shadow of a shadow hanging over them the past few weeks, he also talks about how much fun he had getting the chance to play for coach Steve Spurrier. Marc asks Chris if joining the XFL is something that he and other players will consider as they look to continue playing football.

The Magic are in the thick of a battle for playoff spot and every game has become a must-win. Tonight they take on the New York Knicks, Josh Robbins from The Athletic joins the show to talk about how important this game is for Orlando. He and Marc talk about how the culture within the locker room has changed in one season. They also talk how important Khem Birch has become in the second unit.

Texas A&M has a press conference to introduce Buzz Williams as their next head coach, just one problem. He is still employed at Virginia Tech! Marc rants about how this is getting ridiculous when coaches can just leave whenever they want and in most instances have to pay a tiny buyout.

Boxing legend Evander Holyfield joins the show to talk about speaking at the Better Man Event. He talks about his decision to get into boxing at a younger age despite his mom telling him to not get hurt. He and Marc discusses the rivalries he had throughout his career and his relationship with Mike Tyson even after the biting incident. They also discuss what boxing in Madison Square Garden was like and a couple of what-if moments during his career.

The most famous sneaker in basketball this season was the one the blew out for Zion Williamson. He is expected to be the top pick in the upcoming NBA Draft and could sign the most lucrative shoe deal for a prospect of the past few seasons. Nick DePaula of ESPN who cover shoe deals and the sneaker industry joins the show to talk about why Nike isn't the only company looking to get into the Zion business and how it could lead to a large bidding war.

A few weeks from now is the Kentucky Derby but there has been a disturbing trend of news from famed track Santa Anita with the number of horses that have died there. What is causing this to happen? They have shut the track down and are investigating how this can be prevented. Joe Drape the longtime horse racing writer joins the show to talk about what is happening and how the sport can recover.

After stories came out that UCLA was interested in John Calipari to fill their coaching vacancy the University of Kentucky offered a lifetime contract. Fans all over social media screamed that because he's only won one National Championship it seems like foolish decision but Marc disagrees. He explains that for coaches like Cal, schools need to keep ponying up money because every time a job opens his name will always be floated as a potential candidate.