The Talking Friendship with Mike D Podcast

In Episode 1 of Season 6 Mike welcomes two good buddies onto the podcast to kick off the season for a free flowing conversation about the friendship ties that bind and a yearly tradition that has become legendary from coast to coast.  Follow the podcast on BLUESKY: @friendsofmikedEmail the podcast at talkingfriendship@gmail.comKey moments from the pod: 0:30: Mike welcomes listeners to S6E1 featuring Mark Sgriccia and Zach Drennen!1:45: Mike sets the table for Season 6 of the podcast2:28: MIke then talks about what's been going on with him since Season 5 of the pod ended and it involves A LOT of amazing traveling including trips to:3:20: Cancun!4:00: Glasgow! (where Mike tried to play the bagpipes and failed miserably)6:00: London! (where Mike scaled monuments, watched football (soccer), and learned some rock and roll history).8:00: Canada (specifically Alberta) to see the Red Wings take down the Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames along with soaking in some Canadian culture and fresh brews.11:00: Italy (specifically Rome, Florence and Milan) for history, food, art, architecture, sport and friendship building!14:15: Mike plays a smidge of an Italian song that he was listening to while traversing Italia on the trip.18:00: Mike brings on two true blue Wolverines who have skyrocketed up his personal FQR (friendship quality rankings).21:00: Mike lays out the plan for the rest of the episode, including introducing a long-standing friendship tradition22:45: The guys get into the last time they saw each other, including an epic March Madness gathering at Zach's as well as at the beginning of the Dusty May era.28:00: Zach and Mark give their respective histories about becoming Michigan fans.33:15: Zach then talks about how he's become the wizard of recaps.34:15: The guys talk about how they first crossed paths at the Michigan/Penn State game in State College in 2023.42:30: Zach and Mark reflect on what the 2023 Michigan football season means to them.47:15: The guys then talk about the 2024 season and how it compared to 2023 as well as noting how Ohio State's 2024 “championship” season will forever be less than.55:00: Mark and Zach then give the history of their road game weekend tradition.1:02:00: The guys then go over the most recent iteration of this epic tradition: the Michigan/Washington game in Seattle in 2024.1:09:00: Mark then talks through how the specific road game for the RGWT (road game weekend tradition) gets chosen which involves a west coast BBQ, a powerpoint/Google slides presentation and data-informed decision making.1:15:00: The guys then discuss the plans for the 2025 Michigan/USC road game in LA (which is NOT necessarily the official RGWT choice for the 2025 season.1:19:00: The guys then talk about the vibes for the 2025 Michigan football team as of the spring of 2025.1:24:45: The episode comes to an end with the guys sharing what makes the RGWT special and where it might go.

In Episode 17 of Season 5 Mike and the usual college football preview crew (Tim Horvath and Chad Massey) pick back up for their fourth annual college football preview podcast episode, this time focused on the 2024 season with a slight focus on the Michigan Wolverines (reigning national champions of the whole nation).Follow the podcast on Twitter/X: @friendsofmikedEmail the podcast at talkingfriendship@gmail.comKey moments from the pod: 0:30: Mike welcomes listeners to S5E17 featuring Tim Horvath and Chad Massey3:00: Mike talks about the plans for the podcast offseason and Season 6 and then corrects some huge errors from prior episodes, including an inaccurate description of Great Britain and her component nations as well as a misallocated sack in the Rose Bowl (apologies to Josiah Stewart)5:30: Mike then recaps his trip to CDMX aka Mexico City (and how much he loved it).6:45: Finally, Mike features a small bit of a new Eddie Vedder cover track that speaks to the current state of the Michigan Wolverine football team.13:30: Mike welcomes Tim Horvath and Chad Massey into the podcast studio and the guys give comprehensive life updates, including Tim's son spurning Purdue to become a Wolverine.20:30: The guys touch on their thoughts on college football conference realignment.24:15: Next up is a discussion of the revamped Michigan coaching staff led by Sherrone Moore, including new Defensive Coordinator Wink Martindale.31:00: The guys then talk about the evolution of Michigan's approach to name, image and likeness (NIL) rights, including how critical using NIL to retain players has been for the Wolverines.37:15:  The Big 10 has brought in several new head coaches and the guys discuss who they are most intrigued by coming into 2024.41:15: The guys then go through their reasons for optimism for Michigan football in 2024.  The future is bright!45:40: Next up are reasons for concern for the 2024 Michigan Wolverines.49:20: The guys then talk about their key players for Michigan's season.56:00: Key Michigan football position groups for the season.58:45: The guys then go game by game through Michigan's season starting with Fresno St1:00:15: Texas1:03:15: Arkansas St1:04:05: Southern California1:06:00: The Battle for the Brown Jug (Minnesota)1:07:40: Washington1:11:30: Illinois1:14:30: Michigan State1:20:00: Oregon1:23:15: Indiana1:25:00: Northwestern1:27:15: Ohio State1:34:45: The guys predict the Big 10 Champion1:36:30: The guys then predict the 12 Team playoff and national champions1:41:45: The episode wraps up with an emotional sign off

In Episode 16 of Season 5 Mike and his best in the nation Michigan fan buddies Irfan Bhabhrawala and Kevin Werner put a bow on a legendary season of college football, friendship and life by discussing the 2024 National Championship game between the Michigan Wolverines and the Washington Huskies.  Follow the podcast on Twitter/X: @friendsofmikedEmail the podcast at talkingfriendship@gmail.comKey moments from the pod: 0:30: Mike welcomes listeners to S5E16 featuring Irfan Bhabhrawala and Kevin Werner4:00: Mike corrects zero mistakes from past episodes5:00: What's been going with Mike D?  Practicing gratitude and how Mike is incredibly grateful for what the 2023 Michigan football team has given to him.15:15: Mike welcomes on Irfan and Kevin to set the table for a deep dive on the 2024 National Championship game with Irfan and Kevin also telling their respective life stories, which include Irfan becoming a titan of finance and Kevin impressing his wife with his level of internet fame among Michigan fans.34:30: The guys talk about the last time they saw each other and what they were doing as well as their thoughts coming into the 2023 Michigan football season.44:00: Next up is a discussion about their thoughts on the National Championship game opponent for Michigan, the Washington Huskies. 53:00: The guys talk about some of the logistical challenges in even getting to Houston as fans (especially Irfan and Kevin), including Irfan's command of the travel logistics variables.  Truly legendary.1:02:00: It's game day in Houston!  The guys discuss their now iconic hotel lobby tailgate and unique the feeling was that Monday leading up to the game.1:09:50: The guys then break down Michigan's National Championship victory over the Washington Huskies.1:38:00: Michigan are your national champions!!!  The guys reflect on what it felt to be there and the immediate aftermath of the glorious victory, which includes the best (or at least most satisfying) burrito Kevin and Irfan have ever eaten.1:45:00: The guys wrap up with a philosophical reflection on the lasting meaning of Michigan's 2023 season.  It's one that will never be forgotten.

In Episode 15 of Season 5 Mike and his cool California buddies PJ and Arvind talk the 2024 Rose Bowl, the site of Michigan's now iconic playoff win over the Alabama Crimson Tide in Overtime, in one of most memorable Michigan football wins in the history of not only the Michigan program but all of college football.  Follow the podcast on Twitter/X: @friendsofmikedEmail the podcast at talkingfriendship@gmail.comKey moments from the pod: 0:30: Mike welcomes listeners to S5E15 featuring Prashant “PJ” Jolepalem and Arvind Ramakrishnan2:45: Mike corrects some embarrassing gaffes from past episodes, including misstatements about where in North Carolina he recently visited and his friend Jay Bibby's citizenship.4:15: Mike talks (very quickly) about what's been going on with him, including invoking “res ipsa loquitur” to describe the conversation later in the episode with his buddies PJ and Arvind, and the song that captures the vibe of this legendary game and experience.10:30: Mike welcomes Prashant and Arvind onto the podcast and they introduce themselves to the listeners and the three trace the origins of their friendship.17:30: The guys talk about the importance of thinking through “tailgate logistics” ahead of time.20:30: Next up the guys talk about their thoughts about this Michigan football team coming into the season, looking back on how Michigan got to Pasadena and whether Mike D received a championship ring based on this season.28:00: The guys talk about what the experience was like leading up to the game itself in Southern California, including meeting up with their good buddy Zach, watching Lions/Cowboys from LA Live and how Mike was fighting a brutal cold (but pushed through!).33:00: It's January 1, 2024 aka game day in Pasadena.  The guys talk about taking LA public transit up to the game, the Tournament of Roses parade, walking to the Stadium (eschewing the shuttle) and tailgating on the golf course.40:00: Next the guys head into the stadium itself and begin the tale of what happened in the game itself.1:19:00: Ecstasy and relief!!  Michigan wins and the guys try to describe it.

In Episode 14 of Season 5 Mike and his longtime Michigan football buddy Ryan Lewin talk the 2023 Big 10 Championship game, including what the experience is like attending this college football fiesta in person in Indianapolis and how the Wolverines clinched their third straight undisputed Big 10 Championship against the hapless Iowa Hawkeyes.  Follow the podcast on Twitter/X: @friendsofmikedEmail the podcast at talkingfriendship@gmail.comKey moments from the pod: 0:30: Mike welcomes listeners to S5E14 featuring Ryan Lewin (S1E2 + S3E2.5)2:00: Mike corrects…..nothing....again!3:00: Mike then updates the listeners on what's been going on with him, including a trip to North Carolina and watching the TV show Shoresy.7:00: Mike sets the table for the rest of the episode, including identifying a song that comes from a band both this episode's guest Ryan Lewin and he love and how the track encapsulates the feeling of the Michigan football team and its fans like Mike and Ryan heading into the 2023 Big 10 Championship Game (and featured in S3E2.5).13:00: Mike welcomes Ryan Lewin back to the Podcast, they talk about the new Bleachers album and Ryan gives an update on his amazing life (including the addition of Roscoe the dog) and how it's going.18:30: The guys then talk about the pure objectivity of the Michigan football team fandom of Ryan's sons as well as the last time they saw each other in person.24:00: Next up the guys look back about how they were feeling as Michigan's season played out up to this point.28:00: American Hero Conor Stalions is discussed and the mental state of the team around this “scandal”31:00: The guys talk about the entire experience of heading to Indianapolis for the Big 10 Championship Game in person and how it's a sports experience not to be missed, including the fan fest and how Mike set a pitching speed record as well as the rest of the day leading up to the game.  The guys talk about how Ryan's son Oliver is a very level headed, objective Michigan fan.36:30: Next up the guys set the table for this old fashioned Big 10 slugfest (largely due to Iowa's anemic offense).42:00: Mike and Ryan go deep on the key plays from the Big 10 Championship Game.53:00: Mike talks about the satisfaction of being able to hang another Michigan banner in Lucas Oil Stadium once the game was won by Michigan.55:40: The guys talk about what was next for Michigan in the College Football Playoff and who they thought the four teams should've been.1:01:40: Ryan talks about what it is about Michigan football that keeps his passion.

In Episode 13 of Season 5 Mike brings back two foremost experts on Michigan Football in former guests (and current dear friends) Brock Steere and Tim Horvath to talk THE GAME (Michigan football v Ohio State from 2023) and discuss what the rivalry means, where it's been and how Michigan came out on top in the greatest rivalry in sports.Follow the podcast on Twitter/X: @friendsofmikedEmail the podcast at talkingfriendship@gmail.comKey moments from the pod: 0:30: Mike welcomes listeners to S5E13 featuring Brock Steere (S1E12) and Tim Horvath (S1E11)2:00: Mike corrects…..nothing!2:20: Mike then summarizes what's been going on with him, including a road trip to Cin City aka Cincinnati to see the Tigers take on the Reds and take in all Cincinnati has to offer (which is a lot).6:45: Mike plugs a recent film he saw on long time best bud Todd Pretty's recommendation: Snack Shack, a true coming of age story set in the 90s (when Mike came of age in real life!) and a (new) classic song from the closing credits of the movie.13:40: Mike kicks off a rousing conversation with Brock Steere and Tim Horvath to talk Michigan/Ohio State as the guys give some updates on their lives.20:00: The guys set the table for the rest of this epic episode featuring an epic rivalry and their thoughts about this game coming into it as well as the evolution of the rivalry overall.29:00: How Michigan has been the tougher team in this rivalry and it eats the Buckeyes up inside.34:30: Brock then speaks to what OSU fans feel about Ryan Day from an Ohio resident's perspective and why this particular Michigan/OSU game was even more important than normal.38:40: The guys then talk about the Friday night before the game and running into Bill Steere along with the epic tailgate beforehand and how there's no other feeling like the morning of a Michigan/OSU game.45:00: Next up is a breakdown of THE GAME in a level of detail that may give you chills (in a good way, not like in a flu-like way), clarifying that the Ohio State Buckeyes are not, in fact, world famous and are also great at getting beat by Michigan, how this game showed how much Michigan will miss QB JJ McCarthy, the really unfortunate Zak Zinter injury and how Michigan bounced back (1:03:00), and Rod Moore calling game (1:14:00).1:20:00: The guys wind down the episode talking about what the game ultimately came down to as well as celebrating the win and the feeling coming out of this game with respect to the rest of the season.1:24:00: Brock and Tim share what Michigan football means to them.

In Episode 12 of Season 5 Mike welcomes back one of the foremost authorities on Michigan football, insurance and friendship in all of Washtenaw County nay the State of Michigan nay the World in longtime guest and friend Chad Massey to talk through a class Michigan football “trap game” from the 2023 season in their final road tilt of the season at the University of Maryland Terrapins. Follow the podcast on Twitter/X: @friendsofmikedEmail the podcast at talkingfriendship@gmail.comKey moments from the pod: 0:30: Mike welcomes listeners to S5E12 featuring Mike's wise friend Chad Massey.1:45: Mike goes on to correct a HUGE mistake from S5E11 (The Penn State episode) relating to a missed fact that is super embarrassing for Mike.2:45: Mike then gives an update on what's been going on with him, including continuing to watch both the Euros and Copa America, attending an MMJ concert in Detroit, an epic 4th of July party at the Bibbys (Season 5 Episode 8 guests Jay and Andrea Bibby), and Season 3 on Hulu.5:30: Mike then features a bit of a track dedicated to this episode's guest (Chad Massey) and his deep passion for all things insurance.12:30: Mike welcomes long time guest Chad Massey back onto the podcast to give a quick life update.16:30: The guys then talk about the last time they saw each other at Detroit Tigers Opening Day.18:00: Chad talks about who his longest running friend is and what's kept that friendship going over the years as well as his thoughts on how Michigan football had performed up to this point in the season including managing the Conor Stalions nonsense.22:00: Mike and Chad then set the table for the Maryland game with Michigan missing Head Coach Jim Harbaugh for the second straight game.29:00: Mike leads a discussion of the key moments from the 2023 Michigan/Maryland game including how Chad decided to make the trip down to College Park, and how this was a truly historic win in the annals of Michigan football.45:45: The guys talk about how they were feeling coming out of this narrow win by Michigan over Maryland and Chad shares some inside info about just how banged up JJ McCarthy really was coming out of this game.51:00: Chad finishes up by talking about what it is about Michigan football that keeps him passionate about life and college football.

In Episode 11 of Season 5 Mike introduces the listeners to a first time guest to the podcast, “Positive” Greg Shuraleff, to talk through Michigan football's first true test of the 2023 season: the Penn State Nittany Lions.  The guys talk Beaver Stadium architecture, awkward Air Bnb's, (Bill) Pickles and a weekend in State College, PA they'll never forget. Follow the podcast on Twitter/X: @friendsofmikedEmail the podcast at talkingfriendship@gmail.comKey moments from the pod: 0:30: Mike welcomes listeners to S5E11 featuring Mike's Wolverine buddy Greg Shuraleff.2:00: Next up is the traditional corrections segment, where Mike corrects the driving time from Ann Arbor to East Lansing, an apology to Scottish listeners, and finally a miscalculation of the number of times Michigan football has played on NBC Saturday night football.4:20: What's going on with Mike D, which includes a 2nd annual Kalamazoo day trip via the train and live roller derby (shout out to Skinny Minnie).7:20: Mike then sets the table for the dramatic weekend in Happy Valley that is the subject of this episode, including an encounter with the Michigan football team at the State College Regional Airport and a galvanizing rallying cry born from that moment.9:45: Mike and the staff then play a smidge of a track that best exemplified the vibes of that weekend in State College vis a vis the Michigan football team.14:00: Mike welcomes Greg Shuraleff into the virtual podcast studio.15:40: Greg then tells his entire life story for the listeners and it's quite the tale (including how he was NOT originally a Michigan fan as a kid and a transfer averted).18:00: The guys then trace the origins of their friendship in Chicago and a mutual love of the State of Michigan sports and then discuss the last time they saw each other in person (which was in Pasadena, CA).23:30: Greg tells the listeners who his longest running friend is and why that friendship has remained so strong (and how it started when we had to switch schools as a kid).26:50: The guys then talk about their thoughts on the state of Michigan football coming into the season and this critical Penn State game.31:15: Next up the guys talk about the Friday night and Saturday morning in State College leading up to the game itself, including the challenges of actually getting there and finding lodging close to campus, posting up at the legendary Bill Pickles Tap Room, an awkward AirBnB, Greg's pre-game ritual at road games, an Uber situation that almost ended a friendship, and finding a Michigan-friendly tailgate very close to Beaver Stadium.44:45: Mike and Greg then break down the epic highs and lows (mostly highs) of Michigan's win over Penn State, including the architectural “charm” of Beaver Stadium.59:00: The guys start wrapping things up by talking about Interim Coach Sherrone Moore's legendary post-game interview, the team's celebration and how they capped off their trip in Happy Valley.1:03:00: Greg then caps the episode by talking about what Michigan football means to him.

In Episode 10 of Season 5 Mike welcomes Eric Wobser, the pride of both Michigan law and city of Sandusky, OH to talk all things regional and local development focused as well as the Michigan v Purdue football game from the 2023 Season.Follow the podcast on Twitter/X: @friendsofmikedEmail the podcast at talkingfriendship@gmail.comKey moments from the pod: 0:30: Mike welcomes listeners to S5E10 featuring Mike's legal and regional development-focused sports buddy Eric Wobser.2:05: Mike then corrects some major mistakes from past episodes, including an embarrassing omission from Season 5 Episode 7 (the Bob Stinchcombe/Minnesota game episode) related to the movie Spaceballs.4:20: Next up is the classic “What's Going on with Mike D” segment which includes some soccer (both in Detroit and Germany) and a new mystery novel (or at least new to him) from Canadian author Louise Penny.6:00: Mike then pays tribute to the city he most associates with Eric in the form of both fun facts and song: Cleveland, OH.14:00: Mike welcomes Eric Wobser onto the podcast where Mike gives Eric the opportunity to tell his entire life story and Eric accepts (and shares how an Ohio boy ended up at law school at the University of Michigan).19:00: The guys then talk about meeting at Michigan Law School on an iconic Ann Arbor patio known formally as Wonderful Times Charles.22:00: Eric breaks down his love of the sport of wrestling (real and “real”) and how the cities of Cleveland and Detroit are kindred spirits27:00: Eric then talks about how his son has made Mike his role model in life (only behind Eric).28:30: The guys then lay out the plan for the rest of the episode, starting with Eric talking about his longest running friend in his life and how he thinks about friends as “layers on a tree”.31:00: Eric shares where he was with Michigan football coming into this season, including what it's been like as a Michigan fan living in Ohio.32:30: Mike and Eric set the table for this Michigan/Purdue game, including the outbreak of the Sign-Gate “scandal” (aka a big nothingburger), including the tailgate.37:00: The guys then go through the many highs (and very few lows from a Michigan perspective) of this game.44:30: Eric shares what it is that motivates him to stay connected to the Michigan football program.

In Episode 9 of Season 5 Mike welcomes Mike “Fulk” Fulkerson, MTE (master tailgate extraordinaire) to talk about how he became one of the top tailgaters in all of Michigan Wolverine nation and then break down the Michigan v Michigan State football game from the 2023 Season in all of its rivalry glory.Follow the pdcast on Twitter/X: @friendsofmikedEmail the podcast at talkingfriendship@gmail.comKey moments from the pod: 0:30: Mike welcomes listeners to S5E9 featuring Mike's tailgating role model Mike “Fulk” Fulkerson.2:00: Mike quotes the late, great Jerry Orbach and admits some embarrassing mistakes, including a mistake within a mistake related to S5E5 (The Rutgers episode featuring Fletcher Walters) and S5E8's (the Indiana episode featuring the Bibbys) failure to reference the greatest TV-based romance in Canadian history.5:10: Mike then breaks down what's been going on with him, including a trip up to Traverse City for a Pure Michigan weekend with Ann Arbor Mug Club and prepping to play possibly the biggest pub quiz game of his life, along with his strategies for a successful pub quiz night.12:00: Mike finishes off the opening segment with a tribute to the Michigan/Michigan State rivalry and extends a musical olive branch to his Spartan friends and listeners.17:20: Mike welcomes Mike Fulkerson into the podcast studio.18:20: Mike Fulkerson then tells his entire life story and the story of the Plymouth Canton/Salem/Plymouth High Schools, which is a multi-campus adventure for the students who come through there.21:10: Next up the guys talk about the last time they saw each other in person at the famed Houston NRG Wyndham for a new infamous “lobby tailgate”.24:20: Fulk talks about who his longest running friend is and how that friendship has lasted all of these years.28:15: Mike D then asks Fulk about how his legendary Michigan football tailgates have evolved over the years at Ann Arbor Golf and Outing (as great tailgates do).36:30: The guys then talk about how they first met…..at a Michigan tailgate in Bloomington, IN and then again in Lincoln, NE.41:00: A prank gets played on Mike D by Fulk and their friends “Fun” Ron and Strikeout and Mike doesn't get mad at all.44:00: Fulk talks about his thoughts about the 2023 Michigan football team coming into the season and how the season had gone so far in his mind.47:00: The guys then touch on the emergence of the Conor Stalions backstory for Michigan football.49:20: How tailgating at Michigan State differs from tailgating at Michigan and an audio picture of the Michigan/Michigan State game as told by Mike and Mike.1:03:30: Mike F then talks about whether this game changed his opinion of Michigan's chances the rest of the season as well as why Michigan football has remained a priority for him in his life.

In Episode 8 of Season 5 Mike welcomes two of his closest and most spirited friends in Andrea and Jason “Jay": Bibby aka the Bibbys to the podcast to talk about how their friendship started over a Canadian TV show about real life issues and only grew due to a shared love of Michigan football.  The “KLA Crew”, as they're known, then break down the Michigan v Indiana Hoosiers football game from the 2023 Season in all of its dramatic glory.Follow the podcast on Twitter/X: @friendsofmikedEmail the podcast at talkingfriendship@gmail.comKey moments from the pod: 0:30: Mike welcomes listeners to S5E8 featuring Mike's all time dear friends Andrea and Jay Bibby.1:45: Mike then corrects a massive mistake from S5E7 (The Minnesota Game episode featuring Bob Stinchombe about when Mike actually moved back to the state of Michigan from California.2:50: Mike talks about what's been going on with him, including volunteering with an amazing organization named Food Gatherer's (foodgatherers.org) and checking out the action smash film Furiosa.  5:20: Mike then gives some background on this episode's two guests (Andrea and Jay Bibby), including a shared passion for music with Andrea and a shared love of all things Windsor, Canada with Jay, including Mike's favorite memories of Windsor as a kid.12:20: Then comes a deep dive of one of Andrea, Jay and Mike's all time favorite Canadian exports and that's Degrassi.  To quote the Zit Remedy: Everybody Wants Something!!!14:45: Mike then counts down his 5 favorite Degrassi characters!25:00: Mike then welcomes Andrea and Jay Bibby to the podcast and has them tell their life stories in grave detail.31:00: Jay tells the story of how he and Andrea reconnected for good at a Michigan football game through Andrea's mom having a keen eye.33:00: The crew then talk about their initial group friendship “meet cute” in Dexter and how a Canadian teen dramedy drew them together instantly and also how each of their homes was designed by a legendary builder and now feature iconic basement pubs/bars.36:40: Next up is a discussion of the last time the crew saw each other, which was less than 24 hours prior to recording this episode and involved ribs and “sauce toss”38:30: Jay and Andrea then talk about their respective longest running friends and what's kept their friendships going all of these years as well as a discussion of a marital agreement around Don Cherry and the magic of “Windsor Pizza”.47:50: Mike then asks about Jay and Andrea's thoughts on Michigan football coming into the 2023 season.51:20: Andrea then shares her family's rich history about tailgating for Michigan football.57:30: The crew then talks about the Indiana game tailgate and what tailgating in Ann Arbor is really like.1:02:00: Next up is a detailed breakdown of the dramatic Michigan/Indiana 2023 football showdown.1:08:00: The crew shares their thoughts coming out of the big Michigan 52-7 win and what Michigan football means to the Bibbys.

In Episode 7 of Season 5 Mike welcomes a true friend of his from childhood, Robert “Bob” Stinchcombe to the pod to talk not only about the introduction of camcorder technology to homework assignments in the 1990's but also the 2023 Michigan football game against the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers.Follow the podcast on Twitter/X: @friendsofmikedEmail the podcast at talkingfriendship@gmail.comKey moments from the pod: 0:30: Mike welcomes listeners to S5E7 featuring Mike's multi-decade friend Bob Stinchcombe.1:50: Mike then corrects some seriously embarrassing errors, including continuing to reference Google as an option for podcast listening, a missed scarlet fever reference, and an explanation why there was no sultry sax in the Nebraska (S5E6) episode intro.4:45: Mike talks about what's been going with him recently, including what Mike's new favorite burger in all of Michigan has in common with his favorite burger of all time from Au Cheval in Chicago, another example of how Mike is a man of the people (as is this episode's guest Bob Stinchcombe).8:00: Mike gets into why he loves Minneapolis, the importance of rocking the best gear possible when attending a road game, a Warehouse District brewery tour, waking up early to watch Tottenham with Minneapolis Spurs, and a musical tribute to one of Minnesota's greatest musical sons.17:00: Mike welcomes Cabrini legend Bob Stinchcombe onto the podcast and Bob shares some basics about himself.19:00: Bob then retraces literally every single important moment of his life for the listeners and why he enjoys the city of Minneapolis.22:30: Bob then talks about his family's love of the Detroit Tigers.24:15: The guys then talk about the new movie about Mother Cabrini (the namesake of their school from growing up).25:30: Next up is when the guys go deep on using digital video to do homework and how it springboarded their academic careers to success.29:30: The guys then talk about the Thunderdome-like environment at Cabrini High School's “Open” Campus during the 90's.34:30: Mike and Bob go over the last time they saw each other and then Bob talks about which friend of his he's been friends with the longest (spoiler alert: it's a former guest of the podcast who's name rhymes with Lyle Burek).37:20: The guys shift to Michigan football where Bob talks about his feelings on the 2023 Michigan football team coming into the season as well as how they'd been performing coming into the Minnesota game (cue the classic boa constrictor analogy!).42:25: Next up is a full recap of the Michigan/Minnesota game from 2023, including Bob (not) attempting to break down what Ski-U-Mah means.55:00: The guys finish up talking about their thoughts on Michigan coming out of the game (including why the Brown Jug is still a great trophy) with Bob sharing why he still cares so much about Michigan football at this point in his life.

In Episode 6 of Season 5 Mike welcomes long time listener favorite John Baker back to the pod to go DEEP on the 2023 Michigan football game against Nebraska as well as a tribute to, in my Mike's opinion, the greatest movie ever made about downhill skiing: Better Off Dead.Follow the podcast on Twitter/X: @friendsofmikedEmail the podcast at talkingfriendship@gmail.comKey moments from the pod: 0:30: Mike welcomes listeners to S5E6 featuring Mike's dear old friend John Baker.1:50: Mike corrects some horrible mistakes from the Rutgers/Fletcher Walters episode (S5E5) including a hugely embarrassing verbal faux pas by Mike as well as Mike and Fletcher not being able to bend the space/time continuum with the NFL Draft.4:40: Mike then updates the listeners on what has been going on with him, including attending a live to tape show of Wheel of Fortune from the beautiful Fisher Theater in Detroit.8:45: Mike then transitions to a tribute to this episode's guest's current place of residence and a leisure activity that occurs there, along with his favorite movies about said leisure activity (I want my $2!!!).17:30: Mike welcomes John Baker BACK into the Podcast Studio and John provides an update on what's been going on with him in Denver, including a lot of skiing.22:00: The guys talk about the last time they saw each other in person, which was at another Michigan football game from the 2023 season, a fairly big one at that.24:10: Mike sets the table for the rest of the episode about the Michigan/Nebraska game from 2023, as well as where John was coming into the 2023 Michigan football season on his expectations for the team.29:00: The guys then talk about how they'd felt the season had gone to date and then reminisce about attending the 2021 Michigan/Nebraska game in Lincoln how it impacted their thinking coming into this game.32:00: Next up is a deep dive recap of the game before the game (aka the tailgate) and the palpable “Nebraska niceness” on display throughout the day, including from mascot Lil' Red (warning: there's a second Uncle Rico reference in three episodes in there at some point).38:00: A surprise guest (and his iconic trophy) shows up to the tailgate!48:10: The guys then break down the Michigan/Nebraska game in vivid detail, including the etiquette that should be considered when sitting in a visiting section.1:00:00: The game ends with a complete performance for Michigan and the guys talk about their feelings about the game itself and where this team was heading.1:05:00: John then explains what it is about this Michigan football program that keeps him coming back year after year as a life priority.

In Episode 5 of Season 5 Mike welcomes Fletcher Walters to the pod to go DEEP on the 2023 Michigan football game against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights as well as provides a musical homage to the great state of New Jersey and also putting out a “call to friendship” about the sport of pickleball.  Follow the podcast on Twitter/X: @friendsofmikedEmail the podcast at talkingfriendship@gmail.comKey moments from the pod: 0:30: Mike welcomes listeners to S5E5 featuring Mike's good friend Fletcher Walters.1:55: Mike corrects some massive errors from S5E3 (the UNLV episode featuring the Lawrence-Luptons), including an apology to the Lawrence-Lupton cat Dobby.3:10: Mike then updates the listeners on what's been going on with him, including an amazing day trip to Ypsilanti (Transit Center to Transit Center).5:15: Mike talks about dabbling with the sport of pickleball and just wants someone to offer to play with him as the podcast staff refuses to play.7:25: Mike pays tribute to the great state of New Jersey and gives some history on Rutgers, including giving it props as the birthplace of college football.13:30: Mike then takes that Jersey tribute up a notch or 10 with a musical nod.19:40: Mike welcomes Fletcher Walters into the virtual podcast studio.20:30: The guys trace the origins of their friendship including Fletcher keeping Mike's now iconic nickname of “Neighbor Mike” going.  Fletcher then tells his entire life story in a few minutes.  It's a rollercoaster.22:30: Fletcher goes over his legendary college crew from Amherst College and talks about his experience playing pro basketball in Europe as well as his two oldest friends and what keeps their friendship (and all of his friendships) going at this point in life.  Spoiler alert: it involves FGAs.31:25: The guys talk briefly about the last time they hung out in person at the famed LIttle Caesars Arena in Detroit (there's a D2A2 shout out in there as well!).33:20: Next up the guys shift into talking about the 2023 Michigan football team, with Fletcher going over his thoughts on the team coming into the season and his unwavering belief in Michigan QB JJ McCarthy.38:40: The guys then break down the Rutgers game in vivid and beautiful detail, including how critical #0 Mike “Mikey” Sainistrill was to the Michigan defense.49:10: Fletcher and Mike then talk about how he was feeling coming out of this 31-7 Michigan win over Rutgers.52:30: Fletcher then explains why Michigan football holds such a special place in his heart and a proud “Walmart Wolverine”.

In Episode 4 of Season 5 Mike welcomes back a listener favorite from all the way back in Season 1 (episode 3) in Megan Mazurek and her husband Kyle for a neighborly discussion of the 2023 Michigan v Bowling Green Falcons game.  Not only do Mike, Kyle and Megan break down the game itself but also talk about how it fits in the “big picture” of Michigan's legendary 2023 season.  What a discussion it is!Follow the podcast on Twitter/X: @friendsofmikedEmail the podcast at talkingfriendship@gmail.comKey moments from the pod: 0:30: Mike welcomes listeners to S5E4 and breaks down the plan for the episode.2:05: Mike corrects a huge omission from S5E2 (the East Carolina episode) about the ranch from the hit Nickelodeon show Hey Dude! and podcast guest Kelly Worman.3:10: Mike then updates the listeners about what's been going on with him, including going to see AFC Ann Arbor soccer live and how that in NO way conflicts with his love of Detroit City FC.5:15: Mike introduces the theme of this episode, including how the concept of being a neighbor comes into play as well as a classic and in no way awkward song about his guests for the pod.16:15: Mike welcomes Kyle and Megan Mazurek, his former neighbors and current good friends, to the podcast.17:30: The crew trace the origins of their friendship.19:40: Kyle gives some critical background information on his life and does not hold back.21:20: The Mazureks share their passion for another Michigan sport: hockey while Mike brings up the pathetic pizza at Yost Ice Arena (Buddy's Pizza: you're officially on blast!)24:50: The crew talks about the last time they saw each other in person and how they established a friendship with Michigan hoops great Caris LaVert.26:50: Kyle and Megan share how they were feeling coming into the 2023 Michigan Football season.29:50: Next up: a discussion of the pre-game tailgating approach for this Bowling Green game given it was a night game, including the famous snack Megan likes to bring and Kyle's exotic craft beer cooler, Megan's mom Nancy, the #1 ranked usher at Michigan Stadium and Megan's dad Geoff's biking gear.33:00: Mike sets the table for the Bowling Green game, including reminiscing about the first Michigan football night game in Michigan football history (the 2011 win over Notre Dame).  There's also a story of touching the Butts in this segment.35:00: Mike breaks down what happened in this historic game.43:00: Mike, Megan and Kyle talk about how they were feeling about Michigan's chances for the rest of the year coming out of the BG game.45:40: The Mazureks then explain why they bleed maize and blue.

In Episode 3 of Season 5 Mike welcomes back a listener favorite from Season 4 (S4E1 guest Rachael Lawrence-Lupton) and THREE other members of the Lawrence-Lupton family: David, Daniel and even Elle (all three are also good friends of Mike's!) for a spirited discussion of the 2023 Michigan football vs UNLV game.Follow the podcast on Twitter: @friendsofmikedEmail the podcast at talkingfriendship@gmail.comKey moments from the pod: 0:30: Mike welcomes listeners to S5E3 and breaks down the plan for the episode.3:00: Mike then corrects a few embarrassing errors from S5E2, including Mike using the term “native city” for the City of Detroit, mixing up the shows Hey Dude! with Salute Your Shorts, and when the first Gavin and Stacey Christmas Special happens in the sequence of the show.8:15: Next up Mike recounts his recent trip to New York City, from taking advantage of public transit to seeing the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island (and not showing up his tour guide) to food and drink tours to the Tigers/Yankees game as well as checking out the One World Observatory and 9/11 Memorial Museum.17:15: Mike then explains his special attachment to UNLV and honors that attachment with his favorite Vegas-themed song.22:00: Mike welcomes on his three guests for this special episode (Rachael, David, and Daniel Lawrence-Lupton) along with a cat.  David then gives some background on himself as having grown up in Ann Arbor along with Rachael. Daniel then introduces himself to the podcast community by talking about his personal friendships with several University of Michigan football players.27:30: Daniel then vividly describes how excited he was to attend his first Michigan game in person.28:30: The crew talks about the last time they all saw each other, including when Daniel took down Mike in chess as well as how they were feeling about Michigan football heading into the 2023 season.30:00: Next up: passionate and well reasoned thoughts from the Lawrence-Luptons on how they thought Michigan was going to do coming into the 2023 football season.32:30: Miike sets the stage for the UNLV game34:00: The gang talks about their shared passion of tailgating and the tradition of David, Rachael and their families stopping by with Rachael's signature shortbread, a KEY ingredient to Michigan home victories!37:45: Next up is a detailed/vivid recap of the game itself.46:30: The crew talk about what they were feeling coming out of this game about the Michigan team and the rest of the season, including Daniel NEEDING to get to more games (but NOT a night game).51:00: The Lawrence-Luptons talk about what it is about Michigan football keeps them coming back year after year.

In Episode 2 of Season 5 Mike welcomes two listener favorites back to the podcast (S1E7 guest Kelly Worman and S2E9 guest Kyle Urek) for a rousing discussion of the 2023 Michigan football vs East Carolina game.Follow the podcast on Twitter: @friendsofmikedEmail the podcast at talkingfriendship@gmail.comKey moments from the pod: 0:30: Mike welcomes listeners to S5E2 and breaks down the plan for the episode.3.00: Mike then gives the listeners an update about what's been going on with him, starting with an epic triple trip to the Motor City all facilitated by the D2A2 bus (D2A2.com).4:00: First up was a trip up to Hamtramck to catch a Detroit City FC soccer match.5:25: Next up was checking out the NFL Draft and a sea of humanity in the best possible way.6:30: The epic week of Detroit outings ended with the Tigers/Royals baseball game.8:00: Mike then describes a new (well, new to him) TV show called Gavin and Stacey that's caught not only his eye but also his funny bone and his heart.15:00: Mike welcomes his dear friends Kelly Worman and Kyle Urek onto the podcast.20:00: Kyle and Kelly then give some updates on what's been happening with them.23:40: The guys then discuss when they last saw each other.26:15: Mike lays out the plan for the rest of the episode and the guys talk about their overall feelings on Michigan football coming into the 2023 season.33:00:  Kelly talks about how special a weekend it was to come up to Ann Arbor with his two oldest daughters and Kyle goes over the bond he's been building with his daughter over Michigan football.34:00: The guys talk through the Michigan/East Carolina game, including the grave injustice of a suspension laid on Michigan Coach Jim Harbaugh and how this was the first Michigan football game on Peacock.44:20: Did anything about the guys' feelings about the chances of the Michigan football team the rest of the season change from this game?46:40: Kyle and Kelly finish the episode by breaking down why Michigan football keeps a special place in both of their hearts.

Mike kicks off season 5 with a true “setting the table” episode where he lays out the concept for the season ahead.  It's going to involve a lot of things, including life lessons, friendship, obstacles, overcoming obstacles, travel, music, and memories.Follow the podcast on Twitter/x: @friendsofmikedEmail the podcast at talkingfriendship@gmail.comKey moments from the pod: 0:30: Mike welcomes listeners to Episode 1 of Season 5, a very special podcast season focused on a very special season of Michigan football and friendship.2:40: Mike then discusses why Season 4 was only a few (albeit amazing) episodes.4:10: MIke gives an update on what's been going on with him.  Spoiler alert: A lot, including a major trip to the United Kingdom.4:45: Mike breaks down his trip to Scotland and England, starting with Edinburgh and then London.5:50: Mike discusses a song from his favorite Scottish Band that encapsulates his trip to their hometown Ediburgh.10:10: Mike then pivots to the London portion of his trip, discussing various sites he absorbed, including taking a guided walk of SoHo, a trip to the Sir John Soane Museum, eating a lovely dinner with his dear friends Emily and Guy,  and taking in a Tottenham Hotspur football/soccer match. 15:30: Mike then discusses an English punk song he loves to play on jukeboxes wherever he goes.22:25: Mike finishes the episode by discussing the theme for Season 5.

In Episode 3 of Season 4 Mike welcomes the College Football Crew (S1E11 guest Tim Horvath and Chad Massey) for their annual tradition of talking all things college football for the 2023 season with SLIGHT focus on the University of Michigan Wolverines. Follow the podcast on Twitter/X: @friendsofmikedEmail the podcast at talkingfriendship@gmail.comKey moments from the pod: 0:30: Mike kicks off the podcast with a special pre-intro intro that sets the stage for the rest of the episode.2:45: Mike welcomes listeners to S4E3 featuring the College Football Crew (CFC) of Mike and S1E7 Guest Tim Horvath along with Chad Massey.4:30: Mike corrects a MAJOR fail from S4E2 (Part 2) in leaving out two critical former Detroit pro sports teams.6:00: Mike then breaks down what's been going on with him, including a trip to the cinema and a quick road trip to the City by the Lake.8:00: The College Football Crew (Mike D, Tim Horvath, Chad Massey) are gloriously reunited to talk 2023 college football. 10:30: Tim gives a quick update on his 2023 summer.12:50: Chad then updates the listeners on his 2023 summer (huge insurance news!) as well as pays tribute to his mom, Diana Massey including an EPIC story about how she helped bring home the 1989 Final Four Michigan win over Illinois.22:00: The guys then recap some of their favorite memories from their joint tailgates during the 2022 season where they joined forces like Voltron.  One story that gets highlighted is the classic tailgate “protest” staged by Chad's younger son involving chair-tipping.28:45: The fellas go back through their 2022 predictions and hold themselves accountable as well as discussing their favorite moments from last season, including the Penn State, Michigan State, Indiana, Illinois, and of course Ohio State.48:00: The famous Big Ten Championship Game after party in Indianapolis is discussed, including admissions by Chad and Tim over borderline neglectful parenting as well as the unparalleled toughness of Kim Horvath.52:30: The fellas then take it macro and discuss a bit about college football conference realignment.1:00:00: Next up: a discussion of the guys' favorite Big Ten road trips.1:06:00: The fellas break down their reasons for optimism on Michigan's 2023 season.1:09:05: Reasons for concern/awareness for Michigan's 2023 season.1:13:45: The key players for the 2023 season.1:18:25: Key positions group for the 2023 season.1:22:50: The guys go game by game with their predictions for the 2023 Season1:23:20: Michigan v East Carolina1:24:00: Michigan v UNLV1:25:30: Michigan v Bowling Green1:26:40: Michigan v Rutgers1:28:45: Michigan at Nebraska1:31:30: Michigan at Minnesota1:34:15: Michigan v Indiana1:37:15: Michigan at Michigan State1:44:30: Michigan v Purdue1:46:44: Michigan at Penn State1:53:30: Michigan at Maryland1:57:00: Michigan v Ohio State2:02:00: The guys give their Big 10 Championship predictions, college football playoff predictions, and national champion predictions.

In Episode 2 (part 2!) of Season 4 Mike welcomes FOUR of his good friends (Todd Pretty, Tim Horvath and Kyle Urek)  on the podcast for a continuation of their scholarly discussion of their favorite Detroit pro sports athletes from their youth.Follow the podcast on Twitter: @friendsofmikedEmail the podcast at talkingfriendship@gmail.comKey moments from the pod: 0:30: Mike welcomes listeners to S4E2 featuring three of Mike's dearest of dear friends, S1E1/Movie Crew Guest Todd Pretty, S1E11/College Football Preview Pod guest Tim Horvath, and S2E9 guest Kyle Urek, to the second half of their discussion about their favorite Detroit pro sports athletes from growing up.4:45: Chet Lemon and a song that is also known as The H is O.17:00: Joe Dumars and a song that absolutely used to rock the Palace of Auburn Hills28:00: Bill Laimbeer and a song for bad boys who were great37:30: Chris Spielman and a true stadium anthem that can be belted from the clouds46:40: Bob Probert and a song about what Probie's opponents would do before facing him56:40: Nicklas Lidström and the perfect song for the player known as the “Perfect Human”1:03:50: Sergei Federov and a rock-filled jam the epitomized a Saturday night out at the Joe

In Episode 2 (part 1!) of Season 4 Mike welcomes FOUR Of his good friends (S1E1 guest and Movie Crew member Todd Pretty, S1E11 and College Football Preview pod guest Tim Horvath, and S2E9 Guest Kyle Urek for a rollicking discussion of their favorite Detroit pro sports athletes from growing up in Allen Park, MI.  In addition, there's a special added musical gift with each selection you won't want to miss!Follow the podcast on Twitter: @friendsofmikedEmail the podcast at talkingfriendship@gmail.comKey moments from the pod: 0:30: Mike welcomes listeners to S4E2 featuring three of Mike's dearest of dear friends in Todd Pretty, Tim Horvath, Kyle Urek.2:55: Mike talks about what's been going on with him, including a myriad of day trips to Detroit to go see Detroit City FC soccer (via the famed D2A2 shuttle service), two trips to Chicago via the Amtrak, and one day trip to Kalamazoo via the Amtrak with the Wing Kings.  Mike also discusses his favorite TV show of the summer (The Bear).8:20: Mike welcomes BACK Todd, Tim and Kyle to the podcast and finds out what's been going on with each of them.15:40: The guys then go through the last time they saw each other, including Todd forcing his daughter to leave a USMNT soccer game early, the long concession lines at Soldier Field, celebrating Tim's son's academic accomplishments at a low end local spot, and Tigers Opening Day.21:25: Mike then breaks down the theme of this episode: the guys' all time favorite Detroit sports figures from their collective youths.23:00: The guys then recall some of their favorite sports memories from their youth.31:00: Next up the guys each talk about three of their favorite Detroit sports athletes from their youth and a song that best embodies that player:31:30: Steve Yzerman + a song from the pride of Ann Arbor about staying consistently great43:20: Barry Sanders + a song for the working man in honor of a working man's RB56:25: Isaiah Thomas + a song that evokes the attitude Zeke instilled in the Bad Boys Pistons1:09:30: Alan Trammell + a song about how time can be an asset1:20:00: Lou Whitaker + a song that cannot be used to put anyone (especially Baby) in a corner

In Episode 1 of Season 4 Mike welcomes his good friend Rachael Lawrence-Lupon for a DEEP dive on their favorite duet songs from the golden age of duets (the 1990s) as well as Rahael's passion for music and the joy and comfort she brings people through her work as a music therapist.  Mike and Rachael also discuss an amazing fundraiser event throughout Michigan called Barley, Beats and BBQ (https://www.hom.org/barley-bbq-beats-2023/).Follow the podcast on Twitter: @friendsofmikedEmail the podcast at talkingfriendship@gmail.comKey moments from the pod: 0:30: Mike welcomes listeners to S4E1 featuring Mike's musical friend Rachael Lawrence-Lupton1:40: Mike talks about what's been going on with him, including an epic train trip to Canada, involving a transit adventure, discovering a wonderful Canadian mystery novel series by Louise Penny, a lot of NHL hockey, and a whole lot of Canadian culture.12:00: Mike then recalls the St. Patrick's Day Party he hosted in the Daniel Pub (aka his basement pub) that involved double digit friends showing up.13:15: Mike goes over his recent trip to the continent of Europe and what it entailed.14:10: Mike goes over the plan for the podcast going forward and what it is evolving into.  Spoiler alert: it's changing a bit!16:20: Mike then brings on his friend Rachael Lawrence-Lupton to talk their favorite duet jams from the 90s.17:40: Rachael gives some background on her as an Ann Arbor native18:40: Mike and Rachael talk about how they know each other (which Mike actually MISREMEMBERS) and how their friendship blossomed over pub trivia.23:30: The topic of Rachael's good luck snack she brings to every Michigan football tailgate party at Mike's house.25:30: Rachael talks about the music therapy work she does at Arbor Hospice and its impact on the people she provides therapy to, as well as the Barley, BBQ and Beats fundraiser events (https://www.hom.org/barley-bbq-beats-2023/) happening all over the State of Michigan.28:15: Rachael breaks down who her longest running friend is (he doubles as her roommate and husband!).29:30: Mike and Rachael go over the theme and format for this episode on 90s duets and how they define “duet” (Rachael's definition is much more scientific than Mike's).36:00: Mike and Rachael then break down their top 7 favorite duets from the 1990s in serious detail, starting with Rachael's #7 duet which involves a classic father/daughter collaboration.42:40: A song about not knowing a lot except one critical thing, a beautiful higher pitched male voice and a road trip from Chicago to Ann Arbor.50:25: Two legendary R&B crooners in a dispute over a boy.58:00: A beautiful duet about losing love (which sometimes does happen).1:05:00: A track about a new world that's not half full, but instead very full.1:13:20: Wu-Tang and an R&B Legend in a groundbreaking crossover duet.1:20:45: A Country Duet that's an all time wedding reception emotional banger featuring one half of the queen of Canadian country music..1:27:30: A classic cover duet featuring an established rocker and an up-and-coming prodigy.  This one gets wild in the evening.1:33:00: A duet featuring two of the most powerful vocalists of all time, one from north of the border and the other a legendary Broadway artist.1:41:35: An alternative rock duet with a killer message that will leave you hungry for more.1:48:15: An R&B duet with a killer string opening that Mike used to play on loop in his dorm room back in 1997-1998.1:55:10: A country duet from a boyfriend to a girlfriend who later became husband and wife.2:01:40: MC + WH = Raw Duet POWER2:09:30: An R&B/Hip Hop Duet Crossover that encapsulates the 90s.  

In Part 2 of this special Season 3 off-season Point Five Mike welcomes FOUR of his favorite peeps onto the podcast (an expanded “Movie Crew” featuring S1E1 guest Todd Pretty, S1E5 guest Tim Rechtien, S2E1 guess Amy Pretty and Jess Rechtien) for a rollicking discussion over their favorite Romantic Comedy (aka RomComs) Films of all time.  The Crew goes deep into the remaining eight of the fifteen total RomComs they cover between both parts of this amazing episode.  Part 1 has already become legendary.  Part 2 will NOT let you down!Follow the podcast on Twitter: @friendsofmikedEmail the podcast at talkingfriendship@gmail.comKey moments from the pod: 0:30: Mike welcomes listeners to Part 2 of S3E8.5 featuring the Movie Crew (Todd Pretty and Tim Rechtien, along with S2E1 guest Amy Pretty and joining the pod for the first time Jess Rechtien) where they warmly discuss films 8-15 on their respective lists.  Some all time classics for sure!2:25: A movie about an Italian family where passion knows no bounds (Jess' 2nd Round Pick)14:50: A hooker with a heart of gold?!  Don't judge (Tim's 2nd Round Pick)24:40: Don't we all wish we could be 30, flirty, and thriving? (Amy's 2nd Round Pick)34:35: A little RomCom about Jack and Diane (Amy's 3rd Round Pick)47:10: An unforgettable RomCom set in Hawaii that's heavy on the Com with just the right amount of Rom thrown in (Tim's 3rd Round Pick)1:01:20: A movie where the goal is to lose love but one where that goal is definitely NOT met (Jess' 3rd Round Pick)1:12:50: A 90s take on a classic Shakespearean RomCom (Mike D's 3rd Round Pick)1:27:20: A movie that explores what happens with a therapist has to balance the needs of her patient and her son (to often hilarious ends!) ((Todd's 3rd Round Pick)1:43:30: The Movie Crew takes this epic two part episode home with some legit banter, including what other movies they thought about choosing.

In Part 1 of this special Season 3 off-season Point Five Mike welcomes FOUR of his favorite peeps onto the podcast (an expanded “Movie Crew” featuring S1E1 guest Todd Pretty, S1E5 guest Tim Rechtien, S2E1 guess Amy Pretty and Jess Rechtien) for a rollicking discussion over their favorite Romantic Comedy (aka RomComs) Films of all time.  The Crew goes deep into seven of the fifteen total RomComs they cover between both parts of this amazing episode.Follow the podcast on Twitter: @friendsofmikedEmail the podcast at talkingfriendship@gmail.comKey moments from the pod: 0:30: Mike welcomes listeners to Part 1 of S3E8.5 featuring the Movie Crew (Todd Pretty and Tim Rechtien, along with S2E1 guest Amy Pretty and joining the pod for the first time Jess Rechtien).1:40: Mike gives a breakdown of what a Point Fiver episode is and what the theme of this particular episode is along with its format.4:30: Mike welcomes the four guests onto the podcast.8:50: Mike then breaks down the plan for the episode.10:00 The Movie Crew then discuss why they love RomComs.  Some seriously wise words here, including how their collective friendship began with a “Meet Cute”.14:50: The MC goes over their criteria for making RomCom selections.20:30: The Crew then dives into discussing the films they chose21:20: A movie that could easily be called Definitely, Definitely29:30: Can men and women ever really be friends?  This classic tries to answer that ageless question.40:00: Kurt.  Goldie.  Amnesia.  Kidnapping?!  What a romance.48:00: A Dare to be Great RomCom featuring a hell of a boom box and a ton of moxy.1:05:50: Marriage?  Marriage is what brings us together, today.1:13:30: A movie filmed in the 90s but about as 80s as it gets.  Why hire a DJ for a wedding when you can hire a true showman with a heart of gold?1:24:20: It's cold.  It's Pennsylvania.  The same day keeps happening over and over.  The only thing left to do is open up your heart while you say some hilarious stuff.

In the Season Finale of Season 3 Mike welcomes his Windy City buddy Mike Cygan onto the podcast where they discuss a range of topics including Detroit sports, Chicago neighborhoods, and places to crush bevies and food in Wrigleyville.Follow the podcast on Twitter: @friendsofmikedEmail the podcast at talkingfriendship@gmail.comKey moments from the pod: 0:30: Mike welcomes listeners to S3E8 featuring one of Mike's top buddies Mike Cygan.1:45: Mike then lays out the plan for future seasons of the podcast, as well as teasing an off-season Point Fiver on movies that will literally knock some socks off of some listeners.2:40: Mike corrects a major error from S3E7.5.5 (NFL Preview Podcast) by Matt Slater involving a classic cliche Matt butchers.3:40: The WGOWMD (What's Going On with Mike D) Segment and it involves an activity known as…..tailgating!7:05: Mike welcomes Mike Cygan into the Virtual Podcast Studio.8:25: Mike C then gives some background on his amazing life broken up by major parts, including why they've stayed living in the City of Chicago.12:00: Mike C then breaks down a recent trip to Charleston, SC he took with his wife Heide along with the finish of summer baseball for Mike's son at the famed league in Hamlin Park in Chicago's Roscoe Village neighborhood.14:20: Mike C talks about his oldest friends in his life and what's kept that friendship going.16:20: The guys then break down the last time they hung out which was at a Cubs/Cardinals game at the friendly confines of Wrigley Field and why a Friday afternoon home Cubs game is the absolute best.19:15: The fellas then discuss the earliest memories of their friendship, which were largely formed around the streets of Chicago (the “City of Neighborhoods”).24:00 Next up the guys talk about their love of Detroit sports, life on the road as a management consultant33:00: MIke C breaks down some of his favorite neighborhoods in Chicago to eat and drink, including the amazing beer garden scene in the city.36:40: The guys then go through a special segment where they break down their five favorite establishments in the Wrigleyville neighborhood of Chicago.39:00: Cubby Dog43:30: Wrigley Field Section 407L, Row 1, Seats 3-1046:15: Tango Sur 49:20: The Lucky Dorr52:00: Bernie's53:30: Nisei Lounge (including a DEEP dive into Malort the beverage)57:50: Sheffield's1:00:50: The Goose Island Brewpub1:02:40: Murphy's Bleachers1:07:30: Cygs gives his keys to a great friendship at this point in our lives.1:09:00: Cygs then talks about what he's excited about coming up in his life.1:09:50: The guys then finish up with the Rapid Fire segment where Mike C talks about his favorite place he's ever posted up for a work project, favorite activities with his kids, favorite spots to eat with his lovely wife, and places he wants to travel with his family.

In Episode 7.5.5 of Season 3 Mike brings on long time fan favorite Mike Cygan and first time guest Matt Slater for a deep dive (with a heavy focus on the Detroit Lions and Chicago Bears) of the 2022 National Football League Season.   It's packed with informative analysis that will not only prepare you for the season but also tap on your funny bone.Key Highlights from the Pod:0:30: Mike welcomes listeners to S3E7.5.5 featuring Mike's good friends Mike Cygan and Matt Slater (aka “Slater”).1:30: MIke confirms that Season 2 NFL Podcast Episode guest Zach Williams is still a dear friend of Mike's.4:40: Mike welcomes Mike Cygan and Matt Slater into the Virtual Podcast Studio.  Mike gives a quick update on what's been going on with him and Slater then gives the listeners some background on who the heck he is and how he's part of one the most notorious Bear families in the greater Chicagoland area.9:30: Slater gives his classic manifesto on how Chicago approaches liquor licenses in the City for its various bars, pubs and taverns as well as his thoughts on the refreshing beverage Malort.  12:00: Mike then lays out the plan for the rest of the episode.12:30: The guys then discuss their favorite players when they were kids who did NOT play for their home teams, including QB Bills, QB Browns and QB Eagles.20:20: The fellas then go over which team they hated losing to the most when they were a kid,24:10: Next up: reflecting on what went right and wrong last season for the Lions and Bears, as well as discussing the picks in last season's NFL Preview Podcast episode.29:40: The guys then discuss what gives them hope in the 2022 season with their teams as well as reasons for concern.37:40: The fellas then go through the three key individual players for their respective teams as well as key position groups.46:20: A game-by-game analysis by the guys for the Lions and Bears for the 2022 season.46:40: Week 148:25: Week 251:30: Week 353:20: Week 455:30: Week 557:10: Week 658:00: Week 759:20: Week 81:01:15: Week 91:03:20: Week 101:05:40: Week 111:06:40: Week 121:08:40: Week 131:10:20: Week 141:11:20: Week 151:12:15: Week 161:13:15: Week 171:14:30: Week 181:16:30: The guys then predict the playoff teams in both the NFC and AFC as well as who will win the Super Bowl.1:13:00: The guys finish things up by talking about an NFL road venue they'd like to check out for their teams.

In Episode 7.5 of Season 3 Mike leads another Point Fiver with the College Football Crew (Tim Horvath and Chad Massey aka the Insurance King of the Midwest), this time on the topic of college football, his beloved University of Michigan Wolverines, and, of course, friendship.  Follow the podcast on Twitter: @friendsofmikedEmail the podcast at talkingfriendship@gmail.comKey moments from the pod: 0:30: Mike welcomes listeners to S3E7.5 featuring Mike's good friends Tim Horvath (S1E11 Guest) and Chad Massey.3:05: Mike welcomes Tim Horvath and Chad Massey into the Virtual Podcast Studio, welcoming back Tim and Chad.  Tim gives an update about his lovely wife Kim and her health.  Chad then gives the listeners what they truly want: insurance updates.8:15: Mike then lays out the plan for the rest of the episode8:50: The guys then announced some HUGE tailgating news for the 2022 season.  Seriously, it's massive news.  11:05: Before you can look forward you need to look back and the guys reflect on the joy that was the 2021 college football season, including going back over their predictions from the 2021 pod episode.17:05: The guys then talk about some of their favorite specific memories from the 2021 season, including (with what is the least surprising spoiler of all time) the Ohio State game and Mike closing down the Blissfield McDonald's on the drive down to Indianapolis for the Big 10 Championship Game.34:30: Next up is an honest discussion of how the guys were feeling when Coach Harbaugh was interviewing with NFL teams in the offseason.38:50: The fellas then discuss their feelings about Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) payments within college football.45:50: The guys then talk about the additions of USC and UCLA to the Big 10.  California dreamin' indeed.55:00: The guys then talk about where the 2021 OSU game ranks in their all time U-M sports rankings.58:30: Are the fellas optimistic for the 2022 season? They are and they talk about why (including the Pride of Northville TOWNSHIP, MI).1:05:00: Are there still reasons for concern with the 2022 season? Of course there are and the guys discuss them head on.1:09:00: Next up: the guys list their top 3 key U-M players for the 2022 season.1:15:00: Like Season 2 Episode 9.5 the fellas then go game by game through Michigan's schedule and make predictions.1:16:00: Colorado State (including a discussion of the Week 0 tailgate)1:18:00: Hawaii1:19:00: UConn1:21:00: Maryland1:23:20: Iowa1:27:25: Indiana1:30:00: Penn State1:32:00: Michigan State1:36:00: Rutgers1:38:00: Nebraska1:40:40: Illinois1:42:00: Ohio State1:45:45: The fellas give their CFB postseason predictions1:48:48: The guys give their keys as fans to a great season (spoiler: it involves having a great tailgate)

In Episode 7 of Season 3 Mike welcomes his former high school (and still current) broham Chris Allan onto the podcast where they discuss their mutual love of illegal roller blade hockey, high school hoops, the State on MTV and hip hop, with a particular focus on the Wu-Tang Clan.Follow the podcast on Twitter: @friendsofmikedEmail the podcast at talkingfriendship@gmail.comKey moments from the pod: 0:30: Mike welcomes listeners to S3E7 featuring Mike's longstanding buddy Chris Allan.1:50: Mike then gives an update on the plan for the rest of Season 3 of the podcast.2:20: Mike moves onto corrections from past episodes, where he comes clean about two monumental mistakes from past episodes (one from S3E4.5 related to Jimi Hendrix and one related to S3E6 (the Lance Havelka Episode)).4:20: Mike then gives listeners an update on what's been going on with him and it revolves around an emotional fever he caught from Season 4 of the much ballyhooed TV program Virgin River.  Mike then breaks down his top 5 MVPs from Season 4 of the show. 15:15: Mike welcomes Chris Allan into the virtual podcast studio.16:00: Chris then gives the listeners his ENTIRE life story and it's amazing (including why he is known as the “straw that stirs the drink” at his place of employment).18:55: Chris gives an update on what's been going on with his family this summer, which involves a HUGE trip to the POINTE (Cedar Pointe).  Chris then tells the story of Mean Streak Henry.22:30: Want to know who Chris' longest standing friend is?  Listen to this segment.24:30: The guys talk about the last time they hung out in person, which was going to a Pistons game at Little Caesar's Arena and buying tickets in the “Drinking Row”.26:05: The fellas then trace the origins of their friendship which involves catholic school, hoops, roller blade hockey, hip hop and the TV Show Webster.31:00: Basketball is a shared love for Mike and Chris and they talk about their true athletic glory days of playing hoops at Cabrini High School on some of the best teams in the history of Michigan High School basketball, which never lost to St. Alphonsus.  The guys talk about playing over the summer at Team Camp at Olivet College (where Chris would bring satin sheets like he was a member of royalty) as well as dominating local park courts all over the Detroit area like Kemeny Park and Basketball City.40:40: The guys talk about how they used to love just “driving around” (usually in Dodge Neons) as an activity in high school.44:10: Next up: the guys discuss their shared passion for the MTV Sketch Show from the 90s “The State” and the impact it had on their humor.48:30: The fellas then break down their love of hip hop overall and specifically hip hop group the Wu-Tang Clan and their favorite tracks from that legendary group.1:30:30: Chris then talks about his keys to a good friendship at this point in life.1:32:20: Mike takes Chris through the Rapid Fire Segment where they discuss Chris' favorite place to eat during senior year of high school open campus lunch, the favorite spots Chris has ever traveled to with his family, Chris' favorite member of the Bad Boys Pistons, and Chris' prediction for when the Pistons will win their next NBA Title.

In Episode 6 of Season 3 Mike welcomes his friend of many passions and interests, Lance Havelka, onto the podcast.  The guys hit on a range of topics, including their time in Los Angeles, what drew them both back to the Detroit area and their love of the Motor City along with some of its more underrated establishments.  Follow the podcast on Twitter: @friendsofmikedEmail the podcast at talkingfriendship@gmail.comKey moments from the pod: 0:30: Mike welcomes listeners to S3E61:45: Mike comes clean on two HUGE corrections from past episodes, including one from S3E4 (the Nick Hopwood Episode) related to financial movies and one from S3E5 (the James Park episode) related to the Kansas hoops player who will live in infamy for getting shot over by Trey Burke in the historic 2013 Sweet 16 victory by Mike's beloved Michigan Wolverines.4:15: Mike then gives the listeners an update on his holiday to London, England and how amazing it was as well as two huge upcoming weekend trips.6:00: Mike gives some background on this episode's guest Lance Havelka and, in a tribute to Lance, talks about his favorite underrated Motown song.12:30: Mike welcomes Lance Havelka into the virtual podcast studio.13:20: Lance then tells the listeners about himself and what makes him tick, including an activity by activity breakdown of every day of his life as well as how he grew up in a classic suburban city that had more than ample shopping square footage. 17:00: Lance then talks about gaining an appreciation for whiskey from living in Scotland and became inspired to open his own distillery on the eastside of Detroit named Drexel Small Batch Spirits (www.drexelwhiskey.com).23:45: Lance then breaks down who his oldest friend is and it's a power trio, all initially formed through the power of sports!30:00: The guys trace the origins of their friendship back in Los Angeles (including how impressed Lance was when Mike got from Downtown Los Angeles to Manhattan Beach solely via public transportation), as well as the last time they saw each other down in Eastern Market in Detroit.39:00: Lance talks about what drew him back to Detroit from Scotland and LA and the origins of his love for the Motor City and the city's spirit and essence.43:50: The guys go through some of their underrated and underappreciated spots around Detroit they've both been together that has served as a real foundation of their friendship.46:30: The Dakota Inn50:10: Tom's Tavern53:30: The Stonehouse56:00: The Two Way Inn58:20: Baker's Keyboard Lounge1:02:00: The Raven Lounge1:05:10: Lance breaks down his key to a good friendship.1:07:45 What's next for Lance and Drexel Spirits?  A LOT1:09:00: Mike takes Lance through the (not so) Rapid Fire segment, including talking about Lance's favorite Scotch, his favorite places in Los Angeles, the favorite place he's ever traveled to that he'd like to get back to, and what keeps him in Detroit.

In S3E5 Mike welcomes his musical good buddy James Park onto the podcast where they discuss their mutual love of college hoops, music, the performance art form that is pub trivia and then take a deep (dish) dive on one of their favorite forms of sustenance: pizza.Follow the podcast on Twitter: @friendsofmikedEmail the podcast at talkingfriendship@gmail.comKey moments from the pod: 0:30: Mike welcomes listeners to S3E5 featuring Mike's good buddy James Park.1:30: Mike corrects a major pronunciation error he personally made in Episode 4.5 of Season 3.3:00: Mike talks about what's going on with him, which essentially doubles as a quick recap of Season 3 so far, including a reference to a recent walkabout he took in his neighborhood, and a hearty thank you to the listener community.6:15: Mike then identifies a classic (literally) song that features an instrument James  knows really, really well in the violin as a tribute to James.10:30: Mike welcomes James Park into the virtual podcast studio.11:35: James gives his life story,  Mike brings up a touchy subject about how the NCAA left his hometown.  James then talks about his passion for music and the violin and why Ann Arbor is a great town for music.17:20: James talks about his oldest and dearest friend (the infamous Rob/Robert) and the guys prove a math equation on friendship.22:45: The guys talk about the last time they saw each other (spoiler alert: it was watching America's national pastime).26:00: The guys trace the origin of their friendship back to a single event, a very orderly but also fun work party in 2016 and what Mike was wearing to that party (a tuxedo tracksuit).29:30: Mike and James talk a bit about their shared passion for the sport of college hoops, with James' loyalties lying with a bird and Mike's with a mammal.  They also get into a piece of memorabilia in Mike's basement pub that requires a trigger warning for James before he sees it. 35:10: The guys then break down one of their all time favorite activities known as Pub Trivia/Pub Quiz and how their team Prune Tracy (EAT YOUR PRUNES!!) became legends in the late 2010's around the Eastern Michigan trivia scene.40:40: James throws down the infamous “7 Day Trivia Challenge” to Mike and he…..accepts!44:00: The guys discuss one of their favorite shared foods (a little known delicacy known as pizza), how they fell in love with it, then break down their favorite pizza places they've ever been to.  The discussion covers a ton of ground on “pie”, including discussing why New Haven, CT is known as a pizza hotbed, where Mike would get pizza before school dances, where James would get pizza with friends while playing music and why they both love Chicago pizza.48:00: Pizzeria Uno, Overland Park, Kansas49:50: Bricks Pizza, Chicago, IL52:15: Frist Campus Center on the campus of Princeton University in Princeton, NJ54:20: Little Caesars, Allen Park, MI (includes a non-sequitur from James on an amazing Japanese TV show called “Old Enough”)59:00: Koronet Pizza, New York, NY1:02:30: Buddy's Pizza, Dearborn, MI1:05:20: Modern Apizza, New Haven, CT1:11:20: Frank Pepe's, New Haven, CT1:13:30: Pequod's, Chicago, IL1:17:00: James then drops some knowledge as to how to keep a friendship going.1:19:00: James updates the listeners on what he's excited about coming up in his life.1:21:00: Mike takes James through the (not so) Rapid Fire segment, including talking about when James' favorite music venues, his top feature of living in Ann Arbor, MI (spoiler alert: it's not the roads), the trivia topic he feels most comfortable answering (including how he used to con his mom to get Little Debbie snacks in order to learn about US Presidents), and where he'd love to travel to soon that he's never been to.

Mike kicks off another classic music-based “Point Fiver” where he discusses one of his favorite kinds of songs: songs based off of other songs aka cover songs aka cover jams. PPW (Poor Pronunciation Warning): Mike attempts to speak Italian and Cantonese in this episode.  Follow the podcast on Twitter at @friendsofmiked Email the podcast with any questions or requests at talkingfriendship@gmail.com Please subscribe to the podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google, Amazon or wherever you get your podcasts.  Please also rate and review the podcast.  Key moments from the pod: 0:30: Mike welcomes listeners to Episode 4.5 of Season 3.2:10: Mike talks a bit more about the format for this Point Fiver on his favorite cover songs of all time.4:40: Mike breaks down his favorite 20 cover songs of all time.

In Episode 4 of Season 3 Mike welcomes his all around solid (and financially savvy) friend Nick Hopwood onto the podcast to discuss travel mishaps around sporting events, a truly epic roaad trip to Miami, FL for the Orange Bowl and their favorite movies involving finance/the markets and why they're each amazing films.Follow the podcast on Twitter: @friendsofmikedEmail the podcast at talkingfriendship@gmail.comKey moments from the pod: 0:30: Mike welcomes listeners to S3E featuring Mike's good friend Nick Hopwood.1:50: Mike then corrects some major errors from past episodes, including S3E2 featuring Nick Kacher (specifically about a wrestler left off of the guys' best wrestlers list, the true inspiration behind one of Nick's classic failed nicknames, where they guys actually DID eat on their way back from Miami (OH) as well as a mistake from S3E2.5 featuring Ryan Lewin.6:00: Mike then updates the listeners on a HUGE upcoming trip to London that was hugely helped plan by the amazing team at Wanderlark Travel (wanderlark.com) in Ann Arbor, MI.8:30: Mike welcomes Nick Hopwood into the virtual podcast studio.10:45: Nick then gives some background on himself and how he and his family recently moved to the fine city of Plymouth, MI and their new summer house in Pinckney, MI.13:40: Nick then gives the listeners what they want: a deep give about his career in building his own business in Peak Wealth Management (www.peakwm.com).16:20: Mike and Nick talk about how Nick also hosts his own podcast (The Retire WIth Confidence Podcast with Nick and Jim), which the Talking Friendship with Mike D podcast endorses as the TOP personal wealth podcast out there, as well as Peak Wealth's sponsorship of leading University of Michigan sports fandom blog and podcast Mgoblog.19:00: Nick then talks about who his oldest friend is and what's made that friendship tick all of that year (GRAUF!).21:30: The guys talk about the last time they saw each other in person which was in Madison, WI for Michigan's drubbing of the Badgers and how Nick almost never made it out of Milwaukee for the game and then how he almost missed the Orange Bowl due to travel mishaps.29:00: Mike and Nick then trace the origins of their friendship like amateur anthropologists, including joining the legendary IM Flag Football Team and hanging out at Mike's college house, the BC.33:02: The guys then discuss their epic road trip to Miami, FL to go to the 2000 Orange Bowl, just in time for the Willenium, including touching on Nick's sweet Nextel cell phone, crashing in a bare bones apartment on hard tile floors, how they had no real set plans, being introduced to Roll Tide, partying with the band Blondie on South Beach on New Year's Eve 1999, and the legend of of Richard “Rich” Grauf,  44:40: Mike and Nike talk about their feature film debut as actors in a classic, Oscar-nominated motion picture.47:50: The guys then each rank their top 3 favorite movies of all time revolving around the stock market/high finance.  48:30: Glengarry Glen Ross50:20: Boiler Room54:00: Wall Street57:20: The Big Short1:00:25: The Wolf of Wall Street1:03:00: Quicksilver1:06:05: Nick gives his key to a good friendship1:07:20: Mike takes Nick through the (not so) Rapid Fire segment, including talking about Nick's favorite place to eat as a kid in Haslett, MI, favorite place to get late night food during undergrad at the University of Michigan, his all time favorite University of Michigan sports moment, and how he has a dream to take his family to Hopwood, England.1:09:50: Nick turns the tables on Mike and asks him about Mike's former main nickname of Danny Boy.

In Episode 3 of Season 3 Mike welcomes top notch Englishman and dear friend Ian Haynes onto the Podcast for an international discussion of philosophy, soccer/football, music, refreshments and of course, friendship.Follow the podcast on Twitter: @friendsofmikedEmail the podcast at talkingfriendship@gmail.comKey moments from the pod: 0:30: Mike welcomes listeners to S3E3 featuring Mike's good friend Ian Haynes.1:30: Mike corrects a major omission from S3E1's discussion of Park Ave in Allen Park, MI and S1E4 guest John Baker.  Mike tries to mend a broken friendship fence with John.3:15: Mike gives the listeners an update on what's going on with him, including getting outside more AND getting hooked on the amazing new HBO show “We Own This City” from the creators of the Wire.5:15: Mike introduces this episode's guest Ian Haynes and discusses one of Ian and Mike's mutually favorite musicians in English rocker Billy Bragg.10:45: Mike welcomes Ian into the actual podcast studio where gives some background on Ian Haynes, the Man, his family, his origins in England and his precocious dog Biggles.15:45: Ian talks about his best friend over the years (Nigel) and what's kept their friendship going and how he's Ian's anchor for his “northerness”.17:10: The guys talk about the last time they saw each other as well as their initial connection via the famed Ann Arbor Mug Club (and it's one by-law).23:30: Ian gives his philosophy on beer and the local beer scene (spoiler alert: he has strong opinions).25:50: The guys talk about a recent field trip down to one of their favorite Detroit-based activities: Detroit City FC soccer and fowling in Hamtramck.27:15: Mike and Ian then transition into discussing one of their true shared passions: soccer/football.29:55: Ian goes over how he became a supporter of his favorite soccer club: Oldham Athletic.35:20: Mike gives the listeners the backstory behind how he became a Tottenham fan.40:00: The guys then proceed to count down each of their top 5 favorite soccer players in their lives and why.40:40: Colin Bell44:40: Jurgen Klinsman47:50: Eric Cantona52:50: Alexi Lalas56:40: George Best1:00:15: Landon Donovan1:04:30: Denis Irwin1:08:30: Son Heung-min1:10:30: Andy Ritchie1:15:30: Harry Kane1:18:45: Ian then gives his key to a good friendship.  What an answer it is!1:20:30: Mike takes Ian through the (not so) Rapid Fire segment, including talking about Ian's favorite beers, favorite spots to eat in the Ann Arbor/Saline area, and where he wants to travel next with his wife Jane.

Mike kicks off the first “Point Fiver” of season 3.  This one involves Season 1 Episode 2 guest Ryan Lewin and Mike's shared love of the band Bleachers and their catalog of catchy, heartfelt and inspirational pop-rock/indie-pop/amazing jams.Follow the podcast on Twitter: @friendsofmikedEmail the podcast at talkingfriendship@gmail.comKey moments from the pod: 0:30: Mike welcomes listeners to Episode 2.52:00: Mike comes clean on a mistake from the previous episode (S3E2 featuring Nick Kacher) about the inspiration for Nick Kacher's very popular (and still to this day frequently used) nickname “Special K”.5:15: Mike goes over what a Point Fiver is.6:50: Mike welcomes Ryan Lewin into the virtual podcast studio for this special Point Fiver episode.8:00: Ryan gives a quick life update on what's been going with him since he last appeared on the podcast.12:00: The guys talk about their epic road trip to Lincoln, NE in the fall of 2021 to see a football game and strengthen their friendship.14:30: Mike and Ryan then shift to the main topic of this Point Fiver: music and the band Bleachers, including key background on the band you can find nowhere else on the Internet.19:45: The guys then go through each of their top 7 Bleachers songs via a draft. 14 songs total.  And they're all…..amazing!

In Episode 2 of Season 3 Mike welcomes long time friend and trained wrestler Nick Kacher to the podcast to discuss a myriad of non-controversial but still edgy topics like nicknames, rollerblading in Ohio and wrestling.Follow the podcast on Twitter: @friendsofmikedEmail the podcast at talkingfriendship@gmail.comKey moments from the pod: 0:30: Mike welcomes listeners to S3EE featuring Mike's good friend Nick Kacher1:45: Mike teases the next episode of the podcast, which will be a Point Fiver!2:45: Mike corrects a major error by his sister Colleen Tate in S3E1.3:50: Mike then gives an update on his beloved Tottenham Hotspur Football (Soccer) Club.6:50: Mike then gives a short intro of this episode's guest Nick Kacher.8:10: Mike welcomes Nick into the virtual podcast studio.9:05: The guys discuss the origins of an old nickname for Mike D that Nick and a few others still refer to him as (DBoy).10:00: Nick gives some background on himself as a person, including his life in Grand Rapids, MI and a bit about his youth in Iowa, including having to give up a burgeoning political career to move to Michigan.15:50: Nick then talks about what's been going on with him lately, including getting swole in his home gym as well as forcing his children and elderly father to exercise with him, watching his daughter crush it in youth soccer and a tradition known as Doughnuts and Documentaries.21:30: Nick talks about the friends he's been friends with longest and what's made those friendships survive, including what it was like to move states and change schools as an 8th grader (it includes getting hit in the head with a can of Coke).27:45: The guys talk about the last time they hung out in person and the penultimate time they hung out in person, along with their good friends (and U-M football greats) Charles Woodson and Jake Long.  They also discuss how the (not so) popular app Voxer keeps Nick and Mike in close contact (along with their friends Eric Lemieur (S2E6 guest) and Mike Cygan (S2E9.5.5 guest)).33:25: The guys discuss the birth of their friendship back in the late 90's.43:00: Mike and Nick then discuss party hopping after a tough Michigan football loss their sophomore year with some buddies on the team and dealing with some obstacles.45:50: Mike and Nick talk about playing actual football on the Michigan Stadium turf with their buddy Bill Alexander (S2E10 Guest).47:10: The guys then talk about a road trip down to Oxford, OH to watch Nick wrestle that involves a crazy rollerblader in Wapakoneta, OH.51:00: Nick talks about his memories of living in the famed BC house (341 E. Jefferson) in Ann Arbor, MI during college with Mike.56:45: Mike and Nick talk about Nick's attempts to create not one (Stroller) but two (Special K) nicknames for himself and how poorly this worked out.59:35: Mike and Nick go DEEP on the sport of wrestling and Nick's passion for it.1:06:00: The guys then count down their top 5 favorite wrestlers of all time.1:06:50: Tom Brands1:08:00: Koko B. Ware1:11:00: Ryan Bertin and Andy Hrovat1:12:45: “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan1:16:40: Dan Gable1:19:20: The Ultimate Warrior1:23:40: Cael Sanderson1:25:45: Randy “Macho Man” Savage1:31:00: Jordan Burroughs1:33:40: Hulk Hogan1:40:30: Nick gives his philosophy on being a great friend1:44:20: Nick talks about what he's looking forward to coming up in his life.1:45:20: Mike takes Nick through the (not so) Rapid Fire Segment, including Nick's favorite spots in the state of Iowa, Jerks vs Gents golf, Nick's signature wrestling move and his favorite activities to do with his kids.

In the Season 3 Premier Mike welcomes his sister (and friend) Colleen Tate onto the podcast for a heartfelt and hilarious conversation about growing up down the hall from each other and of course friendship.Follow the podcast on Twitter: @friendsofmikedEmail the podcast at talkingfriendship@gmail.comKey moments from the pod: 0:30: Mike welcomes listeners to S3E1 featuring Mike's younger sister Colleen Tate.1:35: Mike then introduces the plan for Season 3.3:40: Mike then goes on to NOT correct any past mistakes (which was the result of negotiations w/ the podcast staff).4:45: Mike talks the single greatest public transit option in the history of the world: the D2A2 connector from Ann Arbor to Detroit and vice versa.6:50: Mike discusses a TV show he just cranked through named “Chad” that is guaranteed to make you really laugh but also learn about life.8:30: Mike gives some background on this episode's guest and pays her tribute as his sister through choosing a song to best encapsulate her essence.13:55: Mike welcomes his sister Colleen into the virtual podcast studio with a classic joke he's been making for years.15:50: Colleen gives some background on herself, basically telling her entire life story and puts her brother on blast for originally being an MSU Spartan fan.20:10: Colleen then talks about her two friends she's been friends with the longest and why their friendship has thrived all of these years.24:20: Mike and Colleen discuss the last time they saw each other in person including how well behaved Colleen's sons were in Church, the absence of the Cabrini Church Cry Room and how a couple of young parishioners were really owning their recent First Communion Tribute March.28:00: Mike and Colleen talk about whether you can still call a meal “brunch” if it starts at 2:00 pm.29:00: Mike and Colleen then discuss their first memories of each other, including a vicious He-Man/She-Ra toy rivalry.31:00: Mike and Colleen then go through some of their favorite shared memories from their youth, starting with their dad Bill sanctioning a game of catch with a hardball that was not authorized by their mom Janet while “babysitting” his children.34:05: Christmas in the Daniel household is recounted in hilarious detail by Mike and Colleen, including their parents' approach to wrapping presents from Santa (e.g. very little effort in the wrapping but amazing effort in the gift procurement department) as well as how they both learned that Santa is (likely) not a current person alive in North Pole via some fake cousins (likely) hired from Craig's List.40:00:  Mike and Colleen go deep on school uniforms at St. Francis Cabrini as well as forced recess.42:25: Mike and Colleen then discuss their memories of hanging out at Camp Dearborn with their families as kids, which involved playing with very little adult supervision, smelly slides and tons of great memories.47:00: Mike and Colleen then go DEEP on their favorite streets in the all-American town of Allen Park, MI. Warning: if you've never been to AP this segment will make you feel like you grew up there yourself.48:25: Quandt Ave50:40: Reeck Road53:20: Rose Dr55:30: Andrews Ave57:00: Park Ave1:02:00: Champaign Rd1:04:00: Wick Rd1:05:05: Englewood Ave1:08:40: McLain Ave1:11:00: Colleen then discusses her philosophy on being a good friend as an adult.1:12:00: Mike takes Colleen through the (not so) Rapid Fire segment, including talking about her favorite place to eat in Allen Park as a kid (Mama Mia's), her favorite vacations as kids (including how their dad got the nickname “Caption Man”), her favorite spot to grab food while a student at MSU, and her favorite activities with her sons, her favorite nicknames for her sons and ideal vacation spot for her family.

Mike kicks off a special off-season “point fiver” where he both gives an off-season update on his extremely exciting life, including on the high points that happened since the summer of 2021, touches on the plan for Season 3 and then discusses his top 10 favorite songs from 2021.  Follow the podcast on Twitter at @friendsofmiked Email the podcast with any questions or requests at talkingfriendship@gmail.com Please subscribe to the podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google, Amazon or wherever you get your podcasts.  Please also rate and review the podcast.  I'd really appreciate it and the podcast staff would appreciate it.Key moments from the pod: 0:30: Mike welcomes listeners to Episode 10.5.2:15: Mike clears the air on the fact this is technically still an episode from Season 2 and then discusses the plan for Season 3.4:15: Mike provides an update on what's been going on with the Podcast since the most recent episode (S2E12) which dropped in the late summer of 2021, including staff moving on for various reasons, the Fall 2021 college football season, Tottenham soccer, Michigan basketball and 9:30: Mike talks about the format of this Point Fiver11:30: Mike breaks down his favorite 10 songs of 2021.

In the Season 2 Finale (Episode 10) Mike welcomes his old dorm and college friend Bill Alexander into the virtual podcast studio for a rousing conversation about friendship and many other key life topics.Follow the podcast on Twitter: @friendsofmikedEmail the podcast at talkingfriendship@gmail.comKey moments from the pod: 0:30: Mike welcomes listeners to Season 2 Episode 10, the Season 2 Finale.2:45: Mike corrects a few embarrassingly large mistakes from some recent episodes, including messing up a very basic video game code from the Nintendo game Contra.5:20: Mike then gives the listeners an update on what's been going on with him, including reciting an original poem titled “Ode to Tailgating” and then reflecting on Season 2 of the podcast and what it's meant to him and the staff.11:40: Mike welcomes the pride of Forest Hills Central High School, Bill Alexander, into the virtual podcast studio for a rousing conversation on friendship and life.12:35: Bill gives the listeners a little background on himself and why he may be Grand Rapids' #1 citizen as well as what he's been doing recently, which is really project-based.  The guys also talk axe throwing.17:10: Bill then breaks down the home arcade in his basement, which is amazing and the guys talk about some old video game battles, including Bill utilizing Christian Laettner to take Mike down.19:00: Bill talks about a few of his oldest friends from growing up and what's kept their friendship going.20:40: Bill and Mike talk about the last time they hung in person, which was over a Michigan/MSU game at the Crisler Center with S1E1 Guest Todd Pretty.  Bill also references why he had to head back to Grand Rapids early to intimidate his daughter's date.23:40: The guys then retrace the origin of their friendship, including how Bill used to play the game Yahtzee for blood and a daring cross-campus bicycle ride.29:50: Next up is going through some of Mike and Bill's favorite memories of their friendship, starting with pledging the ultra exclusive and prestigious Pi Kappa Phi fraternity along with living in the fraternity house their Sophomore year.35:00: The guys then discuss moving into the famed “BC” college house (located at 341 E. Jefferson) and “unleashing the Co-Op”.39:45: The guys discuss some legendary pickup hoops game during college as well as their 5'10 and under IM team that multiple people talk about to this day that truly showed no mercy to their opponents.43:00: the fellas touch on the Raiders flag football team that featured Bill's custom playbook.45:00: The guys then discuss moving to the Windy City after college and their creative use of the intercom system at the apartment on Southport, as well as how Bill's original plan was to instead move to Wilmington, NC to be an extra on the TV show Dawson's Creek.48:40: Bill gives his philosophy on what makes a good friendship tick and what he's excited about at the moment.51:45: Mike takes Bill through the (not so) Rapid Fire segment, including talking about Bill's favorite activities with his daughters, his favorite thing about Grand Rapids, MI, his favorite party games and how he embraces awkwardness while playing, his favorite brewery in GR, and Bill's  prediction for Michigan hoops in 2021/2022.

In Episode 9.5.5 of Season 2 Mike talks 2021 NFL football, with a focus on the Detroit Lions and Chicago Bears with  two dear friends: Season 2 Episode 2 Guest Zach Williams and first time guest Mike Cygan.   The level of NFL knowledge in this episide is immense (as is the friendship on display!).Follow the podcast on Twitter: @friendsofmikedEmail the podcast at talkingfriendship@gmail.comKey moments from the pod: 0:30: Mike welcomes listeners to S2E9.5.5 featuring Mike's good friends Zach Williams (S2E2 Guest) and Mike Cygan.2:20: Mike gives an update about resolving a set of grievances from the Podcast staff.3:45: Mike then lays out the plan for the rest of this episode, including giving a little background on this episode's guests Zach and Mike.7:00: Mike welcomes Zach Williams and Mike Cygan into the Virtual Podcast Studio.  Zach gives an update on how his life has changed since last coming on as a guest and Mike gives a quick intro about himself. The guys then talk a bit about a recent Chicago Cubs game they attended together, including post-gaming at the famous Nisei Lounge on Clark St in Wrigleyville as well as the Cygan family's new “party porch”.11:30: Mike then lays out the plan for the rest of the episode.12:30: The guys tell the story about how they came to love their respective NFL teams, including playing Tecmo Bowl to build fandom back in the day as well as Mike D admitting he even kind of liked the 85 Bears.22:30: The guys then tell the story of their favorite games for their teams they've attended in person, with Mike Cygan admitting his son is currently a Ravens fan, Zach talking about how his wife Debbi stepped up when none of his dude friends would, and Mike D taunting Bears fans in Soldier Field over strategic punting.34:45: The fellas quickly reflect on the 2020 Season.37:25: Next up are reasons for optimism for the 2021 Season.44:30: The guys list their top 3 players who need to step up for their teams to have a successful season.48:00: The fellas then break down their key position group for their teams for 2021.49:10: The guys go game by game through the Lions and Bears' schedules and predict their record.  Talk about some well reasoned prognostications!1:08:30: The guys then predict the playoff teams in both the NFC and AFC as well as who will win the Super Bowl.1:13:00: The guys finish things up by talking about their favorite pre-game traditions before NFL football.

In Episode 9.5 of Season 2 Mike leads another Point Fiver, this time on the topic of college football, his beloved University of Michigan Wolverines, and, of course, friendship.  Joining Mike for this spirited conversation are two top notch Wolverines (and friends): Season 1 Episode 11 Guest Tim Horvath (@timhorvath on Twitter) as well as first time guest Chad Massey (@cmassey99 on Twitter).Follow the podcast on Twitter: @friendsofmikedEmail the podcast at talkingfriendship@gmail.comKey moments from the pod: 0:30: Mike welcomes listeners to S2E9.5 featuring Mike's good friends Tim Horvath (S1E11 Guest) and Chad Massey.1:45: Mike lays out the plan for the rest of Season 2 and gives a brief background on the concept of the Point Fiver episode format.5:30: Mike welcomes Tim Horvath and Chad Massey into the Virtual Podcast Studio, welcoming back Tim and welcoming Chad for the first time.  Tim gives an update on some challenging health news for his family but his spirits remain high while Chad tells his life story and it is quite gripping.13:00: The guys each tell the story of how they came to love college football and the Michigan Wolverines (spoiler alert: it's been a very different journey for all three), including how Mike D was originally a HUGE MSU Spartan fan.21:50: The guys then talk about their love of the college football-adjacent tradition of tailgating and how it's a true art.23:10: The guys tell the oral histories behind their favorite home and road games they ever attended.  If you didn't attend these particular games (or even remember then) listening to these stories will make you feel like you were there.46:20: Next up for the guys is an autopsy of the terrible 2020 season.  Warning: this is a real low point in the episode.51:00: The guys then turn to the 2022 Season and their reasons for optimism this year.  And there are many!56:40: The guys then choose their three key players to make or break the 2022 season.1:01:30: The fellas then turn to their key position group for the 2022 season.1:02:30: The guys give their game-by-game predictions for the Wolverines this season.  Of these three sets of predictions Mike D's are probably the most accurate.1:29:45: The guys then give their Big Ten East and West Champions as well as overall Big Ten Champs.1:31:00: Next up are the guys' predictions for the College Football Playoff and overall champion.1:33:30: The guys finish up by naming their favorite food and beverage item at a college football tailgate.

In Episode 9 of Season 2 Mike welcomes his old friend from McLain Ave Kyle Urek to the podcast where they discuss little league baseball diamonds and ice cream traditions, an amazing math teacher & their love of snacks.Follow the podcast on Twitter: @friendsofmikedEmail the podcast at talkingfriendship@gmail.comKey moments from the pod: 0:30: Mike welcomes listeners to S2E9 featuring Kyle Urek.2:30: Mike celebrates another MAJOR milestone for the podcast, which includes crossing the 2.5K download threshold.3:20: Corrections from Episodes 8 (Eric Metz) and 8.5 (the Point Fiver on 80s Action/Adventure Movies).  Mike deeply apologizes to the entire Detroit Pistons organization, Hip Hop Artist Nelly, and step brothers/half brothers for different but equally offensive mistakes.6:50: Mike updates the listeners on what's been going on with him, which involves donating blood through the American Red Cross and their extremely strong snack game.8:30: In honor of this episode's guest Kyle Urek (a top notch accountant) Mike reveals his favorite song about cash money.13:30: Mike welcomes S2E9 Guest Kyle Urek onto the podcast.14:35: Kyle gives some background on himself, including his involvement with the Gleaners Food Bank and his childhood dream of becoming an accountant.18:50: Kyle then gives the latest on what's going on with him during the summer of 2021, which involves a trip to Hawaii, where they utilized the famed Janet Daniel airport shuttle service to get to and from the airport.22:25: Kyle then talks about his longest running friendship and what's made it last all of these years.24:10: Mike and Kyle talk about the last time they saw each other, which was over cornhole that included another former podcast guest.27:20: Mike and Kyle then trace the origins of their friendship, which are very windy and old and involve little league baseball.  They also talk about how Kyle's dad kept Moneyball-level stats for each kid on their team.30:45: Mike and Kyle discuss the joy of growing up in a town like Allen Park, MI.  They also discuss the quite painful game “9 Lives” they played as kids.33:15: The guys discuss another family of kids they spent a significant amount of time with growing up (the Guerrerio family) and how 7 kids could all fit in a midsize car to get home from school.35:00: Mike brings up his memories of the amazing snack game at the Urek household growing up.36:30: The guys discuss their love of Nintendo games, including Contra, Zelda, and Double Dribble as well as the architectural differences between Kyle and Mike's houses growing up and how that impacted allowable noise levels during video game playing.39:45: The guys discuss the different baseball diamonds they grew up playing on in Allen Park as kids and they get DEEP on the topic.43:30: The guys then break down the legendary ice cream wars that were taking place in Allen Park back in the late 80s and 90s.45:45: Mike brings up that Kyle's family were the first family in Allen Park, maybe the entire United States, to have access to the Internet via Prodigy.49:00: The guys then discuss their Honors Math Class taught by legendary Mrs. Coats at Cabrini Grade School.52:20: The guys then reminisce about marching in the Detroit Thanksgiving Day Parade as part of the Blue Cross/Blue Shield Honor Corps aka the “Nerd Corps”.54:05: Kyle then tells the listeners what the key to a good friendship is in his eyes.56:15: Kyle breaks down some things he's excited about in the next few months.58:00: Mike takes Kyle through the (not so) Rapid Fire segment, including talking about Kyle's favorite snack from growing up, his favorite activity at his family cottage, his favorite things to do activity-wise with his daughter, and his all-time favorite University of Michigan sports memories.

Mike brings on two of his favorite people and friends of the pod (Todd Pretty from Season 1 Episode 1 and Tim Rechtien from Season 1 Episode 5) for the third "point fiver" of Season 2 and the topic is best 80s action/adventure movies.  What ensues is a scholarly debate on classic cinema and a laugh fest best not missed. Follow the podcast on Twitter: @friendsofmikedEmail the podcast at talkingfriendship@gmail.comKey moments from the pod: 0:30: Mike welcomes listeners to Episode 8.5 of Season 2.2:20: Mike gives the listeners an update on the plan for the rest of Season 2.3:05: Mike gives some more background on the "Point Fiver" episode concept and what will be discussed in this episode.4:50: Mike welcomes Todd and Tim into the (virtual) podcast studio to discuss their favorite actiona/adventure films from the 1980s.

In Episode 8 of Season 2 Mike welcomes his undergrad and north side of Chicago friend Eric Metz to the podcast where they discuss the Breeze/breezin', what life was like in the city of Chicago in the 2000s, Eric's first home purchase, the origin of the nickname Mike Jones/Jonesy for Mike D, and Mike offers Eric and his wife Kathryn a public apology for missing their wedding.Follow the podcast on Twitter: @friendsofmikedEmail the podcast at talkingfriendship@gmail.comKey moments from the pod: 0:30: Mike welcomes listeners to Season 2 Episode 8 featuring Mike's friend Eric Metz.1:40: Mike breaks down the immense level of positive feedback that has come in related S2E7 (the Jack & Nolan Tate episode).2:15: Mike then takes the listeners through a bevy of corrections from past episodes (focused on Episodes S2E6.5 and S2E7). 6:15: Mike updates the listeners on what's been going on with him, which mainly centers around the Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo.8:00: Mike gives a little more background on this episode's guest, Eric Metz, while highlighting a classic song they used to listen back in Chicago.11:25: Mike welcomes Eric Metz onto the podcast.12:50: Eric gives the listeners what they want: his life story growing up in the Flint, MI region.14:40: Eric then gives an update for how his very busy life is going these days.15:50: Mike and Eric talk about the surprisingly tight geographic region they frequented back in the day in Chicago.17:00: Eric then talks about his longest running friend, Brett Quayle.18:45: Mike and Eric talk about the last time they hung in person and it was an embarrassingly long time ago.19:30: Mike and Eric retrace some of the earliest memories of their friendship, back to their days at the University of Michigan, including when Mike only knew Eric as “Spinderella”, how Eric's basketball skills are similar to Giannis Antetokounmpo, Eric playing college soccer at U-M, and how Eric ended up in Chicago.23:40: Mike and Eric trace the earliest origins of the “Breeze” rec hoops team, which went on to set the north side of Chicago hoops scene on fire as well as the completely unnecessary car Mike leased after law school.25:30: Eric and Mike then tell the story behind Mike D's infamous nickname “Mike Jones/Jonesy”.27:50: Eric and Mike then talk about the insanely large patio at Eric's post-college condo in the River North neighborhood in Chicago and how it led to one of the all time legendary annual summer social events, which was inspired by the fashion choices of Sean “P Diddy” Combs.32:10: Mike tells the story about how Eric introduced him to a tradition of buying in bulk known as “Bottle Service”, which was really more of an economics lesson than anything else.34:40: Mike and Eric go DEEP on the history of the Breeze hoops team, one particular ref they had issues with, post-game traditions, commentary on the hoops games' of each of the original team members, how they “fund raised” on behalf of the squad at Halligan's Bar in Lincoln Park and how “breezin'” was a state of mind.40:40: Mike comes clean and apologizes to Eric about something in their past that had been weighing on Mike's mind related to Eric's wedding weekend.  Eric graciously accepts.44:10: Eric breaks down how to keep a friendship going at this point in his life.45:20: Eric then talks about what he's excited about coming up in his life in the next months.46:10: Mike takes Eric through the (not so) Rapid Fire segment, including talking about Eric's favorite place to grab food in undergrad at the University of Michigan, favorite north side of Chicago spot to breeze at, his favorite sport to play as a kid, his favorite ‘04 Piston, and his favorite road U-M tailgate he attended with Mike when Mike was still living in Chicago.

In Season 2 Episode 7 Mike welcomes his two favorite nephews (and also friends), Jack and Nolan Tate, into the podcast studio for a gripping and hard hitting conversation on friendship, food, activities, occupational dreams, bicycle riding, and answering the immortal question: Go Blue or Go Green? Follow the podcast on Twitter: @friendsofmikedEmail the podcast at talkingfriendship@gmail.comKey moments from the pod: 0:30: Mike welcomes listeners to S2E7.2:00: Mike then owns up to some corrections from past episodes, including S2E2 (the Zach Williams episode) and S2E6.5 (the Point Fiver featuring John Baker).  Note that John and his lovely wife Gina's trusty dog Jimmy flagged one of these mistakes.  Thanks again, Jimmy.5:00: Mike then gives the listeners an updated on what's going on with him, which involves Season 2 of his favorite show from 2020 dropping recently (Ted Lasso).6:30: In honor of this episode's guests (the Tate brothers) Mike takes the listeners through his top 5 favorite songs to listen to when he was little.  These are five classic jams, folks.16:40: Mike welcomes Jack and Nolan Tate, aka the Tate brothers aka his nephews, to the podcast.17:30: Jack and Nolan come clean to the listeners on their ages and then break down some of the other members of their family, including confirming the rumors that they have two Uncle Mikes.18:40: The Tate brothers then discuss the name of their hometown and some of the cool features about their house, including the number of beds in Jack's room.19:40: The boys then discuss some of Jack and Nolan's favorite activities during the summer, and how they are expert campers.20:30: Jack and Nolan talk about some of their oldest and most intense friendships, including some of their favorite shared activities.  Toads: you may not want to listen to this segment.21:50: Mike then takes the boys through one of his favorite Christmas traditions with them, playing with the Tate brothers' toys.  The Tate brothers then talk about some of their favorite toys to play with.22:40: The boys then talk about some of their favorite foods, and the extreme cooking prowess of their dad Rob and (especially) their mom Colleen.23:55: Jack asks to go to the park.24:00: The Tate boys debate whose bike is faster between them.24:30: Favorite TV programs are discussed and they center on garbage trucks.24:55: The Tate boys commit to future occupations.25:15: The podcast ends with the Tate boys voting on the immortal question: Go Blue or Go Green?

Mike kicks off the second “Point Fiver” of season 2.  This one involves Season 1 Episode 4 guest John Baker and Mike's shared tradition known as “Cleaning to the Beat” and the best music to support this wonderful activity.Follow the podcast on Twitter: @friendsofmikedEmail the podcast at talkingfriendship@gmail.comKey moments from the pod: 0:30: Mike welcomes listeners to Episode 6.5.1:30: Mike corrects two major errors from S2E6 (the Eric Lemieur episode), including one mistake that was a logical impossibility.3:40: Mike gives some background on what a Point Fiver episode is and what this episode's theme is (Cleaning to the Beat).5:45: Mike welcomes John Baker back to the podcast, catches up with John on what's changed in his life since coming on the podcast last season (spoiler alert: John, his wife Gina and their trusted dog Jimmy are moving to Colorado!) and then John and Mike discuss one of their favorite traditions known as Cleaning to the Beat as well as the 20 songs they fully endorse when engaging in said tradition.

In the Season 2 Episode 6 Finale Mike welcomes one of the more solid friends he's ever made named Eric Lemieur into the Virtual Podcast Studio where they discuss a Disney-esque flag football team known as the Raiders, Buddy Bubner, the Vox and the Miyagi Proud Face.Follow the podcast on Twitter: @friendsofmikedEmail the podcast at talkingfriendship@gmail.comKey moments from the pod: 0:30: Mike welcomes listeners to S2E6.1:50: Mike teases the next Point Fiver of Season 2 which is coming as episode 6.5.  It involves a guest who was a listener favorite from Episode 1 (S1E4 guest John Baker!) and it also involves music.3:00: Mike then goes over some recent challenges with the podcast staff (Listeners - the staff could use your support right now) before getting into some corrections from the S2E5 featuring Chris Duprey.  7:50: Mike talks about what's going on with him, and this time it centers around the sport of tennis, including his top 5 favorite things about it which involve his unorthodox technique, an amazing romantic comedy that takes place at one of Mike's favorite tournaments, his usual Saturday morning game in Ann Arbor, and a band that bears the sport's name.19:50: Mike welcomes Eric Lemieur to the Podcast.20:20: Eric breaks down his enthralling life story, including rising from the ashes in Southeastern Michigan and his docile children.22:15: Eric updates the listeners on how life is going in his neck of the woods and it involves a lot of youth sports, trips to the Sunshine State and playing a little below average golf.28:20: Eric then talks about who his longest running friend is and how that friendship stays strong (warning: Eric drops an extremely insightful quote from “To Kill a Mockingbird”).  It's actually his cousin Pat Cupples, who Eric compares to Arnold Schwarzenegger and himself to Danny DeVito.  32:25: Mike and Eric talk about the last time they saw each other in person, back in February of 2020.33:50: Mike and Eric then talk about the historic origins of their friendship at the house of the fraternity Mike was pledging at the time, including robbing the house of a significant amount of Hamm's Ice.37:30: Eric talks about an early attempt by Eric's roommate from his fraternity house (Adam “the Moose” Morse) to mount a non-flat screen to the wall in their room.40:15: Mike and Eric go DEEP about CYO (Catholic Youth Organization) basketball when they were kids in the Detroit area and how amazing of an experience it was.43:50: Mike and Eric tell the long overdue tale of the 2000 Raiders IM Flag Football Team.  It's basically a Disney movie.47:30: Eric talks about living at 911 Greenwood while in college, the giant projector TV in the house, and the interesting tradition that would happen during house parties they hosted.50:10: Mike and Eric talk about one of their all time favorite golfers: Robert Edward Charles “Buddy” Bubner.51:50: Mike and Eric discuss “The Vox” which is a primary way they stay in touch with each other and a few other friends.56:00: Mike and Eric then get into one of their all time favorite live sports watching memories which took place at Wrigley Field in 2006 for a Tigers/Cubs game.59:00: Eric gives his keys to a good friendship at this place while quoting the movie “Stand By Me”.1:02:03: Eric then discusses what he's excited about on his end for the next few months, including lots of trips.1:04:45: Mike takes Eric through the (not so) Rapid Fire segment, including walking his sons around U-M's campus, taking trips with his family, his favorite place to travel when he was traveling for business, his favorite recent TV shows, his favorite dinner spots in GR, and his all time favorite University of Michigan sports memories.

In Season 2 Episode 5 Mike welcomes a good friend, and sports media savant, named Chris Duprey into the virtual podcast studio for a freewheeling conversation that touches on several topics the world needs right now, including friendship.Follow the podcast on Twitter: @friendsofmikedEmail the podcast at talkingfriendship@gmail.comKey moments from the pod: 0:30: Mike welcomes listeners to S2E5 (Season 2 Episode 5).1:30: Mike goes over corrections from some recent episodes and it's an embarrassingly long list, including yet another discussion of Bozo's Buckets and whether Mike did indeed wear silk shirts to his middle school and high school dances in the 1990s.5:45: Mike talks about what's going on with him, which centers around an amazing new album that just dropped from a cool rocker who happens to be the son of another musical legend.10:10: Mike welcomes Chris Duprey to the podcast.10:50: Chris shares his life story with the listeners that could be a script for a Hollywood movie, including what it's like working in the Lansing area as a true blue Wolverine as well as being the answer to an unfortunate trivia question about Michigan football.13:45: Chris talks about his experience working at the Michigan Daily as a sports columnist during college and how impactful that was, including mutual friend of Mike and Chris' Mike Spahn.17:00: Chris gives some updates on what's been going on with him, including his sons' athletic endeavors, specifically the Novi Heat 9U baseball team.  Mike references a couple of his favorite aspects of the Novi Heat.  Spoiler alert: Mike's a big fan of the Heat!  They also discuss Chris' advice for his older son about how to approach academics now that he's starting High School in the Fall.24:45: Chris gives the backstory on his longest standing friendship, which was formed by running cross country as a kid.  Great Al Bundy from Polk High reference in this segment.29:30: Mike and Chris discuss the earliest memories of their friendship and how its foundation was established, which involved connections through some mutual friends who remain good mutual friends as well as how Mike would navigate tricky situations involving too much noise and Ann Arbor's finest.35:30: Mike references how Chris would perform at house parties during college by reenacting classic U-M sports radio calls(many involving Frank Beckman and Larry Henry), a true talent of Chris'!37:20: Mike and Chris discuss being in U-M's Undergrad Business Program (BBA) and how they approached their studies in that program, specifically strategy around group projects.40:25: Mike has Chris talk about the culture in the Duprey household when watching University of Michigan sporting events, specifically as it relates to Chris' sons.  Passionate fans is a frighteningly accurate description of these guys.44:20: Mike and Chris talk about one of his true passions: refereeing college basketball.48:30: Chris talks about his keys to a good friendship.50:00: Chris then talks about what he's fired up about in the next few months, including going to a couple of college basketball tryout camps for refereeing.  51:30: Mike takes Chris through the (not so) Rapid Fire segment, including talking about Chris' favorite thing to do with each of his sons for fun, which involves going to watch Michigan football (and a story about going down to West Lafayette for a Michigan/Purdue game), Chris' favorite small college gyms to ref in, Chris' favorite U-M game he covered as a reporter at the Michigan Daily during college, Chris' favorite place to go eat in Novi, MI as a kid, and Chris' predictions for Michigan football in 2021.

In Episode 4 of Season 2 (the second one involving a Brian) Mike welcomes his old law school chum (who's definitely NOT a chump) Brian Pandya to the podcast where they discuss living in the Lawyers Club, dressing up for dinner on Sundays, and the infamous 916 Mary.Follow the podcast on Twitter: @friendsofmikedEmail the podcast at talkingfriendship@gmail.comKey moments from the pod: 0:30: Mike welcomes listeners to S2E4 featuring Mike's good friend Brian Pandya.2:00: Mike celebrates a couple of MAJOR milestones for the podcast, including crossing the 2K listener threshold and reaching 22 different countries.3:05: Corrections from Episode 3.5 (the Point Fiver on 90s School Dance Slow Jams): there aren't so much corrections but instead just effusive feedback on this episode.5:00: Mike updates the listeners on what's going on with him, which includes a mix of fun activities but one in particular: axe throwing.6:30: Mike plugs a new Lil Yachty song he's really loving.8:50: Mike introduces this episode's guest: Brian Pandya.  10:00: Mike welcomes Brian to the podcast.10:50: Brian gives the listeners his full life story (spoiler alert: it's quite impressive).11:40: Brian and Mike put in a plug for government service and Brian talks about why he loved working for the government for part of his career.15:00: Mike and Brian talk a bit about some of the unique aspects of going to law school at Michigan, including the Summer Start Program (which no longer exists, much to Mike D's chagrin).16:30: Brian talks a bit more about growing up in West-Central Pennsylvania and why/how he can help listeners get online with Prodigy via their dial up modems.18:40: Brian talks about the friend he's been friends with the longest (it's someone he became friends with upon moving to Washington DC) and how this buddy helped Brian get featured on the infamous legal blog “Above the Law”.23:20: Mike and Brian talk about the last time they saw each other in person, in Washington DC for the Michigan/Maryland football game in 2017.27:10: Mike and Brian recount the first time they remember hanging out with the other person at law school, as well as noting their respective home state regions have many similarities.30:15: Mike tells the listeners why Brian was known as the “Gazelle” in Ann Arbor during law school.  He could really move!31:50: Brian and Mike bring up their legal weightlifting society of Res Lifta Loquitor.31:15: Mike and Brian discuss some of their favorite shared memories in the law school dorm known as the “Lawyers Club”, including how the Lawyers Club enhances the collegiality at Michigan Law School.35:40: Mike and Brian go over the tradition known as “Sunday Dinner” in the Lawyers Club cafeteria.37:00: Mike and Brian then talk about a specific event in their first year of law school involving not-awkward-at-all high tea at the adjacent Martha Cook dormitory.39:45: Mike and Brian talk about their memories of their Constitutional Law class at Michigan taught by Professor Hills (a one-of-a-kind professor during their time in law school).43:30: The guys break down their legendary law school house (916 Mary) and what they loved about it, including the unique way they decorated the common spaces of the house (largely inspired by the movie Old School) and hosting tailgates for Michigan football games.51:30: Brian gives the listeners his key(s) to a good friendship.53:30: Brian then talks about what he's excited about in life over the next 6 months.54:15: Mike takes Brian through the (not so) Rapid Fire segment, including talking about Brian's favorite part about being a lawyer, some of Brian's favorite activities with his kids, traveling with his wife, his favorite Pittsburgh athlete, and his prediction for Penn State football in the 2021 Season.

Mike kicks off the first “point fiver” of Season 2.  This one focuses on songs Mike and his contemporaries used to slow dance to (largely at school dances) in middle school and high school during the 1990s.Full disclosure: some of you may have also slow danced to these songs and if so we hope the memories they bring back are joyful.  They certainly are for Mike D.  Follow the podcast on Twitter at @friendsofmiked Email the podcast with any questions or requests at talkingfriendship@gmail.com Key moments from the pod: 0:30: Mike welcomes listeners to Episode 3.5 and introduces the topic of this episode: slow songs Mike danced to at school dances in the 90s.1:50: Mike corrects a potential mistake from Season 2 Episode 3 (Brian Hayden) related to the true name of the game Brian's family would play at holiday parties.2:45: Mike reintroduces the concept of what a “Point Fiver” is.3:30: Mike lays out the ground rules for this Point Fiver as well as some of his favorite features of slow dancing at school dances when he was growing up, including proper slow dance form, school dance fashion choices in the 90s, the logistics around pre-dance meals with his dates, corsage bloopers, and the various dances at his schools and key features about them.9:00: Mike clarifies which songs were eligible to be discussed in this episode.10:30: Mike breaks down his favorite 20 songs to slow dance to during school dances in the 90s.

In Season 2 Episode 3 Mike welcomes his fellow left-handed friend Brian Hayden (host of the @findyourventure podcast) into the virtual podcast studio for a rousing conversation about friendship and many other key life topics.Follow the podcast on Twitter: @friendsofmikedEmail the podcast at talkingfriendship@gmail.comKey moments from the pod: 0:30: Mike welcomes listeners to S2E3 (Season 2 Episode 3).1:50: MIke officially announces the first “Point Fiver” of Season 2 which drops as Episode 3.5.2:40: Mike goes over the corrections from Episodes 11 and 11.5 (spoiler alert: it's a short list).3:35: Mike corrects a major error from S2E2 (The Zach Williams Episode).4:45: Mike talks about what's going on with him, including watching the Euros Soccer Tournament and the TV show Hacks on HBO Max (and a song played in the show called “Pizza Guy” that can be used for many more situations that ordering pizza)10:00: Mike welcomes Brian Hayden to the podcast.10:50: Brian shares his life story with the listeners and Mike chimes in how Brian's move back to Ann Arbor, MI as an adult inspired Mike to do the same.14:20: Brian updates the listeners on how his life is going at the moment.  Spoiler alert: it's going well.  Brian also notes what he's actually enjoyed and appreciated about living through the COVID pandemic.18:30: Brian talks about which friend(s) he's been friends with the longest, including a major global event that happened right as he met his two longest standing friends.21:30: Brian then breaks down what has kept his two longest standing friendships going strong (laughs and lack of judgment).23:25: Mike and Brian recount the last time they hung out in person over at Mike's house to play cornhole, drink a lager, and observe the sign in Mike's bathroom.27:00: Brian tells the story of growing up in Chicago and playing “Bozo's Buckets” with his family over Christmas.29:00: Mike and Brian tell the story of the first time they met each other and started establishing their friendship and how one of their favorite things to do was beating a joke into the ground.32:25: Brian tells the genesis of the legendary Spahn/Hayden Invitational Golf Tournament.36:30: Brian and Mike talk about grabbing beers at a classic Ann Arbor townie bar named “Frasier's” while in undergrad and then the even more classic Allen Park townie bar named “Simon's”, which involved Brian and others waking up in Mike's parents' basement.43:30: Mike and Brian then discuss possibly the greatest rec basketball team ever to play together on the north side of Chicago: the North Side Pistons and continuing to play basketball for fun as you grow old.46:40: Brian gives his philosophy on what makes a good friendship at this point in life.47:50: Brian talks about what he's excited about in the next 6 months and it involves an amazing family trip Brian and his family are about to embark on to Botswana while Mike gives his impressions of his own safari trip to Kenya/Tanzania.51:00: Mike takes Brian through the (not so) Rapid Fire segment, including talking about activities Brian likes to do with his entire family, which involves skiing and camping, but also Hide and Seek, his favorite parts of living in Ann Arbor as an adult, including where he loves to go eat with his wife (and also a restaurant they used to love in Portland, OR when they were living there named Cafe Mingo), and Brian's favorite pro athletes to cheer for when he was a kid, the first time Mike went to a Chicago Cubs game at Wrigley which was with Brian.

In Season 2 Episode 2 Mike welcomes one of all time favorite people to shoot the breeze with (as the kids say) into the Virtual Podcast Studio: Zach Williams (@zwilliams23 on Twitter).Follow the podcast on Twitter: @friendsofmikedEmail the podcast at talkingfriendship@gmail.comKey moments from the pod: 0:30: Mike welcomes listeners to Episode 2.2:00: Mike corrects the errors/mistakes from the Season 2 Premier with Amy Pretty.  Spoiler alert: it's a short segment.2:50: Mike talks about what's going on with him, including his favorite TV show of 2021 so far: Mare of Easttown on HBO Max.4:00: Mike pays tribute to the State of Indiana (where this episode's guest Zach Williams hails from) with his top 5 favorite things he loves about the state of Indiana.14:00: Mike welcomes Zach Williams into the Virtual Podcast Studio.15:50: Zach tells the listeners his gripping life story from birth to the Summer of 2021.19:30: Zach talks about why he loves what he does work wise and Mike makes an apt comparison of Zach to Ron Swanson from Pawnee, IN.21:10: Zach takes the listeners through the story of who his longest running friend is and it's a multi-part answer that does not involve a relative of Larry Bird.24:20: Mike and Zach recount the last time the two of them were in the same place and it was in Chicago.  They also talk about some of the unique geographic features of the City of Chicago and how it's a “city of neighborhoods”.27:40: Mike and Zach discuss their earliest memories of their friendship.32:10: Mike and Zach then get into some of their favorite shared memories, starting with Zach's love of the Chicago Cubs and Wrigley Field, how Mike adopted the Cubs as his National League team and the story about how Zach and his wife Debbi invited their favorite Wrigly beer vendor Glen to their wedding.39:45: Mike and Zach discuss their love of recreational softball and how popular it is in Chicago.44:00: Mike and Zach tell the story of meeting down in Bloomington, IN for a Michigan/Indiana University basketball game, including why Bloomington is a unique college town.49:20: Mike and Zach talk about why they really enjoy playing in college fantasy sports leagues.53:15: Zach gives his philosophy for what makes a good friendship.56:45: Zach talks about what he's looking forward to in the next few months, including training for the Chicago Marathon.1:01:05: Mike takes Zach through the (not so) Rapid Fire segment, including talking about coaching his son's baseball team and playing with his daughter, who Zach's all-time favorite Cub is (he has the same first name as Zach's son), the favorite podcast he's been listening to (aside from Talking Friendship with Mike D), and his favorite all-time Indiana University sports moment.