The Sandwich Corner

Podcast: 2020 PGA Championship Recap with John and Mike (08-10-20)

John in CT and Mike in North NJ are back to recap our the 2020 PGA Championship.  It was a most unusual setup, with the coronavirus shutdown postponing multiple majors and cancelling one other, but the first major winds up being a PGA Championship at TPC Harding Park whre the young upstart Collin Morikawa made some unforgettable shots on the back nine to win his first ever golf major.  Truly an incredible tournament that also featured seven players tied for first earlier in the final round.  Mike and John highlight the best moments and best players, then cover the much improved weekday TV coverage on the ESPN family of networks plus CBS for the Weekend coverage.  Later we get into some potpourri and compare how the PGA Tour's protocols have been a big success compared to the pratfalls involved in other sports, particularly football and baseball.

Podcast: The NBA Random A to Z Report Xpansion Questions - with Chris in GA (07-29-20)

Chris in Georgia joins Dave for a special "Random Questions" show where we catch up on a few topics we originally planned for the A to Z anthology.  Our sequence of potpourri starts with a recap of the various pro sport restarts, which includes the Premier League across the pond and its success to end its 2020 season.  We also look at baseball's restart so far and its rocky beginnings, plus the NBA and NHL bubble systems.  Later, we revisit our topic on Expansion Teams and cover the NBA's history of expansion from the merger with the ABA all the way into the present.  We talk about the notable teams from that time like the Suns, Hornets, Supersonics/Thunder, and the former ABA teams like the Pacers and Nets.

 

Lastly, we cover the wishful thinking by the NCAA to re-start college football, classic baseball pennant chases in the 80's, and a lot more.

Podcast: A to Z - Zoom Party!

Part Z and our Final Episode of the "A to Z" Anthology Series is our culminating "Zoom Party!" featuring our co-host Kevin on the Cape and a bunch of other good friends who were on previous A to Z shows:  John in Orlando, Ron in NJ, Mike in North NJ, Andrew and Karen in Denver, and representing Gerry from Piscataway's appearances is his baseball coverage partner Ari in Philadelphia.   First, the gang looks in suspended disbelief at Dave's hair on the Zoom feed, then we segue to favorite TV show themes, things we discovered during the shutdown, movies we last saw in the theater, favorite "pandemic drinks," and many other topics - including pancakes.  We wrap up and reflect on our favorite moments of the anthology, then offer other reflections on an unusual but notable time in human history.

Podcast: A to Z - YOTS Will Return to Host

Part Y of our "A to Z" Anthology Series brings back John in Orlando also known as "YOTS" to the program.  This week we talk about the re-opening of restaurants both in Orlando and in SoCal, especially our favorite sports bar, TONY P's in Marina Del Rey, CA.  We get into some other topics with various sports leagues ramping up for a return, and Dave covers the meat of the program with a series of his own "A to Z Random Questions" each one pertaining to a previously aired episode from our anthology series, so every topic from A up through Y with two notable exceptions:  The "M" episode was just a brief update on the pandemic itself so it was not a complete enough episode to use for material, and Dave foolishly skipped over the "F" question from the FanDuel episode which would have asked YOTS what sport he would pick for a FanDuel contest.    Lastly we tease our forthcoming A to Z Finale, the "Zoom Party!"

Podcast: A to Z - Episode X - For George

Part X of our "A to Z" anthology series is a special episode where Dave addresses the recent tragedy and horrendous death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.   Dave also explains how the tragedy was so horrible that it it persuaded us to postponed our originally scheduled "Expansion Teams" show with Chris in Georgia.  Dave shares his own frustrations with systematic racism and why the "Black Lives Matter" movement is relevant and important to the U.S.

Podcast: A to Z - The Windy City's "Last Dance" with Chris in GA

Part W of our "A to Z" Anthology series features a look at the ESPN/Netflix miniseries "The Last Dance" that covers the Final NBA Championship run for the Chicago Bulls in 1998.  As we discuss on the episode, it was much more than just a one year chronicle - the series covers the entire career arc of Michael Jordan on the Bulls, his super-stardom, plus features on all of his prominent team mates like Scottie Pippen, Dennis Rodman, Steve Kerr, and coach Phil Jackson, plus many other names throughout the Bulls championship years during the 90's.  We'll share moments we thought were great, things we thought they could have added to the series, and our own questions about that era of basketball plus elements of the "Last Dance" production.  In the middle, we'll share our own personal anecdotes watching the NBA during these incredible years and determine whether the Bulls and their opponents would hold up in today's NBA.

Podcast: A to Z - Virus Update with Tom in NJ

Part V of our "A to Z" anthology series brings back Tom in NJ to offer an update on the pandemic and the improving numbers for many states, the struggles of the State of NJ and the County of Los Angeles.  Later, we cover other potpourri like T.V. Sitcoms.  This includes an inordinate amount of time reminscing about the "Family Matters" sitcom.

Podcast: A to Z - "Uncut Gems" - Deep Dive with A Couple Quickies and Andy

Part U of our "A to Z" anthology series takes us back into the movies with our movie experts A Couple Quickies and Andy in Seattle.  Here we look at the biggest cult sensation of the winter, "Uncut Gems" starring Adam Sandler as a troubled degenerate jeweler in New York City.  We get into the plot of the film, break down how much we all loved Sandler's performance, and get into how polarizing the film is with various moviegoers.  Later we expand into the topic of other Oscar films, update everyone on how we're all coping with the pandemic, and get into some recent sports stories like MLB's proposal to do a partial season, the Korean Baseball League starting with no fans, the Golf skins events on TV, and more.

Podcast: A to Z - Tacos with the Medina Family

Part T of our "A to Z" anthology series is one of our favorite foods: Tacos.  Dave's Dad, his Mom, his sisters Jackie and Stephanie, and his niece Ellie all get into their favorite types of tacos, their experience eating their first taco as a child, some of the best places to eat tacos in Southern California, and other great nuances of this simple, yet very satisfying staple of Mexican Cuisine.

Podcast: A to Z - Sherrin

Part S of our "A to Z" anthology series brings the debut of themikefrancesa.com poster "Sherrin" to the program.  Sherrin and Dave catch up on life, reveal the origin of Sherrin's name, talk a bit about his few months living in Australia, and talk about delicious California fast foods like The Habit Burger and Del Taco.  Later, we sing our praises of a terrific sports bar, Tony P's in Marina Del Rey, and extend the topic to break down various NFL team bars throughout Southern California.   Among them are the notorious Sonny McLean's for the Patriots Fans, O'Brien's Pub for Giants fans, and a few others.

The meat of the show, in our second half hour, is a thorough look at Sherrin's love for Disney and its theme parks.  Dave and Sherrin both run down their favorite Disney characters, favorite attractions, and then segue to Sherrin's incredible story of how he got invited to the exclusive "Club 33" at Disneyland's New Orleans Square.