There is no dignified way to promote a book. Emma Baccellieri of Sports Illustrated is a longtime friend of the pod and always a welcome guest, but she is also a busy woman—busy on the bargaining committee for the Sports Illustrated Union, busy covering the women's NCAA tournament on the West Coast, busy having deeply held opinions about sodas most people don't know exist. But as the co-author (with Jordan Robinson) of Court Queens, a new coffee table book about the history of women's basketball, she is also compelled to take a break from all that important work to go on a podcast with two hooting dunces to discuss that book, and basketball, and sodas.

Friends: We were those dunces. We're grateful that Emma took the time to join us for what wound up being a wide-ranging chat about history, labor, women's hoops, Opening Day gripes and grouses, and the triumphant-ish return of Mr. Pibb. A classic Emma episode, in short, even though she was recording it from the road and had to dip out after 45 minutes for a negotiation session.