Crunching Tackles

One of the biggest summer blockbusters is also a fascinating artifact of sports and culture. In other words, all our various passions and interests collide in this high octane episode! On today's show, Chad and John discuss: 3:40 - Wimbledon 2025 Recap 25:50 - Club World Cup Final and President Trump's viral moment 37:50 - F1 The Movie Review and Cultural Analysis As always, make sure to share thi...

A recent study examined the cost of being a sports fan to the American consumer, and the results are shocking! On today's show, Chad and John discuss: 4:20 - How the Club World Cup is going this summer. 13:20 - A strange confrontation between ICE and the Los Angeles Dodgers. 18:30 - The Senegal Women's Basketball team being denied entry to the US for their summer camp. 25:00 - The increasing cost...

A fog of uncertainty surrounds America as we host two major international tournaments this summer. The Club World Cup and the Gold Cup are intense dress rehearsals for the 2026 World Cup and the 2028 Olympics. The question is: are we ready? On today's show, Chad and John discuss: 5:30 - The 2025 French Open. Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner put on a performance for the ages, while Aryna Sabalenka...

For decades, Bill Belichick built his brand on stoicism, silence, and excellence. In recent years, his relationship with Jordan Hudson has seemingly changed his entire persona. On today's show, Chad and John discuss: 2:00 - The New York Knicks and their super fan Timothee Chalamet 7:00 - John Haliburton being banned and subsequently reinstated by the NBA following his altercation with Giannis 13:3...

The pope is American, he's a certified baseball fan, and the Catholic Church has a detailed and rich theology of sports that we want to talk about! On today's show, Chad and John discuss: 4:00 - NBA Draft Lottery and Playoff check-in. 11:15 - Barcelona and Inter Milan played one of the greatest soccer ties of all time. 16:05 - Major League Baseball unbanned Pete Rose, Joe Jackson, and others. Why...

In one of the most anticipated and widely covered NFL Drafts, Shedeur Sanders slid all the way to the fifth round. This prompted a flurry of broadcast and social media reactions. On today's show, Chad and John discuss: 8:15 - Liverpool win the Premier League and is Mohamed Salah the best player in the world right now? 24:00 - The NBA Playoffs are underway and the Lakers are in serious trouble. Why...

In the most dramatic Masters in recent memory, Rory McIlroy exorcized his demons, and wrote his name in the history books. On today's show, Chad and John discuss: 0:30 - Arsenal's convincing win over Real Madrid in the Champions League Quarterfinals. Where does John's club sit now in the hierarchy of European soccer? 14:20 - The NCAA Basketball National Championship. All four 1-seeds advanced to t...

The first two rounds of the 2025 NCAA tournament featured some amazing basketball, but few upsets and even less drama. What is the state of the tournament given the recent changes to the transfer portal and NIL? On today's show, Chad and John discuss: 4:00 - We briefly fill out the list of Stephen A. Smith's potential cabinet secretaries. 13:30 - We recap the disastrous weekend for the U.S. Men's...

Television and sports personality Stephen A. Smith has been venturing into a new media space: politics. Now, he's one of the most talked about potential candidates for the Democratic nominee for president. On today's show, Chad and John discuss: 2:30 - We recap the 2025 Oscars, talking about the success of the show, the biggest winners and losers, and the general state of movies in culture right n...

Early into his presidency, Donald Trump signed an executive order preventing transgender women from competing in women's sports in public schools and under the NCAA. Charlie Baker—president of the NCAA—responded with immediate compliance. On today's show, Chad and John discuss: 2:50 - The remarkable Four Nations NHL tournament, the USA v. Canada hockey rivalry fueled by politics, and the state of...

The big game in New Orleans is in the books, and the Philadelphia Eagles came out on top! On today's podcast, we discuss the game and the broader implications. We also recap Kendrick Lamar's halftime show, Donald Trump's surprise appearance, and the abysmal state of Super Bowl commercials. As always, make sure to share this episode if you enjoyed it, and give us a follow on all your social media p...

In a whirlwind podcast, Chad and John discuss the 2025 Australian Open, briefly revisit the Champions League Group Stage, and preview the Super Bowl between the Chiefs and the Eagles. 7:30 - 2025 Australian Open Review 25:20 - Champions League Group Stage Review 30:30 - The Super Bowl talk 56:40 - A brief discussion of The Brutalist and the Oscar nominations. As always, make sure to share this epi...

The NFL and NCAA Football playoffs are in full swing, and we are locked into all the action. Plus, tennis has gotten underway in Australia. Chad and John make sure you are aware of all the exciting action coming in the first month of 2025. As always, make sure to share this episode if you enjoyed it, and give us a follow on all your social media platforms!

As 2024 comes to a close, we are recapping and revisiting our top stories in sports, and our favorite movies, for the year! 4:07: We highlight 2 current sports stories from the NFL and College Football 8:00: Sports Stories—Number 5 20:00: Number 4 27:50: Number 3 34:50: Number 2 45:40: Number 1 58:15: Top Movies—Number 5 1:04:30: Number 4 1:09:30: Number 3 1:13:34: Number 2 1:18:00: Number 1 As al...

With more than half-a-dozen brawls and flag planting attempts in college football last week, it's fair to say that rivalry week was heated. We discuss all the drama from Saturday on today's podcast. 2:45: What happened to the Chicago Bears on Thanksgiving? 5:00: General Motors—aka Cadillac—is joining Formula 1 in 2026. 10:35: Jameis Winston is the viral sensation of 2024. 19:22: Panic time at Manc...

The 2024 election happened last week, and Donald Trump will return to the White House in 2025. But if you were up at 3 a.m. on election night, you may have seen a familiar face in the sports world addressing Trump's victory party: Dana White. What does White's involvement in politics say about Trump's success? Before that, we briefly touch on three controversies in international soccer, from a ref...

We got our dream matchup in the World Series: Yankees vs. Dodgers; Ohtani vs. Judge. We take stock of the first 3 games of the series and consider if the games so far have lived up to the hype. We also check in briefly with Formula One, a sad story out of N.C. State football, and the award for best player in world soccer. As always, make sure to share this episode if you enjoyed it, and give us a...

Many different sports around the world are expanding their postseason format to maximize the amount of high profile games that top teams play each year. Is this a benefit to fans, or just another desperate money grab? As always, make sure to share this episode if you enjoyed it, and give us a follow on all your social media platforms!

Shohei Ohtani has put together one of the most impressive seasons in baseball history. After spending some time discussing the Premier League and the NFL, we turn the focus of this podcast to MLB, and try to put Ohtani's historic season into context. As always, make sure to share this episode if you enjoyed it, and give us a follow on all your social media platforms!

Tyreek Hill was pulled over and detained by Miami police on his way to Week 1 of the NFL season. The reaction has been understandably and expectedly strong. John and Chad break down every angle of the incident and what we can learn. 10:20 - We look at Jannik Sinner and Aryna Sabalenka winning the U.S. Open and where the state of tennis is going into 2025. 27:30 - We recap Week 1 of the NFL season,...

For the first time in over 3 years, Chad and John are in person together for a podcast! They celebrate this occasion by discussing the U.S. Open, Jannik Sinner, and Alien: Romulus. As always, make sure to share this episode if you enjoyed it, and give us a follow on all your social media platforms!

The 2024 Olympics were incredible, and we convene one more time to go through all the final stories from the games. On today's episode, we discuss: 2:15 - Our general impressions and what we loved about this Olympics 9:30 - The closing ceremony, including Tom Cruise's stunts 214:00 - The final medal count and who won the games 29:00 - We recap the most interesting stories from the final week of ev...

The Olympics have soared to an incredible level of success, and we are here to recap the most important moments we've seen this week. Simone Biles, Novak Djokovic, Scottie Scheffler, Mondo Duplantis, and Imane Khelif are just a few of the athletes we mention. On today's episode, we discuss: 10:00 - We recap the medal table and see where Team USA is stacking up 13:20 - Pole Vaulter Mondo Duplantis...

The medals are flying in Paris as we take stock of an action packed first week of the Olympic Games! From the Opening Ceremony to the tennis to the swimming, we have it all covered for you right here! On today's episode, we discuss: 3:10 - We open with some general thoughts about the games and how we feel about the experience of watching so far. 8:10 - We turn quickly to the medal count, tracking...

The COPA America Final was delayed by over an hour because of a brutal crowd crush at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami. Fans and police officers were injured, and 27 people were arrested as Colombia fans attempted to storm the stadium. On today's episode, we discuss: 4:15 - We open with a conversation about the assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump, our desire for unity, and we als...