Echo of the Whistle

Mascot Masters

Mon, 07 Sep 2026 03:00:00 -0400

Everybody knows their favorite team's mascot. Almost NOBODY knows the person who DESIGNED that mascot. These are the stories of Carlo Bergoglio, Art Evans, Ava Buric and Charles Palminteri: Mascot Masters that changed the game by creating the characters at the center of fandom.

CHAPTERS

Intro (:00)

Mascots for Knights (1:25)

Carlo Bergoglio's Heraldry of Football (3:10)

Icons to Mascots (7:34)

A Worthy Mascot Master (9:23)

Art Evans and Ava Buric (10:31)

Art Evans' Signatures (14:51)

Disney Influence (16:43)

Making Modern Mascots (18:55)

Who Drew Mr. Met? (25:30)

Disney Influence (16:43)

Making Modern Mascots (18:55)

Who Drew Mr. Met? (25:30)

The Search (29:55)

Charles Palminteri, Mr. Met's Dad? (31:19)

Here's to the Mascot Masters (37:15)

SOURCES

Cartoons are Just His Business (George Comroe Anaheim Bulletin 07/31/1963)

Decals Are Sticky Business - Fullerton Firm Makes It Pay (Hank Davis Anaheim Bulletin 10/01/1968)

Multiple Personalities (Dick Anderson Occidental Magazine 02/11/2013)

L’ARALDICA DEI CALCI, LA PACIFICA “RIVOLUZIONE” DI CARLIN (Marco Cianfanelli Pennants Museum 08/01/2019)

The mystery of Mr. Met solved sort of (Paul Lukas ESPN.com 08/09/2012)

What's in a Nickname? Exploring the Jungle of College Athletic Mascots by Ray Franks

Mascots: the History of Senior College and University Mascots/Nicknames by Roy E. Yarbrough

Special Thanks to Ava Buric, Paul Lukas and Marco Cianfanelli. Visit Marco's pennant museum at www.pennantsmuseum.com

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Rooting for the Story: Extra Time with Jordan Rizzieri on Premier League Match Fixing

Mon, 31 Aug 2026 03:00:00 -0400

Jordan Rizzieri LIVES for the Premier League upset because it's always a better story. Harry is joined by Unfiltered Soccer Podcast Producer Jordan Rizzieri to talk about the Prem losing its hooligan roots, if you could still fix Premier League matches with three guys and a garage door opener, and whether Kevin Hart is to blame for America's gambling problems.

CHAPTERS

Intro (:00)

The Sublime Pain of an Upset (1:13)

Stories are the Best Wins (5:46)

Finding Soccer in the States (7:58)

The End of Hooliganism (12:12)

Choosing a Premier League Spokesperson (19:27)

Match Fixing is Always Unexpected (21:43)

Do you Trust the Prem? (27:00)

Gambling Pressure on Young Players (29:13)

Blame Kevin Hart? (34:29)

We're Not Vegas People (37:51)

The Next Match Fixing Scam (42:03)

Rigging Prediction Markets (45:48)

Where to Find Jordan Rizzieri (46:40)

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Who Turned Out the Lights?

Mon, 24 Aug 2026 03:00:00 -0400

In the late 90s, a string of power failures at Premier League games... didn't cause a stir at all. The grounds were ancient, and leaks, cracks and even darkness were part of the charm. That was until police received a tip that something nefarious was going on. Their investigation revealed the outages to be part of an elaborate match fixing scam by Far East syndicates that still reverberates in today's instant gambling world.

CHAPTERS

Lights Out (:00)

Premier League Goes Global (3:17)

Old Grounds (7:33)

The Sting (9:25)

Tipped Off (11:15)

The Syndicate's Match Fixing Plot (12:33)

Dodged Consequences (17:15)

The Rise of the Instant Micro Bet (21:25)

Modern Match Fixing (22:55)

1999 or the Future? (26:40)

SOURCES

Floodlights scam to beat bookies (Vivek Chaudhary and Linus Gregoriadis The Guardian 08/20/1999)

Soccer floodlight plot gang jailed (The Guardian 08/25/1999)

The floodlights went out and an Asian betting syndicate raked in a fortune (Mark Hughes St. Louis Post-Dispatch 08/30/2010)

UK Man guilty of floodlight plot (BBC News 08/20/1999)

Special Thanks to Peter Kenny Jones, Andy Sellers, and Jon Cohen

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Creating Thanksgiving Eve: Extra time with Trey Wingo on The St. Louis Stallions

Mon, 17 Aug 2026 03:00:00 -0400

How did Trey Wingo end up at a St. Louis Stallions rally in 1993? Harry is joined by sports broadcasting legend Trey Wingo to talk about the St. Louis' warring Stallions bids, Walter Payton dissing Jacksonville, and the NFL's bid to create a new holiday - Thanksgiving Eve.

CHAPTERS Intro (:00)

Trey Wingo's 90s-tastic Sweater (:27)

St. Louis' Stallions Hubris (3:16)

What Killed the Stallions (7:26)

Cash Rules the NFL (10:26)

Stallion Merch Contraband (12:40)

NFL Creates "Thanksgiving Eve" (18:07)

LA's "Homefield Disadvantage" (20:26)

London Before St. Louis (23:12)

NFL wants Jacksonville? (27:20)

Yes Money, No Lawyers (30:44)

Find Trey on the Wingo Network (32:02)

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The Team That Never Was

Mon, 03 Aug 2026 03:00:00 -0400

When the NFL announced their expansion franchises in 1993, St. Louis was SURE football was coming back to their city. They had fans gather in the thousands to cheer on the St. Louis Stallions, wearing the team's purple and gold horse logo proudly on their chests. The only problem? They didn't get the franchise. What's a oft-jilted city supposed to do with their fanatic football devotion - and ALL THOSE SHIRTS - for a team that never was?

CHAPTERS

Intro (:00)

Rally For the Stallions (2:20)

Cardinals Stadium Woes (4:53)

The Stallions are Born...Sort of (7:17)

It's in the Bag (11:13)

Sportsprint Inc. Jumps the Gun (14:27)

The Announcement (15:43)

The Stallions' Downfall (16:37)

Delayed Gratification (18:52)

Battle for Ownership (21:08)

Unstable St. Louis (22:35)

The Shirt Off Your Back (24:40)

The Rams Arrive...and Leave (27:31)

Stallions Resale Rebirth (29:13)

SOURCES

Sports Talk Weekly: St. Louis Stallions Rally for NFL Expansion Team in 1993

Sports Talk Weekly: St. Louis (Stallions) loses NFL expansion bid to Jacksonville in 1993

Sports Talk Weekly: St. Louis (Stallions) lose NFL expansion bid to Charlotte in 1993

The NFL team we almost had... ESPN 101 St. Louis

St. Louis SACKED CBS KMOV 4

Stallions? Expansion Hopefuls Told to Pick Nicknames (Jim Thomas St. Louis Post-Dispatch 11/03/1992)

Stop the Press! NFL Keeps 80,000 T-Shirts in Boxes (Lorraine Kee Montre St. Louis Post-Dispatch 10/27/1993)

Losing their Shirts (Lorraine Kee Montre St. Louis Post-Dispatch 12/01/1993)

NLF 30, St. Louis 0 (Jim Thomas St. Louis Post-Dispatch 12/01/1993)

Special Thanks to Ed Wheatley, Brad Straubinger and Matt Rockamann

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Overdosing on Creatine: Extra time with Jeff Eisenband on The Radioactive Golfer

Mon, 27 Jul 2026 03:00:00 -0400

Should the PGA tour bring back wearing knickerbockers? Harry is joined by PGA TOUR LIVE Play-by-play commentator Jeff Eisenband to talk about Eben Byers's radioactive golfclubs, cheating at golf, and accidentally taking too much creatine to putt.

CHAPTERS

Intro (:00)

Being U.S. Amateur Champion in 1906 (4:01)

Yale's RICH Golfing History (9:18)

Overdosing on Creatine (18:07)

Capitalism and Twitter Community Notes (24:41)

The Radiendocrinator vs. Aging (29:34)

Comebacks and Fashion (33:52)

What's the Handicap for Being Radioactive? (42:09)

Golf Gadgets to Help You Cheat (46:00)

Jeff Eisenband on Socials and PGA TOUR LIVE (50:46)

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The Radioactive Golfer

Mon, 20 Jul 2026 03:00:00 -0400

Eben Byers had it all. He was the 1906 National Amateur Golf champion. He was a millionaire before he was even born. He was such a ladies man they nicknamed him "Foxy Grandpa." He also had the misfortune of being the poster boy for the dangers of patent medicine. Byers thought he was taking a health supplement – a 2 oz shot of water that was part of the newest health craze in America – and ended up 6 feet UNDER the green, so radioactive he had to be buried in a lead lined coffin.

CHAPTERS

Intro (:00)

Eben Byers was RICH (1:50)

Yale and Golf (4:30)

Ladies Man or "Foxy Grandpa" (7:11)

Eben Byers: Elite Golfer (8:25)

The Byers Gravy Train (14:27)

The Injury (15:57)

The Perpetual Sunshine of Radithor (17:18)

William J.A. Bailey: Quack (19:03)

Radiation Fever (20:13)

The Radithor Con (23:40)

Radioactive Decay (26:14)

The Death of Byers and Radiation Fever (29:22)

Bailey Escapes Blame (32:27)

The Ballad of Eben Byers (33:59)

SOURCES

Quackery: A Brief History of the Worst Ways to Cure Everything by Nate Pedersen and Lydia Kang

Golf at Yale: The Players, the Teams, the Course by Bill Kelly and John A. Godley

The Great Radium Scandal by Roger M. Macklis

The Radium Water Worked Fine Until His Jaw Came Off by Ron Winslow

Eben M. Byers: The Effect of Gamma Rays on Amateur Golf, Modern Medicine and the FDA by C. Prentiss Orr

Pittsburger Won the Title (July 15, 1906 The Pittsburgh Press)

E.M. Byers, of Pittsburg, Defeats the Golf Champion (July 18, 1902 New York Daily Tribune)

Special Thanks to Bill Kelly and Nate Pedersen

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Rapping the Lakers' "Just Say No" at Karaoke: Extra Time with Jamel Johnson on Savoring Victory

Mon, 13 Jul 2026 03:00:00 -0400

WARNING: making the recipes from the World Champion Los Angeles Lakers Are Cookin' cookbook can be hazardous to your health. Harry is joined by comedian and ball-knower Jamel Johnson to talk about NBA Championship Cookbooks, fancy cornbread, baking too much dairy, and if any of the Showtime Lakers could actually rap.

CHAPTERS

Intro (:00)

Fancy Cornbread (1:00)

Don't Put Dairy in the Oven (4:32)

Did the Lakers Really Make This? (6:13)

NBA Getting Scurvy (7:50)

Laker Ladies Making Creepy Crawlers (10:23)

"Just Say No" at Karaoke (12:20)

Pat Riley's Roll on Great British Bakeoff (19:39)

Which Laker is being "Ratatouilled"? (21:30)

Bill Walton's Recipes (26:20)

A Washington Wizards & Mystics Cookbook (29:01)

Hakeem Olajuwon's Rocket Fuel ISN'T Celsius (33:56)

Modern Cookbooks: Chef Curry Anyone? (36:51)

Is Luka the White Charles Barkley? (38:51)2026 Knicks Cookbook? (40:31)

Jamel Johnson on "Mid-Range" and Just So Many Podcasts (44:34)

ABOUT ECHO OF THE WHISTLE: Playing to the “echo of the whistle” means to give 100% and then just a little bit more, fighting for that extra inch when the other team has stopped playing. Echo of the Whistle goes beyond what happens on the field of play to trace sports’ ripples across time and culture. What can one statistical anomaly tell us about the most difficult position in sports? How did the 1975 Chicago Blackhawks end up facing off against Sesame Street characters? Why did a Hall of Fame baseball player end up dead at the bottom of Niagara Falls? Let the chat shows chat and the hot takes get cold because this show tells uncommon sports stories that stay with listeners after the clock hits double zeroes.

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Savoring Victory: The '85 Lakers' NBA Championship Cookbook

Mon, 06 Jul 2026 03:00:00 -0400

After winning their first NBA championship in more than 50 years, you can bet the 2026 New York Knicks are going to have a plethora of championship merch. There is ONE thing they’re not cooking up, however. Something that the Lakers and their wives came up with all the way back in 1985 – A Championship Cookbook. This kicked off a trend of NBA champs penning charity cookbooks until the Lakers themselves published a sequel when they won back to back in the early 2000s. It also inspired one man to go full Julie & Julia and COOK the recipes from his beloved Lakers legends.

CHAPTERS:

Intro (:00)

Showtime Lakers Bigger than Basketball (1:16)

The Laker Ladies (2:31)

Lakers Run the Playoffs (4:48)

Celtics Finals Revenge (8:22)

A Lakers Charity Cookbook (9:23)

Starting a Trend (14:18)

Goldstein & Gasol (15:25)

Harry Cooks Kobe Bryant's Seared Tuna (22:40)

SOURCES:

Goldstein & Gasol

1985 World Champion Los Angeles Lakers Are Cookin’ Family Cookbook

Cooking with the Champs: Recipes from the World Champion Detroit Pistons

Chicago Bulls “Cooking Up A Championship”

The Lakers Are Cookin’ Again!

Long Before Social Networking, Community Cookbooks Ruled The Stove | NPR

Special thanks to Pablo Goldstein.

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Casting the El Viejo Sitcom: Extra Time with Emma Baccellieri on George Brunet

Mon, 29 Jun 2026 03:00:00 -0400

If they made a sitcom based on George Brunet's life would it be a raunchier Ted Lasso? Harry is joined by Emma Baccellieri staff writer at Sports Illustrated and author of Court Queens and to talk about celebrating George Brunet's extraordinary career, Mexican baseball, and not wearing underwear to pitch.

CHAPTERS

Intro (:00)

Finding George Brunet (1:11)

Pitchers can last a WHILE in the league (3:18)

Did "old dog" Brunet learn new tricks? (6:11)

Would Brunet have done BETTER in modern MLB? (9:57)

Was the worst inning ever pitched just bad luck? (12:34)

Which is better: Long, mediocre career or Bright, short career? (17:16)

Brunet's drinking worse than rampant stimulant use? (22:36)

Do MLB players "go commando" in games? (25:04)

Casting the El Viejo sitcom (26:06)

Playing ball in your 40s in Mexico (30:57)

No Mexican baseball video conspiracy theories (33:35)

Most impressive part of George Brunet's career (36:57)

How to Remember George Brunet (40:08)

George Brunet in Cooperstown? (43:10)

Emma Baccellieri on Sports Illustrated and Court Queens (45:33)

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El Viejo: The Endless Career of George Brunet

Mon, 22 Jun 2026 03:00:00 -0400

The record for longest pro baseball career doesn't belong to Nolan Ryan and his 27 seasons in MLB. It belongs to George Brunet’s staggering 33 seasons of pro baseball. So why haven’t you heard of Brunet? In America, Brunet was just your typical Journeyman racking up 19 mediocre seasons in the Majors and Minors… but that was just a warmup for his JOURNEY, MAN. In his second act he became a Hall of Famer South of the Border, throwing for 14 more years in Mexico. Brunet played into his fifties, tossing more than 6000 innings across three decades of professional baseball, riding his indefatigable left arm on the ULTIMATE baseball journey.

SOURCES:

Special thanks to the Salón de la Fama del Beisbol Mexicano. Visit them in Monterrey, Mexico.

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The Next Football War?: Extra Time with Dr. Nick Watanabe on the Football War

Mon, 15 Jun 2026 04:00:00 -0400

Could the Football War happen again at the 2026 World Cup? Harry is joined by Dr. Nick Watanabe author of The Beautiful Game?: The Stories Shaping the Future of Soccer to dive into the Football War, FIFA's diplomatic responsibility and what happens to the players caught in the middle.

CHAPTERS:

Intro (:00)

How pervasive is the fake narrative? (1:23)

1970 World Cup vs. 2026 World Cup (3:45)

Does US fear world soccer culture? (9:30)

Sports nationalism and the Dokdo-Takeshima fight (14:27)

Would social media fight propaganda or spread it? (20:15)

Is 2026 heading for a new Football War? (22:30)

The failure of FIFA's "football diplomacy" (27:15)

Honduras-El Salvador Match 3 was a World Cup CLASSIC (32:25)

What happens to the players used as pawns? (35:50)

The Beautiful Game?: The Stories Shaping the Future of Soccer (42:40)

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The Football War

Mon, 08 Jun 2026 04:00:00 -0400

EPISODE DESCRIPTION: In 1969, Honduras and El Salvador played three World Cup Qualifiers. The first match in Honduras ended in riots. The second in El Salvador, bloodshed. The third match in Mexico City would see El Salvador punch its ticket to the 1970 World Cup…and dissolve all diplomatic ties with Honduras. Then started the military strikes. Over the next 4 days, El Salvador advanced their forces to the edge of Honduran capital Tegucigalpa before a cease fire was called. Except that’s not the TRUE story. Did El Salvador and Honduras get away with Sportswashing a WAR?

SOURCES: The Soccer War by Ryszard Kapuscinski

The War of the Dispossessed: Honduras and El Salvador, 1969 By Thomas P. Anderson

The 100 Hour War by Dan Hagedorn and Mario Overall

ABOUT ECHO OF THE WHISTLE: Playing to the “echo of the whistle” means to give 100% and then just a little bit more, fighting for that extra inch when the other team has stopped playing. Echo of the Whistle goes beyond what happens on the field of play to trace sports’ ripples across time and culture. What can one statistical anomaly tell us about the most difficult position in sports? How did the 1975 Chicago Blackhawks end up facing off against Sesame Street characters? Why did a Hall of Fame baseball player end up dead at the bottom of Niagara Falls? Let the chat shows chat and the hot takes get cold because this show tells uncommon sports stories that stay with listeners after the clock hits double zeroes.

STAY CONNECTED

Patreon: Echo of the Whistle

Twitter: @echothewhistle

Instagram:@echoofthewhistle

Threads: @echoofthewhistle

Bluesky: @echothewhistlepod.bsky.social

TikTok: @echo_of_the_whistle

Website: echoofthewhistle.com