Road Trip:Akron

The second day added a special spin for Derreck and I as we picked up my cousin Missy for the first portion of the day.

Missy is my favorite cousin in a field that ranges from family that I don't know very well to family that I don't care for and we were bringing her along to a local stop that she had never been to before.
It's funny how that seems to work out- we seem to never get around to visiting the places that others want to see in our backyards.

We were on our way to nearby Mansfield and the Ohio State Reformatory.
The OSR has been closed to prisoners for quite a while but has drawn visitors for several different reasons.
Many come because they believe in ghosts and want to hunt for them.
Others are there for the experience of seeing how the prisons of the past were run and others even come for the gothic architecture, but we were there to take one of the various tours entitled "History and Hollywood" to see the many parts of the prison that featured filming of the Shawshank Redemption- which is not only a classic but a favorite of mine as well.

The tour was interesting and I even learned a few things about the movie (Tom Cruise was the original choice for Andy Dufresne and then Tom Hanks was taking the role but had to give it up for Forrest Gump and that left the role to Tim Robbins) along seeing so many of the locations.
The tour was an hour and a half long and really was way too much to recount, but if you are in the area and have any of the interests that I mentioned above- you really do need to check the OSR out.
A few notes though if you are considering it.
There is a lot of walking and many steps as well.
It is far from handicap friendly and with all the walking, I would say not an easy navigation for children under 12.
Also if you have a fear of heights, you may have a problem because you are often four floors in the air looking down.
It's not unsafe, but it could bother the acrophobic and if you are bothered by closed in places, there are a few of those as well.

We then had a quick lunch at the A&W root beer stand.
I wanted Derreck to try the coney's and the shredded chicken sandwich, but only eat those because we still had another stop before hitting Akron.
We ate at a local park and had a great time chatting before taking Missy back to her home.
Because we ate just a little, we had space enough after the hour drive to eat at my favorite chicken place in Belgrade Gardens.
I've raved about Belgrade in the past and once again, it lived up to the billing.
I had chicken of course and two slaws (dinner comes with THREE sides) and fries that I ate only a few of.
I do love their very vinegary slaw though and missing out on Belgrade Gardens is about the only thing that I miss about not taking the Pennsylvania Turnpike anymore (Belgrade is in the opposite direction of the "Back Way" that I often use.

Derreck and I were off to Akron for the Clu Haywood bobblehead as Akron does a Major League bobblehead every year.
I wasn't really interested in the Hayward (I will be very interested when the Rubber Ducks do the heel of the sequel Jack Parkman), but part of bobbles, especially popular ones is getting there and yes- standing in line.
This wasn't an all-time bobble wait and paled in comparison to the one time at State College, but still, I get so bored in these situations, it's usually hot (although this was far hotter than even a usual summer day and rarely is the item something I care about.
Upon arrival at Canal Park, I was surprised to see the team store open.
I've always wondered why more teams didn't open their store on these nights with a captive and hot crowd looking for something to do and occasionally get cool.
I went inside the store (and as soon as I left, the store closed) and bought a few things, but as I checked out, I saw two hats of the old Akron Aeros.
Longtime readers might remember my first visit to Akron after their name change to Rubber Ducks, where it looked like it had been a government coup with nothing at all even in the clearance area that said Aeros and I was more than surprised to see these two hats.
I asked the fellow behind the counter if those were for sale and he said he didn't think so, but he'd check.
He came back with the manager and a story, that if true, was pretty cool.
Supposedly, in a stadium cart in a storeroom that was cleaned out over the winter held a case of Akron Aeros hats-one in each size.
Normally, I would wear a size 8, but with these the size 8 was way too large and the 7 7/8 was still a little big, but the 7 3/4 was somewhat small, so I wondered if I should buy one or not.
New Era's hats simply have no consistency in how they made- I have tried size eight's that was like wearing a trash can and eight's that were insanely tight- Their game needs to be stepped up.
Of course, I bought one, I mean really- you should have known the story was headed in that direction!

After waiting for the gates next to a person that bore a stunningly resemblance to a grapher that currently resides in the Midwest, the gates finally opened and Derreck got his wonderful bobblehead.
I moved to the Ducks side to graph some and hopefully add some really Tristan McKenzie cards to my collection.
I never saw McKenzie and the area was really crowded, even with being able to position in a good spot beside the field.
With a sellout crowd and a Boy Scout promotion on the field, I was stuck in a position with a heat index of over 100 degrees pouring over me, it wasn't worth the problems to have Derreck come down and help.
He waved at me from the concourse and would wait until the end of pregame for me.
Or so I would assume as you will shortly see.
I did manage to get five cards signed, most notably Bobby Bradley before finally breaching the wall of people that had me wedged in and Derreck on the outside and walking up to the concourse before the game started.

It was the concourse that I expected to find Derreck at, thereafter we would watch the game etc,
But I walked up, No Derreck.
I would bet cash money that I walked that busy ( the concourse at Akron is very crowded) concourse more times than I could count and still No Derreck.
But I walked it from far left field to the team shop which is on the right field side but ends in short right field because I figured Derreck would be on the left field side and I just couldn't see him.
After three innings of this, the ridiculously high heat index began to work on me and I really started to be affected by the elements.
I didn't feel like I was going to have heat stroke, but it started to mess with me mentally and my thinking became a little muddy.
For the first time, now in hindsight, I can see how elderly people's thoughts can get disoriented in particular situations and frankly I have so much empathy for that now than I did in the past.

Finally, after more fruitless searching, I asked guest services to page Derreck and have him meet me at the team store.
I waited for a few minutes and again-No Derreck (It turned out when I asked him later- He never heard the page-so much for paying attention), so now I'm pondering just what the hell I'm going to do next and I looked to the fellow next to me.
I did a double take as I thought "Boy, this fellow looks familiar" and then he spoke to me "Are you, Shawn"?
Turns out that someone had been trying to contact me all day to ask if I was going to Akron, but Gayle doesn't have Wi-Fi, so I had been at the mercy of the free providers during much of the trip.
I was stunned to meet Vince Samano- As in Vince Samano. my friend that I had never met in person and helps with the TRS Boxing Rankings!
What this means is that Vince Samano, who had never met me in his life had walked into a sold out  7,600 seat stadium and had instantly found me, where Derreck Chupak, who had come with me to Canal Park had not been able to in four innings!
I talked boxing to Vince for a few minutes and then with my head clearing a bit, I asked if he would mind if I could use his phone as I thought of an idea.
I called the lovely Cherie at home and asked her to please find me Derreck's phone number, so I could call him and see where he was.
She said to call back in a minute and she'd have it, but needed to find it.
Cherie instead called Derreck and explained that I could use his help.

I talked to Vince some more before he had to return to the event that he came for (a nearby barbeque event) and I only wish I would have been a better conversationalist.
Vince loves the boxing game and the history of the sport as much as I do and I'd love to have a better shot at a good discussion with him.
I'm hoping that I can have that chance in the future when I am in the area.
And as Vince Samano walked east, a grinning face moved closer from the west.
Derreck Chupak seemed no worse for wear, compared to me and why should he have been so?
After all, he had been sitting under a tiki hut in RIGHT FIELD!
Now, normally I'd give myself some grief here for not looking there, but not this time!
Our seats were on the left field side, I had been graphing on the left field side and we had seen each other on the left field side, so it is easy to think- that Derreck is somewhere on the LEFT FIELD SIDE!
This was followed by the kicker- "you should have figured out that beer was cheaper on the right field side".
This was a mistake on my part, I don't drink, so I didn't even consider beer as a possible reason on where to look or even consider that beer in a ballpark might be more or less expensive from one place to another.
These are major things to think about if this situation ever happens in the future because if you knew Derreck Chupak, you would know the importance of beer.
Had I thought like him, none of this would have happened.
Still, suffering through this enabled me to meet Vince, so things worked out for the good.

We watched a little more of the game before driving back to Ashland, where Derreck wanted another pizza from Donna D's for dinner.
After pizza and watching the constant updates on NBA free agency, I went to bed for more podcast listening and to drift off..

One day to go as we wrap up the trip in Lake County...

Giants dump salary-With a fascinating story!!!

The San Francisco Giants have been trying to contend in 2018, but at the same time, the team has been trying to reduce salary a bit to attempt to avoid payment for exceeding the limit for the luxury tax.

There is no other way to explain the Giants trade with the Texas Rangers, where reliever Cory Gearrin and outfielder Austin Jackson were headed along with minor league pitcher Jason Bahr for either a minor leaguer to be named or cash.

Neither Gearrin or Jackson was having an especially big year (Gearrin's ERA was over four in 35 games and Jackson was hitting just .242 without a homer) and the team saved over four million with Jackson (signed thru 2019) and another million and a half from Gearrin by sending them away.

Teams don't help others for free and Texas added an interesting prospect in Jason Bahr.who led the SAL in strikeouts at Augusta (88) before being called up to San Jose where he allowed only three runs in three starts.
The fifth-round pick from Central Florida in 2017 was assigned to the Rangers high A affiliate in Kinston NC-the Down East Wood Ducks...

San Francisco called up two players to fill the vacated two roster spots as outfielder Steven Duggar and reliever Ray Black arrived from AAA Sacramento.
Duggar is a plus defender and was hitting .272 in Sacramento, while the 28-year-old Black struck out 38 batters in 21 AAA innings.
Both played in Sunday's game against St.Louis with Duggar's double giving him his initial big league hit, while Black allowed three runs in a third of an inning to welcome him to the majors.
And there is where we write a story about Ray Black.
Let's say a fascinating story with full credit to the Folksmen.

Ray Black throws hard.
HARD- as in clocked at 104 MPH hard.
Look at Black's strikeout numbers and one can see that, but until he began to harness his control and cut back his walks as he did in 2017, Black was going to be looked at as more novelty act than bullpen asset.


We move back to our first trip to Charleston WV in 2016 when we saw the Augusta Greenjackets in town against the West Virginia Power.
As we needed to this season, to see the Greenjackets we needed to hit the road because Augusta doesn't visit Hagerstown.
I wrote back then about the famous West Virginia "Toastman" Rod Blackstone and his heckling.
The Toastman's routine has become somewhat famous through the minors and he has even been placed in a few of Topps minor league sets.
Fred and Michael Landucci were at our hotel, checking out the next day and our hotel was next to the hotel that Augusta was staying.
Their bus driver was waiting outside and we struck up a conversation about the previous night's game (a game so good that Fred and I still talk about it) with him.
The lack of hitting came up and the bus driver started talking about Rod Blackstone and his ability to distract players or as the driver put it " That F'ing Toastman knows how to get inside these kids head".
The driver told us about Blackstone getting to the players because he doesn't curse or do anything nasty, he simply drives them nuts by telling the truth about their stats, signing bonus, draft status or background- "Its hard to ignore someone that's telling the truth".


But then came the really interesting part- "but one guy pushed back on the Toastman".
Of course, we then needed to know the story and it features the power-armed Ray Black- as in the previously mentioned 104 MPH fastball Ray Black.

The driver said that Black had claimed that he wouldn't tolerate the Toastman experience and he didn't as he was brought into the game as a reliever and watched as Blackstone began his reciting of various facts for Black.
This is where the story gets interesting- The driver claimed that in his warmups that Black rocked back and gunned his best fastball "and you know that Black throws very hard" at Blackstone at the netting.
"The net bulged back, Toastman's eyes grew WIDE OPEN and he almost got nailed!"

I found this story very interesting and remembered for our trip to Charleston in 2017 and asked Rod if this indeed happened- his response was that he didn't remember it occurring.
I thought that perhaps the driver had been either telling a story or exaggerating one as sometimes a fable is far more fun to listen to than the actual truth.
Maybe Black did throw a wild pitch and then commented as we all do as "almost getting him" etc?

Fast forward a few weeks after this, I'm in Harrisburg for the Richmond Flying Squirrels and who comes walking by to their bullpen but Ray Black.
I have to ask him about this and I do so with Black answering with a sheepish grin and a "so where did you hear about this?".
I told him that the Augusta bus driver told us this story and Black replied so "bus drivers name ( I cannot say that I remember his name) still remembers that".
We talked for a few minutes about Augusta, the Greenjackets then-home, Charleston and of course, the Toastman before Black had to go back to work.
It didn't seem like a story that Black was bragging or embellishing and he was very matter of fact about it, which lent some credence to me that at least a portion of the story was factual.

The entire thing made me a Ray Black fan and he seemed like a cool guy when we talked about the story, so I was very happy to see him get a shot at the big time at the age of 28.
No matter if the story was as described or not, it was still a good tale and it is fabled such as those that make minor league baseball what it is- Fun...

Boring Boxing Weekend

A very soft weekend in the boxing challenge saw three less than scintillating encounters and nothing to be really excited about from any of the three winners, let alone the three losers.

Let's start with the Top Rank card on ESPN from Fresno where to be fair the last minute loss of the title defense of hometown hero Jose Ramirez took away some of the shine and energy from the crowd, but even considering that- the two fights that were shown and planned for the card anyway left a lot to be desired.

The new main event saw hyped welterweight Egid Kavaliaukas win a workmanlike, if not visually thrilling unanimous decision over veteran Juan Carlos Abreu.
"The Mean Machine" won a 96-94 decision on my scorecard, but struggled to avoid Abreu's jab and didn't look anywhere ready for a title shot against any champion, let alone one of the quality of Terence Crawford.
However, with the political issues, Kavaliaukas could very well receive that shot in the fall as there are few other options for the WBO titleholder.

The co-feature saw undefeated Andy Vences cruise to a clear, but unimpressive win over trialhorse Frank De Alba in a junior lightweight encounter.
Vences was a fighter that I was high on when I watched his early bouts but hasn't made the next step as he moves into a higher caliber of opponent.
I scored Vences a 99-91 winner.

And from beautiful Kazakhstan and another one of those wonderful WBA "title" bouts from the people that bring you three "champions" per division, former light heavyweight and cruiserweight champ Beibut Shumenov returned from a brief retirement caused by eye issues to defeat Hizni Altunkaya in what was a pretty ridiculous excuse for a "title" bout, when Altunkaya's corner stopped the contest at the end of round nine.
Altunkaya was floored in the first round by what appeared to be less than a strong body shot and as I watched on YouTube, I figured after that, it was going to be a short evening for this mismatch.
Instead, Altunkaya rose, ran and generally stunk the joint out for the next eight rounds.
Shumenov doesn't deserve roses for his win, as he generally plodded after Altunkaya, landing punches mainly due to the ineptness of his opponent and didn't do a thing to prove to any observer that he has anything left in the tank against reasonable competition, let alone championship level fighters.
Just awful.
Thanks, WBA- You make me want to return to the days of Orlin Norris, Alfonso Ratliff and S.T. Gordon and those good old days weren't all that good!
I know that you have the best looking title belts in the game, but that doesn't mean that three of them in each division needs to be handed out- especially to fighters that are not worthy of being world champions.

In the boxing challenge, I scored five points to Ramon Malpica's three over the weekend.
I earned two points for the two ESPN wins and one for Beibut Shumenov.
Ramon added two for Andy Vences victory one for the Shumenov win.
My overall lead extended to 112-86.

Road Trip: Columbus

I had been looking forward to getting back to Ohio for a while and the plans for the trip looked like it was going to be a fun schedule of events.

Derreck Chupak arose from the land of the missing to travel on this trip and we hadn't seen much of each other during this season (which stunningly to me is over halfway completed ), so it was going to be fun catching up.

I worked the Thursday night into Friday (as did Derreck ) and we didn't bother to go to bed as we left shortly after getting home from work.
Both of us knew that it would be a long day, but when you work the night shift, you realize that more often than not, no sleep can be better than a little sleep.
The weather was hot, as it would be for all three days, with heat indexes at each stadium over 100 degrees.
We went what I call the "back way" to Columbus, which allows me to miss the current cash grab that goes by the name of the Pennsylvania Turnpike.
The alternate route isn't that much slower going to Columbus than the turnpike, but there is a difference in time between the two when you go to more northern towns in Ohio than Columbus.

The issue with the alternate route (and it's even worse taking this route for a portion of the trip to Charleston WV) is that you really have to plan ahead if you are planning to eat.
There just aren't an abundance of places and you have to try to project down the road when you think you'll be ready to eat.
Fortunately, I've been able to remember where to stop and where not to and I remembered a Quaker Steak and Lube, which is a usual stop on trips whenever I can find them (and if I haven't eaten already) was on the way.
Derreck stopped there and ate and I was able to adroitly tick Derreck off on the subject of tips.
Derreck doesn't believe in tipping, so I picked up the full tab and had him add the tip.
This drove him up the wall and sent him grumbling good-naturedly throughout the trip about "having to pay a tip"!

We cruised into Columbus for my return to Huntington Park with the Columbus Clippers (Indians) hosting the Indianapolis Indians (Pirates).
The last time that I had been inside the stadium was in 2010 (although the GPS sent me there in 2016 when Ryan and I were looking for the remains of Cooper Stadium), so it had been quite a while.
Huntington Park hadn't really changed other than a very minor change in the scoreboard, but I still liked the layout of the stadium.
My only minor quibble with Huntington is the lack of a wraparound concourse in the outfield.
Newer stadiums are often designed to ease the traffic flow and Huntington stops in centerfield, which tends to clog foot traffic in the shaded concourse, which runs from first to third base behind the plate.
In other words, if you are located on one side of the field, you have to walk entirely around the facility rather than move across the outfield.
All the outfield seating in Huntington Park is in the left field area, with the exception of some standing room space in the right field vicinity and when the sun goes down in Columbus, if seated in the outfield-you are looking directly into the sun.
This can give you a very nice picture but can make it very difficult to follow the game, so keep that in mind for a potential visit.

The Clippers allows fans to enter the stadium 90 minutes before game time instead of the more standard 60 minutes and this allowed extra time to hit the team store along with seeing some batting practice.
I wish more teams would do this. Fans love it and the team makes more money with fans inside the door than they will standing outside the gate in the heat-especially on hot days like this.
Derreck was gracious enough to grab me an International League baseball that an Indianapolis player had hammered over the left field wall.
Being in the stadium early allowed me to hopefully have a chance to grab Indians shortstop Kevin Newman on his Top 100.
I didn't bring a lot of cards for Indianapolis as I remembered that you could only do one team or the other in Columbus, so I kept it light.
I asked Newman to sign and he said that he would sign after he stretched before the game in about an hour.
I've never quite understood that in similar situations as I was alone and the time that it took to give an explanation, Newman could have signed the card and be finished with me, but everyone has their manner of doing things.

Derreck and I moved to the other side of the stadium and I saw a small sign in the concourse, which would be easily ignored unless you fell into it.
Which of course, I almost did (not literally) and mentioned to Derreck about the free bobblehead.
Since he is a bobblehead guy, this made him very excited and interested, yet quizzical about what the catch was for the giveaway.
After all, how often do you truly receive something for nothing?
Well, it was next to nothing as Ballpark Digest was doing their annual fan voting for best ballpark at the different levels and Huntington Park was in the semi-finals.
The cost of the bobble was voting for their stadium and proving it to them (showing your mobile device) and you were handed a bobble.
Derreck was given a Corey Kluber for his trouble and he asked if I was going to vote.
I wasn't going to bother, but I thought about it and a Francisco Lindor would have been a keeper, but I planned on giving it to Derreck if I was given anyone else.
As Mike Oravec is fond of saying "One hand helps the other" and in this hobby, I've helped friends with stuff and I've been helped, so I like to do things when I can.
After I voted and handed Derreck a Carlos Santana bobble, he expressed his gratitude and asked what he could do for me- "Could you get Kevin Newman on the other side for me?"
He was happy to help and that enabled me to try for the two Columbus top 100's (2018 Francisco Mejia and 2017 Bradley Zimmer) and work on the Clippers team set.
I don't buy very many AAA team sets, but I always buy Columbus, Indianapolis, and Sacramento.
I don't usually wind up with many signed cards from them, but I always like having them around.

Alas, the Clippers weren't a success as I never saw Bradley Zimmer at all, Francisco Mejia wasn't in the original starting lineup before being inserted suddenly ten minutes before game time (He had very little time to get loosened up, so I understood his lack of interest) and in the end, I was able to get just one team set card signed- pitcher Ben Taylor.
Derreck came through with Kevin Newman (as well as pitching prospect Nick Kingham, now back with the Pirates) though, so I still consider the night a success!
We watched some of the game, but with our seats being in the dreaded left field seats directly in the path of the sun and the heat pounding down on us. we discussed whether we were doing postgame or not.
If we weren't, then discretion should be the better part of valor and we should head on up the road.
Another inning of heat later and we tossed in the towel for the hour plus drive to Ashland.

My wonderful "Aunt" Gayle (she's not my blood aunt, but I look at her as such- sue me!) allowed Derreck and I to stay at her home while she was away in San Antonio, so we checked in there after ordering dinner at Donna D's, yes the same Donna D's I usually eat at when in town.
Derreck was especially anxious to try this after hearing my raves throughout the years and after hearing similar questions about Quaker Steak before we stopped there (Thank goodness, it was a hit). I was a little concerned about Donna D's living up to the hype.
Donna D's didn't help themselves when we arrived back to pick up our pizza's and Derreck's hadn't been prepared and the resulting wait wasn't exactly welcomed.
Luckily for me, when Derreck eventually was given his pizza, he thought it was delicious and I breathed yet another sigh of relief of an arrow that was dodged.

It wasn't too much longer before we were ready for bed as Derreck fell asleep a little before I trudged off to Gayle's spare room to turn the lights out and drift off to sleep as a podcast droned on in the background to help me sleep.
The trip was off to a good start and the new day awaited with a trip to a place that I've been by often in my life but had never actually seen up close and the Akron Rubber Duck for another bobblehead with a classic story for the archives!

Boxing Challenge

The boxing challenge was going to return with a WBC junior welterweight title defense by Jose Ramirez in his native Fresno on ESPN, but those plans went out the door when challenger Danny O'Connor could not make the weight and was hospitalized with severe dehydration.
Normally, I'm very critical of fighters that don't make weight, but clearly, O'Connor was trying to hit the mark and simply couldn't.

With the title fight canceled, Top Rank moved two fights up the card and the new co-main event was added to the challenge.
The new main event is interesting as undefeated Egid Kavaliauskas faces strong veteran, Juan Carlos Abreu.
Kavaliauskas is coming off his best win, which saw him win in a dominating stoppage of David Avaneysan, while Abreu is the type of solid gatekeeper that should at least make Kavaliauskas work for a victory.
A victory could mean a title shot in the fall against WBO welterweight champion Terence Crawford.

The new televised bout will feature undefeated junior lightweight prospect Andy Vences against Frank De Alba.
Vences drew with fellow prospect Erick DeLeon in his last fight and could use a solid effort after the DeLeon fight was less than exciting.
The veteran De Alba is coming off a loss to O'Shaquie Foster and might be the perfect foil for Vences.

In Kazakhstan, former two-division champion Beibut Shumenov returns from a brief retirement to fight for one of the WBA's minor trinkets against Hizni Altunkaya.
Shumenov suffered an eye injury that forced his retirement and his return seems to be questionable to me.
If Shumenov cannot get past Altunkaya, he needs to move on as Altunkaya's resume ranks with the worst I've seen for a title bout, even it is not a "real" title.
The native of Turkey suffered his only loss to the only fighter that you have heard of in Kryzstof Glowacki and has fought some of the worst opponents that you can imagine, including a decision win in his last fight against an opponent that entered the fight with a record of 3-6-1.

In the boxing challenge, I lead Ramon Malpica 107-83

Welterweights. 10 Rds
Egid Kavaliauskas vs Juan Carlos Abreu
R.L: Abreu Unanimous Decision
TRS: Kavaliauskas Unanimous Decision

Junior Lightweights, 10 Rds
Andy Vences vs Frank De Alba
Both: Vences Unanimous Decision

Cruiserweights. 12 Rds
Beibut Shumenov vs Hizni Altunkaya
Both: Shumenov Unanimous Decision

My Favorite Sports Podcasts.

I was planning to start my trip review, but I discovered that I left my notes on my tablet, so that will be slightly delayed.

I also started work on a new version of a post that I wrote a few years ago-Fights that I'd like to see, but I'm doing a little of that at a time, so I'll have that in the future on a slow day.

Instead, what I'm going to offer today is a list of sports podcasts that I listen to on a regular basis and perhaps one or more of them might entice you to give them a try.
I'll have a non-sports list sometime soon.
I listen to podcasts more of late than I had in the past after purchasing an IPad and I find that I really enjoy the return of radio, albeit in a specialized form.
I'm not connecting any links since I'm sure that not everyone uses the same podcasting provider.
I miss doing Fightheads and I'm hoping that Ramon Malpica will consider returning in some form eventually, but besides our podcast, here are a few of my favorites in no particular order.

Let's start with my favorite boxing podcast with Steve Kim's Three Knockdown Rule that he hosts with Mario Lopez of Saved by the Bell fame.
It's a fun podcast that sticks mostly to the fight game, yet is willing to drift off into anything that might strike Steve and Mario at any moment.
It's clearly my favorite boxing podcast and since I'm not around for your listening pleasure at the moment, give Three Knockdown Rule a listen.

In the world of wrestling, Jim Cornette's Drive-Thru and Cornette Experience are must listens.
The Drive-Thru sticks more to old school wrestling (which is the only kind I want to hear about), while the Experience is more wide-ranging with plenty of wrestling too.
If you are offended by strong language or have a great affection for President Trump, you might want to think about passing on the Experience, but if not- get ready for plenty of laughs and lots of great memories!

Another wrestling podcast is Scott Bowden's Kentucky Fried Wrestling, which sticks to looking back at the old Memphis territory.
Bowden used to run the website of the same name, where long-time readers might remember Rachel defeating Bowden at a wrestling pick em and Scott sending her a DVD years ago.
There are many interesting guests from classic Memphis grappling and from someone that loves the classic era, yet missed so many of the great Memphis television shows (Since I didn't live there!), I always learn something new from Bowden and his guests.

Tim Hanlon's Good Seats Still Available focuses mainly on defunct and deceased teams and leagues.
Tim's shows on the WFL, USFL and the CFL's American expansion are among the few podcasts that I have saved for permanent safekeeping.
I'd be lying if I said I listened closely to every show as a show with this format is not going to focus on mainstream sports every episode, but Hanlon is always super prepared and when it features a subject that I really love, there is none better.

Scott Dryden used to guest on the TRS podcast, before hitting it big and now is the featured analyst at the Browns Scout Podcast.
Dryden's opinionated, smart (although the jury is still out on our disagreements on Jabrill Peppers and now Baker Mayfield) and the show is stocked with intelligent football talk.
Don't look for a lot of chuckles, bells, and whistles here, but if you like your Browns talk straight forward- give the Browns scout a listen.

I've also enjoyed the Rouge, White and Blue podcast with American fans talking about the Canadian Football League.
I've reconnected with an old friend that hosts the show in Joe Pritchard and it's nice to listen to American fans that love the three-down game.
And Joe, I'm still available to talk 80's and 90's CFL in the off-season!

Most of you know that my go-to college football expert is Phil Steele and his season preview is constantly with me all summer and season, but Phil has a podcast as well- Strong as Steele.
Phil is weekly during the season and then Strong as Steele goes dormant, but his conference previews will hopefully begin any day now!

Cleveland Baseball and Brews might not seem to be a good fit for someone that hates the taste of beer, but for Indians fans, it is well worth the listen.
Generally, it's just good conversation by Indians fans for Indians fans and Caitlyn Boron, who also appeared on the old TRS show, is one of the regular panelists on their program.
I always enjoy listening to Caitlyn's segment as her energy and passion for the town and the Indians literally jumps out at you through the speakers.

My final recommended podcast is Justin McGuire's Baseball by the Book where McGuire talks with authors of baseball books.
I haven't come anywhere near clearing out my chosen archives of Baseball by the Book, but if you love baseball, yet don't have the time or don't care to read- this is your avenue to learn a lot about the history of baseball!
I'm a big fan of Baseball by the Book!

Hopefully, you'll give one or more of these a try and if you like them, be sure to give them a good rating and tell them that TRS sent you!!

Boxing Notes

Catching up on a few notes from the boxing world before the weekend's bouts and first, a big shout out to Vincent Samano, who I was fortunate enough (More on this during the road trip posts) to meet in Akron.
Vince made a special visit to meet me and I loved talking to him about the fight game.
What a great guy and I only wish I had more time to talk about the past greats in the game.

Ramon Malpica did send me his picks for the two fight card on ESPN from Top Rank before I left town and I ran out of time to post them for the boxing challenge.
Ramon (and I) each picked the winners correctly, but I'm not going to add them to the total for the challenge.
As boring as the main event was (Gilberto Ramirez winning a dull unanimous decision over Roamer Angulo to retain his WBO super middleweight belt), the co-feature was about as good as you are going to find as Alex Saucedo defeated Lenny Zappavigna in the sixth round when Zappavigna's corner tossed in the proverbial towel midway through the stanza.
The term "War" is somewhat overused in boxing, but it is accurate in this case with both fighters badly hurt during the fight and both fighters battling through awful cuts, the title eliminator to determine the mandatory contender for newly crowned WBO junior welterweight champion Maurice Hooker has a legitimate case for fight of the year- it was that good.

James DeGale decided to vacate his IBF super middleweight title rather than face the interim champion Jose Uzcategui in a mandated bout.
Uzcategui was elevated to the full titleist and mandated to fight Caleb Plant in his first defense.
The exciting Uzcategui won the interim strap with a pounding of Andre Dirrell, who retired in his corner in February and looks to me to be entering his prime.
Plant, on the other hand, has defeated just one top 30 fighter (a decision over Porky Medina), is one of the more boring fighters to see, in my opinion, is a creation of Al Haymon's PBC, where Plant dates PBC reporter Jordan Hardy and is a thoroughly undeserving challenger.
As for DeGale, as much as I'd like to hit him for ducking Uzcategui, I understand why he gave the title up as he has a possible bout with the winner of the WBSS super middleweight final between George Groves and Callum Smith for far more money than Uzcategui and roughly the same risk.

The second year of the World Boxing Super Series will have American television with Eddie Hearn's streaming service DAZN.
This year, the WBSS will feature three weight classes with bantamweights, junior welterweights, and another division to be determined.
I wonder about the long-term viability of DAZN as sooner or later there comes a breaking point for all consumers for extra channels etc and DAZN is expected to be in the range of 20-25 dollars a month, more than Showtime and far more than ESPN+.

I've been critical on occasion of Golden Boy Promotions, but give them credit for caring somewhat about boxing fans and their wallet with an agreement to show cards on Facebook.
Their first event looks to be a pretty decent one with WBA "regular" (Yuck) featherweight champion Jesus Rojas defending his minor trinket against Joseph Diaz, who recently lost a decision to WBC champion Gary Russell on Showtime.
I always like when quality shows are available for free as that is how the interest in the product grows.
To me, boxing lost its way in the 1990's when the sport went away from the networks and moved almost exclusively to premium cable and pay per view.
Returning and using various different avenues to have their products find their way to the eyes to any potential fans is always a great idea.

I'm going to try to return with a road trip post tonight...