Inside the SPHL Podcast

LAFAYETTE, LA -- Welcome to our 35th episode of the ever-improving Inside the SPHL podcast! For the first time, Mike Campos and Matt Harding record the podcast using Facebook Live on the Sin Bin SPHL Facebook page. Mr. Murphy laid the law down hard on the boys early on, which made for a comical start to the show while Campos (it's all his fault) took about 15 minutes to finally get the audio sorted out - which, you know, for a podcast is kind of crucial.

We'd like to thank all of our listeners on Facebook and Mixlr for your patience while we worked out the kinks. Y'all are the best!

On this week's dumpster fire of a show:

* The guys finally figure out how to broadcast on Facebook without an echo.

* Announce the expansion of Macon Mayhem game broadcasts on The Sin Bin app.

* Give their picks for division captains for the NHL All-Star Game.

* Announce The Sin Bin will have coverage of the ECHL All-Star Classic from Indianapolis, IN and the SPHL All-Star fan vote will be coming back for the third year.

* Offer up their surprises and disappointments for the month of November in the SPHL.

* Campos makes his picks for the SPHL Three Stars for Week Seven and the month of November.

* An old friend is writing again, and we're pleased about it.

* Wonder aloud what Wednesday afternoon's Birmingham Bulls press conference is all about.

* The Pensacola Ice Flyers game on Friday gets moved to Monday because of a Trump rally for a Senate candidate in a nearby state ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

* Next week's guest: Justin Bradford from Penalty Box Radio.

You can catch future episodes of Inside the SPHL on our brand-new The Sin Bin app –available in the iTunes and Google Play stores — or through a variety of podcast sharing platforms. Click on your preferred platform on the right side of this page and be sure to subscribe!

LAFAYETTE, LA -- We have another episode of our almost-award-nominated Inside the SPHL Podcast coming at you right MEOW! Joining Mike Campos and Matt Harding on the show tonight is the Fayetteville Marksmen's director of communications (and internet celebrity), Ben Garrod.

Why is Ben so famous? Perhaps it's his intermission interview with the Kalamazoo Wings' Ray Kaunisto...

Check out his magical singing voice!

This guy wandered into our offices, we wrote him a song and made him our mascot! Now he needs a name, wont you give him one?#WhatsTheFoxName pic.twitter.com/YQLYnwpwSM

— FayettevilleMarksmen (@Marksmen_Hockey) July 17, 2017

On tonight's blooper reel of a show...

* Ben gives us the behind-the-scenes story on his viral video with Kaunisto.

* We discuss the divorce between the Nashville Predators and the ECHL Norfolk Admirals as the organizations dissolved their affiliation agreement and how the fallout from the split trickles all the way down to the SPHL.

* Campos and Harding report on the final week of our #HockeyFightsCancer campaign.

* Garrod talks about last week's early dismissal of head coach Nick Mazzolini and how new bench boss Phil Esposito (no relation) will affect the squad.

* The boys drill down Fayetteville's sub-par start to the 2017-18 campaign and give their thoughts on what needs to be done to make a move up the standings.

* We talk about how the Mississippi RiverKings, riding a balanced lineup and solid goaltending from former Fayetteville netminder Tyler Green, are poised to take command of the SPHL.

* With the Marksmen making an in-season coaching change, we consider what the Birmingham Bulls would need to do in order for the struggling expansion team to reverse their fortunes.

* Meanwhile, in Evansville, the Thunderbolts are putting together a solid goalie tandem in Tomas Sholl and Jonah Imoo. Will we see playoff hockey at the Ford Center?

* Finally, we give our three stars from week six of the season and preview the big games coming up this weekend.

You can catch future episodes of Inside the SPHL on our brand-new The Sin Bin app –available in the iTunes and Google Play stores — or through a variety of podcast sharing platforms. Click on your preferred platform on the right side of this page and be sure to subscribe!

LAFAYETTE, LA -- Welcome back to yet another special episode of the delightfully obscure Inside the SPHL Podcast! Join your hosts, Mike Campos and Matt Harding on your weekly tour around the Southern Professional Hockey League.

On this occasionally informative 33rd episode - a number significant if you're a fan of Rolling Rock beer - Mike and Matt chit-chat about a variety of subjects.

* It's Thanksgiving week, and the boys talk about various ways of filling out the stretchy pants this year.

* We had our first major suspension of the year handed down by the league office. Brandon Lubin of the Evansville Thunderbolts was given seven games by the SPHL for a dangerous blindside crosscheck of Peoria Rivermen forward Justin Greenberg. For once, the boys share the same opinion of a fairly lenient punishment considering the nature of the hit and the duration of time Greenberg will be out.

* The boys go over the five things we learned in the SPHL this week, including an update on our #HockeyFightsCancer campaign.

* Since the sale of the NBA Houston Rockets to Tillman Fertitta, the chances of the NHL finally coming to the nation's eighth-largest media market just took a noticeable step up. Mike and Matt have a spirited discussion on Houston's chances to land an NHL team and explore the ripple effects down the minor-league hockey ladder.

* The SPHL team releases their league-wide power rankings for the first time this season. We were considering a full release of the list during the podcast but decided it would simply be nonsense.

* Finally, we look ahead at the upcoming weekend and the litmus tests facing Mississippi, Pensacola, and Huntsville.

* Next week, Ben Garrod of the Fayetteville Marksmen will be our guest on the show.

You can catch future episodes of Inside the SPHL on our brand-new The Sin Bin app –available in the iTunes and Google Play stores — or through a variety of podcast sharing platforms. Click on your preferred platform on the right side of this page and be sure to subscribe!

LAFAYETTE, LA -- It took an extra week, but Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs broadcaster Brian Gardner joins Matt Harding and Mike Campos for his first-ever visit to our Inside the SPHL Podcast! Our 32nd episode, recorded live on November 14, 2017, is your inside look around the Southern Professional Hockey League.

* The newly-wedded Campos talks about last weekend's nuptials.

* We had our first Tuesday night game of the new SPHL season and broadcast scoring updates from the Pensacola Ice Flyers' attempt to advance to 8-0-0 on the season against the Mississippi RiverKings.

* Campos and Harding give Gardner a hard time over ditching last week's show for the NHL.

* November is Hockey Fights Cancer month, and we all talk about our plans for supporting cancer research and why we are committed to battling this disease.

* Harding has a reason why he sports a horseshoe-shaped mustache during November.

* We go in-depth with Gardner on the state of the Rail Yard Dawgs, including why center Steve Mele is one of the hardest-working players both on and off the ice.

* Gardner goes into his baseball background and discusses the difference between calling hockey and baseball.

* The guys go into an in-depth discussion of the minor-league hockey media landscape

* Campos releases his three stars of the previous week:

★ - Justin Greenberg (C-Peoria) - 2GP, 3G/2A +2

★★ - Garret Milan (LW-Pensacola) - 3GP, 3G/3A +5

★★★ - Daniel Gentzler (LW-Macon) 3GP, 3G/3A +2

* Finally, we go over the lack of major changes in the SPHL Power Rankings for the week.

You can catch future episodes of Inside the SPHL on our brand-new The Sin Bin app –available in the iTunes and Google Play stores — or through a variety of podcast sharing platforms. Click on your preferred platform on the right side of this page and be sure to subscribe!

LAFAYETTE, LA -- Mike Campos and Matthew Harding are back for another look at the Southern Professional Hockey League in an all-new episode of the intermittently fascinating Inside the SPHL Podcast.

Recorded on November 7th, 2017, Campos and Harding...

* Talk about Campos' upcoming wedding Veterans' Day barbecue, which relatives are traveling to from across the nation to attend.

* Throw it back to memories of Harding's wedding and Matty's questionable fashion sense.

* Lament the end of Twitter's 140-character era.

* Go over the five things we learned after the third week of the SPHL season.

* The Pensacola Ice Flyers are for real, as the Peoria Rivermen keep on figuring out.

* Your Presidents Cup Champs are finding the back of the net.

* Jimmy Gentry may be right when he believes Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs coach Sam Ftorek may wind up on the coaching hot seat.

* Nick Mazzolini is desperately seeking defense in Fayetteville

* If the Birmingham Bulls can find some offense, they could start stringing together some wins.

* The first edition of the SPHL power rankings aren't being released until next week, but we don't stop Campos and Harding from sorting through the teams.

* Cover the SPHL and ECHL transactions.

* Preview the big games of the upcoming weekend, including a pair of playoff rematches.

* Talk about the possibility of an all-SPHL goalie battle in tomorrow's ECHL game between Atlanta and Norfolk.

* Dish out the three stars of the week:

?? - Greg Dodds (G-PEN) 2-0-0, 1.50 GAA, .951 SV%

???? - Jackson Leef (F-EVV) Three goals scored at Roanoke.

?????? - Berkley Scott (C-KNX) Three games, six assists.

and an honorable mention ?? to the Birmingham Bulls fans on their opening night shutout.

On next week's show, Roanoke broadcaster Brian Gardner (who skipped out of tonight's show to hit the Carolina Hurricanes game with the rest of the Dawgs staff) will make his way to the podcast for his first appearance.

You can catch future episodes of Inside the SPHL on our brand-new The Sin Bin app –available in the iTunes and Google Play stores — or through a variety of podcast sharing platforms. Click on your preferred platform on the right side of this page and be sure to subscribe!

LAFAYETTE, LA -- The boys are back on All Hallows' Eve for their 30th episode of our remotely controlling Inside the SPHL Podcast! Joining Matt Harding and Mike Campos for tricks and treats is the voice of your Peoria Rivermen, Brad Kupiec.

In tonight's spooktacular episode...

* Campos and Harding re-enact the end scene from Michael Jackson's iconic Thriller video, but as Macho Man Randy Savage and Hulk Hogan.

* We get to know a little bit more about Brad Kupiec, including how he relaxes with a little Brazilian jiu-jitsu and a cool moment with former Rivermen goalie Kyle Rank.

* Since it's Halloween, the fellas tell all about their most liked and most despised trick-or-treat candies and why candy corn may not be the most hated treat in the ol' jack-o-lantern.

* Since it's possible to be a sexy bag of Skittles tonight, we go through a list on Buzzfeed about other costumes which just shouldn't exist. (Sexy Bert & Ernie? I have no words.)

* Sidebar: We did agree Sexy Bacon should absolutely be a thing.

* Finally, we get around to hockey and five things we learned in the SPHL last weekend.

* The Evansville Thunderbolts are really missing their goaltending.

* The Rivermen are not out to their usual slow start this year.

* The Birmingham Bulls may be having an identity crisis.

* Jake Trask - our first SPHL star of the week - is igniting the dormant Mayhem offensive attack.

* The Knoxville Ice Bears new uniforms are a nightmare for broadcasters.

* Speaking of three stars, here is the complete list for last week.

* Jake Trask (MAC) - Hatty, 4G, 2A +5

* Sean Bonar (PEN) - Second shutout in two games. 145:49 scoreless streak dating back to last season.

* Josh Erickson (KNX) - Hatty.

* Sy Nutkevitch of the Huntsville Havoc gets the league's first suspension of the year, however, one detail was missed in the chaos.

* Kupiec gets asked a big "what if" question: Could the Rivermen make a bid at the Colorado Eagles soon-to-be-dormant ECHL franchise when the Eagles move up to the AHL next season?

* Finally, we preview the big upcoming games slated for this weekend:

* The unbeaten and unscored upon Pensacola Ice Flyers make their trip to Carver Arena.

* The sophomore squads, Evansville and Roanoke, meet for the first time this season in Virginia.

* Hockey returns to Birmingham, Alabama, as the Birmingham Bulls play their first home game in the remodeled Pelham Civic Center.

Next week on the podcast, we welcome Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs broadcaster, Brian Gardner, for his first visit to The Sin Bin.

You can catch future episodes of Inside the SPHL on our brand-new The Sin Bin app –available in the iTunes and Google Play stores — or through a variety of podcast sharing platforms. Click on your preferred platform on the right side of this page and be sure to subscribe!

 

Welcome to the 29th episode of the close-to-be-award-winning Inside the SPHL Podcast!

In this episode, aired on Tuesday, October 24, 2017, Matthew Harding and Mike Campos recap opening weekend in the Southern Professional Hockey League and discuss other topics, including:

* Campos with a dramatic reading from a rap song by the "Cash Me Outside" girl & realize they may be the whitest guys in the history of civilization

* Storylines from opening weekend

* Should we be concerned about Macon's slow start?

* Evansville off to a good start in their effort to #JustGetTo16

* Peoria off to a better start than last season

* Could Fayetteville/Huntsville be a President's Cup Final preview?

* Do Pensacola's postseason hopes rest solely on Sean Bonar?

Joining Harding & Campos next week is the broadcaster for the Peoria Rivermen, Brad Kupiec.

You can catch future episodes of Inside the SPHL on our brand-new The Sin Bin app –available in the iTunes and Google Play stores — or through a variety of podcast sharing platforms. Click on your preferred platform on the right side of this page and be sure to subscribe!

LAFAYETTE, LA -- The 14th season of the Southern Professional Hockey League begins on Friday night, and Mike Campos and Matthew Harding hold court on their second annual SPHL Season Preview Show!

In this marathon episode, recorded on October 17th, 2017, Mike and Matty bring back the voice of the Macon Mayhem, Erik Evenson, to announce our broadcast deal to air nine Mayhem regular season games, beginning with the season opener on Friday night.

Jimmy Gentry, our Fayetteville Marksmen writer, returning for his second season on Team Sin Bin, had some technical difficulties getting on the air, so Campos and Harding covered some current events - disagreeing on (almost) everything along the way.

* The SPHL made a change to the first round of this season's Presidents Cup Playoffs, and virtually everyone in the hockey media had an opinion, including NBC Sports and ESPN. We get some comments about how the change came into effect, possible reasons why teams may pick their opponents, and how clubs will disclose these playoff matchups from SPHL President Jim Combs.

*

Photo: NBC Sports

"Dart Guy," the Toronto Maple Leafs fan who's intense cigarette non-smoking during the NHL playoffs became a media sensation. He's getting a radio show on Saturdays in Toronto.

* If you were watching the NHL on Fox in the 90s, you remember the glowing FoxTrax puck whizzing across your screen. It looks like the NHL may be considering a return.

* The first two weeks of the NHL season was marked by a sizable increase in stick fouls and faceoff violations. Look for stricter rule enforcement in the SPHL, according to Combs.

Finally, Gentry's microphone begins to work, and we get to the business of breaking down the rosters of all of the SPHL teams. Mike, Matty, and Jimmy make their picks for regular season champions, dark horse teams, 2018 Presidents Cup champs, and the team who will be shaking hands with them once the season is done. The boys then go way out on a limb and predict which of the league's coaches may find themselves on the hot seat this year.

For the record... Here are the picks.

Regular Season Champions

* Campos - Huntsville Havoc

* Gentry - Macon Mayhem

* Harding - Fayetteville Marksmen

Dark Horse Team

* Campos - Evansville Thunderbolts

* Gentry - Fayetteville

* Harding - Evansville

Presidents Cup Finalists

* Campos - Fayetteville & Peoria Rivermen

* Gentry - Huntsville & Peoria

* Harding - Evansville & Fayetteville

Presidents Cup Champion

* Campos - Peoria

* Gentry - Peoria

* Harding - Fayetteville

Coach on the Hot Seat

* Campos - Derek Landmesser (Mississippi RiverKings)

* Gentry - Sam Ftorek (Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs)

* Harding - Jean-Guy Trudel (Peoria)

Finally... We wrapped up this episode by announcing our next two guests. Next week, SPHL President Jim Combs makes his return to the podcast. On Halloween night, look for the voice of the Rivermen, Brad Kupiec, to join the show.

Bonus: On November 7th, Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs broadcaster Brian Gardner is set to appear on the podcast.

We're Baaaaaack!!!!!

After an entirely-too-long five month break, our Inside the SPHL Podcast returns to its former glory!

Our second season premiere episode, recorded on October 10th 2017, Matty and Mike are once again joined by the voice of the SPHL champion Macon Mayhem, Erik Evenson. Joining Erik is Mayhem assistant coach Leo Thomas.

Here's a brief summary of what went down on the show...

* Leo gave us an update on his nephew, Akil Thomas, currently playing for the OHL Niagara Ice Dogs and a projected first-round pick in next year's NHL draft.

* Previewed the Macon Mayhem training camp roster.

* Discussed all of the major SPHL stories over the summer.

* Talked whether the NHL has gone too far over the zero-tolerance policy on stick fouls, faceoff violations, and uniform/equipment infractions.

* How the Nashville Predators Stanley Cup Final run challenges SPHL teams in improving their on-ice and off-ice promotions.

* Erik and Leo go on the record for their SPHL season predictions.

* Matty and Mike explain why it's taken five months between episodes, including a major news leak for our live listeners on Mixlr.

Our thanks to the Macon Mayhem, Erik Evenson, and Leo Thomas for being fantastic guests! Next week's episode will be our 2017-18 season preview, featuring our new and improved SPHL writing team.

You can catch future episodes of Inside the SPHL on our brand-new The Sin Bin app --available in the iTunes and Google Play stores -- or through a variety of podcast sharing platforms. Click on your preferred platform on the right side of this page and be sure to subscribe!

It's time to unleash the 26th episode of the almost award-winning Inside the SPHL Podcast!

In this edition, recorded on Tuesday, May 2, 2017, the guys are joined by Erik Evenson, the voice of the Macon Mayhem. They recap the 2017 President's Cup Final between the Macon Mayhem & Peoria Rivermen and discuss other topics, including:

* All things Macon Mayhem win championship 

* Great story about Lukas Hafner, as written by Cris Tiller in the Loveland, CO paper: https://www.reporterherald.com/sports/ci_30949879/through-loss-father-and-bounce-around-pro-hockey

* Columbus Cottonmouths suspended operations 

* Birmingham Bulls begin to play for 2017-18 season

* Stanley Cup and Kelly Cup Playoffs update

* End of the season stuff…

PROGRAMMING NOTE: This will be the last weekly SPHL podcast of the season. The podcasts will now shift to once a month for the offseason. Our next podcast will be recorded on Tuesday, June 6 and will come out the next day.

We would like to thank all of the SPHL teams for their support and willingness to be on the podcast this season!

You can now hear other previous episodes of Inside the SPHL and In the Corners podcasts through a number of podcast sharing platforms. Click on your favorite platform on the right side of this page and be sure to subscribe!