Advertise on podcast: Ballfields & Blackboards

This month we discuss whether it makes sense for the NFL to play games all over the globe, how much teams should invest in backup quarterbacks and other backups, and how players with the ability of Trinidad Chambliss or Brock Purdy continue to be overlooked in this era of intensive scouting.

This month we try to make sense of the championship prediction markets for the NFL and College Football. In addition, we discuss why so few coaches and general managers in sports are drawn from the pool of great players and the current state of NCAA NIL legislation.

This month, we look back at the big off-the-field impacts of the FIFA World Cup as well as critique the on-the-field action. We also discuss the success of the young 800-meter phenom from the U.S., Cooper Lutkenhaus, and his interview with David Epstein on the pros and cons of hyper-specialization and hyper-competitiveness of youth sports in the U.S.

This month we look back at the first half of the MLB season to highlight the underachievers and overachievers as well as proposed changes to the draft that would restrict entry to those 20 or over. In addition, we talk about how the Broncos managed their salary cap purgatory and how other teams are or are not following that path, Dusty May's move from Michigan to the Dallas Mavs, and the restructuring of the PGA Tour.

We dig into the 24-team college football playoff idea, the connection between MLB franchise values and the likelihood of a strike, the renewed interest in the Indianapolis 500, and more.

We dive into the NFL draft and ask whether it makes sense to draft a running back as high as Jeremiyah Love, and why Ty Simpson went so high.  We also look back on the first month of MLB, trends in MLS popularity, the standoff between the BIG 10 and SEC on composition of the football playoff, and the "Vrabel Affair."

We dive into a proposal from Senator Tommy Tubberville for ending the turmoil in college athletics along with a conversation about best strategies for the automated strike zone in MLB and other stuff.

This month we discuss the topsy turvey world of the College Football Playoff and why a coach like Curt Cignetti succeeds while others fail.

This month, we dive into the college football playoff setup, the Lane Kiffin drama, disappointment for NCAA with no Congressional intervention, the Big Ten's private investment strategy, and the trial for the lawsuit against NASCAR by Michael Jordan's 23XI.

This month we discuss the influences on the criminal indictments and investigations of athletes regarding sports gambling.  We also examine why so many college football coaches are losing their jobs in October and November along with the YoutubeTV and Disney Settlement, and on-the-field action in pro and college football.

This month we engage in a lively debate about the firing of James Franklin by Penn State along with other college coaching ups and downs and a boost to MLB viewership.

This month, we offer a counterpoint to most media analysis of the Micah Parsons trade along with a conversation about skill versus luck in sports, and whether Alabama football has lost its advantage in the NIL era.

This month we take a look at the deal struck between ESPN and the NFL, whether teams should just shut up and pay up to players like Micah Parsons, and the influences behind MLB trade deadline deals and whether they make sense

We dive into the proposals and discussions about expanding the NCAA football playoff from 12 to 16 teams.  Additionally, we discuss the emerging story of the $350 million deficit at USC and what it may indicate, as well as the positives and negatives of the MLB All-Star Game's "Swing Off" in place of extra innings.