The Lead

In April, less than a month after their team was eliminated from the 2021 NCAA tournament, eleven players from the Syracuse Women's Basketball program had announced that they would be transferring from the program -- the most of any basketball program in the country. Head coach Quentin Hillsman said it was nothing to be concerned about and indicated that the new NCAA transfer portal, which allows players to move more freely between schools, was to blame. But when The Athletic's Chantel Jennings and Dana O'Neil started speaking with former members of the program, they heard a very different, and much more troubling, explanation for the mass exodus. They join us today to explain what they found during their two-month investigation.

Read Chantel and Dana's full story:

https://theathletic.com/2678410/2021/06/29/why-the-mass-exodus-from-syracuse-womens-basketball-ego-manipulation-fear-tactics/

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The Stanley Cup Finals begin tonight, with the defending champion Tampa Bay Lightning hosting the upstart darlings of Quebec, the Montreal Canadiens. For the Lightning, all eyes will be on their superstar who missed the entire regular season, only to come back and lead them in scoring during the playoffs -- former Hart Trophy winner Nikita Kucherov. The Athletic's Joe Smith has been following the Lightning up close all season, and he joins us to discuss how Kucherov managed to regain his red hot form after five months off, what we learned about Kucherov and the Lightning during a hard-fought seven-game series against the New York Islanders, and why NHL legends like Doug Gilmour and Scotty Bowman think the Russian star is so special.

More of Joe Smith's Lightning coverage:

https://theathletic.com/author/joe-smith/

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

When Albert Pujols was released by the Angels, it seemed like it might the unceremonious end to a decorated career in Major League Baseball. Then Pujols raised eyebrows by signing with the Dodgers, a team in the National League with no designated hitter slot. People around the league wondered if Pujols had any gas left in the tank, and the man with over 670 home runs to his name has proven that he's not yet out of fuel. Today, The Athletic's Molly Knight joins us to talk about Pujols' play with the Dodgers and why his biggest impact on the team might be something that has nothing to do with the power left in his bat.

Read Molly Knight's story about Albert Pujols: https://theathletic.com/2650671/2021/06/14/the-albert-pujols-signing-is-paying-off-for-dodgers-on-the-field-in-the-clubhouse-and-in-the-stands/

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Four years ago, BIG3, the 3-on-3 basketball league founded by hip-hop artist Ice Cube and entertainment executive Jeff Kwatinetz, was rolled out amidst a healthy dose of skepticism. But now, after a year off because of the pandemic, the league is still alive and is trying to pick up steam. The Athletic's Tashan Reed recently spoke with Ice Cube, Kwatinetz, and NBA legend Clyde Drexler (BIG3's commissioner) about their hopes and goals for the league, and Tashan joins us today to discuss how BIG3 is shaking things up, and whether or not they're here for the long haul.

Read Tashan Reed's recent story about BIG3:

https://theathletic.com/2633929/2021/06/09/we-got-the-hottest-league-in-the-summer-the-big3-basketball-league-demands-to-be-taken-seriously/

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

On Monday, Raiders defensive end Carl Nassib made history by becoming the first active NFL player to publicly come out as gay. The 28-year-old Nassib, who had previously played for the Cleveland Browns and Tampa Bay Buccaneers (and who was one of the breakout stars of HBO's Hard Knocks in 2019) made the announcement in a one-minute video on Instagram. The Athletic's Steve Buckley faced many of the same questions that Nassib now faces when he came out in 2011, while working for the Boston Herald. Steve joins us today to discuss why Nassib's act was so momentous and what lessons from his own story might apply to Nassib.

Read Steve Buckley's recent column about Carl Nassib:

https://theathletic.com/2666196/2021/06/22/buckley-the-raiders-carl-nassib-makes-a-statement-not-just-for-today-but-for-tomorrow/

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The Phoenix Suns have been the most dominant team in the playoffs so far. Despite being without their star point guard, Chris Paul, due to COVID-19, the Suns won their eighth straight playoff game on Sunday in Game 1 of their Western Conference Finals matchup with the Los Angeles Clippers. The Athletic's Jovan Buha has been covering the Suns remarkable postseason run and he joins us today to talk about how good fortune, steely defending and a couple of star performers have fueled Phoenix's rise to potential NBA Championship favorites.

Read Jovan Buha's Phoenix Suns coverage here: https://theathletic.com/author/jovan-buha/

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Last week, The Athletic's Tim Cato and Sam Amick published a report about tension and dysfunction within the Dallas Mavericks caused by research and analytics expert (and former professional gambler) Haralabos Voulgaris. The report claimed that Haralabos was acting as a 'shadow GM' for the team's owner, Mark Cuban, who responded by saying that claims of internal turmoil were "total bullshit." But just a few days later, long-time general manager Donnie Nelson and head coach Rick Carlisle parted ways with the team, and the Mavs are now in search of new leadership. Today, Tim Cato joins us to break down Cuban's rationale for hiring someone with Voulgaris's background in he first place, why he rubbed many staff members and players -- especially superstar Luka Doncic -- the wrong way, and what his ongoing influence could mean for the future of the team.

Read Tim Cato and Sam Amick's story about Voulgaris and the Mavericks:

https://theathletic.com/2649806/2021/06/14/inside-the-mavericks-front-office-mark-cubans-shadow-gm-is-causing-a-rift-with-luka-doncic/

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The first week of Euro 2020 is in the books -- and what an opening week it has been. The Athletic's Adam Crawford joins us to break down some of the biggest and most fascinating storylines so far, including France's strong performance in their opening game against Germany, Cristiano Ronaldo's knack for making headlines both on and off the field, and his early picks for tournament champion and breakout star. Plus, we revisit the stunning moment where Danish star Christian Eriksen collapsed on the field, and learn the unlikely story of the two doctors who saved his life.

Read Adam Crafton's story about Christian Eriksen here and follow more of his Euro 2020 coverage here.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

NBA fans woke up to some stunning news on Wednesday, when it was announced that Phoenix Suns guard Chris Paul, who has been absolutely electric during this year's NBA Playoffs, has been put on the league's Covid protocol and is out indefinitely. And from there, more and more big news stories just kept breaking. The Athletic's Sam Amick joins us to make sense of the day that the NBA was turned upside down, and offers his insights on Kawhi Leonard's knee problem, LeBron James's casting blame on the league for player injuries, two more head coaching positions opening up, if we'll see the first woman hired as a head coach, and more.

More from Sam Amick: https://theathletic.com/author/sam-amick/

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Three years ago, the Montreal Canadiens were sitting at the bottom of the NHL standings and ripe for a rebuild. Instead of blowing up the team, GM Marc Bergevin looked West, to the expansion Vegas Golden Knights, for a different approach to constructing his roster. Now, as the Habs and Knights face off in the Stanley Cup Semifinals, the Athletic's Arpon Basu tells us how Bergevin managed to rebuild the Canadiens in the Knights’ image and why that just might have saved his job.

You can read Arpon Basu's story about the Canadiens here: https://theathletic.com/2647540/2021/06/11/a-look-at-how-the-canadiens-were-built-reveals-road-map-drawn-by-the-golden-knights/

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.