The Play-By-Play

Sports media stars like Bill Simmons and Pat McAfee seized on the legalization of sports betting to create an explosion across America.Danny Funt, author of "Everyone Loses: The Tumultuous Rise of American Sports betting," explains how.Plus: what do we make of NBA stars like Giannis Antetokounmpo and LeBron James partnering with gambling companies, and whether sports fans are becoming more nihilistic and detached because of gambling.Download The Play-By-Play:Listen on AppleListen on SpotifyAwful Announcing on XAwful Announcing on FacebookAwful Announcing on InstagramAwful Announcing on ThreadsAwful Announcing on BlueSkyAwful Announcing on LinkedIn

Ilia Malinin aka the "Quad God" was supposed to be the biggest story of the Winter Olympics for Team USA. Instead, his failure took the world by storm.What happened here?Download The Play-By-Play:Listen on AppleListen on SpotifyAwful Announcing on XAwful Announcing on FacebookAwful Announcing on InstagramAwful Announcing on ThreadsAwful Announcing on BlueSkyAwful Announcing on LinkedIn

The NBA All-Star game got rave reviews with the Team USA vs. World format. Plus, is there more to this MLB K-zone story than meets the eye?Download The Play-By-Play:Listen on AppleListen on SpotifyAwful Announcing on XAwful Announcing on FacebookAwful Announcing on InstagramAwful Announcing on ThreadsAwful Announcing on BlueSkyAwful Announcing on LinkedIn

Le Batard Show producer Mike Ryan delivered one of our bigger political sports media beefs of Trump 2.0 by demanding that Boomer Esiason own up to his "MAGA-coded bullsh*t."Download The Play-By-Play:Listen on AppleListen on SpotifyAwful Announcing on XAwful Announcing on FacebookAwful Announcing on InstagramAwful Announcing on ThreadsAwful Announcing on BlueSkyAwful Announcing on LinkedIn

What to make of the Super Bowl ratings. Plus: Why is watching baseball becoming the most confusing thing in the world?Download The Play-By-Play:Listen on AppleListen on SpotifyAwful Announcing on XAwful Announcing on FacebookAwful Announcing on InstagramAwful Announcing on ThreadsAwful Announcing on BlueSkyAwful Announcing on LinkedIn

Could the TPUSA All-American Halftime Show actually compete with the NFL going forward? And did Mike Tirico deliver in his first-ever Super Bowl for NBC?Download The Play-By-Play:Listen on AppleListen on SpotifyAwful Announcing on XAwful Announcing on FacebookAwful Announcing on InstagramAwful Announcing on ThreadsAwful Announcing on BlueSkyAwful Announcing on LinkedIn

Will Disney's new CEO, Josh D'Amora, spin off ESPN? At least one prominent industry analyst thinks so. Ben Axelrod and Drew Lerner discuss on the latest episode of The Play-By-Play.Download The Play-By-Play:Listen on AppleListen on SpotifyAwful Announcing on XAwful Announcing on FacebookAwful Announcing on InstagramAwful Announcing on ThreadsAwful Announcing on BlueSkyAwful Announcing on LinkedIn

What does the ESPN-NFL deal mean for talent at both networks? Plus: the RSN reckoning is here (again).Download The Play-By-Play:Listen on AppleListen on SpotifyAwful Announcing on XAwful Announcing on FacebookAwful Announcing on InstagramAwful Announcing on ThreadsAwful Announcing on BlueSkyAwful Announcing on LinkedIn

Super Bowl LX is here, with everyone focused on Sam Darnold, Bad Bunny, Mike Tirico and the return of the New England Patriots.First Take and Stephen A. Smith keep dropping the ball on big sports stories. Meanwhile, the Tom Brady conflicts between Fox and the Raiders are back.Download The Play-By-Play:Listen on AppleListen on SpotifyAwful Announcing on XAwful Announcing on FacebookAwful Announcing on InstagramAwful Announcing on ThreadsAwful Announcing on BlueSkyAwful Announcing on LinkedIn