Mark Blankenship and Sarah D. Bunting are journalists, friends, and music fans who love talking about pop music of all stripes.
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Jeff Pearlman's weekly in-depth, no-holds-barred conversation with a writer on writing. Available here and on iTunes
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Tommy Tomlinson: Author, "Dogland: Passion, Glory, and Lots of Slobber at the Westminster Dog Show"
47:20
47:20
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On the weird coolness of the Westminster Dog Show. On having an open mind to unique scenes and people. On why one writes a book about dogs. On writing through hell.
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Weird Al vs. Everybody Episode 23: "Word Crimes"
23:16
23:16
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"Blurred Lines," the sound of the summer of 2013, is compared (unfavorably) with a cold sore in today's episode, which pits Robin Thicke, TI, and Pharrell against Weird Al's screed against bad grammar and usage errors. Despairing of Shazam, continuing to die on the hill of "irregardless," and the tyranny of younger siblings over the #oldladywalk pl…
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Amy Gutierrez: Emmy Award-winning reporter and author of, "Smarty Marty Takes the Field"
54:33
54:33
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On the word-choice decisions one must make when writing a children's book. On the (gasp!) Dodger-loving grandma who inspired a character. On why we should cut Barry Bonds a break and why Will Clark is a lovely dude. On the hyper-criticized hug of a Major League pitcher.
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Weird Al vs. Everybody Episode 21: "Smells Like Nirvana"
28:53
28:53
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Thirty years after the death of frontman Kurt Cobain, Nirvana and their music still feel very close. Does that have anything to do with Weird Al's equally "defining" parody, a track that let Al "sell out" again after the disastrous UHF experience...with a band at the bleeding edge of the sell-out conversation? The shroud of tragedy, the performance…
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Richard Hoffer: Former Sports Illustrated, Los Angeles Times writer
42:37
42:37
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On the highs and lows of chasing around Barry Bonds for six days (and being blown off repeatedly); on what it was to cover Mike Tyson in his prime; on the death of boxing writing; on why he left the business and never looked back.
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Weird Al vs. Everybody Episode 19: "Rye Or The Kaiser"
27:40
27:40
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It's an all-time training-montage banger vs. Weird Al's vision for Rocky XIII in today's episode, as we drop Wiki factoids, contemplate an all-depressing-follow-up-hits season, digress at length on Live's legal battles, and wonder when in Reagan's presidency the Me Decade became sentient. Greetings from the Sly Stallone industrial complex; get that…
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Weird Al vs. Everybody Episode 17: "Money For Nothing/Beverly Hillbillies"
16:11
16:11
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You can't always control what people do with your art once it's out in the world -- something Mark Knopfler of Dire Straits may have learned the hard way with both the original "Money For Nothing" AND Weird Al's re-imagining of the song via a dream sequence in UHF. Essential references versus essential songs, 20th-century TV's preoccupation with yo…
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Justin Sayles: Editor/Writer, The Ringer and creator/host of "The Wedding Scammer" podcast
1:01:44
1:01:44
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On the lengths he went through to track down and corner a master scam artist. On whether podcasts have a future as a journalistic medium. On what happens when you don't use material from people you interviewed.
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Sarah D. Bunting: Lord of all bloggers and founder of Tomato Nation and Television Without Pity
52:23
52:23
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On the heyday of the blogger and what became of the genre. On why James Van Der Beek earned her scorn. On how one becomes less cruel (for sport) with age. On whether blogs have a place in 2024.
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Weird Al vs. Everybody Episode 15: "Lasagna"
30:28
30:28
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It's that Airbnb pasta-taxonomy poster in pop-song form: "Lasagna," Weird Al's take on Los Lobos's take on Ritchie Valens's take on the Mexican folk song Sarah and her classmates dutifully droned during first-period Spanish. Before we cast our votes (and yours!), we talk about the restaurant from Big, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Dr. Melfi's ex-husband…
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Cora Hall: Knoxville News Sentinel Tennessee women's basketball beat writer
45:20
45:20
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On covering the Lady Vols as they approach yet another NCAA Tournament; on making the leap from Ferris State to the big leagues; on women athletes and the passion of self expression; on landing a sweet gig out of college.
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Weird Al vs. Everybody Episode 13: "Jurassic Park"
20:31
20:31
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Late-sixties melodrama meets early-nineties blockbuster in today's episode, as we contemplate who left the Barney cake out in the rain while comparing Richard Harris's "MacArthur Park" and Weird Al's "Jurassic Park." Claymation, foiled cantatae, The Odyssey, Godspell, and songs for when the coffee's kickin' in, plus the YouTube-comments bingo card …
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Peter King: Retiring Football Morning in America writer
1:04:09
1:04:09
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On wrapping a career after decades of chronicling the NFL; on picking up Boomer Esiason from the airport as a rookie Bengals beat scribe; on breaking the news of Lawrence Taylor's drug suspension for Newsday; on what is good and bad about modern beat writing.
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Jack McCallum: Former SI basketball writer and author of, "The Real Hoosiers: Crispus Attucks High School, Oscar Robertson, and the Hidden History of Hoops"
53:28
53:28
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On the untold story of Indiana high school basketball and the team you need to know about; on the brilliance of a young Oscar Robertson; on whether we can still dig, "Hoosiers"; on nearly coming to blows with a Hall of Fame point guard.
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Weird Al vs. Everybody Episode 11: "I Think I'm A Clone Now"
22:34
22:34
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The unique legacy of Tommy James and the Shondells adds another chapter today, as Weird Al contends with Tiffany's smash cover of "I Think We're Alone Now." We're discussing Jersey-girl aspirational fashion, budge sound that's a feature and not a bug, and that person you could know becoming that person everyone does know. Take a break from sewing p…
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Franne Golde: BMI Award-winning songwriter
54:17
54:17
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54:17
On the inspiration behind the Commodores' "Nightshift" and Selena's "Dreaming of You." On that first big song for Diana Ross. On the big winners of "We Are The World." On being credited as a writer on Tupac's "Hit 'Em Up."
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Weird Al vs. Everybody Episode 9: "I Lost On Jeopardy"
17:49
17:49
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Can Weird Al inch ahead in the season standings with "I Lost On Jeopardy," his parody of the Greg Kihn Band's "Jeopardy"? We're talking early adopters, terrible album-title puns we admire, second careers, cheap-but-creepy videos, and how MB's personal Jeopardy! journey deepens his appreciation of this Yankovic joint. Tell 'em what they've won, Don …
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Louisa Thomas: Staff Writer, The New Yorker
46:28
46:28
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On the brilliance of her latest piece, "How Nikola Jokić Became the World’s Best Basketball Player." On how she navigates a subject who doesn't speak with her. On the beauty of tiny details. On whether bad writers can learn to be good writers.
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This week's match-up pits The Presidents of the United States of America's "Lump" against Weird Al's "Gump"...but is it really a face-off if the original is two thirds of the way towards being the parody? What is the age of Al-wakening? What's the difference between "unserious" and "unpretentious"? Are butt-adjacent references the Yankovic equivale…
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Teren Kowatsch: Sports writer, Lewiston (Idaho) Tribune, Moscow-Pullman Daily News
47:51
47:51
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On coming up through small daily newspapers. On whether quotes bog down stories. On dealing with prep coaches. On whether athletes read newspapers.
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"What if we just........didn't." That's one of the questions confronting us as WE confront an out-of-character entry in the Weird Al songbook: "Fat." The problems don't start there; there's the cheap-sounding and turgidly self-serious original, "Bad"; by problematic artist Michael Jackson; the risible video by MJ, and the shortcutsy cruelty from WA…
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Ariel Helwani: The Howard Cosell of MMA
1:02:08
1:02:08
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On knowing from a young age what he wanted to do and how he wanted to do it. On a string of irksome and weird conflicts with Dana White. On why interviewing UFC fighters is the best gig in the world. On the difference between wanting a career and craving a career.
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Weird Al vs. Everybody Episode 3: "Bedrock Anthem"
22:30
22:30
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Grab a tube sock for your privates: it's time to pit the Red Hot Chili Peppers against Weird Al! Before Mark makes the pun that drives our listenership numbers off a cliff, we're discussing the omnipresent Chilis hits "Under The Bridge" and "Give It Away"; how many songs Weird Al might have tried to fit his Flintstones joke set into before settling…
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On being named the first Black news columnist in the newspaper's lengthy history. On what the population misunderstands about Houston's Third Ward. On finding humanity in the recently deceased homeless man. On transitioning from fashion to news after the murder of George Floyd.
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Weird Al vs. Everybody Episode 1: "Amish Paradise"
23:11
23:11
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Welcome to the Weird Al vs. Everybody season of MASTAS! We're looking at a couple dozen Weird Al Yankovic songs and the originals that inspired him, and choosing a winner in each match-up -- starting with Coolio homage "Amish Paradise"! Before we get into self-serious videos for movies we think might be fake, cultural appropriation of pre-tech soci…
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Mark Mulvoy: Legendary former Sports Illustrated managing editor
1:02:17
1:02:17
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On the dispiriting demise (and end?) of his beloved magazine; on the curious case of Sidd Finch and the decision to tell Michael Jordan to bag baseball; on defending the Swimsuit Issue and a bitter divorce from Frank Deford; on Dan Jenkins and George Plimpton and William Nack and Pat Putnam and Rick Reilly and the world's greatest sports writers.…
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Michael Farber: Former Sports Illustrated, Montreal Gazette hockey writer
54:14
54:14
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On why former Expos manager Dick Williams physically assaulted him; on the bliss of writing NHL game stories; on the Canadian appeal of Gary Carter; on the demise of a beloved magazine.
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Sean Keeler: Denver Post sports columnist
44:49
44:49
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On why so many Colorado-based media outlets kneel before Coach Prime; on a long and trying fight to stay afloat as a journalist; on our weirdly combative days as Nashville prep writers; on infuriating Steve Alford and Corey Dillon.
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James Edwards III: Detroit Pistons beat writer, The Athletic
46:56
46:56
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On what it's like to cover an NBA team as it loses 27-straight games; on how to approach players when they have no interest in talking; on the empathy of Cade Cunningham; on working a locker room.
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Danté Stewart: Former Clemson football player, author, "Shoutin' in the Fire: An American Epistle"
45:20
45:20
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On what a Black man learned about America from white Christianity; on what football players need to know about the system they occupy; on how a Facebook screed became a terrific manifesto; on the book he dreamed of writing.
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My dad, Stan Pearlman, died today of pancreatic cancer. He was 81 and a great man—as well as a beautiful writer. This is his final interview, conducted last week in South Florida.
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Bob Rose: Former San Francisco Giants, Oakland A's, Cal and Stanford media relations guru
41:54
41:54
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On why Barry Bonds was such a monumental asshole; on a young Aaron Rodgers soaring at Cal; on the unique decency of Dusty Baker; on the wild, wacky Los Angeles Express of the USFL.
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David Black: Founder and President, David Black Literary Agency
38:00
38:00
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38:00
On the difference between a great book proposal and a crappy one; on representing Jimmy Breslin and Hank Aaron and Wolfgang Puck; on concerns as Jonathan Eig dove into the legacy of MLK; on how the book business has transformed.
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Kacy Sager: Score Atlanta preps writer/editor, daughter of the great Craig Sager
46:19
46:19
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On how one covers Georgia preps ... from Missouri; on growing up with a famous father and taking Charles Barkley to school for show and tell; on why a horse's fossilized poop lived in her family's basement; on how one moves on after losing a loved one.
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Do Call It A Comeback, Episode 12: Answer Songs
50:14
50:14
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The competition is over, but the discussion of comeback songs isn't -- and today's is about comebacks in the answer/clapback sense. Seven "answer" songs come under the MASTAScope, as well as the frequency with which Neil Young is told to shut it, Bavaria's unexpected move to Ireland, the Judy Cycle opera we need to see, and pop songs that have beco…
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Rick Telander: Chicago Sun-Times columnist, former SI senior writer
54:36
54:36
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On having Albert Belle threaten him with a bat; on the strange contradictions of Mike Ditka; on whether anyone cares about newspaper columns in 2023; on the joy of ... poetry.
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Do Call It A Comeback, Episode 11: The Championship
25:04
25:04
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It's time to declare a winner -- the definitive pop-music comeback song -- but the road to the final result is a twisty one. "Believe" and "Walk This Way" each crystallize the concept of the comeback, but in different ways, so to help us choose, we're watching videos, discussing the synecdoche of Cher, rummaging through a bin of PhD-thesis topics, …
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Do Call It A Comeback, Episode 10: The Final 4
34:17
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The semifinal round is, while somewhat predictable, still full of ups and downs, including Spelling Bee's interest in our works and days, the way Adam Lambert takes and gives meaning, how far is far enough for a song we actively dislike, Latin-phrase drag names, scary puppets, and reader comments! Sorry about the sweaty-Reagan reference; distract y…
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Kay Iselin Gilman: First-ever New York Daily News woman sports columnist, author of "Inside the Pressure Cooker: A Season in the Life of the New York Jets"
57:07
57:07
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On breaking barriers and becoming the Daily News' first woman sports columnist; on the different sides of Joe Namath; of how Dick Young lived up to his first name; on the 95-year-old strongman who needed a diaper.
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Jeff Bradley: Former ESPN The Magazine baseball writer, current baseball glove kingpin
46:25
46:25
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On being (cruelly) let go by ESPN The Magazine and engaging upon a tough road of rediscovery; on sitting in a bar with an alcoholic relief pitcher and urging him not to drink; on the 1995 Yankees-Mariners classic; on life as a baseball glove entrepreneur.
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Do Call It A Comeback, Episode 9: The Elite 8
47:22
47:22
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We're down to eight great comeback songs; which ones will join the Do Call It A Comeback season's Final Four? We're quoting Wayne's World, we're putting things in plaid place out of eight, we're remembering upsetting Beatles gifts, we're adding salt to temp tracks, and we're wondering why it so often seemed like nobody cared about Laura Branigan's …
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Jean-Jacques Taylor: Longtime football writer, author, "Coach Prime: Deion Sanders and the Making of Men"
49:15
49:15
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On spending a season observing a college football team; on the love/hate relationship between Jackson and Coach Prime; on the affection Deion has for his players; on breaking in as an NFL scribe with the wild 1990s Dallas Cowboys.
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Do Call It A Comeback, Episode 8: The Sweet 16
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The Sweet 16 is here, along with the return to numbered rankings...and the unkindest cuts of all, plus another Auto-Tune justice conversation, myriad matrices, Tracy Chapman's post-nineties Flintstones car, 92.5% of Cher's butt, unpleasant flashbacks to the sophomore dance, and the long wait for a muffin basket from Nick Rhodes. Quick, before anoth…
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Kate Cohen: Washington Post columnist, author of "We of Little Faith: Why I Stopped Pretending to Believe (and Maybe You Should Too)"
36:15
36:15
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On why society might be better off not chalking everything up to God; on the complications of admitting one believes in no higher power; on snagging a book deal on an unorthodox topic.
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Do Call It A Comeback, Episode 7: Footnotes and Odd Lots
54:00
54:00
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We're taking a quick break before the emotional press of the Sweet 16 to talk about a handful of "off-label" comebacks: award-winners, kids' songs, comebacks only we noticed, and more. We wonder whether it's possible to have been too big to truly come all the way back; we contemplate a truly catastrophic remix of self-loathing; and we bemoan sad co…
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Bill Rabinowitz: Columbus Dispatch Ohio State beat writer
47:56
47:56
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On what one should think about Division I college coaches and their pronouncements; on covering the expansion Cleveland Browns and the first-year Baltimore Ravens; on diving deep into C.J. Stroud and teaming up with Cardale Jones.
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Do Call It A Comeback, Episode 6: Round Of 32 B
1:00:30
1:00:30
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Mark's spreadsheet of history has spoken: we're choosing the rest of the Do Call It A Comeback season's Sweet 16 this week! From the top of the pallet of improbable late-'80s comeback songs, we're surveying the joyful geeky dance of Robin Gibb, the 20 percent of our income we owe to Duran Duran, the most tiresomely groovy Ben & Jerry's flavors, Can…
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Russ Bengtson: Former Slam editor and author, "A History of Basketball in Fifteen Sneakers"
39:55
39:55
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On why the history of basketball can (and can't) be told in 15 sneakers; on whether Michael Jordan was more accidental tourist than genius; on Dee Brown and the Reebok Pump; on why Russ has eternal love for Milt Palacio and Lucious Harris.
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Do Call It A Comeback, Episode 5: Round Of 32 A
1:00:30
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The Round Of 32 is underway! After a brief chat about our head-vs.-heart processes in this round, we descend into the valley of the shadow of twos: struggling to come up with the word "metamorphosis," confronting the history of Auto-Tune, measuring levels of exposure to Britpop, and planning a community-college class on interpretive dance. Everybod…
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Ric Bucher: FS1 basketball analyst; former ESPN, Washington Post writer
58:08
58:08
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On the frustrations of modern NBA coverage; on a punch-throwing Rod Strickland; on the diva-like behaviors of Jerry Rice; on a frustrated Chris Webber and a furious Don Nelson.
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