We got our first taste of Europa and Conference League knockouts in 2026 and we're here to break down all the action.

Nottingham Forest won the day with a dominant display in Istanbul in Vitor Pereira's first match in charge, re-staking their claim as a tournament favorite. Stuttgart, Celta, and Bologna also came through with big road wins to take control of their ties, and we take stock of each's chances moving forward. Meanwhile, Lille put themselves in a major hole against Red Star to cap off a disastrous run in the new year – why can't they score?

Next, we turn to the Conference League, where Fiorentina put in an excellent 2nd half performance in Bialystok to boost confidence. Is this finally the start of a turnaround for the relegation-threatened Viola? We also address Crystal Palace's strife after a putrid draw in Bosnia & Herzegovina, wonder at AZ's ugly road form in the competition, and marvel at Celje's striker factory.

Finally, we give an update on the Women's Europa Cup , that saw Frankfurt, Häcken, Hammarby, and Sparta qualify for the tournament's inaugural semifinals.

Cheers to Igor Štimac!

An extra special day on the pod – our friend Jacob Hill returns for a new episode of our special edition series, Any Given Redraft!

And we've got a doozy this time: the 2023 NBA Draft, inarguably one of the worst in league history.

It's the year Anthony Bennet went number one, the year only one All Star was picked in the lottery, the year the Bucks drafted one of the greatest players of all time just after, and the year that the Podfather, Bill Simmons, went undefeated on ESPN's broadcast.

We begin by breaking down how the night unfolded at Barclays Center, with David Stern going full heel and riling up the Brooklyn crowd. Naturally, we discuss Bill Simmons' big night, including his iconic reaction to Cleveland's selection of Anthony Bennett, Victor Oladipo's case for the number one pick, Giannis' upside, CJ McCollum's Patriot League representation, just to name a few.

We also hit on the numerous lottery disappointments, from Nerlens Noel to MCW to Shabazz Muhammad.

Finally, we get to our redraft, where we each draft teams of 8 players. Along the way, we marvel at Giannis' accomplishments to date, debate the selection of McCollum vs. the Stifle Tower, wonder at Oladipo's ceiling if health hadn't failed him, and slog through some abominable bench selections towards the back end.

This one's for the sickos. Enjoy.

Cheers to Bill Simmons and David Stern!

The Europa League league phase's final match-day as come and gone, and the knockouts are finally set!

We take you through the play-by-play of how all the drama unfolded, including how Lyon and Aston Villa claimed top seeding in the knockouts, how Roma secured the final bye to the Round of 16 despite an early red card in Athens, and Brann clung to the final knockout spot thanks to Young Boys' conceding a devastatingly late equalizer in Stuttgart.

Then we move on to our title power rankings. Which clubs are in the top tier of likeliest tournament winners? Who's on the outside looking in? And what underdogs could pull shocks as the rounds progress?

We close with a look-ahead to the first knockout round, which features some elite matchups (looking at you Forest-Fenerbahce) and a whole bunch of tossups, and of course a healthy dollop of David's Coefficient Corner.

Cheers Per-Mathias Høgmo!