Matter of Sports

Every professional sport takes a break sometime during their season to hold an all-star game. An exhibition that brings together all the best players to....what exactly? Do All-Star Games mean anything? Do you like to watch them? How many of them are even actual games anymore? In this episode, Kent Koen and Jon Madani discuss All-Star Games and if they really matter to the sport, the players and a...

What do you know about competitive eating? Probably you know about this guy named Joey who eats a whole lot of hot dogs every July 4th, right? Oh, but there is a whole lot more...a whole world of competition covering everything from barbeque to jalapeno poppers. In this episode, Kent Koen and Jon Madani take a deep dive into the world of competitive eating. The question is...can they make it back...

Welcome to Season 2 of A Matter of Sports! In honor of the new season, we bring you 2 topics: a wrap of the NBA Finals and a look at the Fanatics Games, a multisport, multi-skill level competition tailor made for the break between the other sports. Kent Koen and Jon Madani will take a look at both of these, Jon from his courtside seat and Kent from his couchside seat. This is Season 2... For infor...

We are taking a break this weekend to work our other jobs at the NBA Playoff and the College World Series and just being a bunch of Dads (Happy Father's Day!), but we will be back with Season 2 of Matter of Sports on June 28th. If there are any topics you would like us to discuss, go to MatterofSports.com and leave us a comment or suggestion. See you all for Season 2! For information about the pod...

One of the great debates in the world of sports is which sport has the best all around athletes. Can a basketball player excel in football? Could a baseball player have success on the ice playing hockey? In today's Matter of Sports, Kent Koen and Jon Madani ask that very important question...is bowling a sport? Uh, I mean, which sport has the absolute best athletes...and why are they not golfe...

Do you have a favorite sports movie? The underdog team that leaves it all on the field to go undefeated or a love story between a star athlete and his or her unlikely but never the less true love or any number or possibilities. Sports has been the setting for some of the greatest stories ever told in cinema, but which ones are the absolute best? Ask 10 different people and you will get 10 differen...

When he was a young lad in Philadelphia, Bill Schoening had a few dreams...to be a part of the great Philly Soul Sound, to play professional baseball or to be The Voice on the radio bringing sports to life for millions of fans. Guess which one he did? Okay, so maybe he did like one and a half. In this episode, Kent Koen and Jon Madani talk with Bill, the long time voice of the San Antonio Spurs, a...

Craig Colquitt is a man of many talents: he's a successful NFL punter with 2 Superbowl rings, he's a coach, a painter, an author and one hell of a stock boy who never broke a dish...but perhaps the most impressive goal is raising 2 sons who went on to successful careers as NFL punters each with their own Superbowl rings. In this episode, Kent Koen and Jon Madani talk to Craig about life, p...

Whenever you say the word March, any number of things come to mind...but if you add the word Madness to it, there is only one thing that comes to mind...or maybe 68 things. The NCAA Basketball Tournament is one of the premiere sporting events in the US every year and with that comes loads of debate. Perhaps chief among the debate topics every year is "is it too big or is it big enough?" In this ep...

American football is one of the most popular sports in the world but its also one that not everyone can play...maybe until now. There is a new version coming on strong that is open to more people, but it has been a part of most of our lives for a long time. On this episode, Kent Koen and Jon Madani discuss the soon to be new Olympic sport Flag Football. Who's gonna play? How will they be selec...

Remember what it was like getting near the end of your high school career and trying to decide what was coming next? Getting a job? Going to college? Which college? For some of us it was simple but not for everyone. Imagine being a highly talented highly recruited athlete who at 17 or 18 has to decide where to take that talent and what you really want to do with your life... In this episode, Kent...

So another Super Bowl has come and gone. Did you watch it? Of course you did...but did you watch it all? Did you watch for the game or just to see the commercials and the halftime show? Is it still the big event that we all think of or has it lost its luster? In the this episode, Kent Koen and Jon Madani take a look at just how super it is and just what is acceptable gameday food. For information...

Have you ever bet on a sporting event? Of course you have...everybody has. Whether its Vegas, squares at the office, or betting your neighbor, who is way too into the Patriots, that he has to wear a Chiefs jersey for a week if they win another Superbowl along with a hat that says "Mahomes is the real GOAT! Brady is a little lamb". So with all this gambling on sports happening, why is it...

Well it seems we couldn't leave well enough alone. In this episode of A Matter of Sports, Kent Koen and Jon Madani dive back into the miasma of politics in the sports world. Will the the U.S. Senate really get involved in College Football? Should they? Does it matter? Yes. No. Maybe.... For information about the podcast and links to further details on the issues we discuss, go to matterofsports.co...

This college football season will see nearly 50 bowl games by the time its all over. Do you care? Did you watch any of them? At one time, Bowl Season was the height of every college football season. Now with the new 12 team playoff and players opting out of bowl games to enter the transfer portal or prepare to go pro, many of the games don't seem to have the prestige they once did. In this episode...

Whether its antitrust in baseball, an Olympian with a fist raised in the air or a quarterback taking a knee, politics have been a part of the world of sports for a very long time. Should sports exist outside of politics? Can sports exist outside of politics? In this episode, Kent Koen and Jon Madani look at how politics has become interwoven with the fabric of sports and if that is something that...

What exactly is Dead Money? How did it die? What does it have to do with sports? In this episode, Kent Koen and Jon Madani discuss Dead Money in all its many forms and maybe come up with a way to bring it back from the dead. For information about the podcast and links to further details on the issues we discuss, go to matterofsports.com and send us your feedback at matterofsports@gmail.com. You ca...

How long have kickers been an afterthought in the game of football? A position that rarely gets drafted and never gets the top tier salary has never been a top priority of coaches and owners...well, maybe until now. Teams are now sometimes winning games without scoring a touchdown, only scoring by field goals and distances that seemed like a miracle in the past are now almost routine for some kick...

As the game of football and its players become bigger, stronger and faster, innovative enhancements to equipment are essential. From youth football to the elite level of the NFL, Riddell is leading the way in helmet technology and safety. Senior VP of Marketing & Communications Erin Griffin joins Kent Koen and Jon Madani to discuss the evolution of the company, helmet safety advancements and h...

What on earth is Padel? Did we spell it wrong? Is there a boat involved? No, Padel is a new...or not so new sport that is taking the nation by storm. Move over Pickleball, there's a new sheriff in town! Kent Koen and Jon Madani discuss why this is the new hot sport, what its all about and if Pickleball is suddenly old news. For information about the podcast and links to further details on the issu...

Do you have a Bucket List? A list of stuff you want to do before you "kick the bucket"? For some people it might be climbing Mt. Everest or eating in the best restaurant in New York or seeing a Taylor Swift show. For Kent Koen and Jon Madani, their lists are all about sports. In this episode of Matter of Sports, Kent and Jon talk about their sports bucket lists...and why golf is featured so promin...

They've been called "America's Team", but are they really? It's hard to argue with the success of the Dallas Cowboys as a business being the most financially successful franchise in the NFL, and under the ownership of Jerry Jones they have blazed many new trails and set the standard that every team owner wants to emulate...but are they a successful football team? Long time and long suffering Cowbo...

After every sports season, the people in charge look back on the season and talk about what went right and what didn't go so well. This can often lead to changes in the rules. Some of those changes are fun and add new life to the sport but often as not, they just seem a bit crazy. In this episode, Kent Koen and Jon Madani talk about some recent rules changes and if they work or if anybody unde...

Name, Image, Likeness. Three simple words that have changed the landscape of College Sports for good. Or is it for bad? In this episode of the Matter of Sports podcast, Kent Koen and Jon Madani take a look at NIL and what it means to College Sports now and in the future. If you have comments or questions about this or any episode of Matter of Sports, please drop us a line at matterofsports@gmail.c...

Is there anything bigger than the SEC? Certainly not in the world of College Football...and maybe in all the other college sports too. With the addition this season of Texas and Oklahoma, is there any sport where the SEC is not dominant? Hosts Kent Koen and Jon Madani tell us why its all about the SEC. For supplemental information and links to research we use, check out our website: matterofsports...