Home Dunk ® – Infinite Guest Podcast Network

Sean Doolittle is one of the many bearded members of the Oakland A’s, but his deserves recognition for its wiry, ginger glory.

Fellow beard enthusiast John Moe talks to Sean about things that aren’t beards, too, like recovering from a brutal loss to Kansas City in the 2014 American League wild card game and how he handles the pressure of relief pitching.

John also ponders the case of the traded-again Percy Harvin, who has garnered a reputation as being kind of an asshole.  Appropriately, he welcomes Aaron James, UC Irvine professor of philosophy and author of Assholes: A Theory.  (Yes, someone has literally written the book on assholes.)

ALSO MENTIONED:

(Pictured: stock photo of a white dude holding a basketball and giving a thumbs-up. It is assumed he enjoys sports games and music bands.)

Kelly Dwyer, editor of Yahoo’s Ball Don’t Lie blog, helps John Moe preview the 2014-2015 NBA season, specifically any non-LeBron-homecoming storylines that we may have missed.  Plus, John talks about hitting and getting hit; the Tournament of Names (NBA edition) takes majestic, awful flight, with the assistance of Mike Fotis and Peter Clowney; and a dissection of the lyrics to Lorde’s “Royals” from the perspective of the Burlington Bees, courtesy of Wits.

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Pablo Torre returns to Home Dunk to talk biometrics in the NBA with John Moe.  It’s fascinating and, as they note, more 1984 than Moneyball.  Later, John welcomes The Coach to talk about this week’s Game.

ALSO MENTIONED:

Todd Gurley, scourge of the NCAA

Author/activist/punter guy Chris Kluwe chats with John Moe about what he does now that he’s not punting (SPOILER: reading, writing, “nerding out”).  John also talks baseball with Yahoo!’s Dave Brown; their conversation includes the wonder of the 2014 Kansas City Royals, and the almost-as-wonderful Baltimore Orioles.

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John Moe talks decay, collapse, and things falling apart.  Or if you’d rather, he talks about Derek Jeter and Tom Brady, and how they’re not like Prince (the musician, not Fielder).

He then previews the upcoming NHL season with Puck Daddy‘s Greg Wyshynski, who tells us what teams and players to watch out for, and dispels the myth that a morbidly obese goalie would be effective in any way.

Then, it’s on to the finale of the Tournament of Names, wherein John, Mike Fotis, and Peter Clowney pick a champion between Lions, Texans, Giants, and Cowboys.  It gets weird.

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Darko Milicic is the first-ever inductee into the Home Dunk Hall of Fame.  There is no ceremony or mustard-colored blazer, but there is much discussion of his NBA struggles and his new career as a professional kickboxer.  That’s neither a typo nor a fabrication.  Later, John chats with actor Nate Corddry about why it is that Boston sports fans are the way they are, despite recent championships in all four major sports.  The answer: Blame the olds.  Nate also shares how Morgan Fairchild was responsible for his missing the first Red Sox World Series title since 1918.  Finally, John, Mike Fotis, and Peter Clowney continue the Tournament of Names, where they just completely botch the Titans/Lions match-up.

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So, Adrian Peterson.

John’s a football fan who lives in Minnesota.  In addition to that, he was born into Vikings fandom thanks to his Norwegian parents.  Although he’s a Seattle native and a Seahawks partisan, he still has a soft spot for the home state team.  Or rather, had.  John tells you why.

In addition, he welcomes Live Wire! host Luke Burbank to share stories of their Seattle fandom, and Matthew Baldwin of Defective Yeti to help disgusted NFL fans with their Sunday board game options.

SEATTLE: Luke still calls the Pacific Northwest home, and can confirm that Seahawks fans, fresh off the city’s first Super Bowl victory, are not “acting like they’ve been there before.”

PULL QUOTE: “‘I don’t watch football’ is the new ‘I don’t own a TV’ of 2014 Seattle.”

BOARD GAMES: Matthew suggests 1st & Goal if you still want a football fix, Formula D if you’d prefer a different sport, and K2 if mountaineering is your thing.

ALSO NOTED:

The Hold Steady’s Craig Finn, admitted Twins and Vikings fan

John Moe opens this episode wondering what we’re falling for now.  The impetus for this is a scene in Richard Linklater’s Boyhood, where Ethan Hawke’s character marvels at the longevity and ability of Roger Clemens.  As it turned out, there were (allegedly) reasons for that.  Lance Armstrong, Danny Almonte, and Marion Jones are also referenced as other sports figures whose feats the general public celebrated until those accomplishments were proven to be enabled by PEDs and fake birth certificates.  So, when you’re told that Michael Sam deserved to fall in the draft, and deserved to be cut by the Rams: Are you falling for something again?

TALKING TO A SPORTS GUY ABOUT WEED: ESPN senior writer Pablo Torre talks to John about marijuana in sports, the harsh punishments for using it (see also: Josh Gordon’s suspension vs. Ray Rice’s initial penalty), and the utility it might actually contain for professional athletes.

TALKING TO A ROCK GUY ABOUT SPORTS: The Hold Steady’s Craig Finn is a notorious fan of the Minnesota Twins and Minnesota Vikings, and John asks him to justify his devotion.  For the baseball team, it’s easy: In 1987, Finn got his driver’s license, his first girlfriend, and the Twins won the World Series.  Even though they’re “hapless” now, you can’t take that away.  As for the Vikings, well, the phrase “two-boat theory” is bandied about.

John Moe considers college football.  Much like with The Walking Dead, enjoying the sport almost has to involve suspending your disbelief, as he discusses with author and writer of the New York Times’ “The Ethicist” column, Chuck Klosterman.  John compares the experience of enjoying college football to liking Prince.  Chuck talks about Notre Dame being the best at pretending to be what the sport pretends it is.  John makes the inarguable point that “Golden Gophers” is a silly name for a football team.  Later on, the Tournament of Names continues its onslaught, with Mike Fotis and Peter Clowney again joining John to winnow the field further.  Weird facts about eagles are learned along the way.

HOME DUNK FAST FACTS: 

PULL QUOTES:

—Stu

As the NFL season looms, John Moe is forced to once again weigh his love of the game versus the abhorrent stories associated with it.  Or, as he puts it, the “Go Seahawks/blood on my hands” conundrum.   Actor David Koechner discusses his beloved Chiefs, fondly remembers Christian “The Nigerian Nightmare” Okoye, and recalls the weirdness of Joe Montana, Kansas City Chief.  Comedian/musican/author/Cleveland native Dave Hill is appropriately wary of any Johnny Manziel/LeBron James-led renaissance for the city’s sports fans.  Finally, John, writer/actor Mike Fotis, and Wits Executive Producer Peter Clowney break down who would win in a fight between the actual names of NFL teams, in a single-elimination tournament.  Mike has a different understanding of what panthers do in the jungle than most animal scientists do.

PULL QUOTES:

–Stu