DC’s Mike James and Mollie Ames discuss:

• "Popularity Bears"
• Stipe loses his title to Cormier, but since the UFC has further debased itself to WWE shenanigans to get attention, who can watch this garbage anymore, anyway?
• Writing a letter or email to a newspaper's sports beat writer... Is it more ridiculous than calling into a sports talk show?
• Salvage Stores, and a sign of great outer rim marketing.
• 4th of July recap, our favorite 2018 injury stories.
• Trevor Bauer has been the best pitcher and baseball, and yet it took a decision from the Commissioner's office to have him be included on the All Star roster. #BaseballBeingStupid
• A true story about German prostitutes.
• Bauer has some ideas people consider crazy, but his notion of only ever wanting to sign one year deals is as revolutionary and brilliant as his approach to pitching is proving to be. His bet he made, however, is indeed crazy.
• We're done telling you how great the World Cup is and has been, now we're left to shaming all those who haven't been tuning in. Oh, and with the Semi-Finals and Finals being all that's left, Mike picks his favorite to win it all.

All this and so much more on this episode of the Defend Cleveland Podcast. Enjoy~

Thank you to KidForce Pinball for sponsoring the podcast, 91.1-FM WRUW Cleveland for being home to the show, engineer extraordinaire Mollie Ames, and to the city that inspires us, Cleveland, Ohio.

DC’s Mike James and Mollie Ames discuss:

• The point when you know there's too many corporate shops in your town, i.e., Columbus Ohio is a good example of far too many corporate shops for one town.
• With LeBron gone maybe you'll find yourself looking for a new sport to love... Well, given that Cleveland has one of the best scenes in the world for it, have you tried pinball?
• This time it's definitely different than the first time LeBron left home to play elsewhere.
• 3 key things to understand and accept that will help you cope with LeBron leaving for Los Angeles:
  1. Ring Chaser Fans: Worse than ring chasing players, these are the fans who will now say they never liked basketball anyway.
  2. Fans who criticize players for "getting paid too much" is clearly an impractical and moronic thing to say. In other words, sports maybe be fun dumb (aka, FunDummm), but these fans are no fun and just dumb.
  3. Asking this one simple question: If you were LeBron, which owner would you rather play for, Dan Gilbert or Jeanie Buss? Even putting distinct political and social differences aside, just outlining Dan Gilbert's failings as an owner over the last year alone makes this appear to be an easy answer.
• Mollie reads her favorite Uncle Drew movie reviews.
• Cleveland still has a world champion among us, and he's fighting possibly his toughest test of all this Saturday: A Defend Cleveland quick primer for Stipe Miocic v Daniel Cormier. GO STIPE! GO CLEVELAND!)
• Great World Cup knockout round stories following the first 4 matches.
• Mike ate at Cracker Barrel. Yes, Mike James ate at a Cracker Barrel. For real. And, again, he is not a fan of Columbus.
• Tribe talk, because there's still reasons to be a happy sports fan living in Cleveland today.
• Saying farewell, thanking and appreciating LeBron and his greatness on and off the court. He's a once in a generation level talent, and his true home will always be right here in northeast Ohio.

All this and so much more on this episode of the Defend Cleveland Podcast. Enjoy~

Thank you to KidForce Pinball for sponsoring the podcast, 91.1-FM WRUW Cleveland for being home to the show, engineer extraordinaire Mollie Ames, and to the city that inspires us, Cleveland, Ohio.

DC’s Mike James and Mollie Ames discuss:

• "Non-consensual ball draining".
•  Why wanting non-stop LeBron's pending decision sports talk, or anything Browns and the NFL in late June, is just ridiculous, pointless and silly, at best. Yes, this all should seem rather obvious but it clearly needs to be pointed out.
• If you think soccer is dumb, yeah, well, so are our sports. When you think about it, anyway.
• Michael loses a bet because he was rooting for Sweden, i.e., rooting against Team Germany.
• Explaining why it is the Summer Solstice isn't celebrated by our nation as a whole, which is really dumb.
• Why a goal in soccer is the greatest feeling in sport? Finally explained in a way anyone post puberty can understand. Well, most of everyone, that is.
• "FunDummm", and how Landon Donovan is just regular dumb. There's a difference. He's also overrated and a corporate tool. 
• What is "Mountain Dew Mouth"?
• If you don't believe us that Landon Donovan sucks wait until we tell how ugly, gross and outright criminal his sponsor Wells Fargo has been over the years.
• Mollie explains how she ate her face over the weekend, mascots are dangerous, and why Beyoncé singing a trap song is just wrong.
• The two best overall Tribe players in 2018 haven't necessarily been the two best Tribe players, overall... Seriously.
• The Tribe bullpen since June has been vastly improved, so what does the team do now with the trade deadline approaching? We dig into the numbers and even fan a few rumor fires. #BearClaw #Steckosaurus #RightHandBat

All this and so much more on this episode of the Defend Cleveland Podcast. Enjoy~

Thank you to KidForce Pinball for sponsoring the podcast, 91.1-FM WRUW Cleveland for being home to the show, engineer extraordinaire Mollie Ames, and to the city that inspires us, Cleveland, Ohio.

DC’s Mike James and Mollie Ames discuss:

• Benson glands, babushka pussy, dick brain, and why Mike's joy was lessened from growing up in the 80's.
• World Cup Soccer is the greatest sports spectacle on earth(!), even if you know nothing about soccer, i.e., most everyone in this country.
• Gape-y, porn dick, and being thankful, regardless.
• "Our ass is in the jackpot..."
• Cornhole, not fit for TV, and it's also really dumb.
• Champagne sabers, the only proper way to open a bottle of bubble.
• Mike reveals what it is he said that led to having his mouth washed out with soap as a child, and Mollie asks a great Father's Day question.
• When believing in a God goes wrong, and yet again, why World Cup Soccer is great (i.e., it's must see TV!).
• Mollie likes looking at her own boobs.
• You'll never believe the odds Jersey sports booking has for the Browns winning the Super Bowl next year.
• Phil Mickelson is a total dickhole, and the largely untold history of Shinnecock Hills.

All this and so much more on this episode of the Defend Cleveland Podcast. Enjoy~

Thank you to KidForce Pinball for sponsoring the podcast, 91.1-FM WRUW Cleveland for being home to the show, engineer extraordinaire Mollie Ames, and to the city that inspires us, Cleveland, Ohio.

DC’s Mike James and Mollie Ames discuss:

• Figuring out what Episode this is, and finding out Mollie is not a billionaire.
• Finding parallels between Anthony Bourdain's take on food and Defend Cleveland's take on sports, yet still not forgiving him for the totally shitty Cleveland episode of his old show 'No Reservations'.  
• If LeBron leaves there's not much the Cavs can do but suck, hell it's going to be difficult to get better even if he decides to stay.
• LeBron's true on-court value, and why it is he only signs one year guaranteed deals.
• Mollie's outer-rim shenanigans with pro-life propaganda, and Mike takes LSD.
• JR Smith's Game 1 blunder, aka his "dumbnitude", is absolutely NOT why the Cavs lost the NBA Finals.
• Briefly discussing FIFA's continued corruption, Russia's involvement, and how its as much a cautionary tale for world sports as it is world politics.
• Phil Brooks, aka CM Punk, should have never been allowed to ever step in UFC octagon, period. 
• Corey Kluber's streak and if someday he will be considered the best Tribe starter ever, and what it is Jose Ramirez is on pace to do that no other 3rd baseman has done in the history of the sport. Talkin' about some Tribe greatnesses, yo.

All this and so much more on this episode of the Defend Cleveland Podcast. Enjoy~

Thank you to KidForce Pinball for sponsoring the podcast, 91.1-FM WRUW Cleveland for being home to the show, engineer extraordinaire Mollie Ames, and to the city that inspires us, Cleveland, Ohio.

DC’s Mike James and Mollie Ames discuss:

• Harboring things from our childhood... On a grander scale.
• The Twins feasted this weekend on that good ol' 2018 Tribe relief pitching.
• Cavs Down 0-2, and having to put the JR Smith blunder into proper perspective.
• Space Sur'p, the official taste taste and giveaway.
• NBA conspiracies, the Game 1 replay reversal call heard around the world, and attempting to be objective about it.
• Chicken eggs are not chicken abortions, and there's also no rooster semen in there, either - a public service announcement.
• Tim Donaghy, TMZ and other things you shouldn't listen to or believe in regards to NBA officiating in this postseason.
• Is this 2018 Cavs team worse than the 2007 Cavs team who were swept in The Finals by the Spurs? Short answer, yes, but we still explain our reasoning.
• Everyone should be allowed to have Domino's shitty pizza, and Pepsi's new billboard slogan is as dumb as the Uncle Drew movie is certain to be.
• Hugh Jackson taking "The Cleanse" in not so cold water, per doctor's orders.
• Protesting the un-evolved being the ones to determine what the masses listen to, i.e., stop giving money to the Eagles! (revisiting the "No Hotel California" rule)
• Reminding ourselves who the only true and real "BEEEAASSST!" is in the Cleveland rotation is.

All this and so much more on this episode of the Defend Cleveland Podcast. Enjoy~

Thank you to KidForce Pinball for sponsoring the podcast, 91.1-FM WRUW Cleveland for being home to the show, engineer extraordinaire Mollie Ames, and to the city that inspires us, Cleveland, Ohio.

DC’s Mike James and Mollie Ames discuss:

• LeBron James is so great we should build a statue of him big enough to be seen from space, and other fantastic ideas one ponders when thinking about just how great he is.
• The Boston Celtics, Toronto Raptors and Indiana Pacers are all not worthy enough teams to represent an NBA Conference in the Finals, and if not for LeBron neither would the Cavs.
• There'll be no "Hee-Hee" today, no Hard Knocks. Not today.
• Enjoying the moment by not looking ahead.
• "Mollie's mouth filth all over me..."
• Lake County has their own newspaper and the headlines can be so fantastic.
• RTJ delivered a stern statement to the NFL, and it's so awesome. (A sample of the Run The Jewels track "Legend Has It" was used in this segment, taken from the album RTJ3 available through Run The Jewels Inc)
• Rule #1: No Hotel California. Rule #2: No Stairway To Heaven. Rule #3: Absolutely no Jimmy Buffett, ever. I mean, enough already.
• Jeff Van Gundy wonders why people in Cleveland are unable to do simple math, then delivers the best use for 'The Diff' on the Cavs scoreboard you'll ever hear.
• Remember when last season ended, the story and headlines had faded and less than 10 players across the entire League were still protesting racially charged police brutality during the National Anthem? Well, you can now bet there's going to be a whole lot more players than that protesting next season.

All this and so much more on this episode of the Defend Cleveland Podcast. Enjoy~

Thank you to KidForce Pinball for sponsoring the podcast, 91.1-FM WRUW Cleveland for being home to the show, engineer extraordinaire Mollie Ames, and to the city that inspires us, Cleveland, Ohio.

DC’s Mike James and Mollie Ames discuss:

• The Space Syrup Challenge...
• Mollie doesn't hear Laurel or Yanni, all she hears is Mollie.
• Cavs might have won game 3 and should still reach the Finals, but now that we know they're getting the 8th overall pick instead of a top 3, we can definitely conclude they lost big time in the Kyrie trade with Boston.
• Seriously, Space Syrup.
• Browns to be on Hard Knocks, because why not? Who doesn't want to see behind the scenes all access of a team who was 0-16 last year.
• Tribe promote Plutko, meanwhile, we still have Bieber Fever.
• Why didn't the Indians get more bullpen help in the offseason? The reasons go deeper then you might think, unless of course you think that it comes down to ownership not having deep enough pockets. Then, yeah, that's still mostly it.
• Katie Ledecky is not human! (Maybe it's the space syrup?)
• SPACE SYRUP?!
• Trevor Bauer vs Gerrit Cole, and the spin rate challenge!
• Revisiting Episode 36's Integrity Fee for Women, and not being so apparently selfish about it like was the case originally.
• It's Laurel!

All this and so much more on this episode of the Defend Cleveland Podcast. Enjoy~

Thank you to KidForce Pinball for sponsoring the podcast, 91.1-FM WRUW Cleveland for being home to the show, engineer extraordinaire Mollie Ames, and to the city that inspires us, Cleveland, Ohio.

DC’s Mike James and Mollie Ames discuss:

• Wait, "Enjoy yourself, while you're still in the pink", means what now?
• Mother's Day: Are we sure we're celebrating this in all the right ways and for all the right reasons?
• We sure hope you didn't think that the Cavs were going to sweep the Celtics, and if you did we ask, "What have you been watching lately?"
• LeBron James ends up more aggressive in the postgame presser than he appeared to be in the actual game. Oh, and he always demonstrated one of the ways he has a brilliant mind.
• The Cleveland Indians aren't very good right now but thankfully the season is still young and the AL Central is WAY worse, in fact, it could up being historically bad it's so awful right now.
• What options are there in trying to fix the Indians' bullpen issues?
• The average Browns fan hates analytics except when those same analytics produce some sliver of hope that the Browns "maybe" a playoff team next season.
• The Supreme Court rules in sports gambling's favor, and here comes all whole new world of professional sports viewing as a result. Not to mention, "integrity fees".
• Mollie reads from the script of "Hypnogasm for Women"...

All this and so much more on this episode of the Defend Cleveland Podcast. Enjoy~

Thank you to KidForce Pinball for sponsoring the podcast, 91.1-FM WRUW Cleveland for being home to the show, engineer extraordinaire Mollie Ames, and to the city that inspires us, Cleveland, Ohio.

Your album recommendation for the week is the self-titled latest release by Viva La Void available via Sacred Bones Records.

DC’s Mike James and Mollie Ames discuss:

• We told you LeBron James was the greatest, and somehow he keeps getting greater.
• Drake being the "Ambassador to the World" for the Raptors sounds as empty and phony as his brand of hip-hop.
• Mike travels east from Collinwood and discovers Will-billy land and its Will-billies.
• We're not saying Mayfield is all that comparable to Johnny Manziel, but dude sure is awfully small for the NFL.
• Will Baker Mayfield "earn his stripe"?
• We present further evidence to confirm that DJ Khaled is as backwards and stupid as he is fat and talentless.
• With more strikeouts recorded than hits for the month of April, the first time in all of MLB history where that's ever been the case, you'd think baseball would be taking the tested and factual accusation made by Trevor Bauer this past week a lot more seriously.
• Is it time to freak out about how bad the Tribe's bullpen is?
• Mike's conversation with Yan Gomes about the most important improvement Clevinger has made that's allowing him to be such a "BEEEEAAASST!" this season.
• Mollie defines one of the qualities it takes to make you a "Will-billy", and don't you dare call her one, even though she's from Will-billy Land and smells like pickles because of her washing bucket.
• Enough with sacrifice bunts! Michael breaks down the very simple facts behind why sacrificing with a runner on 2nd with no outs only historically results in less runs scored. Plain and simple.

All this and so much more on this episode of the Defend Cleveland Podcast. Enjoy~

Thank you to KidForce Pinball for sponsoring the podcast, 91.1-FM WRUW Cleveland for being home to the show, engineer extraordinaire Mollie Ames, and to the city that inspires us, Cleveland, Ohio.

To check out KidForce Pinball, visit KidForce Collectibles in downtown Berea at 103 Front St., 44017.

Your album recommendation for the week is FAN's debut release "Barton's Den" available via Polyvinyl Records.