No Challenges Remaining

Episode 134a: Serena Williams is Sportsperson of the Year

In a rare emergency episode that is for an indisputably positive reason (neigh-sayers aside), Ben and Courtney discuss Serena Williams being honored by Sports Illustrated as their Sportsperson of the Year for 2015, becoming the first woman to win the award outright in over 30 years, and the first tennis player in over 20 years. To discuss how Serena clinched the honor, we're joined by Sports Illustrated's executive editor Jon Wertheim (host of SI's reinvigorated tennis podcast Beyond the Baseline), who dives into the process of picking the Sportsperson as well as what it's been like to have his entire career overlap so closely with Serena's. 

We finish by thanking you guys for the beyond amazing start to our Kickstarter campaign, with you guys more than doubling our base goal in less than a week. You guys are the best, and have opened lots of exciting possibilities for what the show can do next year. It's still going for another five weeks, so if you'd like to join in and get access to some exclusive backers-only content you can do so by chipping in here.

As always, thanks for liking us on Facebook, following us on Twitter, and subscribing/reviewing on iTunes or whatever your podcasting platform of choice may be!

Episode 134: Kickin' Back in the Off-Season.

As the off-season starts to get comfortable (and shorter, sadly), Ben and Courtney dive into the mailbag once again to discuss a whole bushel of topics. Is IPTL worth paying attention to for tennis fans? And is it a good proposition for the players who play it, including the lethargic Serena Williams? We also discuss our Hall of Fame ballots, and the legacies of nominees Justine Henin, Marat Safin, and Helena Sukova. Also in questions, we discuss what fair 2016 expectations are for Serena and Djokovic, LGBT issues in tennis, and Andrea Petkovic's doubts about her tennis motivations and what they can teach us all.

Also, in an effort to continue growing and improving, we officially launch our Kickstarter campaign to help support NCR in 2016! You can donate and learn more about our Kickstarter campaign here. Check it out, and thanks in advance for considering us! 

As always, thanks for liking us on Facebook, following us on Twitter, and subscribing/reviewing on iTunes or whatever your podcasting platform of choice may be!

Episode 132: Novak's Greatness and Our Gratefulness

With the ATP regular season at last coming to a close, Ben and Courtney step back and bask in the luminous 2015 campaign of Novak Djokovic. Just what made him so dominant, and how does his year measure up to (or surpass) previous great years of his and others? With no one else coming close right now, how do we assess Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal in London, as well as beard and towel intrigues? And why does Stan Wawrinka always seem to get a free pass from critics? 

Then, we shift gears to talk about the xenophobic panic behind Aljaz Bedene's purgatory, and we hear from Genie Bouchard's lawyer, Benedict Morelli, who sounds off on the answer filed by the USTA in response to Bouchard's lawsuit. We then take a moment for seasonal gratitude, to remember things we're thankful for as Thanksgiving approaches. Lastly, Courtney recommends you watch another Netflix show, and Ben recommends you don't watch a movie.

As always, thanks for liking us on Facebook, following us on Twitter, and subscribing/reviewing on iTunes or whatever your podcasting platform of choice may be!

Episode 131: Boot and Rally

Both back in America, Ben and Courtney tee up the homestretch of this 2015 season, in which Maria Sharapova fell short through no fault of her own in the Fed Cup final, Novak Djokovic continues to cruise, and things are tasting stale in London. Why is it that this time of Djokovic's dominance has been received less warmly than Federer's dominance? Does the ATP need to move the World Tour Finals out of London to get out of a rut? Does Novak Djokovic's great fall make us reconsider if he had a better year than Serena? And what does Ronda Rousey's loss say about premature legacy making?

As always, thanks for liking us on Facebook, following us on Twitter, and subscribing/reviewing on iTunes or whatever your podcasting platform of choice may be!

Episode 123: Priorities (If You Can't Love Yourself...)

As the dust settles from the U.S. Open, Ben and Courtney sift through current developments in tennis to find what really matters. How does the devaluation of Davis Cup reflect on the dwindling importance of nationalism in tennis? Should Andy Murray skip the World Tour Finals in order to play the final in Belgium? What should Stacey Allaster's WTA reign be remembered for? And how should Serena Williams and the rest of the women approach the remainder of the season, including the new Zhuhai event? Should Novak Djokovic change something in order to be loved? Should we aspire to be unpopular quarterbacks? As always, thanks for liking us on Facebook, following us on Twitter, and subscribing/reviewing on iTunes or whatever your podcasting platform of choice may be!

Episode 109: On Grand Slams and Grand Stan

Just as Ben and Courtney were ready to kick off the grandest year in tennis, Stan Wawrinka interrupted and shocked Novak Djokovic and the world by winning the French Open. What was that all about, and what does it say about both Stan and Novak? On the women's sides, how do we like Serena Williams' chances of winning a true Grand Slam this year, and how will this roller coaster run to her 20th major title be remembered? Also we look ahead to grass, like soccer, and don't so much like horses. As always, thanks for liking us on Facebook, following us on Twitter, and subscribing/reviewing on iTunes or whatever your podcasting platform of choice may be! 

Additional listening:

• The Men in Blazers podcast.

Episode 108: The End of Nadal as We Know It?

With the hotly anticipated Djokovic-Nadal quarterfinal now complete, Ben and Courtney put down the panic buttons and hit the record button to share their feelings. What does the unshocking yet lopsided loss say about Rafael Nadal, and his future as a dominant force in tennis? What can he do to regain former glories? Also, just how much better is Novak Djokovic than everybody else? We also discuss other issues of the French Open second week, including debris falling on spectators, surprise semifinal runs by Ana Ivanovic, Lucie Safarova, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Stan Wawrinka, and more! We then dive into the issues about transcript availability to fans, and how this affects journalists like ourselves. As always, thanks for liking us on Facebook, following us on Twitter, and subscribing/reviewing on iTunes or whatever your podcasting platform of choice may be!