Benched and Ready

The 2026 NBA Draft is 7 days away and the entire league is in a holding pattern waiting on one man. Brian Windhorst said Giannis is FOCUSED on Miami. But is Pat Riley actually closing this deal — or does Brad Stevens pull off the steal of the decade?Joe is a Celtics fan. Edwin is a Heat fan. Both have a lot at stake.Then Joe and Edwin go back and forth one for one on their top 5 draft prospects in one of the deepest classes in years. Dark horses. Trade scenarios ranked most likely to least likely. And each host lays out exactly what they want their team to do before June 23.Plus — the Chatham Friar asked if Joe was high. The CVS receipt Red Sox pitching debate. Spain drew Cape Verde. And the goalkeeper who went from 55,000 followers to a million in 24 hours.Three episodes every week. Miss the follow miss the drop.

The Knicks ended 53 years of pain. The celebrity parade at MSG was real — but not everyone earned their seat. Kylie Jenner got her courtside tickets for free while real fans paid a million dollars at auction. We separate the real fans from the frauds.Then Giannis. Brian Windhorst just said he is FOCUSED on Miami. Bill Simmons said Boston wins. Joe is a Celtics fan. Edwin is a Heat fan. One of us is about to be devastated before the NBA Draft on June 23.And the take nobody else is asking — the World Cup just started and FIFA is projected to make $80 billion while Miami spends $120 million and gets none of the revenue back. 12 of the last 14 World Cups left host countries losing money. The greatest financial magic trick in the history of sports.Three episodes every week. Miss the follow miss the drop.

A WNBA rookie nobody is watching is breaking Caitlin Clark's records. A 37-year-old is doing things in the Stanley Cup Final he last did at 18. A college QB sued the NCAA after betting on his own team — and won. And we caught the USMNT live — USA 4 Paraguay 1. Three episodes every week. Miss the follow, miss the drop.Topics this week: WNBA, Minnesota Lynx, Olivia Miles, Stanley Cup Finals, Carolina Hurricanes, Jordan Staal, Pittsburgh Pirates, Bryce Eldridge, MLB rookies, NCAA, college football, Cleveland Browns, NBA Finals, New York Knicks, San Antonio Spurs, 2026 FIFA World Cup, USMNT, Christian Pulisic, Folarin Balogun, sports podcast, hot takes, bench and risers.

The 2026 FIFA World Cup officially kicked off yesterday at the Azteca, Mexico beat South Africa 2-0 with 3 red cards and tomorrow night the United States takes the field for the first time. Joe and Edwin break down the entire tournament. The wildcard nobody has on their bracket. The mathematician who correctly picked the last 3 winners and his shock 2026 pick. The matchup Joe has been teasing for weeks and the verified bracket path that makes it possible. Official picks for champion, Golden Boot, Golden Ball and dark horses. Joe takes France. Edwin takes Spain. One of them is going straight to the bench on July 19th. Follow Benched & Ready so you never miss a drop. New episodes every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

The Knicks are up 2-0 and Karl-Anthony Towns is personally making Joe look bad. Edwin drops the KAT stat package that changes the Finals MVP conversation entirely. Then a 19-year-old wins the French Open and becomes the first player of her generation to win a Grand Slam. And Aaron Judge plays through a broken rib for a month then his teammate grabs his actual bat and hits a home run with it. The captain is down. The Yankees are still fighting. Three episodes every week. Free on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

Joe and Edwin hand out this week's risers and boneheads — and nobody is safe.Julio Rodriguez woke up. Payton Tolle is a 23-year-old cartoon character with a 2.28 ERA throwing shutout innings for the Red Sox. Max Meyer is quietly outpitching Paul Skenes and nobody outside Miami is talking about it. The NL Cy Young race has four legitimate contenders and it's not even close to being settled.On the bench: Rob Manfred is threatening to cancel baseball before December. The Sacramento Kings Curse is very much alive... Bagley over Luka, trading Halliburton, firing Mike Brown, dealing DeAndre Fox — and every single one of them is in the Finals right now. And Spurs coach Mitch Johnson benched Dylan Harper with four minutes left in Game 1 while Harper was the best player on the floor. The Knicks won 105-95. Game 2 is tonight.New episodes every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Free on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

The 2026 NBA Finals are here, and Joe and Edwin are breaking down the full Knicks vs Spurs matchup before Game 1 tips off tonight. The Duncan/Wemby parallel is almost supernatural... same age, same draft position, same franchise, same opponent, 27 years apart. Plus the Rick Brunson story nobody is leading with. Series picks and bold predictions are on the table.

Chet Holmgren is earning $239 million and disappeared when the Spurs needed him most — Joe and Edwin have the full performance review. MLB's robot umpires were supposed to fix everything and glitched at the worst possible moment. A massive tennis upset came out of nowhere. The NFL trade every Dolphins fan is talking about. And the World Cup is eleven days away and most Americans are still asleep on it.

The WWE curse is apparently a real thing and Joe and Edwin have receipts. Someone went 6-0 and still had the nerve to throw the crotch chop and honestly? Respect. A soccer legend went down with an injury that changes everything heading into the summer.

The NHL's Final Four is set and the Stanley Cup storylines are better than anything on television right now. Joe and Edwin make the case for why hockey fans and non-hockey fans both need to be watching. The best sport nobody is paying attention to just hit its best moment.

A legendary era came to an end in English soccer and Joe and Edwin mark the moment. Taylor Swift fans went to war with sports media and the boys have opinions on both sides. Plus, the Stanley Cup Cinderella story that hockey fans have been waiting years for.

An NBA team went fully nuclear and Joe and Edwin are handing out the risers and the pine accordingly. A Georgia driver hit speeds nobody should be hitting. And a coach who kept calling timeouts at the worst possible moments gets absolutely no sympathy here.

The NBA Final Four is set and Joe and Edwin put their picks on the table — on record, no take-backs. Callback Ammo gets loaded up as old predictions come back around. Who's going to the Finals? Nobody is safe from this conversation.

The Miami Dolphins made it official and signed their star — and two Dolphins fans had to take a breath. Shohei Ohtani is doing things on the mound that shouldn't be possible. And this week's boneheads? They're going straight to the pine, no questions asked.

FSU and Miami are building for war in the trenches and two fans with strong ACC loyalties break it all down. The Heisman race is already taking shape and there's a name you need to know. Plus Lane Kiffin left Oxford and nobody is surprised.

Someone got booed out of Tampa Bay and Joe and Edwin are here for it. A pitcher threw 20 strikeouts and the baseball world had to stop and stare. Plus: the beard that showed up clutch when it mattered most.

The Boston Celtics are in full shake-up mode and Joe has a lot of feelings about it. A queen claimed the Kentucky Derby. And Aaron Hicks did something so clutch Joe and Edwin had to invent a new nickname for him on the spot.

The Knicks are rolling and Joe and Edwin break down exactly why. Victor Wembanyama put up 12 blocks and it raised a serious question about what this kid is becoming. Plus: is a generational torch being passed right now in the NBA?

The Celtics broke hearts and Joe felt every second of it. MLB is pure chaos and it's only getting worse. Plus, the Miami Grand Prix delivered drama that nobody expected and two sports fans who had strong feelings about all of it.

MLB rolls out a brand new challenge system and Joe and Edwin have strong opinions on whether it actually fixes anything. The MVP race is getting spicy. Plus an NFL quarterback situation that nobody can stop talking about.