Podbit · Up First from NPR
The 2018 Supreme Court decision that legalized sports betting made scandals like Brendan Sorsby's lifetime ban inevitable. Teams want their stars to play. Media is bankrolled by gambling companies. The conflict of interest runs in every direction.
Where this was said
At 13:10 · chapter starts 11:43
Howard Bryant lays out the case for the Knicks' championship destiny with compelling precision. Only 3 losses all postseason. Two comebacks from 20 points down in the fourth quarter. A coaching transition that mirrors the 2004 Red Sox — Thibodeau fired, new energy, same core, championship-level results. [1] — Howard Bryant "The Knicks have only lost 3 games all postseason and have come back from 20-point fourth-quarter deficits twice. Howard Bryant compares the…" 11:40 Bryant draws the Boston parallel knowing New Yorkers will bristle, but insists it's the most accurate analogy: a team where everything works, where the feeling of inevitability is palpable. The Spurs, he acknowledges, have had the lead in the final 2 minutes of every game in the series, and Victor Wembanyama has declared them capable of winning the next 3. But Bryant believes New York's 53-year wait ends this weekend — tonight in San Antonio, or next game back in Madison Square Garden.
The Knicks lost only 3 games in the entire 2026 postseason, making them by far the most dominant team in the playoff field.
Texas Tech quarterback Brendan Sorsby was banned for life by the NCAA after betting on his own team 40 times, before a Texas judge granted him an injunction to play this season.
Thomas's wife deferred her CrossFit career — she's in the global top 1% of athletes — to put him through law school debt-free. He wants her to chase the dream now; she wants the emergency fund and house down payment first. On a $200K lawyer income with no debt, the opportunity cost is just a few months of slower saving.
Underground calisthenics battles are exactly like UFC meets a rap battle — 150 people crowded around a circle, fighters walking out with masks and chains, nicknames like 'Extra Money' vs 'Calisthenics the Prince,' and people throwing money and betting. The battle set: 100 burpees, 50 muscle-ups, 75 dips, 75 squats with a 65-pound dumbbell. This is the next big spectator sport.
Rico Verhoeven controlled the undisputed heavyweight boxing champion for approximately 10 rounds — and had his appeal upheld when officials admitted the fight was stopped after the bell. The result was never overturned. Rogan calls it either incompetence or corruption, and argues the money behind Usyk made an upset politically inconvenient.
Rogan lays out a blunt case: boxing's 3-judge system is structurally broken, and the judges know who the promoter wants to win. Glory's 5-judge format is the right model. Corruption doesn't have to be conscious — just knowing Usyk is the cash cow is enough to tilt the scales.
With the Usyk-Wilder fight stalling and Fury-Joshua coming too late, the real fight the world wants is the rematch. Rico is a free agent. Usyk vacated his belts. The story is unfinished and both Rogan and Rico know it. His Excellency Turki Alasheikh already called for it ringside — the question is money.
Rico texted Jason Statham during the Canelo-Crawford fight. Statham showed Rico's highlight videos to promoters. Two days later, Rico was on a call about fighting Anthony Joshua. When Joshua pulled out, Rico pitched Usyk himself — Undisputed vs. Undisputed. Usyk said yes in two weeks. The whole thing started with one text.
Every heavyweight who faced Usyk tried to move to the right — straight into his power hand. Rico and Peter Fury identified the obvious solution: move left, away from the left hand, and smother him with size. It sounds simple. Nobody had done it. That one adjustment was the foundation of 10 dominant rounds.
MMA fans boo when fights go to the ground. They love stand-up. Kickboxing is pure stand-up. Yet it barely exists in America while boxing and MMA are enormous. Rogan's diagnosis: no promotion machine. If the UFC got behind kickboxing the way they've built MMA, it would explode. The talent is there — the storytelling machine is not.
A nation of 17 million people gave the world Ramon Deckers, Peter Aerts, Badr Hari, Melvin Manhoef, Rob Kamen, Ernesto Hoost, and Rico Verhoeven. Rico's theory: the country is so small that every gym shares knowledge freely. In the US, you need a flight. In Holland, you drive 40 minutes and spar the national champion.
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