The Brothers Brandt Sports Podcast

The Little League World Series is an annual youth tournament held in Williamsport, Pennsylvania for baseball players aged 10 to 12 years old. The Series was first held in 1947 and takes place every August on the nicest youth baseball fields in the world at Howard J. Lamade Stadium and Volunteer Stadium at the Little League International headquarters complex. This event is a worldwide tournament and is broadcasted on ESPN. In the summer months leading up to the Little League World Series, Little League charters around the world select an All-Star team made up of players from their respective charter. These All-Star teams then compete in district, sectional, divisional, and regional tournaments, hoping to advance to Williamsport for the Little League World Series to represent their region at the end of the summer. There are eight regions in the USA and an additional eight international regions that make up this annual sixteen-team, double-elimination tournament. Admission to all the games are free for fans to attend and for two weeks each year, the entire world is captivated by the talented baseball players who get to play in Williamsport. Many notable professional athletes played in this tournament as a kid. The two of us did not play in the tournament as kids, but we did grow up watching it on TV every summer. Rick once rented Lamade Stadium in May of 2015 and together we bused dozens of kids and their families to Williamsport for a once-in-a-lifetime trip. That memorable day, Rick coordinated a bunch of exhibition games for kids on the field inside Lamade Stadium - the same immaculate venue that hosts the Little League World Series. The entire complex was ours that day. Rick umpired the games and I announced them from the press box. It was awesome! We also have been fortunate to frequent the Little League World Series many times over the years to watch the tournament games in-person and see the talented ball players from all over the world crowned as Champions of the world.  That is a special experience! We can confidently say that the Little League World Series is a trip all baseball families must add to their bucket lists. The town is buzzing with pure joy and excitement in August!  It is one of the best places to watch the game of baseball.  The kids who are playing in this annual tournament are the best ball players in the world for their age. Enjoy this listen as we dive deep into the magnificent glory of the Little League World Series, the venue, its facilities, and our personal experiences in Williamsport.

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Enjoy this episode as we take you through a virtual tour of Cooperstown, NY. Cooperstown is roughly a one-square-mile village in central New York state, about four hours north of New York City.  It is widely known for the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, with its interactive exhibits, artifacts and iconic Plaque Gallery.  With a population of about 2,000 people, Cooperstown is a quaint community that draws a staggering 500,000 visitors each year for a variety of reasons.  Baseball is the biggest draw for sure – especially during the town’s annual Baseball Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony every July which immortalizes the greatest baseball players of all-time.  During this July-weekend of festivities alone, depending on who is being inducted, there have been as many as 100,000 baseball fanatics crammed into this enchanting place.  A part from the Hall of Fame and its annual popular ceremony, baseball families gravitate to this area of New York the entire summer to play at Cooperstown Dreams Park and Cooperstown All-Star Village which are two separate (and competing) immaculate youth baseball facilities that host weekly tournaments for 12-year-old kids from all around the country.  The two of us played in these unforgettable tournaments when we were kids and Rick continued to return each summer for a week at a time the past decade umpiring these tournaments.  Over Rick’s decade of annual week-long summer trips to Cooperstown, Rick discovered first-hand the amazing array of history, family activities, and the natural pleasures of the area.  In this podcast we dive deep into our memories of Cooperstown and all the fun attractions that make this town a bucket list destination for anyone’s next vacation.  Enjoy the stories, the recommendations, and our Cooperstown New York travel tips for your family’s trip!

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Well it's official... Steve Sparks... is a friend of the Pod! What an incredible experience connecting with Steve. Growing up as kids, we used to play a baseball video game on XBOX called MVP Baseball and who was our knuckleball pitcher we used... Steve Sparks. Pretty epic to have him on the pod. In this episode you will hear probably the craziest story of how Steve took his path to the Majors. He was a field player in baseball throughout his entire high school career and his first year at junior college. It wasn't until he walked on at Sam Houston State where he made the decision to switch to pitching. He then became a 5th Round draft pick. And to top it off, he didn't learn to throw a knuckleball (his signature pitch) until he was in the pros. It's a pretty unbelievable story and must listen to interview to hear how his baseball career spanned 20+ years in the Majors and it all started with a split decision during a 60 yard dash at Sam Houston State. Enjoy this episode to learn more about Steve Sparks, his MLB career, his epic stories of players he faced, how he became a Jeopardy Question multiple times and his VERY successful Radio Broadcasting career with the Houston Astros.  Get the popcorn ready and enjoy the show!

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In 2014, celebrating the 25th anniversary of the debut of the "show about nothing," the Brooklyn Cyclones, a minor league baseball team, renamed their MCU ballpark in Brooklyn, New York for a promo night to honor the legendary, made-up latex business in the 1990’s sitcom Seinfeld by calling it, “Vandelay Industries Park.”  And it didn’t stop there.  It drew a sell-out, packed crowd of Seinfeld enthusiasts.  When we walked into the stadium that July night in 2014, we received the “Keith Hernandez Magic Loogie” bobblehead and were greeted by the real Kramer (aka “the Ass-man” aka Michael Richards).  We also saw the actual “Soup Nazi” and men wearing “the puffy shirt!”…There was a real “Marine Biologist” who threw out the ceremonial first pitch (which was a Titleist golf ball haha) and instead of the 7th inning stretch, there were a group of Elaine look-a-likes on the field who did Elaine's notorious “little kicks dance” (Yikes! haha), and to celebrate the night, “a donation was made in our names to The Human Fund – Money For People” courtesies of George Costanza.  He was so nice.  He made a donation in everyone's name.  Oh, and if that wasn’t enough, the “foul poles” were renamed that evening as “the festivus poles” for George’s father, Frank's made-up fake holiday!  There was a George Castanza Snickers eating compeition and you could air grievances at the kiosk down the first base line. They even had a low talking PA Announcer haha. 
Everyone, including us who are huge Seinfeld fanatics had such a great time that night in Brooklyn in 2014, that the organization quickly decided to make the promo night an annual tradition.  When ballgames pick back up, and fans are permitted again, be sure to put this promo night on your family’s calendar so you can get your “fusilli Jerry or Lloyd Braun bobblehead!” If you are a United States Postal Service worker (shout out to Newman haha) and come dressed as one with your USPS ID card you will get in free!  Lastly, don’t fill up too much beforehand at dinner before you go to the game because they will be sure to have all “The Big Salads”, “Marble Ryes”, “Junior Mints” and “Black and White Cookies” you can eat.  In this hilarious podcast episode the two of us laugh it up, reminisce about that inaugural night, and talk about our all-time favorite Seinfeld episodes, characters, and scenes.  Enjoy!

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Wow! This was an incredible podcast interview. Get ready for the 1-2 jab and watch out for the left hook in this episode. Gerry Cooney is one of the ALL TIME greatest boxers to ever step into the ring. He grew up on Long Island and found the boxing gym in his early teens during the 70's. He took the boxing world by storm with his power and tenacity. Gerry became a professional boxer on February 15, 1977 where he boxed against Billy Jackson... it was a quick victory for Gerry knocking out Billy Jackson in the first round. This pretty much became the norm for Gerry haha. His overall career record is 28 wins 3 losses and of his 28 wins 24 came from knock outs. Oh and his only losses?? They were to 3 Heavyweight Champions of the world., most notable was Larry Holmes where Cooney went a total of 13 rounds in a back and forth battle. His bout with Larry Holmes was the first ever outdoor boxing event in Las Vegas and was televised worldwide to 150 countries which resulted in the largest amount of money brought in by a fight.  Sit back and get the popcorn ready because this is gonna be a show!

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Well folks, here we have it. The game of all games... the Super Bowl. Going to a Super Bowl should be on every person's bucket list. Period. End of Story! If you have been following along, this is Part  3 /3 of our Super Bowl Trip. And what a way to cap off our first ever Super Bowl. The Patriots vs. Seahawks Super Bowl will go down in history as one of the best finishes/ if not the best finish in Super Bowl history. If you have not seen the game, you should during this quarantine. Sit back, relax and enjoy the show as we walk you through our experience and the EPIC finish to an already EPIC trip! 

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What up everybody! Hope you are staying strong during this quarantine. We are so excited to share this story with you. In this episode, Rick and I go into the heavy details of ALL the AMAZING EVENTS during the Super Bowl Week. If you are going to a Super Bowl, we cannot recommend enough taking off the entire week from work and enjoying the city hosting the Super Bowl. At the very least, come in on a Wednesday so you can really enjoy the experience. We hit the jackpot with this Super Bowl being in Arizona. Glendale, Arizona is no stranger to hosting the Super Bowl so they have everything ironed out in epic fashion. In this episode we talk about the Waste Management Phoenix Open aka the biggest party in golf. We got to meet Mark Cuban and Condoleezza Rice. We went to a FREE Darius Rucker concert, the NFL Fan Fest, a Phoenix Suns basketball game - kicking it court side with Scott Van Pelt and pretty much every super star on the planet. And to cap off the party festivities, we went to a Victoria Secret Fashion Show Party where we hung with John Legend, Chrissy Teigen, Craig Robinson and many more celebrities... so sit back, get the popcorn ready and enjoy the show!!

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What up everybody! We had the pleasure of zooming in with Founder and President of TeamWork Online - Buffy Filippell. If you have ever applied for a sports related career, chances are you did it through TeamWork Online. Buffy created TeamWork Online 30 years ago way before LinkedIn, Indeed and Monster.com. TeamWork is the frontrunner in the sports recruitment industry and many executives have Buffy to thank for their current roles. They boast an online database of 5 million applicants and a fun fact is in 2018 there were 644,000 applicants applying for roughly 15,000 positions, no competitor can come close. Enjoy this episode as we chop it up with an absolute sports recruiting legend. We go back to her days as a collegiate   tennis athlete at the University of Indiana, her early career, how she created this amazing company and to what the future holds. 



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Coach Rob Mendez was the winner of the 2019 Jimmy V Award for Perseverance at the ESPYS (check the youtube link at the bottom to see his speech). Rob was born without arms and legs, but he was determined to be a football coach. In this episode, we talk about growing up in Gilroy, CA and the support Rob had with his friends and family. We discuss sports growing up and Sharks Hockey. We talk about Rob's love for video games and how he could probably whoop our butts in Madden. We also talk about his journey to being a head football coach, winning the ESPY Award and life now for him as he travels the world inspiring others with his story. Rob is the most inspiring person I have ever met and we are so grateful to have him on the pod telling his story... Who says I Can't ... NOBODY!!! 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0HJIFgb_IbM


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Enjoy listening to us chatting it up with the University of Georgia's Athletic Director, Greg McGarity. Greg has an amazing story that you can't really script. In this episode, we talk his childhood growing up in Athens, playing tennis at UGA, starting his working career at UGA, UF and back at UGA. 
Georgia is a storied athletic university and there is not a lot that Greg didn't have his hands on with this University. He is probably one of the most influential people at UGA and in our opinion across the country because of the high standard he holds for his DAWGS. 
We also enjoyed learning about Greg's experience at the Masters and playing a round with his son! Enjoy the pod! Thanks for being a friend of the pod Greg. We wish you the best during this crazy time and hope football is here in the fall. We will join you for the World's Largest Cocktail Party in Jacksonville on Halloween. God Bless!

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