Casuals with Katie Nolan

Episode: Chloe & Myles, The Quad God, Illegal Curling Boops, and a Daytona Arby's
Original Air Date: February 17, 2026
Host: Katie Nolan
Guests/Co-hosts: Isabella, Chris, Brady
Summary by Podcast Summarizer

Episode Overview

This episode of Casuals with Katie Nolan covers the Olympics in full swing, diving into the unique and viral moments from figure skating (“the Quad God”), curling controversies (“Boop-gate”), love stories from the athletes’ village, and even a NASCAR-Arby’s crossover. With her signature irreverence and banter, Katie guides her casual crew—Isabella, Chris, and Brady—through both in-depth and delightfully off-the-beaten-path sports stories, always focused on making sports fandom fun and accessible.

Main Topics & Discussion Highlights

1. Olympic Village Condom Distribution

• A humorous icebreaker about the number of condoms at the Olympic Village: Only 10,000 distributed this year versus 330,000 in Paris and 450,000 in Rio.
• The team jokes about athletes’ optimism and logistics, “Some people might just be taking them…optimistically.” (Katie, 01:39)
• “Congrats on your new Olympic baby.” (Katie, 02:08)

2. Listener Email: Spring and Fall Olympics? [04:03–08:47]

• Mike from Philly asks why there aren’t Spring/Fall Olympics, and what events the crew would want to include.
• Fun brainstorms: Easter egg hunts, lumberjack events, apple bobbing, pumpkin picking, competitive kite flying, sack racing, chess boxing, cornhole, and darts.
• “All those sports that aren’t recognized… Should we organize this? If we had our [act] together…” (Katie, 08:17)
• The team considers holding their own “Schmalympics”—a bar games Olympics for perennial fun.

Memorable Quote:
“If we could get them to be real, I’d watch that. All I’m saying is we’re leaving money on the table.” (Katie, 42:45 – re: an Olympic dating reality show)

3. Olympic Figure Skating Drama – "Quad God" Ilia Malinin [08:47–18:48]

• Recap of Ilia Malinin (“Quad God”) and his disappointing Olympic free skate—hyped as the first-ever Olympic quadruple axel, but Malinin falters and drops to 8th.

• Discussion about the pitfalls of self-promotion and pressure. Katie and crew debate the merits and awkwardness of Ilia’s spoken word routine and subsequent “hype video” posted after his loss.

• Memorable Quote:

  • “You named yourself Quad God… That’s very marketable, and it was therefore marketed. But…now’s probably a good time to take a step back.” (Katie, 17:42)
  • “I would be so pissed at my own recording if I fell after doing a jump and then it’s like I just hear myself saying, ‘Shut up!’” (Isabella, 12:41)

• Special attention given to sportsmanship and redemption, noting Kazakhstan’s Michal Shadorov winning gold unexpectedly, and Malinin’s gracious reaction.

4. Curling Controversy ("Boop-gate") [23:36–29:42]

• Detailed breakdown of the curling scandal: Sweden’s Oscar Erikson accuses Canada’s Mark Kennedy of “double-touching” (or “booping”) the curling stone after the hog line.
• Swedish team brought their own cameras; memes and online jokes abound.
• “I’ve been trying to single boop and I’ve been double booping and that’s my bad.” (Katie, 28:12)
• Further incidents prompt additional officiating and reveal Canadian women’s and British men’s teams also violated the rule.
• Explores the erosion of curling’s “honor system” in the Olympics.
• “Get it together, curling—quit. Straighten yourselves out, because curl straight. You know what I mean?” (Katie, 29:34; joke lands with crew at 29:42)

5. Hockey at the Olympics [29:42–34:49]

• US men's hockey team: Winning but not dominant, struggling with slow starts and on-ice mistakes.
• US women’s team: Crushed Sweden 5–0 in the semifinals; on a dominant streak, aiming for gold against Canada or Switzerland.
• “They look so much better than everybody else.” (Katie, 32:46)
• Gets into the emotional rollercoaster of rooting for NHL stars on various national teams, specifically the Kachuk brothers.
• Notable moment: Rare Olympic hockey fight between Canada and France, resulting in ejections.
  • “You never see a hockey fight in the Olympics.” (Brady, 34:07)

6. Other Olympic Stories: Brazil's First Medal & Olympic Love [34:49–45:28]

• Brazil’s first-ever Winter Olympic medal: Lucas Pinheiro Broughton wins gold in giant slalom—a dual-national who came out of retirement.
  • “I just hope the Brazilians back home look at this and truly understand that your difference is your superpower…” (Lucas, as quoted by Katie, 35:41)
• Love at the Games: Browns’ Myles Garrett and snowboarder Chloe Kim are the Olympic power couple, exchanging sweet posts and gifts (i.e., a pink Ford Bronco).
  • “They are so cute. He posted: ‘So proud of you. I’m thankful that I get to be by your side…’” (Katie, 38:04)
• Other love stories:
  • Sophia Kirkby (luge) turns Olympic stay into a “Bachelorette”-style quest.
  • Newlyweds Kim Meylemans (Belgium) and Nicole Silveira (Brazil) compete against each other in skeleton on Valentine’s Day.
  • “Can you imagine if on Valentine’s Day you had to compete against the love of your life?” (Katie, 43:45)

7. Olympic Figure Skating Hype (Continued): Alysa Liu [45:28–46:21]

• Isabella spotlights skater Alysa Liu, her comeback narrative, unique style, and LGBTQ+ representation.
  • “She retired when she was 16. She’s so cool with her stripe hair and stuff.” (Isabella, 45:46–45:59)

8. NBA All-Star Weekend Recap [46:29–52:21]

• Crew discusses the underwhelming All-Star game and skills competitions—empty venues, too-high ticket prices, and the “weirdness” of the event now.
• “Stop showing us how empty [the arena is].” (Katie, 48:26)
• Obama’s cameo gets the only thunderous crowd response, leading to a chat about his remarks on UFOs/aliens.
  • Obama says on a podcast: “They’re real, but I haven’t seen them.” (50:25)
• Katie: “Why isn’t it catered toward the fans more? … If we could just go directly to their wallets, we’d bypass them immediately.” (Katie, 49:28)

9. Rapid-Fire Rundown: Sports Are Back [52:21–69:01]

NASCAR

• Tyler Reddick wins Daytona 500; Jimmy Eat World performs at a Daytona Arby’s.
  • “Highlight was that Jimmy Eat World played a concert at an Arby’s in Daytona.” (Brady, 54:37)

MLB/College Baseball

• Baseball and college baseball return; wild stats, like Baylor’s Tice Armstrong hitting 3 grand slams in one game.
• “What are we showing off? Two was fine. Three is kind of a lot.” (Katie, 64:47)
• The new ball-strike challenge system sparks debate; Chris Sale says: “I will never challenge a pitch...because I’m not an umpire.” [61:20–61:57]
• Drag on Red Sox and Phillies front offices for frustrating handling of contracts and policies.

College Softball

• Oklahoma crushes UTEP 34–0, with stats that sound made-up (“nine games…38 home runs”).
• Nija Kennedy at Texas Tech: first million-dollar softball player; her season is off to a bumpy start.

Golf

• Colin Morikawa and Anthony Kim (after 16 years away) each win events, with noted caveats for LIV Golf’s Saudi funding.
  • “Good for Anthony Kim…” (Brady, 69:01)

10. 'What to Watch This Week' (with timestamps) [72:20–74:34]

Chris gives top picks:

• Olympics: Women’s hockey gold medal match – Thursday, Feb. 19, 1:10pm ET, NBC.
• College Baseball: #1 UCLA vs #10 TCU – Friday, Feb. 20, 8:00pm ET, Big Ten+.
• MLS: Nashville v. New England Revolution – Saturday, Feb. 21, 8:30pm ET, Apple TV.
• (Light joke about 'the MLS' versus 'MLS.' Katie: “If you’re gonna yell at him [Chris], you gotta go through me.” 74:01)

Notable Quotes and Moments

• “I just want to yell in a way that only my partner understands what I’m saying. That’s what I want.” (Katie, 24:28, on curling)
• “You cannot double boop.” (Katie, 29:02, on recurring curling infractions)
• “We could do an annual party…call them the Spring and Fall Olympics…” (Katie, 08:40)
• On Ilia Malinin’s quad God hype: “It just made me feel bad for how harsh I was…” (Katie, 12:49)
• “You want the finals to be USA–Canada; that’s exactly how it should be.” (Katie, 33:48 – on Olympic women’s hockey)
• “If you guys break up, I swear to God. Not this year. I can’t take it, okay?” (Katie, 39:54 – on Myles Garrett and Chloe Kim)

Tone & Style

• Playful, sarcastic, self-deprecating humor
• Banter that makes sports accessible, not intimidating
• Pop-culture and meme references, asides, and running jokes
• Crew interjects as “casuals” and “newbies,” keeping discussions light

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Olympic condom supply & intro: 01:00–02:44
• Spring/Fall Olympics brainstorm: 04:03–08:47
• Ilia “Quad God” Malinin saga: 08:47–18:48
• Curling controversy ("Boop-gate"): 23:36–29:42
• Hockey (Olympics, fights, and Kachuks): 29:42–34:49
• Brazil’s first Winter gold & athlete love stories: 34:49–45:28
• Alysa Liu’s comeback and figure skating hype: 45:28–46:21
• NBA All-Star Weekend complaints: 46:29–52:21
• Sports rapid-fire (NASCAR, MLB, college sports): 52:21–69:01
• What to watch this week: 72:20–74:34

Closing Thoughts

Katie and crew deliver a whirlwind Olympic update through the lens of infectious fandom, meme-culture, and general irreverence, wrapping it all in accessible fun. From the high drama of the quad jump to the slow burn of MLB front office angst, Casuals does exactly what’s promised—turning sports from “homework to recess.”

Listen to/Watch the full episode on YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts. Feedback, questions, or hot takes? Email casualswithkatienolan@gmail.com or call 646-801-0043.