The Sports Bubble with Jensen Karp iHeartPodcasts

From the makers of THE SPORTS BUBBLE comes DRAFTED, a new podcast series hosted by Keegan-Michael Key that offers an exclusive, behind-the-scenes look at eight college football players as they enter the NFL draft. We hear their hopes, dreams, and fears during the most exciting time in their young lives. DRAFTED premieres September 21st, and is a production of Treefort Media, Klutch Sports Agency, and iHeart Media.

In 2019, three-time Olympian swimmer Nathan Adrian was diagnosed and treated for testicular cancer - setting him up for a difficult road to recovery in time for Tokyo 2020, hopefully to be his fourth Olympic Games. Then the global pandemic rescheduled all of 2020. The five-time Olympic gold medalist talks about how the postponement may have helped him, the difficult task of finding Olympic-sized pools in a global crisis, and how his public health degree keeps him up at night these days.

We're all in need of a little inspiration these days, which makes Sean Elliott the perfect athlete for The Sports Bubble. Not only is the Spurs legend an NBA champion and two-time All-Star, he's also one of the greatest college basketball players of his generation - and he did it all while battling a crippling kidney disease that resulted in a transplant. Now, as the long-time, and healthy, San Antonio Spurs broadcast analyst, Sean talks about his heightened health concerns during the pandemic, the difficulties with announcing NBA games from home, and his terrifying experiences with racism growing up and playing in Arizona.

While the return of most sports leagues remains shaky at best, NASCAR has returned at full speed. Leading the way is driver Aric Almirola who found himself on a hot streak - whether as the only driver that has finished in the top 10 at every race since the stopdown or by crossing the finish line in third place at Geico 500… backwards. The driver of the No. 10 Smithfield Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing shares how he’s turned this strange season into the best of his career, why he sent a text to Bubba Wallace, and why he’s ready to capture the W at New Hampshire Motor Speedway this weekend.

The first sports league in the United States to return to “normalcy” was the NWSL – no small feat accomplished without the brave women who first experienced it like Utah Royals FC star Kelley O’Hara. The two-time FIFA World Cup champion talks about the “summer camp” vibe of the Challenge Cup, the social landscape of America, and if the internet trolls she’s dealt with in her life and career still allow her to think this world can be saved. They also get into why there’s really no good soccer movies (seriously, Hollywood, what gives!). Then, Jensen talks to former WBC super welterweight champion and current DAZN boxing analyst, Sergio Mora.

Kenny "The Jet" Smith went from playing alongside Michael Jordan on a North Carolina NCAA team to ten seasons in the NBA where he helped lead the Houston Rockets to back-to-back championships. Since then, The Jet has brought his expertise on the court to the always entertaining & award-winning Inside the NBA on TNT, where he's delivered enough classic TV moments to rival his extensive on-court highlight reel.