No Challenges Remaining

Episode 151: You Can't Do That on Television

In their last pre-Europe show, Ben and Courtney discuss the things you probably shouldn't do on television, like Roselyne Bachelot's accusations about Rafael Nadal that just drew a defamation lawsuit. But is there any good way to talk about illicit performance enhancement speculation, a question raised by Andy Murray voicing his vague suspicions? Also, Serena Williams and her throne joined Beyonce in Lemonade, which was way neato. Then we take questions on WTA surprises (including the delightful Cagla Buyukakcay, Nishikori stagnation and Djokovic-Nadal. 

As mentioned, here's Irina Falconi's fundraising effort for earthquake relief in Ecuador.

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

Episode 150: Southern Fried Tennis

It's our sesquicentennial! As Ben and Courtney commemorate 150 episodes (well, actually this is our 181st, but you know we're not much for counting correctly), they first take you on a trip to the south of France, where NCR's France correspondant Carole Bouchard wraps up the Monte Carlo Masters, where Nadal won on clay and it was somehow a surprise. Then, after a detour through Fed Cup, we pivot to the south of the United States, and soak in the sounds of the Volvo Car Open in Charleston, one of our favorite stops on tour with some of our favorite people. You'll hear from four of them: volunteer extraordinaire Lynn Coursey ("She's here!"), Diane Elayne Dees and Daniel Ward of Women Who Serve, and tournament manager Eleanor Adams. Then Courtney and Ben meditate (or something) on their relative experiences with the sports worlds of Portland and Philadelphia. 

Ben also announces the upcoming NCRvision Song Contest which will be brought to your in just a few weeks, so be sure to tweet or email us your submissions! 

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

Episode 144: Overpromised, Underdelivered

This week, Ben and Courtney come to realize that things just aren't what they used to be. Like Rafael Nadal's tennis, which Courtney bore witness to this week in Rio, where he again looked mortal on clay. Also, Caroline Wozniacki's reliability, since she fell out of the top 20 for the first time in nearly eight years. And even with Nick Kyrgios winning his first title, is there a stable foundation to build on for him? We're then joined by Reem Abulleil of Sport 360 in Dubai to talk about the tournament there, which was rocked by WTA withdrawals and upsets. Reem is cool. Then we talk about Ash Barty, comeback kid. Rantily, Courtney doesn't like getting asked if she bought things but does like getting things she didn't buy, and Ben is amused in a muscovial way. 

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

And here is that Lizzo & Caroline Smith track that Courtney adores. 

Episode 143: Twitchy on the Trigger

February is a choose your own adventure sort of month in tennis, and Ben and Courtney have all sorts of fun on a windy path through results of debatable relevance. Are wins by players like Thiem, Klizan, Vinci and Venus meaningful? How about more dodgy losses for Nadal? And what is a fair level of hype to be putting on Taylor Fritz right now? Then we take a number like we never have before, and follow our chosen man into a battlefield that might explain some of his losses. There's still time to respawn, though. 

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

Episode 141b: Australian Open Day 2: Feel-Good Upset

In our Australian Open Day 2 episode, Ben and Courtney talk about three upset losses that cropped up on the day: Venus Williams (who you won't hear from, as she bailed on press again), Rafael Nadal (who was optimistic overall in the face of getting blown away by power with increasing frequency), and Simona Halep, whose loss to Zhang Shuai (who you hear from) revealed an incredibly emotional, humanizing moment for tennis. Seriously, it was pretty cool.

Oh, and our Kickstarter campaign is over, and 596 of you raised $22,050 to support NCR this year. We're blown away as all heck.

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 139: Starting on the Right Foot

After the first week of tennis, Ben and Courtney look around to see how things have started in the 2016 season of tennis. As carnage accumulates, things sure look good for Brisbane champions Victoria Azarenka and Milos Raonic, don't they? You'll hear from both of them (and Azarenka's coach Wim Fissette), as well as runner-up Roger Federer. Elsewhere, gosh was Novak Djokovic able to do unspeakable things to Rafael Nadal in that Doha final. Has anyone ever been such a clear favorite heading into a Grand Slam? And has anything ever been as overblown as the reaction to Jack Sock conceding a first serve in a friendly farewell tour exhibition match? We discuss all that and more.

There is now less than a week to go in our Kickstarter campaign, so if you want to support us and get any of our neato rewards before it's too late, don't delay! Your support has been super amazing already, and we can't thank you all enough. If you haven't yet and still want to, you can find out more 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 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!