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Badlands is a true crime podcast about the famous at their most infamous.

This season we dive deep into some of the most notorious and controversial All-Stars,

featuring the insane true stories of Ray Lewis, Michael Vick, Paul Gascoin,

Andres Escobar, and many more. Listen to Badlands on Amazon Music or wherever you get your podcasts.

You're listening to the Men in Blazers media network, Suboptimal Radio.

Peppa, are you planning to go to the World Cup? Are you staying here to work with the players you've

still got available? No, home with our other whine is the best way to do it.

Towards the case.

It's Roch, it's Friday, and we've made it to the end of another week.

And I'm not going to lie, I'm a little bit shattered.

Been up since 4.30am in Men in Blazers World Headquarters, banging out the newsletter,

which is really the reality of the pre-World Cup Crucible.

And I say that despite the fact that it's honestly one of the surrealist times I've ever had covering football,

there is a Men's World Cup hurtling towards us. It's within touching distance, that crown jewel of global sport.

And like millions around the world, when I think about the World Cup's men's and women's,

they are spines to our lives. It gives a free work of meaning and collective memory.

But the glut of football, around this World Cup, that's been smushed together,

the Jerry Rig jammed together in terms of the league play, the European competition.

It's been smushed in to carve out time.

Really for this self-inflicted wound of a November World Cup schedule, who thought this was a good idea.

I mean, we know who thought this was a good idea.

...