Thu, 25 September 2014
This Week's ShowDre flies solo and talks NBA ratings, parity, and Bill Simmons suspension. Hosts
This Week's PollShow NotesParity and TV RatingsThis offseason I got to thinking about the value of NBA parity in relationship to ratings thanks to great stuff from Ethan Sherwood-Strauss.
Bleacher Report noted that the NBA's ratings in its three biggest markets dropped. The Nielsen Ratings say the same thing. The NBA currently has teams in San Antonio, Indiana, and Oklahoma with top talent. Meanwhile, the Lakers, Bulls, Nets, and Knicks have started to struggle. It turns out not every market is equal in regard to available fans and income. And treating every team as equal places a value on certain fans. The NBA's decision of where to place teams is where local governments are willing to help pay for stadiums. This is less than ideal. NBA Digital MediaKevin Draper's great piece on how the NBA is squandering their edge for their upcoming TV deal, especially their digital media. NBA League Pass Broadband/Mobile has been a joke of a product for years. Oh yeah, the price went up this year too! Even the WWE, which can feel like it's run by carnies, has a better grasp on digital media than the NBA! Blackout restrictions are stupid. Although on September 30th, some may go away! Bill Simmons' SuspensionBrandon Marshall had an awkward press conference. Still, Roger Goodell's was worse. Bill Simmons was suspended for calling Goodell a liar, in a curse-word laden rant. A reminder about considering ESPN as a news source:
Oh yeah, ESPN has a $15 billion deal with the NFL. Conflict of interest anyone? Brian has pointed out that ESPN "analysts" are trained to get views by being outrageous. So it's somewhat disingenuous of ESPN to act outraged when they do. In the Wages of Wins, Dave's first story was how fans come back after strikes/lockouts. The reality is that fans may act mad but still comeback. If you want ESPN to listen, talk with your wallet, not your Tweets:
Don't forget Goodell has been worse answering questions on concussions in front of congress. Shout OutsRobert Currence for his great comments on defense!
Artis Gilmore, who is one of the biggest snubs in Hall of Fame history. And, of course, Bill Simmons for saying what needed to be said and showing some cracks in ESPN.
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Mon, 22 September 2014
This Week's ShowWelcome back for part two with special guests: the That Thing You Like Podcast! Brian Shirlaw (@brian_rs) and Chris Baxter(@cbax) finish our marathon discussion on wrestling with power rankings and shout outs. Make sure to catch part one. Hosts
The That Thing You Like Podcast is great, I'd definitely add it to your feed. Make sure to like That Thing You Like's Facebook page and of course follow them on Twitter at @TTYLShow. This Week's PollA filler rerun in our normal spot! This week's real poll has spoilers for this week's episode, so I put it below the notes, scroll down at your own peril! Show NotesPower RankingsA staple of the TTYL show is power rankings. In a draft like fashion, the hosts pick their three favorite characters in a pop-culture item. Sometimes, they fail, like Chris's selection in Game of Thrones... Check out 1:03:55 to see what I mean. Brian Foster played the part of commissioner, unlike ping-pong balls, our randomizer is a bit simpler. Great TTYL episode on Legend of Korra. One key to good power rankings is constructing a good team, so we had some rules.
Round 1Chris selected Mick Foley(@realmickfoley) Brian selected the Rock(@TheRock) Dre selected Triple H(@TripleH) Brian points out the Rock is amazing on social media. Definitely worth a follow. Triple H has a great documentary you can catch on Netflix. Triple H tore his quad in a match. Logically, you keep going. Round 2Dre selected Chyna(@ChynatheIcon) Brian selected Daniel Bryan(@WWEDanielBryan) Chris selected Bayley(@itsBayleyWWE) Vince Russo penned a great piece on why Chyna belongs in the Hall of Fame. Chris Jericho interview about power of losing and putting others over. The Rock lost to the Hurricane for example. Bayley about how she'd hug the Undertaker Chris explains how Charlotte vs. Bayley was great match, even though Bayley lost. Round 3Chris selected R.D. Evans(@Oh_Robert_Evans) Brian selected A.J. Lee(@WWEAJLee) Dre selected Andre the Giant. Chris has a hilarious strip on people having the same name. A.J. Lee was not the women's champ when we recorded this podcast. Observe Brian's precognitive abilities! James Adomian had a different take on pro-wrestling. Sadly, Vince McMahon has not handled openly gay wrestlers well. The NFL had a surprisingly progressive commercial. Brian did throw out that the WWE is getting better in regards to female wrestling feuds. Although, calling them Divas, not the best start. Cyndi Lauper did a music video for the Goonies, which has virtually nothing to do with the movie; that has a cameo from Andre, the Giant! @boxbrown has a biography comic for Andre the Giant. The original streak ending. Andre lost to Hogan in Wrestlemania 3. Teams/FeudsBrian's team is Daniel Bryan and A.J. Lee as "Team Adult Relationship" to feud with the Rock. Chris's team is Bayley and R.D. Evans as "Team Hug-Friends" to feud with crazy Cactus Jack. Dre's team is Chyna and Andre the Giant as "Team Wonders of the World" to feud with Triple H. We discuss the Woo vs. Yes! poll. While TTYL sides with Yes!, the poll has Woo! up by a large margin. We agree, all great podcasts need a great Brian. This Week's PollShout OutsChris shouts out Jordan Bowman(@jBowmancouver) and Wyatt Arndt(@TheStanchion). They write for the Province paper at the Legion of Blog. They have several podcasts: the Legion of Blogcast -- At the Movies...10 Years Later Brian shouts out Chris Baxter(@cbax) for his great webcomic at cbax.net, making him a three-time recipient! Brian shouts out Erika Moen(@ErikaMoen), for her great webcomic ohjoysextoy.com, which is a perfect blend of sex-ed and funny. She also has a great Patreon Account, which lets you support her work. Seriously, an easy investment that's well worth it. Erika Moen was on the That Thing You Like podcast, and it was amazing. Brian leaks that she'll be back on soon with a subject they'll reveal at a later date. I shout out the Cracked Podcast, specifically the recent one on statistics, which delves into sports a ton. I shout out the great documentary Stripped, which talks about comics. Dave Kellet(@davekellet) and Fred Schroeder(@FredSchroeder) did a great job. The sale I mention is over sadly, but it's still easily worth the cost. MusicIntro Music: Test Drive by Zapac Outro Music: Turn it Up by CFO |
Thu, 18 September 2014
This Week's ShowSpecial guests this week: the That Thing You Like Podcast! Brian Shirlaw (@Brian_RS) and Chris Baxter(@cbax) are on to talk podcasting, Chris' webcomic -- cbax.net -- and wrestling! Hosts
This Week's PollThanks for helping us decide, "Woo!" beat out "What?" to face "Yes!" Show NotesThat Thing You Like! TTYL for short. We start the show discussing Chris and Brian's amazing podcast. Seriously, check it out! Tune in for a fun discussion on starting a podcast, lessons learned, and growing pains Podcast Love: The Nerdist! That Thing You Like started around the great reality TV Show "Strip Search," which found the next best web comic. If you haven't seen it, check it out! There was a great TTYL episode on "How I Met Your Mother," which helped spawn some writing from me on it, as well as a BSG podcast on it too! TTYL's hero is Film Crit Hulk(@FilmCritHulk). He actually liked the How I Met Your Mother finale.... TTYL has had some great guests from "Strip Search" on the show including: It's definitely easy to get flustered as a podcaster when people you admire agree to be on your show. You can tell with me when Paul Shirley was a guest Podcast Love: The Short Corner Podcast Oh yeah, I was on TTYL to discuss "Strip Search." Podcast Love: The Chainsaw Suit podcast is great. They started around the same time TTYL did. We're all big fans. Podcast Lesson Learned: Listen to your audio as you record. Irony, we forgot to make sure Brian Foster's feed was active this show... Podcast Lesson Learned: It's ok to go over predetermined limits. It's ok to split up long interviews too. Podcast Love: "You Made It Weird" with Pete Holmes Podcast Love: Kevin Smith, I think he has 20 or 30 at this point. Podcast Love: The Steve Austin Show - Unleashed! Podcast Love: Talk is Jericho Great TTYL Episode on sports and sports fandom, including geeks and stats. Great TTYL Episode on "Cabin in the Woods" Great TTYL Episode on "Seconds" by Bryan Lee O'Malley Also, make sure to check out "Seconds" by Brian Lee O'Malley. Great TTYL Episode on "Love Actually" cbax.net, a great new webcomic If you liked that one, check out cbax.net for more! Tune in for a surprise intervention I give to Chris about being too humble as an artist. Also, a hilarious Penny-Arcade on interventions. Square Space advertises on every podcast. Even on ones they don't pay for ad space...like this one... Kris Straub's Broodhollow is another great webcomic. Kevin Smith's sister gave him some good advice when he said he wanted to be a film maker. OK, be a filmmaker. Don’t think ‘I want to be’, just think that you are a filmmaker who just hasn’t made a film yet. Wrestling There are a ton of great documentaries out there on wrestling. Many are or were on Netflix at one point. Great TTYL "Iron Man" Episode on Wrestlemania XXX with Tavis Maiden Undertaker's streak ending was hit and miss. Chris Jericho had a good take on it on his podcast. Chris would have preferred to see Bo Dallas end Undertaker's streak. We talk a little about the WWE since the TTYL show on it. Daniel Bryan beating Brock Lesnar at Wrestlemania 31 is the only logical conclusion to Brian. "Beyond the Mat" is a great documentary on wrestling. The WWE seems a bit trapped in the past. Pro-sports has the fact that age means old players stop being relevant. Wrestling is a bit different. The issues in major sports - concussions, bankruptcy, etc. are just as bad, if not worse, in wrestling. Ric Flair, for instance, is still wrestling because he needs the money. For the complaints we give to most major CBAs; wrestling is worse! "Wrestling is a billion dollar industry that is fun like it's a f***ing carnival" - Brian It's worth wondering if the concussion issues with the NFL will also impact wrestling. I was lucky enough to meet Chris Nowinski "at Sloan", who has done a done in concussion research. The NBA's big contract deal could be huge. Except, oh yeah, they're horribly behind the curve when it comes to digital rights and streaming. I still refuse to watch this clip on Giancarlo Stanton getting hit in the face with a baseball. Wrestling, Canadians? Of course, we talk the Montreal Screwjob! This is nothing new, Arturo, and I had a long discussion on this. Jim Cornette shoots on the Montreal Screw Job. TTYL is all about the storytelling in pop-culture; the ideal superhero movie is talking in a diner. Podcast Love: The Attitude Era Podcast We give some love to Steve Austin vs. Bret Hart in Wrestlemania 13. The 'Wrestling is fake' has stopped doing it for me as an argument, because almost all media and entertainment is scripted or has rules and constraints. Blurring the lines on sports and scripted, TTYL has an episode on 'Friday Night Lights.' Podcast Love: The Cracked Podcast Cracked Podcast episode on how movies follow the same narrative beats. Randy Savage and Ricky Steamboat had their fight for Wrestlemania 3 incredibly scripted. We have nothing but the utmost respect for Jim Ross. I still can't understand his firing. Jim Cornette talks about how the end of the match should have emotion and not just feeling bad. The Undertaker streak ending didn't succeed in that regard. What if Joss Whedon took the reigns writing for WWE? The WWE has definitely had behind the scene grudges. This arguably adds to fan enjoyment. Vince McMahon has been the mad dictator of WWE. Of course, other sports have similar figures. "Gilmore Girls is being released on Netflix. #GilmoreGirls" - Chris More show love: Nostalgia Critic and Nostalgia Chick. True Lies is another movie that gets awkward to remember liking on introspection. And wow, that's the most links I've done in a show writeup! We're only halfway done too. Tune in on Monday for Wrestling Power Rankings and Shout Outs. |
Thu, 11 September 2014
This Week's ShowThe Geeks are back to talk Ray Rice, the Hawks, and how to grade teams in the offseason. Hosts
SourcesThis Week's PollShow NotesRay Rice and misconceptions with domestic abuse.Patrick wrote a piece about the misconceptions on domestic abuse in regards to the Ray Rice incident. Here is the Vox piece Patrick references that elaborates the point. I think Patrick sums up the problem with Stephen A. Smith's remarks best: he is spreading misinformation that is hurting those that need help in regards to domestic abuse. Arturo points out an uncomfortable second part of this. League of Denial, for instance, makes the notes that concussions may impact mental health. And who knows if Ray Rice has been impacted by brain damage. An uncomfortable point Patrick brings up: The NFL is not doing anything to help or protect Janay Palmer. The Atlanta Hawks and RacismI wrote about why Bruce Levenson's email about the Hawks ticket sales is racist and ignores very simple data. Danny Ferry's remarks were either racist, or Ferry is very bad at his job. Patrick says either is a firing offense. The Caroline ScaleAri Caroline (@aricaroline) got us all excited with an email thread about how to rank teams in the offseason. Using the following scale (now named the Caroline Scale):
The second part is to make sure the average grade for all the teams in the NBA is 3, gives us all a fun way to grade the offseason. Patrick took the first crack with the scale and rated the Timberwolves at 2. That's remarkable given the fact that they lost Love. Arturo takes offense to Patrick calling J.J. Barea the worst point guard in the NBA. If the shoe fits... We go in major depth about the Wolves, tune in! "If the Pelicans could find a way to get Austin Rivers to disappear, they'd be a 5." - Arturo If Derrick Rose comes back, the Bulls could be a strong 4. Famous last words by Patrick. Arturo thinks the Denver Nuggets could make a major jump this year. ShoutoutsAri Caroline (@aricaroline) for the amazing Caroline Scale. Bomani Jones for his amazing Tweet.
Christopher Baxter (@cbax) for his spot on comic about how rooting for teams has uncomfortable social side effects. Check out his webcomic every Monday and Thursday at cbax.net.
Anita Sarkeesian (@femfreq) for her video "Women as Background Decoration" Zoe Quinn (@TheQuinnspiracy) for her handling of "Gamer Gate." Check out her game Depression Quest. Ethan Strauss (@SherwoodStrauss) for his Tweets on Stephen Curry and Chauncey Billups
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