The Playoff Knockout Round is behind us, and we're here to break it all down.

It was a day in which favorites prevailed, though not without strife. Fiorentina did a Fiorentina and survived by the skin of their teeth, while Nottingham Forest performed a decent impression for 50 minutes. Elsewhere, Celta Vigo and Stuttgart stake their claim as major players in deciding the Europa League crown, Lille turns things around in Belgrade, Panathinaikos prevails on penalties, VAR drama, and Crystal Palace muddles through.

We also take a moment to look ahead to the Round of 16 draw, featuring some stellar matchups in both divisions.

All that and much more on today's show!

Cheers to Claudio Giráldez!

We got our first taste of Europa and Conference League knockouts in 2026 and we're here to break down all the action.

Nottingham Forest won the day with a dominant display in Istanbul in Vitor Pereira's first match in charge, re-staking their claim as a tournament favorite. Stuttgart, Celta, and Bologna also came through with big road wins to take control of their ties, and we take stock of each's chances moving forward. Meanwhile, Lille put themselves in a major hole against Red Star to cap off a disastrous run in the new year – why can't they score?

Next, we turn to the Conference League, where Fiorentina put in an excellent 2nd half performance in Bialystok to boost confidence. Is this finally the start of a turnaround for the relegation-threatened Viola? We also address Crystal Palace's strife after a putrid draw in Bosnia & Herzegovina, wonder at AZ's ugly road form in the competition, and marvel at Celje's striker factory.

Finally, we give an update on the Women's Europa Cup , that saw Frankfurt, Häcken, Hammarby, and Sparta qualify for the tournament's inaugural semifinals.

Cheers to Igor Štimac!

An extra special day on the pod – our friend Jacob Hill returns for a new episode of our special edition series, Any Given Redraft!

And we've got a doozy this time: the 2023 NBA Draft, inarguably one of the worst in league history.

It's the year Anthony Bennet went number one, the year only one All Star was picked in the lottery, the year the Bucks drafted one of the greatest players of all time just after, and the year that the Podfather, Bill Simmons, went undefeated on ESPN's broadcast.

We begin by breaking down how the night unfolded at Barclays Center, with David Stern going full heel and riling up the Brooklyn crowd. Naturally, we discuss Bill Simmons' big night, including his iconic reaction to Cleveland's selection of Anthony Bennett, Victor Oladipo's case for the number one pick, Giannis' upside, CJ McCollum's Patriot League representation, just to name a few.

We also hit on the numerous lottery disappointments, from Nerlens Noel to MCW to Shabazz Muhammad.

Finally, we get to our redraft, where we each draft teams of 8 players. Along the way, we marvel at Giannis' accomplishments to date, debate the selection of McCollum vs. the Stifle Tower, wonder at Oladipo's ceiling if health hadn't failed him, and slog through some abominable bench selections towards the back end.

This one's for the sickos. Enjoy.

Cheers to Bill Simmons and David Stern!