The Lead

UFC 249 is going down on Saturday in Florida, a state where stay-at-home restrictions have been eased and sports like professional wrestling and MMA have been deemed essential. The Athletic’s Shaheen Al-Shatti joins us to discuss how this fight came to be, the extreme measures being taken to ensure that the fighters do not contract coronavirus, and what to expect from up-and-comer Justin Gaethje and the always entertaining Tony Ferguson.Follow Shaheen Al-Shaati's MMA coverage:https://theathletic.com/author/shaheen-al-shatti/?source=theleadpodcastSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The Athletic has named Manchester City's Kevin De Bruyne as its Premier League player of the year. Before the season was suspended, the Belgian star was closing in on Thierry Henry's record for assists in a season and had been directly involved in more goals than any other player. The Athletic’s Sam Lee joins us to talk about what makes De Bruyne so special as a player, his future with Manchester City given their Champions League ban, and what drives the fiery Belgian star.Follow Sam Lee's coverage of Man City:https://theathletic.com/author/sam-lee/See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

After the notorious "helmet hit" against Myles Rudolph last November and an ESPN interview gone awry a few months later, Myles Garrett took off for a while. Specifically, he went to Tanzania to spend time with a water charity that he has worked with for quite some time. The Athletic's Tom Reed went to the East African nation and joins us to talk about his conversation with the Cleveland Browns star, what he's been up to in the aftermath of the incident, and how the trip impacted Garrett.Follow Tom Reed's coverage of the Cleveland Browns:https://theathletic.com/author/tom-reed/See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Professional baseball is back! In South Korea, that is. The Korea Baseball Organization kicked off its season on Tuesday a little differently: empty stadiums and officials, coaches and players wearing masks and gloves. It's a completely different atmosphere for a league that's used to raucous crowds, dramatic bat flips and full-throated sing-alongs. South Korea was able to flatten its COVID-19 curve quickly and effectively, which allowed baseball to return. The Athletic's C. Trent Rosecrans joins us to talk about opening day in Korea and what sets its league apart from MLB. Then, we'll talk with Sung Min Kim who works on the R and D team for the Lotte Giants in Busan about how the players and other personnel are handling a return to baseball amid a global pandemic.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Last night on The Last Dance, ESPN’s documentary series about Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls, we heard the origin story of the Air Jordan, and its impact on everyone from Nas to Justin Timberlake. Today, we’re joined by The Athletic’s Wosny Lambre, who doubles as a reporter and a sneaker head, to discuss the impact of Jordan’s shoe revolution, which NBA player is the most sneaker obsessed, and why, even though he's nearly sixty years old, MJ is still the undisputed sneaker king.Follow Wosny Lambre's coverage of the NBA, including fashion and culture:https://theathletic.com/author/wosny-lambre/See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Draymond Green has been sounding off on his former teammate, Kevin Durant, lately. Green has talked about a dustup between the two, and how Durant’s contract situation and general behavior affected the team. The Athletic’s Ethan Strauss has followed the Warriors up close for years and has a new book about the team called The Victory Machine. He joins us to discuss what was going on behind the scenes of arguably the best team in NBA history and why Durant was so unhappy even as the Warriors were dominating.Follow Ethan Strauss's coverage of the Warriors:https://theathletic.com/author/ethan-strauss/See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The Green Bay Packers shocked the football world when they selected Utah State quarterback Jordan Love in the first round of this year's draft. The pick was immediately compared to 2005, when the Packers selected Aaron Rodgers in the first round while Hall of Famer Brett Favre was still the undisputed leader of the team. Rodgers is even the same age Favre was when he was selected. Today, we're joined by Dan Rubenstein, host of Wondery's Sports Wars and The Solid Verbal podcast, to talk about the parallels between Favre, Rodgers and Love, why the Packers drafted a QB, and whether or not Aaron Rodgers will treat Jordan Love the way Brett Favre treated him. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Earlier this month, the top high school basketball prospect in the 2020 recruiting class, Jalen Green, decided he would skip college and sign with a new program operated by the NBA's G League. The new initiative is the NBA's first academy-style operation within the league, and the goal is to keep homegrown talent in the U.S. rather than seeing them play overseas in places like Australia, China or Greece. Today, The Athletic’s Sam Vecenie joins us to talk about the NBA’s surprising investment, what makes this new program different, and how it could force the NCAA’s hand.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Last week, Major League Baseball handed down its punishment to the Red Sox for using video replay to steal signs. Ken Rosenthal and Evan Drellich of The Athletic broke the news about the Red Sox back in January. Today, Ken joins us to discuss the details of the punishment, the replay operator who ended up as Boston's fall guy, and whether Major League Baseball got this whole thing right. Read Ken Rosenthal and Evan Drellich's reporting on the Red Sox: https://theathletic.com/1767946/2020/04/23/rosenthal-and-drellich-mlbs-red-sox-report-is-finished-but-plenty-of-questions-remain/?source=theleadpodcast See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Last night on The Last Dance, we heard more amazing stories about Michael Jordan, Phil Jackson, Dennis Rodman and the legendary 1997-98 Chicago Bulls. Today, we’re joined by Joe Vardon of The Athletic, who collected untold stories from former NBA players about their first encounters with Jordan, including unexpected tales from Dwyane Wade, Dominique Wilkins and Jordan’s former teammate, Ron Harper. Read all of Joe Vardon's Michael Jordan stories: https://theathletic.com/1732519/2020/04/15/why-yall-wont-let-jordan-in-untold-stories-of-meeting-michael-jordan/?source=theleadpodcast See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.