The Lead

Will the NHL's biggest superstar, Connor McDavid, finally have the supporting cast he needs to bring the Stanley Cup back to Edmonton? Can the league's new expansion team, the Seattle Kraken, duplicate what the Vegas Golden Knights did in their inaugural season a few years ago? Will the Tampa Bay Lightning become the first team in nearly four decades to win three championships in a row? With the 2021-22 NHL season beginning tonight, The Athletic's Eric Duhatschek joins us to discuss all of this and more.Read Eric Duhatschek's NHL coverage:https://theathletic.com/author/eric-duhatschek/See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Yet another English Premier League club has now been purchased by a group of Middle Eastern investors with deep ties to their country's government. In this case, the team is Newcastle United -- a club with a rich history, but plenty of recent frustration -- and a group of investors backed by the Saudi Arabian royal family. The deal was officially confirmed on Thursday. Today, James Montague, a contributing writer for The Athletic, discusses the polarizing purchase, its connection to the high-profile murder of a Saudi journalist, and his fiancee's quest to stop the sale from happening. (Note: This is an updated version of an episode that originally aired on May 27, 2020, when it first looked like the deal was going through -- it has been updated to reflect the latest developments.)More from James Montague:https://theathletic.com/1788335/2021/10/06/why-does-saudi-arabia-want-to-buy-newcastle-united/See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

We’re just four weeks into the 2021 NFL season, but the Jacksonville Jaguars — and the Urban Meyer regime — seem to be spiraling out of control. Today, The Athletic’s Lindsay Jones on the controversy surrounding Meyer and a viral video this week, and a long history of red flags dating back to his time as a college coach at Florida and Ohio State. With the Jaguars now 0-4, how will this saga end for Meyer, team owner Shad Khan and the Jaguars franchise? Read Lindsay Jones’s full story about Urban Meyer: https://theathletic.com/2867670/2021/10/04/jones-jaguars-gambled-on-urban-meyer-and-now-the-winless-team-is-paying-the-price/?source=theleadpodcast See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

NFL players (and especially NFL linemen) have to be huge to make it in the league. But what does that mean for their lives and their bodies after they retire? The Athletic’s Jason Jones recently interviewed a number of retired players about the challenges they face after football -- including the difficulty of changing their diets and shedding pounds -- and a new program that is trying to help.Read Jason Jones's full story:https://theathletic.com/2843273/2021/09/27/you-have-to-retrain-your-brain-to-eat-more-vegetables-for-retired-nfl-lineman-battling-obesity-is-a-different-kind-of-fight/See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The NBA's current longest running soap opera is Ben Simmons' quest to get out of Philadelphia. And while the star forward has four years left on his deal with the Sixers, he's refused to come to training camp or relent on the trade demand he made after the team's epic flameout in last year's playoffs. Today, The Athletic's Sam Amick takes us inside the Ben Simmons saga, tells us what drove Simmons to decide his time is over in Philly, and then explains why these situations are now such a divisive issue within the NBA.Read Sam Amick's story on Ben Simmons here: https://theathletic.com/2854156/2021/09/28/ben-simmons-believes-playing-with-joel-embiid-has-run-its-course-and-sixers-media-day-messages-fall-flat-with-him/See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The MLB Playoffs begin tonight, and there are some mouth-watering matchups: Yankees vs. Red Sox, Dodgers vs. Cardinals, Astros vs. White Sox, Brewers vs. Braves. And there are a whole lot of questions: Who will emerge from the do-or-die wildcard matchups? Who will end up as World Series champions? And what burning questions do each of these teams face? The Athletic's Brittany Ghiroli joins us to break it all down.Read Brittany Ghiroli's story about the challenges facing each team:https://theathletic.com/2865132/2021/10/04/yankees-dodgers-and-more-1-burning-question-for-every-team-in-the-mlb-postseason/ See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

On Monday Night Football tonight, one the NFL's hottest dynamic duos will take center stage: Justin Herbert and Keenan Allen. The Athletic's Daniel Popper recently sat down with Herbert and Allen, and he joins us to explain how, after a rocky start, the two have developed a special kind of chemistry -- and why comparisons to all-time great QB-WR duos are not out of the question. Then, we break down their matchup with the AFC West-leading Raiders.Read Daniel Popper's full story about Justin Herbert and Keenan Allen:https://theathletic.com/2807609/2021/09/08/justin-herbert-and-keenan-allen-the-nfls-next-great-qb-wr-duo/See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

On Thursday, The Athletic’s Meg Linehan published a bombshell report that led to the near-immediate firing of Paul Riley, head coach of the North Carolina Courage and two-time NWSL coach of the year. Meg joins us today to talk about the troubling accusations in her story, and the moment of reckoning it has created within the sport.Read Meg Linehan's full report:https://theathletic.com/2857633/2021/09/30/this-guy-has-a-pattern-amid-institutional-failure-former-nwsl-players-accuse-prominent-coach-of-sexual-coercion/See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The NFL has managed to get the vast majority of its players vaccinated, thanks to a set of rules that make life pretty difficult -- and football careers much more challenging -- for those who refuse to get a shot. Meanwhile, the league has also made moves to cut down on taunting, causing some critics to bring back the old "No Fun League" label. Lindsay Jones, a national NFL writer for The Athletic, joins us to break down these rules, how they're being enforced, and why they've created some divides within the league.Related stories from Lindsay Jones:https://theathletic.com/2828959/2021/09/21/unvaccinated-nfl-players-living-a-very-different-experience-than-their-vaxxed-teammates/https://theathletic.com/2843970/2021/09/24/as-nfl-taunting-calls-increase-so-do-complaints-about-how-no-fun-league-rule-is-applied/See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

At the start of this month, the St. Louis Cardinals were barely hanging on at the fringe of the playoff picture. Now, they've clinched a spot in the postseason and are on a 17-game winning streak. Today, Katie Woo, who covers the Cardinals for The Athletic, breaks down the factors behind the team's dramatic turnaround and historic run, including the two veteran stars who have been with the team for more than 15 years -- and discusses how much noise the Cards can make in the postseason.More from Katie Woo:https://theathletic.com/author/katie-woo/See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.