Passed Ball Show

5-20-2023 Passed Ball Show. John starts this program by talking about the St. Louis Cardinals PR disaster as it applies to their catcher Willson Contreras. John talks about the difficulty of replacing an all-time great witch Contreras had to do replacing Yadier Molina. He also talks about the rich history of the St. Louis Cardinals, and how well run they have been historically. He then states he believes the Cardinals are still an elite team in the National League. John then talks about the latest situation regarding Chicago White Sox shortstop Tim Anderson. John believes that there is racial motivation behind the publics opinion of Anderson when it comes to different antics. John reiterates the issues of a black player playing in the major leagues right now which there are so few. White America is still trying to profile Anderson as a problem. John, then questions how good of a teammate, Eric Hosmer really is as he is now been designated for assignment for the second time by a team, paying him the major league minimum John then breaks down the final four teams in the national basketball Association, and explains why his heart is in the west, finally during today’s saving sports history segment, John talks about the late Jim Brown and his impact on the world also mentioning Buster Mathis, the Indiana Pacers, Larry Holmes, Steve Carlton, Bud Grant, Stan Mikita, Craig Patrick, Terrell Brandon, Martin Dihigo, and Billy Canno

5-9-2023 Passed Ball Show. John spends this program talking about the consequences of using slurs to put down an entire group of people. Within the last week, Glen Kuiper used the “N” slur during his description of his visit to the museum in Kansas City. John adds the responsibility as a professional speaker to reiterate how inexcusable it was for Kuiper to make that “mistake,” as he put it. Bob Huggins went on a homophobic rant during and interview as the West Virginia Head College Basketball coach was talking about a rivalry between his then school Cincinnati against Xavier. While there should be consequences to these actions, John believes that after remorse there should be forgiveness and these men should NOT be cancelled, which John is completely against. John talks about the difficulty Nikola Jokic is up against as he continues to try to lead the Denver Nuggets to victory by himself. During today’s #savingsportshistory segment, John talks about a Four (4) times Wimbledon Champion and a Tour de France winner both Killed in Action in 1915, Harry Vardon, Betty Jameson, why Tony Gwynn was so much better a hitter than he ever got credit for, Prince Fielder and Brandon Webb as well as Bob Devaney, Dan Devine, and Chuck Daly.

5-5-2023 Passed Ball Show. John makes it very clear what he thinks of the fan that says, “Play the Kids.” That fan has given up on their favorite team’s chances and is using Play the Kids as an addition lifeline to justify a now- projected, lousy season. That fan is a quitter and it is even more embarrassing when a member of the media makes that statement. John then continues to make his feelings known to how disrespected coaches are in both the NBA and NHL in the aftermath of the Milwaukee Bucks firing Mike Budenholdzer. Watch out Steve Kerr, you could be next. 🙄Perhaps the Los Angeles Lakers should give Championship rings to Russell Westbrook and Patrick Beverly (if they win the NBA Championship) being the Lakers took off AFTER getting rid of both. John gives a couple of reasons of why it does not make much sense to restrict ticket sales based off of state/ country or region. During today’s #savingsportshistory segment, John talks about a 19th Century championship fight that went 67 rounds, Lee Richmond, Cy Young and their Perfect Games, Charlie Gehringer, Pete Rose, John Means, and “Baby Jordan,” Harold Miner.

5-2-2023 Passed Ball Show. John starts this program by congratulating James Harden for his 45 point performance leading the Philadelphia 76ers to a Game One victory over the Boston Celtics. He adds that Harden is better off as a number one scoring option as this brings out the best in his game before comparing this game to the media’s expectation that the best teams in the NBA all need to have multiple superstars to succeed. Of course, this comes from the “decision” when LeBron James chose to join Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh in Miami and has been the expectation of the championship caliber teams since. Harden, Russell Westbrook, and maybe even Kawhi Leonard, are at their best when they are the Alpha Male, the option, the number one scorer. John spends a little bit of time talking about the Chicago White Sox baseball team and the assumption that now former manager Tony LaRussa was the problem and what was holding back that squad. Either the former was going to be proven right or the players were going to prove to be the issue and John explains why the latter is true in this situation. John then explains why it makes the most sense for the New York Mets two top prospects to remain in Triple-A right now and the unique depth they provide for the team right now that no other MLB team has. During today’s “Saving Sports History” segment, John talks about Ross Barnes, the start of the Negro National League, the Toronto Maple Leafs, David Beckham, Bobby Unser, and more.

4-30-2023 Passed Ball Show. John opens up this program by explaining why Jacob deGrom continues to have arm ailments and will likely be injury prone for the remainder of his Major League Baseball career. John believes that Jacob throws too hard every single pitch for his forearm, shoulder, and elbow to be able to handle. John cites other pitchers who have learned to get hitters out by not throwing so hard- but that has been out of necessity. He then cites Justin Verlander, who keeps the velocity of his fastball down with some left in reserve. It is hard to point out a fair enough comp to what Jake is going through, but the bottom line is he should curtail the max effort on his fastball if he ever wants to make it through another full MLB season without a trip to the injured list. Next John talks about MLB doubleheaders and why he believes it is time to get rid of the split ones and why. He even explains why it is better for the players. John then expresses his shock over fourteen (14) NFL teams deciding to draft a quarterback. John cannot believe the decisions made to waste a pick because of position scarcity. Outside of Bryce Young and CJ Stroud, John believes most of the other selections were a waste of time, perhaps for the exception of Anthony Richardson and maybe Will Levis. During today’s “Saving Sports History” segment of the show, John talks about Charlie Robertson, Lou Gehrig, Willie Mays, Monica Seles, Charley Jones, and Isiah Thomas.

4-24-2023 Passed Ball Show. John spends this program questioning the value of the regular season of the four major U.S. team sports. With so many teams now given a spot in the postseason, there is limited value in a team having the best record in a given division- let alone the entire league. John makes some suggestions to better incentivize finishing with the best record of a given league, such as an automatic berth in the conference (or league) championship series. John then congratulates the Pittsburgh Pirates- first for their solid start to the 2023 baseball season, then for the belief in their manager to give him an extension. John brings up the Houston Astros terrible (at the time) decision to fire Bo Porter during an organizational decision based rebuild and doubles down on his appreciation for an organizational belief in a manager even when the team is losing. Finally, John questions whether there is a need for a NBA team to have an enforcer- a shittalking, trouble starting player whose sole goal is to get under the skin of the opponent's star(s). And during today's Saving Sports History segment, John talks about Lave Cross, the first American League Game, Happy Chandler, Bob Cousy, past NFL Drafts, Andy Cooper, Omar Vizquel, Chipper Jones, and Lee Westwood.

4-22-2023 Passed Ball Show. John opens up this program by explaining why the Oakland Athletics owner and the City of Oakland have failed the Athletics fans. He then talks about the only other sports franchise (if you can name another one, please let him know) to play in four different cities. John then implicates the Los Angeles Dodgers as the reason Max Scherzer was found to have had a sticky substance on his glove. He then goes full WWE on the ending of Drew Smyly's MLB Perfect Game attempt. As usual, John sides with the coach when now Arizona Cardinals Head Coach Jonathan Gannon calls out the Philadelphia Eagles fans for wanting him fired when his team had a perfect record and had the best defense in the NFL. John explains why he always sides with the coaches and players against the fans and the media. In today's "Saving Sports History" segment, John talks about the first National League Game, Babe Ruth's MLB debut, the Yankees pinstripes, the first NAA Championship, some NFL Drafts, and one of the final straws when it came to his belief in professional boxing.

4-19-2023 Passed Ball Show. John spends this program talking about Draymond Green’s unwillingness to respond to the fact that the league and its officials look at him as a problem. It did not matter that Green could have been right about his beef with Damontas Sabonis getting away with extra physical play. When Green stepped on Sabonis- his reputation alone was getting ejected and suspended, whether he was in the right initially or not. Green has to know this now and understand he is getting judged differently because of his reputation. Though he may have been right in his criticism of the officials treatment of Sabonis, he HAD to have known this was going to be the result of his actions at the expense of his own team and teammates. John then makes a case that most pitchers could be in a similar situation that Max Scherzer was in when he was ejected and eventually suspended for possibly rosin and water or sweat. John believes that MLB has to do a better job of ruling on exactly what can and cannot be part of the check between the umpire and the player and simply leave it up to the umpire to opine. During today’s Saving Sports History segment, John talks about the first Boston Marathon and what led to it, two undefeated MLB teams after ten (10) plus games, Michael Spinks, Al Unser, Jr., Candace Parker, and Maria Sharapova.

4-13-2023 Passed Ball Show. John spends this show talking about the other teams in Major League Baseball history to win their first ten (10) or more games to start a season. The 2023 Tampa Bay Rays joined the 1982 Atlanta Braves and the 1987 Milwaukee Brewers as the only teams in MLB history to win their first thirteen (13) games. Only one (1) team has won their first ten (10) games and gone on to win the World Series. John talks about the NBA’s Minnesota Timberwolves and their self destruction and while Rudy Gobert may not be a winning player nor the best teammate, he explains why Kyle Anderson was wrong and questions why the latter was bounced out of San Antonio and Memphis. He then asked who is he? John then makes it clear the reason Odell Beckham signed with the Baltimore Ravens and why it has little to nothing to do with Lamar Jackson. John then makes an ambiguous double entendre when he questions was healthy enough to play in the playoffs and how that will impact his future in Baltimore. In today’s “Saving Sports History,” John recalls several Masters winners, a handful of Stanley Cup Finals winners, Slick Leonard, Shibe Park, Walter Johnson, and the other American League Baltimore Orioles and Milwaukee Brewers.

4-4-2023 Passed Ball Show. John spends this program giving his best wishes to the great College Basketball Coach Bob Knight before putting in his two cents when it comes to the off the court bull shit generated during the Women's NCAA Tournament Final Four. His message to those criticizing LSU's Angel Reese: Once you have been shown Caitlin Clark's antics and you still feel ill towards Reese, your racism is clearly showing. The next thing you are going to say is, "You have black friends." The overreaction to black male and female athletes is a sign there are still a lot of white men and women that do not like blacks. John then talks about the incident involving Los Angeles Angels infielder Anthony Rendon, the punishment that was handed out and questions whether there is any accountability out there for the fan that was involved in this. Can fans literally do whatever they want? John then reiterates his belief that at least two NFL teams will be franchising destroying mistakes when they select a quarterback in the top ten (10) in this month's draft. He also believes there is a college QB that will be selected later on in the draft that will be better than most of the first round choices. In today's "Saving Sports History," John talks about Byron Nelson, the Masters, Connie Mack, Hank Aaron, NC State, Wayne Gretzky, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Sheryl Swoops, Tris Speaker, Gil Hodges, Guy Chamberlin, Elmer Lach, and Whitey Skoog.