The boys are back in their respective studios to break down the 2021 March Madness Bracket! I can't believe it's been 2 years since we've had a March Madness and I hope we never have to skip a year again.

Timestamps:
West Bracket: 15:15ish 
East Bracket: 23:30ish 
South Bracket: 31:00ish
Midwest Bracket: 40:00ish 
10 team parlay: somewhere around 52:20 

Thanks for listening!

March Madness Returns!

We are back with our biggest pod of the new year! A quick timeline of topics if you feel the need to jump around:

Intro
0:00-5:00 - Zags 
5:00-19:00 - Top Chef 

Bracket
19:00 - Beer Pong vs High Rolls Takes a Shot 
26:00 - Beer Dice vs F*ck the Dealer 
30:00 - Quarters vs Hammerschlagen 
35:00 - Kings Cup vs Horse Races 
40:00 - Flip Cup vs Never Have I Ever 
45:00 - 7s, 11s, Doubles vs Civil War
50:00 - Finger Games vs Bullshit Pyramid
57:00 - Rage Cage/Web vs Beer Hockey
1:05:00 - Elite 8
1:11:00 - Final Four
1:15:00 - CHAMPION

Outro
1:17:00 - MASTERS

Thanks for listening!

Bracket: Drinking Games (+ Top Chef, Masters, Zags)

We are back with our 2021 Oscars pod! We tackle the ballot from top to bottom going over our likes, dislikes, favorites, underdogs (got a juicy +275 pod bet in there) and more.

A rough estimate:
0:00 Intro 
8:30 Best Picture
23:00 Best Director/Actor/Actress
40:00 Best Original Screenplay 
45:00 Best Documentary (Yea we talk Mr. Octopus) and the rest of the ballot 
1:15:00 20/21 Non-Oscars Movie Recs

Thanks for listening

Movies: The Oscars Episode

We are back with our 2nd episode of The Fired Up! Podcast and there's plenty to be Fired Up about. First, our logos, which are so much nicer than the junk I came up with. Thanks, sis! Now I know it says Trump in the title, but don't worry this episode is still majority GoT stuff with a little other stuff sprinkled in.

0:57 - Game of Thrones - We discuss Arya and Ed Sheeran, Sansa and Jon, Sam and his bedpans, Cersei and Jaime, etc.
24:15 - Trump - JD goes in with a few minutes on healthcare, but mostly dedicates the time to the Russia lies, Trump Jr.'s idiocy and all that that entails.
37:30 - The Defiant Ones - I am fired up about the new must see HBO documentary and we discuss what makes it so great and some parts that stood out to us.

Thanks for listening!

Dragonstone, Trump, The Defiant Ones

We are back with the 3rd episode of the Fired Up podcast and this week we are fired up about 2 things: the 2nd episode of Game of Thrones and the reasons our no longer beloved penny must go. A quick timestamp:

1:15 - Game of Thrones - We discuss our favorite scenes of the week, eunuchs, Euron and more!
23:40 - Why the Penny Must Go - with a hat-tip to my sister she brought to our attention how ridiculous it is that the penny is still in existence. A brief history of the penny and we expand on the penny debate. Though debate is a strong word, I did learn a lot about coins this week.

Thanks for listening!

Stormborn and Why the Penny Must Go

Per usual, we got pretty fired up about Game of Thrones this week. We discuss the plan of the "Magnificent 7", Jamie and Bronn, Sam and his mischief, Arya/Littlefinger and whether or not Dickon Tarly is an idiot.

Eastwatch

Our first NFL Division preview is here and we have the Patriots-dominated AFC East up first. We go over the changes on each team as they get ready for the 2017 season and how we think the team, and players, will fare during the regular season and the fantasy season. A breakdown of the teams covered here:

0:40 - Miami Dolphins
15:30 - Buffalo Bills
29:00 - New England Patriots
45:15 - New York Jets

As always, thanks for listening!

AFC East Preview

We tackle the latest episode of Game of Thrones including our issues with the episode, the Magnificent 7 (1:40), Brienne/Sansa/Littlefinger (13:15), a new accent game (18:15), the Night Kings plans (19:30), Arya/Sansa (23:00) and Tyrion, the dragons, the finale, etc.

32:00 - As a special tribute to the eclipse that occurred on August 21st, 2017 we ended this podcast with a quick 5 minutes on the solar eclipse. 

Thanks for listening!

Beyond the Wall and The Solar Eclipse

We break down the NFC East teams as they get ready for the 2017 season and how we think the teams, and players, will fare during the regular season and the fantasy season. A breakdown of the teams covered here:

0:30 - Dallas Cowboys
14:00 - New York Giants
15:20 - Philadelphia Eagles
39:07 - Washington Redskins
50:30 - Division talk (betting odds + NFC East QB/WR/RB rankings)

As always, thanks for listening!

NFC East Preview

More NFL talk! This time we break down the NFC North teams as they get ready for the 2017 season and how we think the teams, and players, will fare during the regular season and the fantasy season. A breakdown of the teams covered here:

3:00 - Minnesota Vikings
17:56 - Detroit Lions
29:30 - Green Bay Packers
43:25 - Chicago Bears

As always, thanks for listening!

NFC North Preview

Our final Game of Thrones podcast of the year! We were fired up about the episode, but maybe not so fired up that season 7 is over. Listen as we talk about the episode/season as a whole and so many things about this last episode including: Tyrion and Cersei and Jaime, The Mountain and The Hound, Bran and Sam, the Stark kids and everything in between. 

As always, thanks for listening.

The Dragon and The Wolf

The NFC West is on tap today! We break it down as the teams get ready for the 2017 season and how we think the teams, and players, will fare during the regular season and the fantasy season. A breakdown of the teams covered here:

0:35 - Seattle Seahawls
14:35 - Arizona Cardinals
25:42 - Los Angeles Rams
37:07 - San Francisco 49ers
47:00 - Levi Stadium/division talk

Thanks for listening!

NFC West Preview

Our preview of the AFC North is finally here! We break down how we think the teams, and players, will fare during the regular season and the fantasy season. A breakdown of the teams covered here:

0:35 - Cleveland Browns
16:00 - Cincinnati Bengals
28:00 - Baltimore Ravens
36:15 - Pittsburgh Steelers
44:00 - Season-long bet talk

Thanks for listening!

AFC North Preview

The AFC South is here! We break down how we think the teams, and players, will fare during the regular season and the fantasy season. A breakdown of the teams covered here:

1:00 - Tennessee Titans
12:50 - Houston Texans
24:40 - Indianapolis Colts
37:00 - Jacksonville Jaguars
50:00 - Division talk

Thanks for listening!

AFC South Preview

We've had a lot of football pods recently, but we are just as amped that basketball is around the corner so we decided to talk about some of the more exciting trades that have happened so far this year. We won't get into each teams' offseason or anything like that, but listen as we discuss the Sixers and Markelle Fultz, D12, Jimmy Butler, CP3, PG-13 and more!

NBA Offseason Trade Talk

Intern Eric and I man the mics as we talk DJ and the no-good Colts, Thursday Night Football, Monday Night Football, Goff and his first 300-yard game, Young Tom Brady, Matt Ryan coming home and every other game on the schedule during week 2! Skip to 57:00 to hear our 5 picks of the week,

Thanks for listening!

Week 2 NFL Round-table

Intern Eric and I, hailing from opposite sides of the state but having each spent 4+ years in enemy territory, get together to discuss all things Southern California vs Northern California. We cover the basics like growing up there but also: (12:30) driving vs not driving as a teenager and the high-school systems, (21:40) college in LA, seeing the  sights when visiting each place and neighborhoods vs cities, (24:45) people, (30:15) food, (35:15) weather, (39:00) sports, and more specifically, (46:00) the NBA and the Warriors vs the Clippers vs the Lakers. 

As always, thanks for listening!

The LA vs SF Episode

Plenty to be fired up about this week! First, we talk the Bachelor (2:45). Then, our favorite Will Smith movies (21:00). And finally, some Oscars talk (37:14). For the Bachelor we talk Arie's tattoo (3:40), all 3 dates (Kendall - 5:45, Lauren - 11:30, Becca - 14:30) and of course we talk about Ross's 15 minutes (15:50). For our intermission segment we countdown our favorite Will Smith movies including, but not limited to, Collateral Beauty (22:35), Independence Day (24:35), Hitch (28:40), I Am Legend (32:05) and more. Finally, we dive into the Oscar movies tackling Get Out (38:40), Three Billboards' problems (40:26), the Shape of Water (46:00), Lady Bird (50:45), Dunkirk (52:00) Call Me By Your Name (54:00) and the rest of the big award nominees. We end with a bit about Icarus (1:02:05), random categories (1:05), other movies we liked this year (1:07) and shenanigans.

As always, thanks for listening!

Ep 41: Fantasy Suites and Will Smith and the Oscars

Special guest Nate Purcell joins us for our latest bracket and an NFL Draft Preview! It's our longest one yet with the first hour being the bracket and the second hour being the draft preview. First, we took 16 of the best network sitcoms and randomized them into a bracket (4:45). Our Instagram has the (poorly) drawn bracket, but first round match-ups include:

The Office vs Modern Family (6:20)
Parks & Rec vs Arrested Development (13:30)
Friends vs Home Improvement (20:15)
Roseanne vs That 70s Show (25:45)
Fresh Prince vs HIMYM (34:30)
Boy Meets World vs Family Matters (39:30)
Full House vs Seinfeld (45:00)
Malcolm in the Middle vs Saved by the Bell (46:00)

Then, we find the champion running through the Elite 8 (49:00), Final Four (53:15) and the finals (1:01:45).

Finally, we get to the NFL Draft preview. We start by talking about the QBs and the top of the draft including Nate's favorite (1:11:45). We dive into some quick hitting either/or's from the first round as well as some props found on sportsbook (1:29:00). We talk mid and late first round draft picks (1:38:30) before getting to Shaquem Griffin (1:45:00) and ending with 3 late draft flyers that might be a guy your team wants (1:52:00).

Thanks for listening!

Ep 45: The Sitcom Bracket and NFL Draft Preview ft. Nate Purcell

Intern Eric came back alive and to celebrate we talked a bit about Coachella (1:00) and his top 3 acts (3:45).  That seemed like enough so then in honor of it being the week of the Kentucky Derby at the time of this recording we decided to honor the mint julep and do a 16-cocktail bracket (6:30). First round match-ups include: Manhattan vs Screwdriver (10:00), Mint Julep vs White Russian (14:15), Margarita vs Bloody Mary (18:40), Caipirinha vs Irish Coffee (21:50), Martini vs Tom Collins (34:50), Old Fashioned vs Moscow Mule (28:00), Greyhound vs Mojito (32:30), and The QJ vs Long Island Iced Tea (34:00). A riveting Elite 8 (38:40) and Final Four (42:30) revealed our champion. Then, we talked some NBA playoffs (48:20) including Dubs vs Pels, Boston, Pop, Kawhi, etc. Finally, we finished up with the Kentucky Derby (1:04:10) and our pod favorite for the race! Thanks for listening!

Ep 46: Cocktail Hour and the NBA/Kentucky Derby

After a week off we are back with our cheesiest bracket yet! 16 of the best, and most easily accessible, cheeses in all the land. First, we did record this about an hour after Game 2 of the Dubs/Rockets so we start with 3 minutes of NBA (0:30) before we dive into the bracket discussion (3:42). First round match-ups include:

Monterey Jack vs Feta(6:30)
Provolone vs Swiss (10:30)
American vs Blue (14:00)
Havarti vs Mozzarella (18:45)
Pecorino Romano vs Brie (22:00)
Manchego vs Gorgonzola (25:45)
Gouda vs Gruyere (28:50)
Cheddar vs Goat (32:35)

A lactose Elite 8 (35:22) left us with the Final Four Fromages (40:00) before we spent the last few minutes talking about the latest Supreme Court ruling on gambling (47:45).

As always, thanks for listening!

Ep 47: It Ain't Easy Being Cheesy

After taking 3 weeks to digest our cheese bracket we are back with the Candy Bracket! Pro-tip: FF to 16:00 to get straight to the candy. Unfortunately we were without JD so we brought in all-star guest Tyler Harbaugh to help us on our quest. Because we recorded after Game 3 of the NBA Finals Intern Eric was fired up to talk about the Warriors (1:45), the rules behind the candy bracket (4:30), where Lebron might go(6:05) and which teams he could help (10:10). And we talked a little Vegas Golden Knights with Ty (12:30). Then, the good shit.

The first round match-ups:
Mike & Ike's vs Sour Patch Kids (17:30)
Dots vs  Sour Punch Straws (21:00)
Junior Mints vs Whoppers (24:45)
Reese's Minis vs Gummy Bears (28:40)
Side note: we had a 2nd special guest join us for the 2nd part of the bracket all the way until the end. But who?!
Twizzlers vs Milk Duds (35:15)
Starburst vs Peach Rings (39:30)
Gummy Colas vs Lemonheads (44:00)
Raisenets vs M&Ms (46:48)

We finished up with the Elite 8 (48:30)and the Final Four (55:45). As always, thanks for listening!

Ep: 48 The Candy Bracket ft. Tyler Harbaugh

After a short hiatus the boys are back in town for a lively discussion about french fries/potatoes and the many ways you can have them followed by a smidgen of NBA free agency. We talk about types not chosen (4:00) and our criteria for the pod (5:00) before diving in (8:30.

First round match-ups:
Steak vs Hashbrowns (9:20) 
Shoestring vs Home Fries (11:40) 
Sweet Potato vs Garlic Parmesan (16:25) 
Wedges vs Animal Style (19:45) 
Crinkle Cut vs Cajun (23:30) 
Chili Cheese vs Waffle (28:20) 
Curly  vs Regular (32:20) 
Tater Tots vs Cheese (34:00) 

We end with the final 8 (36:20) and our Final Four/Champion(43:15) before we get into the NBA. We talk LeBron (50:20), free agency (59:00) and an early look at Rookie of the Year odds (1:08:00).

As always, thanks for listening!

Ep 49: French Fries and the NBA

We are fired up that it is Intern Erics wedding week so we built an entire bracket around his wedding! We cover almost all aspects of the weekend and argued about his excitement and nerves among other things. Listen in as we celebrate Intern Eric and Lauren and stick around for a special Final Four!

First Round:
Planning Honeymoon vs Picking Guests (4:15) 
Picking Music vs Picking Venue (11:15) 
Color Scheme vs Flowers (15:45) 
Dessert vs Dinner (18:45) 
Parents vs Sister (24:15) 
Donily vs Harbaugh (27:15) 
Writing Vows vs Asking Mr. Denault (31:15) 
Day Of vs Day Before (35:25) 

The Second Round was quick (36:20) because we wanted to get to our special, surprise Final Four (39:30) that included a nice, light champagne tasting. Congrats, Eric and Lauren!

As always, thanks for listening.

Ep 52: The Intern Eric Gets Married Bracket

After our longest hiatus in a year we are back with another Fired Up bracket! This time we tackle the everyday things we take for granted in a special "things we can't live without" bracket. We dive into a little NFL at the end if you need those hawt takes. Timestamps below!

First Round Match-ups:
DVR vs iPhone (2:30) 
Food Delivery vs Spotify (6:15) 
Modern Transportation vs Credit (10:30) 
Porn vs Exercise (13:20) 
Dogs vs Netflix (19:00) 
Friends vs Alcohol (21:50) 
Sportsbook vs Sugar (24:30) 
Sunshine vs Shelter (26:50) 

We break down the Elite 8 (31:00) into the Final Four (34:00) and crown a Champion. At the end, we talk about the NFL including some Flex positions, RB choices, WR pick-ups, buy-sell options and more (40:00).

Thanks for listening!

Ep 54: The Things We Can't Live Without Bracket (and a little NFL)

The boys are back and fired up about the fruit bracket! 18 of the best fruits objectified down to 1. It gets messy, but the juice is worth it. Ok that's enough of that...

First Round Match-ups:
Cherry vs Avocado (4:30) 
Watermelon vs Banana (11:00) 
Apple vs Plum (16:05) 
Mango vs Blueberry/Raspberry (22:10) 
Strawberry vs Pineapple (25:00) 
Kiwi vs Grape (28:00) 
Cantaloupe vs Peach/Nectarine (32:00) 
Pear vs Orange (35:33) 

We argue our way through the Elite 8 and the Final Four, down to a Champion (40:00). Then, we end with the NFL (47:56). We talk about Jimmy G, and some Buy/Sell candidates. As always, thanks for listening!

Ep 55: The Fruit Bracket (And Some Football Things)

The boys are back with a few special guests joining throughout the hour to celebrate the one and only JD Vancho. We didn't even build a bracket. We prepared some questions and made him talk all about himself, which people know he doesn't like, and we made it all about him. It was glorious. A wonderful surprise at (42:30) as we surprised him with a Final Four of whiskeys and toasted to his pending nuptials. This episode was definitely a circle jerk for JD, but that's just how it goes sometimes. Well deserved, my friend!

As always, thank for listening.

Ep 56: The JD Is Getting Married Special

The boys are finally back in town and to celebrate December we talked our way through 8 of the best Christmas Movies out there and then cleaned up with a little NBA. We spent the first 10 minutes talking about movies that didn't make the cut before diving in..

First round:
It's a Wonderful Life vs Love Actually (10:30ish)
Elf vs The Santa Clause (17:00ish maybe)
Home Alone vs A Christmas Story (23:00?!)
Christmas Vacation vs Jingle All The Way (31:00)

Then, we battled through the Final Four until we had a winner. Finally, we discussed the NBA (42:00 or so) including the LeBron/Wade tribute, the Warriors, and the NBA Christmas Day Slate.

Ep 57: The Christmas Movie Bracket

After a 2 year hiatus, the Fired Up pod is back! Using a similar structure to our most recent pods we broke down 8 different potential 'pod topics' and argued our way down to a single topic that will be the first full-length 16-team bracket for us to breakdown in February. Please excuse as we dust off the rust. 

First round matchups:
Fast Casual Restaurants vs Serial Killers (10:00ish - no idea)
Theme Park Things vs Cartoons (16:50 maybe?) 
TV Game Shows vs Cults (23:00 or thereabouts) 
Big Mouth Characters vs Drinking Games (27:00)

Excited to be back and next up is our Fired Up Super Bowl pod next week!

Ep 58 The We. Are. Back. Pod

Hello, it's us. We are back for one of our favorite pods to do - the Super Bowl pod! As had been tradition in the past, we went over an hour so time breaks below if you want to jump around:

0:00-10:00ish - SB plans, favorite SB food, we shoot the shit.
10:00-32ish - Intern Eric drop his 3 favorite NarrativEs going into the Super Bowl, do yourself a favor and listen to some RayJ songs first
32:00-58ish - We each break down our 3 favorite props for the game handing out bronze/silver/golds in order of confidence. 
58-The End - who doesn't love a good outro.

Thanks for listening, or just clicking the Play button and letting it run, and we'll see you soon for our fast-casual restaurant bracket!

The Super Bowl Props and NarrativE Pod

As promised during our first episode back, we have cobbled together 16 of the best casual dining restaurant chains for a bracket! No self-serve or buffets, they must have a wait staff, nothing 24-hour and the basic criteria: if it was late at night and you had to stop for food and these were the only 2 options, which would you choose?

A rough timestamp:
Mel-s Drive In vs Hooters (8:00) 
BWW vs Bennigans (18:00) 
Olive Garden vs Red Lobster (25:00) 
Red Robin vs PF Changs (31:00)
TGIFridays vs Applebee's (37:00)
BJs vs Outback Steakhouse (45:00)
Chevy's vs Cheesecake Factory (51:00)
Islands vs Chili's (58:00)
FF and Finals (104:00ish) 

To be honest, those timestamps are such guesses. If anybody mentions this line at all I'll keep track of them better during the next pod.

Thanks for listening!

Bracket: Casual Dining

Three semi-normal guys - Justin, JD and intern Eric - get fired up about... anything, really. Everything from entertainment to sports to politics to random internet things is on the table.

The Fired Up Podcast

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