Religion of Sports and PRX Announce "Lost in Sports," A New Podcast On A Quest to Investigate Sports' Biggest Mysteries

LOS ANGELES and BOSTON, May 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Religion of Sports ("ROS"), the Emmy Award-winning sports media company, today announced "Lost in Sports," a new podcast investigating some of the biggest questions in sports history––and some you never thought to ask. Every episode explores the mysteries of the lost, the forgotten, and the disappeared, and goes on a quest for answers. The show is brought to audiences in partnership with public media organization PRX.

Hosted by sports journalist Ben Baskin––formerly a staff writer at "Sports Illustrated" and the author of multiple high-profile cover stories–– "Lost in Sports" will premiere on Thursday, May 27. New episodes will be released every other Thursday through August 5, free to audiences on-demand via Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, Spotify, Stitcher, and across listening platforms.

The trailer is available now.

The first episode of "Lost in Sports" will revisit "Masters of the Gridiron," a strange short film infused with time travel and sorcery that was released by Cleveland Browns football players in 1986, prophesizing they might become champions. The episode will also include guest appearances by the creators of the film, Lolis Garcia-Baab and former Browns' player Mike Baab, as well as by Joe and Anthony Russo, directors of Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame.

Future episodes of the podcast will explore the following, among additional topics to be announced:

• The And1 Mixtapes––With the goal of dethroning Nike, apparel company And1 had the radical idea to create a VHS tape of street basketball players set to a hip-hop soundtrack, and to give it away for free. The And1 Mixtape was instantly successful, leading to an international tour and a popular ESPN show. Featuring NBA MVP Stephen Curry and multiple streetball players including Grayson "The Professor'' Boucher, Waliyy "Main Event" Dixon, and Philip "Hot Sauce" Champion, this episode will ask how And1 elevated streetball to a multi-million dollar phenomenon, and then why it all disappeared;
• The Hartford Whalers––Why are the Hartford Whalers, a National Hockey League Team that has not existed since 1997, more popular now more than ever? Baskin returns to his home state of Connecticut––a state without a major professional sports team in any of the so-called Big Four leagues––to find out. Guests on this episode include the former Whalers team owners as well as several former NHL players;
• Evander Holyfield's ear––In 1997, Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield squared off in a rematch to their first fight. The result was arguably the most infamous moment in boxing history, forever known as the Bite Fight. What many don't know is that the piece of Holyfield's ear was found, but then vanished. Why did Tyson bite off a piece of Holyfield's ear, and how did it go missing? And, how did the two boxers end up in the ring in the first place? This episode will feature Boxing Hall of Fame CEO Steve Lott, Hall of Fame boxing announcer Jim Gray and historian Steve Farhood, and Tom Patti, a longtime friend and former manager to Tyson; and,
• "NCAA Football 14"––Eight years ago, EA Sports released "NCAA Football 14," the latest edition of the college football video game series with a rabid following. But, it remains the last version of the game ever made, as a highly publicized lawsuit against EA Sports and the NCAA forced the game's cancellation, ruling the game used the likenesses of athletes without compensation. Featuring Sam Keller, the lead plaintiff in this lawsuit, WNBA star Arike Ogunbowale, and iconic sports marketing executive Sonny Vaccaro, this episode will delve into why the "NCAA Football" series was so beloved and what about the game changed college sports.

In addition to Baskin, the production team behind "Lost in Sports" includes senior producer Kate McAuliffe, production assistants Iggy Monda and Meghan Coyle, co-executive producer Adam Schlossman, and editorial support from Michael Garofalo. 

"I've always gravitated towards the stories in sports that haven't been told, the ones without an easy answer," said Baskin. "So, I created this podcast with a tremendous team at Religion of Sports in the hope that people will enjoy hearing those stories as much as I enjoy telling them. We'll explore the tales of the lost and the forgotten, the untold mysteries of sports history. And we'll go on a quest to answer them… which sometimes will get a little weird."

"At Religion of Sports, we aim to connect directly with what fuels audiences' passion for sports through great storytelling and curiosity," said Schlossman. "Deep thanks to Ben, the production team, and to our podcast partners at PRX –– we believe 'Lost in Sports' will provide entertaining, essential listening for sports fans and wider audiences alike."

"Lost In Sports" follows the release of "Crushed," a podcast from Religion of Sports and PRX that launched in April, reckoning with Major League Baseball's steroid era. In October 2020, Religion of Sports announced an expansion into podcasting through a partnership with PRX.

"We're delighted to continue to bring new podcasts to audiences along with Religion of Sports, to advance the possibilities of sports storytelling in audio," said Jason Saldanha, Chief of Business Development and Content at PRX. "We can't wait for listeners to tune in."

For more, visit religionofsports.com/lostinsports. 

About Religion of Sports
Religion of Sports is an Emmy Award-winning sports media company co-founded by Tom Brady, Gotham Chopra, and Michael Strahan, built on the thesis that sports are religion. The company produces content focused on a single narrative of 'Why Sports Matter' to explore greatness and human potential. Religion of Sports has produced hundreds of thousands of hours of content across mediums, from short-form video to podcasts to feature films, including its flagship Religion of Sports Series, "Shut Up and Dribble," "Tom vs. Time," and "Greatness Code." For more information, visit religionofsports.com.

About PRX
PRX is a public media organization shaping the future of audio by producing and distributing content, building technology, and training talented, independent producers. With an award-winning portfolio ranging from iconic public media programs such as "The Moth Radio Hour," "TED Talks Daily," "This American Life," "Snap Judgment," "Latino USA," "The World," and "Reveal," PRX also powers a growing body of podcast-first productions, including from the Radiotopia podcast network and the TRAX podcast network for tweens. Visit PRX.org for more.

SOURCE Religion of Sports

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