We are confusion about the start to this NBA season. What's the deal with the defending champ Warriors? How are the Jazz winning? Are the Hawks the new Blazers? What happened to Jimmy Butler's dreadlocks..? And, get excited, the World Cup is about to begin... But we don't really talk about that.

Who needs to step up for the Celtics and the Warriors? Who's been a pleasant surprise so far? Do our original predictions still hold up..?? Which Warrior will drive Phil crazy with turnovers in game 5..???

Phil is confident that the Warriors will bring home another ring. Andy wants anyone but the Celtics... So, the Warriors. Pretty please.

It's nearly NBA conference finals time. Who will win it all? Phil is sure he knows. Also, is the superteam simply a dream of the past? Plus, MLB is in full swing, and there are few surprises so far. Is that a good thing? Finally, our soccer analysis continues to mature.

We wrap up a couple of the biggest sporting events this year and, crucially, sound off about Super Bowl halftime shows.

Super Bowl preview episode! Plus NBA trade deadline, Winter Olympics, and a tease about upcoming World Cup talk. Yes... soccer.

College football championship game... can there be a surprise outcome? Also NFL playoff talk and some meaty discussion about 90s NBA uniforms.

readers, as we mark the end of 2021, we’re announcing that TWR is closing up shop. our last two quarters haven’t seen the reader growth or engagement that we aimed for, so it seems like an appropriate time to wrap things up. we’ve enjoyed our ride together immensely, and are incredibly proud of the issues we put out and you all read. so, for all th…

readers, as we wrap up the third quarter of TWR, we’re reevaluating how we produce this newsletter and how we can make all of you happier. if you have any suggestions, please reach out - sooner than later! if you’d be interested in joining our team as a writer, editor, or narrator, please also shoot us an email. big idea: dems botch their big spend…

part of our team is traveling this week, so if you’re listening to the audio version of the newsletter, you’re probably noticing a different, more suave, more...distinguished voice. don’t worry, our usual nasally midwestern half-asleep narrator will be back next week, but in the meantime...enjoy. we’re looking for narrators, authors, and editors to…

listen, we know supermarkets are crazy these days because of all your last-minute christmas shopping, but seriously - there should be a minimum age required to use self-checkout lanes. we love the idea of not having to interact with another human being to purchase items, especially when those items happen to be six pints of ice cream and a single s…

readers, we’re honestly surprised we managed to hoist ourselves out of bed to write this issue following turkey day. we mean seriously, with black friday sales sucking this year, there was even less of a reason not to just succumb to the usual post-prandial thanksgiving day food coma. alas, we realized we had to stick it out, if only for our canadi…

We're almost to the College Football Playoff... Should we be excited? Also, we look back at poor predictions for the NFL season and briefly break down the NBA playoff race.

well readers, we’re back after a whirlwind of travel last week spanning washington, new york, north carolina, and michigan. we’re also sick as dogs, from something other than COVID, so please excuse the raspier voice than normal, and we hope the fog in our brains didn’t result in an overly muddled issue. in any case, it’s great to be back, and an e…

part of our team is travelling this week, so if you’re listening to the audio version of the newsletter, you’re probably noticing a different, more suave, more...distinguished voice this week. don’t worry, our usual nasally midwestern half-asleep narrator will be back next week, but in the meantime...enjoy ;)…

okay, so we’re not going to lie - we’re not 100% sure this will land in your inbox at 7am instead of at 8am (or possibly 6am). we’ve been on this earth for more than 80 years (collectively, though we do write like a grumpy 80 year old man at times), and we still have no idea how daylight saving time works. so, we guess the point of this is to say: …

readers, we’re just going to say this once: it’s halloween tonight, so gird yourselves accordingly. go buy up all the eggs and toilet paper you can get your hands onto - not because there’s a COVID shortage, but so those neighborhood youths can’t attack you again. don’t say we didn’t try to save you... big idea: Joe flees for italy while dems fail …

look, after we wrote this issue we realized like half of it has to do with the climate crisis, but don’t blame us - it’s called a crisis for a reason, okay? we promise, we won’t be as doom and gloom next week, apart from the usual warning to be on the lookout for halloween shenanigans. we’re like 94% sure it’s not a coincidence that our house gets …

readers, we took a different approach to our hottake this week - less funny, more personal. it’s our thoughts on the role of american muslims in today’s divisive politics. we’re no experts, so take everything we say with a grain (or two) of salt, but we do hope it’s food for thought. big idea: dems fall to friendly fire amid continuing negotiations…

readers, we’re sorry for a glitch that led to some of you receiving last week’s issue twice. it won’t happen again...we hope. you’d think that immediately after issuing a mea culpa we wouldn’t have the courage to ask you to refer a friend, and you’re right. we won’t. we’ll just point out your unique subscriber referral link is at the bottom of this…

loyal readers, it’s the end of an era. our favorite blond-haired celebrity is free from over a decade of scrutiny and limited freedom. and before you say anything, no we’re not talking about #freebritney. the leader of free europe, the bastion of democracy in the era of You-Know-Who, the german chancellor with a PhD in freaking quantum chemistry, A…

we’re excited this week to welcome our first TWR contributor, Aziz! we’ll spare you the details - yes, he’s a nice guy, yes, and he’s single - but because of what must be some major childhood trauma, he’s really into canadian politics. so, despite basically no one in the US even thinking about canada this week, he’s bringing us the lowdown on what …

we’re visiting our little brother this week and we couldn’t help but notice his attire when he picked us up from the airport. it’s almost as though he was trying to instigate us with a bright green Spartans shirt, knowing that we went to Michigan. alas, younger siblings are the worst, but they usually do take our recommendations to heart. don’t bel…

we're in florida this week, and we're not ashamed to say this is our first time visiting the wrinkly elbow joint of america. who knew there was a state where alligators were the most sentient inhabitants? it's not that we're surprised that there's a state where there are more swamps than people, but having to keep our windshield wipers constantly o…

College football is underway! The NFL is about to start! Baseball is heating up! And we STILL talk NBA superteams.

we were asked by our brother to recommend a new smartphone to buy - and we were stumped. on the one hand, we love our latest galaxy #android4life but that’s a pretty major life decision, up there with whether to buy or rent your first home or deciding if you’re team iron man or captain america. luckily, referring a friend to subscribe to TWR isn’t …

A little catch-up on NBA free agency featuring... Larry Nance Jr.? Also, will the SF Giants finally come back to reality in the playoffs, and who might challenge the Chiefs in the AFC this season?

The NBA action is intense, even in the offseason. Will the Blazers trade Lillard? Did the Warriors secure their future in the draft? Is Giannis already a hall-of-famer? Will Andy have to leave Portland after his latest prediction..???

amid the haze of dehydration brought on by the unforgiving august sun, we began to ponder life’s big questions. which came first, racoons’ bandit masks or their reputation for banditry? why does hollywood keep casting british actors despite their terrible american accents? what the heck are carbon tariffs and why should I care? well, we don’t have …

we’re continuing our new, wednesday deep dive articles called hottakes on our website at theweeklyrundown.us. we’re continuing our discussion of the origins of the arab-israeli conflict - this week, how a protest over the Wailing Wall led to the end of an uneasy peace after the british had taken over palestine. big idea: afghanistan fell...already …

dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to join this email newsletter with its newly revamped website and expanded blog called hottakes. sorry guys, it’s summer and love is in the air. for real though, our new weekly deep dive into topics of import is going strong, and we’re continuing to look into the origins of the arab-israeli conflict. this …

as part of our plans for world media domination, we’re incredibly excited to unveil our revamped website - theweeklyrundown.us - and a new weekly blog, hottakes! unlike twitter and your average newspaper’s oped section, we’re planning on doing some actual research here before proclaiming that Sesame Street is just a cover for a secret FBI sting ope…

we've always felt that it's creepy when facebook reminds us when we've been friends with someone for 10 years. we don't really mind that they know that fact, just that they've reminded us of how old we are. we hope us reminding you that TWR is now 25 issues in doesn’t make you feel old, but we do hope this special occasion encourages you to refer a…

we hit up four parties last weekend, and we realized how much we missed...well, actual human interaction. let's not kid ourselves folks - before COVID, we just made excuses to stay home, but now we're all social butterflies. who knew it would just take a global pandemic to get us out of our cocoons? if you got another hot party invite, email us! bi…

readers, know it took all our self-control not to spend this entire issue talking about how soccer’s racist and penalty kicks are stupid. our better angels won out, especially when we remembered we’re sponsoring a local soccer team and all the hate mail we got when we bashed college sports in issue 18. if you’d like to hear that soccer rant anyways…

we were walking down the street the other night, and all of a sudden - two youths were blocking our path! before we knew it, our phone, laptop, and wallet had been stolen (don’t worry, no one was hurt). we only wish we could’ve told our muggers thank you for wearing facemasks. have something you wish you could tell us? email us today! big idea: is …

It's deep in the NBA playoffs...

our intrepid, impossibly consistent, and annoyingly OCD editor is partying it up in dubai this weekend, so don’t be surprised by any spelling or grammar mistakes this week. if you’re bored this independence day, feel free to email us a complaint anyways. big idea: america gives up on afghanistan as we discussed in issue 10, Joe is desperately tryin…

we were with our niece recently, and she started playing with Frozen flashcards (one of her fav toys, despite her being terrified of the movie itself). we commented that our favorite character was the snowman, and she immediately corrected us by saying “his name is Olaffff!!” please, be like our niece and correct us when we’re wrong via email. big …

we were eating korean bbq the other night with a group of besties (and one acquaintance), and all of a sudden - bang! turns out some dude shot at our restaurant’s window, then ran off into the night. normally this is where we’d put a cheesy transition in asking for readers to refer a friend and earn yummy prizes, but we can’t think of one this week…

it was a crazy busy week, with Joe and auntie Kamala abroad, all those cicadas scaring the living daylights out of our east coast readers, and that French dude getting slapped in the face. so, we’ll be skipping our usual “what we’re reading” section today - it’s not like any of you have actually been buying our recommended books anyways 😉 big idea:…

loyal readers, it’s hard to believe that we’ve been putting out weekly issues for four months now! we want to hear from you (#notdesperate) in our first reader poll! it’s quick, cute, and will really help us out. please tell us how we’re doing in three rapid-fire questions today. big idea: arabs and israelis...compromising? it looks like Benjamin N…

we were on the phone recently, setting up an appointment with a nurse. she asked us what our preferred pronouns were, and by mistake we said “him/her”. after a moment of awkwardness, we caught ourselves, but we sure were glad we had the chance to correct ourselves. feel like TWR needs to correct something? email us! big idea: the death of big oil i…

Phil still doesn't believe in the Giants, but he's starting to get excited anyway... Do they have an MVP on the roster? Also, is the 2021 basketball hall of fame class worthy of induction? Should the NBA keep the play-in? And of course, who do we have in the playoffs..? Find out here.

hi friends. a couple of you noticed we didn’t include our usual blurb at the top of last week’s issue - there was just so much to cover, we totally forgot to write one up! we know you’d never forget about us though, or about our subscriber referral program! we baked another batch of chocolate chip cookies this weekend, so get yours today by referri…

big idea: israel lights the fuse & attacks gaza israel is several days into an aerial bombardment of gaza after attacking muslims praying in al-aqsa mosque in jerusalem late last week. protests and near-lynchings have also broken out across israel in cities where arabs and jews historically lived side-by-side in relative calm. as usual, the violenc…

NFL Draft reaction includes pleasant surprises and an inevitable Jay Cutler mention. Also, what's happening in MLB? But most importantly, which domino falls first: Westbrook, Towns, or McCollum? Answers within.

we were taking a walk with our niece and nephew, and after answering our nephew’s question, he responded “was talking to sister, not uncle!”. while we’re uncertain how we feel about a two year old talking back to us, rest assured that this message is directed to you, not our niece. what’s the message, you ask? refer a friend today and win groovy pr…

our chocolate chip cookies for subscriber referrals have turned out to be so popular, we’re making another batch! reader G.H. even asked for extra cookies instead of stickers :drool emoji: we were happy to oblige, but we can’t keep baking cookies forever - refer three friends and get yours before we change prizes! big idea: census says america need…

The NFL Draft preview you knew you needed but didn't know where to find. Plus, Super League wasn't a failed Avengers spinoff, and the Phoenix Suns' rise seems to be for real this time.