But first, thoughts on Mike Tirico's big week and final takeaways from the Olympic Games.

Plus, a recap of the bigger-than-expected numbers for the Dodgers-Blue Jays World Series.

The full Rick Cordella interview with Jon Lewis, co-host Armand Broady and producer Derek Futterman will be published Monday.

Also, Jon and Armand offer their reflections on Bob Costas' appearance on the podcast from last week.

Plus, Jon and Armand discuss the weekend NBA ratings and whether the NBA can ever get viewers as interested in Denver-OKC as they are in Lakers-Celtics.

They explore how the show's diversification of panelists may have turned off some viewers, and how ESPN's desire for more "rage bait" and heated debates may have made the show less valuable to the network.

The discussion then shifts to the sports media strategy of Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav, who has been vocal about the company's approach to sports rights. The hosts are skeptical of Zaslav's claims that losing the NBA rights was a "great decision" for the company, and predict challenges ahead as WBD tries to fill programming gaps.

Finally, the podcast touches on the retirement announcement of longtime Fox NFL analyst Jimmy Johnson, and speculates on how Fox may look to replace him on their pregame show.

The hosts also touch on the latest developments surrounding the NBA, including the Lakers and Warriors' resurgence and the decision to have Richard Jefferson join the lead NBA team on ESPN. Additionally, they analyze ESPN's contract extension with reporter Laura Rutledge and the new sports offerings on the Max streaming service, including the introduction of a higher-tier subscription for live sports content.

The hosts analyze Brady's broadcasting experience and the challenges he may face as the sole analyst for the big game. They also provide context around the evolving TV ratings landscape and Nielsen's measurement changes. Additionally, they discuss whether "Chiefs fatigue" could impact viewership for the matchup.

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The podcast also covers NBC's reported interest in hiring Reggie Miller as a lead NBA analyst and whether there is a shortage of established NBA analysts in the industry.

Additionally, they discuss the status of analyst Greg Olsen at Fox, and the possibility of him finding a new opportunity -- perhaps on Amazon's NFL coverage.

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Later in the show, Jon and Drew are joined by NASCAR writer Bob Pockrass to discuss the Chicago street race last weekend, and what the series is doing to grow its audience. The show wraps up with the final part of the discussion with NBC's Ahmed Fareed about the future of horse racing and the Triple Crown.

The continuation of the PGA/LIV merger discussion gets at how this will impact professional golf from a media standpoint: how the PGA Tour media partners will react to being kept in the dark, what this means for LIV and The CW, and if ratings will even matter for the PGA Tour's bottom line after significant Saudi investment.

Jon and Drew conclude the podcast talking a bit about Rose Zhang and if she can move the needle for the LPGA, how College Softball can become an even bigger property for ESPN/ABC, and Jon's views on the show "Succession."

Also in this episode, Dr. Jon Lewis give his usual ratings roundup with a focus on the Masters.

Twellman discusses what the MLS deal with Apple TV means for the state of the league, how MLS can grow its audience despite a limited linear reach, dispels some misconceptions about the new deal, and gets into how coverage of the league has changed in its first few weeks on Apple. Then Twellman discusses soccer more broadly, and why the notion of the "big 4" leagues in American sports does not give soccer its due. Twellman also dives into topics surrounding the National Team, the state of the USSF, and the importance of the 2026 World Cup for soccer in the United States. Finally, Twellman gets into how he feels about social media, and talks about some scary instances he's had with social media in the past.

Bill Shea on measuring Super Bowl ratings:

"It's kind of like sports gambling ... as we know Nielsen is highly educated guesswork based on extrapolations from their panels. At the end of the day we actually have no idea how many people watched the Super Bowl but we know it was a lot." 

Bill Shea on Terry Bradshaw:

"I think he's probably earned the right to decide when he walks away. If gaffes and things keep mounting, maybe there's a nudge out the door."