Tag Archives: NBA

The Toy Department – Episode 51

  By toyAdmin | December 28, 2016 - 8:21 pm | Uncategorized
Leave a comment

In Episode 51, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky flirt with some non-toy-department issues as they open with a few words about the miserable, repulsive, inconsiderate behavior of The Year 2016… but swim safely back to shallow waters for discussions of:

  • The Cleveland Cavaliers’ Christmas Day victory over the Golden State Warriors (5:40), and what it means for the rest of the NBA season and their presumed eventual NBA Finals matchup… and whether there is any team out there that might be a able to disrupt that eventuality (14:00)…
  • The National Football League (17:00) and how they have reached their goal of general league-wide parity… Plus a breakdown of some potential playoff situations and vague Super Bowl matchup predictions (AFC first, NFC around 26:20)…
  • Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (42:30) and a probably not-that-surprising difference of opinion between Madden and Kolsky on the quality of that film… and whether Hollywood is still making action movies for people like Derek Madden (49:35)…
  • Homework for next week: when Madden will FINALLY watch the excellent documentary film Scratch (56:25)… and the guys will also do some year-in-review stuff with music and tv and possibly movies (57:10)… and will also discuss the new Run the Jewels record RTJ3 (58:35) now that Derek has figured out how to acquire it… ALSO – not mentioned, but the guys will also finally get around to revisiting the Clash’s London Calling in next week’s pod!!!!!!!!!! (they forgot this week)

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 | Google Podcasts | Stitcher | RSS

The Toy Department – Episode 49

  By toyAdmin | December 7, 2016 - 11:04 pm | Uncategorized
Leave a comment

In Episode 49, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky jump right in off the top rope to discuss:

  • NBA basketball – specifically the Warriors’ recent run of impressive offense (2:05) and their head coach Steve Kerr’s take on marijuana in sports (8:00) and how it helps advance the conversation about responsible medication for athletes…
  • The season finalé of HBO’s Westworld (19:50) and how it projects forward to the eventual second season of the show…
  • The new film Moonlight (33:15), which both Madden and Kolsky enjoyed… They attempt to preview and review it without spoiling it for you…
  • The Season 3 finalé of Netflix’s Black Mirror, Hated in the Nation (42:20) and how it reinforces the fact that Season 3 is relatively distinct from the first two seasons of the series…
  • The Toy Department Considers A Classic again, as they talk about last week’s homework – the Beastie Boys album Paul’s Boutique (52:20)…
  • A look ahead to homework for next week (1:02:35) which includes two albums in Childish Gambino’s Awaken, My Love! and Metallica’s Hardwired… to Self Destruct, plus one television show in the TBS streaming effort Search Party…

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 | Google Podcasts | Stitcher | RSS

The Toy Department – Episode 47

  By toyAdmin | November 24, 2016 - 9:55 am | Uncategorized
Leave a comment

In Episode 47, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky briefly explore the details of California Proposition 64 before Kolsky puts the prop into action with some bong hits and they dive into:

  • The Golden State Warriors’ 149-point performance, from which Kolsky has just returned (6:50), and the Warriors’ early season performance in general… which somehow leads to…
  • An incredible fantasy matchup between the current John Calipari NBA All-Stars and the Golden State Warriors (27:45)…
  • Thanksgiving aka The Greatest of All Holidays (32:15)… The guys break down why Thanksgiving is clearly the best and also food and of course…
  • FOOTBALL!! and the NFL’s excellent Thanksgiving slate this year (38:00)…
  • A Tribe Called Quest’s new album We Got It from Here… Thank You 4 Your Service (41:50)… and the debut of a new (weekly?) segment we’re calling Toy Department Takes On The Classics (54:15) wherein we’ll talk about the classic album The Low End Theory on next week’s pod…
  • This week’s episode of Black Mirror, San Junipero (55:35)… arguably the most unique episode of the series thus far and a favorite of both of our hosts…
  • Homework for next week, where Derek assigns the PBS show Soundbreaking as homework (1:06:40)… specifically the episode entitled The World Is Yours about sampling in hip hop…
  • A quick debrief on the Kolsky-smokes-weed-during-the-podcast experience (1:10:00)…

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 | Google Podcasts | Stitcher | RSS

The Toy Department – Episode 41

  By toyAdmin | October 6, 2016 - 12:26 am | Uncategorized
Leave a comment

In Episode 41, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky open with a brief digression into Peaches & Herb before diving headlong into TONS of topics, including:

  • Recently-retired future first-ballot Hall-of-Famer Kevin Garnett (1:45) and how Derek Madden (wrongly) hates him with a passion and Matthew J. Kolsky (with great taste and even better judgment) rightly respects him as the all-time great that he is… (Bonus points if you can figure out who writes these descriptions…)
  • The quarter-pole of the NFL season, particularly the impressive start of the Minnesota Vikings (17:45)… This is really little more than Madden’s attempt to re-ingratiate himself to the Minneapolis community after his KG slander…
  • This past Saturday’s college football MADNESS (27:45) and Kolsky’s continued lack of interest despite the wild excitement of the finishes…
  • HBO’s new series Westworld (41:30) and how the guys feel about it after its complex and thought-provoking premiere episode…
  • Noname’s album Telefone (49:20) which Madden FINALLY listened to after being assigned it as homework… The boys discuss the album itself, their differing tastes and music in general…
  • A quick pop-in on FX’s Atlanta (58:45) and the [SPOILER ALERT] Black Justin Bieber episode…
  • Some thoughts on future homework assignments (1:04:15) and some assigned homework for next week on the way out the door…

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 | Google Podcasts | Stitcher | 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 | Google Podcasts | Stitcher | RSS

The Toy Department – Episode 29

  By toyAdmin | July 6, 2016 - 10:10 pm | Uncategorized
Leave a comment

In Episode 29, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky are living in a Post-Game-of-Thrones-Season-6 World (and Kolsky is on the phone from his car) but they still manage to soldier on with a podcast discussing:

  • Kevin Durant’s decision to join the Golden State Warriors — from where he might live in the Bay Area (1:45) to how the W’s and the league will look in the coming season (4:00) to the many haters and whiners in the aftermath of Durant’s free agency (17:05)…
  • Madden’s experience at the Adele concert (31:30) and just what it is about the “diva” singer that makes her so overwhelmingly popular…
  • Last week’s homework assignment (39:25) wherein Kolsky watched the first two episodes of the TV show Roadies so that Madden would have somebody with whom to discuss it…
  • And then of course there’s this week’s homework (49:00) which YOU should also do — watch the new HBO miniseries drama The Night Of…

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 | Google Podcasts | Stitcher | 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 | Google Podcasts | Stitcher | 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 | Google Podcasts | Stitcher | 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 | Google Podcasts | Stitcher | RSS

The Toy Department – Episode 21

  By toyAdmin | May 11, 2016 - 10:54 pm | Uncategorized
Leave a comment

In Episode 21, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky dive into the sports world early with a discussion of Steph Curry – his ridiculous playoff comeback, his MVP award, and just his greatness in general – which leads naturally into a broader discussion of the NBA Playoffs (8:30) and some of the officiating issues (12:00), and a quick chat about the outdated notion that players want to go to New York or LA teams (15:05). The podcast shifts to music for the guys to review Radiohead’s new album – A Moon Shaped Pool (21:00), and then to TV for a check-in on Game of Thrones (32:15) and a celebration of the delight of this year’s season of Silicon Valley (41:40).

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 | Google Podcasts | Stitcher | RSS