ESPN Daily

The NFC is anyone’s for the taking at this point in the NFL season. Teams like the 49ers and Washington Football Team are on the fringe, with the Eagles threatening. Further down in the standings, the Falcons and Panthers might be long shots, but their postseason hopes aren’t dead…yet. Bill Barnwell assesses the NFC playoff picture, and shares his insights on how the college football coaching carousel could impact the NFL’s coaching jobs. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Extra, extra, read all about it! Maroons Championship STOLEN! The Pottsville Maroons were one of the greatest early NFL teams, but the league stripped them of their 1925 championship and gave it to the (then) Chicago Cardinals. Thus, a curse was born. Almost a century later, could the stolen championship be behind the Arizona Cardinals’ lack of Super Bowl success? Dave Fleming wrote the book on it, called Breaker Boys: The NFL’s Greatest Team and the Stolen 1925 Championship. He takes us inside the story, and his mission for NFL justice. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Kevin Durant is playing some of the best basketball of his career. He’s leading the league in scoring and has led the Brooklyn Nets to the best record in the Eastern Conference. But his recent success is due largely to something that is practically extinct in the modern NBA: the midrange jump shot. Kirk Goldsberry dissects why it’s made him more exciting to watch than ever. Then, ESPN Daily producer and resident bark-aeologist Erin Vail shares her paw-er ranking of the NHL’s best team dogs. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Detroit pride was strong on Sunday: the Lions finally won their first game of the season (their first win in 364 days) thanks to a game-winning touchdown pass from Jared Goff. Meanwhile, Bengals-Chargers was a battle between sophomore quarterbacks Joe Burrow and Justin Herbert, where Herbert soared with over 300 yards and three touchdowns, and Burrow slumped with two interceptions. And the Chiefs climbed back up in the very crowded top of the AFC, with their win over the Broncos. Plus, Louis Riddick tells us how Bill Belichick’s New England Patriots can continue their streak of success, headed into Buffalo for a battle of the AFC East vs. the Bills on Monday Night Football. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

College football’s championship weekend is here. And after marquee matchups like the SEC title game, between #1 Georgia and #3 Alabama, and #2 Michigan vs. #13 Iowa in the Big Ten Championship, the College Football Playoff committee will decide who is in, and who is out of this year's playoff. But beyond determining this year’s finalists, the committee is also coming off a meeting where they discussed the potential of expanding the playoff. And, in the midst of everything, several big name head coaches made moves to take new roles, like Lincoln Riley to USC and Brian Kelly to LSU. Heather Dinich explains who we could see in the playoff, what changes were discussed, and when a decision on reformatting the CFP could actually happen.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

JJ Redick doesn’t consider himself a “take person” or “talking head.” At least not yet. As a player-turned-analyst who just retired after 15 seasons in the NBA, Redick says he doesn’t miss the game. The newly minted ESPN studio talent joins the show to tell us who’s looking like the best in the league, measure the NBA’s entertainment quotient, and weigh in on the importance of athletes’ mental health. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It’s been a wild few days across Major League Baseball, with a flurry of free agents signing massive deals with new teams. Max Scherzer to the Mets. Javy Baez to the Tigers. Corey Seager to the Rangers. But the reason for this flurry of spending is maybe the last thing you’d suspect: a looming labor stoppage. Tonight, at midnight, MLB’s collective bargaining agreement expires, meaning owners could begin a lockout that would effectively put a halt on the entire baseball industry until a new deal is struck. Jeff Passan takes us inside the high stakes negotiations between the owners and players, shares what’s at stake for both sides, and brings plenty of Diet Mountain Dew along for the ride. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Badwater ultramarathon is known as the world’s most impossible run. From grueling mountain climbs to scorching, 100+ degree temperatures in the middle of Death Valley, it’s a 135-mile race that only a select group of individuals have ever finished. Enter Kelaine Conochan, who pushed her mind, body, and soul to its limit in pursuit of completing the race in July 2021. She wrote about her Badwater experience for ESPN.com, and shares what she lost - and found - in her 37 hours of running, chafing, chugging flat Coca-Cola, and flat out surviving.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The further we get into the NFL season, the more questions we have. But after Week 12, the playoff picture is coming into frame...kind of. Lamar Jackson and the Ravens grinded out a win in a defensive matchup with their major rivals the Cleveland Browns. Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers appear to be back in form after thrashing the L.A. Rams, who have suddenly lost three in a row after starting the season 7-1. Bill Belichick’s revenge tour is picking up more steam after the New England Patriots picked up their sixth straight win...and Carson Wentz’s Hail Mary attempt wasn’t enough to beat Tom Brady and the Bucs. Our Monday morning QB Alex Smith tells us what we’ve learned this week...and gives a nod to his former coach, Jim Harbaugh. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When arguably the world’s most popular athlete, Cristiano Ronaldo, took the pitch for arguably the world’s most popular soccer club, Manchester United, two truly global sports brands were reunited on the legendary pitch at Old Trafford. Months earlier the same iconic stadium was literally stormed by Man United supporters fighting against the globalization of the sport they love. Wright Thompson was there for Ronaldo’s return to the team, and explains why emotions and identities around this team run so deep, in a re-spin of one of our favorite episodes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices