The Moonlight Graham Show

In an age of sport specialization, the multi-sport athlete is more fascinating than ever. In this week's episode, Tim and Neil discuss the best dual-sport athletes of their lifetimes.

Now that Black Friday and Cyber Monday have come and gone, Moonlight Graham Show is getting in on the two-for-one deals. No, we aren't talking about merch, although we have that too, we are talking about major league arm talent. Pat Venditte is the only true ambidextrous pitcher in MLB history.    Pat Venditte wasn't born ambidextrous. His dad, a former college ball player, trained Pat to throw le...

This week the Moonlight Graham Show takes a dip, and we aren't talking about the Thanksgiving appetizers. What better time for our first episode about swimming than just as the first rounds of snow hit the ground? Tim sits down with Paul Jensen and Don Appleby of the 1985 Minnesota state swimming champions from Burnsville High School. This team was a true underdog story.   Minnesota might be the l...

Sports are about so much more than wins and losses. At the same time, though, sports aren't nearly as fun if you don't care about wins and losses. At the middle school and high school level, more than anything else, sports are about learning life lessons and building relationships. It takes a special kind of coach to be able to balance the drive to develop young people and develop competitors. Mik...

This week's episode features an upcoming prospect. We don't mean a guy projected to develop into something special; we mean a diamond in the rough uncut gem. John Klein has only been pitching for four seasons, yet he recently signed with the Minnesota Twins. It all began with a chance to move to the mound in high school, which set his baseball career on a new trajectory.   Like many Minnesota kids...

There isn't a more perfect way to kick off this season of the podcast than with a perfect game. Most of us probably think about the pitcher when we hear 'perfect game,' but on the Moonlight Graham Show, we are looking for someone behind the scenes. Two-time Moonlighter Pat Hoberg is working his first World Series, and we didn't want to miss a pitch. And as it turns out, neither did he. Pat Hoberg...

Every once in a while, a Moonlighter just falls into your lap. Matt Buschmann connected to the podcast on Twitter, and, as it turns out, he was just the kind of story we are looking for. Matt Buschmann is a 10-year minor league baseball veteran who made three appearances in the Majors. When his playing days were done, he became the bullpen coach for the Toronto Blue Jays. Buschmann has the kind of...

Neil and Tim discuss the CyHawk showdown this Saturday, Albert Pujols, Aaron Judge, and the new King of England.

Jon Wisnieski's name may be hard to spell, but it is even harder to forget for Des Moines metro Hawkeye fans. He was a star from Dowling Catholic High School and a highly touted recruit heading east to Iowa City. Jon played alongside some of the top names coming out of Tight End U during his five years in black and gold. Injuries sidetracked his college career but haven't slowed him down since. Ju...

This week things get really nice on the podcast. That's right, the Iowa Nice Guy, filmmaker, actor, and Moonlighter Scott Siepker returns to the pod to talk about his new feature-length documentary film, Kinnick . Scott and Tim take the pod outdoors for an early fall evening conversation about Nile Kinnick and the years-long journey that Siepker set out on to tell the famous Iowan's story.    Nile...

Once again, Moonlight Tim returns to the course with Sam Meuret. This time they head west for the Mid-Amateur Qualifier. Like our previous episodes with Sam, this pod was recorded in two parts. Part one of the interview is Tim and Sam on the road to Shadow Ridge, and part two is the road home. The relationship between the caddie and the golfer is like the pitching coach and the ace or the quarterb...

The MLB coming to Iowa has led to many changes around the state over the last two years. Last year's game with the Yankees and White Sox was a spectacle. The sights and sounds of the movie site and new stadium, coupled with the production of a national broadcast and MLB, drew millions of eyes to the state. Tim and Neil attended the game as part of their official duties for the podcast and had the...

Game. Set. Sibling rivalry. This week the Moonlight Graham Show takes the pod on the road to the All Iowa Lawn Tennis Club in Charles City, Iowa. This little-known gem has earned the nickname "The Court of Dreams." The AILTC might be the only true grass tennis court in the state. It is styled after, and named after, the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, which hosts the iconic Wimbledon Cha...

The term GOAT just gets thrown around right now. The goat emoji is tagged on every highlight on social media, and every recruit is the next big thing. This "prisoner of the moment" mentality also leads us to compare eras. Some are convinced that guy wouldn't stand a chance today or that no one could ever match the dominance of a certain era. Guys like Shohei Ohtani come along in the midst of the n...

This week's Moonlighter goes way back with Moonlight Tim. Eric Stein was a sophomore leader for the Iowa Central Tritons when Tim joined the team as a freshman. Even as a 19-year-old, Eric Stein's baseball IQ made it clear that his future was in coaching if he wanted it. Roughly 18 years after that first meeting, Tim sits down with Eric to talk about Stein's progression from player to head coach f...

Sometimes an athlete has to evolve their game to become a role player. Sometimes a role player evolves into being a star. This week's Moonlighter went from being a backup on his middle school team to becoming a first-round pick in the NFL draft. Trevor Penning grew up, and we certainly do mean grew, in small town Iowa. He went to a small high school and then an FCS school. But now, at 6'7 and 330...

There are few roles more important than that of coach. Part mentor, part cheerleader, part teacher part disciplinarian, and sometimes even part father or mother figure. This week's Moonlighter fits those descriptors to a T. Marty Sutherland has spent most of his life in sports and played a prominent role in the lives of countless young men. Marty Sutherland checks all of the boxes of a prototypica...

This week Neil and Tim discuss the current state of attendance in the MLB and the astounding fact that over 600,000 fans attend baseball games each day.

One thing that we love about sports is the way that no matter how old we get, sports stay the same. Depending on where we are in our lives, we can be the athlete, the fan, the coach, or even the dad. This week's Moonlighter has a perspective on wrestling from every angle. The former high school and D1 wrestler now wears the hats of coach and dad. Adam Fellers has seen it all and has a take on just...

All-time leading scorer and role player don't really fit in the same sentence. But in the case of this week's Moonlighter, they are both a part of his story. Brooks McKowen graduated high school having set a new standard for Iowa high school basketball players. While at UNI he became a new player. When he hung up the sneakers, he found another role holding a clipboard. No matter what role he takes...

The College World Series has been in Omaha since1950. Would college baseball benefit from alternating sites? 

At an imposing 6'7, this week's Moonlighter might look the part but his path to professional sports had a dog leg or two. Sean Johnson grew up an athlete playing hockey and baseball and though he made a run at a professional baseball career, it was his skills from the ice that has helped him to launch. Johnson is now making a name for himself in professional long drive golf competitions.    Sean J...

This week on the Moonlight Baseball Hour we discuss the role of the modern MLB manager along with the excitement of the college baseball postseason. Don't forget to go out and play some catch this weekend!

"Hey Dad, you want to have a catch?"   We all know the iconic line. The moment when Ray and his dad connect at the end of the movie. They have a deep conversation about the significance of both family and, of course, the state of Iowa. Just when it feels like the moment is over, Ray asks his dad to play catch. There is one subtle moment in that scene that makes it truly profound. Maybe you didn't...

This week on the Moonlight Baseball Hour Neil and Tim break down the Joc Pederson and Tommy Pham fantasy football flame out, which has become one of the most fun off-the-field storylines baseball has seen in years. They also look into how many sets up twins have appeared in an MLB game along with Byron Buxton's frigid month of May.