The Lead

A couple weeks ago, the Brooklyn Nets were downplaying concerns about Kyrie Irving's vaccination status and eligibility to play this season. Then, after he was unable to play with the team during much of preseason, those questions became more persistent. And on Wednesday, Irving published a video on Instagram Live where he essentially doubled down on his commitment to not get vaccinated -- and tried to explain his reasoning. Today, as the NBA season kicks off and the Nets begin their quest for a title, The Athletic's Alex Schiffer joins us to discuss the rather confusing video, what Kyrie claims to be standing up for, and how far he is willing to take his fight.

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The Baltimore Ravens made a statement on Sunday with their demolition of the Los Angeles Chargers. And while Lamar Jackson didn't put up spectacular numbers in that game, he's evolution as a passer is fueling this Ravens run to the top of the AFC. Today, The Athletic's Jeff Zrebiec on what Jackson and the Ravens did in the off-season to take the star quarterback's game to the next level and what, if anything, Jackson can do to finally silence his doubters.

Read all of Jeff Zrebiec's Ravens coverage here: https://theathletic.com/author/jeff-zrebiec/

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On Monday, Las Vegas Raiders head coach Jon Gruden resigned after an explosive investigation by the New York Times revealed emails they described as misogynistic and homophobic. Four days later, Raiders owner Mark Davis, who famously courted Gruden for years and made him one of the wealthiest coaches in the game, still has not addressed the situation. Tashan Reed, who covers the Raiders for The Athletic, joins to discuss how the organization has handled the situation thus far, how the players are trying to move forward, and the questions that the Raiders and Davis are yet to answer. 

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The 2021 college football season has been full of twists and turns. Alabama lost to an unranked opponent for the first time in over a decade. Clemson is adrift. And Ohio State looks like it has a real fight on its hands to scrap out of a wildly competitive Big Ten East. Today, we talk with The Athletic's Stewart Mandel who tries to make sense of all the chaos and let's us know how this season could affect College Football Playoff expansion talks going forward.

Read All of Stewart Mandel's College Football Coverage: https://theathletic.com/author/stewart-mandel/

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On Sunday in Phoenix, in Game 1 of the WNBA Finals, the amazing postseason run continued for the Chicago Sky. As Game 2 approaches on Wednesday, we’re joined by The Athletic’s Chantel Jennings to look at how Chicago turned things around after a brutal start to the season, and the no-panic mentality that was instilled by veteran superstar Candace Parker.

Read Chantel Jennings’s full story about the Sky’s roller coaster season: https://theathletic.com/2880950/2021/10/10/how-did-the-sky-take-a-1-0-lead-on-the-mercury-in-the-wnba-finals-they-forged-an-identity-as-no-panic-fighters-during-regular-season-struggles/?source=theleadpodcast

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Will the NHL's biggest superstar, Connor McDavid, finally have the supporting cast he needs to bring the Stanley Cup back to Edmonton? Can the league's new expansion team, the Seattle Kraken, duplicate what the Vegas Golden Knights did in their inaugural season a few years ago? Will the Tampa Bay Lightning become the first team in nearly four decades to win three championships in a row? With the 2021-22 NHL season beginning tonight, The Athletic's Eric Duhatschek joins us to discuss all of this and more.

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Yet another English Premier League club has now been purchased by a group of Middle Eastern investors with deep ties to their country's government. In this case, the team is Newcastle United -- a club with a rich history, but plenty of recent frustration -- and a group of investors backed by the Saudi Arabian royal family. The deal was officially confirmed on Thursday. Today, James Montague, a contributing writer for The Athletic, discusses the polarizing purchase, its connection to the high-profile murder of a Saudi journalist, and his fiancee's quest to stop the sale from happening. (Note: This is an updated version of an episode that originally aired on May 27, 2020, when it first looked like the deal was going through -- it has been updated to reflect the latest developments.)

More from James Montague:

https://theathletic.com/1788335/2021/10/06/why-does-saudi-arabia-want-to-buy-newcastle-united/

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We’re just four weeks into the 2021 NFL season, but the Jacksonville Jaguars — and the Urban Meyer regime — seem to be spiraling out of control. Today, The Athletic’s Lindsay Jones on the controversy surrounding Meyer and a viral video this week, and a long history of red flags dating back to his time as a college coach at Florida and Ohio State. With the Jaguars now 0-4, how will this saga end for Meyer, team owner Shad Khan and the Jaguars franchise?

Read Lindsay Jones’s full story about Urban Meyer: https://theathletic.com/2867670/2021/10/04/jones-jaguars-gambled-on-urban-meyer-and-now-the-winless-team-is-paying-the-price/?source=theleadpodcast

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NFL players (and especially NFL linemen) have to be huge to make it in the league. But what does that mean for their lives and their bodies after they retire? The Athletic’s Jason Jones recently interviewed a number of retired players about the challenges they face after football -- including the difficulty of changing their diets and shedding pounds -- and a new program that is trying to help.

Read Jason Jones's full story:

https://theathletic.com/2843273/2021/09/27/you-have-to-retrain-your-brain-to-eat-more-vegetables-for-retired-nfl-lineman-battling-obesity-is-a-different-kind-of-fight/

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The NBA's current longest running soap opera is Ben Simmons' quest to get out of Philadelphia. And while the star forward has four years left on his deal with the Sixers, he's refused to come to training camp or relent on the trade demand he made after the team's epic flameout in last year's playoffs. Today, The Athletic's Sam Amick takes us inside the Ben Simmons saga, tells us what drove Simmons to decide his time is over in Philly, and then explains why these situations are now such a divisive issue within the NBA.

Read Sam Amick's story on Ben Simmons here: https://theathletic.com/2854156/2021/09/28/ben-simmons-believes-playing-with-joel-embiid-has-run-its-course-and-sixers-media-day-messages-fall-flat-with-him/

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