The Lead

(Note: A few hours after we published this episode, Japan and the IOC announced that the Olympics will, in fact, be postponed until 2021.)

Yesterday, a member of the International Olympic Committee told a reporter that the 2020 Tokyo Olympics will be postponed until next year. This came a day after the IOC announced that it would make a decision within the next four weeks, and after both Canada and Australia said they would not participate in the Games if they were held this summer. The Athletic’s Matt Slater joins us to explain how the IOC has gone about making this complicated decision, how exactly a country delays an event as massive as the Olympics, and what challenges the imminent delay poses to athletes.

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Last week, Italy surpassed China as the country with the most deaths from COVID-19. Italy also happens to be a country where a number of WNBA players go in the offseason to supplement their income. The Athletic’s Alexis Mansanarez joins us to tell the story of an American player who was quarantined in Italy and attempted to get out of the country as it went into lockdown.

Read Alexis Mansanarez's story about Dearica Hamby:

https://theathletic.com/1683506/2020/03/18/i-really-want-to-go-home-wnba-players-overseas-face-unique-covid-19-concerns/?source=theleadpodcast

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With the NBA season cut short because of the coronavirus, 43-year-old Vince Carter -- the only NBA player to play in four different decades -- might have played his final game much earlier than expected. The Athletic’s Chris Kirschner joins us to look back at Carter’s high-flying career, to unpack his complicated relationship with the city of Toronto, and to walk us through what might have been his final moments in the NBA.

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There's a lot of uncertainty in baseball right now, just like every other facet of our lives. The Athletic’s Jayson Stark joins us to talk about how Major League Baseball has handled the situation with COVID-19 so far, what a delayed start could mean for the long-term relationship between players and MLB, and how the coronavirus outbreak is causing all of us to reevaluate the role of sports in our lives.

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One of the NFL’s biggest offseason questions was finally answered on Tuesday: Tom Brady is leaving New England and heading to Tampa Bay. The Athletic’s Steve Buckley joins us to talk about Brady’s unprecedented run of success with the Pats, his relationship with head coach Bill Belichick, and how New England fans should be dealing with the news of Brady's departure.

Read Steve Buckley's ode to Tom Brady:

https://theathletic.com/1680949/2020/03/17/heres-to-tom-brady-who-transformed-the-patriots-into-nfls-premier-franchise/?source=theleadpodcast

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Major League Baseball announced Monday it would postpone opening day until at least mid-May. Commissioner Rob Manfred made the announcement after the CDC on Sunday recommended gatherings of 50 people or more be canceled nationwide. According to some reports, GM's are bracing for the possibility that the season won't start until July. Even though MLB is making it sound like there’s a chance we’ll see some baseball in the near future, there are a lot of unanswered questions, like: What is going on with all of the stadium workers who sell beer and hot dogs, or who check bags and work in parking lots? What are they going to do as their livelihoods are on hold? The Athletic’s Zach Buchanan spoke to 22 stadium workers at Spring Training in Arizona about how they’re planning to get by, and he joins us to talk about what they're doing in the meantime and why promised donations from players and owners might not be such simple transactions.

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Today was supposed to be Bracket Monday. But coronavirus has shut down sports across the country and upended our lives. So, on the day when everyone would normally be filling out March Madness brackets, we are instead looking back on the 2019-2020 men’s college basketball season. The Athletic’s Seth Davis joins us to talk about the incredible upsets, the players who surprised us, and the stories that made this shortened season beautiful.

Read Seth Davis's tribute to the 2019-202 men's college basketball season:

https://theathletic.com/1673156/2020/03/12/davis-my-eulogy-for-the-wild-and-unpredictable-2019-20-season-gone-too-soon/?source=theleadpodcast

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Following the NBA's lead, MLB, the NHL and MLS all suspended or delayed their respective seasons because of coronavirus. And, in a shocking move, the NCAA canceled the men's and women's basketball tournaments. The sports world is effectively canceled for the time being. For the NBA, things could get worse before they get better. The Athletic's Sam Amick joins us to talk about how a lack of testing kits is creating more problems for the NBA, how long this suspension of games could drag on, and what the economic implications are for players and owners.

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The NBA has suspended all games until further notice after Utah Jazz star Rudy Gobert tested positive for the coronavirus. We recap how one of the most historic days in sports history unfolded at breakneck speed, and are joined by The Athletic's Joe Vardon to discuss how the NBA abruptly changed its position after Gobert tested positive and what comes next for the league and its players.

(Note: Gobert's teammate Donovan Mitchell has reportedly tested positive for the coronavirus as well. It's unclear at this time who the NBA's "patient zero" actually is.)

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As the coronavirus continues to spread, more and more sporting events are being canceled or postponed. There is now a possibility that NCAA Tournament games could be played without fans. But it turns out, this has happened before. The Athletic's Dana O'Neil joins us to discuss a 1989 measles outbreak that caused conference tourney games to be played in empty arenas, what that was like for players, and how TV broadcasters found a way to have some fun in a tough situation (hint: cardboard cutouts were involved).

Read Dana O'Neil's story about the 1989 Siena Saints:

https://theathletic.com/1658080/2020/03/06/a-disease-forcing-tourney-games-to-be-played-in-empty-arenas-its-happened/?source=theleadpodcast

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