Tag Archives: sports

The Toy Department – Episode 101

  By toyAdmin | January 9, 2018 - 4:36 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 101, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky jump right in with a new un-produced segment:

  • What Does Kolsky Think About Some Stuff (2:00): including Making a Murderer and the college football National Championship game…
  • A wild Wild Card Weekend in the NFL (24:00) and a look ahead to the divisional round…
  • Episodes 3 and 4 of Netflix’s new season of Black Mirror (36:35), one very good and one very, very bad…
  • The series debut of The Chi (49:35) on Showtime, and how excited both Madden and Kolsky are for the future of this ambitious new show…
  • The two new Dave Chappelle standup specials (55:40) on Netflix, and the difficulty Kolsky is having with processing comedy in 2018…
  • Homework for next week (1:15:05) including: watching the Oscar-buzzed films Call Me By Your Name and The Post, the Netflix show The End of the Fucking World and the continuing drama of the NFL 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 100

  By toyAdmin | January 2, 2018 - 3:45 pm | Uncategorized
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In a very special Episode 100, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky finally see the benefit of starting the episode numbering system at 001, not to mention experience a live and in-person Toy Department recording for the very first time in podcast history as they discuss:

  • What in the hell Kolsky is doing in the far-north winter hellscape (1:50) that is Minneapolis in January…
  • The first two episodes of the new season of Netflix’s Black Mirror (7:15), the resounding success of one and the missteps of the other…
  • The new Netflix documentary/news footage/narrative action series Wormwood (19:05) and how Errol Morris is attempting to advance the documentary form…
  • The Guillermo Del Toro film The Shape of Water (24:35) and how Madden’s response to the movie differed from Kolsky’s…
  • Year-end Spotify playlists!! Madden and Kolsky both made Best of 2017 playlists (31:25) and break down the contents thereof (with assorted digressions); you can find Derek’s playlist here and Matt’s here…
  • The upcoming first round of the NFL Playoffs (1:04:50), with the repulsively messy AFC and the excitingly wide-open NFC…
  • The College Football Playoff (1:16:40) and how the excitement of the first round points towards expanding the field to eight teams…
  • Homework for next week (1:24:00): including Dave Chappelle’s new Netflix specials, two more episodes of Netflix’s Black Mirror (specifically the third and fourth episodes of the new season) and the series premier of Showtime’s Lena Waithe-created show The Chi…

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 96

  By toyAdmin | November 28, 2017 - 10:14 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 96, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky have a prettty, prettttttty, prettttttttty good opening before discussions about:

  • Joe Morgan’s letter to the Baseball Hall of Fame (2:10) and how misguided his views on “steroid users” and “cheaters” are…
  • The Martin McDonagh film Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (18:05), where it succeeds and where it maybe misses the mark…
  • Netflix’s new western series Godless (28:40) and how it elevates tropes from western films but still doesn’t appeal to Madden…
  • USA’s Mr. Robot (38:10), just what the hell is going on and how an increase in action has not led to an increase in Madden’s enjoyment of episodes…
  • Netflix’s new Spike Lee TV joint She’s Gotta Have It (45:30) and how it hits all the Spike Lee high notes with a great cast and thoughtful commentary…
  • Homework for this week (53:40), including: new albums from both Noel and Liam Gallagher, the Amazon Original show The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, the Netflix/Joe Swanberg show Easy and the Netflix documentary Jim & Andy about Jim Carrey’s performance as Andy Kaufman in Man on the Moon…

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 92

  By toyAdmin | October 31, 2017 - 9:08 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 92, Matt Kolsky and Derek Madden waste no time with pleasantries as they jump directly into:

  • A heated debate over the second season of Netflix’s Stranger Things (0:45) and whether it is in fact any good at all…
  • The new Noah Baumbach film The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected) (27:15) and whether it qualifies as bad-time entertainment or somehow rises above that distinction…
  • Madden’s experience at the Arcade Fire concert (38:40) and how all things must end…
  • The 2017 World Series (48:10), the compelling storylines and the future of baseball…
  • The series finale of HBO’s The Deuce (58:55), Kolsky’s confusion over the length of the season and the storytelling style of David Simon and company…
  • The first two episodes of season eight of The Walking Dead (1:06:30) and how the show seems to have lost its direction and momentum…
  • Homework for next week (1:13:30) including: the new (apparent) network sensation The Good Doctor, the also-about-an-autistic-character Atypical, and finishing Netflix’s Mindhunter before an interview with Stacey Roca, the actress who plays Nancy Tench…

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 91

  By toyAdmin | October 25, 2017 - 12:35 am | Uncategorized
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In Episode 91, Matt Kolsky and Derek Madden lament the suddenly crowded entertainment landscape before soldiering on to actually talk about some of it, including:

  • Netflix’s new David Fincher-produced series Mindhunter (7:30) and whether it stands up to the impressive Fincher filmography…
  • Another new Netflix show, American Vandal (21:30) and how it plays to a fan of real crime shows versus someone who does not watch them…
  • Beck’s new album Colors (32:20) which surprised both Madden and Kolsky but only really appealed to one of them…
  • MLB’s World Series (41:30) because yes, it is happening RIGHT NOW, and baseball playoffs are pretty entertaining…
  • The NFL season (48:15) and how it has failed to produce any really good teams or much good football so far… Is this the “parity” we’ve been hearing about?
  • Homework for next week (1:09:00) including: Season 2 of Netflix’s Stranger Things, the Netflix film The Meyerowitz Stories, the return of The Walking Dead and catching up on all the many, many TV shows that have gotten underway this month…

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 88

  By toyAdmin | October 3, 2017 - 9:12 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 88, Matt Kolsky and Derek Madden get right into it with:

  • The passing of Tom Petty (1:25) and his place in the pantheon of American rock music, leading to…
  • A breakdown of the Mount Rushmore (7:15) of American rock artists…
  • The new Fox show Ghosted (20:05) starring Adam Scott and Craig Robinson…
  • Another Fox comedy, The Mick (24:35) as it begins its second season…
  • The newest entry into the Law & Order canon – True Crime (28:55), focusing on the Menendez brothers murders…
  • The definitive debate about the all-time Law & Order fantasy cast team (39:00) – starring Lennie Briscoe, obviously, but WHO ELSE?!?!
  • Homework for next week (1:01:30) including: new albums from the bands Alvvays and Death From Above 1979, the USA v. Panama soccer game coming up on Friday, Episode 5 of Bojack Horseman and the new Netflix cartoon Big Mouth (from the mind of Nick Kroll) and revisiting The Deuce on HBO…
  • A few words on the NFL’s continued blackball of Colin Kaepernick (1:07:00)…

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 87

  By toyAdmin | September 26, 2017 - 11:53 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 87, Matt Kolsky and Derek Madden fight through a recording snafu to get to a variety of topics, including:

  • The unstoppable interaction between sports and politics (1:30) and where Donald Trump’s behavior has gotten us with the NFL…
  • The Netflix movie The Fundamentals of Caring (11:10) and the idea of the Netflix indie…
  • Rapper Leikeli47’s new album Wash & Set (16:30) and Madden’s seeming disinterest in female rap artists…
  • FX’s Better Things (25:15) and how the guys are feeling about it early in Season 2…
  • HBO’s Vice Principals (35:15) and whether the show will hold up through a second season… or that would have been the discussion but THE RECORDING CUT OUT!!
  • Several hours later, Kolsky and Madden reconvene (36:35) and begin with a brief discussion of Derek’s other podcast and their interview with Rolling Stone’s Rob Sheffield…
  • They revisit some of the topics from the lost recording (41:00) including: the Killers’ new album, lady rappers and NBC’s The Good Place…
  • Homework for next week (46:45) including: TV shows The Mick, Law & Order: True Crime and Ghosted, and a plan to pick favorite all-time Law & Order teams for next week… Plus checking back in with HBO’s The Deuce…

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 85

  By toyAdmin | September 13, 2017 - 12:25 am | Uncategorized
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In Episode 85, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky literally hows-the-weather each other before addressing more pressing concerns, including:

  • An on-air programming meeting (2:40) wherein Kolsky suggests a new segment for the future of the pod…
  • The new Steven Soderbergh film Logan Lucky (6:20) which was a bit of a disappointment to both guys…
  • Week 1 of the NFL (21:35) wherein a Colin Kaepernick discussion was redacted for the second consecutive week but Kap’s situation was still briefly discussed, along with some of the many QB issues across the league and the general lack of a standout team…
  • The season premiere of FX’s You’re the Worst (42:20) and what it says about where this season will go…
  • HBO’s new Sunday heavy hitter, The Deuce (48:50) and how it’s already springing to the top of best current shows…
  • Madden’s experience at the U2 concert last week (57:55) and how they have honed a big stadium show to perfection…
  • Homework for next week (1:02:15): including the season premiere of Better Things on FX, the new National album, the new season of Bojack Horseman, the Netflix original film The Fundamentals of Caring and the season premiere of Broad City…

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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