The Jonah Keri Podcast

In Part 2, Jonah Keri and Dave Dameshek discuss the Pittsburgh Penguins-Washington Capitals rivalry, HBO's great 24/7 special, the pending new sports comedy show starring Norm MacDonald (co-written by Dameshek), and the fun and challenge of comedy writing. Plus, an update on the League of Leagues, and the Food Pick of the Week.

In Part 1, Jonah Keri and Dave Dameshek discuss the New York Jets of the past and present, evaluate Ben Roethlisberger against Tom Brady and Peyton Manning, predict the outcome of the Jets-Steelers AFC Championship and Bears-Packers NFC Championship games, and champion the sports antics of characters like Rex Ryan.

Jonah Keri interviews Amy K. Nelson, writer for ESPN.com and contributor to First Take, Outside The Lines, and other ESPN shows. Topics include: How covering sports as a journalist can affect your fandom; The eclectic 2001 Boston Red Sox; Getting the first major league pitcher to admit on the record he used PEDs; Jim Joyce, stand-up umpire; Athletes' infidelity; The tragedy of Nick Adenhart. Plus, the Food Pick of the Week.

Jonah Keri interviews Sam Fuld, a major league outfielder just acquired by the Tampa Bay Rays as part of an 8-player trade that sent Matt Garza to the Chicago Cubs. Topics include: Getting traded from the Cubs to the Rays; Are the Rays grooming Sam for baseball ops?; From studying baseball statistics to being a baseball statistic; Turning off your brain on the field; The Stanford Swing; Sam's daredevil defense; Managing diabetes as a baseball player; Life in a small college town in New Hampshire. Plus, the Food Pick of the Week.

Jonah Keri interviews Ariel Helwani, Mixed Martial Arts writer and analyst for Fanhouse.com and the Versus Network, and 2010 MMA Journalist of the Year. Topics include: How dissolution of your favorite team affects your sports fandom; How MMA is like pro wrestling and unlike boxing; MMA judges; Georges St. Pierre; What makes MMA great; The live MMA experience; How and why MMA fighters compete more often than boxers; The Kick Heard 'Round The World; How UFC would be affected if Brock Lesnar leaves, plus Lesnar and The Undertaker; Performance-enhancing drugs; UFC Commissioner Dana White; The dream UFC matchup; Increasing MMA's popularity; and reminiscing about the Montreal Expos. Plus, the Food Pick of the Week.

In preparation for the NFL playoffs, Jonah Keri interviews Aaron Schatz and Bill Barnwell of Football Outsiders, the leading site for advanced football analysis. Topics include: Jon Gruden and the state of the Tampa Bay Bucs; Strength of schedule and big turnarounds in the NFL; Perennial contenders like the Patriots and Colts despite parity; Saints-Seahawks preview; Can fantasy football be fixed?; Colts-Jets preview; Ravens-Chiefs Preview, and the folly of momentum; Eagles-Packers preview; and playoff predictions. Plus, the Food Pick of the Week.

Jonah Keri interviews Derek Zumsteg, author of The Cheater's Guide to Baseball and up-and-coming science fiction writer. Topics include: Similarities between science fiction and baseball writing; marketability in writing books; why people make a bigger deal about PEDs than other forms of cheating; getting bad book reviews from people who don't get it; USS Mariner; Bugs Bunny, greatest banned player ever; Hermione, not Harry Potter, is the real hero; and Seattle's loss of the Supersonics. Plus, a beer-themed Food Pick of the Week.

Jonah Keri interviews Greg Wyshynski and Sean Leahy of Yahoo Sports' Puck Daddy Blog. Topics include: Showboating in sports; Toronto Maple Leafs; salary cap in the NHL; lousy GMs; the delusions of Glendale, Arizona; HBO's 24/7 special; the NHL's poor marketing; and the biggest surprises of the NHL season so far. Plus, the Food Pick of the Week.

In the final installment of Baseball Hall of Fame Week, Jonah Keri interviews Jay Jaffe, whose JAWS statistical system evaluates Hall of Fame candidates against their historical counterparts. Topics include: The JAWS system; Bert Blyleven vs. Nolan Ryan; Jay's plans as a new member of the Baseball Writers Association of America; the candidacies of Tim Raines and Roberto Alomar; voters’ maddening tendency not to vote for deserving candidates on the first ballot; the candidacies of Alan Trammell, Barry Larkin, Lou Whitaker, Bobby Grich, Dwight Evans, Edgar Martinez, Dale Murphy, and Larry Walker; and memories of Olympic Stadium. Plus, the Food Pick of the Week.

In Part 4 of Baseball Hall of Fame Week, Jonah Keri interviews pitching legend Bert Blyleven, who has been unsuccessful in gaining entry into the HOF in his first 13 times on the ballot. Topics include: Significance of the HOF; Marvin Miller; Blyleven's curveball and fastball; pitching endurance; batting quality across eras; lousy run support; whether wins are a valuable statistic; Bonds, Clemens, McGwire, and performance-enhancing substances; HOF advocacy; and the past and future of the Minnesota Twins.

In Part 3 of Baseball Hall of Fame Week, Jonah Keri interviews long-time Toronto Sun baseball columnist Bob Elliott. This year Bob was one of 16 people on the Baseball Hall of Fame's Expansion Era Committee. Topics include: What happens inside the room with the HOF Veterans Committee; newly elected Hall of Famer Pat Gillick; George Steinbrenner's HOF candidacy; Marvin Miller's impact on the game; Cy Young voting; the evolution of statistics over the years; the candidacies of Tim Raines, Alan Trammel, and Bert Blyleven; and performance-enhancing drugs.

In the second part of the Baseball Hall of Fame Spectactular, Jonah Keri interviews Dave Van Horne, this year's winner of the Ford C. Frick Award for excellence in broadcasting from the Hall of Fame. Dave spent 32 years as the voice of the Montreal Expos and has spent the past decade calling play-by-play for the Florida Marlins. Topics include: Winning the Ford Frick award; Dave's career with the Expos and Marlins; reactions to the HOF inductions of Gary Carter and Andre Dawson; Tim Raines's HOF candidacy; calling no-hitters and perfect games; El Presidente, El Perfecto; working with Duke Snider; and the future of baseball in Florida.

In Part 1 of the 5-part Baseball Hall of Fame Spectacular, Jonah Keri interviews Tim Raines, 4th time candidate for the HOF and one of the greatest leadoff hitters of all time. Topics include: the significance of the HOF; free agency; skill sets that appeal to MVP and HOF voters; Rickey Henderson and base stealing success; Tim's career in coaching; overcoming drug abuse; and playing in Montreal in the '80s.

To preview the MLB Winter Meetings, Jonah Keri interviews two guests: Craig Calcaterra, blogger for NBC Sports' Hardball Talk, and David Forst, Assistant General Manager of the Oakland A's. Among the topics with Craig Calcaterra: Winter Meetings; breaking news stories as a blogger; and taking people to task on Twitter. Topics with David Forst include: The best time in the off-season to acquire a player; valuing offense vs. defense; the Winter Meetings from a front office perspective; roster-building strategy; going against the grain with walk-year players; long-term contracts; and solving Oakland's third base and offense problems. Plus, everyone's Food Pick of the Week.

Jonah Keri interviews Bruce Arthur, national sports columnist for the National Post. Topics include: the remarkable similarities between Jonah and Bruce; CFL Grey Cup; the phenomenon of the Saskatchewan Roughriders; the passive-aggressive LeBron James; Miami Heat; the Olympics; Around the Horn; and The Simpsons. Plus, The Food Pick of the Week.