Tag Archives: sports

The Toy Department – Episode 37

  By toyAdmin | August 31, 2016 - 8:59 pm | Uncategorized
Leave a comment

In Episode 37, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky return without the illustrious Kate Scott to talk about:

  • The series finale of HBO’s The Night Of (2:55), and whether it lived up to the high bar set by the series in general… Followed by a little bit of general TV banter…
  • Colin Kaepernick’s national anthem protest (20:00) and the firestorm of criticism and commentary surrounding him… Veering out of the toy department, but only because the world intruded upon us…
  • The start of the college football season (46:20) and why Madden loves it and Kolsky does not…
  • The MTV Video Music Awards (54:15) and their decreasing relevance in pop culture, and MTV’s decreasing relevance in general…

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… 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.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS

The Toy Department – Episode 36

  By toyAdmin | August 24, 2016 - 11:53 pm | Uncategorized
Leave a comment

In Episode 36, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky present you with a VERY special episode of the Toy Department podcast, featuring:

  • USA’s Mr. Robot (3:45) and whether it went completely off the rails with its most recent episode… SPOILER ALERT!!
  • HBO’s The Night Of (10:20) and whether IT went completely off the rails with its most recent episode… SPOILER ALERT!! (though not as spoiler-y as the Mr. Robot spoiler, probably)… and also just some of the things that make the show great…
  • Frank Ocean’s new album(s) (19:00) and what the new style of album releases means for music…
  • THE FIRST MAJOR INTERVIEW IN TOY DEPARTMENT HISTORY!!! (24:30) Kolsky sat down with history-making sports broadcaster Kate Scott (@katetscott), who recently became the third woman ever to do play-by-play for an NFL game. 45-plus good minutes with a tremendously talented and accomplished individual!!

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… 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.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS

The Toy Department – Episode 32

  By toyAdmin | July 28, 2016 - 12:37 am | Uncategorized
Leave a comment

In Episode 32, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky briefly revisit their intense golf argument from last week, but avoid falling too deeply down that hole… Instead they get in some quick hitters on:

  • The new HBO drama The Night Of (3:00) and Derek’s confidence in it compared to Kolsky’s early questions about its quality…
  • USA Network’s hotshot cyberdrama Mr. Robot (8:55) – where Kolsky has faith but Derek is developing some quality questions…
  • The upcoming Rio Olympics (17:30) – will you watch? what will you watch? why will you watch? Madden and Kolsky discuss these questions and more…
  • The only-a-few-days-away MLB trade deadline (27:15) and the appropriate philosophy for teams heading into it…
  • A brief survey of the movie and music worlds (39:40) because those venues have been ignored by this podcast for far too long – Madden and Kolsky both recommend some tunes and flicks for you before assigning some homework and hitting the road…

Oh, and if you want to subscribe via iTunes you can just click on the link below the player… 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.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS

The Toy Department – Episode 28

  By toyAdmin | June 29, 2016 - 7:52 pm | Uncategorized
Leave a comment

In Episode 28, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky open the podcast with a brief discussion about podcast listenership, then branch out to cover the very latest in:

  • Game of Thrones (2:20) where they break down the season finale (including small but heroic women doing WORK) and do a bit of looking forward to what’s next for our friends in Westeros…
  • International soccer (29:00) including Lionel Messi’s assertion that he intends to retire and a quick look at Euro 2016…
  • Madden’s Drake quandary – his girlfriend wants Drake tickets for her birthday, but Madden is disgusted with him… What does a man do in this situation??? (49:55)
  • A quick couple of TV-show-watching homework assignments for the future (57:40)…

Oh, and if you want to subscribe via iTunes you can just click on the link below the player… 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.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS

The Toy Department – Episode 27

  By toyAdmin | June 22, 2016 - 7:54 pm | Uncategorized
Leave a comment

In Episode 27, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky open with a quick NBA finals recap/react before some deep dives into the very latest in non-essential topics:

  • Sunday’s penultimate episode of Game of Thrones Season 6 (6:15) which, with its battle scenes and intriguing interpersonal interaction, was much more up Madden’s alley than the previous episode…
  • Team USA Men’s Soccer (24:35) and their ugly loss to top-ranked Argentina in the Copa America semifinal, plus some general discussion of the team’s future prospects…
  • ESPN’s OJ Simpson docu-series (53:55) and just how wonderful a job that it did in placing the remarkable OJ story in context…

Oh, and if you want to subscribe via iTunes you can just click on the link below the player… 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.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS

The Toy Department – Episode 26

  By toyAdmin | June 15, 2016 - 7:24 pm | Uncategorized
Leave a comment

In Episode 26, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky open with a brief digression (is that a thing? Can you open with a digression?) about a new HOT TAKE SPORTS TELEVISION SHOW before diving deep into:

  • Game of Thrones, wherein Kolsky and Madden come to virtual blows over the direction of the series (2:05 – SPOILER ALERT by 2:30 or so)… The guys discuss Derek’s distaste for a lack of realism in certain parts of the story, and project towards the next couple episodes…
  • The NBA Finals (34:00), including the suspension of Draymond Green, the baiting behavior of LeBron James, and where the series goes from here…
  • A short look ahead with some potential homework for next week (48:50)…

Oh, and if you want to subscribe via iTunes you can just click on the link below the player… 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.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS

The Toy Department – Episode 25

  By toyAdmin | June 9, 2016 - 11:43 pm | Uncategorized
Leave a comment

In Episode 25, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky somehow get derailed at the VERY BEGINNING of the pod with a long-lasting discussion about traffic and road rage and LA and New York and… well, car stuff. Then they discuss:

  • Madden’s trip to The Governor’s Ball music festival in New York (4:20)… which leads to various music discussions, and at least a couple of unnecessary shots against New York by Kolsky…
  • Muhammad Ali’s passing and his legacy (24:40)… including a personal remembrance from Kolsky and some thoughts on the minor Derek Jeter-related controversy about whether athletes should speak their mind (35:20)…
  • Various homework assignments for next week (58:20) including the TV show Preacher and the Ali documentary When We Were Kings…
  • Live music, most notably the Cure and their performances in Minneapolis and the Bay Area (59:30)…

Oh, and if you want to subscribe via iTunes you can just click on the link below the player… 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.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS

The Toy Department – Episode 24

  By toyAdmin | June 1, 2016 - 9:46 pm | Uncategorized
Leave a comment

In Episode 24, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky open up a shorty episode with a brief recounting of Kolsky’s dreamless sleep. Then they discuss:

  • The fact that the NBA Finals and Stanley Cup Finals both feature teams from the Bay Area (2:00)…
  • A deeper look at the NBA Finals (5:40) and the storylines therein, including the issue of judging players by rings (13:40)…
  • Copa America and the strange behavior of soccer haters, especially radio’s Mike Francesa (25:00)…

Oh, and if you want to subscribe via iTunes you can just click on the link below the player… 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.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS

The Toy Department – Episode 23

  By toyAdmin | May 25, 2016 - 9:11 pm | Uncategorized
Leave a comment

In Episode 23, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky open up with some follow-up on last week’s homework – Chance the Rapper’s Coloring Book album. Then they discuss:

  • The serious business of this week’s Game of Thrones episode (10:15)
  • Michael Wilbon’s screed against analytics on ESPN’s “The Undefeated” website, and the cranky old man viewpoint he represents (31:25), which naturally leads down a road of discussing other outmoded viewpoints
  • Bryan Curtis’ media issues podcast for the Ringer and the interesting style he uses for his storytelling (55:40) and also the specific content of this week’s episode, about the evolution (or perhaps the death?) of the sports highlight

Oh, and if you want to subscribe via iTunes you can just click on the link below the player… 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.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS

The Toy Department – Episode 22

  By toyAdmin | May 18, 2016 - 10:50 pm | Uncategorized
Leave a comment

In Episode 22, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky begin by talking about music — or at least, about the way we consume music in 2016… It’s a brave new world with Spotify and their ilk, and these dudes have thoughts on it — thoughts that lead to a 25-minute conversation about music consumption and distribution. They move from there to sports with a conversation about the Rougned Odor-Jose Bautista baseball brawl (29:05) and some NBA Playoff talk (36:25). Then the show heads down Kelly Ripa road for the home stretch as Madden and Kolsky break down the ins and outs of ABC’s TV host debacle (43:50).

Oh, and if you want to subscribe via iTunes you can just click on the link below the player… 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.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS