ESPN Daily

Tiger Woods and golf are synonymous. Tiger was the face of the PGA Tour for decades, taking the tour to unparalleled heights. But now, the future of professional golf is in question, as the controversial LIV Golf – backed by the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia – has shaken the sport to its core. As this new era of golf begins, Woods leads the charge to protect the tour in which his legend was born, while helping to reimagine the game he loves. Today, ESPN’s resident Tiger Woods expert Michael Collins joins the show to break down what Tiger’s future in golf looks like, and why the sport might need him now more than ever. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The question following Brittney Griner’s arrest at a Moscow airport in February of 2022 was always, what it would take to get her back home safely. What it took was a prisoner exchange between the United States and Russia, one that included Viktor Bout, an arms dealer nicknamed, The Merchant of Death.From the beginning, ESPN’s T.J. Quinn followed the story closely, reporting the names, places, and events that we needed to know. Earlier this month, one year after Griner returned home, he published an exhaustive account, on ESPN.com, of the entire ordeal, including parts of his conversation with Bout.Today, in part two of our deep dive into the story behind Griner’s imprisonment, Quinn details the negotiations that got Griner home and we hear from Viktor Bout himself. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After Brittney Griner’s arrest at a Moscow airport in February of 2022, few, if any reporters tracked her case as closely as ESPN’s TJ Quinn. Throughout her ten-month confinement, he collected countless behind the scenes details and accounts from dozens of sources who worked tirelessly to win her release from a Russian jail cell. But out of concern for Griner’s safety, much of that information could not be reported. Earlier this month, to mark one year since Griner returned home, TJ was finally able to write an exhaustive accounting of the entire ordeal. Today, we focus on one part of that reporting –– the long months Griner spent detained, including new specifics on her experience inside a Soviet-era prison colony, the affection she earned from guards and fellow prisoners, and her courageous display of perseverance and psychological endurance.   Tomorrow, we’ll be back with part two –– inside the painstaking negotiations to get Griner home. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fifteen weeks are now in the books of this NFL season, and while we wish we had more answers about the playoff race…we just don’t. The Buffalo Bills, whose season looked over a few weeks ago, all of a sudden have back-to-back wins over the Chiefs and Cowboys to get back into the hunt…and made Dallas look nothing like the contenders we’ve seen in recent weeks in the process. And can the Eagles, who we thought were the best team in the NFL, stop their downward spiral with a win on Monday night? Today, Kevin Clark joins the show to share his thoughts from another week of NFL drama..and explain how it sets up an action-packed final few weeks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We’re just over a quarter of the way into Victor Wembanyama’s rookie season, and it’s going just about as well as anyone could’ve hoped. He’s looked every part of the generational talent – or alien, as anointed by LeBron James – he was touted to be through his first 22 games, averaging more than 19 points and nearly 11 rebounds per game. So today, with a rematch against the Lakers coming tonight on ESPN, we figured now was as good a time as any to check in with Andrew Lopez, our resident young basketball phenom reporter, and he tells us what he’s seen from Wemby on and off the court. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When it comes to lists, we’re obsessed with the Top 10. It feels like there’s a Top 10 for everything these days –– from highlights, to pizza toppings, to Netflix shows. But what about the Bottom 10?That’s right, we’re eschewing tradition and turning the college football world upside down, with the help of ESPN’s ‘Bottom 10’ columnist Ryan McGee. One year removed from his ode to oddball bowl games, McGee gives us his bottom-up view of the FBS landscape. And we look back on some big programs who, for one week at least, may have felt like bottom dwellers themselves. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ground and pound. That’s what defined college football offenses for the first 100 years the game was played. But then a coach named Hal Mumme hooked up with some lawyer from LA named Mike Leach … and everything changed. Playbooks were tossed. Passes were thrown. Records were broken. And the Air Raid offense was born. Now everyone from your local high school QB to Patrick Mahomes is executing some version of this on Game Day. And when it’s done right … man, it is fun to watch.So today, Dave Wilson delivers the origin story of this innovative offense and tells us how this once taboo concept changed the game of football forever. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

While the whole baseball world collectively held their breath in anticipation of any update on Shohei Ohtani’s free agency, one thing became clear: this was not going to be MLB’s version of LeBron James’ The Decision. There was complete radio silence from both Ohtani’s camp and the teams rumored to be in the running for his services…well, most of them at least. But when the dust settled on Saturday, the numbers were still staggering, shattering even the most ambitious expectations: Ohtani is heading to the Los Angeles Dodgers on a 10-year, $700 million deal…oh and by the way, $680 million of those dollars will be deferred until 2034.So today, Alden Gonzalez explains how this union between the sport’s best player and one of its most marketable teams came together, what the price tag tells us about both sides…and what the fallout might be across the Big Leagues. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As the NFL plows through December, the one thing we have learned is that there are no gimmes in this league. Take the AFC, where Baltimore had their top spot in the conference put to the test through wind, rain and an OT scare from the Rams. Meanwhile, the Chiefs and Bills battled in yet another classic that saw Patrick Mahomes fall at home and put Buffalo back on the right side of .500. And in the NFC, the Cowboys let the Eagles know there’s a new king in the East, while the Lions, who not so long ago looked like they could beat everyone, now look like they would struggle to beat just about anyone.So today, Jason Reid joins us to remind everyone that at this time of year, the road to the playoffs starts now. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The first big domino from MLB’s Winter Meetings fell on Wednesday night as the New York Yankees traded for slugger Juan Soto. But there’s another, bigger move that we have no information about: who will Shohei Ohtani sign with?Ohtani is the biggest free agent baseball has had in recent memory –– and possibly ever –– yet his camp has managed to keep the rumor mill to an absolute minimum, with teams across the Big Leagues swearing to an oath of secrecy if they want a chance to court him.Clinton Yates was at the Winter Meetings, and he takes us behind the curtain to explain why Ohtani and his reps have been so lowkey, and why it’s bad for the sport. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices