Episode 226 - 2017 MLB Preview

In Tim's absence, Mike has his 2017 MLB predictions in the bag - and in the shortest preview edition we've ever committed to audio. 

NL East: Washington
NL Central: Chicago Cubs
NL West: San Francisco
NL Wild Cards: NY Mets, St. Louis

AL East: Boston
AL Central: Cleveland
AL West: Houston
AL Wild Cards: Toronto, Seattle

NLCS: Washington
ALCS: Houston

World Series: Houston



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Episode 225 - Raiders Move to Vegas Official

Before we get to the meat of today's podcast (recorded on an iPad while driving - Kids, we're professionals.  Don't try this at home.), we announce that Mike and Tim both have pending batsu games - Mike has 2 (League Cup Final and NCAA brackets), while Tim has 1 (Arsenal winning Champions League).  Mike's will come as soon as a new host can be found (we're still looking), while Tim's will be issued once he is able to return to the podcast.

On to the serious news: the Raiders have officially been approved to move from Oakland to Las Vegas.  The vote was 31-1 and, unlike last year's blatantly corrupt LA vote, not a secret ballot - Miami was the lone no vote with the most hypocritical explanation you can possibly imagine.

If you think this move was unavoidable, you haven't been paying attention.  Here are the facts:

• Oakland did - and continued to do - nothing but provide lip service to the NFL.
• The Oakland Coliseum, opened in 1966, is not in need of massive repairs AND has sewage issues.
• The political will to get publicly financed stadium projects done DOES NOT EXIST in California, as evidenced here and in San Diego, where the Chargers had been playing in the equally obsolete Jack Murphy Stadium (opened in 1967).
• The Chargers had a number of stadium plans over the past 16 years go down in flames, including one that was on the ballot in San Diego in November; the Raiders have been trying to get relief for about as long.
• Contrast that with St. Louis: the Dome at America's Center (as it's now officially called) opened in 1995(!!!) AND the city was able to come up with a viable plan in Peacock-Blitz in about 1 YEAR - yet the team refused to negotiate and later lied their way out of town, no thanks to a poorly written "top tier" clause in their lease on the Dome.
• With all of these considerations, the NFL's own LA committee voted 5-1 in favor of the Carson plan, which would have provided much needed relief to the Chargers and Raiders while taking into account the viable Peacock-Blitz plan in St. Louis.
• Instead, Jerry F. Jones and the NFL's front office - in collusion with Senor Stan and his butt monkey Demoff - rigged the process and went with the secret ballot.  To this day, we don't know who the two brave owners who said "no" to the final plan were.  The owners ignored their own committee in the most corrupt and dishonest way possible.  
• All of this happened without adequately addressing the issues the two California teams were still left to face, making the Chargers' decision to exercise their LA option in January and today's vote inevitable.
• As for Miami: owner Stephen Ross has to explain his rank hypocrisy for allowing St. Louis to lose its team yet pulling the "established communities" card to justify his no vote today.

As a result, THREE cities - St. Louis, San Diego, and Oakland - are now former NFL cities, while LA is unjustly given a second chance and Vegas - which, until the very recent announcement of the NHL expansion Vegas Golden Knights, had never been a major-league city - is finally welcomed to the party.  All because of California stadium politics intersecting with Wal-Mart greed.

Fair use: "Senor Stan" returns, and we'd like to share a message from Bernie Miklasz (one that Mike identifies with in spades) to the idiots, especially the pro-LA idiots: "Don't vote, don't drive, don't procreate - because you are impossibly stupid."



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Dukies choke, so Mike gets a BATSU GAME!!

That noise you likely heard was Mike's bracket being anally probed by schools like, say, SOUTH CAROLINA!

Duke choked in the second round of the NCAA men's basketball tournament to the Gamecocks this evening, destroying Mike's already crappy bracket.

Therefore, Mike gets a BATSU GAME!!!

Mike now has 2 batsu games that need to be issued (League Cup Final).  Tim, of course, has 1 (Arsenal winning Champions League).

Episode 224 - 2017 NCAA Tourney Picks

Mike makes his tourney picks for the 2017 NCAA men's basketball tournament.

Here's Mike's Final Four:

Duke, Gonzaga, Louisville and Kentucky

No surprise that Mike has the Dukies winning it all.

You can challenge Mike, Tim and others on the official Winning Side Coaches tournament bracket.  Click here to sign up.

Note: Even though they didn't make the Big Dance (which is what these picks are all about), congratulations to the University of Missouri-Kansas City Kangaroos - Mike's alma mater - on making their first postseason tournament as a Division I program.  The Roos will host the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay Phoenix on Wednesday in the College Basketball Invitational tournament.



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Arsenal crash out of Champions League!

Tim may be taking a sabbatical from the podcast, but when he returns he does so with a BATSU GAME!

Tim had picked Arsenal to win the 2016-17 UEFA Champions League.

In the round of 16, the Stan-owned Gunners got destroyed by Bayern Munich 10-2 on aggregate.  As in identical 5-1 thrashings at the hands of Germany's most successful side.

We will announce Tim's punishment when he returns.

Mike may not be immune either.  His pick, Barcelona, are down 4-0 on aggregate to PSG with the second game tomorrow.

EFL Cup Final: Mike, BATSU GAME!

What do the English Football League Cup Final and the guy who topped the list of active athletes who need to STFU have in common?

They just handed Mike a batsu game!

Man United 3-2 Southampton

Episode 223 - Tim's Second Farewell

Tim will be leaving the podcast for a while, so we decided to have some fun.

Because of this, Mike needs a new co-host!

If you are interested in becoming a co-host for the podcast, you can easily contact Mike via Facebook or Twitter (direct messaging only, please).

Interested parties must:
(a) live in the Kansas City metropolitan area,
(b) be willing to meet up once or twice a month for recording sessions, and
(c) have a good working knowledge of all sports with special emphasis on: NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL, college football, college basketball, UEFA Champions League, and English football (Premier League, English Football League, EFL Cup, FA Cup); other sports are welcome to the discussions as well.

We would like to have a new co-host in time for the 2017 NCAA basketball tournament in mid-March.

One bit of picks to talk about involves Sunday's EFL Cup Final.

Mike's pick: Southampton (because f@#$ Man United)
Tim's pick: Man United

Fair use: Tim brought up Keith Olbermann, so we went back to Keith's time at MSNBC (specifically when Billo tried to get Keith fired in the mid-2000's).  Also, because this is a farewell of sorts, "Somnia Memorias" makes a comeback.



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