Getting the Band(wagon) Back Together
John Steinbacher, Lisa Bralts, and Brian Moline. Michael O. Thomas
We're back, people. WE. ARE. BACK. It feels good to bring you this, our 38th episode.
1:05 - BOYS AND GIRLS OF SUMMER
John has racket (anger) issues. We then chat about the terrible optics of ESPN broadcasting a segment for fantasy sports featuring a white man auctioning off African American athletes to mostly white buyers. Then! We discuss a world where Jay Cutler easily gets a job... while Colin Kaepernick does not. Hooray for American steeplechase! E-sports is possibly coming to the Olympics in 2024! Lisa gets a surprising postcard in the mail and wonders if she actually did hit her head playing volleyball in college in the 80s! Finally, the group mulls over public financing of spring training stadiums.
12:18 - DOIN' THE ENORMO-DOME
Will Leitch, senior writer for Sports on Earth among many other publications, discusses his recent article about the abandoned Edward Jones Dome and what it means regarding public financed public stadium trends. The dome sits empty because the City of St. Louis refused to shell out enough money to keep the Rams in town (if that was even possible); then the city recently voted down an MLS soccer deal, putting an exclamation point on their NO NEW STADIUMS stance. We talk about stadium trends around the country and how the city of St. Louis finally decided that enough was enough. Of course, Brian sneaks in a little Cardinals-Cubs talk.
29:58 – LIFE IS JUST A GAME-WORN JERSEY
It’s the debut of our new segment – CONTROVERSY! Lisa brings to the table the massive world of sports memorabilia - did you know that contracts with memorabilia companies are de riguer for many athletes? Lisa didn't - and how the NFL’s lack of verification for game-worn jerseys and other wearables ("The dirtier it is and the smellier it is, the better it is") has created many problems. One big problem? Eli Manning and his potential/alleged involvement in providing fake game-worn helmets to his memorabilia company.
38:50 - STATUS UPDATE!
John begrudgingly applauds the Rally Cat. He really is pro-animal, he swears.
Lisa, with delight, relays the story behind the Astros infamous 70s/80s uniforms and somehow connects them to a vintage NASA logo.
Brian? He's all about pure baseball joy.
That wraps up episode 38. Follow us on Twitter @bndwgnpdcst - we'll be back in a couple weeks. Thanks for playing!