It’s Super Bowl weekend and the co-hosts are back with a new episode of the Sports is to Life Podcast. This episode begins with Smiley conquering one of his greatest fears, and Courtney trying her best not to laugh at him and be encouraging. Then the hosts tackle the NBA and fans behaving badly, a topic that should not be a thing during a GLOBAL PANDEMIC. At what point do fans realize that they should just be grateful to be outside their houses and at a game? Do better ‘Courtside Karen’.

 

Smiley and Courtney tackle Super Bowl all the storylines around the big game, on and off the field. With a Chiefs win, does that mean that Tom Brady is officially passing the torch to Patrick Mahomes? Or has it already happened? They also dive into the gender and racial diversity. Sarah Thomas will be the first woman to officiate a Super Bowl. Lori Locust, Maral Javadifar, Byron Leftwich, Todd Bowles, Eric Bienemy all on the sidelines. We give our predictions at the end with Courtney's faith in her favorite team hinges on Bruce Arians' hiring decisions.

 

Finally, Courtney shares a few memories from her time with the North Texas Super Bowl XLV Host Committee a decade ago. Smiley talks about his amateur golf tournament debut and gives a shoutout to the EST of WWE Bianca Belair after her Royal Rumble victory last Sunday.

We are back with rants and more of the intersection of sports and life  with the first show of 2021. We kick it off with updates on #momlife and catch up on all the recent happenings in the sports world.

 

Smiley & Courtney talk about the latest impacts of COVID-19 on the sports world: the NFL playoffs, the College Football Playoff, the NBA, WWE and college basketball. They also recap the College Football Playoff semifinals between Clemson / Ohio State and Alabama / Notre Dame. Specifically, a rant about Dabo Swinney and the Fighting Irish 0-7 record in New Year's Six games.

 

Finally, Smiley shares his experience volunteering at the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl for the 9th consecutive year. This is the first sporting event either host has worked during the COVID era. In other Jacksonville news, the host discuss the Jaguars "winning" the #1 pick in the 2021 NFL Draft - the Trevor Lawrence sweepstakes. This leads to another rant... about potential head coaches for the team, unfortunately including one Urban Meyer.

We are back... just for a short while! Smiley and Courtney give some exciting updates on their lives and let y’all know what to expect from the podcast over the next couple of months.

 

Then they dive into the all the changes in the world of sports since they last chatted. From Courtney’s Lakers winning the wacky in the bubble 2019-2020 NBA Championship. Then they chat about the World Series and how the MLB handled the aftermath of the Dodgers win.

 

The rest of the show is dominated by football conversation... from college football and the current state of Florida State (spoiler - it’s not good), updates on the B10 and Pac 12 returning to the gridiron.

 

Then of course, the hosts talk the NFL, from COVID cases to the Jags and Courtney’s least favorite players on her favorite teams...

 

Thank you to all of our listeners who have continued to hang out with us during these crazy times.

We are back... life is hectic for both of the co-hosts and well, sports news has been trickling in, but sports are back and so are we!

 

In this episode, Smiley and Courtney start with the inevitable name change of the Washington Football Team. After what seems like a million years, the team is dropping the racial slur as their nickname and entering the 21st century. Of course, it wasn't an altruistic change. The sponsors hit the team where it hurt: their pockets.

 

This show is all about bubbles! The ones that work in sports: NBA,WNBA, MLS, NWSL, and those who forgot how this virus works and didn’t setup a bubble: MLB, NFL, NCAA. 

 

Oh, and pay attention to the ‘Life’ segment, because Courtney finally provides a convincing argument that Smiley is forced to agree with.

 

Plus, the Astros keep getting plunked, and Roy Jones Jr. is going to fight Mike Tyson, now in November.

Welcome back. Smiley and Courtney are back after an extended break because, well, the sports world continued to be upended by the COVID-19 virus and frankly, there really wasn't much news. Plus, life was a bit off the rails between quarantine, home school and working full time.

 

In this episode, the co-hosts run down all the major sports plans to return. Starting with NBA and MLS heading down to Courtney's old stomping grounds at the ESPN Wide World of Sports at the Walt Disney World Resort (check out the brand language). With the number of basketball courts and soccer fields available on property - it is really the most magical place on earth. It works because Disney's goal is to keep guests on property from the time they arrive until they leave, so in this case it looks like they will achieve it. 

 

The MLB is still working through the logistics and the business of a sport... aka the money. The league and the union are still trying to negotiate the start of the season - even though the draft happened last week.

 

The WNBA is working on a shortened 22-game season at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida - less than two hours from Walt Disney World as well.

 

Finally, Smiley and Courtney discuss the uncomfortable climate of the country with the events of the last few weeks. It is a bit therapeutic for them. But, the long and short of it is #BlackLivesMatter.

Sports are trying to find a way back as the world tries to open up. In this episode, the co-hosts discuss how the state's plan to reopen affect the world of sports - starting with FLORIDA. The UFC followed the WWE’s lead and held their first fight card in Smiley’s hometown - will this become a trend?

 

As the 1998 Chicago Bulls documentary The Last Dance (ie the Michael Jordan highlight reel) continues, Smiley and Courtney review episodes 7 & 8 and start to dive Into Michael Jordan’s leadership style. What is the true price of fame and greatness? What happens when you construct an image that you aren’t able to live up to? Especially when the public expects you to be a boy scout at every turn.

 

Finally, the hosts chat about the challenges the majors leagues are having on the business side of sports - payroll, gate receipts, revenues shortfalls etc. And, they close out the show announcing a new Instagram series, starting on Monday!! (check out https://www.instagram.com/sportsistolife/)

Episode 50... THANK YOU to everyone who has been with us since the beginning!! We hope that everyone is staying safe.

 

In this week’s episode, Smiley gets to go off on the WWE being designated an "essential" business by the state of Florida, Ronda Rousey and her continued difficulties with the WWE fans - basically he gets to entertain listeners with his thoughts on wrestling. 

 

Then the hosts discuss the schedule shuffling of all the major sports leagues. Who is trying to re-arrange their schedule to the fall? Who is canceling their 2020 events? And, which leagues just don’t know yet? Also, college commissioners let the highest levels of the US government know exactly what it will take for college football to begin in the fall.

 

Finally, Smiley and Courtney chat about the sports ‘appointment TV’ with the long awaited ‘The Last Dance’ documentary premiering this past weekend.

For the first time, the Sports Is To Life Podcast went LIVE on Instagram!!

Courtney and Smiley were able to find a way to survive the 2008 recession when it came to sports jobs. However, the COVID-19 virus has forever changed the job landscape. Sports ended almost a month ago. We discuss the ripple effect that the coronavirus has had on the sports industry, from the hourly and freelance employees that are the backbone of most sport organization operations, all the way to the athletes who will only receive another check or two for their skills.

Special events such as the Final Four, Wimbledon, and British Open are all cancelled for this year while the Masters and the French Open are postponed till later in the year. The work that everyone has put into the Tokyo 2020 Olympics will have to wait until 2021!

The hosts also discuss the booming esports industry now that everyone is quarantined at home, from NASCAR's e-Racing to the NBA2K Player's Tournament. Also, WrestleMania still went on with no fans despite the wrestler's blood, sweat, and tears all around the Performance Center in Orlando.

So, this is the second time Smiley and Courtney taped episode 48 of the Sports is to Life Podcast. The original show was taped on Tuesday, March 10th. While that was a great episode, the world changed within 24 hours. 

 

In this episode, the hosts yell about the Florida Senate continuing to show their incompetence, by declaring the Florida State Men’s Basketball National Championship - yea no! Also, more yelling about the US Soccer Federation continuing to get it wrong... resulting in the resignation of their CEO. Who was replaced with... wait for it, a woman. 

 

Finally, the hosts talk about the impact of the COVID-19 on the sports world and share how it’s impacting their real life.... Surprise (*sarcasm)! it’s a doozy.

Going back in time... to the Kobe memorial ceremony. Smiley and Courtney discuss the impact of the ceremony from a women's sport perspective, along with strength shown by Vanessa Bryant, and the lasting effects of Kobe’s legacy. Also, everyone's opinion that Michael Jordan’s remarks were his greatest speech ever, while he gave us permission for a new MJ crying face meme. 

 

Next is a chat about the boxing heavyweight championship fight where Deontay Wilder wore a 40 pound costume that he claims left him with ‘dead legs’ in the 7th round in his loss to Tyson Fury. 

 

Most of this episode, Smiley gets to vent his frustrations about how the Jacksonville Jaguars are run. Players are leaving left and right. The owner is making back to back London games a certainty, and Jags fans are livid. This leads into a discussion about the labor peace in the NFL, The hosts dissect the proposed collective bargaining agreement, that has since been passed by the players, who had the upper hand in negotiations. The critiques will still be valid but the deal is done until 2030. Yay for 17-game regular seasons, we guess. How long before 18?