Hooks & Runs

Andrew and Craig begin the episode with Q & A; from the college football coaching carousel to early free agent signings to the Rockets' futility to the roller derby's Guardians' lawsuit against baseball's guardians to Carlos Correa's status to progress (or not) on baseball's collective bargaining negotiations. From there, chapter two looks back at the film "M...

This week, Andrew and Craig take a final, wistful look at the 2021 World Series and are happy they do not have to spend to off-season grousing over a blown call or single lost opportunity They also review the crowded free agent shortstop field, Justin Verlander's possible return to Houston and Buster Posey's retirement. In Chapter 2, a look at baseball's biggest innings, starting wi...

As World Series, Game Six gets underway, Craig and Andrew welcome Cousin Wolf , the indie-folk music project by Matt Halvorson , a Seattle-based musician, songwriter, artist, and activist. Cousin Wolf has released videos and songs this year about some interesting, compelling baseball players - players like Jackie Robinson, Lou Gehrig, Carl Mays to name three. These songs, nine ultimately, will be...

In this episode, Craig and Andrew break down the Astros vs Braves World Series. Not surprisingly, both predict the Astros to win but not entirely without reservation. In the second segment Andrew grades Craig's pre-season individual award selections. Craig's picks from Episode 55. Check It Out! Craig: Miko Marks & the Resurrectors, "Race Records" on Spotify Andrew: Nothing...

Hooks & Runs' one-month summer hiatus turned into almost four but we're back, now recording live at Shades Nightclub, in west  Bay City. In this episode, Craig and guest co-host Andrew look at the League Championship Series that we now know produced a Houston Astro vs Atlanta Brave World Series. Also, a foray into the inevitable Babe Ruth vs Shohei Ohtani comparison plus Andrew grade...

Lot's on the plate this episode ... the Astros are riding high with a 10-game winning streak; the Giants just keep winning; a fun college baseball trivia game; Carl Nassib doesn't want attention and a look at the NBA conference finals.

Chapter 1 - Fun With Statistics. The Astros wrapped up a 6-3 road trip wherein they hit .325 and are looking ahead to a key 4-games series back home against the White Sox. Also, strange statistics from Yasmani Grandal, Jacob deGrom and, of course, Shohei Ohtani. Why did so many people attend Johnny Vander Meer's second no-hitter, remembering former Astro Tim Tolman and a look at spin rates. C...

 With concert tours and festival announcements coming down the pike almost daily, Hooks & Runs turns to Cillea Houghton, a Nashville-based freelance writer and creator. She writes about the country music scene mostly--her work has been featured in No Depression, Variety, USA Today, Taste of Country, Sounds Like Nashville just to name a few. She joins Eric and Craig this week to talk country mu...

Sit and Listen To It Rain! In this episode Eric and Craig welcomed Kevin Edelson from Closer Monkey, one of our favorite websites. Closer Monkey tracks all 30 MLB bullpens and meticulously tracks the bullpen hierarchies. We discussed dozens of closers, past closers and potential future closers plus trends like position players taking the mound, closers in free agency and more. If you are a fantasy...

Eric Nusbaum published a compelling first book last Spring, "Stealing Home; Los Angeles, the Dodgers and the Lives Caught in Between"---the story how Los Angeles condemned and violently evicted families in three Mexican-American neighborhoods to give to the Dodgers. This week, Nusbaum joins us to talk about his wonderful book and how clearly this almost forgotten story from L.A.'s p...

This week Hooks & Runs wraps up its series on the six MLB divisions with Sara Sanchez who discusses the Chicago Cubs, the division and a quick "real or mirage" game with a few hot starters. Sanchez is a contributing writer at Bleed Cubbie Blue , podcasts at Cuppa Cubbie Blue and is a contributor at FanGraphs .  In Chapter Two, Eric and Craig lament the Astros COVID-19 troubles and th...

Country Westerns self-titled debut album released last summer and later landed on many best-of 2020 lists, including our own (Ep. 43). This week we have the Country Westerns - guitarist Joey Plunket, drummer Brian Kotzur and bassist Sabrina Rush - who talked about the winding road that brought them together, the band's progress to the Fat Possum record deal and their debut album, and musician...

After a week in deep freeze and power adventures that shuttered last week's episode, Hooks & Runs returns with two interviews. First up, Tiffany and Caitlin Saunders , hometown extreme racers now residing in Austin. For several years now, Tiff and Cait have traveled the country and globe competing in Ironman competitions. We talked with them about the progression from beginner racer to Ir...

Eric and Craig this week continue their interest in how fans engage, interact and consume music in the streaming age. Today's guest, Angela Stefano , editor in chief of TheBoot.com , a leading Nashville-based country and Americana music blog, has some interesting ideas about the subject. The discussion begins with Eric Church's recent announcement on releasing three separate albums in Ap...

Our guest this week is Tamara Saviano , author, journalist, publicist and Grammy-nominated record producer, who is releasing this spring her documentary about Guy and Susanna Clark called " Without Getting Killed or Caught ." Saviano, a long-time friend and collaborator with the Clarks has made a wonderful film that tells the story how Clark and his contemporaries like Townes Van Zandt,...

Larry Lester , the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) Negro League Committee Chair and co-founder of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City joined us for an exclusive interview this week. Lester, also a prolific author Harry Chadwick Award winner for his exhaustive research into Negro Leagues history, spoke about Major League Baseball's long overdue recognition of the Neg...

 In this episode Eric and Craig interviewed author Scott Russell. Russell has released an authorized biography, " The Spaceman Chronicles: The Life of the Earthling Named Bill Lee ," about, unsurprisingly, Bill "Spaceman" Lee -- not only a talented pitcher but perhaps more notably among the most colorful characters in Major League Baseball history, As it happened, Bill Lee phon...

Hooks & Runs welcomes Adam Gussow , Professor of English and Southern Studies at the University of Mississippi, musician & recording artist and author of " Whose Blues? Facing Up to Race and the Future of Music " (North Carolina Press, 2020). Gussow's book is a virtual social and cultural encyclopedia covering blues history from its earliest days to the present where blues m...

In this, the final episode before season 2 begins next week, Eric and Craig review their top albums from 2020 along with some favorite songs, favorite under the radar albums, most disappointing albums and top cover songs. We know 2020 has been tough on everyone and appreciate everyone who listened and made our first year a success. Have a safe and happy new year and all the best for 2021!

In this episode we welcome our guest Brad Balukjian, scientist, journalist, champion of the underdog and author of the 2020 best seller "The Wax Pack: On the Open Road in Search of Baseball’s Afterlife." In 2015, Balukjian started with a single pack of baseball cards and criss-crossed the country in a quest to find the players in the pack. Balulkjian turned the road trip into an L.A. Tim...

Eric and Craig interview Bill Rogan, author of " Life Ain't The Same In The Pecos League: A Rookie Manager Navigates Baseball's Most Notorious Independent League." Rogan, an author, broadcaster, journalist and life-long baseball fanatic, managed the Tucson Saguaros in the Pecos League in 2019 and wrote this book about the experience. Bill has a million stories from that experie...