Pod of Fame

Jim is joined by NBA podcaster Jackson Lloyd to discuss the hall of fame candidacy of former NBA swingman Michael Finley. First, Jackson and Jim discuss Finley's remarkable minutes per game numbers, as well as his durability throughout his 15-year NBA career (4:54). Next, they cover the 2003 Western Conference Finals, how Finley's career looks somewhat similar to Mitch Richmond's caree...

Jim is joined by Zach Schwartz from Buckets to discuss the hall of fame candidacy of former NBA swingman Detlef Schrempf. First, Zach and Jim discuss the 1996 NBA Finals and Detlef's role as a member of the Seattle SuperSonics (5:26). Next, they cover Detlef's 1993 NBA season, where he became the first European player to be selected to an all-star team, compare his game to Chris Mullin, discuss De...

Jim is joined by his childhood friend and lifelong Chicago Bears fan Jake Anderson to discuss the hall of fame candidacy of former Bears return man Devin Hester. First, Jim and Jake talk about Hester's first two record-breaking seasons in the NFL, including his kick return touchdown that kicked off Super Bowl XLI (7:35). Next, they cover his field goal return touchdown, discuss how Hester remi...

Jim welcomes baseball writer, HOF voter, and New York Times best-selling author Joe Posnanski to discuss his new book, “Why We Love Baseball: A History in 50 Moments." First, Joe covers his process for how he selected the top 50 moments, including the formula he used to "score" moments throughout baseball history (5:14). Then, they discuss Al Gionfriddo's famous catch in the 194...

Jim is joined by sports transactional attorney and host of the podcast 32 Fans, Alex Chester, to discuss the hall of fame candidacy of NFL defensive end Jared Allen. First, Alex breaks down Allen's historic Monday Night Football performance in 2009 (9:10). Next, they cover the similarities between Allen and HOFer Jason Taylor, attempt to create a sack milestone that automatically grants a tick...

Jim welcomes Rustin Dodd, writer at The Athletic, and Mark Dent, features writer at The Hustle, to discuss their new book, “Kingdom Quarterback: Patrick Mahomes, the Kansas City Chiefs, and How a Once Swingin' Cow Town Chased the Ultimate Quarterback.” Jim, Rustin, and Mark first cover the main themes of the book that tackles the history of Kansas City, Patrick Mahomes, and the Kansas City Chi...

The 2023 Basketball Hall of Fame Class was inducted over this past weekend, the 2023 Football Hall of Fame Class was inducted the previous weekend, and the 2023 Baseball Hall of Fame Class was inducted two weeks prior to that. To put it frankly, we all caught induction fever over the past month. Now, we look forward to the 2024 HOF Classes. Jim covers the biggest new names to enter the 2024 HOF co...

Jim is joined by sportswriter for The Messenger, Neil Paine, to break down the hall of fame candidacy of former MLB starting pitcher Kevin Brown. Jim and Neil first cover Brown's nasty sinker and how that translated to Brown giving up very few home runs despite playing in the steroids era (5:49). Then, they discuss the significance of Brown making back-to-back World Series as the ace of differ...

On our first official Pod of Fame Book Club episode, Jim welcomes longtime NFL writer and Football Hall of Fame voter Gary Myers to discuss his latest book, “Once a Giant: A Story of Victory, Tragedy, and Life After Football.” Jim and Gary first cover the main themes of the book that highlights the 1986 New York Giants and the lives of the players since retiring from the NFL (4:49). Then, they deb...

Scott Rolen and Fred McGriff were officially inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame on Sunday. But do they belong? Jim takes a look at Scott Rolen's career and how it compares to Hall of Fame third baseman George Brett and future Hall of Fame third baseman Adrián Beltré (7:18). Then, he replays last year's conversation on the HOF candidacy of Fred McGriff with USA Today Baseball Columnist...

Jim is joined by the Kansas City Chiefs writer for The Athletic, Nate Taylor, to discuss the hall of fame candidacy of former Chiefs safety, Eric Berry. First, Nate and Jim discuss Berry's qualities as a leader for the Chiefs during the 2010s (7:48). Next, they cover his return to the NFL after battling Hodgkin's lymphoma, the similarities between Berry and HOFer Kenny Easley, and where Be...

Jim is joined by the host of the Locked on Blazers Podcast, Mike Richman, to discuss the hall of fame candidacy of former NBA big man LaMarcus Aldridge. First, Mike and Jim discuss Aldridge's advanced offensive game from the left block (4:44). Next, they cover his dominant performance in round one of the 2014 NBA playoffs, his 56-point performance in 2019, and similarities between Aldridge, Ch...

Jim is joined by the host of the Locked on White Sox podcast, Nick Murawski, to discuss the hall of fame candidacy of former MLB slugger, Dick Allen. First, Nick and Jim cover Allen's 1972 AL MVP season and where it ranks among the best White Sox MVP seasons in franchise history (10:15). Next, they discuss how Allen compares to other sluggers of the era, such as Willie Stargell and Willie McCo...

Following last Thursday's NBA Draft, Jim provides a recap of the winners and losers of the draft that went a little longer than usual (4:06). Then, as he does every year, he provides WAY too early HOF predictions for the players of the 2023 NBA Draft Class (20:01). Throughout the podcast, we cover Victor Wembanyama, Scoot Henderson, Cason Wallace, Jalen Hood-Schifino, and many more NBA draftee...

Jim is joined by lead NFL draft analyst and Chicago Bears writer for Windy City Gridiron, Jacob Infante, to discuss the hall of fame candidacy of former Bears cornerback, Charles "Peanut" Tillman. First, Jim and Jacob cover the first thing that comes to anyone's mind when they think of Tillman, the "Peanut Punch" (10:00). Next, they discuss his twice a year duels with Calvi...

Jim is joined by NFL Writer for CBS Sports, Bryan DeArdo, to discuss the hall of fame candidacy of former Pittsburgh Steelers defensive end, L.C. Greenwood. First, Jim and Bryan cover Greenwood's role on The Steel Curtain (5:39). Next, they discuss Super Bowl IX and Super Bowl X, compare Greenwood to a few defensive ends already in Canton, and debate whether there is a limit to how many player...

Jim is joined by sports reporter at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and host of the podcast "Locked on Steelers," Chris Carter, to discuss the hall of fame candidacy of former Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver, Hines Ward. First, Chris and Jim cover Ward's elite blocking ability and whether his reputation as a "dirty player" was warranted (7:39). Next, they discuss Super Bowl X...

On May 18th, Hall of Famer Jim Brown passed away at the age of 87. On May 22nd, Carmelo Anthony announced his retirement from the NBA after a 19-year career. In the first half of the podcast, we talk about the Carmelo Anthony's career and legacy (6:14). Then, we cover Jim Brown's NFL career, as well as his life off the field, both good and bad (23:44).

In Part 2 of the Peja Stojaković episode, Jim and Wando each build their own Mount Rushmore featuring their favorite European basketball players ever.

Jim is joined by friend of the pod David "Wando" Wandolowski to break down down the hall of fame candidacy of former NBA swingman, Peja Stojaković. First, Jim and Wando cover the first wave of European stars to enter the NBA (10:14). Next, they discuss Peja's 4th place finish in the 2004 MVP vote, how Peja was essentially Toni Kukoc 2.0, and Peja's membership in the entirely made...

Jim is joined by historian and author Clayton Trutor to break down down the hall of fame candidacy of former MLB pitcher Bartolo Colón . First, Jim and Clayton discuss the many teams Colón pitched for over the course of his career and how he made an impact on all eleven ball clubs (8:12). Next, they cover Colón's pitching resurgence after hitting the age of 40, detail how he compares to HOFers...

Jim is joined by Bob Hille, Senior Editorial Consultant at Sporting News, to discuss the hall of fame candidacy of former MLB center fielder, Jim Edmonds. First, Bob and Jim cover the 2000s St. Louis Cardinals and where Edmonds ranked in the pecking order among Albert Pujols, Scott Rolen, Yadier Molina, and others (6:23). Next, they discuss Jim's famous catch in Game 7 of the 2004 NLCS, whethe...

After dedicating what felt like his entire weekend to watching draft coverage, Jim makes way too early predictions on what five newly drafted players have the best chance of making the Football Hall of Fame. We cover two cornerbacks, a defensive lineman, a wide receiver, and of course, a quarterback.

Jim is joined by Minnesota Vikings beat writer for Sports Illustrated, Will Ragatz, to discuss the hall of fame candidacy of former Vikings defensive tackle, Kevin Williams. First, Will and Jim discuss the Williams Wall, the dominant Vikings interior defensive line combo of Kevin and Pat Williams (7:09). Next, they try to pinpoint Williams' best NFL season, compare Williams to HOFer Cortez Ken...

Jim is joined by Neil Paine, acting sports editor at FiveThirtyEight, to break down the hall of fame candidacy of former NBA shooting guard, Eddie Jones. Jim and Neil first discuss Eddie's quick rise and fall in the Los Angeles Lakers organization before he was shipped to the Charlotte Hornets to make way for a rising shooting guard named Kobe Bryant (4:58). Then, they cover Eddie's performance in...