Bandwagon Beach

I went live on Substack earlier today and talked for a while about the San Diego Padres….and other things. Unfortunately, my internet died when I started talking about the other things, so this podcast is just the Padres portion of my ranting and raving. Enjoy! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit bandwagonbeach.c...

Bandwagon Beach is back! John Gennaro fires up the podcast machine for the first time in a very long time and talks through his own feelings regarding Craig Stammen’s streaking San Diego Padres, ideal matchups coming out of the NBA Play-In Tournament and San Diego FC navigating their way out of a tailspin. He also talks about why the podcast has gone quiet, the importance of physical and mental he...

With so many known unknowns about the 2026 San Diego Padres, I thought now would be a perfect time to chat with Dylan from Letters to A.J. about all of them. We talked about Tatis hitting cleanup, faith in Nick Castellanos, Luis Campusano losing a major-league swing, the range of potential outcomes, the actual impact of ABS , strategies for Craig Stammen to implement, and what a fast sale could me...

Nick Burke is friends with John Gennaro and a former baseball player at UCSD. As such, the two of them don't always agree when it comes to their favorite baseball team, the San Diego Padres. In this episode, John lays out all of the reasons he's worried about the 2026 Padres team before the season even begins and Nick adds his own perspective as both a fan and someone who has a better understandin...

Hey y’all! This morning I decided to go live over on YouTube to talk about the flurry of moves the San Diego Padres have made over the last few days. I talked about how there are now four players fighting for two starting jobs in the lineup (1B & DH) and as many as six pitchers fighting for the last two sports in the starting rotation, but also about how that doesn’t mean that any of these options...

Earlier this morning, I went live on Substack to talk about how and why my San Diego Padres pessimism is maybe turning into some optimism after Sheel Seidler dropped her lawsuit against the other team owners. After that, I broke down last night’s impressive SDFC win over Pumas and wondered if the team is still searching for a 9 that can facilitate the last third of the offense. This is a public ep...

Happy Monday! Well, kinda. I did not like the tenor of…well, anything really….that was coming out of the San Diego Padres FanFest at Petco Park this weekend. From A.J. Preller’s contract extension to the plan at 1B (and backup catcher) to the superstars that couldn’t be bothered to show up to the Yu Darvish situation to Keith Law’s review of the Padres farm system….there’s a lot to be angry about...

I’ve been steaming ever since it turned out that Yu Darvish, who reportedly was planning to retire and void the remainder of his contract with the San Diego Padres, was in fact not planning on retiring and not voiding the remainder of his contract with the San Diego Padres (barring a buyout that has not yet been agreed upon). I think the news getting out there, and then quickly being refuted, port...

I’m still testing out a bunch of Substack features, including continuing to play with the live video. Today, following the news that the Mets had traded for Freddy Peralta, I flipped on the camera & microphone to talk about how bad things have gotten for the Padres this offseason before turning my attention to San Diego FC, San Diego State’s basketball (and football) program, and the painful story...

It had been long enough since I had yelled into a microphone and I missed doing it. So, I flipped on a live video (partially to test our the Substack system) this morning and loudly worried about the short-term and long-term future of the San Diego Padres for about a half-hour. Then, and with full warning, I worried about the short-term and long-term future of America and Americans for the last 15...

While John is still recovering from The Crud, Darren catches up with former colleague, Jim Russell, from the Jon & Jim Show on AM 760 and The Wrap Up Show on YouTube. The two friends talked about Jim’s recent announcement that he was leaving sports radio and San Diego and the heartbreaking motivation behind it. They spent time talking about sports radio in San Diego, working for a flagship ver...

Darren Smith and John Gennaro kick off today's show talking about where they are in their Christmas shopping and how they're planning to tackle that in the five days between now and Christmas. They then move onto the big news of the day, which is the San Diego Padres re-signing SP Michael King to a (potentially) three-year deal for $75 million. The guys talk about the contract structure, if there...

Darren Smith and John Gennaro don't know what to talk about today, which is how they end up spending a bunch of time talking about Los Angeles Rams WR Puka Nacua, who (perhaps unknowingly) made an antisemitic gesture and said the NFL referees brag about missing calls while on a live stream with Adin Ross. The guys talk about what can be done, what Nacua is or is not responsible for, and what the N...

The New York Knicks are 2025 NBA Cup Champions and Darren Smith traveled from San Diego to Las Vegas to watch it happen in person. He and John Gennaro discuss the game, if the NBA Cup means anything, and going out in Las Vegas (where are the crowds?). They also spent a while talking about the opportunities missed by San Diego not having a modern sports arena, including the NBA Cup and NBA expansio...

As Darren Smith gets ready to jet off to Las Vegas to catch the Knicks in the NBA Cup final, he sat down with John Gennaro and talked about a whole host of issues. First, they talk about the trip and Darren's plans, as a Knicks fan. Later, the guys talk about Yu Darvish, who made a public appearance and spoke to the media yesterday for the first time since getting surgery that will force him to mi...

Darren Smith and John Gennaro reconvene after the weekend to talk about the sports that they watched, including the semifinals of the NBA Cup (leading Darren to book a trip to Las Vegas), Philip Rivers' return to the NFL (leading John to be inspired) and a wild end to the Liga MX playoffs. They also discussed the rumors coming out about the San Diego Padres and break down what they actually mean b...

Darren Smith and John Gennaro start off today's podcast with a conversation about sports journalism and sports media and the relationship between those two things, and how it all relates to Section 1904 (and the San Diego Padres). They divert from that for a while to talk about Cocaine Quarterback on Amazon and to appreciate some top-tier profanity from Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles....

Darren Smith and John Gennaro kick off today's podcast episode with an NFL quiz and a conversation about Philip Rivers, who has unretired to join the Indianapolis Colts at 44-years old. When they welcome ESPN's Eric Gomez to the show, the three of them talk about what they miss about the San Diego Chargers and the changing relationship between players and media. Eric then talks at length about the...

Darren Smith and John Gennaro kick off today's podcast by talking about the future of Section 1904 and announcing a survey that will be sent to everyone a little later today. When the guys finally get to the sports of it all, they talk about the trade rumors swirling around the San Diego Padres at the MLB Winter Meetings in Orlando, the potential effects of the World Baseball Classic on Craig Stam...

Following a report from Kevin Acee in the San Diego Union-Tribune that A.J. Preller was working on a potentially "massive trade" that would be comparable, or maybe even dwarf, the deal that sent Juan Soto and Trent Grisham to the New York Yankees, Darren Smith and John Gennaro try to figure out who might be involved in the trade and what it could bring back. The guys also watched the Monday Night...

It's Monday! That means that today's episode of the podcast is free for all subscribers (both paid and unpaid). And, lucky you, we have on the show today Kevin Acee, who covers the San Diego Padres for the San Diego Union-Tribune. He joined us from the MLB Winter Meetings to talk about the forthcoming sale of the team, the status of A.J. Preller's contract extension, why Fernando Tatis Jr. trade r...

After today's 2026 FIFA World Cup draw, Darren Smith chatted with ESPN's Cesar Hernandez about the draws for the U.S. Men's National Team and the Mexico national football team. They also talked about San Diego FC's first season in MLS and what would be in the best interest of Hirving "Chucky" Lozano's future. Finally, the guys talked about this weekend's MLS Cup between Inter Miami and Vancouver W...

Darren Smith and John Gennaro took a few minutes away from watching the 2026 FIFA World Cup draw to do a weekend preview. They'll be back with a reaction to the World Cup draw later today. As for this morning's podcast, the guys discussed accents, their weekend plans, how much has changed in college football over the last five years, if fans should overreact to the San Diego Padres signing a relie...

Earlier this week, Darren Smith sat down with Mikey Varas, the head coach of San Diego FC, while the team was packing their bags and heading into the offseason. Darren and Mikey talked about what there is to be learned from the loss to Vancouver Whitecaps FC in the Western Conference final of the MLS Cup Playoffs, and what Mikey said to the team after. The guys also spent time talking about the SD...

The 2026 FIFA World Cup, which will take place in Mexico, Canada and the United State of America, is set to have its draw tomorrow. The leaders of all three countries will be in attendance, as will The Village People. Darren Smith and John Gennaro talk for a few minutes about what they expect from the event before welcoming on independent journalist Karim Zidan, who runs the exceptional Sports Pol...