ESPN Daily

By the time the end of the year rolls around, it’s easy to forget what has gone down in the previous 365-ish days. A story that felt like the center of the world in February, is lost to the passing of time as winter turns to spring turns to summer turns to fall turns to winter. But don’t fear, because today Michele Steele, David Dennis Jr., and Greg Wyshysnki hand out their awards for the biggest and best sports stories of the year. Check out the playlist, featuring our favorite stories of 2024. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As the NFL season heads into its final few weeks, the jockeying for playoff position is getting more intense. There are three teams grouped at the top of the NFC, and with the Lions and Vikings poised to face off in week 18, and the Eagles coming off a tough loss in Washington on Sunday, it looks like the road through the NFC could run through the north. Meanwhile in the AFC, the Chiefs and Bills held serve. Buffalo survived an early scare from the Patriots, and Kansas City scared us all by taking no precautions with Patrick Mahomes against the Texans (of course it worked out). So today ESPN sports analytics writer Seth Walder and Ben Solak dig into the numbers to explain all of the postseason machinations in play. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After months of games, upsets, rankings, arguments and prognostications – the College Football Playoff is finally here. And tonight the race for the national championship starts in earnest in the heart of college football: Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Indiana. That showdown between Indiana and Notre Dame is just an appetizer for a full meal of games this weekend that could somehow create more questions than answers as we enter year one of this new 12-team bracket. So today, our intrepid expert Ryan McGee joins us to break down the first round and beyond in the CFP and also tells us why he hopes we will soon say bye-bye to all these byes. Check out the playlist, featuring our favorite stories of 2024. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The 1970s were a tough decade for the New York Jets. After winning the Super Bowl in 1969, they quickly became the laughing stock in the NFL, unable to post a single winning season throughout the decade. But in 1981, four promising young defensive lineman changed everything. Mark Gastineau, Adbul Salaam, Marty Lyons and Joe Klecko became such a prolific force on the Jets defense that they earned the moniker ‘The New York Sack Exchange’. These players are the subject of the newest ESPN 30 for 30 Film 'The New York Sack Exchange' which debuted last Friday, and is available right now on ESPN +. Today Rich Cimini, a Jets beat reporter for ESPN, and a lifelong Long Islander, gives host David Dennis Jr. the inside scoop on the New York Sack Exchange. He describes the interpersonal tension that brewed alongside their incredible success on the field, and explores a legacy that persists to this day. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It's hard to believe that Indiana, which has lost more college football games than any other FBS program, has earned a spot in the inaugural twelve team college football playoff. And no matter what happens in their instate showdown with Notre Dame Friday night, it's already been a dream season for head coach Curt Cignetti and the Hoosiers. A decade ago, Cignetti made a risky bet on himself, moving from a title-winning assistant role under Nick Saban at Alabama to head coach at little-known IU-Pennsylvania. But now his confident style has completely changed the culture in Bloomington. Today, Adam Rittenberg joins Harry Lyles Jr. to introduce us to the man himself and explain how Cignetti’s already thinking far past this season, with a vision to make Indiana a powerhouse for years to come. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It started out as a rumor — one that most people thought was a joke — but now it’s all very, very real: Bill Belichick is the new head coach of the University of North Carolina football team. Just what would make someone with eight Super Bowl rings decide that an ACC afterthought should be the next stop in his career? And while many people could argue that the transfer portal and NIL deals are making the college game look more like the NFL every year, there is still one more important question: Can someone with a notoriously frigid demeanor handle the glad-handing and booster-hugging world of NCAA football? Ryan McGee joins host David Dennis, Jr. to answer all those questions and to spell out just what a Belchick Era in Chapel Hill might look like and also to remind everyone that there’s nowhere to go but up for a team that hasn’t really mattered for over a century. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After 15 weeks of NFL football, the playoff picture is becoming more clear. But almost as important as who is going to get in, is how they are going to get there. We saw both the Kansas City Chiefs and Seattle Seahawks finish their games with questions about the health of their signal callers. While in Detroit, the Lions, already seriously injured on defense, suffered through more pain in a loss to the Buffalo Bills. But that’s what happens at this time of year. Nobody is playing healthy. Except for Ben Solak and ESPN sports analytics writer Seth Walder. Ben switches into the hosts chair, while Seth subs in as guest. The pair make sure you understand how the action unfolded on Sunday, and why it went down the way that it did. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Few rivalries are as bitter as the ones that exist between two teams in one city. Ask New York Mets fans and New York Yankees fans, where the hatred can divide households. Or Chicago Cubs and Chicago White Sox fans whose team alliances mix with the pride in their neighborhoods. While out west, Los Angeles Lakers fans play the big brother, to their neglected stepsiblings, Los Angeles Clippers fans. Well across the pond on Sunday, in the United Kingdom, Manchester will be the site of one of those rivalries as Manchester United and Manchester City will meet in the Manchester Derby for the 195th time. Today Luis Miguel Echegaray, himself a former resident of the U.K., describes how these two clubs have defined the city for decades, and explores the modern challenges each of them are facing on and off the pitch, before explaining to Michele Steele how Liverpool is perched atop the Premier League standings, happy with whatever outcome emerges. You can honor Jim Valvano and support ESPN’s V Week with a donation to the V Foundation for Cancer Research. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In 2008, Lisa Salters reported an E60 documentary called Blood Brothers about the family of former NBA star Carlos Boozer and their quest to save their son, Carmani, from sickle cell disease. But it turns out that journey was just the tip of the iceberg, because in April of this year — 16 years later — Blood Brothers was back on for a very different reason. ESPN NBA Draft Analyst Jonathan Givony joins host David Dennis, Jr. to take us through Lisa and E60’s reporting from 2008 and April of this year, and explain how a story of medical triumph ultimately landed in his own jurisdiction as the Boozer’s younger sons, twins Cameron and Cayden Boozer, became top NBA draft prospects. You can honor Jim Valvano and support ESPN’s V Week with a donation to the V Foundation for Cancer Research. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The field for the College Football Playoff is set and with a new expanded 12-team format, this looks to be the most exciting path to the title that we have ever seen. And as we are quickly reminded, no matter how big the playoff bracket gets, someone is always going to be left out, and that someone is always going to have something to say about it. But what about those other 36 bowls? The ones that have nothing to do with winning a national title? Are they nothing more than a big show of pomp, circumstance and giant Pop Tarts? David Hale joins David Dennis Jr. to tell us what we can expect to see this bowl season, and beyond, as college football, in its second century of tradition, is evolving faster than it ever has. You can honor Jim Valvano and support ESPN’s V Week with a donation to the V Foundation for Cancer Research. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Emirates NBA Cup is now in year two and we're all still trying to feel out what place it will take in the league’s attention economy. But one thing is clear –– nearly everyone is thrilled to have some bigger stakes on the table this early in the NBA season. Are the Oklahoma City Thunder ready to avenge their playoff elimination against the Dallas Mavericks? Can the New York Knicks prove their new offense-first approach to be a winning formula? Are Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors ready to contend for another title? With the cup quarterfinals happening Tuesday and Wednesday, Tim Bontemps joins David Dennis Jr. to preview what to watch for and why this week will give us our biggest indication yet as to which contenders are for real. Tue, Dec. 10 Magic vs. Bucks | 7 p.m. ET (TNT) Mavericks vs. Thunder | 9:30 p.m. ET (TNT) Wed, Dec. 11 Hawks vs. Knicks | 7 p.m. ET (ESPN) Warriors vs. Rockets | 9:30 p.m. ET (TNT) You can honor Jim Valvano and support ESPN’s V Week with a donation to the V Foundation for Cancer Research. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

14 weeks into the 2024 NFL season, and the playoff picture is starting to come into focus. The Kansas City Chiefs, Buffalo Bills, Detroit Lions, and Philadelphia Eagles are in. And both the Minnesota Vikings and Pittsburgh Steelers are sure to punch their tickets to the postseason soon. In the NFC, the competition for the rest of the landscape is fierce, while in the AFC, all but one of the teams currently slated for the playoffs has more than a 90% chance of making it in. So today, Michele Steele and Ben Solak break down how the teams that are in got there, and what everyone else needs to do in order to have a shot. You can honor Jim Valvano and support ESPN’s V Week with a donation to the V Foundation for Cancer Research. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The 2024 Formula 1 season wraps up this weekend in Abu Dhabi and in many ways nothing is different, but at the same time, everything has changed. First off, you have Max Verstappen. The Dutch driver wrapped up his fourth straight title a couple weeks ago. But his team, Red Bull, has somehow fallen off the map. And now legendary names like McClaren and Ferrari – who haven’t won a team title in decades – have once again raced their way to the top of the standings. Now, just add a mix of reality TV magic and a little bit of Brad Pitt, and you have yourself the modern Formula 1 package. So today, Laurence Edmonson joins David Dennis Jr. to explain all the drama from the garage to the track and tells us why the resurgence of F1 is just getting started. You can honor Jim Valvano and support ESPN’s V Week with a donation to the V Foundation for Cancer Research. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In recent years MLB’s Hot Stove has been kind of lukewarm. Even with big ticket free agents on the market, the pursuit of free agents dragged well into the New Year each winter. But ESPN’s Jeff Passan tells today’s host, David Dennis Jr., that won’t be the case with Juan Soto this offseason. The transcendent lefty slugger has virtually every big market owner chasing after him with a blank checkbook, looking to change the fortunes of their team with one big transaction. And with Soto looking to find his new home by the end of next week’s winter meeting, and Scott Boras leading negotiations for him - and a bevy of other big name free agents - the dominos should start to fall soon. You can honor Jim Valvano and support ESPN’s V Week with a donation to the V Foundation for Cancer Research. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It’s been more than a decade since the Philadelphia 76ers began their so-called “process” to tank-the-team, earn high draft picks, and set themselves up for a bright future. This strategy has now become the norm across sports, and for the Sixers’ sake, it did yield them Joel Embiid, the team’s first MVP winner in 22 years. But it’s also been filled with crisis after crisis. Two number one picks that flopped and big time trades, first for Jimmy Butler and then James Harden, that ultimately went nowhere. This year, the offseason acquisition of Paul George plus the retention of breakout star Tyrese Maxey was supposed to give Embiid his best shot at a title. But with the big man missing 15 of 19 games and George and Maxey also missing time, Philadelphia finds itself near the bottom of the standings. From the outside, it looks to have brought about a complete breakdown in the locker room and major question marks about team president Daryl Morey’s best laid plans. Today, Ramona Shelburne takes inside the latest, and possibly biggest Sixers crisis yet. You can honor Jim Valvano and support ESPN’s V Week with a donation to the V Foundation for Cancer Research. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The WNBA’s newest team - the Golden State Valkyries - are coming to San Francisco in May. And by the end of this week, we’ll have a better idea of which players fans of bay area women’s basketball will be rooting for. Because Friday’s WNBA expansion draft will welcome the Valkyries first players. ESPN’s Kevin Pelton covers the W and is here to explain how all of this expansion stuff works – and how a new CBA should help the Valkyries use not just the expansion draft, but also trades and free agency to get competitive, fast. http://v.org/donate Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

There were two big games on the week 13 NFL schedule - the Philadelphia Eagles at the Baltimore Ravens, and the San Francisco 49ers at the Buffalo Bills. And we did watch Saquon Barkley, Jalen Hurts, and a suddenly transcendent Eagles defense make a statement against Lamar Jackson, Derrick Henry, Zay Flowers and the rest of the Ravens, during Sunday night football we saw Josh Allen potentially cement his MVP campaign against Kyle Shanahan’s 49ers. But Ben Solak wants us to know that there were also unexpected stories across the league. Like how the Pittsburgh Steelers and Cincinnati Bengals met up in the highest scoring meeting the two teams have ever had. Joe Burrow’s heroics weren’t enough to outmatch Russell Wilson’s prolific passing day. Or how between Shane Steichen, Jerod Mayo, Drake Maye, and Anthony Richardson, we might be seeing the rivalry between the Indianapolis Colts and New England Patriots enter a new - post Tom Brady and Peyton Manning - generation. And there’s even a second life for Bryce Young with the Carolina Panthers, who may have lost to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in overtime, but seem to be heading in the right direction. So Ben Solak joins us to tell us what he watched - and handicap the NFL’s MVP race as the season starts to wind down. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We have arrived at Thanksgiving eve. And while you may be getting your stomachs ready for a meal full of all the fixings, don’t forget the annual football feast you will soon digest as well. Between the NFL and college, it’s four days of high stakes games to squeeze-in between all the family festivities. Will Tua Tagovailoa and the Miami Dolphins finally beat the cold weather curse? Have the Chicago Bears and Caleb Williams turned the corner with new Offensive Coordinator Thomas Brown? Who will bolster their playoff case as Texas and Texas A&M face each other for the first time in 13 years? And how’s the Heisman race shaping up? So many things to chew on and we are here to feed those thoughts. Today, Kevin Clark, host of This is Football, helps sift through the playoff implications at both levels and shares his recipe for understanding the difference between matchups of both the savory and unpalatable varieties. Other topics include: Can Tua Tagovailoa and the Dolphins get back into the playoff mix? Does a bad matchup between the New York Giants and Dallas Cowboys mean the NFL should change its approach to Thanksgiving? Is Colorado Buffalo Travis Hunter the Heisman favorite? Could Boise State leapfrog to a first round bye? Should Alabama be on upset alert again? Can Saquon Barkley beat out Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson for the MVP? Can the Baltimore Ravens fix their defensive flaws? Is it possible for Nick Sirianni to ever have job security in Philadelphia? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The San Jose State Spartans were preparing for another hopeful – but largely uneventful – women’s volleyball season in 2024. But then a publication outed a player on that team as transgender and from there the protests and backlash grew seemingly by the day. Player lawsuits, coach accusations and boycott threats, and that was just from inside their own locker room. Soon teams all over the San Jose schedule decided to forfeit their matches, but also never gave an official reason why. So today, ahead of the Mountain West Conference Tournament, Katie Barnes joins us to quiet the noise and turn up the conversation on a team from San Jose that just wants to play the game. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Thanksgiving is right around the corner, and that means we’re entering the stretch run in the NFL. A dozen weeks into the season, and some teams are starting to separate themselves from the pack. Like the Detroit Lions, who week after week keep bullying their opponents, and the Kansas City Chiefs, who just find ways to win seemingly every Sunday. And then there’s the Philadelphia Eagles, who are looking to stake their claim in the NFC. So before we sit around the Thanksgiving table and tell each other what we’re thankful for, Ben Solak goes fact-or-fiction on Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels, Chicago Bears rookie Caleb Williams, and the reclamation of Carolina Panthers signal caller Bryce Young. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices