BBC TV NFL hosts Nat Coombs & Mike Carlson, comedian Dan Louw & a host of special guests keep you up to date with the latest happenings in American sports & popular culture. Americarnage is brought to you in association with men's grooming range Mancave who keep the guys fresh and help them #OwnTheB…
Nat Coombs, Mike Carlson and Dan Louw
Nat and Mike roll in to the studio this evening with more than the usual swagger in their step and it's for good reason: firstly there's a new Mancave competition live on the app and they're stoked to be dishing out an Originals giftset every week for the next two months – that's enough male grooming products to almost make HdP look approachable in twilight – but also because we can proudly annound the addition of Americarnage's official betting partner Unibet to the list of Friends of the Show! The Unibet guys will be dishing out top odds and £25 free credit on sign-up to the ‘Carnage faithful but also a £20 charity bet to the show each week – we's gonna make some charity money y'all… In other news: Mike mentions something in passing, it takes a while; Nat likes 5 second impressions; Mike has a new favourite public speaker and he's just been confirmed as a head coach; the playoffs continue to surprise, although mainly with penalties, outbursts and people being talked about' loads of Mancave Mailbag goodness; some NBA and NHL but a short and sharp show, aside from the Much, Much More…
Nat, Mike and Dan rampage into the studio this week charged with the power that comes to them this close to the end of the season and for some reason this makes Dan talk all gully, innit blud? No matter the cause they three set to on a full and reasoned discussion of two things: what's going to happen this Sunday and why, once again, the Po' bowl is so rubbish year on year… In other news: Mike may as well be sponsored by Channel 4's new international drama stream, so much does he love of what they do; Dan suggests a method of crowd funding which once again gives reason to lock him up; Unibet are giving us another charity bet this week and this big man is two for two so far, let's see how far he can take this; Mike reveals why the Pro Bowl teams were named as they were; Russel Wilson gets MBP because he very nearly tried to play a game of football; just a few days until Levi's Stadium and can Cam being contained? Can Peyton make it a perfect finish? In the NBA the Cavs lead the East from the Raptors whose winning streak is still going – 11 straight now – while in the West, the Warriors lead from the Spurs; in the NHL Washington lead the East from Florida; Chicago lead the West from Dallas – pretty much the same as last week; this year's All-Star Game, when they weren't trying to sabotage John Scott's moment in the sun, the League decide to set up a little two round tournament in which the four divisions played each other in a semi final and then a final; the Mancave app competition has its second winner, download and get involved to win goodies; loads of Mancave Mailbag goodness and Dan comes up with a belter of a game. All this and the requisite much, much more…
With the Iron One still out of the country, he says it's nothing to do with a waitress called Candy but we have our doubts, Nat and Dan are feeling a little blue. Luckily friend of the show and man of a thousand Vegas stories Mr Ben Isaacs is in the house and ready to take on the big man's mantle... In other news: Dan has never met Nat's wife, something which gets as surprising amount of discussion [mainly cut – HdP] Mancave get some love and Ben gets some Mancave stuff, which is nice; Unibet get some love, but less than they might have when it turns out they don't actually put a steak in your account when you open it; Ben has been watching Cuba Gooding Jr be OJ Simpson – on telly, not in his garden or anything; SB50 gets a full run-down, kicking off with an audio postcard from the Big Man; aside from that, some very serious things get talked about the bad things which happen in the NFL and we actually mean it this time – serious things; in the NBA Cleveland lead the East, from the Raptors who are now just two games behind after the Cavs lost to the Hornets and the resurgent Celtics; in the West it's the Warriors from the Spurs; in the NHL Washington lead the East from Florida and New York; in the West it goes Chicago, Dallas, St Louis and LA; lots of Mancave Mailbag goodness; a Unibet charity bet and much-diddly-uch-much more…
Nat, Mike and Dan aren't in the studio this week, it's just Harry the Producer and he has some news for ya'll.
With Nat on IR with a Filming, Mike and Dan needed a safe pair of hands to help them out with tonight’s show and they don’t come much safer (well, there is one guy…) than Mr Hockey Erik Janssen who immediately has the guys talking about money and not taking your dad to work… In other news: Mancave have 20% off all gift sets and buckets in honour of Father’s Day so buy some, tell yourself you’re going to give it to him, then keep it; Unibet are dishing out a £25 deposit bonus when you sign up via unibet.co.uk/americarnage; Mike dishes out a few betting tips, some are good; Dan suggests you go further, this might not be so good; Dan brings up the Great Slippery Phone Insurance scam; the guys all went to see The Boss; Mike talks about Ali; Erik tells us about Sidney Crosby lifting the Stanley Cup; no matter how good this is, should hockey tip into June? The gang think not; Mike and Erik talk about the late, great Gordy Howe; in the NBA things have been strangely un-thrilling as LeBron’s Cavs and Golden State knock it back and forth, including some dick-punches as per last year; then all of a sudden LeBron and Kyrie made a game of it which, combined with some Golden State indiscipline takes it to Game 6 in Cleveland; Mike talks baseball and Rex Sox knuckleballers; in the American League everyone sucks, in the National League there are some great games – we might be over-simplifying… things happen in the Non-Stop League too but still three months until first Gronk-Spike so let’s keep it to that right now; there are some cracking questions in the Mancave Mailbag and, you guessed it, much, much more…
Nat, Mike and… Well, that’s it this week as Hollywood is wrapped up in other business and the super-secret special guest fails to materialise – no, names, no pack duty to paraphrase the Iron One – but the guys might have done the odd show together so we’re in safe hands here. It’s not Americarnage After Dark, it’s Americarnage Before Sunrise – but who’s Ethan Hawke…? In other news: The Americarnage Question of the Week offers up another winner of epic amounts of goodies, guaranteed to let him give up renting and #OwnTheBathroom; old mates Unibet are offering £25 when you head over to unibet.co.uk/Americarnage; Mike used to teach kids who don’t read so good; Nat, Mike and Dan are off to see The Boss this weekend – Mancave goodies to any ‘Carnage fans who snap a pic with any of them; Mike talks epic tales of the sporting past; Nat talks Hanks and Desert Island Discs; we’re at the sharp end of the NBA season and it’s the Cavs vs Golden State; in the NFL, Walter Thurman has nixed his NFL career at the age of 28; Fitz and the Jets are talking but not agreeing yet; in the NHL it’s all about the Sharks and the Penguins; there’s some baseball – mainly Mike’s Redsox – loads of great stuff from the Mancave Mailbag and of course much, much, more…
Nat, Mike and Dan are all together again! It seems like it’s been ages but in many ways, not long enough… To make things even better the gang are joined by the award-winning sports journalist, old friend of Iron Mike and man who holds the key to the question he must never answer “will there be a London Franchise?” NFL’s David Tossell. In other news: Mike talks about what it is to be human; Dan talks about great telly; David mentions his new book which you need to buy – The Girls of Summer (it’s to do with cricket); Nat breaks the great news that we’re bringing back Ask Mike – new videos coming soon gang, get your questions in and we return to the cult of personality; in the NFL, lots of things were stolen and fraudulently sold but this time it’s nothing to do with the [insert least favourite coach here]; Mike rates the Baltimore, Green Bay, Seattle and Cinci; in the NBA, season MVP is Steph Curry - why even bother to debate it, not only did he win for the second year running but is probably a cyborg sent back to kill Trump who took up basketball instead and got all 131 first choice votes, the first player in history to do that; actual games happened, Dan tells you about them; in the NHL, the Lightning obliterated the Islanders; in the West the Sharks and the Predators have split 6 games, after San Jose cruised to a two game lead with Logan Courtue and Brent Burns scoring for fun; things happen in baseball, including slow, old, amazing home runs; loads of Mancave Mailbag goodness and my gosh with David in the house is there much, much more…
Nat and Dan rock up to the studio this week in the certain knowledge that the Iron One is elsewhere, although quite what this means is up for debate – options include stumping for Ted Cruz, doing things for the mob and other less (more?) salubrious options. Whatever he’s up to he’s sent in lots of good stuff and, what’s more, the guys are joined by the legend that is Erik The Producer Janssen. In other news: the Mancave Champions Club App Question of the Week winner this week is Mr James Cooper of Minehead who bags himself a load of goodies – you can get involved too by downloading it right…. NOW! Jimmy Garopollo makes an early appearance and then reappears quite a bit – which is nice; Erik has been watching Better Call Saul – a near-Nat level of cultural relevance; conversely, Nat has been watching The Jungle Book – the new one and everything; Dan ran the Brighton marathon and got sunburnt in the cold; all sorts of pre-draft manoeuvring in the NFL and Iron Mike talks you through his version of the first 10 picks; will a new top cornerback make the Racistskins any better? Johnny Manziel is still in the news for all the wrong reason, think this is just how it goes; the NBA Playoffs are underway and everyone is injured; Cleveland are the only ones through so far; OKC and the Spurs will play each other in the West; Erik tackles the NHL with a catch in his voice due to the lack of Canadian teams in the playoffs; the Blues are through to face the Stars; the Kings are out; in the MLB the White Sox execute the most ridiculous triple play ever in the history of anything; Albert Pujoles hits 565 homers, which is also pretty mental; Erik then breaks out The Birthday Game for the first time in a while and it inspires this week’s competition; there’s the usual Mancave Mailbag goodness and definitely much, much more…
With Nat still in Panama dealing with the fallout of recent events, Mike and Dan find themselves doing a two-hander this week, something that immediately and unsurprisingly becomes a bit rude. It involves hands. In other news: Mike stood in for Nat on Talksport 2 the other night, it was fun; the Question of the Week on the Mancave app is Adam Wright from Cardiff – he wins a big box of goodies and you can too; Dan has a lot of three points, but that’s what happens when he’s not allowed to talk for two weeks; one of them is a film, another is telly and the third is a book so it’s very nearly a media clean-sweep; the NFL round-up is less sports and more CSI but then that’s depressingly familiar; lots of trading and manoeuvring ahead of the draft; Kaepernick is once again in the news and what the bloody hell is going on there? In the NBA the Cavs have won the East and the Warriors have won the West, although the Spurs did their damnedest to spoil that party; Kobe’s retiring apparently, no-one cares; the NHL playoffs start TONIGHT and Washington had their best ever season resulting in a top seed while everyone else just kind of gets slotted in somehow; lots of other things but also David Cameron has been fired… From his coaching job with the Ottawa Senators; stickball season is back and Mike talks a lot about that, Dan less so; loads on Mancave Mailbag goodness and just the right amount of much, much more…
Nat, Mike and Dan are back in the game after two long weeks out of the studio and it turns out their cultural references are just as fresh as they’ve always been, something which Dan is not slow to point out. Anyway, they’re short on time but it doesn’t stop things from rollin’ rollin’ rollin… In other news: there’s wifi in the studio for the first time in ages, this is only relevant because it makes us happy; Dan outlines the “banter” defence before moving on to a critical dissection of Zootropolis which Nat joins in on; Mike has been watching season 2 of Bosch and things about the Easter Rising – not as many parallels as you might think; Nat brings up a new podcast about The West Wing and it just gets better from there; there are Mancave Question of the Week winners (download the app and get involved folks); the NFL is suing the NYT because they don’t have enough money yet; the touchback gets moved and the touchback stays still, angering most; Julian Edelman has an overdue game; oh, plus there’s some free agency stuff – Alfred Morris to the Cowboys for one; there’s some pre-season baseball for the first time in simply ages; in the NBA the Cavs lead the East and the Warriors lead the West; the Clippers have three players who statistically out rank Stef Curry which is kind of amazing; there’s lots of Mancave Mailbag goodness, a game starts, stops and is edited out (for everyone’s own good) but never fear – there is much, much more…
Nat, Mike and Dan are on fine form this evening for a variety of reasons but mainly based around Mike’s natty new birthday haircut. It’s a hell of a do to be sure and it’s either that or the Irish Whiskey he’s presented with during the show which gives a rosy glow to proceedings… In other new: local Camden business Trufflesecco does not get the nod from Dan and he expresses his distaste for these things; Mike has seen Concussion which is not that good apparently, who knew? Nat has a brand new Talksport show coming up soon, watch this space for more info and ‘Carnage listeners will definitely recognise many of the guests; Dan has read a spectacular book and shares it with the gang; in the NFL Free Agency is just as mental as the season that preceded it – now that Tom Coughlin is gone the Giants are spending all the money in the world; RB’s are mainly running between teams this time of year; Mark Sanchez is a Bronco and he’s probably among the many people confused about this; in the NBA the Cavs lead the east and LeBron is still on top; in the West the Warriors and Spurs are up top; NHL things happen, great Mancave Mailbag things happen, a twitter-based game happens and it’s great too and of course the requisite much, much more…
Nat, Mike and Dan romp into studio after a break with enough energy to immediately turn International Women’s Day into mum jokes and worse. Business as usual then. Luckily they move on to much lighter things, like the resurgence in football (soccer) violence and the places of Nat and Dan’s respective teams in this. Like I said, business as usual… In other news: A competition sparks a series of revelations as to what the guys find attractive with Dan in particular entering into the spirit of things; the Mancave Question of the Week is running on the app and there are winners galore – Richard Stubbs and Stephen Fowldes over the last couple of weeks – so download the app and get involved; in the Mancave not-on-the-app competition we get two winners who both get stuff; Mike has been watching a lot of things, many of them good; Dan talks about football violence and racism while Nat has been to see Alvin and the Chipmunks, so that’s nice; in the NFL there have been retirements - Peyton, Calvin - weird signings (Incognito) and plain old oddness - Bill has lunch with Donald; the Jets have Crazy Chip’s Fire Sale in return for all the picks; if the Rams get RGIII it will be the funniest thing in recent NFL history; in the NBA, the Lakers win things and Kobe takes credit; Golden State are back in the game; in Oklahoma there’s been a suspicious death which has something to with basketball but is very suspicious; the Spurs are making a bid for the top but being ignored because they always seem to do this; in the NHL 16 games left and the Caps are dominating like no-one else ever has; the Ducks are on a streak too so let’s see how that works out; there’s a discussion of a game to happen in the future and we reckon it should happen; Mancave Mailbag goodness from the ‘Carnage massive and of course plenty – sorry – I mean much, much, more…
Nat and Dan bound into the studio full of the sort of joyous energy that can only mean that all-pro friend of the show Marek Larwood is in the house. With the Big Man on IR this week the three of them set to discussing the most important topics they can – HdP’s pen, the shady world of gammon dealing and definitions of subcultures. Oh, and some sports! In other news: seriously, the British Gammon Council are more powerful than you will ever know; Mancave are dishing out free things to everyone, just download the app and they will come your way; we’re giving away our share too – this week’s twitter comp Clean Up Your Act had an epic load of entries but there had to be a winner and it’s Jamie Foyle who gets a big box of stuff; in the Mancave question of the week comp on the app Peter Crisp from Thatcham wins stuff too; then there’s stuff that doesn’t involve competitions, like the NFL! Iron Mike phones it in with an amazingly two minute round-up in off-season; in the NBA the Warriors lead the West from San Antonio and Oklahoma; Cleveland lead the East from Toronto and Miami, who are miles back; NHL-wise Washington lead the East from Florida, but the Pannthers may as well give up on top spot because they are so far behind they might as well; in the West – Chicago, Dallas, St Louis - sound familiar? there's the usual insightful stuff from the Mancave Mailbag; Dan is watching all the Oscar films and the guys run through the prospects and of course much, much more…
Nat, Mike and Dan find themselves in a strange mood after a hell of a championship weekend, one which Dan enjoyed so much he got a whole year older. There are competitions and bets galore this week though, so that’s nice...In other news: Dan had a birthday, it was good; Mike has seen some programmes, they’re good too; Nat has been to the theatre, it’s good but effing extortionate; in the NFL, we know who’s going to the Super Bowl; Brady had a nightmare out there and took more hits than a... someone with better O-line protection; Danny Amendola took almost as many hits, that guy takes a punishing; Cam Newton loves getting airborne, who knew? Arizona bomb out, seemingly because of the fallout from a muffed punt – the guys talk about this; in the NBA the Cavaliers lead the East, from the Raptors who came back from London and will not stop winning – eight straight for them; the West is the Warriors leading from the Spurs – who enjoyed a 13 game winning streak until last night when the two came together for the biggest game of the season so far; NHL-wise Washington lead the East from Florida; Chicago lead the West from St Louis and Dallas; loads of Mancave Mailbag goodness; a charity bet, the final appearance of HipHop on Trial and of course much, much more...
After such a brutal weekend in the NFL it’s hardly surprising to hear that the ‘Carnage gang are down one this week as Nat is on IR with a Roethlisberger (?) but Mike and Dan have brushed themselves down and limped into the studio. There they are joined by International Man of Journalism and possessor of superb vintage sports memorabilia Mr Anthony Wootton who brings an awesome book to Three Points – so awesome that Mike proceeds to talk about it for him… In other news: Dan has seen things, so many things, and they are mainly good but he also drank kimchi lemonade so it’s a score-draw there; Mike has been in a lift in South Korea and sympathises; Alex gives away one of his Mancave goodies to Dan because of reasons; in the NFL it was all about the visiting teams; Bryan Hoyer didn’t enjoy himself; Vontaze Burfict is a dangerous man but maybe not dangerous enough; Seattle is a bit magic; Green Bay look like the old Green Bay, a bit at least; in the NBA Cavs lead the East, with the Raptors running along behind them; in the West the Warriors continue to lead and owner of amazing name Kristaps Porzingis is now being talked of as a rookie of the year; lots of Mancave Mailbag good stuff; some top memorabilia sifting happens and indeed much, much more…
Nat, Mike and Dan assemble in the studio for the first time in what seems like nowhere near long enough and their tails are up as there’s lots to discuss! In the time since the gang were last on air a whole new year has started, the playoff berths have been decided and, which is more, Mike has written a haiku. It’s haunting. In other news: Nat’s favourite year so far was 1923 which is mildly confusing; Dan has seen all the films ever, in a row, then topping up with Netflix; Mike talks Homeland; Nat talks Feinstein; in the NFL Mike went 10-6 and swept the NFLUK Experts panel; Brady stunk up the joint while Peyton looked like the old Peyton; Carolina kept it to one loss to keep the top seed; Seattle play Minnesota this weekend and Green Bay will play the Washington Racistnames; meanwhile, surprisingly few coaches have lost their jobs… in the NBA the Cavs lead the East, comfortably ahead of your Chicago Bulls; in the West it’s the Golden State Warriors ahead of the Spurs, the Thunder and the Clippers; in the NHL Washington lead the East, from Florida, who have had an impeccable Christmas where they beat everyone. Dallas lead the West from LA; Mike talks College Ball nad Bowl Games Galore; lots of goodness from the Mancave Mailbag and even time for a game besides the much, much more…
Nat, Mike and Dan assemble for the remarkably round-number-ish 200th time in the Americarnage studio, just a couple of doors down from where it all started almost exactly five years ago. It’s Christmas, we’re five years old - what better to do than invite all-pro creepy uncle and most-capped guest Mr Marek Larwood to join them as they open presents, eat cake, drink champagne and wonder what the bloody hell has happened to mean that the show is still going… Along the way there are messages from old favourites such as The First Lady and Vladimir Putin, Mike rewrites Dylan and performs it amazingly* as well as competitions, prizes, mailbag goodness, games and even some sports in this bumper 79 (!) minute show. Make it last though folks, we’ll be taking a break until the new year but in the mean time have a brilliant Christmas, a stonking New Year and we’ll see you on the other side. Huge thanks from Nat, Mike, Dan and HdP to everyone who has joined us over the years and of course all you brilliantly mental listeners. *seriously, we were amazed.
Nat and Dan rock up to the studio to find that HdP has managed to either break the studio or sell most of it for drugs, leaving only one microphone for them to huddle around. It’s an intimate gig, made even more intimate and far more awesome thanks to comedian, star of stage and screen and all-round gent Mr David Whitney who adds even more ideas to an ideas-heavy show this week – if there’s a sport, the guys have a way to make it even better... In other news: there’s a competition happening, listen ot find out what it is; Dan wants to run another competition, definitely one you don’t want to enter –or do you David has been reading about habits; the NFL East is worst division in the entire history of all professional sport and we’re not prone to hyperbole; insane punt returns are becoming the norm and records continue to tumble while Carolina just get things done; Dan comes up with some great ways to improve the game and encourage laterals; in the NBA the Cavs lead the East from the Pacers, the Warriors continue to lead the West; Cleveland went to Miami, where they always lose, and lost for the 10th straight time in South Beach; in the NHL Montreal lead the East from New York, Dallas lead the West from the streaking LA Kings; rough week for the Habs - they’ve lost three of five games since Paul Condon took over from Carey Price; out West it’s all Jeff Carter and Tyler Toffoli, as they beat everyone put in their way this week; loads of Mancave Mailbag goodness and much, much more...
Mike and Dan rock up at the studio this week to find that Nat is on IR with a kids party but that all-pro friend of the show Mr Phil Spooner is in the house, or is he? In other news: Dan spills the beans about a personal matter of Phil’s without Phil even being in the studio; Black Mass takes a panning; Peep Show gets a rare mention; NFL refereeing is even more lunatic this week; Carolina stay unbeaten while the Pats are no longer perfect; the Jest beat Miami; Phil’s predictive powers are strong; in the NBA the Cavaliers lead the East from the streaking Pacers, who have won a Paul George inspired five straight; in the West it’s Golden State Warriors from the San Antonio Spurs; Kobe is retiring just to make sure the story is always about him; there’s some baseball chat but not a great deal; in the NHL Montreal are back on top of the east after New York had a slippy week; in the west Dallas lead St Louis by a good few points, and if that doesn’t encourage people to start foiling their empty arena, what will; loads of goodness from the Mancave mailbag and there’s even a Speakpipe message to help with the much, much more…
Nat and Dan have started the show before they realise there’s something wrong – they’re talking to each other without interruption and able to finish sentences unimpeded. Damn and blast it if the Iron One isn’t on IR with a nonspecific! Saving them, and you, from an Americarnage After Dark though is the one and only Simon Crosse, sports producer extraordinaire, Bluejays fanatic and producer of Nat and Mike’s 5Live Sports Extra show, starting with a triple-header this Thanksgiving Thusday. This gets mentioned in the show. A little. In other news: Dan has been to the dentist; Simon has in his possession something so good that the person who recommended it to him wants to become him; some people look like other people, this can be funny; the very first messages are coming through on the Americarnage Speakpipe; Thusdayt is shaping up like Americarnage on 5Live as Dan gets involved; Seattle continues the Niners lousy season; Joe Flacco is out but sets up a win with a busted knee; Case Keenum is one unlucky guy; Danny Amendola is injured again, poor devil; refereeing is still shocking; in the NBA the Cavaliers lead the East from Miami, who have won 3 on the bounce and are starting to gel; Golden State lead the West from the Spurs and Golden State are now the league’s only undefeated team; in the land of huckenshuck New York and Montreal are tied at the top of the East; Dallas handily lead St Louis at the top of the West; loads of Mancave Mailbag goodness happens; Simon saves the gang from a gameless week with his list of Rock’n’Roll Hall of Fame nominees which means Dan is in the picture for the first time, well, ever; all this and the requisite much, much more…
Nat, Mike and Dan rock up at the studio to find a pile of Mancave goodies on the table which means there must be a guest about but damned if they can see him. They get started only to catch a glimpse of movement which resolves itself into TV, radio and indeed NFL’s Vernon Kay who had woven himself into the fabric of the place using Mancave's new CamoMoisturiser. Or they're a bit crap at seeing. Either or. In other news: Mike lists every single cast member of a show; Vernon has had etiquette lessons with Andrew Luck but in the end rocks a travel cup; Nat and Mike are starting their 5Live NFL coverage at 8pm on Thanksgiving and every Sunday after; the Bengals keep their primetime jinx going; the Pats keep rolling;’ the “is it the end of Peyton Manning” question gets an airing again; grass-roots Football in the UK and the future of the sport in the UK gets a surprisingly coherent discussion; in the NBA Cleveland lead the East from Chicago; the unbeaten Golden State Warriors lead the San Antonio Spurs in the West; the NHL has a new leader in the East, the New York Rangers are above Montreal who have played and lost one more; in the West it’s Dallas and St Louis; loads of #AskVern and Mancave Mailbag action; Dan breaks out a cracker of a game created with Vernon in mind plus much, much more...
With the Iron One out of action this week Nat and Dan decide that they’ve got to get a man of equal stature in, a sports writer and broadcaster of impeccable creds and unbounded charm. So not like Mike at all then. Luckily the ‘Carnage little black book comes up trumps with the brilliant Andy Brassell whose sports writing chops are so good he WATCHES NBA FOR FUN. Nuff said. Also, Carlson has sent an NFL round-up and listen out at the end for a phone message from friend of the show Vladimir Putin. In other news: Nat is ill but powering through; Dan has seen Mississippi Grind and rates it; Ryan Reynolds gets a mention; Belgian and Dutch film gets a very short look-in; Nat talks muppets, an easy stretch for this show; Andy talks second educations; in the NFL the Bengals have surpassed the haters to seem like the real deal, something which will now mean they lose next week; the Colts show up this week, derailing the terrible yet otherwise winning Broncos; the Panthers are still unbeaten, as are the Pats who are the subject of a my-first-NFL chat for newbie Andy; in the NBA the Cavs lead the East; Warriors lead the west – all as expected - the Pelicans, the Nets and the 76ers have lost every game so far – so they are NOT good; in the NHL the Canadiennes replacement goalie Mike Condon is crushing it; Gary Bettman says there is no plans to expand the NHL currently, which means no-one bought Las Vegas Unlimited Buffet season tickets; loads of top-class Mancave Mailbag action; Dan brings it with a game; there’s a competition – and of course much, much more…
Nat, Mike and Dan are known for their wide range of sporting tastes and many’s the hour they’ve whiled away considering what would happen if one sport took the methods and ethos of another. They never wrote any of it down though so they’re totally beaten by guest this week Martin Calladine whose book The Ugly Game is all about what the Premier League can learn from the NFL. Dan, as you can expect has some very particular views on that… In other news: Dan is frisky this week, so is Mike – worrying; Nat and Martin made a COPA90 film together recently, no-one has seen it; Mike has seen a Horror Western and HdP is weirdly excited about this; Dan has a sandwich recommendation that has nothing to do with Pinocchio; Columbo is the most realistic detective show ever apparently; the NFL continues mental – Eli throws 6 TD passes and loses; Kaepernick is still terrifyingly rubbish; the Broncos are still the worst winningest team; the International Series is over for another year but don’t worry, next year they’re playing ALL the games here; the NBA season tipped off last Tuesday with a regular sight – the Cavs letting everyone down - but they’ve won every game since; Lebron became the youngest player ever to hit 25,000 career points; Tim Duncan has now broken the record for the most games for a single team; Kobe Bryant sucks; in the NHL Montreal lead the East by some distance from the Capitals, Dallas leads St Louis and Minnesota in the West; loads of Mancave Mailbag action, comp winners and indeed much, much more…
Nat, Mike and Dan rock up at the studio to find that they’re not alone, far from alone in fact: Olympic gold medallist Mark Hunter is in the house but also so is Nate – Carlson Jr - so it’s the fullest house we’ve had since the 100th show... In other news: Mark brings up a hell of a book and everyone agrees; people in Iceland have had a crisis of confidence and Dan has read about how they got their groove back; Mike talks about a Nazi legacy, definitely not his though; Nate Carlson gets his first broadcast interview and handles it adroitly – a most un-‘Carnage way of doing things; in the NFL, the in-inverted-commas athletic quarterbacks are being outrun by the old pocket-passers; is the Texans situation the most shambolic there’s ever been? The International Series game was fittingly one of two halves; Amari Cooper should be rookie of the year; Honeybadger is getting in people’s heads; in the MLB it’s World Series time and a lot of time gets devoted to the general hatred for New York teams, the Mets and, bizarrely, something called the West Ham Way; in the NHL Montreal lead the east from the New York teams. Nashville just about lead the west from Dallas and Chicago; in Anti Rantaa news, he had another solid game for the Rangers as they beat the flames; the NBA season is upon us and the pick of the games is the Cavs against the Bulls; Derrick Rose is back, after returning from his fractured eye bone; Flip Saunders has sadly passed and will be missed; Metta World Peace is back for some reason; there’s Mancave Mailbag goodness, competition winner, more competitions and much, much, much more...
Nat, Mike and Dan are men who are masters of their chosen professions, men who frequently weep for there are no more worlds for them to conquer. Turns out that the Iron One may have his sights set beyond broadcasting and journalism though, does a Don Draper-esque life await him in advertising…? In other news: Nat talks Muppets; Mike shills hard; HdP offers to lead him further down the dark path; Americarnage is on Instagram apparently, sure you all care hugely; Dan has seen Sicario and has his usual interesting take on it; Mike reveals his line to get out of any sticky situation; the NFL season continues and is on as mental form as ever and yes, we do mention the Colts; 5 unbeaten teams after 6 weeks and it’s been winning ugly week; Rivers throws for over 500 but no-one cares; Detroit beat Chicago despite neither team seeming to want to win; Mike runs down the MLB and flips more bats than you do; in the NHL, sa if anticipating the results of the Canadian election, Montreal are top of the East with 6 wins out of 6; St Louis are top of the west; in and out of the NBA Lamar Odom is out of hospital after his collapse in a Nevada brothel; the NBA Champion Golden State Warriors have signed free agent guard/forward Xavier Henry and free agent forward Chris Udofia; loads of the usual Mancave Mailbag goodness and of course much, much more….
With the Big Man on IR this week it's down to Nat and the newly-recovered Dan to get things done this week. As they glance around furtively and dare to dream of an Americarnage After Dark, who should appear to save them and everyone else from themselves but All-Pro and now third most frequent guest, the Canadian wonder Mr Erik Janssen. Listen our for some bonus Carlson at the end of the show... In other news: Glenn Beardon is our Mancave grand prize winner with his tweet about Iron Mike; Dan talks Red Army and Fresh off the Boat; Erik talks The Americans; Nat relays an argument the guys had backstage at Wembley and A Month of Sundays; Andy Dalton gets big-ups; Ely Manning’s position as most hated man in football just because he’s won more than Peyton continues; Kaepernick’s job security gets a quick discussion, possibly not quick enough; Nat makes a wild prediction about he Bears which he wants noted down in case it’s right in a few weeks time; the MLB playoffs are mental-exciting and Erik tells you why; the Utley incident gets a thorough discussion, along with fighting in baseball;l oads of Mancave Mailbag goodness; comps galore and much, much more...
Nat, Mike and special guest Paolo “The Great” Bandini arrive at the studio this week with a sense of purpose which is dimmed only by a slight sense of foreboding. There have been sightings of Hollywood back on English soil. What can this mean? They don’t have to wait long to find out… In other news: HdP has brought a bunch of Mancave products for the guys and Mike gets a little unnecessary about it; Paolo has seen some documentaries and starts getting into that when Dan Podcrashes his way into the building; luckily there’s very little violence as he’s a little jetlagged and pleasingly squishy; Mike talks about The Crime Vault Live – his and HdP’s new show all about crime fiction; the final round for the Mancave Mystery Star Prize is beginning – exciting isn’t the word; there was NFL at Wembley in case you hadn’t noticed and it was basically the Chris Ivory show; Miami coaching job was outsourced on the way home; the Bears pick up a win; the Bengals seem shakily like a real deal at 4-0; things happen in the MLB, Nat tells you about them; loads of goodness from the Mancave Mailbag and indeed a big pile of much, much more….
Nat and Mike are staring right down the barrel of being a gruesome twosome this week as Dan’s still hiding out in the swamps of Louisiana after a run-in with some locals who took exception to him treating the whole place like an episode of True Detective. Luckily for everyone, except maybe Dan, his old Absolute Radio buddy and Gridiron mainstay Mr Will Gavin is on hand to lend his expertise to proceedings.In other news: Nat and Mike are back on telly - this Sunday on the BBC for the International series so if you can’t make it down, get involved with them; Mike composes songs on Twitter to Osi Umenyiora; Will rates The Martian and the gang agree the recent NASA announcement is really well timed for movie promo duties; Mike goes all arty-movie-tastic again; Nat talks Ballers and wishes it could be a bit more like Playmakers; Glenn Beardon is this week’s Mancave competition winner, coming in via the Champions Club app (check our facebook page for the download link) and gets goodies as well as entry into the grand final; Mike highlights the madness of this part of the NFL season and the undrinkable superlative-soup; Mike Vick is starting; it’s battle of the Ryans at Wembley this weekend; Brandon Marshall’s non-flea-flicker is play of the week; Jalston Fowler is the other play of the week with a painful Welcome to Big School on his second ever rushing attempt; Nat outlines the madness of the MLB right now and highlights an article by old mate Dave Lengel; loads and loads of Mancave Mailbag goodness and, with a promise of a game for next week prepared by HdP, that’s it aside from much, much, more…
Nat and Mike are in the house and with Hollywood out of the country Mike is so keen to get things going that he crashes Nat’s intro in a new record of 3.2 seconds. Making sure the dynamic duo don’t totally kill each other though we have West Ham fan, Niners fan and, last but not least, Olympic gold medallist Mr Mark Hunter who teaches the guys about Firegazing...In other news: Mike crashes everything; Nat talks Doll and Em; Mike has started his London Film Festival viewings which will furnish his 3 points for the next few weeks; we announce the winner of this week’s Mancave competition and tee up next week’s along with some exciting app-based stuff; Mike talks through the weirdest week of an NFL season since that time Chip Kelly traded for Cthulu; injuries abound and all bets are now off; Nat runs down the magic numbers in the MLB, including the age of the newest team manager who will make anyone who left school last century weep; Mike talks Eurobasket; there’s loads of goodness from the Mancave Mailbag and the requisite much, much more...
Nat, Mike and Dan roll into the studio this week with the sort of spring in their step that can only mean football is back – real, regular season, this-really-means-something-not-maybe-means-something god-damned football. So it’s back to business as usual and in that spirit, Mike crashes Nat’s intro beautifully. Ah, it’s good to be back… In other news: college ball expert and prime mover in the UK’s only pro American Football scouting outfit Mr Matt Phillips is in the house; Mike has seen a film which prompts two major questions – is there life after death and how much nepotism is there in the movie business? Matt brings the dark arts of college football recruiting to the table; Mike tells some of his early athletic stories and they have a surprising theme; Dan brings up the Burn of the Show prize again and offers prizes – vote for the best burn of the show and be in with a chance to win something to ease the pain; the winner of the first week of the Mancave #OwnTheBathroom competition is the brilliant David Hughes who wins goodies and is through to the grand final to compete for International Series tickets; NFL is happening but Goodell isn’t in view; there are pranks; Buffalo trash Indy; Dez Bryant is out; Seattle lost to the Rams; Marcus Mariota really is quite good; MLB things are happening, Nat tells you about them; Dan goes back-to-back with NBA and NHL round-ups; the gus compete on one of the lowest-scoring games ever; loads of goodness from the Mancave Mailbag, including one slip of the tongue and of course much, much more…
Nat, Mike and Dan are fragrant individuals, although often not in the way that works out for those around them. This week though we're celebrating the beginning of a beautiful friendship, one which will not only herald the dawn of a new Mailbag but also hopefully remind the gang that real men can scrub up just a little every now and again. Yes, Americarnage is proud to be sponsored by top men's grooming range ManCave and thanks to them things are about to get even more awesome... In other news: regular season NFL kicks off in less than 48 hours at time of recording and Football Fever is officially in town; the guys get a bit over-excited about the new sponsor and try some old schtick which is quickly stepped on; Dan follows on from Straight Outta Compton last week with Boyz n tha Hood this week, stepping back a few years; Mike talks The Crime Vault Live, his new show with HdP; Nat talks competitions - specifically getting yo' ass some International Series tickets; the gang run down their predictions for the upcoming season and these will be set in Internet Stone to be praised or scorned come Playoff time; some baseball gets talked about, mainly "how many innings does it take to destroy and arm"; Dan talks gambling in the NBA but not in the usual way; there's plenty of goodness from the newly-monikered ManCave Mailbag and a whole heaping bowlful of Much, Much More...
Nat, Mike and Dan are back after only a week, ain't it grand rocking into the old schedule? They'll be keeping this up for at very least the next six months because they bloody love it. And the show. Aaaanyway....In other news: It's the last ever Bodean's Mailbag folks because there's a new sheriff in town - a fine smelling one at that - in the form of Mancave and their awesome grooming products, something which needs surprisingly little explanation to the gang; prepare for much Mancave goodness over the coming months, starting next week; Mike talks French telly and its foibles; he and HdP are doing a new show this week too - Crime Vault Live and you're going to love it; Dan has seen Straight Outta Compton and has opinions about it; Nat talks about the legend Oliver Sacks; in the NBA Nick Young wants to be an Aussie; Kobe Bryant has an NBA2K16 rating of a mere 85; in the NFL Mike talks legal situations, brilliant names and starting quarterbacks so it could be pretty much any year; NHL is getting going with the NHLPA Rookie Showcase, gateway to the good stuff; Milan Lucic is the least grateful player ever to sign to the LA Kings or possibly any team; in the MLB Jake Arrieta of the Chicago Cubs threw a no-hitter against the Dodgers, his sixth this season; the Blue Jays lead the Yankees narrowly in the AL East, the Royals are steamrolling their way to the central title, with the Astros 4 up over Texas in the central; loads of the usual goodness from the last ever Bodean's Mailbag and indeed much, much more...
Nat, Mike and Dan stride into the studio with a swagger in their steps and it's probably because from this week on we'll be weekly again - good news for fans, bad news for Camden's bartenders as it means HdP will be kept away from his one-man mission to buy them holiday homes for at least a couple of hours a week. All this aside the gang are pleased as pucnh to be joined by sports writer extraordinairre Ed Overend who Mike has a nick-name for straight away. Guess what it is. Go on, guess...In other news: Ed outlines his sports fan parameters; Dan has had a haircut and people seem no have noticed without noticing; Ed listened to the first ever showw, this causes a slight relection on how bloody long we've been doing this; Dan has a made a telly show and you should watch it; we've all seen the Madden ad and think it's basically this show with a budget; Michael Jordan beats the supermarkets; Kobe is playing for first time since he underwent surgery in January to repair a torn rotator cuff; the NHL preseaqson has been announced and among the highlights of the 15-day, 104-game slate is the New York Islanders launching the first season in their new home, Barclays Center, in Brooklyn; Mike gets editorial in the NFL round-up' RGIII of course gets discussed; Ed rounds up all the baseball you could ever need; Dan brings EL James to the studio in this week's game; the LAST EVER Bodeans' Mailbag and much, much more...
Nat, Mike and Dan are... Wait, hold up, Nat, Mike, and Dan? When the hell was it these three guys were last in a room together?! Long time ago that's for sure and boy do they prove it by wittering on for bloody ages before they get to the sport (30 minutes or so, fact-fans) but at least there is a voice of sanity and reason with them this week: freelance man of sporting letters Mr Paolo Bandini, for whom Mike already has a nick-name...In other news: How long have you got? Paolo missed one week of picks last year and lost the whole season; Dan trails a sex game for later in the show but thank all that is Goodell it doesn't happen; the C4NFL situation is discussed; Border Security Canada will now be your new favourite show; everything else in the world is discussed; Geno Smith takes part in the most Jets thing ever to happen; in the MLB all the home teams win on the same day which is a mental stat in a game of mental stats; lots of Bodeans Mailbag goodness as usual, including wondering why it's called that; new 'Carnage listener-legend Patrick Jackson has catalogued every single three point and is worthy of both praise and therapy; HdP pops a GoPro in the studio to see what that will do and of course much, much more...
Nat and Dan caper into the studio, know that Mike can't make it hits week and convinced, after last time's near-miss, that they'll get to do a 'Carnage After Dark,. Luckily for the whole world, man of the hour and All-Pro friend of the show Phil Spooner is there to keep things legal.In other news: Nat talks about his showbiz lifestyle; Dan talks documentaries; Phil talks documentaries; they all talk documentaries; sports stuff starts arouin 20 minutes in if you want to skip; in the NFL there are deals to be done, fingers to be mended and questiopns to be asked; in the NBA it's Vegas, Free Agency and upcoming strikes; MLB is all about the All Stars and hockey is all about big deals and Canadian drugs; loads of Bodean's Mailbag goodness as usual and a game which goes so badly it's good. Much, much more too...
Nat and Dan arrive at the studios downcast when they realised the big man isn't here this week. Then they perk up for two reasons: Marek Larwood is here and without Mike they can do a 'Carnage After Dark! Then it's pointed out that seeing as this is summer and all, no matter how late it is it's still light out there. It's ok though, there's plenty of sport to talk about, including the best sport of the 21st century...In other news: Dan likes dismanteling Nat's air of professionalism; Marek is getting old; Dan suggests social media tactics; Nat's been trolled; Marek talks Volfsball; the NBA Draft is in the books and the Minnesota T-Wolves, via the lottery, snagged the first overall pick in their history and went for Kentucky shot swatter Karl Anthony Towns; the Cavs drafted Sir Dominc Porter, who was knighted by the queen in a private ceremony and has the best name ever ever ever; the NHL Draft has also happened at the BB&T down Florida way, and played out largely as expected - Connor Mcdavid a jinky centre from the Eerie Otters in the OHL went first overall; Edmonton took him – they take every overall first round pick and they rarely amount to much; lots of Bodeans Mailbag goodness and much, much more...
The Iron One is back! And he talks quite a lot about cocks! Turns out he's doing this to assert his dominance, something he reinforces by being in the host's chair this week as Nat is on IR with a screen. Never fear though, Hollywood is in the house alongside long-time friend of the show, TV sports person extraordinaire and third Montreal Canadiennes fan Mr Erik Janssen who joins the gang in basically wondering where it all went wrong...In other news: the guys talk karaoke for some reason; an extremely serious discussion happens in 3 points, this is rather strange; Dan has done all three of his marathons now, the last two in two weeks and massive thanks to all the 'Carnage faithful who sponsored him; The Golden State Warriors are your 2015 NBA Champions, beating Lebron James’ Cleveland Cavaliers in 6 games - it’s GSW’s fourth championship and their first in 40 years; Lebron has now made five straight finals, six overall and only won two; The Chicago Blackhawks are your Stanley Cup Champions - on Monday night Patrick Kane thumped home in Game 6 against the Tampa Bay Lightning; Gary Bettman praised the greatest dynasty of the modern age as he awarded the Cup to Duncan Keith, or did he. No – the Cup was stuck in traffic, having been kept at the airport during flash floods of the downtown area. The Cup made it 40 mins late. Bullshit. Said everyone; baseball things happen, Mike tells you about them; NFL things have happened, some of them even about football; loads of Bodean's mailbag goodness and a avcracking game which Erik chairs as Dan and Mike square off for the first time ever. all this and the requesite much, much more...
The Big Man is out of town this evening so Nat and Dan rock up to the studio eager and prepared to go all After Dark when who should arrive but star of stage and screen as well as one of the finest stand-ups on the circuit Mr Jarred Christmas! He soon proves that this is going to be an After Dark After All... Dan get offended by lots of things but nowhere near as offended as young people these days; Jarred reveals a strange relation to bacon; the ratio of Hitler documentaries vs. Stalin documentaries gets a heavy going-over; NFL is pretty quiet but this doesn't stop a once-over including domestic violence, rule breaking and crowd noise being pumped into stadia - pretty much like the regular season then; NHL-wise, in the East it’s last year’s beaten finalist New York Rangers against the Tampa Bay Lightning, who tragically beat the Montreal Canadiens, causing Dan and Mike to lose interest in the Stanley Cup for another year; in the NBA one Conference Final is over, one is about to be… the 2015 NBA Championship will be between, oh why don’t you just be patient; the West is the Golden State Warriors, who closed out against the Memphis Grizzlies in 6, and the Houston Rockets, who made it back from 3-1 and two of the worst performances in NBA history, to beat the LA Clippers in 7; Dan brings back Malett's Mallet but with a twist and it's awesome; loads of Bodean's Mailbag goodness and much, much more...
Nat is on IR with an office (don't ask) so Mike slips into the silky seat of ultimate power and hosts the hell out of this week's show. Dan rocks up to help and the guys are joined by All-Pro Man of Many Sports Phil Spooner who brings up an extremely valid modern social point, although mainly because he lost money...In other news: Phil is upset about something called cricket but doesn't want to talk about it; some general election stuff gets talked about but only in passing; Dan talks documentaries and socail media; Mike talks box-sets; deflate-gate is a load of... puns mainly - bad ones; the draft gets some deconstruction and Dan reckons his Colts have made their offence too good; in the NHL the Western Conference final will be Blackhawks and Ducks in a very one sided set of ornithological conference semis; in the East it’s game 7 between the Rangers and the Capitals tonight and game 6 between the Lightning and the Canadiens; in the NBA Conference semi finals Atlanta and Washington have been going back and forth for the last week; Nat sends an MLB round-up in but HdP folds to popular pressure and lets Mike read it; loads of Bodean's Mailbag goodness, 15% more nonsense and much, much more...
Nat, Mike and Dan have been missing you guys, especially seeing as HdP has been keeping them away from you with his sordid "hey guys, got to finish building the studio, y'know" antics. The good news is threefold: it's draft day's eve, draft expert Matt Phillips is in the house and the guys remenisce about the second time they ever did t hings with a lady. No, I didn't want to know either...In other news: Nat and Mike had a classy lunch together and it turns out Mike has a cocktail named after him; Dan says the word 'hubris' in the best way ever; Matt brings some Steinbeck to the table; Dan lays the moral side of his life bare, it's horrible; Matt delivers a cracking NFL draft round-up; Mike runs a mock draft; the Ducks sweep the Jets; the Canadiennes are 3 up; social media smack-talk gets an outing; baseball is more than back, it's back on the show and Nat runs you through the important bits; the NBA play-offs are properly underway and the Raptors are getting wailed on even after being dropped; Kevin Love has a deeply horrible injury which is hard enough to say, let alone have; loads of good stuff from the Bodean's Mailbag and of course, much, much more...
Mike and Dan assemble in the secret underground lair to go over their plans for world domination and how they're usually ruined when HdP gets drunk and loses the key to the CarnageTank or something* when who should rock up but a man who has the whole world domination thing sorted - people just give him all the shit he could possibly need - Mr Ben Isaacs!In other news: Dan accepts gifts from people who accept gifts from companies and is conflicted in more than one way; Ben buys something with his own money and boy does it feel good; Dan talks documentaries you need to see; Mike talks the movies of Jason Statham and the guys get surprisingly excited; March Madness is over and Mike tells you all about it; FIghtMadness is also over and we have a winner - listen to find out folks; a rare quiet week in the NFL means just drugs charges and murder trials to compete with the beginnings of draft-frenzy; NHL is coming to the sharp end of the season and it's all abit mental; NBA is coming to the sharp end of the season and it's a bit boring - well, less mental than hockey but them's the breaks; lots of fun in the Bodean's Mailbag and the requisite much, much more...*There is no CarnageTank, go back to sleep and dream happy dreams which don't involve a thousand foot high war machine implanted with Rex Ryan's brain.
Nat and Mike get to the studio to find two things which please them greatly - HdP's microphone is broken and Dan hasn't arrived yet. They plough straight in then have to do that 'aw, hey buddy, you made it...' thing when Dan rocks up and HdP talks anyway.In other news: Nat's kids pretend-phone Mike; Mike talks sitcom actors on stage; NFL things happen but less that usual - a rare drop off the radar for the 365-league; March Madness is getting good - you guys have the ESPN player, right...? Dan talks basketball pros and some hockey, including a deeply prescient look at how the Las Vegas team's crowds will be procured; there's a strangely high-brow game which gets low-brow quickly; loads of Bodean's Mailbag goodness, plust the requesite much, much more...
Nat, Mike and Dan are back together again after Hollywood being on IR with a nipple last week so they're so excited that talk turns immediately to biscuits and Nat reveals a heart-rending formative experience.In other news: talk turns quickly to NCAA basketball and Dan has an opinion on this; Mike talks World War 1 and Nat talk Spongebob, making Mike jealous as he didn't get to see the movie; apparently we've got the balance about right; lots of sports things happen, listen to find out about them; #fightmadness is still going and hilarious; loads of Bodean's Mailbag goodness and indeed much, much more...Also, please do sign up to the ESPN player using the promo code podcast2015 to be in with a chance of winning an awesome telly.
Nat and Mike are so sad that Dan isn't here this week that they plain forget to celebrate, something which is very strange indeed until you realise that all-pro 'Carnage favourite and master of all things sporting MR Erik Janssen is in the house and his hypnotic presence has the guys enraptured...In other news: for some reason the budget gets discussed; Erik is in fact a creepy step-relation but has the world's greatest collection of sports crap in his attic; NFL free agency keeps happening and ther's a hell of a lot to get through; defences have been the main winners but don't stand still near Chip Kelly, he'll trade you; we talk to our mate Andrew Joseph in Arixzona about March Madness; then we talk about more March Madness and #FightMadness; Erik does hockey, then tests the hell out of Nat and Mike with the first ever guest-made game. Bodeans mailbag of course and much, much more...Also, make sure you keep heading to www.espnplayer.com/espnplayer/ncaa...to sign up for the ESPN player and catch all the March Madness games live or on demand. Code podcast2015 in the promo box puts you in with a chance of winning a telly so awesome Mike can't conceive of its abilities...
Nat, Mike and Dan are ageless creatures who exist not like normal human beings, sustained by food and drink, rather they are driven on by the power of sports punditry (plus maybe a little Jamesons here and there) but they do still celebrate the anniversary of their coming to this plane of existance. This week there's much to celebrate with an Iron Birthday, the beginning of March Madness and some very special news from our friends at ESPN...In other news: Phil (da?) Producer's in the house and has been talking to Russel Brand; Mike has the joke box, this is obvious immediately; it's national Punch A Producer week and the gang seem strangely keen to take part; Mike talks Wolf Hall; Dan is running several marathons for charity, he's very runny these days; lots of NFL free agency stuff; some hockey things; March Madness is very nearly here and we're so excited we got Andrew Joseph, sports supremo from The Arizona Republic to lay it our for you; if that wasn't enough we've hooked up with ESPN to offer you the best way to watch all that good stuff on the ESPN Player and win a telly too...! I know, we're far too good to you. There is of course much, much more but you knew that, right?
Nat's on IR this week so Mike slips into the host's chair with the ease of a man passing a joke box. Amazingly enough, he has his joke box with him, something which amazes and delights both Dan and man of the hour and Sport Creator Mr Marek Larwood.In other news: Dan has run a long way; the show is going weekly again for a while - March Madness basically, thanks to ESPN and the ESPN Player (remember this plug, you will need to love it); films get discussed in surprising range and sensitivity but don't worry, it won't happen again; franchise time has happened and there were very few surprises; basketball is happening and Kobe got kicked in the dick; NCAA basketball is happening and you need to get involved; in the NHL the Canadienes are doing surprisingly well, much to Mike and Dan's delight; an Oscar post-mortem (we're well current) and much, much more...
Nat, Mike and Dan are well known for their film knowledge and seeing as we're in the grip of awards season they tackle the big question: what if Oscar the Grouch was nominated, but didn't win...? In other news: Mike talks poetry; Dan talks Stephen Hawking sex; Nat talks SNL and the debate spins on to difficult territory; Mike busks a round-up but does surprisingly well talking all about the hired and fired in the NFL; Dan uses a script and somehow does worse; the All-Star game is officially shit, but we've known that for years; actual Oscar picks happen; loads of Bodean's mailbag goodness including possibly our favourite email ever and much, much more...
Nat, Mike and Dan are all in one place for the second week in a row (a record for 2015) to witness the much-lamented return of HdP from his Nicaraguan adventures. They don't let this get in the way of a good old fashioned Super Bowl dissection so there's still a reason to listen... In other news: Big thanks for Ann for keeping the good ship 'Carnage on a fine course; Dan talks miscarriage of justice documentaries; Mike makes all take pause using a Hemmingway story; Nat talks Springsteen-related things - who knew he liked the guy?!; Osi Umenora is a Katy Perry fan, Gethen failed to get her number for him; Mike runs down XLIX so no need to say any more here; in the NBA, Atlanta lead the East; Golden State lead the West; Atlant's streak broke on the unlikely shoulder of the New Orleans Pelicans; Kobe news: still injured. But is going to be in an HBO doc called ‘A Legend Unguarded’; Tampa Bay lead the East from Montreal; while Nashville have finally displaced Anaheim as the leaders of the West; the league is all about Peel Gate - on Monday the NHL suspended controversial referee Tim Peel, not for the several bad calls he has made recently, but because he met Puck Daddy’s Greg Wyshinksi in a Manhattan bar, and posed drinking tequila the night before the game; loads of Bodean's Mailbag goodness; a game which works surprisingly well and much, much more...
Harry's still away, and there's no Hollywood Dan, but Nat and Mike are joined by Matthew Phillips - a stats man when it comes to College Football. He takes us deep into the College game and looks ahead to the upcoming draft picks. In other news: Mike attempts to steal from the guest; Volfsball makes a brief return; and we let listeners know where the hell we've been.
Hollywood Dan is back, but with Nat away this week we've had to bring in Nat's Soundbox as a substitute. The Mike and Dan are joined by The Guardian's James Dart, who weighs in on the big Super Bowl chat. In other news: Dan gets showered with gifts; the guys chat balls with deflate-gate; you can join in on Dan's Oscars game; and maybe you'll be seeing Americarnage on Tinder soon.
This week Nat and Mike (still no Hollywood Dan) are joined by stand up comedian James Shakeshaft, who gets us up to speed on Japanese baseball. We've got chat about deflate-gate, Seattle v Greenbay, and some British soccer. In other news: Nat gets a new Springsteen album; Harry's still lost in Nicaragua; the team discuss podcasts; and Mike's been watching French films again.