No Challenges Remaining

Episode 219a: Remember When? 2018, Part 1

With a whole year behind them, Ben and Courtney have a whole lot to look back on, both fondly and...less fondly. 

And so, the fairly annual "Remember When?" episode is here, at least the first third of it on the first four or so months on the season. All sorts of wacky things happened in Australia, and the year stayed interesting throughout.

These episodes are less about the headline grabbing stories and more about the smaller moments that made the year feel how it felt, and we do hope you enjoy it as a tasty dessert at the end of a year-long meal. 

As always, thanks for liking us on Facebook (leave comments on the episode thread! Engage with other listeners!), following us on Twitter (discuss this episode with hashtag #NCRRememberWhen!), and subscribing/reviewing on iTunes on iTunes or whatever your podcasting app/platform of choice may be!

Episode 201: Australian Open Wrap

Ben and Courtney fled to opposite corners of the globe after the Australian Open, so just now bring you this show on the Grand Slam that was, in which second seeds Roger Federer and Caroline Wozniacki won their 20th, and first, respectively. 

First, on the men. Why was closing the roof a correct, obvious decision? And indoors or outdoors, has it all gotten a bit too easy for Roger Federer at an age when it shouldn't? And on the flip side, does Rafael Nadal have grounds to complain as much as he does about schedules and surfaces and such? 

Also, we delve into the Tennys Sandgren saga, what parts of it were fair and not, and what lessons there are to be learned.

Then, onto the women, where champion Caroline Wozniacki may have somehow had the least impressive tournament of any of the semifinalists? On her breakthrough, what we learned about Simona Halep, the joys of Hsieh Su-wei and the underwhelming major results of Elina Svitolina. 

As always, thanks for liking us on Facebook (leave comments on the episode thread! Engage with other listeners!), following us on Twitter (discuss this episode with hashtag #NCR201!), and subscribing/reviewing on iTunes on iTunes or whatever your podcasting app/platform of choice may be!

Episode 200: Mary Carillo

Ben and Courtney are delighted to see their ersatz odometer click over to 200 with their dear friend Mary Carillo at the Australian Open (the 200th Grand Slam of the Open Era, no less!). She's our kind of people. 

Mary, in Melbourne for Tennis Channel, is also in the midst of reporting for HBO's Real Sports about the controversy surrounding the Australian Open's Margaret Court Arena, which has faced calls for a name change or boycott as its namesake, the Grand Slam champ-turned-pastor Margaret Court has continued to escalate her crusade against gay and transgender people, including children.

We discuss many of the sides of this complex issue, the perspectives of Martina Navratilova and Billie Jean King, as well as how BJK serve-and-volleyed Tennis Australia before the tournament began.

We end with Mary's enduring love for tennis, as well as her iconic moment regarding another racquet sport: badminton.

As always, thanks for liking us on Facebook (leave comments on the episode thread! Engage with other listeners!), following us on Twitter (discuss this episode with hashtag #NCR200!), and subscribing/reviewing on iTunes on iTunes or whatever your podcasting app/platform of choice may be!

Episode 199d: 2018 Australian Open Preview

Ben and Courtney are back in your ears after far too long, and are in Melbourne ready to tee up the first Grand Slam of 2018.

On the women's side, we discuss the women who have surged to start the year (Halep, Kerber, Bencic...Giorgi?) and go through the draw thoroughly to find where openings might emerge. 

On the men's side, Rafael Nadal is a clear draw winner, but there still manage to be lots of exciting early round match-ups throughout. And is it Roger's to lose, or can 2,000 points go to Goffindor?

As always, thanks for liking us on Facebook (leave comments on the episode thread! Engage with other listeners!), following us on Twitter (discuss this episode with hashtag #NCRAusOpen!), and subscribing/reviewing on iTunes on iTunes or whatever your podcasting app/platform of choice may be!