Pointless Exercise - A Desipio Podcast

Looking for a non-meatball take on the Bears' QB situation we reach out to The Guardian's Senior Writer Andrew Lawrence and he delivers. Though he lives in Atlanta now, so he wouldn't mind seeing Justin Fields play there. We talk about Netflix's Drive to Survive, the many interesting things going on with the F1 season upon us, and Drew just wrote a piece about Fanatics and Nike scr...

It's the 300th Pointless Exercise podcast (and you said it wouldn't last) and Andy and Mike Praznowski are giddy about the Cubs re-signing Cody Bellinger, but fearful that a sponsorship deal gone awry might have him in traction on opening day. They also lament the loss of the great Bailey Horn, or somebody they aren't really sure, are excited that the manager seems to grasp the obvious...

The Cubs have been playing somebody in left field every game for more than 125 seasons and in a few of those games the left fielder was actually good. The guys take a look back at the good, the bad and the Zuleta of guys who have played left. You will learn how Wildfire Schulte got his nickname, who the second best left fielder in franchise history is, why Billy Williams is the coolest, why Dave K...

National baseball writer David Brown joins the podcast to discuss all the hot topics like Nico Hoerner giving the longest "no" in recorded history, why baseball fans habitually side with teams over players and their agents, when will the 'Boras Four' sign, why the Cubs haven't improved their roster more, who would win the NL Central if rosters were frozen right now, did the C...

Tom Loxas joins the podcast to talk about what it would take for the Cubs to resign Cody Bellinger, what happens if they don't, and how Michael Busch and Petecrow Armstrong fit into all of this. They talk about the Cubs PECOTA projections and how close the Cubs are to actually building a good bullpen. Then, they talk about what the Bears are going to do with the number one overall pick, what J...

It's a solo pod and all the hot topics are hit on, when do the Cubs get to hug Carter Hawkins and could the Cubs turn that into a fundraiser? Why haven't they signed Cody Bellinger yet? What do they do if they don't sign Cody? Do they know their current roster is bad? How could they make getting a big payroll a game for Todd? And then why can't Chicago media adequately cover the Be...

The guys discuss the eerie quiet from Halas Hall as everyone awaits announcement on changes big or small or not at all. Andy goes on an unhinged rant about the future of the Bears' quarterback position and the Mikes take a more reasoned approach to what the smartest option would be. They discuss how even if Jim Harbaugh were the right move for the franchise just how much they don't want to...

All of your favorite Pointless Exercise podcasters have assembled to kiss off 2023 and look ahead to 2024. David Brown, Mike Donohue, Mike Pusateri and Mike Praznowski join Andy as they discuss what shocked them last year in all of Chicago sports and what crazy stuff lies ahead.

All hands are on deck for this week's Bears podcast and the guys discuss the win over the Falcons, Justin Fields and DJ Moore's perfect half, the Panthers handing them the number one overall pick and how a return to CBS is just the thing the Bears will need to slap around the Packers and knock them out of the playoffs. You'll learn the five things that will determine Justin Fields'...

If you haven't noticed, and judging by interest in the team, you haven't, the Bears have won FOUR straight home games. Really. Only one of the Mike P's was available for this week's podcast to revel in the Bears continued home dominance. Andy and Praz look back at a game you probably only saw parts of because it was on in the middle of the afternoon on Christmas Eve, and don't...

The guys are back to, incredibly, break down a THIRD Bears fourth quarter collapse, and they look ahead to the many different permutations this offseason could take. The Flus gone and Fields back, both gone, both back, what have you. Is Ryan Poles any good at this job? Was The Flus hired to be the Bears' Ricky Renteria? They talk about the Brown games' two Fail Marys, the defense's fou...

In part one (ep. 288) we brought in a young to help us look back on more recent Cubs collapses, but for this one we needed an old, so Forklift is here to discuss the Durocher, Franks, Frey and Riggleman editions of Cubs choke jobs, and they were plentiful. We ponder why the '69 era Cubs are so beloved considering they not only didn't win anything important they only won 90 games once. We t...

One thing we know for sure is that the Bears are better than the Lions. They kicked the LIons asses for 117 of the 120 minutes the two teams played against each other that year. But as the guys will tell you, that and two bucks will get you a cup of soup. The podcast meanders from the Bears impressive home win over the Lions, the resurgent defense continuing it's fine play, Mitch Trubisky comi...

David Ross' final season as Cubs manager resulted in one of the biggest end of season collapses in team history, but where does it rank? Remember This Crap becomes Remember This Collapse as the guys are joined by Mike Praznowski for a look at years the Cubs choked away the postseason from 2001 to the present. How does 2023 compare to collapses under the watches of Don Baylor, Dusty Baker, Lou...

Baseball expert and first time Hall of Fame voter David Brown is on the pod to talk about the Winter Meetings, the joys of the Opryland Hotel, guys falling into fountains and whether or not Shohei can hold up the entire the market. They make the case for why Shohei should get out and see more of the country, wonder how close the Cubs actually came to getting him last time, something Joe Maddon doe...

The guys celebrate another aesthetically satisfying Bears win by wondering how you can get an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for having someone try to rip your face mask off. They congratulate Matt Eberflus on finally winning a division game and wonder if he'd accept a demotion in lieu of getting fired after the season, and if he'd even notice if nobody told him. They try to make sense of...

The guys recap the Bears stunning yet inevitable (there has to be a German word for that) last second loss to the Lions and blame it all on the shifty Lions' timekeeper. They compare when in the game they realized the Bears were going to lose, they ponder what the mood in George's Camry was on the long ride from Detroit to Sycamore and, as one does, they Google whether or not Martha Firest...

With Mike Praznowski on the injured list it was up to Mike Pusateri and Andy to soldier on with a podcast focused intently on the Chicago Bears and their thrilling victory over the Panthers and upcoming tilt in Detroit. And on the actor's strike, and Chicken By George, and Craig Counsell's press conference and how to make an audio transcript online for free in just 15 easy steps. You'l...

The Bears take on the Panthers in one of the least anticipated Thursday Night Football games of all time, but it actually is a pretty important game for them. Not only could Justin Fields return, but since they own both their pick and the Panthers first rounder they win even if they lose. As every podcast should these days, it starts with the guys talking about the Cubs hiring Craig Counsell and f...

The way the rumor mill churns it's a rare thing to be completely shocked by sports news, but the Cubs pulled it off by stunning us by firing David Ross and replacing him with baseball's best manager, Craig Counsell. Did that really happen? Tom Loxas and Andy went on each other podcasts (at the same time--don't overthink it) to discuss the news, to give Jed Hoyer credit for it, and pond...

The guys have another riveting Bears loss to discuss, but there's also the trade deadline where the team spent another second round pick on a player at a position of need and dangled another young veteran defender for a possible deal. Why does Montez Sweat make sense for the Bears? Why would the Bears let Jaylon Johnson's agent investigate trade possibilities? What the hell is wrong with C...

The Bears and Chargers face off on Sunday night, so it's time to give the LA/SD/LA Chargers the Remember This Crap treatment. Where else are you going to get in-depth conversations about whether John Hadl went to Notre Dame, when was Sid Luckman the Bears' offensive coordinator, the best way to use Rolf Benirschke on a fake field goal, Chuck Woolery and Pat Sajak, Rico McDonald giving Juni...

The guys bask in the glow of the Bears' first home win in nearly 400 days and who better than longtime Bears fans to discuss the play of a backup quarterback. After all, no fanbase knows what bad backup quarterbacking looks like better than the Bears, and Tyson Bagent was far from bad. They talk about whether it's a good idea for Justin Fields to hurry back to face the Chargers, why this m...

The Athletic's Jon Greenberg discusses the interviews he did for the 20th anniversary oral history he wrote on the 2003 Cubs. Mark Prior, Kerry Wood, Dusty Baker, E-ramis Ramirez, Jim Hendry, Gabor Bako, Eric Karros, Shawn Estes and more (all the stars) talked about their fond and not so fond memories of that season that was really great until it wasn't. Find out which ex-Cubs dodged his c...

The Bears just cannot have nice things. After Justin Fields put his best nine quarters of football together, he face planted figuratively in the first half and then literally as his facemask made his thumb bend in the wrong direction. The guys talk about Tyson Bagent's debut, the health prognosis on Fields (and what clues we can take from the Bears signing Trace McSorley and that likely means...