The Lead

With fans back in the stands during the 2021 MLB season, we’ve seen the return of one of baseball’s most unique traditions: fans interacting with outfielders while they’re playing in the field. However, as fun as these interactions can be, there are times that the dynamic turns dangerous, like the incident this year where a fan threw a baseball at Red Sox outfielder Alex Verdugo. Today, we’re joined by The Athletic’s Eno Sarris to discuss why these interactions are a double-edged sword, and whether they should ultimately be a part of the game.

Read Eno Sarris’s full story about outfielder-fan interactions: https://theathletic.com/2754023/2021/08/19/carne-asada-fries-pizza-bird-legs-the-unexpected-potential-of-outfield-fan-interactions/?source=theleadpodcast

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In late June, the college sports landscape changed forever when the NCAA's Board of Governors voted to allow student athletes to profit from their name, image and likeness -- or NIL. Notre Dame star safety Kyle Hamilton and his family have wasted no time in exploring what this new reality means for his ability to build a brand before he even enters the NFL as potential top-10 pick. Today The Athletic's Pete Sampson takes us inside Hamilton's new life as both a football player and a trailblazer in the new world of NIL and college athletics.

Read Pete Sampson's story about Kyle Hamilton here: https://theathletic.com/2754680/2021/08/06/inside-kyle-hamilton-inc-notre-dame-stars-unofficial-family-startup/ 

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In her early teens, Morgan Stickney was a highly accomplished swimmer who had a legitimate shot at the Olympics. Then came a mysterious series of injuries that upended her life and left doctors across the country scratching their heads. Now, a decade later, Morgan is one of the U.S.‘s top swimmers and a favorite to win gold at the Tokyo Paralympics.

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For a lot of fans, the first thing that comes to mind with minor league baseball is family fun, goofy promotions and generally just an all-around happy environment. However, in 2021, the reality for the players — especially when it comes to finances — is a lot more bleak. The Athletic's Britt Ghiroli recently reported on the squalor that many minor leaguers have been living in, from roach infestations to sometimes sleeping out of cars. Today, she joins us to discuss why this is reaching a boiling point in 2021, and what can ultimately be done about it.

Read Britt Ghiroli’s full story about minor league baseball living conditions: https://theathletic.com/2750280/2021/08/05/cockroaches-car-camping-poverty-wages-why-are-minor-leaguers-living-in-squalor/?source=theleadpodcast 

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A year ago, Tyler Gilbert was a minor league castoff who had returned to his hometown to train with his high school baseball coach and to work with his dad, who is an electrician. Then, this past weekend, against all odds, Gilbert threw a no-hitter for the Arizona Diamondbacks in his first major league start -- a feat that has been accomplished by only three other people in history. Zach Buchanan, who covers the Diamondbacks for The Athletic, joins us to discuss how Gilbert's incredible 180 came about, where he goes from here, and the scout who saw something special in Gilbert where others did not.

Read Zach Buchanan's full story about Tyler Gilbert:

https://theathletic.com/2771005/2021/08/15/there-was-never-a-doubt-how-diamondbacks-rookie-tyler-gilbert-went-from-nobody-to-no-hitter/

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Nothing determines an NFL team's success more than the guy who lines up under center. But one of the trickiest things in the sport is figuring out which guys can really move the needle. For the past eight years, The Athletic's Mike Sando has polled coaches, general managers, and other decision makers from around the league to rank the NFL's best (and worst) quarterbacks. He joins us today to share some of the insights he gained from talking to these people and gives us his best guess as to which one of the incoming rookie quarterbacks could be a difference maker for his team in year one.

Read Mike Sando's Quarterback Tiers story here: https://theathletic.com/2727336/2021/07/28/2021-nfl-quarterback-tiers-50-coaches-and-evaluators-rank-the-leagues-starters/

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The Carolina Panthers are hoping to make some noise in the NFC South this season, and one key component to their success is their dynamic young defensive end, Brian Burns. As it turns out, Burns’s development has been fueled in part by his older brother, Stanley McClover, who endured a difficult stretch after his own NFL career ended. Today, The Athletic’s Joe Person has the story of how McClover helped his brother make it to the NFL, and found new purpose for himself along the way.

Follow Joe Person’s coverage of the Panthers: https://theathletic.com/author/joseph-person/?source=theleadpodcast

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The second season of Ted Lasso is now underway, and that means we’re all being treated to more hilarious scenes of Jason Sudeikis’s signature coaching character and his unyielding positivity. Earlier this year, The Athletic’s Rustin Dodd tracked down the real life coach who inspired Sudeikis's Lasso character, at least in part, and he joined us to talk about the coach and the impact he had on Sudeikis's life. (This episode first aired on March 18, 2021.)

Read Rustin Dodd's full story about Ted Lasso:

https://theathletic.com/2430910/2021/03/15/ted-lasso-jason-sudeikis-coach-kansas/

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At the Tokyo Olympics last week, U.S. track and field star Allyson Felix won gold in the women’s 4 x 400 meter relay, making her the most decorated American track and field athlete ever. Today, we’re replaying an episode that aired in the buildup to the Games. Tiffany spoke with The Athletic’s Kavitha Davidson (our very own former co-host!) about how Allyson Felix experienced an awakening through her high-profile fallout with Nike two years ago, going from an eyes-on-the-prize athletes to an advocate for mothers, and where she hopes to go next with her career.

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The word out of the San Francisco 49ers training camp is that rookie quarterback Trey Lance has been looking good, and head coach Kyle Shanahan recently said that the former North Dakota State star will definitely be getting minutes this year. So, today, we’re replaying an episode that first aired back in May, shortly after Lance was, somewhat surprisingly, drafted 3rd overall by the 49ers. The Athletic’s Dan Hayes traveled to Trey’s hometown of Marshall, Minnesota, and he joined us to talk about the town that a frozen food company built, why Trey’s talents were overlooked for so long in high school and college, and what his joining the 49ers meant to people back home.

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