The Cook & Joe Show

The full Pomp and Joe Show, with Bob Pompeani, Joe Starkey, and Austin Bechtold (behind the glass), from Thursday, June 26th, 2025

Hour 1 with Bob Pompeani, Joe Starkey, and Tyler Kennedy: Joe is freaking out that he is struggling at golf. The Penguins will hand out the book "Mind Gym" to players to try and make sure they have their minds right. Should the Penguins move up in the draft? Bryan Rust's no-movement clause expires in a few days. Is he more valuable as a veteran on the Penguins or as a trade piece?? The biggest issues are goaltending and what to do with Erik Karlsson

Hour 2 with Bob Pompeani and Joe Starkey: James Palmer is hearing there is a chance T.J. Watt gets over $40 million from the Steelers. Paying Watt over $40 million is extravagant. Do the Steelers need to sign Watt before Parsons? Jay Glazer thinks Tomlin-Rodgers is a 'perfect match.' Joe included Sidney Crosby, Ben Roethlisberger, Evgeni Malkin, Andrew McCutchen, Troy Polamalu

Hour 3 with Bob Pompeani and Joe Starkey: Barry Bonds is getting a statue in San Francisco. Should Barry Bonds be in the Hall of Fame? The Pirates moved Oneil Cruz down to 5th in the lineup, but we don't think he should have played after being benched for a lack of effort. Cruz has one home run since May 28. Would you offer Oneil Cruz the Bryan Reynolds contract?

Hour 4 with Bob Pompeani, Joe Starkey, and Jeff Hathhorn: 93.7 The Fan Sports Director Jeff Hathhorn joined the show. Our Pirates all-century team of the last 25 years. Pedro Alvarez is our third baseman. Jack Wilson plays short. Should Starling Marte be our left fielder? Bob thinks Brian Giles should be considered. Jeff gives us his top Pitt players of the last 25 years.

Jeff Hathhorn gives us his top Pitt players of the last 25 years.

93.7 The Fan Sports Director Jeff Hathhorn joined the show. Our Pirates all-century team of the last 25 years. Pedro Alvarez is our third baseman. Jack Wilson plays short. Should Starling Marte be our left fielder? Bob thinks Brian Giles should be considered.

The Pirates moved Oneil Cruz down to 5th in the lineup, but we don't think he should have played after being benched for a lack of effort. Cruz has one home run since May 28. Would you offer Oneil Cruz the Bryan Reynolds contract? Joe shares what he is looking for at Next Up on The Fan, which includes immediately grabbing attention.

Barry Bonds is getting a statue in San Francisco. Should Barry Bonds be in the Hall of Fame? A big debate on if Barry Bonds should be in the Hall of Fame, with Austin believing Bonds shouldn't be in but is fine with Bonds having a statue in San Francisco.

Joe included Sidney Crosby, Ben Roethlisberger, Evgeni Malkin, Andrew McCutchen, Troy Polamalu. McCutchen is one of only three players in Pittsburgh this century to win an MVP. Malkin won Rookie of the Year, MVP, two scoring titles, playoff MVP, and three Stanley Cups. Mario Lemieux is the only other Pittsburgh sports athlete to win Rookie of the Year, MVP, and playoff MVP.

Jesse Palmer is hearing there is a chance T.J. Watt gets over $40 million from the Steelers. Do the Steelers need to sign Watt before Parsons? Jay Glazer thinks Tomlin-Rodgers is a 'perfect match.' Glazer said the only two places he thought Rodgers could win a Super Bowl was with the Rams and the Steelers.

Bryan Rust's no-movement clause expires in a few days. Is he more valuable as a veteran on the Penguins or as a trade piece?? The biggest issues are goaltending and what to do with Erik Karlsson.

Stanley Cup Champion Tyler Kennedy joined the show in studio. Tyler suffered a golf injury! Joe is freaking out that he is struggling at golf. The Penguins will hand out the book "Mind Gym" to players to try and make sure they have their minds right. What is your favorite venue in the city? What was the loudest moment at the Civic Arena or PPG Paints Arena? 

The full Pomp and Joe Show, with Joe Starkey and Austin Bechtold (behind the glass), from Wednesday, June 25th, 2025

Hour 1 with Joe Starkey: Don Kelly benched Oneil Cruz for a lack of hustle running out a double play. Crowley is giving Aaron Rodgers the benefit of the doubt and is optimistic about his season. Should T.J. Watt be in our top five Pittsburgh athletes of the past 25 years?

Hour 2 with Joe Starkey: George Pickens will not be attending his youth football camp on June 28th. Pickens is now not going to be a part of it, but tight end Pat Freiermuth has stepped up and will be a guest at the camp. Dionte Johnson said he was "too cold" to go into a game with the Ravens. Greg Brown told Mullsy he thinks Ben Cherington is going to make a big move to acquire an impactful bat.

Hour 3 with Joe Starkey: Dan Zangrilli is disappointed in Oneil Cruz that he's not taking advantage of the opportunity to be one of the faces of the game. Dan would trade controllable pitchers for bats and thinks Dennis Santana and David Bednar could go. The five greatest moments in Pittsburgh sports. Steelers insider Mark Kaboly of the Pat McAfee Show joined the show. Mark believes Aaron Rodgers is likely going to retire after this season.

Hour 4 with Joe Starkey: The Steelers need Broderick Jones to take a significant step and be a good left tackle. Kaleb Johnson has great potential and Mark thinks he will have "much better" numbers than Najee Harris in his Steelers career. Pirates midseason awards: Who is your Pirates MVP outside of Paul Skenes? Ke'Bryan Hayes and Bryan Reynolds are LVP candidates. We're keeping our eyes on Bubba Chandler, Konnor Griffin, and Termarr Johnson.

Pirates midseason awards: Who is your Pirates MVP outside of Paul Skenes? Ke'Bryan Hayes and Bryan Reynolds are LVP candidates. We're keeping our eyes on Bubba Chandler, Konnor Griffin, and Termarr Johnson.

The Steelers need Broderick Jones to take a significant step and be a good left tackle. Mark Kaboly thinks he's always been athletic, but hasn't had enough time at left tackle. Kaleb Johnson has great potential and Mark thinks he will have "much better" numbers than Najee Harris in his Steelers career.

The five greatest moments in Pittsburgh sports. Steelers insider Mark Kaboly of the Pat McAfee Show joined the show. Other moments include Ben's tackle, the fake slide, and Chris Kunitz scoring in 2 OT. Mark believes Aaron Rodgers is likely going to retire after this season. Mark thinks it could be a big motivator for Rodgers.

Joe Starkey and Dan Zangrilli react to Cruz playing finale in Milwaukee.

Dan would like to see the Pirates re-sign IKF, but we all think he will be traded. Dan is disappointed in Oneil Cruz that he's not taking advantage of the opportunity to be one of the faces of the game. Dan called it "a public embarrassment" by benching Cruz in the game and that the Pirates need to do something to help Oneil Cruz figure it out.

Greg Brown told Mullsy he thinks Ben Cherington is going to make a big move to acquire an impactful bat. The Pirates need a young player who is either proven, or a AAA stud. There needs to be emphasis on bats. Who could the Pirates acquire to change the lineup?

George Pickens will not be attending his youth football camp on June 28th. The team putting together the camp was told by Pickens' team he would still be there. Pickens is now not going to be a part of it, but tight end Pat Freiermuth has stepped up and will be a guest at the camp. Dionte Johnson said he was "too cold" to go into a game with the Ravens.

Should T.J. Watt be in our top five Pittsburgh athletes of the past 25 years? Watt should be a 3x Defensive Player of the Year. We would have to bump Andrew McCutchen, Evgeni Malkin, or Troy Polamalu. Jeff Patton of Baseball Card Castle joined the show with a Nick Gonzales signed card for Starkey's Card of the Week.

It's Skenes Day and a GREAT pitching matchup against the Brewers. Don Kelly benched Oneil Cruz for a lack of hustle running out a double play. Crowley is giving Aaron Rodgers the benefit of the doubt and is optimistic about his season.

The full Pomp and Joe Show, with Bob Pompeani (10-11:30am), Joe Starkey, and Austin Bechtold (behind the glass), from Tuesday, June 24th, 2025

Hour 1 with Bob Pompeani and Joe Starkey: What if a year from now the Pirates' key bats have developed, do we change the lens on Cherington? Henry Davis is back on the bench. The Pirates have an abundance of young pitching. Will Cherington ever trade some of the pitching for a bat? Would you deal Bubba Chandler for an impact bat?

Hour 2 with Bob Pompeani and Joe Starkey: Brian thinks the Steelers could acquire another corner and wonders what they do at inside corner. Derrick Harmon and Kaleb Johnson both have good chances to make significant impacts. Jaire Alexander wasn't a realistic signing. The Steelers have checked in on Miami corner Jalen Ramsey. Adam Schefter is reporting a deal isn't likely.

Hour 3 with Joe Starkey: Who are the five best Pittsburgh sports athletes of the past 25 years? We get into a big debate over the topic and if we should include Antonio Brown. Callers weigh in on their top five. Aaron Rodgers said "this is it" for his NFL career and pretty sure he will retire after this season. He wants to finish playing for a cornerstone franchise.

Hour 4 with Joe Starkey: Michael McKenry knows that David Bednar would sign an extension. He thinks Bednar could be an All-Star. He believes Don Kelly has done a better job communicating with players. The Penguins will pick 11 and 12. Aaron Rodgers on The Pat McAfee Show said his conversations with Mike Tomlin are what brought him to Pittsburgh and it was like talking to an old friend.

The Penguins will pick 11 and 12. Aaron Rodgers on The Pat McAfee Show said his conversations with Mike Tomlin are what brought him to Pittsburgh and it was like talking to an old friend.

Spencer Horwitz is hitting for a higher average and gets on base. Michael thinks he's getting comfortable and it's not easy sitting out the first month on a new team. He believes Don Kelly has done a better job communicating with players. Michael knows that David Bednar would sign an extension. He thinks Bednar could be an All-Star.

Joe Starkey reacts to the Steelers QB telling Pat McAfee he will probably retire after one year in Pittsburgh.

Who are the five best Pittsburgh sports athletes of the past 25 years? We get into a big debate over the topic and if we should include Antonio Brown. Callers weigh in on their top 5!

The Steelers have checked in on Miami corner Jalen Ramsey. Adam Schefter is reporting a deal isn't likely though. Should the Steelers acquire Ramsey? The Bengals don't want to give guaranteed money to Shemar Stewart, like they've done for previous first-round picks.

Could the Steelers acquire Mike Hilton? Derrick Harmon and Kaleb Johnson both have good chances to make significant impacts. Jaire Alexander signed with the Ravens but Brian didn't think the Steelers would sign him because they signed Darius Slay. Who are the five best athletes in Pittsburgh sports the last 25 years?

Joe shares the story of how a teacher fell in love with a Dolphin. Would you deal Bubba Chandler for an impact bat? Braxton Ashcraft has pitched very well and could be someone you include in a trade. 

Spencer Horwitz is now hitting .280. Nick Gonzales went 5-5 on Monday and has significantly changed his outlook. What if a year from now the Pirates' key bats have developed, do we change the lens on Cherington? Will Cherington ever trade some of the pitching for a bat? The Pirates seem fearful to make a big move to acquire hitters.

The full Pomp and Joe Show, with Bob Pompeani, Joe Starkey, and Austin Bechtold (behind the glass), from Monday, June 23rd, 2025

Hour 1 with Bob Pompeani and Joe Starkey: Tyrese Haliburton tore his Achilles in game 7 and the Oklahoma City Thunder won. T.J. McConnell played great in the 3rd quarter with 10 straight points. Oneil Cruz missed a play on a base hit to center field and didn't show effort to chase after the ball when it went to the track. Tommy Pham said he deals with keratoconus, giving him blurry vision. Ben Cherington still thinks the Pirates have a group that can play winning baseball in 2025.