Echo of the Whistle

By Harry Swartout

Echo of the Whistle goes beyond what happens on the field of play to trace sports’ ripples across time and culture. What can one statistical anomaly tell us about the most difficult position in sports... more

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FAQs about Echo of the Whistle:

How many episodes does Echo of the Whistle have?

The podcast currently has 15 episodes available.

Echo of the Whistle episodes:

July 06, 2026 Savoring Victory: The '85 Lakers' NBA Championship Cookbook
After winning their first NBA championship in more than 50 years, you can bet the 2026 New York Knicks are going to have a plethora of championship merch. There is ONE thing they’re not cooking up, however. Something that the Lakers and their wives came up with all the way back in 1985 – A Championship Cookbook. This kicked off a trend of NBA champs penning charity cookbooks until the Lakers themselves published a sequel when they won back to back in the early 2000s. It also inspired one man to go full Julie & Julia and COOK the recipes from his beloved Lakers legends.
CHAPTERS:
Intro (:00)
Showtime Lakers Bigger than Basketball (1:16)
The Laker Ladies (2:31)
Lakers Run the Playoffs (4:48)
Celtics Finals Revenge (8:22)
A Lakers Charity Cookbook (9:23)
Starting a Trend (14:18)
Goldstein & Gasol (15:25)
Harry Cooks Kobe Bryant's Seared Tuna (22:40)
SOURCES:
Goldstein & Gasol
1985 World Champion Los Angeles Lakers Are Cookin’ Family Cookbook
Cooking with the Champs: Recipes from the World Champion Detroit Pistons
Chicago Bulls “Cooking Up A Championship”
The Lakers Are Cookin’ Again!
Long Before Social Networking, Community Cookbooks Ruled The Stove | NPR
Special thanks to Pablo Goldstein.
STAY CONNECTED
Patreon: Echo of the Whistle
Twitter: @echothewhistle
Instagram: @echoofthewhistle
Threads: @echoofthewhistle
Bluesky: @echothewhistlepod.bsky.social
TikTok: @echo_of_the_whistle
YouTube: @EchooftheWhistle
Website: echoofthewhistle.com
...more
27min
June 29, 2026 Casting the El Viejo Sitcom: Extra Time with Emma Baccellieri on George Brunet
If they made a sitcom based on George Brunet's life would it be a raunchier Ted Lasso? Harry is joined by Emma Baccellieri staff writer at Sports Illustrated and author of Court Queens and to talk about celebrating George Brunet's extraordinary career, Mexican baseball, and not wearing underwear to pitch.
CHAPTERS
Intro (:00)
Finding George Brunet (1:11)
Pitchers can last a WHILE in the league (3:18)
Did "old dog" Brunet learn new tricks? (6:11)
Would Brunet have done BETTER in modern MLB? (9:57)
Was the worst inning ever pitched just bad luck? (12:34)
Which is better: Long, mediocre career or Bright, short career? (17:16)
Brunet's drinking worse than rampant stimulant use? (22:36)
Do MLB players "go commando" in games? (25:04)
Casting the El Viejo sitcom (26:06)
Playing ball in your 40s in Mexico (30:57)
No Mexican baseball video conspiracy theories (33:35)
Most impressive part of George Brunet's career (36:57)
How to Remember George Brunet (40:08)
George Brunet in Cooperstown? (43:10)
Emma Baccellieri on Sports Illustrated and Court Queens (45:33)
ABOUT ECHO OF THE WHISTLE: Playing to the “echo of the whistle” means to give 100% and then just a little bit more, fighting for that extra inch when the other team has stopped playing. Echo of the Whistle goes beyond what happens on the field of play to trace sports’ ripples across time and culture. What can one statistical anomaly tell us about the most difficult position in sports? How did the 1975 Chicago Blackhawks end up facing off against Sesame Street characters? Why did a Hall of Fame baseball player end up dead at the bottom of Niagara Falls? Let the chat shows chat and the hot takes get cold because this show tells uncommon sports stories that stay with listeners after the clock hits double zeroes.
STAY CONNECTED
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/echoofthewhistle
Twitter: @echothewhistle
Instagram:@echoofthewhistle
Threads: @echoofthewhistle
Bluesky: @echothewhistlepod.bsky.social
TikTok: @echo_of_the_whistle
Website: echoofthewhistle.com
...more
47min
June 22, 2026El Viejo: The Endless Career of George Brunet
The record for longest pro baseball career doesn't belong to Nolan Ryan and his 27 seasons in MLB. It belongs to George Brunet’s staggering 33 seasons of pro baseball. So why haven’t you heard of Brunet? In America, Brunet was just your typical Journeyman racking up 19 mediocre seasons in the Majors and Minors… but that was just a warmup for his JOURNEY, MAN. In his second act he became a Hall of Famer South of the Border, throwing for 14 more years in Mexico. Brunet played into his fifties, tossing more than 6000 innings across three decades of professional baseball, riding his indefatigable left arm on the ULTIMATE baseball journey.
SOURCES:
Salón de la Fama del Beisbol Mexicano
George Brunet pitched in 33 consecutive seasons
The THT Interview: George Brunet’s Left Arm
George Brunet—All-Time Minor-League Strikeout King, an Enigma and more | Beisbol 101
Cooperstown Confidential: The wild life of George Brunet
Society for American Baseball Research
Baseball Reference

Special thanks to the Salón de la Fama del Beisbol Mexicano. Visit them in Monterrey, Mexico.
STAY CONNECTED
Patreon: Echo of the Whistle
Twitter: @echothewhistle
Instagram: @echoofthewhistle
Threads: @echoofthewhistle
Bluesky: @echothewhistlepod.bsky.social
TikTok: @echo_of_the_whistle
YouTube: @EchooftheWhistle
Website: echoofthewhistle.com
...more
32min
June 15, 2026 The Next Football War?: Extra Time with Dr. Nick Watanabe on the Football War
Could the Football War happen again at the 2026 World Cup? Harry is joined by Dr. Nick Watanabe author of The Beautiful Game?: The Stories Shaping the Future of Soccer to dive into the Football War, FIFA's diplomatic responsibility and what happens to the players caught in the middle.
CHAPTERS:
Intro (:00)
How pervasive is the fake narrative? (1:23)
1970 World Cup vs. 2026 World Cup (3:45)
Does US fear world soccer culture? (9:30)
Sports nationalism and the Dokdo-Takeshima fight (14:27)
Would social media fight propaganda or spread it? (20:15)
Is 2026 heading for a new Football War? (22:30)
The failure of FIFA's "football diplomacy" (27:15)
Honduras-El Salvador Match 3 was a World Cup CLASSIC (32:25)
What happens to the players used as pawns? (35:50)
The Beautiful Game?: The Stories Shaping the Future of Soccer (42:40)
ABOUT ECHO OF THE WHISTLE: Playing to the “echo of the whistle” means to give 100% and then just a little bit more, fighting for that extra inch when the other team has stopped playing. Echo of the Whistle goes beyond what happens on the field of play to trace sports’ ripples across time and culture. What can one statistical anomaly tell us about the most difficult position in sports? How did the 1975 Chicago Blackhawks end up facing off against Sesame Street characters? Why did a Hall of Fame baseball player end up dead at the bottom of Niagara Falls? Let the chat shows chat and the hot takes get cold because this show tells uncommon sports stories that stay with listeners after the clock hits double zeroes.
STAY CONNECTED:
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/echoofthewhistle
Twitter: @echothewhistle
Instagram:@echoofthewhistle
Threads: @echoofthewhistle
Bluesky: @echothewhistlepod.bsky.social
TikTok: @echo_of_the_whistle
Website: echoofthewhistle.com
...more
47min
June 08, 2026The Football War
EPISODE DESCRIPTION: In 1969, Honduras and El Salvador played three World Cup Qualifiers. The first match in Honduras ended in riots. The second in El Salvador, bloodshed. The third match in Mexico City would see El Salvador punch its ticket to the 1970 World Cup…and dissolve all diplomatic ties with Honduras. Then started the military strikes. Over the next 4 days, El Salvador advanced their forces to the edge of Honduran capital Tegucigalpa before a cease fire was called. Except that’s not the TRUE story. Did El Salvador and Honduras get away with Sportswashing a WAR?
SOURCES: The Soccer War by Ryszard Kapuscinski
The War of the Dispossessed: Honduras and El Salvador, 1969 By Thomas P. Anderson
The 100 Hour War by Dan Hagedorn and Mario Overall
The Lies of Ryszard Kapuściński
Soccer. War. Nothing More.
World Cup fever at its worst: the 1969 Football War
Honduras v El Salvador: The football match that kicked off a war
The Soccer War

ABOUT ECHO OF THE WHISTLE: Playing to the “echo of the whistle” means to give 100% and then just a little bit more, fighting for that extra inch when the other team has stopped playing. Echo of the Whistle goes beyond what happens on the field of play to trace sports’ ripples across time and culture. What can one statistical anomaly tell us about the most difficult position in sports? How did the 1975 Chicago Blackhawks end up facing off against Sesame Street characters? Why did a Hall of Fame baseball player end up dead at the bottom of Niagara Falls? Let the chat shows chat and the hot takes get cold because this show tells uncommon sports stories that stay with listeners after the clock hits double zeroes.
STAY CONNECTED
Patreon: Echo of the Whistle
Twitter: @echothewhistle
Instagram:@echoofthewhistle
Threads: @echoofthewhistle
Bluesky: @echothewhistlepod.bsky.social
TikTok: @echo_of_the_whistle
Website: echoofthewhistle.com
...more
31min

FAQs about Echo of the Whistle:

How many episodes does Echo of the Whistle have?

The podcast currently has 15 episodes available.