With MLB ripping the As out of Oakland, Rob Manfred's chronic dickishness, the scapegoating of Pride Night and overhauling the rules of the game to solve a problem that doesn't exist, Matthew says goodbye to first sporting industry he loved

This pod has it all: Elizabeth Adetiba (Salon) on the oppression of & discussions around Caster Semenya & other intersex athletes from the Global South, plus the tragedy of the death of Tori Bowie; Man City's triumph & the anxiety it produces for some; hooray for the Denver Nuggets; the WNBA fails Brittany Griner for the second time; and there are no winners in the PGA/LIV merger, only -- truly -- losers.

Jonah Birch returns to the pod for a special reunion episode, recorded right after the Celtics won on the road to force a Game 7 back in Boston -- during the Philadelphia series, not Miami. We wanted to give you Jonah at his most optimistic, during his golden hour. M & J talk basketball and a bit of this and that in their first show together since Henry Kissinger died. Wait. He's still alive? Man, fuck that guy.

Acclaimed writer Frankie de la Cretaz joins the show to talk about intersections of gender, sexuality and sports. Why is Lia Thomas posed by some as a threat to women's swimming while Katie Ledecky isn't? What elements specific to swimming make it such fertile ground for transphobia? How is the Biden Administration trying to have its cake & eat it while doing nothing to protect young trans athletes? What part is the NFL not saying out loud as it invests millions of dollars in women's flag football while women's tackle football remains undersupported and unregulated? Can women's sports grow in a meaningfully positive way if we measure their progress by capitalist benchmarks? Tune in & find out.

Katie Heindl hops on to talk hoops, namely: James Harden & whether he has anything to prove; the FedExForum back door hitting Dillon Brooks' ass on the way out; why even Knicks fans can love Jimmy Butler; how the Big 3 Nets were the Fyre Festival; why sports fans may hold different standards toward their heroes' crimes than fans of other entertainers; how the growth of women's basketball is -- and isn't -- like shoulder pads; and when it's appropriate to lowercase a certain word.

Former D1 goalkeeper & current D1 coach Christina Sarokon joins the pod to talk about what it's like growing up as an elite athlete: how soccer came into her life, when she first knew she had a special talent, the challenges with transitioning from sports-as-fun to sports-as-your-whole-life, the challenges transitioning from being the best player on every team you've ever played for to one of many talented players in college, what led her to pursue coaching & what's different about the game today than when she played. Plus Matthew gushes (just a bit) about Man City beating Arsenal and the latest on the NBA playoffs!

Gaming law & sports betting attorney Daniel Wallach joins the pod as we discuss how:

* Dominion could've/should've held out for a bigger settlement with Fox

* the corrupt stankness of Daniel Snyder has infested the process of selling the Washington Commanders

* a gambling scandal halfway around the world could foreshadow a come-to-Jesus future for American sports leagues & gambling

* the "world's most famous arena" grows poorer as its bottom line grows richer

Plus an overview of the NBA playoffs to date. If you've ever hated the moment an interesting conversation takes a turn for the worse after someone says "I'm not a lawyer, but," this is the show for you. With an actual lawyer. Who knows of what he speaks!

Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic joins to discuss details of the new NBA/NBAPA CBA, including but not limited to: players being eligible to invest in NBA & WNBA teams -- but not directly; the new medical requirement of prospective employees (potential draftees) at the combine; and the new In-Season Tournament. We also talk about Steph Curry's newest deal with Under Armour, whether the NBA might punish the Dallas Mavericks for tanking the last two games and what Mike's looking forward to once the playoffs start.

In this episode: how a fan cursing out Bradley Beal after losing a bet is the canary in the coal mine for the dark side of sports gambling; why this may be the Golden Age of women's sports, and not in a good way; how Mets owner Steve Cohen is like the new vampires in Blade 2; a good deed by a sports owner!; and celebrating a W for labor at Temple University.

On a cold and cloudy winter's day, Brian Menéndez (Baseball Prospectus) stops by to talk baseball, the game that foreshadows summer and warmth. Which World Baseball Classic players have caught his eye? Do our personal politics influence how we root in international competition? Who's the best team? (hint: it rhymes with Lapan) What MLB rule changes do we like, not like and just plain not get? Is Trevor Bauer signing with Yokohama in the Japanese league a sign that MLB's anti-sexual assault policy is working? Or isn't? Or does it not say anything about it, either way? Plus what is something totally legal and ethically righteous Steve Cohen could do that would drive the other owners out of their minds? Listen and learn!