Hair of the Olympic Dog

That’s a wrap for this year’s Olympics….yes, we have an Olympic hangover too, but don’t worry - the next Games will be here in no time! We recap our selected Olympic sports and dish on other headlines from the sports world. Also, we’ve got a special guest: Todd Sweet is a former Zamboni driver (and a U of I communications professional) who tells us how this unique vehicle works and MORE! So sit back, relax, and come jump on the Bandwagon!

1:02   GET YER HOT TAKES HERE

We start off this week’s episode by talking about our respective Olympic sports we followed throughout the Winter Games. John talks about snowboarding….Brian, biathlon….Lisa talks about curling… and Roger talks about women’s hockey and how the U.S. team beat their rival Canada - not once, but twice. We also dive into Illinois basketball and the Big Ten tournament (now underway in... New York City??)

17:28    ♫ I WANNA DRIVE A ZAMBONI ♫

We talk to Todd Sweet,  a former summer-job Zamboni driver back in the 80s/90s. We discuss the history of the Zamboni, his “career” as a driver, how this dangerous (!) vehicle works, and the famous figure skaters he met during his time on the job. Todd definitely brings a different perspective that’s evident after watching this year's winter Olympic games.

37:15  CONTROVERSY!

After Fergie’s controversial rendition of “The Star-Spangled Banner” at the NBA All-Star Game, Team Bandwagon looks into the history of singing the national anthem before sporting events and how that tradition started. Also, we look into which versions of the national anthem were as bad as hers and which ones stood out for other reasons. Our favorite:
 

49:07   STATUS UPDATE!

John: LeBron James’ straight talk about the NCAA, recruiting athletes, and his experience (LeBron's, not John's)

Lisa: Tweet from sports journalist Lindsay Gibbs re: her article about the future of the Olympics, and what the future holds for retiring athletes

Roger: Changes that are occurring in MLB, with the recent warming up of this off-season's hot stove and the different rule changes that will be taking place this coming season.

Brian: How the Tarheels lost at home vs. Miami (FL).

Episode 50 is in the books! Join us next time for episode 51 as we look into the sports world and everything surrounding it. In the meantime, check us out, we've got Twitter and Facebook!