NEW EPISODE Our second episode of 2026 is all about the first Grand Slam tennis event of the year - the Australian Open. Come listen to find out why it's called "the Happy Slam", how it started, and of some of the legends of the sport who have graced the blue hard court and green grass of old. 🇦🇺🎾

As if I needed another reason to hate Gianni Infantino.

We're sorry Carolina.

Nothing beats the FA Cup.

Season 2 starts here! Episode 1 of the brand new sporting year is out now, previewing the NFL Playoffs. We have bios of all this years teams and their chances, and of course history about where the playoffs came from and some of the great moments in its past. On all good podcast providers now.

Very sad news. www.bbc.co.uk/sport/footba...

Amidst all the chaos in the world, fantastic news about Damien Martyn's health improvement. Sounds positive after everything sounded so grim last week. Really good news.

Our final nominee for Villain of the Year is the American fans at Bethpage Black in the Ryder Cup. Keegan Bradley called them "passionate" - Ben chooses a very different word entirely. Listen to our year ending awards now ahead of season two kicking off with the NFL Playoffs later this week.

Wonder if it's worth asking FIFA if they'll be taking that peace prize back?

We've talked Jannik Sinner, we've condemned Gianni Infantino and his mate Donny... who's next on our shortlist for Sporting Villain of the Year? Well of course, for two big football fans it just had to be that bane in our existence - Howard Webb and VAR in the Premier League. Into the bin with it.

Our next candidate for Villain of the Year is Gianni Infantino. We didn't think FIFA could reach a new low but Infantino giving Donald Trump a peace prize basically to avert a tantrum, at the same time Trump's Secretary of War was performing extrajudicial killings in Venezuela... yeah, that did it.

From our 2025 end-our-year awards episode. We go through the nominees for our favourite award - Sporting Villain of the Year. First up, Jannik Sinner. Was his excuse for abnormal doping results justified? Was he guilty? Has he gotten away largely scot-free? Ben has opinions, of course. Part 1:

Out now, our final episode of 2025. Bringing the year to a close with a bit of fun - our first annual awards show, covering: Best Event Best Moment Low Moment Team of the Year Coach of the Year Best Sportsman Best Sportswoman Biggest Villain All hotly contested - especially that last one...

In my life I've seen a small number of films I believe to be truly perfect. The Muppet Christmas Carol is undoubtedly one of them.

Out now. If you've ever wondered why the AFCON is held in the northern hemisphere winter, what CAF deem a suitable punishment for having terrorists attack your team bus, what links the 1968 final with the 2010 World Cup host nation and how Egypt were conned out of a trophy, tune in now! 🌍 ⚽️ 🏆

Was always going to be Rory, wasn't it. Well deserved. Love seeing Ellie Kildunne up there too.

This week's episode is on the African Cup of Nations, and will be released a day later than usual tomorrow. We talk opposition to apartheid, FIFA's failings, Egyptian dominance, CAF's occasionally odd decision making and, of course, the story of the tournament's most extraordinary champion, Zambia.

It's 2025 and Philip Rivers is throwing TD passes in the NFL. How can you not love sport.

Today's episode is all about darts and the PDC World Championship starting at Ally Pally later - slightly delayed but hoping to get it out by start of play at 7pm. So forget Wham and Mariah, crank up some Planet Funk, the only Xmas hit you'll need this year - and join us on the Oche for Episode 36.

First time in a while I wholly agree with the shortlist, though still don't love the inflexibility of hard limiting it to six people... Scott McTominay, for one, deserved at least a consideration after his 2025.

Congratulations Lando. Nice guys do sometimes finish first. Congrats to Max and Oscar for making it a hell of a season too. Might not have been the most exciting finale ever but was a satisfying end to a very good season.

Please be aware, this episode contains talk of Joe Root having never hit a Test Century in Australia which is now out of date. Our sincere apologies. *Takes deep breath* ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT!!!!!!!

ROOOOOOOOOOOOTTTTTTT

We would put our usual message out saying NEW EPISODE, and telling you it's part 3 of our Ashes series where we pick our best Ashes XI of our lifetime, including debating Joe Root's merits... but we don't want to jinx anything right now, so we won't.

How is Enzo not offside here? Mosquera clears that without him being there.

"An outback bushwhack dream of a comeback." While English cricket fans of almost any age have been here before, we also know we will stay watching, and keep dreaming. Because 143 years of history means seeing the impossible made possible many times over. Believe.

NEW EPISODE ALERT Our second Ashes episode after our intro to cricket last week. This week we cover origin stories through to the legend that is Richie Benaud, stopping for some WG Grace and Billy Midwinter, Bradman and Bodyline, and more besides in between. Absolutely marvellous, this one.

I, for one, am shocked.

Today has been a great three days of Test cricket. #Ashes 🏏

Cricket.

It was never going to be boring, was it.

OUT NOW 🏏 🇦🇺 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 🏏 At the Almanac we love to provide for people who, like us, love sport but only know a chosen few in depth. With the Ashes starting tonight, today's episode looks to make that most complex of sports, cricket, more accessible. Episode 33: How to Cricket (The Ashes Part 1), Out Now.

It's one of the biggest days on the Canadian sports calendar, the Grey Cup. Will the Montreal Alouettes be able to defend the CFL Lineal Championship and win their 2nd Grey Cup in 3 years? Or will the Saskatchewan Roughriders win their first title since 2013?

A red card for violent conduct in a FIFA match is a three game ban. Portugal more than likely have one competitive match before the World Cup starts. So in theory, Ronaldo will miss the first two matches of the World Cup. Any ideas for how FIFA are going to weasel out of this one people?

Montreal and Saskatchewan meet in the Grey Cup this weekend, and after that the CFL will start changing a bunch of its rules to make the game much closer to the American version. I brought @rodger.bsky.social on Phantom Island this week to discuss! podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/w...

If I had a nickel for every time our sports history podcast has discussed men headbutting inanimate objects this month, I'd have two nickels. Which isn't a lot, but it's weird that it happened twice.

NEW EPISODE - The Grey Cup 🇨🇦 🏈 🇨🇦 🏈 🇨🇦 🏈 Ahead of Canadian Football's showpiece this Sunday we tackle how the game developed, how to play it, and why it might have saved soccer fans the globe over from the unthinkable. We also talk Russ Jackson, Warren Moon, cold weather, trophy headbutts and more.

Former NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue died Sunday, his family said. He was 84. Tagliabue succeeded Pete Rozelle as commissioner in 1989 and served until he retired in 2006 and was succeeded by Roger Goodell.

Pretty interesting sprint race to start the weekend off, other than the face pretty much everything that happened seem to happen off camera. Not sure if there was some technical issues going on, but even replays were slow coming there. Oscar needs pole position badly this evening.

What is Felipe Massa's endgame in his Crashgate court case? Does he actually have a chance of winning it? Is it all worth gambling an exceptional public image on? Seeing these maneuvers whilst remembering how he handled missing out in 2008 is hard for us to reconcile. Part 1 here.

NEW EPISODE ALERT 🏎 🇧🇷 🏎 🇧🇷 🏎 🇧🇷 The Brazilian Grand Prix - the best circuit on the calendar, fast, unpredictable and often wet. It's hosted incredible finales, heartbreak, headbutts and more. We talk Senna, Carlos Pace, Barrichello and more - and of course, Felipe Massa and 2008, Crashgate and all.

Congratulations to Jamie Melham for becoming the second female jockey - after Michelle Payne in 2015 - to win the Melbourne Cup, on Half Yours. Same goes to the horse, his team, any Victorians who are still sober and all the Brits who set a 3.45am alarm to watch the race live! 🐎🇦🇺

It's 6am in Melbourne where millions of people are NOT waking up to their normal work day, because today is Melbourne Cup Day, a public holiday, all for a legendary race. Episode 30 is out now, on the Melbourne Cup - give it a listen for history, legends and why this day means so much to Australia.

NEW EPISODE: The Melbourne Cup - the Race That Stops the Nation. They say when Australia was being built, every new town would before anything else get a church, a pub, and a racetrack. Horse racing is built into the fabric of the country, and the Melbourne Cup is arguably its biggest sporting day.

I thought this was quite a good spin for the logistical nightmare that has been getting an episode out this week! It's a good one - Aussie sports are fast becoming favourites of ours. Horse racing in Australia is huge, so built into the fabric of the country, and the Melbourne Cup is its showpiece.

On November 7th 1861 the first Melbourne Cup ran at Flemington Racecourse - a Thursday, not yet the first Tuesday of November where the Cup has stood for the past 150 years. Appropriately our podcast, normally out on a Tuesday will come out Thursday this week! Ep.30, the Melbourne Cup, out soon 🐎🇦🇺

With Episode 29 on the history of archery and the Archery World Cup out now, I'm celebrating at the NOMA Sculpture Garden with some very apt artwork. Just about the nicest place in New Orleans so far this, and the beignet's around the corner were pretty great too.

A little late on the announcement as admin is currently slumming it in New Orleans, but EPISODE 29 OUT NOW! Here at the Almanac we love when sport and history overlap, and there are few sports with a longer history or one so steeped in lore and myth than Archery. Archery World Cup, Ep.29, out now!