The Lead

The Associated Press released its new Top 25 for men’s college basketball on Monday, and for the first time in 60 years, the Top 25 has no UNC, no Kentucky, no Kansas, no UCLA — and no sign of the suddenly struggling Duke Blue Devils. Today, we’re joined by The Athletic’s Dana O’Neil to look at everything that has gone wrong for Mike Krzyzewski’s team this season, and whether they still have enough time to turn things around.

Read Dana O’Neil and Brendan Marks’s story about Duke: https://theathletic.com/2359480/2021/02/02/duke-blue-devils-ncaa-tournament-coach-k-jalen-johnson-matthew-hurt/?source=theleadpodcast

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Tom Brady is a champion once again, this time with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Bucs defense shut down Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs' offense, and Brady, Rob Gronkowski, and Leonard Fournette propelled the Bucs to a surprisingly easy 31-9 Super Bowl victory on Sunday night. The Athletic's Lindsay Jones joins us from Tampa Bay, where she watched the game live, to break down the action.

More from Lindsay Jones:

https://theathletic.com/author/lindsay-jones/

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Before this season, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers had not been to the playoffs in twelve years, and most of those seasons they weren’t even close. But now, in a remarkable turn of events, the team is heading to the Super Bowl for the first time since 2002. It might seem like a dramatic one-year turnaround, fueled entirely by the signing of Tom Brady. But the team has been quietly building toward a Super Bowl run for some time under GM Jason Licht. Today, The Athletic’s Greg Auman joins us to discuss on how Licht has rebuilt the Bucs from the ground up during his seven years at the helm, and how the team and staff he assembled helped lure Tom Brady to Tampa. Plus: What the Bucs will have to do to upset the Chiefs' juggernaut offense.

Read Greg Auman's full story about Jason Licht:

https://theathletic.com/2339835/2021/01/22/the-goat-whisperer-jason-licht-has-built-a-new-bucs-identity-around-tom-brady/?source=theleadpodcast

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In just his third season as the starting quarterback for the Kansas City Chiefs, Patrick Mahomes will face off against Tom Brady and the Buccaneers on Sunday trying to win his second straight Super Bowl title. Today, we’re joined by The Athletic’s Nate Taylor to look at why the Chiefs first fell in love with Mahomes as a young college quarterback, and how they pulled off the stunning trade to get him in the 2017 NFL Draft.

Read Nate Taylor, Mike Sando, Jayson Jenks and Dan Pompei’s story about Patrick Mahomes: https://theathletic.com/2330642/2021/01/21/chiefs-draft-trade-patrick-mahomes/?source=theleadpodcast

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Like just about everything else this year, the broadcast of Super Bowl LV will be unusual. The Athletic’s Richard Deitsch, who covers sports media, joins us to explain what to expect -- from poems, to commercials, to health care workers, to halftime entertainment -- and why he believes Tony Romo, who will doing color commentary for CBS, is the best NFL analyst of all time.

Read Richard Deitsch's interview with Tony Romo:

https://theathletic.com/2345754/2021/01/27/tony-romo-super-bowl-cbs-future-jim-nantz/?source=theleadpodcast

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The road to becoming an elite high school quarterback can be both long and expensive. So, if a kid really wants to be the next Tom Brady or Patrick Mahomes, how much should a parent expect to spend? The Athletic’s Antonio Morales recently spoke with parents of some of the country's most elite young quarterbacks to learn what they went through and whether or not they felt it was worth it. He joins us today to tell the story of one of those players, and to explain why raising a star QB doesn't necessarily have to break the bank.

Read Antonio Morales's story about raising a blue-chip quarterback:

https://theathletic.co.uk/2293170/2021/01/27/five-star-quarterback-trainer-cost/

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The Philadelphia 76ers are sitting alone at the top of the Eastern Conference, and a huge reason why has been the early-season dominance of Joel Embiid. Today, we’re joined by The Athletic’s Derek Bodner to look at how some key adjustments — and key additions — have helped bring out the big man’s best, and whether the often-injured star can potentially bring home an MVP.

Follow Derek Bodner’s coverage of the Sixers: https://theathletic.com/author/derek-bodner/?source=theleadpodcast

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One of the greatest baseball players of all time, and a civil rights icon, passed away last Friday at age 86. Today, five writers from The Athletic who knew Henry Aaron, grew up idolizing him, and drew inspiration from him join us to reflect on his incredible life and legacy.

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Last month, San Antonio Spurs assistant coach Becky Hammon made history against LeBron James and the Lakers, becoming the first woman to lead an NBA team in a regular season game. The Athletic’s Christopher Kamrani recently spoke with NBA players Hammon has coached during her time in San Antonio, as well as WNBA players she has played with, and he joins us today to talk about what makes Becky Hammon special as a coach, what Gregg Popovich sees in her, and what might come next in her coaching career.

Read Chris Kamrani's story about Becky Hammon:

https://theathletic.com/2333024/2021/01/20/becky-hammon-san-antonio-spurs-nba-coach/?source=theleadpodcast

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When Caris LeVert was dealt to the Pacers as part of the James Harden trade, his post-trade physical — usually a formality — revealed something scary: a small mass on his left kidney. Today, we’re joined by The Athletic’s Bob Kravitz to look at what’s ahead for LeVert, why the Pacers decided to still go through with the trade, and what makes him well-prepared to take on this challenge.

Read Bob Kravitz’s story about Caris LeVert: https://theathletic.com/2333015/2021/01/19/kravitz-caris-levert-approaches-health-news-as-another-bump-in-the-road/?source=theleadpodcast

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