Trump and the World Cup, Iran War Blowing up F1, Congress vs Football. Plus: Why AI can’t solve chess. Ranch dressing diplomacy.
Sports may be the last thing left in American life that everyone watches at the same time. Eight of the top 10 live broadcasts last year were the NFL. That kind of reach is why politicians, presidents, luxury conglomerates, and the MAGA machine have all decided the field is the new front line — and why what happens there increasingly refuses to stay there. Wall Street Journal sports editor Joshua Robinson joins Paul from Montreal, where he’s covering the World Road Cycling Championships, to unpack a moment when the White House is reaching down into games, rosters, and referee decisions in ways that used to be unthinkable.
They dig into the World Cup — a genuine win for American hospitality that got contaminated the moment Trump inserted himself into the Balogun affair — Ted Cruz getting booed off College GameDay, the Ben Sasse argument that America needs football to build tough men, and the widening gap between SEC business and Ivy League purity. Joshua also breaks down F1 losing races to the Iran war, AI relearning chess from first principles, and why the smartest quarterbacks in the country are still getting up at 5:30 to lift at Columbia and Amherst. Then Paul and Joshua run the Friday Football board: Arch Manning in Knoxville with Trump watching, Georgia thumping Oklahoma, the Rams as the smartest team in football, and whether Jameis Winston can be trusted with anything.
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