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First Ballot: The Hall of Fame Podcast
First Ballot: The Hall of Fame Podcast episodes
- Kobe's Final Game with Van Lathan Jr.
Kobe Bryant's 60-point farewell was one of the greatest salutes to a career. Here to discuss Kobe's finale and whether it's First Ballot worthy is none other than the incredible co-host of the Higher Learning podcast, Oscar-winner, Van Lathan Jr., who discusses Kobe's legacy, great sports nicknames, and the moment that changed everything in his career.
Showtime Codes:
(12:20) What Van Lathan Jr. wanted to be when he grew up
(14:00) How the movie Do The Right Thing changed Van Lathan Jr.
(16:10) The movie that made Neil want to be a professional armwrestler
(18:40) Van's weight loss journey
(25:30) How Neil's mother inspires his inquiries into his own health and wellness journey
(32:10): Van describes his playing style
(33:13) Van Lathan Jr.'s player comp: Paul Pierce
(35:50) "I don't think that anybody has ever had a final game that is more emblematic"
(43:10) How Kobe makes people question their own mortality
(46:50) The autographs that Van has
(52:30) What Neil will remember from the game
(55:15) A moment that changed Van Lathan Jr.'s career
(58:15) The question Van has for the Warrior players
(01:00:48) "The trance of greatness"
(01:04:20) Van Lathan still watches the recording
(01:06:10) The game that made Neil cry
(01:07:15) Devil's advocate: Mamba Out
(01:09:48) Best sports nickname
(01:14:00) The part of the game that made Neil tear up
(01:17:28) The beverage Neil doesn't like (and it's not water)
(01:17:53) Neil shocked at Van's favorite movie
(01:19:20) Van's favorite dunk
(01:20:15) The criteria for a hall of fame
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1 hr 27 min - Sammy Sosa's 20 HR month with Oz Rodriguez
In June of 1998, Sammy Sosa hit 20 home runs, setting the record for the most home runs in a month. Emmy award winning director Oz Rodriguez joins the pod to talk about Sammy Sosa's historic month, the most intimidating actors to work with, and working on SNL.
Showtime Codes:
(2:15) The Best Bread
(6:07) Growing up in the Dominican Republic
(8:25) The Hype of Felipe López
(15:25) Pedro Martinez vs David Ortiz
(16:40) Working with Joe Pesci
(19:05) The most intimidating people to work with
(22:20) Oz and Wrestling
(30:06) Favorite Names for a Home Run
(33:14) Cable in the DR
(40:02) Sammy Sosa Fun Facts
(42:23) Sammy's Iconic Trot
(44:05) The 20th HR and fans on the field
(46:33) Oz's favorite internet sketch
(48:25) Working on SNL
(52:07) Pitching Lorne Michaels a sketch
(1:02:13) The Babe Ruth Bat Controversy
(1:05:52) The Steroids Question
(1:07:37) Oz's Proudest Project
(1:09:31) A top 25 Sports Name
(1:13:56) The funniest athlete of all time
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1 hr 24 min - Anything Is Possible with Josh Gondelman
ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE! Will the BEST Lakers fan induct a Boston Celtics moment into the First Ballot: Hall of Fame? Comedian and writer, Josh Gondelman, joins the pod to discuss Kevin Garnett's impassioned speech after winning the 2008 NBA Finals, his Twitter Pep Talks, and his favorite cereal.
Timecodes:
(08:17) Neil Making Enemies
(11:34) KG is a CELTIC
(14:03) Breaking a sweat with KG
(16:17) KG's favorite movie
(19:27) Neil's 2008 Finals experience
(23:46) The Paul Pierce Wheelchair Incident
(34:08) Josh's favorite thing about the 2008 Celtics
(44:27) The Energy on the Floor
(47:18) So good, it has to be scripted?!
(53:48) Josh's Twitter Pep Talks
(58:22) The biggest moment in Josh's career
(01:05:33) "Going out to eat"
(01:07:10) Josh's best KG tweets
(01:09:18) Josh's Dream Team of NBA Friends
(01:13:36) Josh's Favorite Cereal
(01:18:10) The best late-night bit
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1 hr 25 min - The Clippers' Secret Tunnel with Trill Withers
In 2018, Twitter nearly exploded when Chris Paul led the Houston Rockets through a "secret tunnel" into the Clippers locker room at Staples Center. NBA Twitter Legend and host of the Trill Withers Show, Trill Withers himself, joins the pod to discuss this iconic NBA moment, breaks down his favorite fast food joint, and Shaq's elite abilities.
Showtime Codes:
(11:44) Covering the One Championship
(12:59) Fast Food Bracket
(17:00) Neil's Shake Shack Offer
(22:04) A Round of Baseball Names!
(26:46) The Snarky Nature of Chris Paul
(28:52) Pat Beverly's loud silence
(33:36) Blake Griffin: a civil war survivor
(36:02) Who wrote that..?
(40:59) Inside the NBA
(42:07) Shaq's elite skill
(46:48) The SNL of the NBA
(49:42) Playing for your Dad
(53:00) The Best NBA Twitter Moments
(01:03:01) Trill's Favorite Fast Food Chain
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1 hr 16 min - Dennis Rodman's 1998 Bash at the Beach with Peter Rosenberg and Andrew Goldstein
SEASON PREMIERE! Dennis Rodman skipped practice before an NBA finals game to go hit a guy with a steel chair. Esteemed guests, writer and producer Andrew Goldstein and DJ/WWE expert Peter Rosenberg join First Ballot's season premiere to discuss if the '98 Bash at the Beach is worthy of the Hall of Fame, the genius behind pro wrestling, and Shaq's greatest hits.
Showtime codes:
(11:51) Andrew's short stint at WWE
(14:25) Peter's dream job
(19:02) How Peter made Hot 97 a destination for WWE
(20:15) Peter's fashion trend
(24:26) How to do the nut shot
(20:08) Andrew breaks down the genius of pro wrestling
(34:39) Rodman skipping practice
(36:40) Shaq's Greatest Hit
(39:02) DDP and Karl Malone's matching purple pants
(52:00) "Wrestling" on the court
(55:22) Bad Bunny's reputation in wrestling
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1 hr 7 min - Upon Further Review with Nick Bernstein
It's the season 1 finale of First Ballot! We're celebrating with 4x guest, CBS Vice President of Late Night, Nick Bernstein, who joins the pod to discuss the unimpeachable moments of the First Ballot: Hall of Fame and which moments should be revoked.
Showtime Codes:
(16:44) Will Neil get a co-host?
(20:51) Hardest part of the show
(26:26) Nick's review: the unimpeachable First Ballot episodes
(32:34) Why First Ballot is so nostalgic
(36:00) Why Nick went to Fargo, ND
(37:14) Is Neil too generous with dunks in the First Ballot: Hall of Fame?
(38:18) Neil and Nick take a closer look at First Ballot moments
(46:05) The first moment to be removed from the First Ballot: Hall of Fame
(55:15) What Neil believes could be the best college play in basketball history
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1 hr 16 min - LET'S GO with Matthew Driscoll
Special guest University of North Florida's coach Matthew Driscoll joins the pod to talk about the surprising way that "Let's Go" got taken to the next level, the best "Let's Go", and a special live demo. Let's Gooooooo!
Showtime Codes:
(4:00) What would it take for Matthew Driscoll to be the winningest coach? (4:40) A live demo of Let's Goooooo! (5:15) How Let's Go got created (5:42) The different types of Let's Go (7:40) Matthew Driscoll teaching career (8:33) Matthew Driscoll's coaching style (9:39) The first Let's Go (14:42) How the team made SportsCenter Not So Top Ten (17:05) What coach likes doing and not doing during Let's Go (24:49) Rating Matthew's Driscoll's Let's Go! (25:40) Is he the best of at screaming Let's Go (27;00) When is Let's Go disrespectful (30:35) Favorite pep talk (35:45) Best player he's coached and best player he's ever seen played against (37:56) Great tweets about Let's Go (38:40) The surprising tweet that helped Let's Go go to another levelLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
43 min - Kimbo Slice vs. Seth Petruzelli
In just 10 seconds iconic street fighter Kimbo Slice was knocked out by Seth Petruzelli and potentially caused the demise of an MMA organization. Breaking First Ballot history, special guest Michael, Neil's brother, joins for a record THIRD (maybe second and a half) time to break down this fight, the greatest fictional athletes, and if Neil will ever get his Charles Barkley, Scottie Pippen, Karl Malone rookie cards back.
Showtime Codes: (15:25) Kimbo Slice vs Sean Gannon (24:57) The Greatest Upset in MMA History? (26:00) Petruzelli "walking off the street" (29:34) The "Big Foot" esque nature of the fight (35:03) The Story Behind the name "Kimbo Slice" (37:10) Kimbo's Iconic Hair (42:09) The conspiracy behind the fight (49:36) Jake Paul vs Kimbo Slice (52:35) What's the name of the show again? (59:59) Dream Team: Movie Athletes (01:07:79) Devil's advocate (01:09:38) Hear from the First Ballot Voting Committee (01:14:30) The movie that Mike associates with Neil (01:16:58) Why Neil could not be a Detroit Tiger's fan
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1 hr 28 min - TJ Ford's Gigantic Uniform with TJ Ford
Every draft season, we are reminded of the 2003 NBA Draft for one iconic reason: gigantic shorts. First Ballot is joined by a very special guest, NBA icon, TJ Ford who talks about his rookie photoshoot, his dunk attempt on Kobe Bryant, and his favorite NBA teammates.
Showtime Codes:
(06:52) The Story Behind the Iconic Shorts (13:32) 2005 Swag (15:45) TJ's Best Game (17:21) TJ "Dunking" on Kobe Bryant (19:32) The Draft Day Experience (23:33) Great NBA Passers (24:57) Going through the Rookie Year Photoshoot (29:47) First Ballot's new popular game: Versus (33:35) Best NBA Trash Talker (35:13) Real or Fake: 2003 NBA Draft Edition (38:25) NBA Career Development (41:23) TJ's Favorite Cereal
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48 min - BONUS EPISODE: Behind the Mask!! The man who created the San Antonio Spurs Coyote mascot!Tim Derk appeared in over 1,110 games as the San Antonio Spurs Coyote! In this bonus episode, First Ballot meets the man behind the mascot and learns about his contributions to the t-shirt cannon, his pact with Charles Barkley, plus a story you don't want to miss about his dedication to being a mascot.
Showtime Codes:
(01:39) The mascots who helped invent the T-shirt cannon (05:45) The story behind the coyote costume (06:28) How he became a mascot (09:50) Derk vs. Duncan champion rings (11:15) The move that made the crowd go nuts (14:41) Derk recounts the time he "fought" with a ref (17:14) The worst part of being an NBA mascot (22:35) His pact with Charles Barkley (27:05) The cost of the T shirt cannon (28:30) Iterating the T shirt cannon (30:30) His EXTREME dedication to being the mascotLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
36 min
About First Ballot: The Hall of Fame Podcast
From the publisher's feed
First Ballot is a weekly podcast that celebrates the moments in sports that really matter, and decides whether to induct them into the First Ballot Hall of Fame.