Tobacco Road Sports Podcast

Panther’s season preview NFL favorite story lines to watch UNC self-reported violations (players sold Air Jordans), and then asked for leniency citing “player safety” Lebron to LA, Kawhi to Toronto - NBA free-agency Atlanta Braves are good again, how did that happen? Buy, Sell, Hold

Mike and Drew discuss the firing of David Gettlemen from the Carolina Panther's front office and what the upcoming Panther's season will be like.  We also discuss the prospect of Major League Soccer coming to the Triangle and compare the Carolina Hurricane's struggles with the likelihood of MLS success.

What are the Top 3 Lessons from Round 1? What did we learn from Cavaliers 4-0 sweep that included a 26 point come from behind victory? Were the Celtics ever really on the ropes? Listen as newcomer Willie Green joins Mike and Drew to talk about playing at Rucker Park, life as a Knicks fan, and, mostly, the NBA playoffs. Mike explains why the LaMarcus Aldridge Spurs are so different from the Tim Duncan Spurs, while Willie explains the Clippers curse and compares the Utah Jazz to a “buzzsaw.” (That’s not a typo.) Join us for that and post-Round 1 investments tips.

NBA Playoffs? NBA Playoffs! Can LeBron flip the switch? Early round upset? Could James Harden survive the force of nature that is Westbrook and shoot down the Spurs? The NBA renaissance is fully upon us and Drew and Mike will break down the 2017 match-ups (assuming Drew can figure out exactly whose playing). Listen as Drew tries to explain how Steph Curry is worse this year (he isn't) and Mike throws Tyler Zeller a shout out. Oh, and find out who the most interesting player in the NBA is right now.

UNC basketball program just won its sixth national championship and its third one under Roy Williams. But before Roy was head coach, for 8 years he was an assistant coach under Dean Smith and during that time he was head coach of the UNC JV Mens basketball team. Dean Smith believed that every student should have a chance to play on the JV team. And if you played two years for the JV team you are given the chance to try out for the Varsity program. Which means hypothetically at least any UNC student can make the Varsity team and in doing so possible play along side the next Sam Perkins, Vince Carter, Antwaun Jamison or Michael Jordan. What follows here is the story of one such person who took a chance as a freshman went to a huge gym filled with hundreds of players, tried out for the JV team and made it. And as such he got to see and hear Dean Smith run his practices and he got to be part of the Carolina Way from the inside. That person is Dave Adams and you can hear the story of his experience now. One note: this podcast was recorded Tuesday April 4th a day after UNC beat Gonzaga for the championship.

We recorded our pre-game predictions, mid-game reaction and post-game conclusions and then stitched them together in the podcast SPECIAL EDITION. . Relive the NCAA championship game with Ron, Mike and Drew as it was happening.

How come the ACC got smoked during a wild opening weekend of the NCAA Tournament? Why did the NCAA force Duke to play a road game as a second seed? Plus, we discuss our favorite Sweet 16 matchups (Gonzaga-West Virginia/Kentucky-UCLA, anyone?) before a spirited round of Buy, Sell or Hold in which we predict whether or not Gonzaga will finally reach its first Final Four, North Carolina will succeed at winning it all a year after coming up agonizingly short, and Drew makes the (weak?) case that Greensboro, N.C., is an iconic sports town on par with Green Bay, Wisc., as well as a cultural mecca similar to Austin, Texas. Also, Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim is a big dummy.

Now that the Sweet Sixteen is here and only 1 ACC team has it, this talk is more relevant in ever. Avid listeners of the podcast will recognize this as Part 3 of Episode 30. In it, we take a list of ACC players with professional basketball hopes and Ron and Mike debate whether they will stay in school or go on to play professional basketball next year. It’s a segment we called “Staying or Going”.

It's NCAA Tournament time and if you are looking for a No. 12 (or 13) seed to pick to get an upset or wondering which No. 1 or 2 seed is most likely to lose, listen to this episode! In it Drew mines Mike and Ron for their best pick ideas and then brazenly challenges them to a competition. We debate the No. 1 seeds - Villanova, Kansas, Gonzaga and North Carolina. Did the Heels deserve it with seven losses - tied for the most ever for a top seed? Or should Duke, which won the ACC Tournament in fashion Ron Found spectacular and Mike found "one or two plays away from us not talking about them at all," have snuck onto the top line with eight losses? What about the Pac 12, which got no love despite UCLA being ranked third and Oregon, the Pac 12 tournament champion, being ranked fifth in the AP Top 25? We also discuss St. Mary's, Creighton, SMU, Purdue and Vermont among many other teams as we make sense of this year's bracket.

The North Carolina Tar Heels ended the ACC basketball season atop the standings, and we take a second to talk about their final two games - the win against the Duke Blue Devils, where they scored 90 points, and the loss against the Virginia Cavaliers, where they scored 43! We also debate the merits of UNC's Justin Jackson as the ACC Player of the Year (what about Luke Kennard?), try to understand how Louisville's Donovan Mitchell made the first team, and ponder the significance of the ACC tournament's first trip to Brooklyn before telling you exactly which league underclassmen will be bolting for the NBA and which ones won't in a new segment ingenuously called “Staying or Going."

In Mark Gottfried's 5 1/2 years as the North Carolina State men's basketball coach, he made four NCAA tournament appearances and twice advanced to the Sweet 16. Yet he was fired last week. Mike Adams, State fan and alum, talks about what went wrong and gives us a view into what Wolfpack nation thinks. Was it the right move? Also we debate who will be ACC Player of the Year, and we are asking for your thoughts on the matter. Take our poll here - s.surveytown.com/survey/?c=200157&id=1

The Falcons were ahead 28 - 3 in the third quarter. Brady looked shook. Then a little thing we like to refer to as "the greatest choke in the history of professional sports" happened. We try and break down the crazy awesome comeback that was Super Bowl 51. We also talk to Dave Brown, a reporter for the Concord (N.H.) Monitor, who covered the Patriots throughout the season and was at the game. Finally we go over the results of our prop bets. Find out how well our "resident MIT-grown data analyst" did. Did he beat Ron "go with my gut" Wagner? Listen now. Show notes and to see prop bet results: http://blooperman.com/blooperman-podcast-episode-28-super-bowl-51-prop-bet-results-and-patriots-writer-dave-brown/

It's Super Bowl 51 (LI; does anyone else miss the Roman numerals?) time, and in this episode we take on the Super Bowl prop bets. You know, the stuff only experts would know - like who will score the first touchdown, what Lady Gaga's first song will be during the halftime show and the surprising dicey proposition Luke Bryan faces when deciding whether or not to wear a hat while singing the National Anthem, among many other things. We gave ourselves $1,000 blooper bucks to wager, and next week you'll find out who took home the big money. Will it be Mike and his advanced statistical analysis? Ron and his gut-based rejection of logic? Or Drew, and his deep knowledge of the average length of the National Anthem? Hey, those sound like pretty good prop bets themselves...

The NFL is back in Los Angeles, and with not one team but two. Will it be twice the fun, or do LA fans really hate the Chargers as much as they seem to? Also, we jump right in on the Super Bowl, ponder just how much NBA players embarrassed themselves with their all-star voting, and let Mike have his moment in the sun after N.C. State stunned Duke in Cameron.

We recap Clemson vs Alabama. Was it better than last year's championship? One of the best games ever? We also check-in with ACC Men's basketball and discuss who's the team to beat. Will Florida State fade come tournament time or do they have what it takes? Also Ron and Mike make their next NFL Playoff picks and Mike lets us all know which NFL bet he would make if he were a bettin' man.

After conducting our "official" Blooperman poll, we reveal our top 10 most compelling sports stories of 2016. And lots of amazing things happened this year. We had an Olympics that featured Usain Bolt and Michael Phelps both accomplishing amazing feats, a last second shot that won NCAA Men's basketball tournament, an NBA team (Golden State Warriors) that set a record for regular season wins and a different NBA team (Cleveland Cavaliers) that beat them for Finals championship. Oh yea, and the Chicago Cubs broke their drought in a dramatic game seven of the World Series. All great stories, but which one is number 1? Listen and find out.

We use Bill Simmons and Malcolm Gladwell's recent post on the subject of the Future of Football (https://theringer.com/bill-simmons-malcolm-gladwell-future-of-the-nfl-b6e14a14124) as a spring board to talk about football's "second conversations" and our thoughts on the proposals to improve the sport.

We take a full break from sports to dive into Donald Trump's shocking victory in the presidential election. Some people think it's a great thing. We ponder how that's possible, and try to predict the future.

We discuss the 2nd presidential debate and Mike predicts something that ended up coming true. We also give our thoughts on the MLB playoffs and do a round of Buy, Sell or Hold.

We talk about our favorite moments from first presidential debate. You will never believe what the pilot said when he sat down next to Mike at a bar in an airport as the debate began. Ron shares his thoughts on Colin Kaepernick's now that the protests he inspired have spread across sporting events. We also manage to work in reflects on College Football and the Panther's season that is gotten off to a rocky start. We leave no stone unturned in this episode and "That makes us smart." ;)

We discuss the NCAA moving its championship games from North Carolina and athletes protesting during national anthem. We also talk with Dave Brown, reporter for the Concord Monitor, about the questions he asked Bill Belichick that caused an uproar among Patriots fans.

The Olympic spirit grabbed us, shook us out of our summer blahs, and inspired us. Too bad that didn't happen in Rio, where there was hardly anyone in the stands. What did you think of the NBC coverage? Also, find out who Ron thinks is the greater Olympian - Michael Phelps or Usain Bolt. We also check in on our MLB picks and discuss Kevin Durant, USA basketball and attempt to quantify the worthlessness of the NFL preseason.

We talk about Draymond's kick, OKC's dominance and talk about Tony Gwynn's family's lawsuit.

What was it like to attend Moogfest and hear "Explosions in the Sky" at 2am? We will tell you that and more.

Jose Bautista gets hit by pitch, has a ball thrown at his head and get punched in the face. What was his transgrettion? Flipping a bat after hitting a studly home run in Game 5 of last years ALDS. How is this possibly justified? Is there any place for this kind of revenge in baseball? Also Dave Adams breaks down Memphis Grizzlies basketball season that was and we do a round of buy, sell or hold.

We try and get our arms around Moogfest the huge electronic music that is so much more. With special guest Josh Segal, an organizer at the festival, we get introduced to the concept of transhumanism as well as learn about the plethora of activities at the festival including a special installation at the Grimes performance. We also try to dissect the differences between electronic music and EDM (Electronic Dance Music) as well as learn about the importance of naps.

Amazingly, some people (*Cough, Mike Adams, Cough*) aren't convinced Steph Curry is the best player in the NBA, and in this edition of the Blooperman Podcast our resident data analyst and NBA junkie lays out his case against the unanimous league MVP as Ron Wagner, our resident skeptic and reluctant NBA consumer, stares on in horror. We also talk Spurs upset, D-Wade's rejuvenation and Kevin Durant's future in OKC before moving on to Moogfest, the electronic music, art and technology festival. Oh, and also HB2. Sigh. Moogfest has struggled to find a home after stops in New York City and Asheville. Is Durham the answer? Is anybody but us looking forward to Grimes, Explosions In The Sky, Miike Snow and three days of nonstop synthesizers? And, finally, would the ACC actually pull its championships from North Carolina because of the Tar Heel state's obsession with the LGTB community? Listen above to find out.

In this episode, we wax poetic about the life and music of Prince and reminisce on our memories of his music in our lives. We also tackle some NBA Playoffs, Major League Baseball and have a round of "Buy Sell and Hold".

In this episode of the Blooperman Podcast, we try to see the end of the NBA playoffs and can’t. That’s because they go on forever and ever and ever and ever with an endless stream of Game 7 series with foregone conclusions and scheduling that makes no sense outside of one key factor: TV. Is that a good thing? Would the league better off with five-game series in the first round like baseball, or does that devalue the regular season (just in case 82 freaking games isn’t devaluation enough). Also, we talk HB2 and college basketball recruiting. Kentucky has the top-ranked class, again, with five five-star recruits. What is it about the middle of nowhere that is so darn appealing to elite hoops players? Not to give anything away, but our theory is it has a lot to do with pre-med programs. Listen now.

Justin Spieth totally, completely and utterly collapsed in the final round at The Masters. Dude blew a five-shot lead in nine holes. Check that - three holes. That's a gag, right? Well, not necessarily. In this episode of the Blooperman Podcast, Mike bucks the national piling on with a defense of Spieth's shocking (we can all agree it was shocking, right?) defeat. We also weigh in on the Warriors' record-breaking season, and ask if there's any point at all to the Eastern Conference playoffs (Ron's answer: No). Can Bryce Harper actually make baseball fun again, assuming it was ever fun at all?And Drew's Cubbies are performing as well as expected. Will that inspire him to learn the name of anyone who plays for the Cubs? Find out now:

We talk about the NCAA title game, pick a Major League Baseball team to follow and discuss why is it that the Masters is golf's biggest tournament. Plus, a round of "Buy, Sell, or Hold" including a "Buy, Sell or Hold" on "One Shining Moment".

We talk about the first two rounds of the NCAA Men's College Basketball tournament and breakdown the action to come.

We break down the bracket.

The ACC men’s basketball marquee event started yesterday in the traditional way: With four lousy teams playing somewhere far away, we’re not sure where, on a Tuesday in front of nobody. In this edition of the Blooperman Podcast, we discuss the teetering relevance of the proud ACC tournament and tackle a couple of tough buy, sell or holds: Will Virginia’s Malcolm Brogdon, the first player to be named ACC Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year in the same season, make it in the NBA? Would you want North Carolina’s Roy Williams to be your coach in five years? We also dive into a dramatic final Saturday of the regular season that started with Miami’s epic choke at Virginia Tech that paved the way for Carolina to clinch the league title at Duke. Is Brogdon an all-time Cavalier and ACC great? Can anybody but UNC or Virginia cut the nets in D.C. this weekend (oh, we knew where it was – we’re professionals)? What are the NCAA tournament prospects of conference members who aren’t on probation (welcome back Syracuse! See you, Louisville!) or who aren’t actively awful (what the hell has happened to N.C. State, Wake Forest and Georgia Tech?) Finally, we revisit how much The Revenant sucks, but we’re not sure Spotlight should have won either, and we rate Chris Rock’s performance. We demand art, people, and we’re not getting it!

We talk with Edwin Arnaudin, movie critic for the Asheville-Citizen Times, about what makes a move Oscar worthy and whether "The Revenant" would have been better off if it had stuck closer to what actually happened Hugh Glass.

We recap our Super Bowl predictions, share our takes on 1st Duke UNC Men's basketball game and do a round of "Buy, Sell or Hold" on the future of the NFL as America's favorite sport.

In this episode of the Blooperman Podcast we explore the location of the Super Bowl, we do our best to predict the score and then make our Super Bowl prop bets including how many times "dab" or "dabbing" will be said during the broadcast.

What is it about Cam Newton? The NFL’s best player has lived up to every expectation you could possibly have of a quarterback picked No. 1 overall, but with his rise to national sports icon and unquestionably the biggest star in Charlotte sports history (sorry, Grandmama) has come a significant backlash: Turns out, a lot of people really don’t like Cam Newton. But why? He doesn’t get arrested. Hasn’t gotten hurt. Hasn’t whined. Hasn’t converted his giant signing bonus into a giant gut. All he’s done is get better and better as the Carolina Panthers have won more and more games. In Episode 1 of the Blooperman podcast, we examine today’s NFC Championship at snowy Bank of America Stadium, belly flop into the psychology of both Newton and his detractors, and give our predictions for who will make it to the Super Bowl.