Chirps From The Bench

The bench gets a little younger! Kyle sits down with Bryce for the first episode of Chirps Jr. They talk about the sports Bryce plays, hockey teammates and drills, favorite teams, and build a wonderfully chaotic animal hockey team in Yard Sale. It’s sports through a kid’s eyes—full of ideas, laughs, and plenty of personality.

The laboratory doors are open.

This week on Chirps From The Bench, Kyle and Joel hit the Runaround with the latest from the NHL, NFL, MLB, and college football before heading into the Yard Sale for Frankenstein’s Athlete: Horror Edition — building the worst possible athlete one terrible trait at a time.

Then, this week’s First Star belongs to Braves pitcher Ray Kerr, whose road from foster care to the Major Leagues gave us the perfect title for this episode: “This was just another Thursday.”

On the bench:
🏒 NHL, including the Canadiens
🏈 NFL and college football
⚾ MLB postseason
🧟 Yard Sale: Frankenstein’s Athlete
⭐ First Star: Ray Kerr

And when you're done listening, head over to chirpsfromthebench.com and vote for the worst Frankenstein trait — or add your own.

Kyle and Joel finish their NHL season preview with the Eastern Conference, going team by team through the Metro and the brutally deep Atlantic before making their standings and playoff picks.

The Runaround covers the NFL’s undefeated teams and quarterback injuries, a wild college football weekend, the MLB postseason, and NHL opening night. In the Yard Sale, they draft the most dominant athletes in sports video game history—from NHL ’94 and NBA Jam to the NES Power Pad. Beer League brings a goal, an assist, and a blown four-goal lead. Then Justin Verlander gets this week’s First Star for a farewell that felt just right.

Kyle and Joel head west for a look at the NHL's Western Conference. Which teams are ready to make a jump, who's being overrated, and which young teams might be a whole lot more fun than expected?

Plus, the Runaround hits the stories that actually caught our attention this week, Yard Sale returns with a very important question—who are you taking with you into a bar fight?—and First Star heads to Iowa for one of college football's best traditions.

Grab a seat on the bench.

Kyle and Joel ask what college sports become when players can earn money and change schools more freely. Athletes deserved those opportunities—but what happens to team identity, roster continuity, and the fans who followed a player from recruit to senior?

Before that, the Runaround covers the opening football games and the moments that caught their attention. Then, in the Yard Sale, they draft athletes for three American Gladiators events. Beer League returns with a shootout loss, and this week’s First Star is James Melton, a young football player whose first touchdown was earned every step of the way.

Chirps From the Bench is recorded in the Maggy Agency studio: maggyagency.com

More from the show: chirpsfromthebench.com

Kyle Rock and Joel Siskavich finally take their sports conversations from the group chat to the microphones for the debut episode of Chirps From The Bench.

The guys run around the sports world before examining where the NHL, MLB, NFL, and NBA stand in 2026. They discuss international hockey, player movement, baseball’s payroll imbalance and labor concerns, quarterback development, load management, and what keeps fans invested—or drives them away.

Then, the inaugural Yard Sale sends them anywhere in history with a Dream Ticket, and Bengals receiver Dohnte Meyers earns the show’s first First Star of the Week.