Echo of the Whistle

In 1926, the New York Rangers weren't the first pro hockey team in New York. They weren't even the first one to play their home games at Madison Square Garden. So how do you put butts in seats when the other guys have a head start? You appeal to the millions of underserved Italian and Jewish New Yorkers...even if you have to invent some skaters to do it. CHAPTERS Intro (:00) Madison Square Garden...

NFL's passer rating is CLEARLY a broken stat, but what if we made a GOOD stat for running backs called rusher rating? Harry is joined by CBS Sports NFL Analyst JP Acosta to talk about how messed up it is that Gardner Minshew has a higher passer rating than Dan Marino, the fairness or lack thereof in retroactively applying stats , and how watching the tape is the true path to understanding quarterb...

Throwing a 0.0 passer rating in the NFL means the quarterback had a BAD day...but is it really the worst a QB can play? The list of players who have thrown the ignominious stat contains rookies, backups...and Hall of Famers. Born in the 1970s and left untouched since then, passer rating doesn't tell the whole story the game, it only shows us the early NFL had a LOT to learn about statistics. CHAPT...

Yeah, people love a mascot you see when GOOD things happen, but what if there was a real stinker mascot only coming out to rag on the team? Harry is joined by Mascot Hall of Fame Co-Founder and Curator Christopher Bruce to talk about being able to perform in a trash bag, the difference between 2d and 3d mascots, and having Project Runway design some big and tall mascot fashions. CHAPTERS Intro (:0...

Everybody knows their favorite team's mascot. Almost NOBODY knows the person who DESIGNED that mascot. These are the stories of Carlo Bergoglio, Art Evans, Ava Buric and Charles Palminteri: Mascot Masters that changed the game by creating the characters at the center of fandom. CHAPTERS Intro (:00) Mascots for Knights (1:25) Carlo Bergoglio's Heraldry of Football (3:10) Icons to Mascots (7:34) A W...

Jordan Rizzieri LIVES for the Premier League upset because it's always a better story. Harry is joined by Unfiltered Soccer Podcast Producer Jordan Rizzieri to talk about the Prem losing its hooligan roots, if you could still fix Premier League matches with three guys and a garage door opener, and whether Kevin Hart is to blame for America's gambling problems. CHAPTERS Intro (:00) The Sublime Pain...

In the late 90s, a string of power failures at Premier League games... didn't cause a stir at all. The grounds were ancient, and leaks, cracks and even darkness were part of the charm. That was until police received a tip that something nefarious was going on. Their investigation revealed the outages to be part of an elaborate match fixing scam by Far East syndicates that still reverberates in tod...

How did Trey Wingo end up at a St. Louis Stallions rally in 1993? Harry is joined by sports broadcasting legend Trey Wingo to talk about the St. Louis' warring Stallions bids, Walter Payton dissing Jacksonville, and the NFL's bid to create a new holiday - Thanksgiving Eve. CHAPTERS Intro (:00) Trey Wingo's 90s-tastic Sweater (:27) St. Louis' Stallions Hubris (3:16) What Killed the Stallions (7:26)...

When the NFL announced their expansion franchises in 1993, St. Louis was SURE football was coming back to their city. They had fans gather in the thousands to cheer on the St. Louis Stallions, wearing the team's purple and gold horse logo proudly on their chests. The only problem? They didn't get the franchise. What's a oft-jilted city supposed to do with their fanatic football devotion - and ALL...

Should the PGA tour bring back wearing knickerbockers? Harry is joined by PGA TOUR LIVE Play-by-play commentator Jeff Eisenband to talk about Eben Byers's radioactive golfclubs, cheating at golf, and accidentally taking too much creatine to putt. CHAPTERS Intro (:00) Being U.S. Amateur Champion in 1906 (4:01) Yale's RICH Golfing History (9:18) Overdosing on Creatine (18:07) Capitalism and Twitter...

Eben Byers had it all. He was the 1906 National Amateur Golf champion. He was a millionaire before he was even born. He was such a ladies man they nicknamed him "Foxy Grandpa." He also had the misfortune of being the poster boy for the dangers of patent medicine. Byers thought he was taking a health supplement – a 2 oz shot of water that was part of the newest health craze in America – and ended u...

WARNING: making the recipes from the World Champion Los Angeles Lakers Are Cookin' cookbook can be hazardous to your health. Harry is joined by comedian and ball-knower Jamel Johnson to talk about NBA Championship Cookbooks, fancy cornbread, baking too much dairy, and if any of the Showtime Lakers could actually rap. CHAPTERS Intro (:00) Fancy Cornbread (1:00) Don't Put Dairy in the Oven (4:32) Di...

After winning their first NBA championship in more than 50 years, you can bet the 2026 New York Knicks are going to have a plethora of championship merch. There is ONE thing they’re not cooking up, however. Something that the Lakers and their wives came up with all the way back in 1985 – A Championship Cookbook. This kicked off a trend of NBA champs penning charity cookbooks until the Lakers thems...

If they made a sitcom based on George Brunet's life would it be a raunchier Ted Lasso? Harry is joined by Emma Baccellieri staff writer at Sports Illustrated and author of Court Queens and to talk about celebrating George Brunet's extraordinary career, Mexican baseball, and not wearing underwear to pitch. CHAPTERS Intro (:00) Finding George Brunet (1:11) Pitchers can last a WHILE in the league (3:...

The record for longest pro baseball career doesn't belong to Nolan Ryan and his 27 seasons in MLB. It belongs to George Brunet’s staggering 33 seasons of pro baseball. So why haven’t you heard of Brunet? In America, Brunet was just your typical Journeyman racking up 19 mediocre seasons in the Majors and Minors… but that was just a warmup for his JOURNEY, MAN. In his second act he became a Hall of...

Could the Football War happen again at the 2026 World Cup? Harry is joined by Dr. Nick Watanabe author of The Beautiful Game?: The Stories Shaping the Future of Soccer to dive into the Football War, FIFA's diplomatic responsibility and what happens to the players caught in the middle. CHAPTERS: Intro (:00) How pervasive is the fake narrative? (1:23) 1970 World Cup vs. 2026 World Cup (3:45) Does US...

EPISODE DESCRIPTION: In 1969, Honduras and El Salvador played three World Cup Qualifiers. The first match in Honduras ended in riots. The second in El Salvador, bloodshed. The third match in Mexico City would see El Salvador punch its ticket to the 1970 World Cup…and dissolve all diplomatic ties with Honduras. Then started the military strikes. Over the next 4 days, El Salvador advanced their forc...