Season 8 Episode 8- Stewart Mandel, Ben Reiter

Steve interviews Stewart Mandel(00:14:12) from The Athletic. Stewart and Steve talk about the growth of The Athletic, the direction the site is taking in their college football coverage, and the focus of his work specifically. Stewart and Steve also look at last year's playoff teams, hunt for sleeper to win the National Championship, and talk about the value of the non-conference schedule in the playoff era. Also, author and Sports Illustrated writer, Ben Reiter(00:49:47)stops by to talk about his new book. Ben talks about the evolution of Astroball from magazine article to best-selling book, reveals the night he decided to commit to writing it, and talks about promoting it. Ben also talks about the Astros trading for Justin Verlander, MLB teams trying to copy their success, and building a winner despite blowing 1-1 draft picks. Steve starts the show with a comprehensive update on the podcast and opens up about trying to book it. The book club announces a contest to win Jeff Pearlman's USFL book. The show ends with one last thing about Steve almost losing his mom. For more information follow the podcast on twitter @sports_casters Listeners with questions or concerns can email me: [email protected]