Deep Look: Ultiworld's Weekly Podcast

In this special edition of Deep Look, Ultiworld Editor-in-Chief Charlie Eisenhood and Senior Editor Keith Raynor talk all about the upcoming US Open. We explore the early season storylines, exciting roster changes, key matchups, and more.

In this week's episode, we talk about the initial release of club rosters and player movement around the country before turning to a discussion of the upcoming professional league playoffs. With the MLU's DC Current and New York Rumble set to face off this weekend with the playoffs on the line, the US Open right around the corner, and the U23 World Championships on the horizon, it's a great time to be an ultimate fan.

In this week's Deep Look, Charlie and Wes talk about the big stories from the College Championships, the quality of the ESPN3 livestream and ESPNU broadcast, and both the "how-tos" and implications of getting more sponsorship money into the sport.

In this week's episode, we talk all about the AUDL and MLU: which teams are on top, how the playoffs might shake out, how the leagues are doing financially, and where they might go from here. Could we see a merger sometime in the next two years?With more questions than answers, we open some conversational threads that we hope to address more fully on later episodes with interviews and in-depth reporting.This is part one of a two part Deep Look this week. Later this week we will talk college, with the D-III and D-I National Championships right around the corner.

Are we starting to see a growing rift in the sport? In this week's episode, we discuss the Spirit Championships with one of its lead organizers, Trent Simmons. The Spirit Championships seek to offer an alternative to the USA Ultimate Series for players and teams who are looking for a more laidback postseason tournament series.But the announcement of the Spirit Championships opens up new conversations about the widening gap between the sport's top athletes and the rest of the players. We talk at length about the implications of the Triple Crown Tour, professional leagues, and the non-stop focus on the sport's elite.

In this edition of Deep Look, we talk about the preliminary end-of-season rankings and what they tell us about the bid allocation system. We don't think highly of the current system.We also discuss ESPN's coverage of College Nationals, and how the ESPN deal could begin to segment the ultimate playing population into different groups.

Many of the top college teams in the nation faced off this weekend at Easterns (Open) and Centex (Women's). With big upsets coming in both divisions, it's clear that there is greater parity than ever. Trying to pick a frontrunner -- or even a one seed -- for Nationals on the Open side will prove very difficult this year. In the women's division, can the North Central teams challenge the Northwest for dominance?

USA Ultimate's announcement of a new broadcast deal with ESPN was greeted with excitement and enthusiasm from players across the country. With one of the world's most visible sports brands now aligned with ultimate, the sport looks poised for increased mainstream relevance and greater fan appeal.

We're happy to offer a bonus edition of Deep Look this week with Ben Van Heuvelen, who wrote the outstanding piece 'What Do We Stand For?' that was a major discussion topic in Episode 14. BVH and Charlie discuss the future of ultimate and how to best grow the sport.

In this week's episode, we talk about the Stanford Invite and the USA Ultimate bid allocation scene as it stands. We also touch on the Tally Classic and Huck Finn.Then we turn to Ben Van Heuvelen's important and wonderfully written piece "What Do We Stand For?" In a wide-ranging discussion, we take issue with some of BVH's assumptions and ideas, as we defend the professional leagues and the growth of ultimate in multiple areas.

In this week's episode, we kick things off with a discussion of the state of professional ultimate and the "talent gap" between the MLU and the AUDL. We move to talking about the possibility of generating excitement and interest in the sport through the college scene.Finally, we take a look at the current college landscape and discuss the implications of this weekend's Easterns Qualifier, including its impact on bid allocation.

In this week's episode, we talk about the early stories from Warm Up, where Wisconsin went undefeated, including two wins over the defending champions Pittsburgh. We also talk about the President's Day Invite with Ultiworld's reporter and Arizona player Seth Stephens. With the first big East and West Coast tournaments of the year now completed, the strength bid picture starts to come into focus as teams position themselves for the big mid-season tests of Centex, the Stanford Invite, and Easterns.

In the first part of Episode 11, we talk about the quiet ending to the NexGen/USAU saga. The NexGen League is no more and USA Ultimate has significantly scaled back the requirements of the Triple Crown Tour.We finish by talking about the talent gap between the MLU and the AUDL -- and whether or not it matters.

In the second half of Episode 11, we talk with Ultiworld reporters who were on the ground at Queen City Tune Up and DIII Warmup about who looked good, who disappointed, and what to look for later this season.

In this episode, we talk about the upcoming end to the Triple Crown Tour v. NexGen League drama, as NexGen founder Kevin Minderhout looks to run a series of regional tournaments rather than a new league. Teams have yet to make a decision.We turn, then, to a discussion of our recently released College Power Rankings, with a look at some teams -- and why we made some of the more controversial decisions.

In this week's episode, we kick off Deep Look's coverage of the college season, talking about some of the big stories from this weekend and some teams that showed they're worth talking about. We also talk at length about the "T-Town Spike" and what it shows us about the state of the college game, the need for observers, and proper discipline for bad sportsmanship and violations of Spirit of the Game.

In this week's episode, we talk about the big USA Ultimate announcement and their doubling down on the Triple Crown Tour (TCT). Surprisingly, top men's teams have yet to announce a decision about their plans for the upcoming season. We then speak with USA Ultimate CEO Tom Crawford about the organization's discussions with teams, plans for the TCT, and what to expect from the expanded broadcasting efforts.

This week, after touching on the latest developments in the pro/elite ultimate scene, we talk with Ultiworld's statistics editor Sean Childers about his recent work developing innovative statistics and analysis for ultimate. He discusses how the current stats work could affect teams -- and how those teams can get involved starting in this upcoming college season.

In this episode, we talk about the NexGen league's momentum, now that all 18 teams have signed "letters of intent" showing interest in NexGen's model. The big question now is what happens in the meeting between teams and USA Ultimate.We also discuss the American Ultimate Disc League's recent leadership shakeup, as President Josh Moore sold 90% of his stake and stepped down as commissioner.We wrap up with a quick look back at 2012.

With the announcement of the AUDL settling its lawsuit against the Connecticut Constitution and Rhode Island Rampage, gears are moving in New York as both the AUDL and MLU look to set up shop. We talk about the New York market before turning to a discussion of the on-going discussion about the NexGen "pro" league.