Bandwagon Beach

Earlier this morning, I went live on Substack to talk about how and why my San Diego Padres pessimism is maybe turning into some optimism after Sheel Seidler dropped her lawsuit against the other team owners.

After that, I broke down last night’s impressive SDFC win over Pumas and wondered if the team is still searching for a 9 that can facilitate the last third of the offense.

Happy Monday! Well, kinda. I did not like the tenor of…well, anything really….that was coming out of the San Diego Padres FanFest at Petco Park this weekend. From A.J. Preller’s contract extension to the plan at 1B (and backup catcher) to the superstars that couldn’t be bothered to show up to the Yu Darvish situation to Keith Law’s review of the Padres farm system….there’s a lot to be angry about so I decided to be angry about it all.

I’ve been steaming ever since it turned out that Yu Darvish, who reportedly was planning to retire and void the remainder of his contract with the San Diego Padres, was in fact not planning on retiring and not voiding the remainder of his contract with the San Diego Padres (barring a buyout that has not yet been agreed upon).

I think the news getting out there, and then quickly being refuted, portends an even darker future for the team (and its reputation) than what we were already imagining following the announcement of a sale and A.J. Preller still being unsigned past this upcoming season.

I do my best to explain why I think that before talking about the Seahawks-Patriots Super Bowl matchup and the potential trend it will create, which is one that the NFL itself should probably be concerned about.

Thank you to everyone who tuned into my live video! Join me for my next live video in the Substack app.

I’m still testing out a bunch of Substack features, including continuing to play with the live video.

Today, following the news that the Mets had traded for Freddy Peralta, I flipped on the camera & microphone to talk about how bad things have gotten for the Padres this offseason before turning my attention to San Diego FC, San Diego State’s basketball (and football) program, and the painful story of 5-year old Liam Ramos in Minnesota.

It had been long enough since I had yelled into a microphone and I missed doing it. So, I flipped on a live video (partially to test our the Substack system) this morning and loudly worried about the short-term and long-term future of the San Diego Padres for about a half-hour.

Then, and with full warning, I worried about the short-term and long-term future of America and Americans for the last 15-20 minutes.

This is an unplanned and probably disorganized “episode” of a podcast that doesn’t really exist, but it’s also free content for anyone who is craving it.

While John is still recovering from The Crud, Darren catches up with former colleague, Jim Russell, from the Jon & Jim Show on AM 760 and The Wrap Up Show on YouTube.

The two friends talked about Jim’s recent announcement that he was leaving sports radio and San Diego and the heartbreaking motivation behind it. They spent time talking about sports radio in San Diego, working for a flagship versus a non-flagship and what life might look like for life after sports talk radio.

Section 1904 is a community-supported media company. If you like our content, considering subscribing at Section1904.com to support our work for as little as $5/month.

Darren Smith and John Gennaro kick off today's show talking about where they are in their Christmas shopping and how they're planning to tackle that in the five days between now and Christmas.

They then move onto the big news of the day, which is the San Diego Padres re-signing SP Michael King to a (potentially) three-year deal for $75 million. The guys talk about the contract structure, if there is another move coming, and whether the Padres were actually short on cash or not.

Darren and John also find time to talk about newly acquired 3B Sung-mun Song and how he fits into the Padres with Manny Machado still on the roster.

Because it's Friday, the guys do a bit of a weekend preview, highlighting the college football, college basketball and NFL games that they'll be paying attention to this weekend and talking a bit about SDSU's preparations for the New Mexico Bowl. Also, how big would an SDSU basketball win over Arizona be?

The week ends, as it always does, with Try This. Darren is preparing some special holiday cocktails for his guests and John is re-finding his love for poetry thanks to TikTok. You should try this!

Section 1904 is a community-supported media company. If you like our content, considering subscribing at Section1904.com to support our work for as little as $5/month.

Darren Smith and John Gennaro kick off today's show talking about where they are in their Christmas shopping and how they're planning to tackle that in the five days between now and Christmas.

They then move onto the big news of the day, which is the San Diego Padres re-signing SP Michael King to a (potentially) three-year deal for $75 million. The guys talk about the contract structure, if there is another move coming, and whether the Padres were actually short on cash or not.

Darren and John also find time to talk about newly acquired 3B Sung-mun Song and how he fits into the Padres with Manny Machado still on the roster.

Because it's Friday, the guys do a bit of a weekend preview, highlighting the college football, college basketball and NFL games that they'll be paying attention to this weekend and talking a bit about SDSU's preparations for the New Mexico Bowl. Also, how big would an SDSU basketball win over Arizona be?

The week ends, as it always does, with Try This. Darren is preparing some special holiday cocktails for his guests and John is re-finding his love for poetry thanks to TikTok. You should try this!

00:00 - Is your Xmas shopping done? / Ben & Woods

09:00 - Padres re-sign SP Michael King

28:00 - Padres sign KBO 3B Sung-mun Song

38:30 - Weekend Preview: College Football Playoff, NFL action, SDSU & more

52:30 - Try This!

Section 1904 is a community-supported media company. If you like our content, considering subscribing at Section1904.com to support our work for as little as $5/month.

Darren Smith and John Gennaro don't know what to talk about today, which is how they end up spending a bunch of time talking about Los Angeles Rams WR Puka Nacua, who (perhaps unknowingly) made an antisemitic gesture and said the NFL referees brag about missing calls while on a live stream with Adin Ross.

The guys talk about what can be done, what Nacua is or is not responsible for, and what the NFL or the Rams will do about the situation. (By the end of the podcast, Nacua's public apology was published and read by Darren.)

Darren and John then turn their attention to the world of darts, specifically the 2026 PDC World Darts Championship that is happening at Ally Pally over the next few weeks, and Section 1904 subscriber Mason is on the scene with a report about the big stories from the early matches and what to do in London as a tourist.

The guys end the show with some brief apologies for not spending much time on San Diego State basketball, who routed Air Force last night and has a huge game coming up against Arizona this weekend.

Section 1904 is a community-supported media company. If you like our content, considering subscribing at Section1904.com to support our work for as little as $5/month.

Darren Smith and John Gennaro don't know what to talk about today, which is how they end up spending a bunch of time talking about Los Angeles Rams WR Puka Nacua, who (perhaps unknowingly) made an antisemitic gesture and said the NFL referees brag about missing calls while on a live stream with Adin Ross.

The guys talk about what can be done, what Nacua is or is not responsible for, and what the NFL or the Rams will do about the situation. (By the end of the podcast, Nacua's public apology was published and read by Darren.)

Darren and John then turn their attention to the world of darts, specifically the 2026 PDC World Darts Championship that is happening at Ally Pally over the next few weeks, and Section 1904 subscriber Mason is on the scene with a report about the big stories from the early matches and what to do in London as a tourist.

The guys end the show with some brief apologies for not spending much time on San Diego State basketball, who routed Air Force last night and has a huge game coming up against Arizona this weekend.

00:00 - Introduction

06:30 - Puka Nacua steps in it on Adin Ross' livestream

23:45 - A report from the 2026 PDC World Darts Championship in London

39:00 - Puka Nacua issues an apology / The new face of 'media'

50:00 - SDSU routs Air Force, Arizona is up next

Section 1904 is a community-supported media company. If you like our content, considering subscribing at Section1904.com to support our work for as little as $5/month.