Seasons & episodes
1 season · 3 episodes
Episode 01
What Happened to Sports Journalism? | The Stepback with Blake Griffin
Sports Journalism has changed a lot, and Blake Griffin takes a step back to look at what we've lost along the way. As local newspapers disappeared, so did the beat writers who traveled with teams and worked the locker room. Blake breaks down what filled the gap, from insiders like Adrian Wojnarowski and Shams Charania, whose scoops can double as leverage for players, teams and agents, to the embrace debate era that turned First Take into two hours of Skip Bayless and Stephen A. Smith arguing about anything. Blake shares what it's like to get Woj bombed on a trampoline with his kids, revisits Stephen A. Smith's feud with Tyrese Haliburton during the 2025 playoffs, and shows Mark Cuban out-arguing Skip on LeBron. He also explains why real sports journalism still matters, pointing to the reporting that forced Donald Sterling to sell the Clippers.
Episode 02
Analytics Is Winning. But Is the Game? | The Stepback with Blake Griffin
Blake Griffin spent years building a respectable mid-range jumper, right around the time analytics decided it was the worst shot in basketball. In this episode of The Stepback, he takes a step back to look at how analytics went from finding overlooked talent in the Moneyball era to an optimization culture where everyone copies the same math.
Episode 03
Is Money Ruining Youth Sports? | The Stepback with Blake Griffin
Blake Griffin paid $80 for a wristband to watch his own son play basketball, plus $60 to park for the weekend. On this episode of The Stepback, he takes a step back to look at how youth sports went from backyard ball to a $40 billion industry, and why it's pushing so many kids out of sports. Blake breaks down early sports specialization and why playing one sport year round leads to more injuries.
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