Tag Archives: basketball

The Toy Department – Episode 118

  By toyAdmin | May 15, 2018 - 2:20 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 118, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky share their plans for the evening before focusing in on:

  • Some thoughts on FX’s Atlanta (2:35) after the finalé of its second season, with an aside on Donald Glover’s upcoming appearance in Solo…
  • The season finalé of Barry on HBO (10:55) and whether the writers have painted themselves into a corner for Season 2 with the way the first season ended…
  • David Letterman’s Netflix show (20:05) and whether it maybe should have just been a podcast…
  • The Arctic Monkeys new album, Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino (33:00) and how much of a tonal shift it represents for a band that broke out in popularity after their previous record…
  • A check-in with the NBA Playoffs (44:10) and an argument about whether either of the teams who lost Game 1 of their conference finals series still has a chance to advance to the NBA Finals…
  • The announcement of Netflix/ESPN’s new 10-hour documentary about Michael Jordan’s Bulls (1:00:55), how it’s time to remind the world of Jordan’s greatness and how Kolsky can barely contain his excitement…
  • Homework for next week (1:12:40), including: including Ali Wong’s new standup special on Netflix and the series finalé of the sitcom New Girl…

By the way, if you like this podcast, TELL A FRIEND!! And if you want to subscribe via iTunes/Stitcher/Google Play/etc. you can just click on the link below the player (and don’t forget to leave us a review!!)… And if you want to contact the Toy Department, it’s easy — find us at ToyDepartmentPod (at) gmail.com… or tweet us: @MaddenOnAir & @thekolsky.

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The Toy Department – Episode 116

  By toyAdmin | May 1, 2018 - 1:21 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 116, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky ignore the small Venezuelan woman knocking on the door of Kolsky’s room and get right into:

  • Kanye West’s apparent Trump support (6:20) and whether it changes the receptiveness to his music…
  • The season 2 premiere of The Handmaid’s Tale (14:45) and whether the guys are prepared to depress themselves for another season of television…
  • The return of IFC’s Brockmire (25:55), how much fun the show is and how hopeful both guys are for the future of this season…
  • Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s Crashing (33:15), an originally British show that is now available on Netflix and brings some filthy fun to the table…
  • FX’s Legion (43:05) and whether things have gotten too insane to handle for either of the hosts…
  • The second round of the NBA Playoffs (52:50) including thoughts on LeBron, the 76ers, the Celtics and the Raptors…
  • Homework for next week (1:03:15), including: Dear White People on Netflix, checking in on Westworld, Billions and Atlanta, the return of Showtime’s I’m Dying Up Here, the new Janelle Monáe album (plus the movie she released on YouTube along with it) and John Mulaney’s new Netflix stand-up special…

By the way, if you like this podcast, TELL A FRIEND!! And if you want to subscribe via iTunes/Stitcher/Google Play/etc. you can just click on the link below the player (and don’t forget to leave us a review!!)… And if you want to contact the Toy Department, it’s easy — find us at ToyDepartmentPod (at) gmail.com… or tweet us: @MaddenOnAir & @thekolsky.

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The Toy Department – Episode 115

  By toyAdmin | April 24, 2018 - 2:23 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 115, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky explain themselves for missing last week (spoiler alert — Kolsky had surgery) before getting down to business with:

  • The return of HBO’s Westworld (2:35) and whether the show is living up to the buzz that has surrounded it over its two years of existence…
  • A discussion of whether FX’s television lineup has surpassed HBO’s (9:25) as far as show quality…
  • The new Andre the Giant documentary (15:40), produced by Ringer Films for HBO…
  • The first few episodes of Killing Eve (27:45), a new show on BBC America starring Sandra Oh and created by young British super-talent Phoebe Waller-Bridge…
  • The new album from indie psych-rock band Unknown Mortal Orchestra (36:40), called Sex and Food, and whether Kolsky has finally recommended music that Derek can enjoy…
  • A chat about Madden’s Beyoncé fatigue (42:10) and whether the cultural conversation around her is over-the-top and inappropriately devoid of any criticism…
  • A quick summary discussion about the first round of the NBA playoffs (57:20), including lots of Russell Westbrook thoughts and some boosting of the 76ers and Pelicans…
  • Homework for next week (1:11:15), including: checking out a few episodes of Crashing on Netflix (another Phoebe Waller-Bridge show), the Season 2 premiere of The Handmaid’s Tale, and the Season 2 premiere of Brockmire, plus exciting sports content with Champions League soccer and NBA Playoffs…

By the way, if you like this podcast, TELL A FRIEND!! And if you want to subscribe via iTunes/Stitcher/Google Play/etc. you can just click on the link below the player (and don’t forget to leave us a review!!)… And if you want to contact the Toy Department, it’s easy — find us at ToyDepartmentPod (at) gmail.com… or tweet us: @MaddenOnAir & @thekolsky.

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The Toy Department – Episode 112

  By toyAdmin | March 27, 2018 - 2:25 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 112, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky find themselves in the same time zone — a rare treat — and briefly discuss Madden’s reggaeton horn app before they break down:

  • Netflix’s new Duplass brothers-produced documentary Wild Wild Country (2:40) and what a great job it’s doing of telling a story both guys are surprised not to know more about…
  • A few thoughts on the second season of Amazon’s series Sneaky Pete (13:25) and how much the guys are enjoying it…
  • The premiere of the newest season of HBO’s Silicon Valley (15:30) and how the show needs to evolve if it wants to truly impress…
  • A bizarre tangent into Tiffany Haddish’s story (24:15) about somebody biting Beyoncé in the face at a party, and whether it is worth a deep investigation…
  • HBO’s new dark comedy series Barry (32:25) and just how incredibly well the pilot went over with both Madden and Kolsky, leaving them excited about the possibilities…
  • Another rave session for FX’s Atlanta (39:15), which continues to be the best show on television and executes its vision at the highest possible level…
  • Some NCAA Tournament thoughts (48:30) with the Final Four on the horizon and ideas about how to improve the level of play in American basketball…
  • Homework for next week (59:40), including: the new FX series Trust, the rest of Sneaky Pete, the film Annihilation, Kolsky beginning his Billions catch-up project and the new HBO film Paterno, starring Al Pacino…

By the way, if you like this podcast, TELL A FRIEND!! And if you want to subscribe via iTunes/Stitcher/Google Play/etc. you can just click on the link below the player (and don’t forget to leave us a review!!)… And if you want to contact the Toy Department, it’s easy — find us at ToyDepartmentPod (at) gmail.com… or tweet us: @MaddenOnAir & @thekolsky.

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The Toy Department – Episode 111

  By toyAdmin | March 20, 2018 - 1:59 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 111, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky are feeling healthy and fresh as they leap into:

  • The NCAA Tournament (0:50) and whether March Madness is losing its luster…
  • AMC’s new show McMafia (13:30) and all the ways it fails to impress…
  • The Lifetime show UnREAL (16:50) and its success as a prime time soap opera and satire piece…
  • The new limited series Collateral (34:20), which is available on Netflix and potentially not worth the hype it has received, though there are things to like about it…
  • The season finale of Showtime’s The Chi (40:10) and how it represents a step up in show quality for the network and stands out as a great season of television…
  • A wrap-up discussion on Netflix’s Love (46:25), which just dropped its final season, and is a truly excellent show…
  • Homework for next week (50:10), including: the upcoming Bill Heder-starring HBO show Barry, the return of Silicon Valley, some more episodes of Sneaky Pete and Atlanta, and the new Duplass-brothers-produced documentary Wild Wild Country on Netflix, with perhaps some Billions coming down the road…

By the way, if you like this podcast, TELL A FRIEND!! And if you want to subscribe via iTunes/Stitcher/Google Play/etc. you can just click on the link below the player (and don’t forget to leave us a review!!)… And if you want to contact the Toy Department, it’s easy — find us at ToyDepartmentPod (at) gmail.com… or tweet us: @MaddenOnAir & @thekolsky.

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The Toy Department – Episode 110

  By toyAdmin | March 13, 2018 - 2:58 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 110, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky quickly move past Kolsky’s morning of customer service hell and Madden’s mild illness to get into all of this:

  • The Netflix original film Mute (3:00) and how it fails to deliver on its promise and star power…
  • The return of the Netflix series Love (12:30) and how charming and wonderful it is to both guys…
  • Amazon’s series Sneaky Pete (23:35) after the release of the second season…
  • #PodChef time: the 15th Season of Top Chef (31:20) has come and gone, and there’s plenty to discuss…
  • NBC’s new series Good Girls (39:50) and whether it rises above traditional network fare…
  • Some NFL offseason talk (48:20) after reports that Kirk Cousins will sign a fully guaranteed contract…
  • Homework for next week (1:03:00), including: the start of Season 3 of Lifetime’s UnREAL, AMC’s McMafia and Netflix’s Collateral, plus all the NCAA action you can handle…

By the way, if you like this podcast, TELL A FRIEND!! And if you want to subscribe via iTunes/Stitcher/Google Play/etc. you can just click on the link below the player (and don’t forget to leave us a review!!)… And if you want to contact the Toy Department, it’s easy — find us at ToyDepartmentPod (at) gmail.com… or tweet us: @MaddenOnAir & @thekolsky.

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The Toy Department – Episode 103

  By toyAdmin | January 23, 2018 - 5:54 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 103, Derek Madden has once again failed to do his homework, yet he and Matt Kolsky power through to cover:

  • The nominations (3:25) for the 2018 Academy Awards and how well-represented the year in movies is, for a change…
  • Kolsky’s experience at the St. Vincent concert (26:40) and how incredible her staging is versus other shows…
  • The return of HBO’s Crashing (32:15) and how it’s really cruising in the early parts of its second season…
  • The premiere of this year’s American Crime Story (37:15) and whether the Gianni Versace murder has enough to carry the season…
  • The results of the NFL Playoffs (44:40) and a look forward to Super Bowl LII…
  • A mid-season check-in on the NBA (55:50), including thoughts on the “collapsing” Cavs, Thibodeau’s T-Wolves and the Baby Bulls…
  • Homework for next week (1:10:25) including: Derek actually watching Mudbound and I, Tonya, plus everyone checking out the new Paul Thomas Anderson joint Phantom Thread to prepare for the Oscars, and checking back in on Showtime’s The Chi after four episodes…

By the way, if you like this podcast, TELL A FRIEND!! And if you want to subscribe via iTunes/Stitcher/Google Play/etc. you can just click on the link below the player (and don’t forget to leave us a review!!)… And if you want to contact the Toy Department, it’s easy — find us at ToyDepartmentPod (at) gmail.com… or tweet us: @MaddenOnAir & @thekolsky.

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The Toy Department – Episode 98

  By toyAdmin | December 13, 2017 - 8:04 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 98, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky have a lot to say, so they begin with purpose and discuss:

  • The new SyFy show Happy (1:15), which one of them REALLY did not like
  • U2’s new album Songs of Experience (10:20) and how it falls completely flat…
  • James Franco’s new film The Disaster Artist (26:20) and what a great job it does of telling a deeply human story…
  • A dip into the sports world (35:45) results in an aborted argument about baseball…
  • Conversation about the NFL proves more fruitful (39:10) and gets into the many problems the league has to confront in its near future…
  • Sports talk continues with some NBA thoughts (51:10), getting into the year’s most compelling storylines and projecting the rest of the season…
  • Homework for this week (1:22:45), including: a Best of the Year episode next week — Top 5 and 10 lists in TV, movies, music and sports, plus watching the new Star Wars film…

By the way, if you like this podcast, TELL A FRIEND!! And if you want to subscribe via iTunes/Stitcher/Google Play/etc. you can just click on the link below the player (and don’t forget to leave us a review!!)… And if you want to contact the Toy Department, it’s easy — find us at ToyDepartmentPod (at) gmail.com… or tweet us: @MaddenOnAir & @thekolsky.

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The Toy Department – Episode 90

  By toyAdmin | October 17, 2017 - 11:11 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 90, Matt Kolsky and Derek Madden bravely fight through a Skype failure at Madden’s Minneapolis studios to break down:

  • Kolsky’s disappointment with the critically-acclaimed Blade Runner 2049 (2:00) and the state of film criticism…
  • Madden’s experience at the Imagine Dragons show (11:40) and the merits — or lack thereof — of backloading your concert set list…
  • The season premiere of Mr. Robot (17:10) and the split feelings of the hosts…
  • HBO’s The Deuce (22:40) and why you should stick with it, even if the lack of major plot developments have you concerned…
  • Showtime’s new comedy White Famous (31:20) and where its first two episodes fail and succeed…
  • The new St. Vincent album MASSEDUCTION (40:35) and all the things that make Annie Clark a star…
  • The start of the NBA season (45:25) and how it’s going to be a great one despite the championship being somewhat of a foregone conclusion…
  • Homework for next week (1:14:10) including: Beck’s new album Colors, the new Billie Jean King/Bobby Riggs film Battle of the Sexes, and new Netflix series Mindhunters and American Vandal…

By the way, if you like this podcast, TELL A FRIEND!! And if you want to subscribe via iTunes/Stitcher/Google Play/etc. you can just click on the link below the player (and don’t forget to leave us a review!!)… And if you want to contact the Toy Department, it’s easy — find us at ToyDepartmentPod (at) gmail.com… or tweet us: @MaddenOnAir & @thekolsky.

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The Toy Department – Episode 79

  By toyAdmin | July 26, 2017 - 9:12 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 79, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky take you behind the scenes of the Toy Department’s pre-production and schedule-planning, and mention Kolsky’s new gig with the SF Examiner before jumping all over:

  • A season wrap-up for Hulu’s The Handmaid’s Tale (2:30) and how the show successfully built to a thrilling ending…
  • Season 7, Episode 2 of Game of Thrones (10:40) and whether an exposition-heavy episode should be subject to criticism…
  • The announcement of Confederate, the new HBO Show from Game of Thrones creators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss (24:15) and the public response to the concept of a show that imagines the South winning the Civil war…
  • The new, almost-universally-lauded Christopher Nolan film Dunkirk (33:30) and why almost everyone is wrong about it…
  • HBO’s Dr. Dre & Jimmy Iovine documentary series The Defiant Ones (48:00) and just how completely it tells the story of those two music giants…
  • The Kyrie Irving drama with the Cavaliers (1:03:35) — what’s going on in Cleveland? And does it make sense for anyone?
  • Homework for next week (1:23:20): listening to the rapper CupcakKe (after Derek failed to do so last week), listening to the new Nine Inch Nails EP Add Violence, and watching the new movies Atomic Blonde and Girls Trip…

By the way, if you like this podcast, TELL A FRIEND!! And if you want to subscribe via iTunes you can just click on the link below the player (and don’t forget to leave us a review!!)… Some other links down there as well… And if you want to contact the Toy Department, it’s easy — find us at ToyDepartmentPod (at) gmail.com… or tweet us: @MaddenOnAir & @thekolsky.

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