Pointless Exercise - A Desipio Podcast

When a 102-year-old matriarch of an NFL team dies you have to do an emergency podcast to help people through their shock. Or maybe you just do a regularly scheduled solo pod to talk about that, the Cubs still kind of pursuing Alex Bregman, their commitment to mediocre TV announcers, Super Bowl props, the Bulls staggering in place and more.

There's plenty of Cubs intrigue to talk about with the team apparently involved in trade discussions with the Padres for a top of the rotation starter and/or a closer, so Praz and Oleg are on hand to discuss it all. But it's a podcast done with heavy hearts as the guys have to bid adieu to the great Nick Madrigal. How will they ever cope? They also discuss how much PECOTA likes the Cubs, a...

The Cubs roster might smell like it's pretty well done (or it might smell like something you have to bag up at the dog park), but they are still being linked to a number of moves, including a trade for a former hot shot prospect of their own and a very old reliever that they had just a couple of years ago. Tom Loxas is on hand to discuss whether the Cubs are really serious about trading for Dylan...

Spring is just around the corner so it's time to bring in David Brown to talk about the Cubs and Alex Bregman, owners disingenuity about free agency, going to Japan, fun with the automated ball and strike appeal system, the evil Dodgers, Rob Manfred's reign after 10 years, the pitch clock, pitcher injuries and much, much more.

In a wide-ranging discussion, Kelly Dwyer and I discuss an inexpensive way to get ice off your driveway, why the Bulls aren't bright enough to have a lottery pick next year, why Arturas doesn't like to fill out trade paperwork, if Lonzo Ball will get a cadaver surgery named after him, Barron Hilton, Randal Grichuk, who was going to play Diane on  Cheers  before Shelly Long, how Woody Harre...

The Cubs Convention came and went and Praz got to rub elbows with famous Cubs. The guys talk about the weekend, try to make sense of Tom Ricketts financial theories and tell you why you shouldn't be mad at the Dodgers, especially since the Cubs could do all of that if they actually wanted to. They discuss Matt Shaw's readiness at third, Nico's totally real injury and why it's a goo...

The Cubs Convention is looming, Kyle Tucker has a new (short) contract, and is Alex Bregman on the way? The Bears are talking in person to Mike "The Beav" McCarthy and is Tom Brady tampering with Ben Johnson? Bob Uecker's gone. And the Sun-Times has its list of the 20 best and five worst (only five?) sports media folks in Chicago. Tom Loxas joins Andy to discuss all of this and more.

The Bears have whittled their list of coaching candidates down to a cool 15, and Tom Loxas drops by to give his thoughts on who they should hire. Mike Vrabel has already done his interview and Ben Johnson is up this weekend, what the hell are the other 13 guys there for? The guys look at some of the intriguing candidates farther down the list, and wonder why the hell some of the other guys are eve...

The Cubs are bringing Sammy Sosa back so it's time for the podcast to bring back it's favorite guest, Jon Greenberg to make fun of them for the tortured reunion, whether they have any intention of keeping Kyle Tucker and to get everybody's convention plans made. They also talk about how the Bears are actually worse without The Flus, and much more.

The Ricketts bullied Sammy Sosa into apologizing for something, though he wouldn't say what it was, and they're all proud of themselves for some reason. Tom Loxas is on hand to discuss it, talk about the trade/giveaway of Cody Bellinger to the Yankees, and what comes next. Andy has a better idea of how to fix third than he did on the last podcast and they head over to Obvious Shirts to shop for Sa...

You have to give little Jed Hoyer credit, the Cubs needed a big trade and he actually pulled one off. Oleg and Praz are on hand to discuss the Kyle Tucker trade, make fun of a weird sound from the press conference, discuss the Cubs giving away Cody Bellinger, signing Carson Kelly and the end of the fabulous Matt Tice or These or wharever his name is, era. All that, and more.   

The Cubs are trying to trade for Astros star Kyle Tucker and Tom Loxas joins the podcast as the guys try to figure out why Seiya would need to be in that deal. And, if the Cubs aren't hell bent on keeping Tucker beyond 2025, does it even make the Cubs better if they trade Seiya to the Astros and Cody Bellinger to anywhere? They also discuss why this is exactly the kind of move the Cubs need to mak...

The offseason is a good time to remember when the Cubs used to actually spend money on free agents...and to realize just how bad they've been at it. The Remember This Crap gang assembles to wax nostalgic on the worst free agent signings in team history. You'll be shocked to know that they sat out the first several years of free agency and then when they did finally deign to try it they were bad. T...

The Bears fired their overmatched head coach and are already thinking about which dud to hire next, while the Cubs are just hoping somebody will take Cody Bellinger's cash off their hands. Tom Loxas is here to discuss the coaching change, the candidates for the real job and whether Kevin Warren's involvement is good, bad or hilarious. We also preview the winter meetings, talk about the Cubs chance...

T/he Bears finally mercy fired The Flus and Kevin Warren wants you all to know that Ryan Poles is totally going to make the decision on the new head coach (sure he is). But first we need to listen to the Jeff Joniak call of the final 38 seconds of Matt Eberflus' head coaching career (it's just as amazing as you'd expect). Then it's time to break down how the firing went down, how the press confere...

The wait is over. Remember This Crap is back and it's a doozy. How about nearly three hours of the worst losses in (recent) Bears history? Relive all the moments you wanted to forget with Andy and Mike D., as Chester Marcol scampers wildly into the end zone, Jim Harbaugh audibles his way into disaster, Kevin Butler misses a field goal that Pat McAfee would pay a college kid $200K to make these day...

Could the Cubs trade Cody Bellinger even after he declined his option to become a free agent? Well, sure, they could. The question is what his trade value actually is. Luckily, Tom Loxas is on hand to discuss that, why the Cubs aren't well positioned for Roki Sasaki, and who could they actually trade for to give their offense a boost? They also discuss Ian Happ getting yet another Gold Glove and h...

The Bears are changing offensive coordinators again, and The Athletic's Jon Greenberg is here to talk about it, the future of The Flus, who's going to be the next head coach (Andy knows), and just how bad things are. They discuss the lunacy of the idea that Caleb Williams could be benched, and they do a quick Grey Cup preview. They also discuss the Cubs offensive plans, make fun of CHSN's distribu...

This podcast includes tales of handing out beers on Halloween, the most indelible moments of the World Series including ESPN's national baseball nitwit helping make celebrities out of the creepy right field Yankees fans. What the Cubs have to trade, why The Athletic is trying to gaslight us on a key part of the Cubs roster and why we should think twice about ESPN promoting Boog. The most head scra...

The World Series started off with a bang, but now the Yankees are holding on for dear life. At least they have seen evidence that a team can erase a 3-0 deficit. David Brown is here to talk about the series, the weird apparatus that Shohei is wearing, why some writers are referring to Kiké Hernandez by his given name, Aaron Judge's struggles, and what happens to Juan Soto after all of this. We als...

Nico Hoerner decided to kill all of his trade rumors by having surgery to make himself untradeable. Tom Loxas joins the pod to talk about that savvy move, the Cubs maybe hiring a bullpen coach, unsourced rumors that Cody Bellinger is opting out, Fernando Valenzuela, the World Series, the legacy of Sweaty Joe Borowski, Bears-Commanders and much more.

Did you know that the Yankees and Dodgers have not only played in the World Series before but that they used to be from the same city? People should talk about this more. David Brown joins to the podcast to ponder the controversial idea that it might be good for baseball to have two iconic franchises and four of the best players in the game facing each other in its biggest event. They also discuss...

The LCS' are underway, but it's never too late to preview them, right? David Brown is on hand to talk about the plucky Mets, the Dodgers winning without starting pitchers, seeing the Yankees up close and the Guardians surviving the AL Central Playoff Invitational. They also try to figure out what's going on with Bob Costas, and why TBS thinks they keep having to hire former Barves. Andy goes YouTu...

Tom Loxas joins the podcast to talk about how Jed Hoyer's display of a lack of ambition during his season post mortem might get challenged by the fact that the Cubs are having a hard time selling season tickets and ads on Marquee and really, much of anything these days. They discuss how a boring product can't sustain the current payroll and that the answer, whether Jed or Tom want to believe it mi...

Since Jed Hoyer has organizationally positioned himself into a corner if the Cubs are going to make any kind of impactful move somebody good has to get traded and much to Praz's chagrin, Andy and Oleg agree that the most likely guy to get sent packing is Nico Hoerner. The guys discuss Jed's vague pronouncements after the season, make fun of Isaac Paredes' Wrigley slugging, look at the arbitration...