The Sporting Almanac Podcast

Boston and London Marathons

490 BC. Ancient Greece. A messenger with a funny name and patriotism surging through his veins spots a Persian ship alter its course towards Athens. He is in Marathon, 26 miles and 385-ish yards away from his nations capital, but decides to do the unthinkable. He sheds his armour, his sword, and (being Ancient Greek) the rest of his clothes too. He runs, he makes it, he passes on a message of victory, and...

The Sporting Almanac Birthday: The Masters and The Grand National

To celebrate one whole year of the Sporting Almanac Podcast we go back to where it all began, ahead of the Grand National and with the Masters underway at Augusta National. We share some reflections on the year past, and a few new stories about the weekends two events too, including Larry Mize's legendary chip and the Race That Never Was at Aintree.

One year older, but...

The Savannah Bananas and Banana Ball

"The noblest art is that of making others happy."

P.T. Barnum

The purity of baseball is something a lot of people take very seriously. So seriously, in fact, that orthodox approaches will be followed until stadiums are empty, sponsors have left and the team owners move the team to pastures new in search of something different.

Such had been the case over and over in the famous city of Savannah, Geor...

The Boat Race

There are some people to whom there is no bigger event in the sporting calendar than the University Boat Race. It would be a sweeping generalisation to suggest all of those people will be wearing gillet's and yelling received pronunciation support of their particular shade of blue, having started drinking as soon as the riverside pubs opened along the Thames.

It is undoubtedly an event that will always be intrinsically ...

Six Nations - England (A Post-Mortem)

We don't usually do retrospectives on the Almanac. The vast majority of sporting engagement in our modern world is built around the sharing of opinion, frustration or adulation of thing's that have just happened, and it's normally not our style. But today, we make an exception as we release our final Six Nations episode, decidedly after the fact, and with its subject this season's championships ...

Six Nations - All-Time XV

In a move not entirely lacking in self indulgence, Jack and Ben discuss, debate and select their all-time Six Nations XV from 26 years of the competition's history.

Tune in to find the answers to the real big questions:

Can two Englishmen bear to leave Martin Johnson on the bench?

Which Jonny starts at fly half?

How can Ben's heart really be telling him to leave Brian O’Driscoll out of the team?

And how many Wel...

The Six Nations - France

Les Bleus. Brilliant. Erratic. Inconsistent. Wonderful. The Six Nations has been a rollercoaster for French rugby fans, early dominance followed by a dozen wilderness years that sparked fierce criticism and debate, triggering as so often happens in France, revolution.

And that revolution, building up their domestic game, strengthening pathways and processes has given France such an abundance and depth of tale...

2026 Formula 1 Season

It's back, baby. And it's totally different from last year.

More electrical power, lighter cars, active aero, boost buttons, less downforce, less grip - so far, the drivers aren't loving their new rides, but the real acid test will be at the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne, when we finally get to see whether these changes mean closer racing with no lost excitement.

So set your alarms early, and tune is as we a...

The Six Nations - Ireland

In 52 completed Five Nations tournaments between the competition's resumption in 1947 and Italy's introduction in the year 2000, Ireland won six outright titles, four Triple Crowns and a lone Grand Slam in 1948. In the 26 seasons of the Six Nations they have won six outright titles, eight Triple Crowns and three Grand Slams, in 2009, 2018 and 2023. They beat New Zealand home, away and in the USA, topped the...

The Six Nations - Scotland

Scotland have never won the Six Nations. 26 seasons of unpredictability and occasional, unquestionable brilliance along the way, but their last tournament victory - a memorable, unforgettable one at that - lies all the way back in 1999 in the final edition of the old Five Nations Championship.

There have been forgettable seasons along the way, for sure. Four wooden spoons and some heavy defeats too, but in ...

The Six Nations - Italy

16 wins in 130 games in the Six Nations paints a picture of Italy as perennial whipping boys, fodder for the more established nations, perhaps even unworthy of their place at the top table of European and Northern Hemisphere Rugby Union. But it does not tell the full story of Italy's continuous and steady rise and genuine improvement since they first joined the competition in the year 2000.

Playing catch up to...

The Six Nations - Wales

It's only been five years since Wales last won the Six Nations, and only two more beyond that since their last Grand Slam in 2019. But for Welsh fans it probably seems a lifetime ago with the current team struggling for wins against even mid-ranked nations and threatening to be perpetual wooden spoonists in the Northern Hemisphere's premier Rugby Union competition.

To say the fortunes of Welsh rugby can ebb an...

Super Bowl LX - Seattle Seahawks vs. New England Patriots

The Super Bowl simply needs no introduction. It is, one way or another, the biggest event on the annual sporting calendar. Multi-million dollar advertisements, tickets in the tens of thousands of dollars and more, a half time show some people look forward to more than the football... and behind it all, you have two conference champions vying for the only things that universal...

The Six Nations Series - Introduction

The Northern Hemisphere's biggest rugby competition is back. France, England, Ireland, Scotland, Italy and Wales will renew their decades long fight for European supremacy, starting with France vs. Ireland in Paris.

In this series we will dive into each of the nations histories in the competition, but for this episode we set the scene, talk about why we love the Six Nations, its past and what its...

Winter Olympics Series Episode X - Alpine Skiing and its Superwomen

We bring our Winter Olympics series to a close just in time for the opening ceremony, and finish with the true blue ribbon events of the games - Alpine Skiing, consisting of the Slalom, Giant Slalom, Super-G, Team Combined and, the crème de la crème of the winter games, the Downhill events.

The latter is designed to test the six core components of technique, courage,...

Winter Olympics Series Episode IX - Lindsey Jacobellis and Snowboard Cross

Snowboard Cross is fun, that much is certain. But what happens when a competitor chooses the wrong moment to have fun, with the eyes of the world upon her and the finish line in sight? In 2006, Lindsey Jacobellis had one of the winter games most memorable and infamous moments, and despite dominating her sport in every other competition, then spent 16 years se...

Winter Olympics Series Episode VIII - Bobsleigh: Jamaica and Billy Fiske

There's probably few Winter Olympic sports that have penetrated the general consciousness and culture than bobsleigh, thanks mostly to the wonderful 1993 film Cool Runnings, based on the true story of the Jamaican bobsleigh team at the 1988 games in Calgary. While the story is, obviously, dusted generously with Disney magic, at its core are true events that gen...

Winter Olympics Series Episode VII - Tonya Harding and Nancy Kerrigan

From the dawn of sport, competitors have bent, stretched and downright circumvented the rules in order to gain an advantage over their opposition. Usually, this is in the form of gamesmanship and rule breaking on the field or drug taking and bribing off it. Rarely in sport are there occasions where one competitor is accused of orchestrating violence against anothe...

Winter Olympics Series Episode VI - Eddie the Eagle

Michael David Edwards was an unlikely Olympic Ski Jumper, to say the least. Extremely far-sighted, a little on the heavy side and, most devastating of all to his chances in the event, British.

But Eddie, as he was dubbed by school friends, was not a man to take no for an answer. His story is not one of success, no podium, no records (British ones aside) - but he became as famous an ...