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Boston Globe

Molly McGrath's ‘SportsCenter' assignment from the Cape Cod League is a homecoming

She has made the summer pilgrimage to the Cape many times, including as a BC student. Even before she knew she was receiving this assignment, her family, including her California-based parents, already was planning a vacation next week in Falmouth. But it turns out her stay in Massachusetts is intended to be permanent. McGrath and her husband, Max , along with their two children, are living in a rental now while they close on a house in Westwood. After more than a decade on the West Coast, she's returning to the coast where her career began. 'The new house is actually on the street my husband grew up on,'' she said, laughing. 'I guess he qualifies as a Townie now. Advertisement 'You just never know where life is going to take you, right? We were on the West Coast for a decade, thought that that's where we'd end up, but I think it was a combination of life and work just pulled us back here. So many of our friends are here, I just think it's going to be the best decision we've made.' Part of the reason McGrath and her family came east is related to her job, she acknowledged. Advertisement 'It made sense personally but also it was kind of a bet on ourselves like I want to be more involved with the company,'' she said. 'Being nearby [and closer to ESPN's Bristol, Conn. headquarters] is the way to do it. The 'SportsCenter' in the Cape is going to be awesome, and that's not something I would have done if I had lived on the West Coast.' The 'SportsCenter' role is a new one for McGrath, who has been with the network since 2016, most prominently as a sideline reporter for ESPN's/ABC's Saturday college football broadcasts. She has plenty of experience as a studio host, but she made her debut as a 'SportsCenter' host this past week. 'I think I know the rhythm of it, the writing, how it all comes together,' she said. 'It's a matter of just exercising those muscles again. 'The Cape one is a lot different than hosting from the studio, though. It's going to be more centered around a sense of place, about being on the Cape, the magic of summer baseball, what the experience is like for the fan to attend a game. 'Who knows, I may stop at the Red Nun [Bar and Grill] before and grab a burger and then walk straight into the ballpark and do like a walk and talk live. We'll see how that goes, right?' 📺 Stop by to watch the show and enjoy ESPN giveaways. — Chatham Anglers (@ChathamAnglers) New '30 for 30' is heavenly If you're a basketball junkie or someone who likes hearing a compelling untold or overlooked story, allow me to give the highest recommendation to ESPN's new '30 for 30' podcast, titled 'Chasing Basketball Heaven.' The six-part podcast, which premieres Tuesday, explores the life of Martin Manley , a brilliant, odd, efficiency obsessed Kansas native who in the 1980s essentially predicted the future of basketball by asking in a little-known book titled 'Basketball Heaven' why NBA teams did not shoot more 3-pointers. ( Joe Mazzulla would have loved this guy.) Advertisement The podcast is the brainchild of journalists Rich Levine and Nick Altschuller , colleagues once upon a time at 'The Improper Bostonian.' (Levine, a terrific writer, might be best known to Boston sports fans from his time opining about the Celtics for NBC Sports Boston.) It is executive produced by Adam McKay — the writer/director/producer behind such movies as 'Anchorman,'' 'Step Brothers,' and 'The Big Short' — and produced by his Hyperobject Industries, along with Meadlowlark Media and ESPN. Craig Kilborn contributes as the voice of Manley, and I would not have had a clue it was Kilborn without being told. Levine said he became aware of Manley — whose story takes some unforeseen twists and turns — in 2013, for reasons I won't spoil here. The story stuck with him from a move from Boston to Los Angeles and significant life changes, and in the winter of 2021, he finally read Manley's book and was stunned at its prescience. 'He was writing in 1986 or '87 about how NBA teams should be taking more 3-point shots,'' said Levine during a recent conversation. 'The math to him was just so obvious.' Levine and Altschuller had wanted to do a project together for some time, and a podcast seemed the way to go. 'And one night, Martin's story just sort of came back to mind,' said Levine. 'I called and pitched it to Nick, and it really felt like that scene in 'Seinfeld,' with Jerry and George pitching their show to NBC. 'I think we've got something here.' ' Advertisement McKay — ''basketball and climate change are really his two passions,' said Levine — became attached through Levine and Altschuller's agent. ESPN got on board in June 2023, a couple of months after they had begun their reporting, which included plenty of time in Kansas and even a visit to the home of baseball analytics legend Bill James , who had blurbed Manley's book. 'It's a little thrilling and a little nerve-racking to see this on the verge of coming out into the world,' said Levine. 'But for a lot of reasons, I think and hope Martin's story is one that people will find compelling.' Chad Finn can be reached at