ESPN Daily

In recent years MLB’s Hot Stove has been kind of lukewarm. Even with big ticket free agents on the market, the pursuit of free agents dragged well into the New Year each winter. But ESPN’s Jeff Passan tells today’s host, David Dennis Jr., that won’t be the case with Juan Soto this offseason. The transcendent lefty slugger has virtually every big market owner chasing after him with a blank checkbook, looking to change the fortunes of their team with one big transaction. And with Soto looking to find his new home by the end of next week’s winter meeting, and Scott Boras leading negotiations for him - and a bevy of other big name free agents - the dominos should start to fall soon. You can honor Jim Valvano and support ESPN’s V Week with a donation to the V Foundation for Cancer Research. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It’s been more than a decade since the Philadelphia 76ers began their so-called “process” to tank-the-team, earn high draft picks, and set themselves up for a bright future. This strategy has now become the norm across sports, and for the Sixers’ sake, it did yield them Joel Embiid, the team’s first MVP winner in 22 years.  But it’s also been filled with crisis after crisis. Two number one picks that flopped and big time trades, first for Jimmy Butler and then James Harden, that ultimately went nowhere. This year, the offseason acquisition of Paul George plus the retention of breakout star Tyrese Maxey was supposed to give Embiid his best shot at a title. But with the big man missing 15 of 19 games and George and Maxey also missing time, Philadelphia finds itself near the bottom of the standings. From the outside, it looks to have brought about a complete breakdown in the locker room and major question marks about team president Daryl Morey’s best laid plans.  Today, Ramona Shelburne takes inside the latest, and possibly biggest Sixers crisis yet.  You can honor Jim Valvano and support ESPN’s V Week with a donation to the V Foundation for Cancer Research. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The WNBA’s newest team - the Golden State Valkyries - are coming to San Francisco in  May. And by the end of this week, we’ll have a better idea of which players fans of bay area women’s basketball will be rooting for. Because Friday’s WNBA expansion draft will welcome the Valkyries first players. ESPN’s Kevin Pelton covers the W and is here to explain how all of this expansion stuff works – and how a new CBA should help the Valkyries use not just the expansion draft, but also trades and free agency to get competitive, fast. http://v.org/donate Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

There were two big games on the week 13 NFL schedule - the Philadelphia Eagles at the Baltimore Ravens, and the San Francisco 49ers at the Buffalo Bills.  And we did watch Saquon Barkley, Jalen Hurts, and a suddenly transcendent Eagles defense make a statement against Lamar Jackson, Derrick Henry, Zay Flowers and the rest of the Ravens, during Sunday night football we saw Josh Allen potentially cement his MVP campaign against Kyle Shanahan’s 49ers. But Ben Solak wants us to know that there were also unexpected stories across the league. Like how the Pittsburgh Steelers and Cincinnati Bengals met up in the highest scoring meeting the two teams have ever had. Joe Burrow’s heroics weren’t enough to outmatch Russell Wilson’s prolific passing day.  Or how between Shane Steichen, Jerod Mayo, Drake Maye, and Anthony Richardson, we might be seeing the rivalry between the Indianapolis Colts and New England Patriots enter a new - post Tom Brady and Peyton Manning - generation. And there’s even a second life for Bryce Young with the Carolina Panthers, who may have lost to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in overtime, but seem to be heading in the right direction. So Ben Solak joins us to tell us what he watched - and handicap the NFL’s MVP race as the season starts to wind down. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices