Top Plays

Side A: No waiting on music this week as we look over the freshly released Record Store Day list. What made our personal lists? The new Paramore album has been out for a week, and we share our opinions on it. Side B (54:01): we finally present our Super Bowl recap (a tad late). What did we think about the game, commercials, and Rihanna? Lastly, we preview the upcoming NBA All-Star Weekend. Tyler w...

0 to 100 real quick. That sums up the flurry of trades from KD being moved late at night to the 3pm deadline. It was hard to keep up with it all! Ward and Tyler discuss its impact on teams gunning for a playoff spot and which teams improved.

A lot of ground to cover this week; Sunday was relentless. Kyrie got traded to Ward’s team, and he is not pleased. The guys give some thoughts on what it could do for the Mavs season. Also, a few Super Bowl picks and LeBron is about to break the NBA scoring record.(Side B 35:36) Hip-hop won the guys over at the Grammys after a magnificent performance from absolute legends. The duo discuss their fa...

We start Side A discussing the conference championship games and how we think the teams will match up in the Super Bowl before getting into Tom Brady speculation. Oops, he retired the day after recording. Ward is frustrated with NBA refs. On Side B (1:08:02), we discuss initial reactions to new releases from Sam Smith & Lil Yachty. We go out of bound briefly to discuss The Last of Us S1 E3 (spoile...

What a wild week for music news and vinyl preorders. You know it’s bad when you have to take 5 to recover. Ward & Tyler are here to break it all down on side A. Side B is a breakdown of the divisional games from the weekend and a preview of the conference title games. What did we like from the games we watched that may carry over into the next round?

Ward & Tyler are back from the holiday break, and there are NFL playoff games to breakdown. The duo talk about what to expect from the first round of action on side A. Ward wants to discuss Tyler’s 2023 album release predictions because there’s an alarming rate of them coming true early in the year on side B (1:23:53).

It’s here! Finally time to breakdown the albums that had the biggest impact on us this year. Before jumping into the list, we preview which artists/bands we think will release new albums in ‘23.

A sports only episode before we bring you our favorite albums of the year. From World Cup to NFL, the games were unbelievable this weekend.

It’s finally time to let our listeners what caught our attention in 2022. For the first part, we present to your our favorite TV shows and movies from the last year and why they made our lists (28:44). Prior to that we break down a bit of sports and pour one out for Ward’s fantasy season.

R.I.P. to the US national team, fantasy football wins, and a big game between Cincy & KC. The college football playoff is set, and Tyler & Ward give their predictions. What’s next for SF after losing Jimmy G for the season? The pair also discuss some recent vinyl pickups and arrivals.

Friend of the pod Brett Wilson joins us for an extended talk about World Cup, what music has caught his ear in ‘22, and August Burns Red Christmas shows.

Side A isn’t about football or basketball this week; World Cup has begun! We discuss the USA match and lay out our expectations of how far the national team can go. A flat fantasy week from the big stars, and you never leave time in the clock for Mahomes. Side B (45:55) brings some Black Friday Record Store Day talk, a Turnstile/Snail Mail concert recap, and thoughts about mixing genres on a tour...

We start off a shorter sports segment discussing the Vikings/Bills classic and the fantasy matchup between cohosts. Spoiler alert, Tyler won. Then we break down the newly announced Grammy nominations, step out of bounds for some Black Panther Wakanda Forever talk, and cap off the episode with Ward sharing some new music (56:25).

Ward laments the downfall of his fantasy football team. The two recap the World Series (baseball?!), the dud of a game between Tennessee & Georgia, and the slow and surprising starts to the NBA season. There was a lot of music released this past Friday. Did Drake & 21 Savage deliver? Turnover did release an album. Tyler forgot about Kings Kaleidoscope last week and is still stuck on music from 201...

Recovering from post-wedding fuzz, Tyler & Ward discuss where they stand in the current fantasy season, the Steelers offensive woes, and what’s wrong with the Sixers before talking about some Halloween movies and spooky tunes.

Side A: It’s been two long weeks since our last episode so it’s time to dive into our fantasy woes, the sputtering Packers & Bucs offense, and the first week of NBA action. Side B (1:07:15) While we do talk about other music catching our ears, we need to talk Taylor’s new record. What are our initial thoughts, and how does it stack up against the rest of her discography?

Victor Wembanyama made his US debut last week, and wow, was it impressive. Tyler shares some initial thoughts. Ward & Tyler discuss the upcoming NBA season a week away and some fantasy letdowns. They close the episode by discussing some new music that has caught their ears.

It’s time for the big FF breakdown! This episode we discuss: bands we saw, vinyl purchased, beers consumed, restaurants tried, and Birmingham sights. Tyler shares a view of The National from the front row and some new music on his radar. It wouldn’t be a Top Plays episode without some fantasy talk.

Side A: The NFL is back, and that means fantasy football is back! Tyler and Ward square off against each other in a week 1 battle. They react live to the Seattle/Denver game and the boneheaded play calling at the end of the game, discuss some week 1 action, college football upsets, and some potential fantasy moves in preparation for week 2. Side B (1:44:06): A white whale for Tyler (New Found Glor...

Side A: Happy one year anniversary to Top Plays! A worthy way to ring it in by recapping the fantasy football draft Ward and Tyler just completed. How did things go? College football started with a bang. What games stood out from opening week? Serena's curtain call. The Cavs made. trade to position themselves among the east's elite.  Side B (2:11:30): Tyler acquired grails from The National &...

Side A: For you listeners that are non-sports fans, this will be the last fantasy football preview we give you. Tyler gives tips on building a roster from a newbie perspective, how to build a team on a budget, and what to look for when you draft. Side B (1:23:53): Ward talks about two albums he's diving into this week from Becoming the Archetype and Butch Walker.

Side A: The time has finally come for us to talk in-depth about the upcoming fantasy football season. Which rookies should you target that may make an impact this year and possibly win you your league? Side B (1:04:32): Saturday marked the 20th anniversary of Blindside's Silence. Ward and Tyler talk about its importance to them and look ahead to the upcoming performance of it at Furnace Fest. mewi...

Side A: Tyler and Ward return without audio issues! They discuss the start of preseason and some potential fantasy conundrums some of you may have in fantasy drafts. Side B (1:04:11): Ward's white whale arrives beat to shit. Why you shouldn't mail vinyl in a bubble envelope. They discuss new releases from Norma Jean, Danger Mouse & Black Thought, and Goo Goo Dolls.

For starters, sorry for the audio issues. Trying a new platform for this episode until my (Tyler’s) new computer arrives. Should be back to normal next week. Also, we’re trying a new pop up segment called The Heater which will show in this feed as well. We’ll be discussing songs that are on heavy rotation for, what stands out about them to us, and why we like them. The songs will be embedded in th...

Side A: Guest Brett Wilson educates on Baseball and Hockey. We also talk about who our teams are, why Tyler loves Fantasy Football, and a short amount of NFL & NBA. Out of Bounds (1:10:00) Brett inspires a chat about cigars and beer. Ward is the cigar guy, but Brett no Tyler both love the beer. Ward enjoys, but cannot keep up with these 2 connoisseurs. Side B: (1:30:00) Tyler and Ward have a f...