07-29-25 - Somber Morning For John As Ryne Sandberg Has Died Making Us Wonder What Other Childhood Idols Are Next - NYC Long Gun Shooter w/CTE Was Trying To Reach NFL Offices

Summary

Holmberg's Morning Sickness - Arizona: Episode 07-29-25 Summary

Podcast Information:

• Title: Holmberg's Morning Sickness - Arizona
• Host/Author: John Holmberg and the team at 98 KUPD | Hubbard Radio
• Description: Holmberg's Morning Sickness on 98 KUPD is Arizona's #1 Morning Radio Show. John Holmberg endeavors to entertain, question, and disturb as many listeners as possible with assistance from Brady Bogen, Bret Vesely, and Dick Toledo. Tune in or log onto 98KUPD (97.9fm, the 98KUPD app or www.98kupd.com) weekdays 5:30a-10a.
• Episode: 07-29-25
• Release Date: July 29, 2025

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Introduction

In the July 29, 2025 episode of "Holmberg's Morning Sickness" on Arizona's premier morning radio show, host John Holmberg, alongside co-hosts Brady Bogen, Bret Vesely, and Dick Toledo, navigates through a tapestry of somber reflections, societal critiques, and personal anecdotes. This episode, marked by the emotional weight of losing a childhood idol and grappling with broader societal issues, offers listeners a blend of heartfelt conversation and incisive commentary.

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The Passing of Ryan Sandberg – Personal Reflections

The episode opens on a melancholic note as John Holmberg shares the news of Ryan Sandberg's untimely death, delivering what he describes as "an absolutely somber gut punch of a Tuesday morning" (01:50). Sandberg, a revered figure in baseball, holds a special place in John's heart, rekindling memories from his youth:

"Ryan Sandberg was beaten down by... he was heroic to me." (07:40)

John delves into his personal connection with Sandberg, recounting their interactions and the profound impact Sandberg had on him as a fan and friend. The discussion highlights the deep emotional bonds fans form with their sports heroes, making their loss particularly poignant.

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Radio Executives and Tragedy Exploitation

A critical segment of the episode addresses the unethical practices within the radio industry, specifically how executives exploit tragedies for ratings. John Holmberg reveals overhearing a call among radio executives strategizing to leverage Sandberg's death for promotional gain:

"We have to take advantage of it." (10:24)

He vehemently criticizes this approach, labeling executives as "tragedy porn whores," and condemns the prioritization of profit over genuine mourning. This revelation underscores the tension between authentic content and sensationalism in media practices.

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The Rise of Depression and Antidepressant Use

The conversation shifts to the alarming increase in depression rates, with John positing that the ubiquitous use of antidepressants contributes to this surge by hindering the development of natural coping mechanisms:

"The pills don't work. It’s coping mechanism through, you know, chemical." (20:56)

Brady Bogen and John engage in a spirited debate over the efficacy and societal impact of widespread antidepressant use. They argue that while medication can provide relief for some, it may inadvertently prevent individuals from building resilience, leading to a populace increasingly reliant on pharmaceutical interventions rather than personal strength.

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Discussion on the Recent NYC Shooting Incident

A harrowing topic emerges as the hosts discuss a recent shooting in New York City, perpetrated by an individual wielding an AR15 with apparent CTE (Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy). The incident raises concerns about mental health and gun access:

"He's walking into a building in New York City... Nobody should be walking around with an AR15 anywhere without being in a bear hug immediately by someone." (25:05)

The hosts dissect the shooter's possible motivations, linking his actions to untreated mental health issues and the accessibility of firearms. This segment serves as a poignant commentary on the intersection of mental health crises and gun violence in contemporary society.

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The Importance of Situational Awareness

Expanding on the NYC shooting, the discussion pivots to the decline in situational awareness among the general public, exacerbated by pervasive smartphone use:

"Situational awareness is zero... you’re just staring at your phone." (26:15)

John criticizes the societal obsession with screens, arguing that it detracts from the ability to remain aware of one's surroundings, thereby increasing vulnerability to unforeseen dangers. This critique highlights a broader societal shift towards digital immersion at the expense of real-world attentiveness.

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Reflections on Childhood Idols and Their Passing

Throughout the episode, the hosts reflect on various sports figures and celebrities who have shaped their childhoods, contemplating the emotional impact of their losses:

"Man, oh man, was Ryan Sandberg part of mine... We have kids there who grew up with heroes..." (34:25)

They enumerate several iconic figures from different sports arenas, pondering the collective sense of loss felt by fans as these heroes age or pass away. This segment underscores the enduring influence of sports heroes on personal identity and community cohesion.

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Conclusion

Wrapping up the episode, John Holmberg ties together the themes of mortality, mental health, and media ethics. He calls for a more compassionate approach to handling tragedy, both personally and within the media landscape. The hosts emphasize the need for genuine support systems and the cultivation of personal resilience to address the burgeoning mental health crisis.

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Notable Quotes

• John Holmberg on Ryan Sandberg:

  "Ryan Sandberg was beaten down by... he was heroic to me." (07:40)

• Critique of Radio Executives:

  "They’re tragedy porn whores." (10:25)

• On Antidepressants:

  "The pills don't work. It’s coping mechanism through, you know, chemical." (20:56)

• On Situational Awareness:

  "Situational awareness is zero... you’re just staring at your phone." (26:15)

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Final Reflections

This episode of "Holmberg's Morning Sickness" serves as a poignant exploration of personal loss intertwined with broader societal issues. Through candid dialogue and heartfelt anecdotes, the hosts offer listeners a profound commentary on the complexities of fame, mental health, and the ethical responsibilities of media practitioners.

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Timestamps Reference:

• 01:50
• 07:40
• 10:24
• 20:56
• 25:05
• 26:15
• 34:25
• 10:25

(Note: Timestamps are provided for illustrative purposes and correspond to sections within the transcript.)

Transcript

[John Holmberg]

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[John]

You thought that was funny? You were laughing like a hyena when he said it. What the hell is wrong with you? Petey? Good morning everybody. Hello there. Welcome to Tuesday. It is 5:45 there. It's the morning sickness. My name's John, there is Brady, there's Brett, there's Big Dick Toledo. And we are off and running for what is to me an absolutely somber gut punch of a Tuesday morning already. Oh, I'm struggling.

[John Holmberg]

Oh, it's from last night.

[John]

Yeah, Ryan Sandberg. I mean I, I did some like look, I was a Cubs fan up until about two years ago when the Diamondbacks made the World Series. Not because they made the World Series, because some asinine bets along the way, not reeling some claims, some comments, but I backed them up because I will say that the modern Cubs, as good as they are this year and they're kind of fading a little bit. But I struggle being a fan of the new corporate Cubs and I know they've always been a business, but they were the lovable losers back in the 80s in the 1984 team. You know there I was 12, 13 years old watching this. This is happening, you know, this, this and it. Of 23, Ryan Sandberg. I was always number 10 in Little League and then in All Stars you got the big numbers. Cuz in Little League they only gave you like one through however many players are. That's. Those are numbers you had to pick from 1 through like 15. And then in All Stars you got to. What number do you want? 23 immediately. And I wanted to be Rhino. If I couldn't, if I couldn't get 10, I'd get 23. I love being. And yesterday when he died, you start to do that math on your head of Diamondback fans. This is like Randy Johnson dying. Yankee fans, it's like Derek Jeter dying. Yeah. This is the face of Chicago Cubs baseball. Even more so like than Mark Grace, who was just kind of mouthy and loud. They were on the team together in the late 80s. I mean think about oh, first million dollar player. I mean you got a $10 million deal back in the 80s. Everybody said, oh, baseball's gonna die. You can't do this unbelievable person for the game. And just a ridiculously good player. And him dying was just a nut kick. Just a nut kick. Terrifying for me because I realized that from 1980 to 1990 I went from 8 to 18. So those are those years where you form your fandom, although I was already a huge Cubs fan. But you start getting into like understanding things. The stats of the game and all the other stuff. And you start picking favorites. Cause you understand it a little more than you used to. It was more than just that guy hits big home runs. You get the nuances of something you love. If it's baseball, basketball, whatever else, it all you all you form so much of your brain from 8 to 18 as far as what goes forward. And those people become your nostalgia and your childhood. Man, oh man, was Ryan Sandberg part of mine. I remember and I again, I've had three or four freeze up moments in my life. One was with Mark Grace, but that was because he was naked when I first met. When you meet one of your heroes and he's nude, you, you're, you're, you can't be cool. There's just nothing about it. If he's cool naked and you're there and you're not supposed to be or you didn't expect it. If Brady would have told me, hey, we're going to go in there. Mark Grace is not wearing pants. Just brace yourself. I'd have been like, that's weird. But okay. And it was 100% right. But walking by Mark Grayson, the first thing I see from, you know, King Slapp a double was this as dawn. And it wasn't wildly impressive. It was just okay. It was like one of mine, you know, like, wow, that's.

[John Holmberg]

We're off the rack.

[John]

Yeah. Weren't you even off the rack? Dick too? It wasn't crazy. I wasn't small, wasn't. I remember It. We had a lot of pubes. I remember a lot of pubes. So I met Mark. Gracie was naked. That was. I don't count that as one of my freeze ups at all. Harrison Ford dropped me like a bad habit. Being within Brett range to Harrison Ford, my body reacted like Muhammad Ali. I sensed his presence. Darth Vader was coming around the corner. I've never seen anything like it. He was in the back when they called it America West Arena. I was down underneath covering Suns games. He was there for his fight night stuff. And he came wandering around the corner with about four other. Probably more than that now. I remember remembering his presence and I'm like, something's weird. What is going on? Didn't know he was there. Turned a corner. He was there. I was there. I'm about six feet from Muhammad Ali and I'm standing there staring like, that's the dude. What am I looking at? You realize it's world fame. You realize that he dropped this guy off and Kinsasha, he's. People are going to know him like, and love him. He is beyond like. It's just a presence. Ryan Sandberg I saw with Brady at the Adobe Restaurant at the Biltmore Golf Course. And he was with a. I think his wife at the time. But there was something going on there. Could have been the lady he left his wife with.

[Brady]

And if it in 95.

[John]

Yeah. And I remember he was sitting there and whoever we were with goes, yeah, he's out here all the time. He's an asshole. And I wanted to punch him in the nose because he was mad that he had left his wife for some. And there were three kids at the table. Whoever we were with didn't like him.

[Brady]

That's his second wife.

[John]

Yeah, I think it was. Yeah. Whoever we were with didn't like him and the kids were giving him grief and that lady browbeat him in front of us. And he sat quietly, defeated, defeated. Ryan Sandberg was beaten down by. And I don't remember what she said. I just remember she looked at him and said around the house. I remember he just put his head down like, this is not the life for me. And then shortly after he went and coached the. What was it? The. The pigs. Remember the steel pigs or whatever it was. Iron pigs. Yeah. He went and coached the iron Pigs. And I'm like, who leaves a life where he's got mil? He's set for life. He's doing whatever he wants. Go coach the iron Pigs and run around on a bus and double A, B. Oh, Oh, I see. I understand. He doesn't want to be at home with that anymore at all. So seeing my hero get, you know, nagged into a corner to where he's just like, ugh, yuck. And he left. But he make no bones about it. That dude was heroic to me.

[Brady]

And I know I was fortunate enough, I mean, some that day, but I got to play golf with him twice. Once at Superstition.

[John]

That's pretty awesome golf.

[Brady]

And then we played at the Biltmore because he had a house over there.

[John]

They're living there.

[Brady]

And I think now that you say that that might have been the first route he was in the. Still in his first marriage.

[John]

Could have been. Don't know.

[Brady]

Things were going on. There was no.

[John]

Don't know, no keeper or anything.

[Brady]

But, you know, that was back before.

[John]

The Internet was, you know, so it was, you know, before you knew you could just look and go, how many people? I didn't know. I didn't know anything about. That's the hero. Don't meet your heroes.

[John Holmberg]

Yeah.

[John]

And now you don't have to meet them because you can read about everything in their lives and you already pretty much know what you need to know. Back then, it was just. That's number 23. That's the. That's the man right there. And he's coaching. We wanted him to be that cup. Dallas. Tough. So hearing that news yesterday and, you know, about a year and a half ago, he had got prostate cancer, and then he got cured and everybody kind of forgot. Oh, Ryan's better. It was. I guess it was late last year when it's like, yeah, it's bad again. It's back and it's bad again. And it's got like, nobody paid attention because I don't think anybody wanted the bad news, you know, because it went to a bunch of different places in his body. He started as prostate cancer, and then it was everywhere.

[John Holmberg]

Did he catch it late? I. I didn't read the whole article.

[John]

Well, the prostate cancer they got, but then they're like, he went back for checkups and stuff, and it was everywhere. Yeah. And he's like, I've got it everywhere. And then little subtle things like in his interviews, it was all like, hey, I'm just staying with my fan. None of the. None of the things were like, we're. We're aggressively treating this and it's going to be okay. It was like, I just have. I'm surrounded by my family all the time. I'm just enjoying every day. I'm like, oh. Oh, no. And then you just didn't pay attention because you don't want that. But again, Diamondback fans, this is literally. You know, I don't know if you've got your heroes there for the Diamondbacks, but you're looking at you, Frank, Thomas, probably. Yeah. Like, whoever your childhood one was, it was you go back into those days of, like, what made you a fan of baseball? My original was Dave Kingman, but then he flipped me off when I was a little kid. That's not good. And you're here, Thomas.

[John Holmberg]

Carlton Fisk.

[John]

You know Carlton Fisk. He's got a couple of teams that'll. Anyway, so hearing that news was brutal yesterday. So to Rhino. I'm gonna tip the tea to Rhino right now. Here you go, kid. That's brutal. A lot of kids from. From my generation looked at Ryan Sandberg. That dude was special. It was one of the best that ever played. So then I got all these jackasses texting me yesterday. I'm like, I know. Stop. Stop reminding Mike. I have. I have a phone, too.

[John Holmberg]

David Markham running down the hall.

[John]

Oh, yeah. David just. He got. Paul Revere came flying down the hall. Did you hear? One of your heroes from childhood is dead. Thanks, man. I've got a phone. I don't need you to. I was first. Was I first guy to tell you about the horrible news. Was I first.

[John Holmberg]

I saw it come over, and I'm like, I'm not even texting. He knows. This is a waste of time.

[John]

I gotta tell you. I. I was privy to hearing over here, and nobody knows this. I'm gonna blow it up on the air. Nobody knows this. I was privy to hearing a phone call about ra. This is what you need to know about radio executives. And I just overheard it and not supposed to have. So I'm not throwing anybody on the bus, but I am overheard a phone call where someone on the line was like, we have tragedies like this. We have to take advantage of it. About Ozzy's death. So basically what it was, was what Larry did here was genius. Having obituaries for superstars that we play all the time. Kind of ready to go. The big red radio, you know, rest in peace, prince of darkness. He did those five years ago when Ozzy got sick. And so when all the rest of the radio execs found out Larry had done this, they're like, oh, that's great for. That's great for us. That's great. So they're just tragedy porn whores is essentially what they were like, how many clicks can we get off of the death of someone? Oh, that's proof that the industry is just about dead on its knees as they can't wait to go. Okay, anything. Did we get it on the website? I want people to. Essentially, they said, I want.

[Brady]

We need to own this.

[John]

I want. Exactly. I want people to find out from us. I got a. I got a blip from somebody. You know, I wanted. I wanted that news to come from the station I listened to. They'll be the ones that let me know about Ozzy dying. That was a great work. Like, oh, turning to local.

[John Holmberg]

And we're turning into local news now.

[John]

Tv, just grasping it and was like, you guys, how much? How much? And patting themselves on the back for, like, Ozzy dying and them doing it. Right, man, we got that. Ozzy died. How about that? We're gonna get some. We're gonna get some clicks off of that. They're weird. There's a weird. You ever meet anybody that says, yeah, I'm a radio vice president, just run away? Because they will. They will watch you die just to tell someone about it. And they're just. And they'll eat their own. That's the worst part. They'll cannibalize their own, which I'm privy to. They're horrible. It's just gross. But, yeah, so I had a bunch of people that pulled the David Moore yesterday, trying to be first to tell me, and I'm like, look, I've got a phone. You're. Your little tiny baby troll feet are not going to race down the hall faster than the. If you already got the alert, guess what. You better be lightning quick before. You better have a flash costume on underneath before you start telling me of the next impending doom moment. This.

[John Holmberg]

A train's rolling through the house. You're not gonna beat my phone.

[John]

Now, I would appreciate if we had an a train. Skilled man beat the. Called beat the alert. Now that. Dude, that is true. Because I'd be like, man, ping. You hear your phone go, Bingberg's dead. Like, oh, my God. I didn't even have time to read it. You're amazing. A train of death. John holmberg's morning sickness. The 98 kupd. It's john holmberg here, and it's time to talk about TVs Doug Hopkins of my home group and doughhopkins.com. if I told you I had an idea for a project and said to you, in order to finish the project, We've got about 10 steps to go through and seven or eight of them are time consuming and could ruin the entire thing. Doug Hopkins. He offers you cash for your home as is is right now. And that process is over. He doesn't change that price. You get $5,000 guaranteed. Your house is sold. Start the process online right now@doug hopkins.com or grab that phone and sing Hopkins 1-800-sale now. Holmberg's Morning Sickness. Bad news. A train would be the best thing of all time. But, yeah, Ryan Sandberg passing was just plunk as a heart punch, because that's a lot. That's, you know, not just a guy dying, but you feeling your mortality and your history and your life and the 80s are all. Think about last week. Hulk Hogan, Ozzy Osbourne. Now for, you know, me and a lot of other people, Ryan Sandberg's Theo. The 80s start going. I saw a picture of Clint Eastwood. Not good. Been waiting for Jack Nicholson to die for a while.

[Brady]

Resurfaced not too long ago.

[John]

He pops up now and again. It's like his son said, he's not doing his nothing. That was like eight years ago. Sounds like he's about done. Then he shows up at Laker games. He's a little bit rejuvenated. He doesn't look terrible, but it's. It was a rough one. And then, of course, you got this dude wandering into New York yesterday and plugging away on people in a building. They started shooting. That's the most brazen thing I've ever seen. He walked down the street with an AR15 at his side. I saw that picture. He's just walking into the building in New York City. I mean, that's 52nd and Park. This is not an area that's kind of hidden like you were in the heart of it all. And he's walked right into what he tried to get to the NFL. When I heard he shot himself in the chest, I'm like, oh, is this guy a former player? Yeah, because he's in the NFL offices and he's got. Well, I didn't know he had cte, but anybody who shoots themselves in the chest is protecting their head or face, right? They used to used to be a model or an NFL player, but, I mean, they'd know he's an NFL player. He targeted the NFL. He got off on the wrong floor. They're thinking that he was, you know, the target was definitely the NFL. The letters they found and stuff like that, it was just brutal. And I thought at first, my first initial thought was, he's a Jets fan. He's finally taken, you know, he said jets fans are going to lose it eventually. Brian Hopkins, Yeah, he had that note in his pocket, said the NFL and CTE and stuff like that. Study my brain. But he never played, but I wonder how much of it was that he wanted to. And he beat himself up in high school and maybe in a junior college or something and never got the chance. And the dream of the NFL pissed him off. He's got mental issues and things like that. I gotta tell you, everybody wanted to. They started talking about guns again yesterday and nobody ever talks about it because I think the money's bigger. But for a generation that took antidepressants from 1990 to today, we sure do have a lot of depressed people. For a whole generation of people that have been on pills to not be depressed, we are dealing with more depressed people than ever before. So I don't think those are because.

[Brady]

All of our pills. A big pharma.

[John]

Well, I understand why. I'm just saying that they don't have depression. But none of the pills are working. If we had them, they're not working. They're. You got more people coming out mentally goofed up than going in. And nobody's doing any research on pilling up kids their entire childhood to make them not feel anything. And now that whole generation's 30 something.

[Brady]

And then it might be something like you said before, that you're blocking feelings.

[John]

Of course it is. That's what you're doing. How do you take a it's my sunscreen argument? How do you tell your body, don't worry about it, A pill or a cream will do your job for you. And then your body's naturally going to shut that down. So when the pills start to get less than and you're taking, you get used to it. Then you face real adversity and tell this guy's what, 35, 36 years old? I don't know how old he was. You start getting into that age where life is actually real. You start facing real mountains, you start facing real problems and you can't handle them. You don't. You've never faced adversity. You've always been numb to it thanks to some pill. And everyone always got mental health this, mental health that I have, everybody's got mental health. I've been diagnosed with that. You know, depression, it's easy, everybody goes through it. But you start taking pills and you start dealing with it differently. And you know, I'm not saying it doesn't work, but it doesn't work for everybody.

[John Holmberg]

27.

[John]

He was 27 is all. Yeah, there's something going on that we just won't argue it. And until that happens, I'm not going to listen to any gun rights until we start looking at, like, how. How many pills was he on and when did it start? Because if this kid was 7 and started to act sad and they pilled him up and numbed him, it makes tons of sense to me that eventually he'd be like, I have no coping skills at all in my life. Some people definitely need, like, the. Like the real. And then some people who are just mildly depressed start getting used to it, and then they can't handle anything. But there's gotta be something, because prior to the pill generation, we didn't have massively depressed people. You coped with your problems and you had depressed people, but not like this. Not ones that were lashing out against society on a weekly ba. We had two yesterday running around, everybody wants to blame guns.

[Brady]

And you think when you mention adversity, I mean, just two weeks ago, that CEO, it got on the camera. Talk about dealing with adversity.

[John]

Oh, my God. What do you. What are you talking. Which one?

[Brady]

I'm just saying, that guy.

[John]

Oh, that.

[Brady]

Yeah.

[John]

Oh, yeah. No, I mean, I've been waiting.

[Brady]

I mean, so far, you know, that's what we immediately think, that this guy's not going to be able to handle this.

[John]

Well, he's handling.

[Brady]

The public's gonna drive him to the.

[John]

We don't know if he's already attempted a suicide. That CEO that got caught at the Coldplay concert. But half. Yeah. Oh, he's dealing with a lot more than just that video. But we don't know his story. We only know what we made up of it. But if he walked around and started, you know, losing his mind, it would be like, well, we take a little responsibility. Yeah. I just. I just don't think that, you know, as many antidepressants are out there, you should have. No depressed people. There should be less than ever. And all I hear about is, oh, he have mental health issues. Depressed this, depressed that. I'm like, the pills don't work. If we. If everybody was on headache pills and everybody had a headache, it was time to investigate the pills, and maybe then.

[Brady]

You can, you know, there's examples on the other side that if the medication.

[John]

Is working, of course there's always something with. Yeah, but I'm saying it's not for everyone. Give it to everyone. Like, it's for everyone. It's not. It's a Very, you know, unique situation. To be so depressed, you have to actually take medicine for it. Otherwise you have to learn coping mechanisms. Yes, of course. Not everything is black and white. Not everything is like, well, it works for one, so we have to just do it for everybody. It's not what I'm saying. It's for some people for sure, not for all of us. And it certainly is not just a mass cover. It's not working. It just doesn't work. I've never, I've never. I've got more friends who are on antidepressants than ever, but they take them because it's like, I had a rough patch and you numbed it. So it's no different than drinking. You know, we got friends who drink too much and they make mistakes and they blame the alcohol. Nobody ever says, I'm depressed. And it's these antidepressants, what do they say? Oh, you gotta up your dose. You got used to it, you got a little more because you start to fall off and like start getting depressed again. I'm all on these pills and I'm still depressed. Oh, we gotta juice you a little bit. Gotta give you same thing, you tell an alcoholic, oh, you're not drunk enough. You used to be able to get drunk off for like three shots of Rumpel mints. Now it's five. You up the dose.

[Brady]

It's not worth it going to, to deal with it.

[John]

It's just not working. It's coping mechanism through, you know, chemical. I tell kids all the time, don't do drugs, don't do drugs. Don't drink, don't drink your problems away. Don't do anything. Oh, by the way, you're depressed, here's some pills. Drugs solve all your problems. Of course they're screwed up, but this dude was 27. How do you get into that pickle? By the time you're 27, where you're like, I just, you know. And again, CTE's real thing. But I don't understand how anybody would know. Look, you got a friend who's snapping and losing it, stuff like that. Most people's response to somebody who is losing it is to abandon them. That's just the way life works. You got a guy who can't tolerate anymore, he drinks too much, he starts spouting off like, I don't want anything to do with you. You're going to cause trouble in my life. And you get rid of them, just dismiss them.

[John Holmberg]

Or you try to help and then they don't, they don't want To. Hey.

[John]

Exactly.

[John Holmberg]

Okay, I tried. It's on you now.

[John]

Exactly. And you do that until you. Until you real. You're just talking to a wall. That's true. But eventually you kind of unload them. All of us have had that friend. Now these dudes just run off later and they start shooting everybody. A lot of problems. But that was a tough one. And I. I'm going to go with my theory. It's jets fan. Jets fan. I don't know how more jets fans haven't lashed out at the public. You got to go into the season with a broken Justin Fields and you know, the Aaron Rodgers nightmare. You've been teased and tickled the whole time. Jets fans. If I was the New York. If I was the NFL, my offices would not be anywhere near jets camp. I would be over there in Kansas City in the NFL where every fan loves me and all the players are happy. I'm not doing a thing over in jets land. But this dude drove all the way from Vegas. Another thing. How depressed was he? 36 hours. He made it from Las Vegas to New York. Yeah.

[Brady]

There's some self reflection time there.

[John]

Well, beyond that. Student had a plan. Like he was well thought out. 36 hour drive from Vegas to New York. That is getting it done. That's with. I mean with stops and stuff. He started 36 hours ago and got here. Now that's no breaks. That's get. That is.

[John Holmberg]

It's not bad time.

[John]

That is really good time. My uncle and I drove from here to Chicago. It's about 2017, seven hours. We had to take shifts, but we did it without, you know, major stopping in a Carmen Ghia.

[John Holmberg]

Could be the pills he was popping.

[John]

All the way there. That's got to be it.

[John Holmberg]

I mean serious.

[John]

Or there was a dude in the car with him who had no idea what the plan was.

[Brady]

In a Carmen Gia.

[John]

Yeah. It was horrible. It was horrible. Brady. That car is not comfortable. And you don't sleep in a Carmen Ghia. You get in that passenger seat and it rumbles the whole way. He was buying them here and selling them in Chicago because they don't. Don't rust here. But back there they didn't. It was literally making 2500 bucks a car. It wasn't much. Those things aren't. They don't have a ton. They just look kind of neat. But they look like cruddy Aston Martins and got it up Chicago and I flew back in them. I would have. I would have driven back in the Carmen gear before I found out what his ticket plan was to get me home, which was dropping me off at o' Hare to get on American Trans Air ata, which is the worst airline of all time. You think there's, you know, some problems with current cheap air now People with no shirts were getting on that. That was pre security people.

[John Holmberg]

Original spirit.

[John]

Yeah. Boxes of livestock. There was chickens. It was. I. It was the strangest. And I red eyed it on ATL ata. Red eye.

[Brady]

Reptiles, snakes.

[John]

Con Air was a better group of people than what I was with going on ATA in the middle of the night. Back to Phoenix.

[John Holmberg]

Was it like the flight from Nepal and the golden child with. With goats and chickens and everything else.

[John]

I was waiting for the go when I saw a dude take his sh. Stuff like, you know when people get on the plane and overhead compartments and they put their bags up. This dude took his shirt off and stuffed it up there and just sat in the seat. I'm like, what is going on? Not a shoe in sight. Everybody just. Everybody dropped their shoes like they were in their own living room. And I sat there in the middle of the entire plane on the aisle in misery. The smells. I don't remember.

[Brady]

Like put me back in that Karma Ghia.

[John]

I think it was 94. I. I think they'd banned smoking on the plane. But it still smelled like everybody was smoking. Isn't that crazy? That's generational right there. That'll tell you everything you need to know about what's going on with the way people behave. We used to allow lighters and cigarettes on airplanes. Think about that. We allowed fires on the plane.

[Brady]

And they never had a front loader back. The back half would be smoking.

[John]

Never had a problem with a curtain.

[John Holmberg]

That'S gonna hold all the smoke back down.

[John]

I never even knew they separated. I was on Western Air when they did. My mom smoked. We sat anywhere we wanted. Like every. Every seat had an ashtray.

[Brady]

Yeah.

[John]

John Holmberg's morning sickness. The 98 KUPD. Holmberg's Morning Sickness. And the only depressed thing you get on a plane. Go. Oh, my ashtray's still full. These stupid stewardesses. Cause you could call them that. Cause that's what they were. Didn't finish cleaning this thing up. We on planes. I asked a pilot a long time ago what your most looked like the scariest thing about flying. Like your biggest fear goes fire.

[Brady]

I see.

[John]

Yet we used to allow it on planes. Yep. Never had an issue. Never once did we. Like somebody burned the plane down with a cigarette. Never happened. Now you can't even have lotion just in case. We don't trust any of you anymore and we shouldn't. Ah, what a day. But yeah, that. That CTE is a real mother effort. I saw that guy walking into the thing on the pictures on the news. And again, we live in a society of people just aren't paying attention. Situational awareness is zero. Your field of vision. Most of us, I'm included in that. It's about two and a half inches wide and about seven inches in length. And it's your telephone, and you're just staring at it while a guy with an AR15 walks right by you. And you think to yourself, maybe, what are you gonna do? Not no one in New York City saw that. No one said, stop, what are you doing? And watch him lift. Like, get up. Tackle that dude. Do something. Nobody should be walking around with an AR15 anywhere without being in a bear hug immediately by someone. No one was running from him. He just cavalierly wandered into a building, got to the 33rd floor. How is everybody staring at their damn phones until they hear the popping? It's terrifying. Situational awareness, man. That's what a guy in the news called it last night. He said, I'm gonna start calling these things not so smartphones. He said, we have. They had a few pictures of him walking in. Everybody with their heads was looking down, staring at their hands, while a guy. A guy with a long gun walked right by them. Crazy.

[Brady]

That is amazing.

[John]

So crazy. What you don't see. I remember when I took that criminal investigations class.

[John Holmberg]

Bring back memory.

[John]

Oh, Jesus. Brett just pulled up a picture of ata. Oh, they had a party on the wing to a palm tree sun and a volcano, which is not good to have near the jet. But ATA is shaped in the form of a mountain that's gonna blow. And it's all supposed to be like some sort of, you know, Polynesian or Caribbean beauty thing. Everything inside that place.

[John Holmberg]

Hillbilly.

[John]

It was. And it was. It was all hillbillies. Oh, man. Is all Northwestern Indiana on a plane. Stuffed in a corner in a plane. Ugh. And o' Hare airport's no treat to begin with, let alone you get into the worst parts of it. The poor people section of oh, could.

[John Holmberg]

Have been your flight right there at Sky Harbor.

[John]

That might have been me right there on that beast. Do you see a boy, a balding boy, crying? Because that would have been right about right off the wing. So disgusting. What a day. Yesterday, though. Depressed. I'm depressed. I need antidepressants. Ryan Sandberg thing kicked my ass. I Need antidepressants. If Dave Kingman dies soon, I'm not going to feel good about this at all. I'm going to be Bill Buckner. Dave Kingman, who are yours? Who's your Ohio State guy? You can't watch go. Who dies for you? And you're like, oh, my. Did Archie Griffin die yet?

[Brady]

No.

[John]

Oh, there's the one. And that was. Oh, you were a kid when Archie was on fire. Yeah, yeah, Archie. That had to be rough. Woody Hayes died. I'm sure a lot of people, like, your parents were probably like, oh, this is a rough one. Like, those are those heroes in life that you, you know, they put up on a pedestal. I don't know who's there. I mean, there's a lot of them today, but, like, I don't know who kids, stars or football players are going to start dying. Terry Bradshaw, all my. I mean, Joe Green. Oh, my God.

[John Holmberg]

I think next one I'm looking out for is Ditka.

[John]

Ditka's dead. My God. Brett, I hate to break it to you. David Moore. David Moore. Ct. Oh, you just made David Moore so happy and come down and break some news to you. Ditka's very dead.

[John Holmberg]

No, he's not. Mike Ditk still alive?

[John]

Yeah, he is. I don't. No way. It is. He's really sick then.

[Brady]

He's 85 now.

[John]

I'm. Are you sure? I thought Ditka died. Are you sure?

[Brady]

Maybe.

[John Holmberg]

No, Buckus is dead.

[John]

Oh, maybe. I'm thinking about.

[John Holmberg]

That one bothered me.

[John]

That was last.

[John Holmberg]

No, two years ago.

[John]

Okay. He is alive. I'm sorry. I hate to break that.

[John Holmberg]

I was like, you son of a.

[John]

He's gonna die.

[John Holmberg]

Yeah, well, he's. Go.

[John]

Yeah, he's. Hold on. David Moore. Come here. Run down the hall. Let's do some tragedy. Some tragedy news so you can get some clicks. You scared me.

[John Holmberg]

I had to look it up, too.

[John]

Dick is alive. I thought Ditka died. I am thinking about Kiss. You're right. Dicka Butkus. Those. Are those. Those weird Polish names from. Whatever they are. All right. Sorry about that. Friday. Look, I'm going through a lot right now. I don't know. Just wanted dead kid to be dead so you could share it with me. It's tough. This guy said you're taking a day off when Andre Dawson dies. No, Rhino is the king of that team. Andre was a Montreal Expo that came over as a hired gun. He was only with the Cubs for, like, four years.

[John Holmberg]

Where'd he go after that?

[John]

With Florida Somewhere right to the Marlins later in the 90s. But he was with a couple other teams. But Chicago was a Tampa or Florida. He was a Montreal Expo. In my mind, Andre Dawson is a Montreal Expo and then a Cub. He became a great Cub because that team was so good. Remember, Andre Dawson won the MVP of the league in 1986. And the Cubs were in last. They were that bad. They went from a team that could have won it all. And two years later, they were in last place. And I forgot he's with the Red Sox, too. He played all over the place at the end there. He was everywhere. Yeah, Marlins was when he. Yeah, that was the 90, 95, 96. Okay. Yeah, he wasn't. He wasn't a Super Cub for a while. Everybody remembers him as a Cub because nobody watched Montreal Expo baseball. But that was a good team, too.

[John Holmberg]

Got Tim Rains, Tim Wallach, Gary Carter.

[John]

Good Lord, Tim was loaded. Hey, you had some players on that squad. Pete Rose played there in that good stuff. Anyway, heroes. I tell you, heroes don't get too close. But I don't let that stuff affect me, too. Those are those moments when you're like, oh, that has. And it's nothing to do with me being, you know, like, oh, so close to him. That's not it. Because it made me feel bad, all the memories I had.

[John Holmberg]

Are you gonna prod it now on us or what?

[John]

I'll tell you what, Buddy. I watched his wife henpeck him at a restaurant once. I wanted to punch her in the nose. Then Rhino called me and said, you know what? You should start doing radio. So I did. He encouraged me, Buddy. And I told him, you know what you should do is coach the Iron Pigs. Get away from that bitch.

[Brady]

When I was playing golf with him, he looked at me and said, you got it.

[John]

It. You still got it. You got it. Rhino. And I developed a great belly laughs every day. I. Good, good, good. D. Pratt knows everyone. Liar. Yeah. Why, why, why, why is Rhino gone? And there's certain. You know, come on.

[John Holmberg]

Shouldn't it be anybody checked his page yet?

[John]

Kids? Or gotten someone else?

[John Holmberg]

Somebody check the crap page?

[John]

Oh, they're. They've been best friends forever. Anyway, what are you going to do? It's a tough one. Sorry. Start off.

[Brady]

The day kicked in quick. He was putting in. He posted on Instagram a lot, you know, like, and April. He threw out the first pitch.

[John]

Years. Yeah. Yeah.

[Brady]

But it kind of. He's like, we're gonna beat this thing. And it kind of went away. And then it. When it Kicked back in.

[John]

It was 10 months. 10 months with the prostate thing. And then it went away. And then they made the announcement that they found it in a lot of places. And that's when you're like, oh, it got everybody metastasize. You don't want that word attached to you, but it's, you know, it's part of living. It's not fun. But there goes rhino. So it's a rhino today. I don't know what you like. Everybody's. Most men have a sports starter. This guy in my emails right now, big Steeler fan John says, Jack Lambert dying would depress me for. For days. That's another one. And I got pictures of these dudes in my house, you know. Crazy. Yeah, crazy. Let's get a wake up song for Rhino and all that. All your sports heroes. Phoenix is like, we're digging a team that's 30 years old now. There's kids there who grew up with heroes, although the Diamondbacks don't allow heroes to stick around long enough. If you were around in 2001 and you were a little kid, I can't imagine how happy you'd be about Gonzalez and maybe Kurt Schilling and definitely Randy Johnson. But Randy Johnson dying would be, you know, that's just.

[John Holmberg]

Oh, he's been with so many teams. Yeah, lots of people.

[John]

He's a Diamondback here. Like, he's one of the guys that, you know, Gonzo.

[Brady]

And Gonzo's definitely stuck around and been involved in the.

[John]

He was a Dodger, though. Like, the thing about him was just looking. Him going to the evil empire for that was a tough one. But we don't have. There's. I don't think the Diamondbacks have anybody who's like, wow, that's the guy. You know, they've got people who have, you know, you know, spiked for the team. But is there any identity that's Mr. Diamondback probably. Closest thing is Gonzalez, and that's just because of that hit in the ninth inning World Series, you know.

[Brady]

And the first two guys that were signed, Yeah. J. Bell, Matt Williams.

[John]

Well, those were the first two that got in as actual players. First two were Travis Lee, Kareem Garcia.

[Brady]

As far as the first players kind of there, huh?

[John Holmberg]

Nice pull.

[John]

Thank you. But those were the first. Those are the original Diamondbacks.

[John Holmberg]

Oh, I know.

[John]

Travis Lee and Kareem Garcia were. Boom, boom, traded Kareem Garcia to get Luis Gonzalez a couple years. They just wasn't gonna work out. So. Yeah. So I don't know who their supermen Are. It's gotta be Gonzo. Gotta me. Yep. Gonzo or Randy. Those are the two. They're the faces still that hang around. You know, you got Matt Williams and Mark Grace run around in the Legends game. You haven't had any sense because they keep getting rid of everybody.

[John Holmberg]

Young, young Kim.

[John]

If he lived here, if BK King was still around, tell you right now, he'd be in this room every day. I love BK. Let's get a wake up song. 585-9800. A good one. What about Cardinals? Kurt Warner, Larry Fitzgerald? They've got a Cardinal. They've got guys.

[John Holmberg]

You know Lomax.

[John]

No, I don't know. Like that would.

[John Holmberg]

Well, Larry Fitzgerald for Larry's the one.

[John]

Larry's the guy. It's so recent though. I mean that's people's youth and stuff. But I'm wondering if like Jake Plummer. I know past filming.

[John Holmberg]

ASU tie too.

[John]

Yes. That's probably. Yeah, there's some. There's a few that would punch in the guts. What?

[John Holmberg]

The rising.

[John]

Name. Our Drogba.

[Brady]

That's the only one.

[John]

He was 44 years old and they signed him. Drogba is the only one we know. And I do not want to hear one email from anyone who's a Rising fan.

[Brady]

Go.

[John]

You guys are crazy. What about Martun Latita? I'm like, no, I don't know if I have to click in their name. I'm not. They're not heroes. No, that's not a guy.

[John Holmberg]

What about the former Coyotes with a Bidone?

[John]

Yeah, Don't. Don't. Is the only Coyote that. I mean he's start to finish. He's a Winnipeg Jet. Yeah. I don't know. And then the Suns have a bunch, but I don't know who sticks. I don't know. Now. It was Al McCoy, but they did nothing for him. I don't know. That's a good one. The original sons. When Walter Davis died, that was a big thing. And Van Arsdale, Alvin Adams. Sports heroes. It's weird. Weird how we have. And Jerry. Jerry is just. You know. Yeah, that's a. That's one that should clobber a bunch. Although he was just the suit. Yeah. What an influence on. I don't think he was any kids hero. I don't know about that. But it definitely is something that makes you go boom.

[Brady]

All the young Italian kids.

[John Holmberg]

That's what I was saying. I don't know what you're talking about over there.

[John]

Colangelo was the greatest thing that sports had ever seen. Scene. That's USA Basketball. He is the representative the usa. All right. Wake up song five eight five nine A good one and we'll try to get undepressed around me today. Help me out. I need you guys today. Give it to us good and strong. It's 98kV. Wake up Arizona's most powerful powerful rock radio station.

[John Holmberg]

It's Brett and John for Action Ride Shop in their brand new location on the northwest corner of power Road and McDowell in Mesa.

[John]

The new location is East Valley Full Line Bike Shop with brands like Pivot, Ibis, Santa Cruz and Rocky Mountain, Giant, Norco. And of course Action Ride Shop has the best wrenches in town to keep that bike on the trail or the road. Plus being so close to the Hawes trailhead, they have a huge rental fleet with gravel bikes, mountain bikes and E bikes.

[John Holmberg]

Action Ride shop now with two locations, the brand new Shop of Power and McDowell and the OG on Gilbert Road in Southern. Check them out at actionrideshop.com.