The Lead

The college football world was thrown into a tizzy last week when Oklahoma and Texas announced that they planned to leave to their home in the Big 12 for the SEC by 2025. The story took an even stranger turn when Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby accused ESPN of trying to sabotage his conference to expedite the move. Today, The Athletic's Max Olson gives us the inside story of this seismic move that has put the Big 12 on life support and what it could all mean for the future of college football.Read Max Olson's college football coverage here: https://theathletic.com/author/max-olson/ See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

New Zealand weightlifter Laurel Hubbard became the first openly trans athlete to qualify for the Olympics earlier this year, and is considered one of the favorites to win a medal in her competition next week. Meanwhile, the South African runner (and two-time gold medalist) Caster Semenya is not competing in the Olympics at all this year, because of a recent ruling by the Court of Arbitration for Sport. So why is one of these athletes allowed to compete while the other is not? And what does that tell us about how the IOC determines sex? Madeleine Pape, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Lausanne (and an ex-Olympian who competed against Caster Semenya in the 800-meter) joins us to explain.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Coming into the Tokyo Olympics, the U.S. Women's Soccer Team was the clear favorite to bring home a gold medal, which would make them the first team to ever a World Cup title and an Olympic title back-to-back. But after dropping their first game to Sweden 3-0, and battling Australia to a tough 0-0 draw, some questions have started to emerge about the squad and head coach Vlatko Andonovski, who is leading the team in a major tournament for the first time. The Athletic's Meg Linehan and Steph Yang join us to break down what went wrong for the U.S. in that opening loss, the journeys that Alex Morgan and Carli Lloyd went on to make it to the tournament, and what now stands between the team and a gold medal.More from Meg Linehan: https://theathletic.com/author/meg-linehan/More from Steph Yang: https://theathletic.com/author/steph-yang/See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The Tokyo Olympics are in full swing, and already there have been a number of surprising developments from Japan, including Simone Biles deciding to withdraw from the women’s team gymnastics competition and the individual all-around competition, and Katie Ledecky losing for the first time ever at the Olympics — but rebounding to win gold. Today, we break down the stories that have captured our attention for a wide range of reasons, including 17-year-old Lydia Jacoby winning a gold medal for Alaska, a gymnast saying farewell at age 46, and an out-of-place boat derailing the start of the men’s triathlon.Follow The Athletic’s coverage of the Tokyo Olympics: https://theathletic.com/olympics/?source=theleadpodcastSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The NBA Draft is almost here and one of the most intriguing prospects at the top of the lottery is USC big man Evan Mobley. The seven footer's game has drawn comparisons to reigning finals MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo and All-NBA big man Anthony Davis, but questions over his introverted personality and skinny frame have some evaluators questioning if he can actually reach his incredible upside. The Athletic's Sam Vecenie spent some time with Mobley during his lone college season and he joins us to discuss whether the concerns over the big man's mentality are overblown and whether or not he could actually become the best player in this draft. Then he tells us about his evaluation of presumptive number one pick Cade Cunningham and picks one player who could be this draft's most undervalued prospect.Read all of Sam Vecenie's NBA Draft coverage here: https://theathletic.com/author/sam-vecenie/See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Carissa Moore is not your typical surfer. Before she could walk, her father had her on his surfboard so that she could get the feel of the water. By age ten, she had been labeled a prodigy. At 14, she defeated the top-ranked women's surfer in the world (twice). And now, at age 28, she is a four-time world champion -- and one of the favorites to win gold at the Tokyo Olympics. But, on top of all her natural talent, she also breaks a lot of stereotypes about surfers. The Athletic's Christopher Kamrani recently interviewed Carissa and her father, Chris (who is still her coach), and he joins us today to explain how Carissa developed her incredible talents, and how she and her dad have walked the line between pursuing a dream and finding peace.Read Christopher Kamrani's full story about Carissa Moore:https://theathletic.com/2692257/2021/07/08/carissa-moore-olympics-surfing/See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The Opening Ceremony of the Tokyo Olympics is tonight, and one of the biggest stars to watch on the U.S. team is five-time Olympic gold medalist Katie Ledecky. Today, The Athletic’s Nicole Auerbach joins us to tell the story of the backyard pool where Ledecky kept her training going in the spring of 2020, the bond she formed with the family who shared the same space, and how the whole thing could impact her pursuit of history in Tokyo. Read Nicole Auerbach’s full story about Katie Ledecky: https://theathletic.com/2609313/2021/05/26/katie-ledecky-olympics-tokyo-swimming/?source=theleadpodcast See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

At every Olympic Games, there are thousands of stories. This year, Simone Manuel looks to solidify her legacy as the greatest gymnast of all time. Katie Ledecky could become the most decorated female athlete in Olympic history. And Trayvon Bromell aims to claim the title of 'world's fastest man.' But there are also so many more. The Athletic's Zack Pierce joins us to talk through some of the biggest and most fascinating storylines to follow from Team USA during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, including a softball duo's 13-year quest for redemption, a teen prodigy who could inherit the crown in swimming, and a rock legend's horse-riding daughter.Read Zack Pierce's full rundown of U.S. athletes to follow:https://theathletic.com/2706266/2021/07/19/meet-team-usa-every-athlete-at-the-2021-olympics-and-what-to-know-about-each-event/See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In each of the past two seasons, the Milwaukee Bucks came up short in the playoffs after amassing incredible regular season records. With each loss, the questions over whether this team, its coach, and its star player could ever get to the mountaintop grew. On Tuesday night, all those questions were answered. Giannis Antetokounmpo had an historic night, becoming only the 7th player in history to score 50 points in an NBA Finals game, and the Bucks brought a championship back to Milwaukee for the first time in 50 years. Today, The Athletic's Eric Nehm, who has covered Antetokounmpo's entire career, tells us how the star forward changed the narrative around his playoff performances and how the Bucks finally overcame the ghosts of playoffs past.Read Eric Nehm's Milwaukee Bucks coverage: https://theathletic.com/author/eric-nehm/See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The 2021 NBA Draft is next Thursday, and one guy who has defied the odds (in a truly unprecedented way) to become a projected pick is Ohio University junior Jason Preston. The Athletic's James Edwards III recently interviewed Preston, and he joins us to explain how the late-blooming guard went from being a high school benchwarmer in Florida, to an aspiring basketball journalist, to an overnight college basketball sensation -- and how a family tragedy continues to fuel him.Read James Edward III's story about Jason Preston:https://theathletic.com/2707091/2021/07/15/from-pistons-blogger-to-likely-2021-nba-draft-pick-meet-jason-preston/See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.