Casual Diehard

It feels unfair that Roger Salkeld caught a stray at the end of Ohtani: The New Name For Sturgeon , yesterday’s Willets Pod episode with guest Jesse Black . It’s not Roger’s fault that he was born with the S***eld name. In fact, he’s got more claim to S***eld than Rick Springfield , whose name is actually Richard Lewis Springthorpe . What in the name of Hans Sprungfeld is that about, and then he h...

This episode sets a Willets Pod record for Jesses, with two. Jesse Black can be found at Sludgefest being serious and on Twitch streaming fish video games. He’s been asked here for his ichthyological expertise, as we try to determine which fish should be renamed after Shohei Ohtani. You already know that it’s sturgeon, what with the episode title being Ohtani: The New Name For Sturgeon , but it’s...

Late in Arizona Iced Tea Cans In A Microwave , I realized that we were recording on the ides of March, so I brought up the subject of favorite baseball Caesars … or Césars, as there’s never been a Caesar in MLB… and while my mind went right to César Izturis – always love a guy who winds up on nine teams in 13 seasons – I feel guilty for having neglected to mention César Cedeño . This was a galling...

Welcome to the party, Sickos of Summer. So long as you’re here, go check out The Sickos Sentinel . If you’ve already done that and have come here because you’re a fellow Sicko, hello (it’s specmotors from the Discord) and welcome to you, too! And check out our Discord , because, can you ever really have enough places to post? Anyway, you were promised a sports rabbit hole yesterday , and it is tim...

No sports rabbit hole today, but the good news is, there’s now two episodes of Willets Pod in the can — one joyful dance through spring baseball that ends with Edwin Díaz getting hurt right as we finished recording, one screed against Jerry Seinfeld for his culpability and continued refusal to apologize for putting a hex on Díaz. We’ll have the first of those episodes up for you to have a nice wee...

An episode of Willets Pod was wrapping up last night when Edwin Díaz got hurt, so stay tuned to your inbox or podcast feed for the ruination of what was a delightful episode. And, as the NCAA Tournament starts today, in earnest, for the men, let’s take a look back in history to see who won the 1986 title… Louisville, which went 4-28 this year. In 1969, though, it was the middle of UCLA’s dynasty,...

Great Britain – hey, The Beatles are from there – gave the United States a tougher time than expected, stunned Colombia, and ended its World Baseball Classic run in the wee hours of this morning by giving Mexico one hell of a scare before ultimately falling, 2-1, in Phoenix, where it was still late last night. (These are East Coast-written show notes, today in an insomniac fit at 3 a.m., if you’re...

On this episode of Willets Pod, following up our last one… …Addy is watching Ken Burns’ Baseball . Chrystal’s puppy has an attitude, and Britt is back in non-writing form as we launch the Arizona Iced Tea (not a sponsor) Performance Energy Formula 1 race team… and discuss what’s written in the stars for our favorite drivers in the chase for auto racing’s world championship. Get in the pool! Our co...

Get in the pool! Our college basketball pools are free to enter — we’re using ESPN, here’s the men’s and women’s brackets, and you can win free stuff from our shop , like the new SENGA GHOST FORK shirt that dropped last night. There’s also a short-sleeve version , and a tank . If you win, you’ll get to pick your prize for your fandom and style, or have us make a custom design just for you! And if...

Our college basketball pools are free to enter — we’re using ESPN, here’s the men’s and women’s brackets, and you can win free stuff from our shop , like the new SENGA GHOST FORK shirt that dropped last night. There’s also a short-sleeve version , and a tank . If you win, you’ll get to pick your prize for your fandom and style, or have us make a custom design just for you! And if you just can’t wa...

You Won’t See Me? eh? … is it because you can’t see him? There’s never been a Cena in the major leagues, but Don Cena led the 1948 Waco Pirates, Pittsburgh’s affiliate in the Big State League (Class B) with 23 home runs. One player from that team, Danny Lynch , wound up making the majors… in fact, that very 1948 season, seven games with the Cubs. Lynch’s debut came on September 14 in Boston, with...

The subject for today’s fun fact couldn’t have presented itself more easily. John Anderson is, by a long shot over Arndt Jorgens and Jimmy Wiggs , the best major league player born in Norway, with wood that powered 50 home runs and a .290/.329/.405 line from 1894-1908 with the Brooklyn Bridegrooms, Washington Senators (National League — on what seems like a most-of-the-season kind of loan in 1898)...

New Mets outfielder Tommy Pham turns 35 today. Among players born on March 8, he’s fourth all-time in wins above replacement, behind Dick Allen , Jim Rice , and Carl Furillo . (He’s tied on Baseball-Reference’s list with Harry Lord , a pre-World War I outfielder for the Red Sox and Tigers, and let’s nicely project Pham as better than replacement level this year.) When Pham makes his first Mets app...

After yesterday’s realization that RJ Barrett was one point away from giving the Knicks three players with 30-plus on Sunday night in Boston, there’s an obvious question… have the Knicks ever done that? We know they haven’t done it against the Celtics, but… let’s fire up Stathead . Turns out, the answer is yes. On March 24, 1979, the Knicks had a double-overtime home loss to the Bulls, 148-143, in...

Mick and Danny Won the Breakup The F1 season got underway on Sunday and while I could talk about Ferrari and their lovely new collection of rakes to step on, I love myself and all of you more than that. Instead, let’s talk about the important part. Who won last year’s messiest F1 breakups. Mick’s Side Piece Glow Up If you haven’t been paying attention to the drama at the bottom of grid, after a mo...

Last night was the eighth time in their long rivalry that the Knicks had two players score 30-plus points in a game against the Celtics. So, here’s the list… February 7, 1960 (at Boston): Knicks 142, Celtics 135 — Kenny Sears 39, Richie Guerin 37 February 11, 1961 (at Boston): Knicks 129, Celtics 107 — Richie Guerin 40, Willie Naulls 34 January 23, 1971 (at New York): Knicks 128, Celtics 107 — Wal...

They Know, They Just Don’t Care By Linda Surovich As a sports fan, I once again have to reconcile with the fact that my favorite sports team does not care about me. The Rangers traded for Patrick Kane despite the assault allegations against him in the past, which only went away because the accuser’s decision not to proceed with the case after her identity became known. There have been many article...

When Damian Lillard had his 71-point game, it wasn’t just a new Portland Trail Blazers record, it was also a record for the most points scored against the Houston Rockets. We know the record for scoring against the Knicks is Wilt Chamberlain with 100 points back on March 2, 1962 ( see yesterday’s episode )… so, how about the rest of the NBA? Lillard broke a record previously held by Allen Iverson...

Today is the 61st anniversary of Wilt Chamberlain’s 100-point game… …and we’re less than a week away from Damian Lillard scoring 71 against the Rockets. You don’t need a cool video on that, it just happened and it’s all over the internet. I noticed on the list of all-time 70-point games that Lillard’s was the first in the month of February. Indeed, according to Stathead , the all-time record for t...

Editor’s note: Tomorrow is the 61st anniversary of Wilt Chamberlain’s 100-point game, and starting tomorrow, our podcast episodes will come packed with more facts dug out of sports rabbit holes… stay tuned! Check out the new LFGM Pride Flag in the Willets Pen shop, and remember to use code WCPIO for 10% off any purchase! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscr...

It… snowed! It snowed in New York! Finally. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit willetspen.substack.com

Check out the new LFGM Pride Flag in the Willets Pen shop, and remember to use code WCPIO for 10% off any purchase! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit willetspen.substack.com

Editor’s note: The content machine is slowly coming online… you’ve seen it sputter out fits and starts a bit, but this week was quiet, eh? Well, it’s not all linear, and it’s learning how to do this thing while also juggling a dozen other new Life Things. I love what’s happening here though, and love Andrew and Roger continuing that NYC tradition of Scott Muni with Beatles at noon. Have a great we...

They didn’t do a very good job hiding him. He wound up in Miami . This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit willetspen.substack.com

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit willetspen.substack.com