Adam Cheek's Sports Week

My Frontstretch compatriot Michael Massie joined me to break down the 2024 NASCAR season the day after it concluded in Phoenix, with Joey Logano having taken home the Cup Series crown -- his third.

We discuss our favorite moments of the 2024 season -- from the three-wide Atlanta finish to Ryan Blaney's clutch Martinsville win and everything in between -- as well as multiple cars getting airborne, the flaws of the playoff system, if things feel hollow given the postseason structure and more.

Follow me on X: @adamncheek
Follow me on Instagram: @adamcheek3

-------------------------

Intro music: "Motorway"
Music provided by https://slipstreammusic.com
Download / Stream: https://slipstreammusic.com/tracks/76e92a21-d7d4-4c54-8b8f-c99ba779865e?utm_source=attribution

Outro music: "Texas Forever"
Music provided by https://slipstreammusic.com
Download / Stream: https://slipstreammusic.com/tracks/8ba9f44a-1f96-42e4-8467-875e4c985c8f?utm_source=attribution

I was able to cover Galaxycon's Nightmare Weekend Richmond 2024 again this year, and had the chance to chat with a variety of actors and directors from decades' worth of horror -- people involved with the Halloween franchise, an actor from my all-time favorite film, The Thing, and so much more. 

I chatted with:
- Nick Castle (Halloween 1978, Halloween 2018, Escape from New York)
- Tom Atkins (Halloween III, Creepshow, Lethal Weapon)
- Thomas G. Waites (The Thing, The Warriors, State of Grace)
- Tommy Lee Wallace (Halloween III, the IT miniseries, The Fog)
- Sandy Johnson (Judith Myers in the original 1978 Halloween)
- William Katt (Carrie, The Greatest American Hero, Jawbreaker)

Video versions of the interviews can be found here!

Follow me on X: @adamncheek
Follow me on Instagram: @adamcheek3

-------------------------

Intro music: "Under the Blood Moon", Mystery Machine
Music provided by https://slip.stream
Download / Stream: https://slip.stream/tracks/57b8a553-8b88-42eb-be3e-d10cabdedd3d?utm_source=attribution

Outro music: "Epic Entanglement"
Music provided by https://slip.stream
Download / Stream: https://slip.stream/tracks/cdf33d10-b2d2-47f6-8d66-18d86bf662b5?utm_source=attribution

After playing baseball at VCU from 2015-2018 and serving as a pitching coach this past season, Sean Thompson was named the team's head coach for the Rams in 2025. I sat down with the new man at the helm to talk all things Black and Gold baseball 🐏 ⚾

We discuss his career at VCU, which overlapped some of my time there; what he's seen in the team as they play a pair of fall matchups ahead of the spring schedule; how he's honed his coaching craft over the past few years; and his own experience in pro baseball after he was signed by the White Sox.

Follow me on X: @adamncheek
Follow me on Instagram: @adamcheek3

-------------------------

Intro music: "A Strong Maybe"
Music provided by https://slip.stream
Download / Stream: https://slip.stream/tracks/fb69f699-3b6a-4d00-85c5-5e930e10c2e4?utm_source=attribution

Outro music: "Compliments"
Music provided by https://slip.stream
Download / Stream: https://get.slip.stream/a3Sit4

Marc "Cheats" Cheatham, founder of The Black Baseball Mixtape, joins the podcast for another MLB postseason discussion after doing the same last year!

We talk about the ALDS and NLDS currently underway and our predictions for those, the championship series and the World Series. Cheats and I also discuss the impressive young crop of players featured in this year's playoffs, some of the stories outside the postseason and more ⚾

Follow me on X: @adamncheek
Follow me on Instagram: @adamcheek3
Follow Cheats on Instagram: @blackbaseballmixtape

-------------------------

Intro music: "TURNING POINT", Mifune
Music provided by https://slip.stream
Download / Stream: https://get.slip.stream/5lXwt0
Listen on Spotify: https://go-stream.link/sp-mifune

Outro music: "Spare Me The Compliments"
Music provided by https://slip.stream
Download / Stream: https://get.slip.stream/N2GO2C

I talked with Virginia native Astravoid Cosplay about her appearances at Richmond's approaching Nightmare Weekend 2024 and RVA's GalaxyCon from earlier this year.

We chatted a few months back in an extended conversation about her craft, what goes into making a costume, how she became interested in the art form and more. She and I also discussed her famous Lavagirl suit replica -- plus actress Taylor Dooley noticing -- as well as celebrity encounters, what being at conventions is like and more.

Follow me on X: @adamncheek

-------------------------

Intro music: "Following the Light", The Moody Monarch
Music provided by https://slip.stream
Download / Stream: https://get.slip.stream/9anYUn

Outro music: "Forest Castle", The Moody Monarch
Music provided by https://slip.stream
Download / Stream: https://slip.stream/tracks/f4c5799b-72d8-47e7-ab31-a138099535a3?utm_source=attribution

After marathoning the legendary Tony Scott's entire filmography -- which includes several sports movies! -- this summer, I welcome my friend Pat Brennan back on the podcast to talk all things #TonyScott4Lyfe.

We break down the late, great Tony's career, from his sports-themed projects -- Days of Thunder, The Fan and (sort of) The Last Boy Scout -- to seminal classics like True Romance and Top Gun, to his five movies with Denzel Washington, including Crimson Tide and Man on Fire.

Listen to this wide-ranging special episode as we discuss Scott's evolution, rank his filmography and more. 

Follow me on X: @adamncheek
Follow me on Instagram: @adamcheek3
Follow Pat on X: @pattbb8
Follow Pat's podcast on Spotify and Apple

-------------------------

Intro music: "Zeus's Lightning", The Moody Monarch
Music provided by https://slip.stream
Download / Stream: https://get.slip.stream/C55Ofq

Outro music: "Raise It High"
Music provided by https://slip.stream
Download / Stream: https://get.slip.stream/IfTs4g 

With college football underway and the NFL season just around the corner, I sit down with my friend & coworker Alex Soderstrom to talk about "Remember the Titans" after I finally knocked it off my list of sports movie blind spots.

We discuss Denzel Washington being one of the coolest dudes to ever grace a movie screen, how the film handled its subject matter without being too schmaltzy and its pacing. Alex and I also chatted about the future trajectories of its cast, which included early-career Ryan Gosling, and how it stacks up against other football movies -- a genre that, outside of documentaries, isn't too stellar.

Follow me on X: @adamncheek
Follow me on Instagram: @adamcheek3

-------------------------

Intro music: "Rise And Triumph"
Music provided by https://slip.stream
Download / Stream: https://slip.stream/tracks/da37cba1-dc2a-404a-a1b4-0cd4fefcf02b?utm_source=attribution

Outro music: "Saver Lifes"
Music provided by https://slip.stream
Download / Stream: https://slip.stream/tracks/776eb02a-9112-4987-ab69-5912dcf409d8?utm_source=attribution

Frankie Tostado played minor-league baseball in Richmond for the Flying Squirrels for two seasons, becoming a fan favorite in 2021 and 2022 while racking up 25 homers, 174 hits and a .267 average. The Mariners then acquired him in the Rule 5 draft, and he was then traded to the Nationals, where he returned to a warm RVA welcome while with Harrisburg before then playing a stint in Triple-A Rochester.

Now with the Kansas City Monarchs, Frankie joins the podcast to talk about his journey to professional baseball, his time in Richmond, playing at the Diamond and life on the road in MiLB. We also chat about the chaos of that Rule 5 draft, his current season in KC, that return to RVA and more in this special 50th episode.

Thanks so much again to Frankie for joining and to Katelyn for setting it up!!

Follow on X: @adamncheek
Follow on Instagram: @adamcheek3

-------------------------

Intro music: "Kingston"
Music provided by https://slip.stream
Download / Stream: https://slip.stream/tracks/495512a4-ac81-40b5-add1-43ddfd094e74?utm_source=attribution

Outro music: "The Sun Shineth"
Music provided by https://slip.stream
Download / Stream: https://slip.stream/tracks/35f3841a-6f46-4494-81fc-ba89dc67600c?utm_source=attribution

Six months after they first appeared on the podcast, Andy Blum and Evan Zalewski -- creators of the Richmond Flying Squirrels fan account "The Tostado Section" -- are back to talk about their OWN podcast they've been working on.

We talk about the Flying Squirrels' season to date, break down our favorite players that have come and gone on the Richmond roster and discuss how Andy and Evan approached their podcast -- plus more on the insight some of their guests have given them, Tyler Fitzgerald's hot streak in San Francisco and some upcoming things they have planned on the Tostado Section.

Frankie Tostado himself joins the podcast next week, so stay tuned!

Follow on X: @adamncheek
Follow on Instagram: @adamcheek3

Follow the Tostado Section & buy their merch: @thetostadosection

-------------------------

Intro music: "Dank Smoke"
Music provided by https://slip.stream
Download / Stream: https://slip.stream/tracks/308bcf7d-e328-4199-9769-ffb2f4f1c3af?utm_source=attribution

Outro music: "Roll On"
Music provided by https://slip.stream
Download / Stream: https://get.slip.stream/t72dXp

In the second episode of "The Sports Movie Showcase," my good friend, roommate, fellow VCU grad and former coworker Adam Harrell joins the podcast to talk about "The Sandlot," released in 1993.

We discuss watching the movie when we were kids and the lasting impact it had, plus where it falls in our all-time baseball movie rankings. We also take a look at the careers the actors involved had after the film came out, its relation to baseball and Americana, "The Beast" and more ⚾

Follow me on X: @adamncheek
Follow me on Instagram: @adamcheek3

-------------------------

Intro music: "Slow-Motion Rain", The Moody Monarch
Music provided by https://slip.stream
Download / Stream: https://get.slip.stream/WHHNwJ

Outro music: "Peek Skill"
Music provided by https://slip.stream
Download / Stream: https://slip.stream/tracks/4c6257e5-2716-4c99-90ce-fc063a1de93c?utm_source=attribution