Simone Biles Is Back

Explicit content warning

08/14/23 • 75 min

1 Listener

Josh Levin, Stefan Fatsis, and the Atlantic’s Vann Newkirk talk about ESPN’s embrace of gambling. They also discuss the alleged suspension of Baltimore Orioles announcer Kevin Brown for alluding to the team’s recent losing seasons. Finally, Rebecca Schuman joins to assess Simone Biles’ return to competitive gymnastics.

ESPN and gambling (3:30): The Worldwide Leader makes a big bet. Is it too late?

Orioles (23:53): What are announcers allowed to say on team-owned networks?

Biles (42:49): How did she keep her comeback secret? And what should we expect from her?

Afterball (1:06:30): Stefan on Greek second-division soccer club Athens Kallithea FC, fashion, and hooliganism.

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ESPN and gambling (3:30): The Worldwide Leader makes a big bet. Is it too late?

Orioles (23:53): What are announcers allowed to say on team-owned networks?

Biles (42:49): How did she keep her comeback secret? And what should we expect from her?

Afterball (1:06:30): Stefan on Greek second-division soccer club Athens Kallithea FC, fashion, and hooliganism.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Previous Episode

The USWNT Is Out

Josh Levin and Stefan Fatsis talk about the U.S. national soccer team’s early exit from the Women’s World Cup. Slate’s Ben Mathis-Lilley also joins to discuss the huge shakeups in the Big Ten, Big 12, and Pac-12 conferences and ESPN’s Jeff Passan assesses the fallout from the Major League Baseball trade deadline. Finally, Josh interviews Wimbledon quarterfinalist Chris Eubanks.

Women’s World Cup (2:47): What went wrong for the U.S. women’s national team.

NCAA (26:01): Assessing the most significant week ever in conference realignment.

MLB (49:37): Did the Mets and Angels make the right calls at the trade deadline?

Chris Eubanks (01:07:51): A conversation with one of the most fascinating men in tennis.

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Next Episode

The Blind Side’s Blind Spots

Josh Levin and Stefan Fatsis are joined by Yahoo Sports’ Henry Bushnell to talk about Spain’s Women’s World Cup victory and the turmoil that preceded it. The New York Times’ Kurt Streeter joins to discuss the controversy over The Blind Side. Finally, ESPN’s Luis Miguel Echegaray assesses Lionel Messi’s brilliant opening month with Inter Miami.

Spain (3:27): The story behind La Roja’s World Cup win and everything that came before.

The Blind Side (28:12): Revisiting the book and the movie in light of Michael Oher’s allegations.

Messi (52:56): Could anyone have imagined that his transition to America would go this well this quickly?

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