Hooks & Runs

The Astros split the first two with Philadelphia in Houston as Justin Verlander's World Series woes continue. A Game 3 weather postponement in Philadelphia brings out the conspiracy buffs. Taylor Swift's "Midnights" breaks records.  Join the Hooks & Runs Discord Community https://discord.gg/tT8d3pVUsN Check It Out Craig recommends Emily Scott Robinson 's EP " Buil...

The Houston Astros return to the World Series for the fourth time in six years - we have a preview and our predictions. Elton John cancels (not reschedules, cancels) his November 4 show at Minute Maid Park - it conflicts with Game 6. Andrew's goose is cooked.  Join the Hooks & Runs Discord Community https://discord.gg/tT8d3pVUsN Check It Out: Andrew - Kenshi Yonezu, " Kick Back ,&quo...

Join the Hooks & Runs Discord Community https://discord.gg/tT8d3pVUsN Alex Boyajian from Chaotically Intolerant (links below) joins us this week to discuss all things baseball including the ideal playoff format for baseball, the just completed divisional series, the upcoming league championship series, the Judge vs Ohtani debate and more. Chaotically Intolerent podcast on: Anchor : https://anc...

Join our Discord - see below for links! We start this week's episode in the cheeriest of moods following Yordan Alvarez's dramatic walk-off home run to give Houston a 1-0 lead in the best of five Divisional Series with Seattle. From there we contemplate whether home field advantage any big advantage at all in baseball, meditate over how much if at all the 5-days rest will effect the four...

The Seahawks and Lions produce an improbable Scorigami as Andrew wrestles with the concept. The Braves sweep the Mets and prove the Hooks & Runs teams are not meteorologists. The playoffs are all but set. Aaron Judge hits No. 62. Craig goes to an Astro game and has too much time on his hands. Rex sees Riot Act at Warehouse Live. Check It Out Rex recommends Riot Act 's 2020 single " O...

Join our Discord community - https://discord.gg/E43RK8Fk . This week, Prof. D. Quentin Miller (Suffolk) joins us to discuss Bob Dylan's Grammy winning album Time Out of Mind on its 25th Anniversary. What does a great album mean to us in the streaming age? Also, more historic home run balls, Cleveland's surge, Astro & Dodger firsts, and more baseball as the season draws to a close. Ch...

When William Howard Taft, our 27th president, began a tradition by throwing out the first pitch at the Washington Senators' opening day game in 1910, three presidents had been assassinated in the prior 45 years - the equivalent today of having three presidents assassinated while in office since 1977. Yet, Taft went to that ballgame on a whim that afternoon and sat right on the front row, by t...

Aaron Judge had 55 home runs with 20 games to play as when Hooks & Runs recorded this episode - Judge is chasing Roger Maris's team and AL 61-home run record, but is anyone ever going to challenge Bonds' MLB record 73. Given that Judge is 21 home runs ahead of his nearest competition (Mike Trout), that day is hard to imagine. Also this week, a look at the controversial MLB rules chan...

This week on Hooks & Runs, an appreciation for Wash Allen and The Wash Allen Show, a Houston institution; Craig made a guest appearance on the Chaotically Intolerant Podcast ; on being a week early in our college football episode; our two cents on the 2023 MLB schedule and its balanced format; revisiting the Jeff Bagwell trade; who's hot & who's not with a month to go in the MLB...

Hooks & Runs takes a brief detour from the pennant races to look at the 2022 college football season and in particular, the sport's changing landscape as the FBS conferences confront realignment, new TV deals, changes to the playoff system and more. Grant McGalliard, co-host of Purple Theory , a  podcast about college football numbers and narratives, focusing on TCU and the Big 12, joins...

Several teams are chasing either a Central Division title or a wild card bid - this week we look at these teams and handicap the races for the 7 playoff spots not seemingly claimed by the two New Yorks, Houston, Atlanta and the Dodgers. Check It Out: Andrew  recommends " The Blacktounge Thief, " a recent book by Christopher Buehlman. Craig recommends a live performance of Eminem's &...

This week, Fernando Tatis, Jr., is suspended 80 games for violating MLB's performance enhancing drug policy, Houston loses Michael Brantley for the year, Does anybody remember Ken Giles, an important anniversary for Guy Hecker and SMU alums pick the wrong time to cut corners. Check It Out Rex remembers Grim Reaper front man Steve Grummett who passed away this week at 62 by recommending their...

The Angels deliver an unusual MLB first, The race for the best record in the American League tightens.  A look at the Jordan Montgomery, Harrison Bader trade between the Yanks and Cards, Lance McCullers' rehab assignment in Sugar Land and Jacob deGrom's return to Queens. Do the Padres regret dealing so many prospects? Should we pay attention to any Central Divisions? Plus, our weekly rec...

After a debate over slowcore vs shoegaze, Andrew, Craig and Rex discuss three major acquisitions for the Houston Astros, the San Diego Padres blockbuster deal for Juan Soto and Josh Bell (and the Washington Nationals prospect haul in return) and other assorted trade deadline deals. They also dismissed the idea that the Angels would ever consider trading Shohei Ohtani and evaluated Mike Trout'...

This week Andrew and Craig review the 2022 All-Star Game and examine, Toronto's 28-5 blowout win over Boston and Houston's options as the trade deadline approaches. Errata: TV has blurred catcher's signs since 2021. As of the recording date, the Yankees were 65-30, not 65-35. Check It Out: Andrew is looking forward to the recently announced Trivium show at the Houston House of Blues...

In this week's episode, recorded an hour before the All-Star game first pitch, Andrew, Craig and Rex discuss the 2022 All Star Game in Los Angeles, Juan Soto's contact and the Nationals' Soto dilemma, the Mariner and Oriole hot streaks, Wynona Ryder, Game of Thrones and the Coheed & Cambria concert last weekend at the Whitewater Ampitheatre in New Braunfels.  Check It Out Craig...

This week amid summer travel, we are rerunning our interview with Professor Brad Bajukjian who discusses his 2020 L. A. Times bestseller and an NPR Best Book of 2020, " The Wax Pack: On the Road in Search of Baseball's Afterlife ." Hooks & Runs will return next week. Check It Out: Craig  recommends John Doe's latest release, " Fables in a Foreign Land ." This is t...

Following last week story from Professor Peter Dreier about Sam Nahem and the G. I. World Series in Europe, 1945, Craig and Rex dive deep into baseball during World War II. Today, the stories of Bert Shepard and Lou Brissie , two American heroes who suffered horrific injuries in battle but overcame to pitch in the Major Leagues. Also, Craig and Rex survey the players who served and were later indu...

This week Professor Peter Dreier (Occidental College) joins Hooks & Runs to discuss his new book, " Baseball Rebels: The Players, People and Social Movements That Shook Up the Game and Changed America " (Univ. Nebraska Press, 2022), co-authored with Prof. Robert Elias. The conversation covers not only well known names in baseball history like Bill Veeck and Larry Doby but also little...

This week, Andrew, Craig and Rex riff on the Astros' amazing two immaculate inning game, Jeremy Pena's injury and his replacements, the price for a first MLB home run ball, squabbles among Orioles' team owners, and the line-up for this week's Glastonbury festival. We closed by going "off the rails" in the "Check It Out" segment. Errata: The Astros acquired P...

Professor Jeremi Duru , a nationally recognized sports law expert, joins us this week to talk about a baseball-related U.S. Supreme Court case, Flood v. Kuhn , decided 50 years ago this week (June 19, 1972, to be exact). The case sparked the movement that birthed the free agency era in baseball and sports. Curt Flood was an All-Star and Gold Glove center fielder for the St. Louis Cardinals during...

This week, Craig shills Hooks & Runs' Spotify playlists ; the gang discusses Houston signing Yordan Alvarez to a 6-year, $115M contract and also, the 2022 luxury tax results. Check It Out! Rex: Anthrax is releasing their 40 year anniversary record, "Anthrax XL," on July 15 -- they are streaming " Aftershock " as a teaser this week. Andrew: Andrew went fishing this week...

Jim Ruland ("Forest of Fortune," "Do What You Want: The Story of Bad Religion") joins us this week to discuss his wonderful new book "Corporate Rock Sucks: The Rise and Fall of SST Records" (available at your local indie bookstore or at bookshop.org ). Black Flag, Hüsker Dü, The Minutemen, Sonic Youth, Screaming Trees and so many more influential bands called SST home...

Christian Bonner and Tim Lindsey have a wonderful podcast, " Under the Radar: A Rolling Stones Podcast ," so we invited them to our show to discuss the Rolling Stones' classic double album, "Exile on Main Street," fifty years after its release. We had a fun time talking about our favorite cuts, how the album rates in the Stones' catalog and what explains the album&apo...

The Texas Rangers guaranteed half a billion dollars this off-season to a pair of middle infielders who are hitting a combined .209 through May 19th. Sure, it's early, but we guess someone in Arlington - maybe the guy that promoted the contracts - is more than a little nervous about this. Also this week, Jake Odorizzi's injury, a look at the Austin City Limits Festival headliners . And fi...