The Middle

Megan R
  • 4.7 (9)
  • Sports
  • Updated Weekly

Where the game gets personal. From world championships to everyday athletes, we dig into the human side of sports told by the athletes, coaches and industry insiders that lived those career-changing moments, near misses, unexpected wins, season-ending injuries and inevitable transitions.

  1. 1d ago

    Can the Women's Pro Baseball League Break the Baseball Curse?

    The inaugural season of the Women's Pro Baseball League (WPBL) kicks off on August 1, 2026, marking the first professional women’s baseball league in the U.S. in decades. But history tells us this isn't the first attempt. This episode explores the deep, complex history of women’s professional baseball in America, from the iconic All American Girls Professional Baseball League of the 1940s to the barnstorming Colorado Silver Bullets and the Ladies League Baseball of the late '90s, analyzing why past leagues failed and how the WPBL’s business model aims to survive. Can the WPBL break the cycle, or is history bound to repeat itself? The Middle finds the sport stories the big outlets skip, told by Megan and the athletes, coaches, and insiders who lived them. Follow The Middle on Instagram, Threads, and YouTube. Connect with Megan on LinkedIn.

  2. Jul 15

    Gamers Are Athletes: Building the League Traditional Sports Excluded

    Clinton Sparks, founder and CEO of the new Global Gaming League, makes the case that gaming isn't a fringe hobby but the biggest sport nobody's calling a sport yet. He breaks down the real difference between esports and gaming, why the stereotype of the isolated basement gamer is wrong, and how players of all ages and genders (nearly half of all gamers are women, after all) are rewriting who counts as an athlete. Clinton also gives a behind the scenes look at how he's built the first-of-its-kind gaming league, including how their draft works, which celebrities own teams, how they’re keeping online safety in mind, and why they’ve had such explosive growth in only a few short years. The Global Gaming League (GGL) is a premier gaming entertainment league with gamers of all skill levels who play both modern and classic video games. Called the UFC, WWE, and NFL of video gaming, gamers can join the platform and rise through the ranks for a chance to be drafted into celebrity-owned major league teams. You can join the league for free here. You can follow the GGL on Instagram, X, Facebook, TikTok, and YouTube. Clinton Sparks is the CEO of the GGL and a Grammy-nominated DJ, producer, songwriter, and entrepreneur. He founded the GGL to make gaming more accessible and bridge the gap between amateur gamers and professional esports. You can follow Clinton on TikTok, Instagram, and X. The Middle finds the sport stories the big outlets skip, told by Megan and the athletes, coaches, and insiders who lived them. Follow The Middle on Instagram, Threads, and YouTube. Connect with Megan on LinkedIn.

  3. Jul 8

    The Tour de France Explained: A Guide to Cycling's Biggest Race

    In this episode, Megan walks through a beginner's guide to the Tour de France: how the race started, how it works, how the winner's jersey came to be yellow, how riders survive three weeks of racing (hint: it used to involve wine), the growth of the Tour de France Femmes, and why the 2026 race could make history. No cycling knowledge required! The Middle finds the sports stories the big outlets skip, told by Megan and the athletes, coaches, and insiders who lived them. Follow The Middle on ⁠Instagram⁠, ⁠Threads⁠, ⁠YouTube⁠, and ⁠LinkedIn⁠. Connect with Megan on LinkedIn.

  4. Jul 1

    What Athletes Get Wrong About Mental Health

    We’re all told at some point to toughen up. But what if the version of toughness we celebrate is making us more fragile? Megan sits down with Dr. Dillon Small, the Director of Sport Performance Psychology at the U.S. Air Force Academy, to talk about athlete mental health and why the conversation around mental performance has moved beyond awareness… but still has a long way to go. They explore the difference between resilience and mental durability, how stress can become part of training, and why the strongest performers are often the ones willing to ask for feedback. Megan and Dr. Small also talk about how the U.S. Air Force Academy is changing the conversation around mental health with its athletes and cadets by embedding it into the larger performance systems and treating is as seriously as sleep, nutrition, and recovery. It’s a conversation about what strength really looks like when people are trained to understand pressure instead of simply pushing through it. Dr. Dillon Small is the Director of Sport Performance Psychology at the U.S. Air Force Academy and a licensed clinical psychologist. Prior to this role, he served as the Chief of Psychological Health for the Air Force Academy Cadet Wing where he and his team worked with cadets to ensure high performance in academics, athletics, and leadership. He has worked with special operators, elite athletes, and air crews for multiple airframes including C-17s, F-16s, and F-35s. He also serves as the Commander of Aerospace Medicine Flight in the Colorado Air National Guard’s 140th Fighter Wing. Connect with Dr. Small on LinkedIn or through his consulting firm Overcoming Ordinary. Follow The Middle on Instagram, Threads, YouTube, and LinkedIn. Connect with Megan on LinkedIn.

  5. Jun 24

    The Real Reason Women's Sports Are Booming Right Now

    Women’s sports are experiencing an unprecedented commercial boom, but is this sudden love affair a genuine cultural breakthrough, or are athletic gatekeepers just finally doing the math? In this episode, Megan looks past the triumphant headlines to expose a colder historical reality: women don’t break through in sports, they get let in. By tracing 100 years of history across five pivotal stories and athletes, she looks at everything from the outright lies that kept women from running in 1928, to the secret funding that resolved the 2017 U.S. women's hockey team's boycott, to the jaw-dropping court ruling that came after 15 female ski jumpers sued for being excluded from the 2010 Winter Olympic Games. Once you see the hidden pattern running underneath every open door and every closed gate, you might never look at the women’s sports "moment" the same way again. Follow The Middle on Instagram, Threads, YouTube, and LinkedIn. Connect with Megan on LinkedIn.

  6. Jun 17

    The Olympic Sport That Still Excludes Women

    Alexa Brabec is one of Team USA’s top women’s Nordic Combined athletes, and she’s competing at a pivotal moment for the future of her sport. Nordic Combined is the only Olympic sport that excludes women from competing in the Olympic Games. Women have built a World Cup circuit, competed at world championships, and grown the sport across multiple nations. Yet in 2026, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) will vote on whether to add women’s Nordic Combined to the 2030 Winter Olympics or potentially remove the sport from the Olympic program entirely. In this episode, Megan and Alexa talk about what that uncertainty feels like, why Olympic inclusion matters for funding and visibility, and why Alexa still believes the sport has a future. They also talk about Alexa’s recent historic World Cup season, what it was like watching the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics from the sidelines, and what’s at stake for the next generation of women in the sport. Want to support the U.S. Nordic Combined team? Follow Nordic Combined USA on Instagram and Facebook, share their posts, or donate to support the athletes who receive limited Olympic funding. Learn more about Nordic Combined USA on their website. If you want to help tell the IOC to add women’s Nordic Combined in 2030 without removing the sport, sign the petition. Follow The Middle on Instagram, Threads, YouTube, and LinkedIn. Connect with Megan on LinkedIn.

  7. Jun 10

    Hidden Figures: Seven Roles That Secretly Run Sports

    Professional sports is powered by a shadow world of people with special talents, and you probably don't even know their names. From the upside-down world of an NFL long snapper to a cricket role called the "the human sacrifice," sports has mastered the art of finding one person to do one incredibly specific thing brilliantly. In this episode, we dive into seven wildly unique, unsung roles across seven different sports to profile the hidden figures who don't just support the teams; they make their success possible. From the 36 year old accountant who saved a game for the Chicago Blackhawks to the lacrosse "FOGO" specialists whose dominance forced the NCAA to temporarily ban the position entirely, sometimes the most important person on the field is the one you never knew existed. Follow The Middle on Instagram, Threads, YouTube, and LinkedIn. Connect with Megan on LinkedIn.

  8. Jun 3

    Turf, Tech, and the 2026 World Cup

    Trey Rogers didn't know what the World Cup was when he got a call in 1992 asking if he could build a soccer pitch made completely of natural grass, put it over a concrete floor, and keep it alive in a domed NFL stadium over the course of several months. Trey and his Michigan State University research team accepted the challenge. They engineered a natural grass field, grew it in California, shipped it to Michigan, and rolled (yes, rolled) it into the Pontiac Silverdome for one of the biggest soccer tournaments in history: the 1994 World Cup. Creating a modular, natural grass playing field that could be inserted and removed was a new idea back then. Now, Trey’s doing it again, at 16 stadiums across three countries for the 2026 World Cup. As a professor and leading turfgrass expert, Trey explains how color television accidentally started the artificial turf revolution, why NFL players practice on grass even when their stadiums use turf, and how a single bad sod job on Monday Night Football can set an entire field of science back decades. We get into the surprisingly complex science beneath the playing surfaces of our favorite teams, and how those same fields play a surprising role in player longevity. The most important part of your favorite stadium might be the part you’re overlooking. Learn more about Trey Rogers and Michigan State University's turfgrass program, considered one of the premier institutions for turfgrass management in the U.S. Follow The Middle on Instagram, Threads, YouTube, and LinkedIn. Connect with Megan on LinkedIn.

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Ratings & Reviews

4.7
out of 5
9 Ratings

About

Where the game gets personal. From world championships to everyday athletes, we dig into the human side of sports told by the athletes, coaches and industry insiders that lived those career-changing moments, near misses, unexpected wins, season-ending injuries and inevitable transitions.

Information

  • Creator
    Megan R
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    45
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Megan R
  • Show Website
    The Middle

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