Heat Check

Abhishek Goel, Joey Bohley, and Dylan Wolfson preview William & Mary Football's upcoming game versus James Madison University with Cornerback Malcolm Spencer '22 and Punter Will Whitehurst '22. Malcolm and Will return from last week's Tribe Football Preview fresh off of a commanding 31-10 victory which saw Malcolm record 5 tackles and 2 pass break ups en route to earning Tribe Club Defensive Player of the Week honors and Will continue a strong punting campaign with a ball downed inside the 10 yard line. Malcolm and Will tell us what went right this past weekend and how they are preparing to take on #1 in the nation JMU.

Abhishek Goel, Joey Bohley, Dylan Wolfson, and Brandon LaRocco preview William & Mary Football's upcoming game versus Elon with Cornerback Malcolm Spencer '22 and Punter Will Whitehurst '22. Malcolm and Will, frequent contributors to the podcast, both made their first starts for W&M in the season opener versus Richmond and reflect on that experience while detailing the preparation going into preparing for Elon. Additionally, they tell us the rigorous steps Tribe Football are taking to reduce the risk of COVID transmission, how Division 1 College Football looks during COVID times, and how the team is shaping up for the rest of the season. Being on the CAA Commissioner's Academic Honor Roll, they also reflect on the student-athlete experience over Zoom. We wish them the best of luck this season!

Abhishek Goel, Dylan Wolfson, and Joey Bohley are joined by special guest Josh Bobb to preview Super Bowl LV between the Kansas City Chiefs and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. We discuss all the major story lines heading into the big game, including the highly anticipated QB matchup between Patrick Mahomes and Tom Brady. We also give our picks (37:45), projected score, and MVP predictions.

Abhishek Goel, Dylan Wolfson, and Joey Bohley get together to break down the NFL playoff field and take a look at the season in review. We begin by breaking down the biggest story lines from the regular season (0:33) including the NFL's handling of COVID-19, the best and worst teams around the league, the hottest and coldest teams entering the postseason, and the MVP debate. The crew then gives our picks for every playoff matchup (58:55) and pick a surprising unanimous Super Bowl winner (1:19:20).

Abhishek Goel, Aron Jaffe, Brandon LaRocco, and Ethan Ruh get together to wrap up the semester and review recent happenings in and around our lives and the community. First, we discuss the recent Tribe Athletics decision (0:32) to reinstate the Tribe 7 sports teams, reversing an earlier decision to cut their programs. Next, we discuss Esports (9:58) at W&M including the introduction of the the Esports academic department and various competitive teams. We then reflect on this unique semester (23:25) and share our various experiences with virtual learning and the continuing pandemic.

Abhishek Goel, Joey Bohley, and Dylan Wolfson react to the recent resignation of W&M Athletics Director Samantha Huge and where Tribe Athletics, Save the Tribe 7, and Interim AD Jeremy Martin go from here (0:33) and the recent outbreak of COVID-19 within Tribe Athletics and W&M’s response to the Coronavirus Pandemic (20:50). We then send well wishes to recent Tribe Football Alum and current New England Patriots DT Bill Murray after his recent COVID-19 positive test result (28:26) and break down the NFL Season after Week 4 (29:15). Between increased injuries, COVID-19 protocols, and actual performances of players and teams, this year is already full of intriguing story lines. The trio finishes by giving their Super Bowl picks (61:03) which are bound to change between now and the playoffs. Thanks for listening!

Rebecca Rodgers, a member of William & Mary’s Women’s Swimming Team, joins Abhishek Goel, Dylan Wolfson, Joey Bohley, and Will Whitehurst to discuss the recent decision made by AD Samantha Huge and W&M Athletics to discontinue 7 varsity athletics programs amid financial concerns to the university. Rebecca takes us inside her experience on that fateful day and the harsh conditions surrounding how her and the 118 affected student athletes and 13 coaches found out their programs were being discontinued. She also describes how AD Huge’s notification to the teams in a meeting was very brief and was ended abruptly without time for questions. Swimming and all of the Tribe 7 sports have received tremendous support from the W&M community in the wake of W&M Athletics’ decision, and here you can help support the causes to Save the Tribe 7 at linktr.ee/savethetribe7 Save Tribe Swimming at linktr.ee/savetribeswimming Save Tribe Track linktr.ee/savetribetrack Save Tribe Gymnastics linktr.ee/savewmgym

Abhishek Goel, Brandon LaRocco, Dylan Wolfson, Joey Bohley, Chance Cephas, and Malcolm Spencer get together to discuss all things NBA Playoffs (1:37). We go over the two most recent game 7’s in the West, dive into every first round series, discuss the biggest storylines, and give outlooks for every second round series. After an exciting conversation, we close out with everyone giving their NBA Finals predictions (80:35). Special thanks to Malcolm and Chance for joining us and having a great NBA discussion!

Abhishek Goel, Brandon LaRocco, Christian Longo, Dylan Wolfson, Ethan Ruh, and Joey Bohely get together to begin the third season of Heat Check! The crew answers more extremely hypothetical questions posed by our very own Ethan Ruh (1:23) in the second installment of Ruh's Q's. Questions Ethan asks this episode include a unique telescope finding, a statistical quandary surrounding choosing envelopes (8:42), a Monty Hall problem sidebar (17:06), theoretical questions about knees (19:49), a worldwide genie-like wish exploration (25:56), a heated debate centered around ducks and rhinos (32:42), and close with a riddle on penguins in the desert (44:02).

Abhishek Goel, Brandon LaRocco, Dylan Wolfson, and Joey Bohley get together to talk about the NBA returning and the central story lines during the seeding games. The team examines how the Bubble is going (0:34), the Lakers-Clippers opening night matchup (11:00), the Pelicans-Jazz battle and Zion’s minutes (31:50), the Wizards’ woes and the Ish Smith rule (42:27), the Rockets and Nuggets as legitimate title contenders (46:54), the post hype contenders in the East (52:30), lemon pepper Lou Williams and the sixth man debate (56:58), then give our updated Finals picks (64:45). The gang is very excited to be watching NBA basketball once again.

Abhishek Goel, Will Whitehurst, Ethan Ruh, Dylan Wolfson, and Joey Bohley take on a unique task in this episode: they hold a mock draft for a basketball season… composed entirely of Pokemon! (0:34) The rules are simple, but the strategies are anything but. Using the original 151 Pokemon features in the Kanto pokedex, the Heat Check crew construct their teams. The draft officially gets underway at (3:30) if you want to jump straight into the action. After a grueling draft process filled with unexpected picks the teams are complete (47:32), at which point heated debates ensue arguing whose team would reign supreme in an NBA style season and playoff (48:52). This episode is a fun exercise and is sure to brighten Pokemon and sports fans’ days.

Marcus Crowell joins Abhishek Goel, Brandon LaRocco, Dylan Wolfson, and Will Whitehurst in an important discussion on the state of the country in the wake of George Floyd's brutal murder by a former member of the Minneapolis Police Department whose knee was seen on Floyd's neck for 8 minutes and 46 seconds on video (1:01). The discussion also examines the national conversations on police brutality and systemic racism seen taking place across the country, activism and protests spanning the globe, and addressing the country's historic discrimination of Black people. We also talk about Adrian Wojarnowski, the NBA bubble, sports returning, and the intersection of sports and social activism (47:34). Additionally, we cover universities addressing their complex histories with slavery and racism and how William & Mary could be doing more to address these issues, including renaming buildings and taking statues down (72:02). To find ways to help the movement, including petitions to sign, places to donate, registering to vote, and resources to educate yourself on the issues, visit https://blacklivesmatters.carrd.co/ BLACK LIVES MATTER

Abhishek Goel, Aron Jaffe, Brandon LaRocco, Dylan Wolfson, Joey Bohley, and Ethan Ruh virtually get together to talk about the Coronavirus pandemic and the state of the country, including what this means for the fall 2020 semester (0:49). We also explore the potential impact of COVID-19 on college athletic programs, especially if the football season were to be cancelled. We also discuss quarantine life and talk about the shows we are watching (28:13), including The Clone Wars (up to S7E10) which is streaming on Disney+. We then talk about the recent anti-lockdown protests around the country (36:46), before covering our changing and uncertain summer plans (41:12).

Abhishek Goel, Dylan Wolfson, Aron Jaffe, and Brandon LaRocco get together to talk about how the global pandemic COVID-19, also known as Coronavirus, is affecting the world, the US, and the William & Mary community. Next, we talk about the college basketball landscape, focusing first on William & Mary Men’s Basketball before the CAA tournament, and then the wider D1 college basketball scene before March Madness. (Note: Episode 15 was recorded on March 6th, notably before the CAA tournament occurred and before the NCAA tournament was cancelled; it was also before COVID-19 became a pandemic and a national emergency was declared in the US. We hope you enjoy this episode with this in mind!)

We start off (0:27) by paying our condolences and celebrating the life of Kobe Bean Bryant (1978-2020), who tragically passed away after a helicopter crash. After a moment of silence (16:28), we look at the NBA (17:21) and how the season is going so far with the All Star Break approaching soon, and make our picks for the Finals.

William & Mary Tribe Men’s Basketball Head Coach Dane Fischer joins Abhishek Goel, Joey Bohley, Dylan Wolfson, and Brandon LaRocco to discuss the upcoming season for MBB and how the team is shaping up this year. Fischer was asked about a lot of topics, including the recent win on the road against Wofford to move to 3-0, the Nathan Knight - Andy Van Vliet front court, the transition from assistant to head coach, and the prospects of leading the Tribe to the NCAA tournament in March.

Abhishek Goel, Joey Bohley, Ethan Dewald, Aaron Jaffe, Brandon LaRocco, and Dylan Wolfson get together to share our opinions on William & Mary’s dining hall situation, and then each of them present an obscure sport or sporting event, and take a look into the rules, strategies, and culture surrounding them.

Abhishek Goel, Brandon LaRocco, Joey Bohley, Ethan Ruh, and Ethan Dewald get together to reflect on what our most influential and memorable sports moments witnessed live are from any level of competition (0:31), including our personal athletic careers, and then ask the question what is an athlete (32:42) and explore what the qualifiers are for being an athlete, discuss who is and isn't an athlete, and even question what is and isn't a sport.

Abhishek Goel, Aron Jaffe, Joey Bohley, Brandon LaRocco, Dylan Wolfson, and Ethan Dewald reunite to kick off the 2nd season of Heat Check and have a discussion about what a sandwich is, featuring the central question of if a hot dog is a sandwich, then we talk about the new NFL season and look at the biggest storylines from the summer and first week.

Abhishek Goel, Brandon LaRocco, Joey Bohley, and Dylan Wolfson get together one last time this year to discuss the NFL Draft (0:55) and the big storylines surrounding it, as well as the NBA Playoffs (15:36) with a look at the second round matchups, impact players, and our championship predictions. We then conclude with a heartfelt reflection of our year in relation to Heat Check and give our thanks to everyone involved with the podcast (44:20).

Abhishek Goel, Joey Bohley, Logan Rakes, Will Whitehurst, Brandon LaRocco, Bryce Whitney, and Aron Jaffe talk about the most highly anticipated movies coming out in 2019 (0:39), from Avengers: Endgame to Toy Story 4 to Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker and everything in between. We then discuss the 2019 Champions League final four (35:31) and look at the matchups while giving our takes for who is most likely to win the final in Madrid.

Abhishek Goel, Joey Bohley, Dylan Wolfson, and Brandon LaRocco talk about the NHL playoffs (mainly pertaining to the Washington Capitals) and the entire NBA playoffs field (13:53), looking in at each matchup and giving our thoughts about the biggest factors to look out for during the series, as well as our picks for who can win a championship.

Abhishek Goel, Joey Bohley, and Dylan Wolfson preview the Final Four and talk about the teams and their odds of winning the championship. We also talk about William & Mary’s Basketball program and their recent head coaching hire Dane Fischer, and the Tribe’s chances of making the tournament next year.

Abhishek Goel, Joey Bohley, and Dylan Wolfson examine the NCAA College Basketball Division 1 Tournament bracket, discuss the field, and make our picks. We tackle many intriguing questions like Duke or not Duke, who our favorite upset picks are, and who we are rooting for in the tournament.

Abhishek Goel, Joey Bohley, Dylan Wolfson, Brandon LaRocco, Ethan Ruh, Ethan Dewald, and Daniel Costantino join to talk about extremely hypothetical questions posed by Ethan Ruh (0:38) and then discuss the NBA season so far, from our early MVP picks to separating the contenders from the pretenders in the East and the West (22:47).

Abhishek Goel, Joey Bohley, Brandon LaRocco, Bryce Whitney, and Ethan Stevenson break down the upcoming Super Bowl between the New England Patriots and the Los Angeles Rams in Atlanta this Sunday, taking a look at the matchups, the head coaching battle, and things we’re looking forward to seeing.

Brandon LaRocco, Dylan Wolfson, Logan Rakes, Ethan Dewald, and Daniel Costantino join to talk about the college basketball ‘one and done’ rule and the impact that removing it may have on college and professional basketball. In light of Stephen Hillenburg’s recent passing, we reflect on the most influential cartoons from our childhood that helped shape who we are today (30:57).

Joey Bohley and Brandon LaRocco join to talk about the ongoing contract dispute between Le’Veon Bell and the Pittsburgh Steelers. We also debate what the best dining hall on campus is, and look at the pros and cons of each dining experience.