Gagnation - Adventures in Music, Sports, Enterprise, and Leisure

A little different from most Gagnation episodes, but very important.  The Gag attempts to educate the audience on the recent developments and urges the listeners to have some compassion for those that are impacted. He reviews some of the recent events and moments around the recent civil unrest.  He also touches on racial bias, institutional bias, protesting, and shares some examples from successful African Americans.  He closes the episode by encouraging the listeners to take action to drive meaningful change and make sure to vote..  

The Gag and special guest High-5 expert Jeff Spears thoroughly discuss all aspects of the celebratory gesture.   They dig into the history, the pop cultural relevance, variations of the HIgh Five, and the appropriate times to use it.  They also analyze the issues the beloved High-5 is currently facing in these "social distancing" times.  And as always, the Gag gives his prediction on how the High-Five will come out after the pandemic is under control.   He tells you the winners and the losers.  High-Fives all around - Let's do this.  

For the first time, coming live from "The Garage", the unofficial Cypress Athletics Hall of Fame.   JD Defazo gives us an overview of the legendary garage before we dive into the show.  This episode is released on the one year anniversary (May 18, 2019) of  Cypress High School pulling off the double championship where both Baseball and Softball won the Southern Section CIF titles.  Baseball was also named the USA Today National Champions and Head Coach John Weber earned the National Coach of the Year award.  Coach Weber and Softball Head Coach Kevin Dull join The Gag and talk about that memorable championship day.   But we also focus on the current year and the drama surrounding the Covid-19 nightmare and how it has impacted their squads.  These coaches had to go from generals on the field to leaders off the field in a heartbeat, helping their young men and women get through the tough times.     

The LA Rams revealed their new uniforms on May 13th.  The Gag reveiws and grades the different components of the kit, and he let's you know his opinion.  Also, takes a few minutes to pick a few bone with The Rams marketing organization and shares comments from a number of Gagnation listeners.  The Gag also revisits parts of a previous episode where the llogo change was discussed.   He is very upset about eliminating the Iconic Ram Horns that were part of the franchise uniforms for 70 yearts.  It's short episode but sweet.  

The Gag and Scotty review 8 great B-sides that they feel were better than the A-Sides.  The boys give more facts, more stories, and more nostalgia.  They cover classic B-sides from  Kiss, The Beatles, The Stones, David Bowie, The Monkees, XTC, Led Zeppelin, U2 and more.   They also clear up some facts on the Beach Boys "God Only Knows" and The Smiths "How Soon as Now" which were discussed on a previous episode.  The Gag also teases up a futre episode where the dou are going to create the Ultimate Jukebox playlist for Scotty's jukebox.  If you want to geek out on some music nostalgia, have a listen

Special Addendum to Episode 8 - NFL Draft - Will The First Round QB Draft Choices Pan Out? - The Gag and Mike Ross take the listeners through the 35 QBs selected in the first round from 2004-2015.  The duo classify each QB as either a Superstar, Solid, journeyman, or a Bust.   Only 3 were rated as Superstars and over a 1/3 are Busts.  Listen to ROss and The Gag review and tell stories.  They start with Eli Manning and go through along line of hopeful talents including Tim Tebow, Jamarcus Russel, Phillip Rivers, Jay Cutler, Mathew Staffors, Matt Ryan, Vince Young, Mark Sanchez, Matt Leinert, and more..   

The Gag and special guest draft expert Mike Ross evaluate the 2020 1st round QB selections and project how they will perform in the future.  The two review the 49 QB drafted in the first round since 2004 and determined that only five have became superstars.  The boys look at the facts and call it like they see it.   In fact, 64% ended up being busts or mediocre journeymen, hardly the outcome fans and franchises are looking for.     The so called "draft experts" on the big sports networks are filled with optimism and just don't get it right.  The Gag and Ross dig in and deliver the facts that you need to know and manage to tell a few stories along the way.

A special bonus edition for members of the Wrightwood Olympics participants The Gag and WW Olympic Founder and CEO Rob Farrington discuss the survey results and details of the 31st edition. The defending champs cover off on opening night, meal choices, hall of fame candidates, bling and awards, event choices, entertainment, Red Hot Karl, The Trip, DJing selections and more - this episode has all the details