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Missed us over the holidays? We’re back at the table and starting with a simple ask: help us grow by sharing the show with five friends. From there, we plunge into a chaotic trivia sprint—beaver mayors, molasses floods, and ketchup-as-medicine—that warms up the mics before we tackle what’s really on our minds: how to make college football sane again.

We break down why a disciplined, veteran roster can dismantle brands built on hype, and why the first rounds of the expanded playoff belong on campus. Home fields change everything: tempo, substitutions, coaching decisions, and the energy that TV money can’t fake. Then we go straight at the messy middle—NIL, opt-outs, and the transfer portal—offering solutions that value both players and programs. Move portal windows after the season ends. Tie high school NIL deals to two-year commitments so there’s real development and return on investment. Incentivize postseason participation with transparent contracts. Wrap it all in a calendar that delivers a January finish without coaches and athletes juggling teams.

It’s equal parts fandom and practicality: we love the sport too much to watch it drift. Recruiting rankings matter less than age, cohesion, and repetition. The best teams are older, deeper, and built on reps that a carousel of coordinators can’t provide. We also share plans for the year ahead—listener shoutouts, a shift toward video, and more ways to bring you into the room.

If you care about better football, smarter incentives, and real playoff stakes, this one will hit home. Share the episode, leave a review, and tell us your fix for the NIL-portal-postseason mess. And yes—campus playoff games: for or against?

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A warm welcome turns into a whirlwind: we go from Kentucky’s 24-hour mood swing of 72 degrees, an earthquake, tornadoes, and snow to the oddly timeless question of holiday rules—when to put decorations up, when to take them down, and why the quiet days between Christmas and New Year’s feel so strange. We trade family traditions with a grin—twelve days of gifts, early openers, the sacred socks-on-Christmas-Eve move—and then lock horns over music and movies. Mariah fatigue, the endless spiral of the Twelve Days, Hallmark’s copy-paste romances, and the uncanny Polar Express get their moment in the hot seat, balanced by genuine love for White Christmas and the comfort of Christmas Vacation.

The energy softens as we talk about loss and the first holiday without a parent. That tenderness reshapes everything: rituals start to look like lifelines, laughter becomes a pressure valve, and even our oddest jokes serve to make grief bearable. We reflect on celebrity passings and why some names cut deep while others fade, a reminder that our heroes help date-stamp our own lives.

Then it’s helmets on and notebooks out for bowl season. We debate lines and matchups with receipts: Ohio State to cover, whether Texas Tech’s defense can slow Oregon, if Indiana’s Heisman glow hides soft spots, and why Georgia likely cruises. Coaching tendencies, weather, ego, and the banquet circuit all matter, and we call it like we see it. To cap it off, we set mantras for the new year—WWLD: What Would Larry Do—make a pact for more live events (WWE Raw, hockey nights, loud arenas), and stake a claim for health and joy. If you’re here for tradition, honesty, and a few laughs with your picks, you’re in the right place.

Enjoyed the ride? Follow the show, share it with a friend who loves holiday debates and college football, and leave a quick review so more listeners can find us. What tradition are you keeping—and which game are you calling?

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A fourth chair at the table changes the whole vibe. We welcome John—retired Army colonel, physician, helicopter pilot, and proud Minnesotan—and the night turns into a tour of sharp banter, surprising expertise, and a totally serious soup tournament. Fresh coffee sets the pace, with a decaf that somehow manages real flavor and zero bitterness, and that detail becomes the through-line for a conversation about care, craft, and what makes comfort food actually comforting.

John shares how he picked up curling after retiring in 2019, and he paints the sport in one clean image: putting the rock on the button. We dig into the culture of curling, the hockey overlap, and why grown-up hobbies matter more than we admit. From there, we swing into college football takes with no safety on—Alabama pride, quarterback concerns, coach skepticism, and the eternal SEC vs everyone else subplot. The debate is lively, informed, and just self-aware enough to be fun rather than tribal.

Then it’s bracket time. Chicken noodle faces down lentil, tomato wrestles split pea, beef barley scrums with French onion, and broccoli cheddar picks a fight with cabbage. We argue texture, aroma, and cheese thresholds. We endorse mayo-seared grilled cheese. We admit biases against cream-of-anything. We even settle a semifinal with rock-paper-scissors. The final? Chicken noodle vs broccoli cheddar, comfort classic vs creamy heavyweight. The winner earns its place in the Hall of Fame, and a doctor’s nod doesn’t hurt. Before we wrap, John walks us through the sacred geometry of Minnesota tater tot hot dish: ground beef, sweet corn or green beans, creamy binder, and a roof of golden tots that feeds a crowd and softens the cold.

Pull up a chair, laugh with us, and bring your own rankings—we want to hear them. If you enjoyed the ride, follow the show, share with a friend who loves food debates, and leave a quick review with your top three soups so we can read them on the next episode.