Yahoo! Sports

Why Is This News 47: Ball Don’t Lie’s Dan Devine

jay.busbee@yahoo.com (Jay Busbee & Kevin Kaduk) — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 08:37:30 PST

The NBA lockout is over! Sing hallelujah! That is, if you happen to be of an NBA persuasion. And around these parts, we are. We bring in Dan Devine of our estimable Ball Don't Lie blog to talk various elements of the lockout, including:

• Which player benefitted the most from the lockout

• Comparing the NFL and NBA labor stoppages, with thoughts on why the NBA came out looking so much worse than the NFL

• What effect, if any, the lockout might have on YOU, the loyal fan

• How the lockout will shape David Stern's legacy

• What it was like being in the "lockout lobby," the center of the NBA media universe as everyone waited for thrilling news from intense negotiations

• ... plus assorted references to the Muppets, Tony Soprano and other pop-culture touchstones. It's good stuff, and it'll get you ready for the upcoming NBA season (now just three weeks away!)

WHY IS THIS NEWS is the Yahoo! Sports Blogs' all-sports podcast, covering sports (and movies, and television, and whatever else strikes our fancy) through the eyes of our esteemed experts. We, as always, are Jay Busbee, the editor of From The Marbles and Devil Ball, and Kevin Kaduk, the editor of Big League Stew, and you are our reader/listener, and we thank you for that.

To play the podcast, click the link below or save it on your computer. You can also click on the iTunes button below (or right here) to subscribe through iTunes, or the RSS button below (or right here) to run the feed to other players. And if you can't get enough, you can follow us on Twitter at @jaybusbee and @bigleaguestew for further updates. And follow Dan at @yourmandevine too. Seeya!

Why Is This News 47: Ball Don't Lie's Dan Devine

Why Is This News 46: Turkey Bowl Spectacular!

jay.busbee@yahoo.com (Jay Busbee & Kevin Kaduk) — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 12:31:14 PST

Thanksgiving time! And before we decamp for the rest of the week and stuff ourselves with turkey and the like, we're firing off a podcast to get a few things off our chest. Specifically:

• What exactly are we supposed to do when our chosen sports end for the season? Take a break, right? (No, not really, boss.)

• Why do golf tournaments offer massages to reporters? In heaven's name, why?

• What the hell was I thinking when I wrote "you don't boo women"? I try to explain myself as Kaduk tries hard not to laugh in my face.

• Plus some horrific repressed memories of Turkey Bowls past, like the many times our fathers hammered on us in tackle football as kids.

Yeah, we're kind of all over the map here. Listen while you're stuck in an airport somewhere.

Why Is This News 46: Turkey Bowl Spectacular!

Why Is This News 45: Scott Raab, author of ‘The Whore of Akron’ and loather of LeBron James

jay.busbee@yahoo.com (Jay Busbee & Kevin Kaduk) — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 08:46:48 PST

Every time a high-profile athlete bails out on his longstanding team in search of those tall free agent dollars, he leaves in his wake legions of disappointed and distraught fans. But rarely are those fans as eloquent and filled with righteous venom as Scott Raab, writer, onetime Clevelander and loather of all things LeBron James.

You or I might seethe at the thought of our favorite player leaving town, muttering expletives into our sports-bar beer. Raab doesn't mutter. He brays expletives to the heavens in his new book "The Whore of Akron: One Man's Search for the Soul of LeBron James" (not much doubt about where he's heading with that title, huh?) and today, he joins us to talk all things LeBron. We also delve into the soul of the Cleveland fan (ripped to shreds by John Elway, Willie Mays, Michael Jordan and the Florida Marlins) and we take a hard turn into, like, reality when we discuss his writing for Esquire. (His series on the ongoing rebuilding work at Ground Zero is a personal favorite of mine.) This one's lots of fun, probably one of the best interviews we've ever done, and we think you'll enjoy it as well.

When you're done here, check out Scott's YouTube channel right here, follow him on Twitter right here, and go buy the book right here. Highly recommended.

Why Is This News 45: Scott Raab, author of "The Whore Of Akron"

Why Is This News 44: Tony Stewart

jay.busbee@yahoo.com (Jay Busbee & Kevin Kaduk) — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 12:48:52 PST

The NASCAR season is down to its final two races, and we've got one of the two competitors for the championship on the 'cast. Tony Stewart, two-time champ, joined us today, and topics included:

• Whether he's in the head of Carl Edwards, the one guy who's still ahead of him in the standings, and what he saw in Edwards' eyes when they talked after Stewart's win in Texas on Sunday;

• How, in his younger days, he convinced the suits at former sponsor Office Depot to loosen up and let him show up to an appearance without shaving once in awhile;

• Whether he runs better when he's got his back against the wall, angry at everyone around him;

• What television series he'd most like to star in after his appearance in "The Glades";

• Why he thinks Danica Patrick, who will drive for his team next year, will be a success on the NASCAR circuit;

• His involvement with Coca-Cola's Arctic Home charitable effort, which aims to protect the vanishing habitat of polar bears. Every Coke can, as well as the top of Stewart's car, will be dyed white to draw attention to the cause, or you can go to ArcticHome.com to learn more.

Why Is This News 44: Tony Stewart

Why Is This News 43: Ozzie Smith

jay.busbee@yahoo.com (Jay Busbee & Kevin Kaduk) — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 15:16:21 PDT

Time for another Yahoo! Sports podcast, and this time we're chatting with baseball Hall of Famer and St. Louis sports legend Ozzie Smith. Timely, yes? Topics included:

• His thoughts on seeing the Cardinals win another World Series

• Whether Game 6 was the greatest Series game ever

• What it's like to win (and lose) a World Series

• His thoughts on Tony LaRussa, the man who basically forced him into retirement

• His starting lineup (himself included) of the greatest nine players he ever played with or against

• His golf game (yes, he's playing professional golf, in a Canadian Tour tournament this weekend) and how he'll avoid the fate of John Smoltz, Jerry Rice, Tony Romo and other pro athletes who have tried their hand at professional golf. It's fun stuff.

Why Is This News 43: Ozzie Smith

Why Is This News 42: Walter Payton bio author Jeff Pearlman

jay.busbee@yahoo.com (Jay Busbee & Kevin Kaduk) — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 16:29:19 PDT

The biggest sports media story of the last few weeks has been the release of "Sweetness," Jeff Pearlman's exceptional new biography of Walter Payton. It's an honest look at the life of the Chicago Bears legend, and by "honest" we mean "warts and all." Payton was a fantastically complex figure, and Pearlman does an outstanding job of bringing his story to light. Comprised of more than 700 interviews of people from throughout Payton's life, we highly recommend it. Check out the excerpt he provided for Yahoo! Sports here, or Dan Wetzel's take on the book here.

In our conversation, we talk of Payton's life, of course, but also the blowback he received from Chicago fans when they learned that this wouldn't be simply a glorification of Payton's life. From there, we segue into discussion of Internet commenters, touching on Pearlman's CNN.com essay about tracking down some of his online haters. It's all good material, and we think you'll dig it.

Why Is This News 42: Jeff Pearlman, author of the Walter Payton bio "Sweetness"

Why Is This News 41: Devil Ball Golf’s Shane Bacon on the Tour Championship and the Arizona D-Backs

jay.busbee@yahoo.com (Jay Busbee & Kevin Kaduk) — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 14:34:37 PDT

For most people, the golf season begins and ends with the four majors, or whenever Tiger Woods might tee it up. But there's a huge golf tournament going on right this very instant: the Tour Championship, the final stage of the FedEx Cup. And the Cup boasts one of the largest individual prizes in sports: a $10 million check to the winner. Not bad for four good weeks' work, huh?

For this episode, the roles get a bit wacky, as we bring on my Devil Ball Golf co-writer Shane Bacon and Kaduk peppers us with questions about why the Tour Championship even exists at all, why guys you've never heard of are teeing it up in the finals, and what could possibly be done to make this a more fascinating view. (Step 1: get it way the hell away from the NFL.) From there, we segue into a bit of Tiger Woods talk, of course, and Kaduk takes things in the baseball direction with some quizzing of Bacon on his hometown Diamondbacks. Is it so bad just to be "happy to be here" when you get to the playoffs? We discuss, you enjoy.

Why Is This News 41: Devil Ball Golf's Shane Bacon on the Tour Championship, the return of Tiger Woods and the Arizona Diamondbacks

Why Is This News 40: Dan Wetzel on Death to the BCS 2.0, Miami and the reign of Jimmie Johnson

jay.busbee@yahoo.com (Jay Busbee & Kevin Kaduk) — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 06:32:58 PDT

When you get a phone call from Yahoo! Sports national columnist Dan Wetzel, you'd better hope your affairs are in order. Wetzel, one of our investigative bulldogs, has been involved in some of Yahoo! Sports' most high-profile college investigations, including that little Miami deal you might have heard about lately. He's also the author (with Josh Peter and Jeff Passan) of Death to the BCS, the definitive takedown of that college football atrocity. Death to the BCS is about to come out in a second printing, one which features plenty of new data and new conversations with players (you know, the guys actually affected by all this nonsense), and it promises to be as revelatory as the first version.

From there, we talk a bit about the Miami scandal; Yahoo! Sports' Charles Robinson was the lead investigator, but Dan pitched in with a thorough profile of Nevin Shapiro. He's also spent time profiling NASCAR's reigning five-time champion Jimmie Johnson, and demolishes once and for all Johnson's persistent "vanilla" image. It's all good stuff.

Why Is This News 40: Yahoo! Sports' Dan Wetzel on Death to the BCS 2.0, the Miami scandal and the reign of Jimmie Johnson

Why Is This News 39: Deadspin’s Drew Magary on his new novel

jay.busbee@yahoo.com (Jay Busbee & Kevin Kaduk) — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 10:56:54 PDT

Suppose they figured out a cure for aging. You could still die, sure, but you'd never grow old. Sweet deal, right? Yeah ... until you realize things like the fact that you can never, ever quit your job. And oh, it could get worse. Much, much worse.

That's the premise of "The Postmortal," the new novel by Drew Magary. Long known as one of the key voices behind Deadspin and Kissing Suzy Kolber, Drew joins us on the latest podcast to talk about the book, the trap of sportswriting, the joys of writing articles that inspire murderous emails (turns out people get upset when you bust on Charlie Brown, link NSFW), and oh so much more. It's fun stuff, though there may be a bad word or two dropped along the way, so don't play this one at your church youth group or anything.

Oh, and be sure to check out Drew's Tumblr for all kinds of ways to get hold of the book. Highly recommended.

Why Is This News 39: Drew Magary of Deadspin, KSK and 'The Postmortal'

Why Is This News 38: Shutdown Corner’s MJD on the NFL’s kickoff

jay.busbee@yahoo.com (Jay Busbee & Kevin Kaduk) — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 10:53:52 PDT

The NFL has arrived, and that means it's time to bring back one of our regulars, The Mighty MJD from Yahoo! Sports' very own Shutdown Corner. As is our way, we start ridiculous, get very serious very fast, and then flounder back to shore once we scare ourselves. But it's good stuff, as we discuss the disturbing rise in NFL players with financial issues, the ever-present threat of head injury (and what it would take for the NFL to take more drastic action), the fates of Kaduk's Bears and my Falcons, MJD's predictions for the year, and whether 9/11 and the NFL should mix. Check it out.

Why Is This News 38: Shutdown Corner's Mighty MJD on the start of the NFL season

Why Is This News 37: Busted Racquet’s Chris Chase on the U.S. Open

jay.busbee@yahoo.com (Jay Busbee & Kevin Kaduk) — Sat, 03 Sep 2011 07:39:58 PDT

Tennis! It's the U.S. Open, one of the greatest prizes in the game, and today on the Yahoo! Sports podcast we've got our very own Chris Chase, proprietor of the fine Busted Racquet blog, to discuss all things nets-and-balls. We start with a discussion of where the Open itself ranks among all majors, segueing from there into discussion about how this could be a landmark tournament. Between the return of Serena Williams, always a good story no matter what she's wearing, and the rise of worldbeating Novak Djokovic, you could be seeing one legend retake the throne and another grab hold of it for the first time.

Also in the discussion: is Roger Federer done? What's going on in Rafael Nadal's head? Is American tennis on the wane? And what's up with all the grunting, huh?

Why Is This News 37: Busted Racquet's Chris Chase on the U.S. Open

Why Is This News 36: The Dagger's Jeff Eisenberg

jay.busbee@yahoo.com (Jay Busbee & Kevin Kaduk) — Tue, 15 Mar 2011 19:52:29 PDT

Tournament time! You folks have to fill out your brackets based on mascots or colors or alma maters. We get to call in the experts, like our colleague Jeff Eisenberg, who runs The Dagger here at Yahoo! Sports. Now, Kaduk and I have watched almost no college basketball this year; our own sports leave us little time for extracurriculars. We're the equivalent of Gail in Accounting who needs help figuring out whether it's better to be a 1 or a 16. (Well, maybe not that bad.) Anyway, Jeff is patient with our questions, and if you listen closely, you'll hear his picks for Final Four, sleepers, and coaches and players to watch. Essential listening if you're going to be filling out a bracket anytime soon.

We, as always, are Jay Busbee, the editor of From The Marbles and Devil Ball, and Kevin Kaduk, the editor of Big League Stew, and you are our reader/listener, and we thank you for that.

Why Is This News 36--The Dagger's Jeff Eisenberg

Why Is This News 35: Hal Needham, stuntman, NASCAR owner, 'Smokey & The Bandit' director

jay.busbee@yahoo.com (Jay Busbee & Kevin Kaduk) — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 19:39:51 PDT

There are men. There are manly men. And then there's Hal Needham.

Now 80 years old, Needham has done more in one life than most men have done in ten. He's just published a book, Stuntman!: My Car-Crashing, Plane-Jumping, Bone-Breaking, Death-Defying Hollywood Life. And in it, he recounts his days doing one or more of the following:

• Stunt-doubling everyone from John Wayne to Kirk Douglas to Burt Reynolds.

• Jumping trucks and boats, leaping out of buildings and off of planes, and breaking many, many bones.

• Orchestrating a team that drove broke the sound barrier.

• Creating a NASCAR team from scratch, racing against Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt, and doing a pretty damn fine job of it.

• Driving in the Cannonball Run, then creating the movie of the same name.

• Writing and directing Smokey and the Bandit.

That's not bad. We discuss all that and more in our chat. He's a hell of a lot of fun, and this podcast'll put hair on your chest. Even the ladies, so listen with caution. And after the jump, check out a couple of Needham's trademark stunts.

We, as always, are Jay Busbee, the editor of From The Marbles and Devil Ball, and Kevin Kaduk, the editor of Big League Stew, and you are our reader/listener, and we thank you for that.

Why Is This News, episode 35--Hal Needham, stuntman and director of Smokey & The Bandit

Why Is This News 34--Spring Training Swing Part 1: Florida!

jay.busbee@yahoo.com (Jay Busbee & Kevin Kaduk) — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 04:20:15 PST

It's almost spring, and that means it's a season of rebirth, a time when green cathedrals reopen anew, a time when the verdant promises of a nascent baseball season cause sportswriters to break out in fits of romantic claptrap like this. And we're no exception; we love spring training even as it becomes ever more like everything else in sports: overpriced and overmarketed.

Still, that didn't stop our very own Kevin Kaduk from hitting Florida for the first half of Big League Stew's Spring Swing roundup. And today, he brings us back tales from his journey, including:

• Which (surprising) team had the friendliest players;

• Why it's sometimes advisable to take a picture while driving in traffic;

• How Kaduk was put in an extremely awkward position with not-so-Fat Joe Blanton;

• The best places to eat when in Tampa and various other locales; and

• Why you should never go get autographs from major league ballplayers after a certain age.

It's good stuff, and we'll have Part 2 after Kaduk returns from Arizona next week. Enjoy.

We, as always, are Jay Busbee, the editor of From The Marbles and Devil Ball, and Kevin Kaduk, the editor of Big League Stew, and you are our reader/listener, and we thank you for that.

Why Is This News 33--Spring Training Swing, Part 1: Florida!

Why Is This News 33: Jennifer Tilly, playin' poker

jay.busbee@yahoo.com (Jay Busbee & Kevin Kaduk) — Fri, 04 Mar 2011 12:23:00 PST

If you've ever played poker -- and if you haven't, get out there and start -- you know that there's nothing more nerve-wracking than head-to-head competition, you and your oppnent checking, raising and re-raising until you've got your life savings in chips in the pot. It's the kind of stuff that can give you a rush like no other. And, naturally, since it's trendy (or at least it was), poker has drawn in celebrities who think they know what they're doing.

Enter Jennifer Tilly, who joins us to promote NBC's National Heads-Up Poker Championship presented by GoDaddy, pitting established pros against celebrities like Jason Alexander (you know, George Costanza) and Emmitt Smith. Tilly, of course, has a foot in both worlds, being both an Academy Award-nominated actress and a poker tournament winner. We turned her loose and let her roll; it's ten of the fastest minutes you'll ever hear. And you'll be able to see how well she did at the tournament when it's broadcast in April and May.

We, as always, are Jay Busbee, the editor of From The Marbles and Devil Ball, and Kevin Kaduk, the editor of Big League Stew, and you are our reader/listener, and we thank you for that.

Why Is This News 33--Jennifer Tilly, playin' poker

Why Is This News? 32: Hank Aaron on Pete Rose, Bonds, ARod and Jeter

jay.busbee@yahoo.com (Jay Busbee & Kevin Kaduk) — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 08:03:00 PST

Ladies and gentlemen, the greatest home run hitter of all time: Mr. Hank Aaron.

Hammerin' Hank joined us Thursday thanks to the good graces of Topps, which is in the midst of a 60th anniversary celebration that will include baseball cards worth more than a house. (Like that Aaron rookie at right.)

For our interview, we discuss everything from Aaron's earliest days in baseball to his take on young stars like Jason Heyward. He also gives us his perspective on both Barry Bonds and Alex Rodriguez assaulting his home run record, and he gives us the inside tip on which player he thinks would have fared the best in his day. Finally, he gives us his verdict on Pete Rose in the Hall of Fame:

"I think he should join us. I think he paid the price for his mistake, and it's time for baseball to open the door and bring him in."

Great stuff from an American sports legend. Check it out below.

We, as always, are Jay Busbee, the editor of From The Marbles and Devil Ball, and Kevin Kaduk, the editor of Big League Stew, and you are our reader/listener, and we thank you for that.

Why Is This News 32--Hank Aaron on Pete Rose, Barry Bonds, Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter

Why Is This News? 31: Donald Trump on Tiger Woods, the Mets and the NFL lockout

jay.busbee@yahoo.com (Jay Busbee & Kevin Kaduk) — Fri, 18 Feb 2011 07:37:04 PST

When you get word that Donald Trump is up for talking with you, and you know that he doesn't have the power to fire you, you pay attention. Such was the case Friday, as we talk to Mr. Trump about his new show, the humbly titled "Donald J. Trump's Fabulous World of Golf," premiering on The Golf Channel.

Oh, but we don't stop there. We also talk about Tiger Woods, and what Mr. Trump would do if Mr. Woods spit at one of his courses. We discuss Mr. Trump's interest in the Mets. And he gives us his take on the NFL lockout. He knows most of the parties involved, and let's just say he's not planning on football anytime soon. Give it all a listen, we do good work. The Donald said so.

We, as always, are Jay Busbee, the editor of From The Marbles and Devil Ball, and a snowed-in Kevin Kaduk, the editor of Big League Stew, and you are our reader/listener, and we thank you for that.

Why Is This News 31--Donald Trump on Tiger Woods, the Mets and the NFL lockout

Why Is This News? 30: Shutdown Corner's MJD on the Super Bowl

jay.busbee@yahoo.com (Jay Busbee & Kevin Kaduk) — Thu, 03 Feb 2011 10:54:49 PST

Because it's Super Bowl week, we bring back our go-to football guy, Matthew J. Darnell, a.k.a. The Mighty MJD. With him, we break down the game (two of us pick Green Bay, one Pittsburgh) and dissect the phenomena of Ben Roethlisberger Redemption and Aaron Rodgers Sanctification. We also take shots at the absurd farce that is Media Day and the obsession with commercials (though you have to admit, the Darth Vader one is just so precious). Oh, and Kaduk still can't let go of the Jay Cutler thing. But he's snowed-in in Chicago, so we'll go easy on him.

We, as always, are Jay Busbee, the editor of From The Marbles and Devil Ball, and a snowed-in Kevin Kaduk, the editor of Big League Stew, and you are our reader/listener, and we thank you for that.

Why Is This News 30--Shutdown Corner's MJD on The Super Bowl

Why Is This News? 29: Puck Daddy's Greg Wyshynski

jay.busbee@yahoo.com (Jay Busbee & Kevin Kaduk) — Thu, 03 Feb 2011 06:15:53 PST

Last weekend was something of a dress rehearsal/victory lap in sports, as most major sports were running either all-star games or mostly irrelevant early/mid-season games. Still, that doesn't mean there wasn't fun to be had, and our Y!-mate Greg Wyshynski, estimable head honcho over at Puck Daddy, stormed Raleigh, N.C. for the NHL All-Star Game. Herewith, his full report ... but not immediately. This particular podcast runs like blindfolded hockey, kind of all over the place. An offhanded joke about Thrashers fans turns into a discussion about the NHL's Sun Belt Strategy. Talk of the TV viability of the All-Star Game and the instant-classic player draft turns into a discussion of television networks and the possibility of doing business with many NHL fans' version of the devil ... er, ESPN. We wrap with some discussion about upcoming hockey movies, including Kevin Smith's "Hit Somebody" and Seann William Scott's "Goon." It's fine stuff.

We, as always, are Jay Busbee, the editor of From The Marbles and Devil Ball, and a snowed-in Kevin Kaduk, the editor of Big League Stew, and you are our reader/listener, and we thank you for that.

Why Is This News 29--Puck Daddy's Greg Wyshynski on the NHL All-Star Game

Why Is This News? 28: Cagewriter's Maggie Hendricks on Da Bears, MMA and critics

jay.busbee@yahoo.com (Jay Busbee & Kevin Kaduk) — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 05:16:13 PST

These are sad days in the city of Chicago. The promise of an unexpectedly good Bears regular season vanished in a haze of green and gold, and the city is now left contemplating whether its starting quarterback is a quitter, or whether the fanbase itself has no compassion and no soul. To make sense of this all, we bring in Cagewriter scribe and Chicago Bears expert Maggie Hendricks, who gives us the rundown on why this is such a Big Freakin' Deal. We also talk about the worst sports losses either of us has ever endured; you can probably guess Maggie's given that she's a Chicago fan.

From there, we discuss a little MMA, as Maggie patiently explains the top stories in the game right now, and we spin into talk about critics of our work. You think you've got it bad at your job? You can't imagine what Maggie has to deal with on a regular basis. We discuss how she gets through it, and decide that she's a far better person than me because she doesn't immediately plot violent ends for her critics. Good stuff from one of Yahoo! Sports' finest.

We, as always, are Jay Busbee, the editor of From The Marbles and Devil Ball, and Kevin Kaduk, the editor of Big League Stew, and you are our reader/listener, and we thank you for that.

To play the podcast, click the link below or save it on your computer. You can also click on the iTunes button below or right here to listen and subscribe. And if you can't get enough, you can follow us on Twitter at @jaybusbee and @bigleaguestew for further updates. And throw Maggie some love too at @maggiehendricks. See you next time!

Why Is This News 28--Cagewriter's Maggie Hendricks on Da Bears, MMA and critics

Devil Ball Golfcast 60: Jim Nantz on Tiger Woods, Augusta

jay.busbee@yahoo.com (Jay Busbee & Kevin Kaduk) — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 15:34:03 PST

Welcome, friends. It's time for a podcast unlike any other.

Jim Nantz, everybody! The voice of the Masters spends a few minutes hanging with Devil Ball to talk everything from the brand-new Tiger Woods PGA Tour 12 video game from EA Sports (where he'll be our tour guide on the video version of the hallowed fairways and sanctified greens of Augusta National) to Tiger's chances of winning again to the current rules controversies.

Interestingly, Nantz believes that Woods has a world of possibilities ahead of him. And while Nantz didn't back off of his condemnation of Woods for Woods' behavior at Augusta last year, Nantz predicts that Tiger will win four or five times in 2011, including a major. Bold projections, but who better than Nantz to make that call?

As always, I'm joined by Shane Bacon, writer here and at Dogs That Chase Cars. (Follow Shane on Twitter right here, and while you're there, follow me too.)

We welcome your thoughts, ideas and recommendations on the podcast. Hit me up at jay.busbee@yahoo.com. And if you've got a question or comment for us to kick around, call our Skype line at 678-389-9173 and leave your message. Click the little arrow below to play the podcast or right-click it to download, and hit the iTunes site linked below to subscribe. Follow us on Twitter at @jaybusbee to get more frequent updates. Have at it!

Devil Ball Golfcast, Episode 60 -- Jim Nantz thinks Tiger Woods will win more majors

Why Is This News? 27: Shutdown Corner's Mighty MJD

jay.busbee@yahoo.com (Jay Busbee & Kevin Kaduk) — Fri, 07 Jan 2011 11:15:20 PST

And now, friends, it's time for the NFL to take center stage. For the next few weeks, the NFL playoffs are here, and everyone else must step aside. (Yes, that includes you, BCS.)

So who better to talk NFL than the reigning champion of football here at Yahoo! Sports, the mighty MJD? His Shutdown Corner is must-reading for any NFL fan (with the possible exception of Favre fans), and today he brings us fine takes on the eight wild-card teams. Kaduk's Bears and my Falcons are off this weekend, and MJD has some sobering words for our hopes that they'll be around after next weekend. Plus, we discuss Tom Brady, Brett Favre, Michael Vick and plenty more from the 2010 season.

We, as always, are Jay Busbee, the editor of From The Marbles and Devil Ball, and Kevin Kaduk, the editor of Big League Stew, and you are our reader/listener, and we thank you for that.

To play the podcast, click the link below or save it on your computer. You can also click on the iTunes button below or right here to listen and subscribe. And if you can't get enough, you can follow us on Twitter at @jaybusbee and @bigleaguestew for further updates. And throw MJD some love too at @themightymjd. See you next time!

Why Is This News 27--Shutdown Corner's Mighty MJD