Phantom Island

In the same way that all squares are rectangles but not all rectangles are squares, Phantom Island has college football but isn't a college football podcast. That's why we're announcing Numbers & Words, a new public podcast feed coming soon featuring some of our evergreen conversations with smart guests about how we can better understand the living organism that is football. If you're already a subscriber at Phantom Island, you'll have access to those episodes early, and you can listen to Steven Godfrey and Ryan Nanni explain the idea behind this branch on today's episode.

This is a preview of the full episode, which is available to paid subscribers – go to phantomisland.show to sign up today. Phantom Island is presented by Homefield and produced by Michael Surber.

Sean Highkin, author of The Rose Garden Report, joins Ryan Nanni to discuss the dueling summers of Tom Dundon, owner of both the Carolina Hurricanes and the Portland Trail Blazers. What do the parallels of his early days in Raleigh suggest about how things will go in Portland? Can Dundon's NHL approach work in the NBA, both internally and under a different media spotlight? And will Adam Silver really risk seeing another franchise from the Pacific Northwest ripped from its fanbase? Phantom Island is presented by Homefield and produced by Michael Surber.

To be clear: nobody told Steven Godfrey he had to record almost an entire episode about the Group of Six, taking questions from listeners about programs jumping up or down the college football ladder or coaches that might become hot commodities or what these conferences need to do to improve their own futures. But that's what he did all the same!
This is a preview of the full episode, which is available to paid subscribers – go to phantomisland.show to sign up today. Phantom Island is presented by Homefield and produced by Michael Surber.

ESPN's Bill Connelly wrote about the potential for the College Football Playoff to take lessons from the expanded men's World Cup, so Ryan Nanni brought him on this episode to discuss what it will take for college fans to accept a tournament with teams that probably can't win a title, why international soccer has seen its talent gaps shrink, and whether we should ditch playoff seeding for a great TV opportunity. Phantom Island is presented by Homefield and produced by Michael Surber.

Steven Godfrey's feeling a soccer-filled future for U.S. sports fans, but he wants to talk about that path with Ryan Nanni first. (Somehow, this leads to a brief discussion of famous NYU graduates.) What are the indicators that would show this World Cup impacted the American audience long-term? What can we observe from the PWHL and NHL after the Winter Games? And are Godfrey and Ryan even the viewers any of these leagues should care about?
This is a preview of the full episode, which is available to paid subscribers – go to phantomisland.show to sign up today. Phantom Island is presented by Homefield and produced by Michael Surber.