Pablo Torre Finds Out

Is the MLBPA screwed because its (outgoing) leader allegedly had an affair with his sister-in-law? Is a salary cap a red herring? How much does winning a Super Bowl boost the valuation of the Seahawks? And can we ever stop tanking? John Skipper and David Samson return for our semi-regular panel on sports business — and taking down Big Pharma.

• Subscribe to "Nothing Personal with David Samson"

• Previously on PTFO: We Followed the Money in the NFL Union Scandal. So Did the F

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It was a pickup game for the ages. Finally, former Miami Heat center — and current DJ — Rony Seikaly opens up to correspondent Foster Kamer about his shocking decision to do what nobody in the NBA would, in the midst of HIV/AIDS paranoia. And how Seikaly was fated to become the person that Magic Johnson credits with changing his life.

• Subscribe to Foster Kamer's Substack

• Listen to "Basketball History 101" with Rick Loayza 

"Lose Your Love" (with Nico de Andrea), "Carrot Cake (Radio Edit)" and "Out of Time (Original Mix)" produced and performed by Rony Seikaly; used with permission by Rony Seikaly. 

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He used his instinctual superpower to sign an all-star roster of everyone from Stone Temple Pilots and Katy Perry to, yes, Kid Rock. Now, record executive Jason Flom (with a little help from the spirit of Muhammad Ali) is performing a different kind of miracle, with his obsession to get innocent people out of prison. This is why the unbroken, indomitable grace of Charles Flores is far from alone inside our shocking American system — and how you can help, too.

• Sign the petition to stop the execution of Charles Flores

• Previously on PTFO: We Visited Death Row for the Super Bowl. You Can Help Save This Fan's Life.

• Subscribe to "Wrongful Conviction" with Jason Flom

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What does the death of The Washington Post sports section mean for the future of sports, journalism and propaganda? Was "Melania" a movie — or crypto? And how does LeBron guarantee his story now? Plus: Tony Kornheiser, Paul Thomas Anderson, Nuke LaLoosh, New Yorker clickbait, Carmelite nuns, the glue of commonality... and the uselessness of despair.

Further content:

• "Democracy Dies in Broad Daylight" (David Remnick)

• "The Crackin', Shakin', Breakin' Sounds" (Nat Hentoff, 1964)

• "A Day with the Duke" (Whitney Balliett, 1970)

• Subscribe to "The New Yorker Radio Hour"

• Read "King of the World"

• Watch "O.J.: Made in America"

Previously on PTFO:

• The Banned Prince Documentary: Director Ezra Edelman (Finally) Speaks

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The alleged Jon Stewart of his generation steps down from his YouTube throne and into our studio to discuss what LeBron's agent taught him; why the hell Pablo watched the Super Bowl with socialists; how it felt to audition for the role of SBF; and what PTFO revealed to his dad (about how Democrats can be evil, too). Plus: Clavicular, Bob Kraft, David Stern, Lena Dunham, the real-life Rod Tidwell... and Tony Kornheiser protesting the only thing tech has made that's good.

• Subscribe to The Adam Friedland Show

• Get tickets to see Adam Friedland live

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As the Clippers host NBA All-Star Weekend, Pablo's "thorough due diligence" leads down a trail of LLCs and lawsuits that Kawhi Leonard and the richest owner in sports probably don't want you to know about. David Samson and Amin Elhassan return with a new prescription and — if the Aspiration whistle blows again — judgment day.

Previously on PTFO:

• Part I: The Silent Superstar and the Rotten Apple Tree

• Part II: An Argument with Mark Cuban

• Part III: The Mystery Investor, the No-Show Payday and the "Smoking Gun"

• Part IV: Steve Ballmer, the Other Cuban and the $118 Million Infusion

• Part V: Steve Ballmer's "Inconceivable" Donation, the $20 Million Guarantee and a Head on a Spike

• Part VI: An IRL Showdown with Mark Cuban

• Part VII: The Briefcase, Ballmer's Social Network and Aspiration's House of Cards

• Subscribe to Pablo's newsletter for exclusive access, documents and invites

• Subscribe to "Nothing Personal with David Samson"

• Subscribe to "Basketball Illuminati" with Amin Elhassan

(Pablo Torre Finds Out is independently produced by Meadowlark Media and distributed by The Athletic. The views, research and reporting expressed in this episode are solely those of Pablo Torre Finds Out and do not reflect the work or editorial input of The Athletic or its journalists.)

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He is a Seattle sports legend. Also: butts. At 62 years young, the rapper reveals how a Super Bowl ad inspired "Baby Got Back," why he was live-tweeting a Seahawks comeback at 80 miles an hour... and what happened to that viral lady grinding with him at the symphony.

• Previously on PTFO: The NFL Coach and Sir Mix-a-Lot's Mercedes

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A wrongfully convicted football fan is running out of time. So Pablo travels from the free world to Texas, to sit with Charles Flores for the one hour a day when he's not in solitary confinement. To learn what it feels like to watch the NFL through the bars of a super-max prison. To understand why Charles continues to await execution, a decade after the real killer went free. And to find out how the road might go on, before it's too late.

• Sign the petition to stop the execution of Charles Flores

• Previously on PTFO: Watching the Dallas Cowboys on Death Row

"The Road Goes On Forever" written and performed by Robert Earl Keen, with permissions from Songs of Universal, Inc., and Keen Productions.

(Pablo Torre Finds Out is independently produced by Meadowlark Media and distributed by The Athletic. The views, research and reporting expressed in this episode are solely those of Pablo Torre Finds Out and do not reflect the work or editorial input of The Athletic or its journalists.)

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On the award-winning podcast by our friends at The Center for Investigative Journalism, Pablo sits down with host Al Letson to discuss what it’s like investigating the complicated world of sports — from financial scandals to transgender rights, to DEI and the Super Bowl halftime show and beyond.

• Subscribe to "Reveal"

• Previously on PTFO (with The Center for Investigative Journalism): "All-American Grift — We investigated Trump's Favorite Sports Troll" 

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He is the accidental creator of a phenomenon eating our world and wallets alive. So how does James Surowiecki feel about Kalshi, Polymarket and the wisdom of the crowd, now that even the market for a missile launch can be manipulated? On the eve of the Super Bowl, he re-traces the rise of the casino in your pocket, debunks the cult of the CEO... and forecasts the disturbing possibilities when insider trading maneuvers all the way to the White House (or at least The Dark Lord of the Pentagon).

• Read "The Wisdom of Crowds"

• Previously on PTFO: "The Best Bettor in NBA History on How to Solve a Gambling Crisis

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Who gets to take pride in football, even (and especially) if Sam Darnold is your quarterback? Who gets to lock the gates on excellence, even if you're snubbing Bill Belichick? Did Tom Brady only get better in the booth... because he couldn't get much worse? And do people only care when you're wrong? Plus: brrrtue-signaling, the pageantry of nonsense, The Polian Dimension and the Kraft family syndicate on Jason Whitlock's bulletin board.

Further content:

• "In the 'no' camp is a known liar...'" (Ollie Connolly)

• "Sources: Bill Belichick will not be a first-ballot Hall of Famer" (Don Van Natta Jr. and Seth Wickersham)

• "Tom Brady knew he needed to improve on TV. So he channeled his 'quarterback' days" (Andrew Marchand)

• Subscribe to "The Mina Kimes Show featuring Lenny"

• Take a PTFO audience survey for your chance to win a $100 Amazon gift card

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What does being Robert Pera's "co-owner" even mean? Why can't a sports executive wear his team's uniform? And what do the layoffs at The Washington Post and CBS News suggest about the business of journalism? Former Marlins president David Samson joins Pablo, one-on-one, to decode the sagas of the Memphis Grizzlies and mainstream media.

• Previously on PTFO: The Invisible NBA Owner and "Crimes Against Humanity"

• Subscribe to "Nothing Personal with David Samson"

(Pablo Torre Finds Out is independently produced by Meadowlark Media and distributed by The Athletic. The views, research and reporting expressed in this episode are solely those of Pablo Torre Finds Out and Hunterbrook Media and do not reflect the work or editorial input of The Athletic or its journalists.)

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A dunking tech bro in Memphis. A drone massacre in Ukraine. How did America's backyard beams end up in Putin's network of underground buyers? And how on Earth do Ja Morant, Justin Timberlake, Kevin Hart and "The Grindfather" get us to an illegal trade war? Hunterbrook Media's Sam Koppelman breaks down how his reporters investigated from a bird's-eye view, to a high-end Moscow dealer, to undercover calls back home — and asks what the hell Adam Silver's gonna do about another billionaire scandal hiding in plain sight.

• Read the full investigation at Hunterbrook Media 

(Pablo Torre Finds Out is independently produced by Meadowlark Media and distributed by The Athletic. The views, research and reporting expressed in this episode are solely those of Pablo Torre Finds Out and Hunterbrook Media and do not reflect the work or editorial input of The Athletic or its journalists.)

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Golf can be for the people. But politics has come to the tee-boxes of D.C., as Trump literally takes a dump on public courses, with a gilded mission to re-shape the people's fairway — and a historically Black home of the sport — in his own image. Garrett Morrison of Fried Egg Golf explains the rubber-stamp meetings, pimp-my-ride addendums and bros in the ear of a president chasing faux-luxury waterfalls, A.I. logos and... asbestos?

• Read more at Fried Egg Golf: "The National Links Trust's Battle with the Trump Administration, Explained"

• Subscribe to "Designing Golf" with Garrett Morrison

• Previously on PTFO: Why Golf Yalta Explains Donald Trump

• Take a PTFO audience survey for your chance to win a $100 Amazon gift card

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One of America's foremost cultural critics steps out of the writer's cabin and into the studio to predict the future of a game that seems too big to stop: What happened to the egghead prophecy of Peak Football? Is 11 minutes actually the perfect amount of hyper-connective, violent action? And, in a Post-Winning Era, will the relentless gold-mining of fandom threaten the NFL's dominance, as soon as 2070? Plus: best laid aquarium plans, killing your fake darlings, old love letters, the meaning of nostalgia... and becoming Don Rickles for Bill Simmons. 

• Read "Football" by Chuck Klosterman

• Take a PTFO audience survey for your chance to win a $100 Amazon gift card

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