ESPN Daily

The New York Yankees have become a disappointment. Their heartbreaking loss to the Houston Astros right before the All-Star break is a prime example of the struggles they’ve been through this year, and their season doesn’t get any easier from here. In their path to redemption lie their storied rivals, the Boston Red Sox, who sit atop the American League East, enjoying an 8-game lead over their rivals. Jeff Passan tells us how the Bronx Bombers have been defused, and whether or not there’s still hope for them this season. Then, how Jusuf Nurkic is trying to buy vaccines for all of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Phoenix Suns Center DeAndre Ayton has been arguably the most important big man in the NBA this postseason. ESPN Senior NBA Writer Zach Lowe joins the show to tell us how Ayton has made the journey from #1 pick, to borderline bust, to the key of the Suns defense. On the other side is two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, who has battled back from a scary knee injury to dominate Game 3. Lowe breaks down how this match up of two big men may just hold the key to the rest of the series. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Meet two of the best stuntwomen in Hollywood: Heidi and Renae Moneymaker. You’ve seen them in Avengers: Endgame, Ant-Man and the Wasp, and now, Black Widow, to name a few. The Moneymaker sisters take us through the bumps and bruises that come from being real life superheroes as stuntwomen. Heidi has helped craft the character of Black Widow with Scarlett Johnasson, as her stunt double for the last decade. And Renae was Brie Larson’s stunt double in Captain Marvel, among others. The Moneymaker sisters have faced the greatest villains on-screen, and tell us how two skilled gymnasts went from formal floor routines to getting hit by cars, dodging explosions and diving off cliffs. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Angels’ Shohei Ohtani has been slugging homers to corners of ballparks few humans have ever reached, making this year’s MLB Home Run Derby a must-see. He leads the league in home runs AND he’s piling up strikeouts on the mound. That two-way dominance has him set to light up the All-Star Game, too. Alden Gonzalez, our guide to the Ohtani experiment, says the Babe Ruth comparison doesn’t even apply to what Shohei has been doing this season. Hear how Ohtani will dazzle next. Then, Sam Borden joins us from London as Italy takes the Euro 2020 trophy over England, before a packed Wembley Stadium. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Franchise owners are some of the wealthiest Americans. Los Angeles Clippers owner Steve Ballmer’s net worth is estimated at more than $100 billion. He’s just one of the billionaires in ProPublica’s investigation on how teams are handled, when it comes to owners’ tax liability. Investigative reporter Robert Faturechi of ProPublica walks us through the tax code as it relates to franchise executives, and how they may wind up paying lower taxes by percentage than not only the players for whom they write their checks, but the workers at their arenas as well. Then Greg Wyshynski tells us how back-to-back Stanley Cup Champions the Tampa Bay Lightning are celebrating fresh off the ice, literally, with a limited-edition beer. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It’s finally here! One of ESPN’s most prestigious events, the Scripps National Spelling Bee, names a champion tonight. Families from across the country cheer on their finalist spellers, and it’s all broadcast live on ESPN2 at 8PM Eastern. Host Kevin Negandhi shares how the bee works, and why it means so much to the Indian-American community. Hear about the fierce field of competitors, and see how Kevin and Pablo do with a word or two. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It may have been his NBA Finals debut, but Chris Paul looked like he’d been preparing for his whole life. Now in his 16th season, the 36 year old Paul took control of Game 1 of the NBA Finals leading Phoenix to a 118-105 victory over Milwaukee. It was a vintage CP3 performance, complete with surgical pick-and-rolls, attacking drives to the rim, and opportunistic outside jumpers. Kevin Arnovitz has covered Paul for years, and explains why he is finding success at this stage of his career, after so many seasons of heartbreak. Plus, Kevin's breakdown of what the Bucks need to do to slow down the Suns, and why the series may yet have drama in store. Then, we check in with Sam Borden in London, who brings us a soccer (and culinary) update from the 2020 Euros semifinals. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

You know and love the Marvin Gaye song “What’s Going On,” which turned 50 this year. But do you know the background voices on the hit song belong to two Detroit Lions? The Motown superstar developed a deep friendship with NFL players Mel Farr and Lem Barney, and it led to music history. Plus the story gets even better, as Farr and Barney helped Marvin Gaye take his dream of playing pro football to the next level. Justin Tinsley joins the show to tell the amazing story of football’s role in Marvin Gaye’s turbulent life. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

50 years ago, Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier met in their first iconic boxing match, known as “The Fight of the Century.” It was 1971, with the civil rights movement in full swing and the nation divided over the war in Vietnam. Jeremy Schaap, boxing historian and host of E60 and Outside the Lines, shares how political and cultural views were projected onto Ali and Frazier, with their different personalities, history and fighting styles. The night itself was a grand celebrity spectacle (Frank Sinatra took a gig as a photographer, just to get in the building.) And while Frazier won unanimously, the fight has a more complex and nuanced legacy. Half a century later, it remains one of the sports’ biggest moments. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

July 1, 2021 marks a new era in college sports. It’s a day which some believed would never come, because student-athletes are now free to make money off of their name, image, and likeness. Many stars at the collegiate level have already begun to partake in their newfound compensatory freedom, but what will these game changing new laws mean for the collegiate world as a whole? ESPN’s Dan Murphy joins Sarah Spain to answer all of our questions on how schools, players, and fans are being affected by these uncharted waters. Then, Sarah shares her insights on the struggles that Olympic mothers face, as many remain unsure if they are allowed to bring their newborns to the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices