The Radio Blast: A Sports Podcast

It's been a roller coaster of a weekend in the sports world.  The excitement of a great Saturday in College Football tempered by the deaths of Arnold Palmer and Jose Fernandez on Sunday.  And this week's episode will reflect that. Les Miles Fired We'll speak with Ross Dellenger (The Advocate Baton Rouge): What ultimately led to the firing of Les Miles by LSU? Why didn't it happen last season? Who are the top contenders for the LSU head coaching job? and how attractive is the LSU job? The Legacy of Arnold Palmer It's a segment you never want to do, but in order to do it right we bring in Ryan Ballengee (Yahoo Sports & thegolfnewsnet.com) to discuss the life of Arnold Palmer: Why are people who never had a chance to watch him play taking this so hard? What made him relish the spotlight? What made his approach to the game of golf so unique? and the great story of how Arnold Palmer almost single-handedly saved the British Open And of course we'll lighten the mood with "Who Needs a Drink and Who's Buying".  Plus, the Top 3 College Football games of the weekend. Be sure to follow Ross on Twitter @RossDellenger and Ryan @RyanBallengee.

The hottest team in the nation is the Louisville Cardinals. Led by Quarterback Lamar Jackson, the Cardinals have jumped out to a 3-0 record after a dismantling of Florida State. But who is this QB who, to the casual fan, seems to have come out of nowhere.  We're joined by Steve Jones from the Courier Journal in Louisville to break down the Cardinals hot start. The biggest improvement in Lamar Jackson's play since last season? Are the Michael Vick comparisons fair? As good as the offense is, the defense may be just as good, what drives that side of the ball? Is this a rebirth for Bobby Petrino? Patriots QB Situation We'll also chat with Adam Kurkjian from the Boston Herald on the revolving quarterbacks in New England. The latest on the Garoppolo and Gronkowski injuries What do we know about rookie QB Jacoby Brissett? What is the Patriots biggest weakness? Is Bill Belichick the greatest head coach of all time? And of course we'll have "Who Needs a Drink and Who's Buying?" and the Top 3 College Games Of The Week. Be sure to follow Steve (@SteveJones_CJ) and Adam (@AdamKurkjian) on Twitter.

There's nothing funnier in sports than the overreactions that come from week 1 in the NFL.  So let's jump on the bandwagon.  What overreactions are you having to your team's performance in week 1? We'll talk with Frank Schwab from Yahoo Sports Shutdown Corner: What overreactions should we be buying into? What storyline from week 1 should be getting more attention? If you had to chose from Wentz, Garopolo, Winston, Mariotta, and Prescott which one are you picking to start a team around? Is Bill Belichick the greatest coach in NFL history? Plus we debut two new segments for the football season, "Top 3 College Games of the Week" and "Who Needs a Drink and Who's Buying?" Check out Frank on Twitter @YahooSchwab.

Our NFL season previews wrap up with the Buffalo Bills and the San Francisco 49ers. Two teams who struggled mightily on defense last year. Sal Capaccio from WGR 550 joins us to look at the Bills: The difference in this team from year 1 to 2 of the Rex Ryan era Is Tyrod Taylor the long term solution at QB for the Bills? Should Bills fans feel optimistic that their defense can rekindle their dominance? The two things that need to happen for the Bills to put an end to the longest playoff drought in sports And we welcome back Matt Barrows from the Sacramento Bee to the program to talk Niners: How have Colin Kaepernick's teammates reacted to his anthem statement? Why did Chip Kelly decide to go with Blaine Gabbert over Kaepernick? How can the Niners improve on their lackluster defense from 2015? What are the realistic expectations for this team in 2016? Plus, we'll look back at a crazy week 1 in college football. Be sure to follow Sal (@SalSports) and Matt (@mattbarrows) on Twitter for up to the minute news on the Bills and Niners.

It's here!  It's finally here!  Our 2016 College Football Preview show has arrived! We'll chat with Bill Bender (Sporting News), aka the hardest working man in college football.   Will it be another season of "win and reload" for Alabama? How tight is the Big 10 race among the top 3 (Michigan, Michigan St and Ohio St)? Can Baylor survive a tumultuous offseason and contend for the Big 12 title? What team can least afford a loss in a stacked week 1 schedule? Plus, we'll continue our tour of NFL teams as we get ready for the pros to kick off.  We make a stop in Dallas and talk with Drew Davison (Star Telegram) about the unexpected start of the Dak Prescott era in Dallas.

Peyton Manning has gone out to pasture.  So it's time for the...Trevor Siemian era?! What do we know about this 2nd year man out of Northwestern?  Benny Bash from Mile High Sports joins us to take a look at the new QB for the Broncos and what 2016 has in store for the defending Super Bowl Champions. What happens now with Mark Sanchez? How many weapons will Siemian have available? Are the DBs the true key to this dominant defense? Could this defense actually be better than last year? The biggest stumbling block to repeating is what? (aside from the new QB) And of course I'll give my take on the Colin Kaepernick situation.

We are down the home stretch for the 2016 Rio Summer Olympics.  There has been plenty to talk about both on and off the field.  The Ryan Lochte armed robbery story is getting stranger by the minute.  Katie Ledecky has been one of the most dominant olympic athletes ever and of course NBC is being criticized every step of the way. In this episode we chat with USA Today sports reporter Erik Brady and get his thoughts on NBC's Olympic coverage so far.  Is the criticism fair?  Who are the breakout stars from these games aka the Johnny Weir award?  And what is this fellow Buffalonians favorite place for wings? 

After months and months of zika, dirty water, dirty politicians, and dirty IOC members the Olympics are finally here.  And oh yeah there's actual athletic competition involved! We're joined by Matthew Futterman from the Wall Street Journal who is in Rio covering the games.  We'll find out if he had any hesitation going to Rio and who we should be looking at as the next star to join the likes of Phelps, Bolt and Lochte. Plus, Ryan Ballengee from Yahoo Sports joins us to recap the PGA Championship and preview golf's return to the Olympics.  

In our British Open Preview our old friend Ryan Ballengee from Yahoo Sports and thegolfnewsnet.com give us an idea of who will play well this week at Royal Troon. Plus... Is Dustin Johnson ready to dominate majors now that he has a major win? Who's more likely to win a major next Tiger or Sergio? Why doesn't Jordan Spieth face more criticism for his on course behavior? What changes need to be made to video replay on tour? Does the lack of big names in the Rio Olympics hurt the future of the sport in the games? Plus, I'll tell you why the producers of the new Ghostbusters are scared (and not of ghosts).  And a recap of the Home Run Derby, another great event hurt by ESPN's production. Be sure to follow Ryan on Twitter @RyanBallengee.

So you're telling me the Cleveland Cavaliers are NBA Champions, Dustin Johnson is a Major Champion and the Cubs are in 1st place by 12 games?  What crazy mixed up world do we live in? We'll take a look at how the Cavs were able to overcome a 3-1 deficit to win the NBA Finals.  Plus, we'll be joined by Max Adler from Golf Digest to look back at a crazy finish to the US Open. -Did Dustin Johnson violate a rule on the 5th green? -Will the USGA look at changing their rules and guidelines as a result? -Is DJs win one of the best mentally tough wins at a major? -Can his bombing style win at Royal Troon in a few weeks? Be sure to follow Max on Twitter @MaxAdlerGD and at golfdigest.com.

Imagine trying to hit out of this church pew bunkers.  That's the exact test the best golfers in the world will be facing at the US Open tees off at Oakmont Country Club in Pennsylvania.  As we do when it comes to majors we check in with Ryan Ballengee from Yahoo Sports and thegolfnewsnet.com.  Ryan is live at Oakmont and gives us his thoughts on: -Is the traditional US Open set up "fair" to the players? -Do fans want to see the best at their best or be challenged with a set up like Oakmont? -How is Jordan Spieth's mindset coming off the Masters meltdown? -And to steal from Seinfeld, "what's the deal with Rory McIlroy?" Plus we'll talk with Ken Fang from one of my favorite sites, awfulannouncing.com.   -The unique relationship between Muhammad Ali and Howard Cosell -Where does Verne Lundquist rank among the all time greats? -Is Chris Berman's retirement from ESPN official? Be sure to follow both of our guests on Twitter @RyanBallengee and @fangsbites.

There will never be another like Muhammad Ali. The death of the former champ brings a close to an era of the mythological athlete. Of all the pieces that have been written about Ali in the days since his death, I especially enjoyed Daniel Roberts look back at his legacy.  Daniel joins us to discuss: -What made Ali such a great fighter? -Did his imperfections make the public embrace him even more? -How would we view Ali if he was a young boxer today? We'll also chat with Sean Gentille who's covering the Stanley Cup Final for the Sporting News. -Who's been the most important player in this series so far? -The biggest reason the Sharks are down 3-1 -Does this post season run silence the Phil Kessel critics? -and the most important question...where does Joe Thornton's beard rank all time? Plus my thoughts on the NBA Finals and the announced retirement of Verne Lundquist.

Well we were supposed to have Sean Deveney from The Sporting News on to preview the NBA Finals.  But occasionally you get stiffed.  So I try to wade my way through a preview of Cavs vs. Warriors.  Bare with me on this on. We'll also look at the ugly situation at Baylor, a budding rivalry between Nick Saban and Jim Harbaugh, and why the Spelling Bee and NCAA Women's Golf might be the two most competitive events of the year.

Viva Las Vegas! The NFL in Las Vegas? Yep it sounds like it's quickly becoming a reality. We will talk about the latest on that front. We'll also chat with our old friend Bill Bender from the Sporting News. He made his first trip to the Kentucky Derby and lived to tell us all about it. What's it like for a first timer? Does the hype live up to the actual event? Plus we'll also talk about Steph Curry's back to back NBA MVPs. And two big stories from MLB, Max Scherzer's 20 strikeouts and Bryce Harper's suspension. Be sure to follow Bill on Twitter @BillBender92.

The NFL Draft has come and gone and with it plenty of interesting stories.  Vinny Iyer from The Sporting News joins us to recap the best and worst of the draft.   Which teams made an immediate improvement?Who's a bigger risk? Myles Jack or Laremy Tunsil?Who's set up to win quicker? Jared Goff or Carson Wentz?What are the big questions that need answers before we head into training camp?We'll also be joined by Tim Layden from Sports Illustrated to take a look at the 2016 Kentucky Derby.  Will there be an American Pharaoh effect with fans of horse racing?  Who has the best chance to knock off favorite Nyquist?