08-14-25 - Emailer Asks John About What's Missing In Radio That Once Made It Great - Man Dies Asks Wife To Carve Out His Steelers Tattoo And Preserve It - Operation Hydration Update

Summary

Podcast Summary: Holmberg's Morning Sickness – August 15, 2025

Episode Theme:
This episode revolves around nostalgia for the "fun" that once defined radio, the loss of genuine live listener interaction amid the rise of technology and corporate homogenization, unusual stories of fandom (specifically a Steelers fan's tattoo being preserved post-mortem), and an Operation Hydration charitable update. John Holmberg and the crew engage in candid, humorous, and sometimes irreverent discussions about what's changed in radio and in fan culture, blending listener emails, anecdotes, and plenty of playful banter.

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1. What's Missing in Radio? A Listener's Question & John’s Reflections

(Main segment: 04:50–15:53)

Key Points

• The Demise of Fun and Spontaneity:

  • John laments how the interactive “fun” of radio waned as major corporations (CBS, iHeart/Clear Channel) homogenized stations and prioritized profits over originality around the early 2000s.
  • Quote:

    “When giant companies like CBS and iHeart ... came in and just absorbed everything and homogenized it down to like, this is what people want ... and we watched radio’s kind of life die with a few exceptions.” (06:11)

• The Death of Listener Interaction:

  • Previously, show games and listener calls were genuinely unpredictable and fun, but smartphones made cheating easy and “blind interaction” impossible.
  • Quote:

    “The aspect of interaction went away because you guys cheat. You guys are liars and you're cheaters... It stopped being fun and became this cheat code.” (07:54)

  • The crew reminisces about now-obsolete games, like lyric guessing contests, and how even “what’s your name?” once stumped listeners.
  • The pain of Google and Shazam ruining radio contests.

• Executives & Over-Regulation:

  • Corporate executives contributed by discouraging phone calls, believing most people can’t hold interesting conversations on air.
  • Quote:

    "Phone calls are the death of radio… Because a lot of people can't do it. A lot of people don't know how to interact.” (10:44)

  • John decries how shows now fake audience interaction with staged or staff “callers.”

• Nostalgic for Analog:

  • The analog phone “switchboard” worked better than digital phone systems—old tech was more reliable for live shows.
  • Quote:

    “Well, don’t get me started on that because the phones being digital are great for office workers ... but for this, the technology doesn’t work. But we won’t let that go and admit that the old technology is better.” (15:16)

Notable Quotes

• On the real loss:

  “The thing that I missed the most ... was I guess not the interaction part, but the blind interaction. Like, I don’t know where you’re going to go. You don’t know where I'm going to go.” (10:05)

• On “dumbing down” language:

  “This guy says, ‘good morning, John, but please realize your audience… they don’t know what these words mean and how many of them have googled those two words alone: lament and convoluted.’” (14:40)
  John responds humorously, mocking the idea that the audience can’t handle big words.

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2. Listener Email & Family, Football & Fandom

(Email discussion and transitions: 16:00–19:59)

Key Points

• Parental Approach & Audience Connection:

  • John reads an emotional email about how his on-air support for Brady during tough times mirrors the writer’s own fatherly memories, asking John to “be his dad.”
  • Quote:

    “Even though I’m 46 years old, will you be my dad? Because you reminded me so much of him.” (16:56)

  • John agrees, emphasizing a “face it head on” attitude:

    “Don’t be a jackass. Let’s go. You’ve got a problem, let’s face this. Let’s knock it down.” (17:25)

• Extreme Fandom: Steelers Tattoo Story (Segment: 19:00–22:48)

  • A widow fulfills her late husband’s wish by having his Pittsburgh Steelers logo tattoo cut from his arm, preserved, and framed.
  • John lauds this as the ultimate act of fandom and jokes about the idea of similarly preserving Brady’s skin if he ever gets a Steelers tattoo.
  • Quote:

    “She cut out the Steelers logo that he was so happy with ... Frames it, has it on her wall, and it’s gorgeous. It’s this dead man she skinned… And that’s how fandom works.” (20:00)

  • The team debates which team logos are worthy of such devotion, with jabs at Cardinals and mentions of Chief Wahoo and Redskins logos.

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3. A Brief History Lesson: The “Buffalo Bills” Name

Segment: 22:48–26:19

Key Points

• Brady’s Trivia Nugget:
  • Shares that the Buffalo Bills’ name derives from buffalo hunters, not the animal itself, and how the deliberate loss of buffalo was part of U.S. strategy to force Native Americans off land.
  • Quote:

    “So they’re named after the buffalo hunters that were contracted over there to slaughter buffaloes.” (25:14)

  • John jokes that it’s perhaps more problematic than the “Redskins” name:

    “If that’s the history of the name, I mean, it’s worse than Redskins.” (25:40)

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4. Tattoos, Legacy, and Black Humor About Memorialization

Segment: 26:19–30:41

Key Points

• Jokes on Preserving “Brady” After Death:
  • John continues riffing about getting Steeler skin for his wall:

    “It would be the ultimate act of love for you to get that for me as you, you know, Viettong yourself into tomorrowland … I’ll pay for everything, including … what do you care once you’re gone?”

  • Discussion of cremation details and making a “Steeler drum” from Brady’s skin if he gets tattooed.
  • The crew riffs absurdly on the logistics, smell, and even sewing Steeler skin as a dream catcher or drumhead.
    • “Big enough Steelers logo on your back, stretch you out, and make some sort of a weird tribal drum out of you.” (30:47)

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5. Operation Hydration Update: Charitable Impact

Segment: 30:41–34:02

Key Points

• Massive Water Drive Numbers:

  • Operation Hydration’s efforts are explained: Phoenix Rescue Mission uses 91,000 bottles/week, and so far almost a million bottles have been collected, but the demand keeps pace with supply.
  • Quote:

    “That’s mind blowing … 91,000 a week they use. That’s huge.” (33:23)

• Charity as Climbing an Ice Mountain:

  • John compares the never-ending nature of charity work to climbing an ice mountain:

    “It’s like you guys are constantly climbing an ice mountain. … you’re never going to see the top at the pace we’re currently on.” (34:02)

  • Emphasizes importance even if the “problem won’t go away.”

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6. Notable Quotes & Funny Moments

• “Meat in my mouth” Cold Open:

  “I have way too much meat in my mouth to start the show.” – John Holmberg (01:41)

• Lyrics Fiasco:

  “Why would any guy who writes music…get to the chorus and go, I have no English words here. ‘Blee blah blah blah in my hands…’” – John (03:12)

• On Analog Tech:

  “Bring someone here and just get the old swishboard going, man, it would work… Are there even operators anymore?” – John (15:53)

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7. Timestamps for Key Segments

• Radio’s lost fun & interaction: 04:50–15:53
• Listener email on fatherhood/approach to life: 16:00–19:59
• Extreme Steelers fandom & tattoo preservation: 19:00–22:48
• Buffalo Bills name origin & offensive sports names: 22:48–26:19
• Tattoo/skin preservation black humor: 26:19–30:41
• Operation Hydration update: 30:41–34:02

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8. Final Tone & Takeaways

The episode is unfiltered, nostalgic, and as irreverent as ever. John balances real criticism about radio’s decline with self-deprecating humor, sharp anecdotes, and black comedy about sports fandom, all while promoting charitable action—proving that even as traditional radio evolves, the spirit of community and fun can survive in the right hands.

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Note: All advertisements, show promos, and non-content banter have been omitted, and quotes have been preserved in the style and tone of the hosts.

Transcript

[Brett Vesely]

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[John Holmberg]

Hey, everybody, it's John Holberg here from the morning sickness. And it's time once again for the pick of the litter, brought to you by our friends at turf Monsters a dot com. This week's pick the litter is a special little guy surrendered by his family because financial woes made it so they just could not give little manufacturer a great life. A little bit older. It's a Bichon poodle mix. Smart as a whip. Check it all out. Lost our home.org or 98kupd.com it's the pick of the litter.

[Larry McFeely]

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[Wayne from Amco]

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[Larry McFeely]

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[Wayne from Amco]

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[Larry McFeely]

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[Wayne from Amco]

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[John Holmberg]

A whole lot more.

[Wayne from Amco]

And remember, Amco proudly supports Operation Hydrations.

[John Holmberg]

Still streaming Homburg's morning sickness [e-mail] I have way too much meat in my mouth to start the show. 93. Three old DZ. I'm sorry. Take a bite of a delightful meat stick.

[Brady]

That's how you start it.

[John Holmberg]

Good morning, everybody. That should be how they start every show. It's time to stuff meat in your mouth. Oh, yeah. 93. 3. Anyway, here we go. Hi, I'm John. There's Brady, there's Brett, there's Toledo. Blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah. We were just talking about that on the song Fuel. I've met several people who think the lead singer of Fuel actually wrote the words blee blah blah blah down thinking that's what it's. I watched it once. I think it was on VH1 where they called it the blee blah blah blah song. Really? Yeah, it was just in a thing and I. It's one of those songs that. I remember playing it back in 2000 at the zone that I. At that radio station. I'm like, it's clear as a bell to me. I think he over enunciates that line. But people hear blee blah blah blah.

[Brett Vesely]

I didn't hear it until you just brought it up.

[John Holmberg]

And I'm like, then you can hear.

[Brett Vesely]

It now I can hear it.

[John Holmberg]

But it's weird because you would assume, like in your brain, you're like, why would any guy who writes music or has music important to him get to the chorus of a song and go, I have no English words here. Bleed blah blah blah in my hands Bleed blah in your hands. But love lies bleeding Like, I hear it.

[Brady]

I never knew what the words were that it was singing.

[John Holmberg]

Yeah.

[Brady]

I just assume that, you know, you look at the lyrics and oh, that's what he's saying. But I think he's singing it lazy.

[John Holmberg]

He's just going, it is completely. To me, it is over enunciated. Like, I think he's overdoing that line. I just hear. The reason I think people hear Blee blab is because he's so on the words. But it's. And it's weird. People hear things completely differently. Our ears are not built the same at all, which is crazy. But sing it how you want. Blee blah blah blah. Fun. But don't think that's actually it. Don't think you're right. Because there's no way anyone wrote down blee blah blah blah. Like you said, Bruce Springsteen did not write, See man, blinded by the light wrapped up like a douche. Another. That's good stuff. America's gonna eat that up. Like, nobody gets wrapped up like a douche.

[Brady]

Although that thing that does it is maybe I think in their Red Hot Chili Pepper song where he kind of just. He's not saying words. He's.

[John Holmberg]

Oh, yeah, no, there's word. There are times when bands just like.

[Brady]

But it makes you think, is he trying to say something there or is it.

[John Holmberg]

Yeah, no, there's Times when, when like dopey lyrics get thrown in there, but when it has a follow up line like in my hands, you can't, you can't imagine the dude saying blee blah, blah, blah in my hands. And then the producer's like, do you ever come up with a phrase there? Nope. All right, we'll just leave that. We'll release, we'll release it with blee, blah, blah, blah.

[Brady]

You guys think of it, you know.

[John Holmberg]

When it's too late. We recorded it, I mastered it. Blee, blah blah, blah. It is in my hands. Blah, blah, blah, blah. Nope, not what he's doing anyway. Sing whatever you want. It doesn't matter. We've all seen the Internet and the memes of Asians trying to sing Oasis. I mean, they don't know what's going on either. I watched one the other day, I think it was China, maybe Korea. And they don't know what the hell the words are, but they were singing an Oasis song. It was a man and a woman and they can barely. They don't speak any English, they're just going on what they think is being said. And they're standing in a desert in like karate outfits or some sort of ninja. They're missing the point of it. They have no idea what those songs about at all. And it's Wonderwall, I think. I don't know what it. But it's hilarious because this dude and his wife, I assume his wife, maybe sister, could be anyone, could be a brother, I don't know. But it was like missing the point completely on some Asian television show. And it's hilarious to watch. The music strikes you how it strikes you. That's all no big deal. I got an interesting email. It's got me thinking all morning. What, what in. Because I, you know, I lament the, the management and handling of radio affairs in, in every aspect from the day I started in 1995 to today and how I witnessed sort of the peak and demise of how this thing could be run. And it got me because the other day at the Windsor with Doug Hopkins, a woman who was probably in her 30s, just dismissed the entire industry with I'm too young for radio. Like, it was taken. Like it was not ever built for that. And that's, that's the fault of programming and, and, you know, over analysis and management and the way that when, and I think we all were around in the early 2000s when giant companies like CBS and iHeart at the time they were called Clear Channel and all these others came in and Just absorbed everything and homogenized it down to like, this is what people want. This is the only thing we can give them. And this is. And we watched radios kind of life die with a few exceptions.

[Brady]

It was all about the ratings.

[John Holmberg]

It was all about the money. It didn't even matter about ratings. They were just. They were gonna.

[Brady]

In order to get ratings, but they milk out that system.

[John Holmberg]

They milked how to do it. So you'd have one station that did well and then you just make that station in 30 different markets. Nothing was original. Everything was overanalyzed. Everybody on the air was told to shut up. Everybody on the air was told that they were unnecessary. And meanwhile, all you guys said one thing we don't care for en masse are ads. Do something about it. And they didn't. They just said no. And they didn't. And for some reason an entire generation grew up saying, why would anyone do that, listen to multiple ads? And I don't. It doesn't bother me because I grew up with it, so it's not a thing. But I could see where a whole group who had options would say, I'm not doing that. But we dismissed it to the. Then I started to think, what did they. What has been. What has been taken away that I missed the most? That was kind of the question about radio. What's the thing in this business been kind of taken away the most? And you know what it is? Huh? Fun. Well, no, I still have fun. No, not us.

[Brady]

Not us.

[John Holmberg]

Oh, for listening to the radio. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I think. Yeah. You know what? Got it. And this kind of falls in that phones. We can't play with you anymore because of the Internet. We can't like do like, we like the blee blah, blah, blah thing got me thinking about it again is because we used to do things like what are the lyrics and what do you know? Like if you know, just basic trivia stuff. And it has to be so hard. It has to be Google proof that it stopped being fun and it became this cheat code that it was just weird things. So yeah, kind of the, the aspect of interaction went away because you guys cheat. You guys are liars and you're cheaters and you try to come up with stuff that's like interesting but it gets so convoluted because it, it. You can't use your phone and you, you know, you call up and start spewing off politics. So I think the Internet beyond, like, I think.

[Brady]

I mean, I think we interact with.

[John Holmberg]

We interact with, but we're not. Like, we try because of there's three.

[Brady]

People on, you know, the email.

[John Holmberg]

But we don't play with them anymore. We don't play with them anymore. Yeah, you don't go outside and play with these people anymore because we can't. Like, you try to, and somebody will cheat it, and then the next thing you know, you got hundreds of people who are angry. I didn't think. I used to be like, of course he did. We can't monitor that. So those are the things that kind of pull back on. It's like, well, we can't as much fun as we used to because you guys cheat the games. Like, you take game shows away when everybody starts cheating on them because you can't do it. So I do. I don't miss it completely. I still like this a ton. But that's one thing. Like, oh, that used to be a blast. That used to be like, the dopey contestant trying to figure something out on their own is over. Because the second somebody gets stuck, they go to their phone.

[Brady]

Oh, yeah.

[John Holmberg]

You know what I mean? Yeah. Yes. We still interact, but we don't interact on that level. We interact on who. What we pick and choose to interact with. It's not a random pull. And so that question that the gene asked me was like, what do you. What do you think that, like, is different from day one to today? Like, oh, it was completely. Whenever we did something that was fun, jump right on the phones and have people jump on with us instead of. Instead of, when we get a call, go. I saw a meme that did exactly that same thing. It's like, oh, I saw that once on a meme. I'm like, okay, thanks. And people destroy the Internet. Makes everybody right.

[Brett]

Seen it already.

[John Holmberg]

I saw that. Oh, you guys are talking about that one time I saw. Because everybody's got an answer rather than a comment.

[Brett]

But also, that's how we found Tom 38.

[John Holmberg]

Oh, sure.

[Brett]

How we people.

[John Holmberg]

And that's still alive. You can still do that. Oh, yeah. It's just a little harder. So what just asking, does it change? Does it make things suck? No, but the thing that I missed the most about that was, I guess not the interaction part, but the blind interaction. Like, I don't know where you're going to go. You don't know where I'm going to go. And we can still do that on the phone, but it's a lot harder. We used to do it. Fireside chats. Now that is too political. Like, people will inevitably call and go, I Want to talk about Trump talking to Putin? I don't know. We got to. So, yeah, that, you know an answer to that question in the 30 years of doing this. That was at one point. But you know who ruined that too? Radio executives. Phone calls are the death of radio. Don't. Because a lot of people can't do it. A lot of people don't know how to interact. And I still listen to shows. That fake one with like a salesperson calling up, hey, what was that thing you just did?

[Wayne from Amco]

Stay tuned because at 5 o' clock.

[John Holmberg]

I'm gonna do it again. And then Madonna starts playing and you're like, oh my God, it's disgusting.

[Brett]

Not only that, they did the national contests where call this 800 number. And I think that you're, you're playing locally and you're playing.

[John Holmberg]

You got no chance. Yeah. Oh, they've done, look, we go down a laundry list, things they've done wrong. Oh yeah. But that's, you know, for me, that's the probably the thing I think of. And I'm like, yeah, we used to, we used to be able to play.

[Brett Vesely]

So I'm saying, have fun, have fun.

[John Holmberg]

And yeah, and it got kind of wrecked by the Internet and that's not the radio people's fault. Holberg's morning sickness. Holberg's morning sickness. It's John Holberg here from the morning sickness. And it's time to talk about TVs Doug Hopkins of my home group and Doug Hopkins.com I tell you about the house down the street from me that has had a for sale sign in the yard for three months now. In fact, it's the fourth different sign. They've got a new Realtor all the time. I do know this though. They wouldn't be dealing with all this stress if they'd just called TVs Doug Hopkins because he's more than a guy buying your house. He makes an offer for your house, cash as is, you don't have to do anything. The deal is over. So all you got to do is start the process online@doug hopkins.com or sing.

[Brett Vesely]

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[Brett Vesely]

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[John Holmberg]

Holmberg's morning sickness. That's, you know, that's not, that's just. That's the fault of the Internet being so readily available at all times that if, you know, if you were on who wants to be a Millionaire and they let you have a phone, it would go off the air like in a day. We can't do this because the first person we talked to that used to be like a struggle. The best game we've ever played on this show ever was sending people to Vegas with us on that. And we had unanswerable questions about us that couldn't be googled. What high school did Brady go to? God damn it. These jackasses have taken away my abilities. And we. And people ate it alive because it was challenging to an individual not to like, oh, I'll just ask my phone. It puts you on your toes.

[Brett]

I thought you said our peak was going to be what's your name?

[John Holmberg]

And what's your name was a game for a while and people struggled with what's your name. We took four or five calls to go Bucky. What's your name though on your. Oh, it's Timothy. That's not. Never mind. You lose.

[Brady]

Yeah, there's just a handful of games that, you know, 5 and 10.

[John Holmberg]

5 and 10. We can do stuff like that. Yeah, well, you can only do that so many times.

[Brady]

Right?

[John Holmberg]

But yeah, and you can only do.

[Brady]

You know, song sound bites where they name like seven in a row and.

[Brett]

That'S that anymore because of Shazam and. And Soundhound and all that.

[Brady]

You got to be really quick on that.

[John Holmberg]

This guy says, good morning, John, but please realize your audience, especially at this time, they don't know what these words mean and how many of them have googled those two words alone. Lament and convoluted. Stop saying them. See, and that's the other thing. Everybody, because of their phone thinks everybody else is dumb.

[Brady]

I like those.

[John Holmberg]

Dud. Lament and convoluted. Yeah, yeah. They're the starting backcourt for the Charlotte Hornets now. Lament ball and convoluted ball. That's their good team. I'm sorry, it's quality team. It's. Yeah. So you ask and I answer. So it was just one of those things that kind of stuck to me. I got another one.

[Brett Vesely]

Plus, back in the day, our phones actually worked.

[John Holmberg]

Well, that's so. I mean, that's another thing. Well, don't get me started on that because the phones being digital are great for office workers. They're amazing. But for this, the technology doesn't work. But we won't let that go and admit that the old technology is better. Because if you admit old technology is better, people go, you're still using that. And it makes, it makes engineers and smart computer guys go, I have to be at the head of the curve or I'm going to look like I don't know what I'm doing. Rather than just have something that work. You have, you have the latest tech that doesn't. But it's still impressive to the people that you want to impress and to.

[Brady]

Bring someone here and just get the.

[John Holmberg]

Old swishboard going, man, it would work. It would work so much better with the cards plugging in and stuff. Transvenia5, can I help you? Yes, let me plug you in. Thank you. An operator. Are there even operators anymore? Can you dial 0 and get a person? I don't think there are. I don't think there's telephone operators anymore. I don't think you meet a kid and go, what's your mom do? It's like she's an operator. And yeah, I didn't say dad because it was a girl's job. Yeah, it's not like, it's not like hearkening back to an old better time. It's just something that over time disappeared. And it's kind of interesting to see that. I mean, and it doesn't hurt that they didn't, you know, help any up and coming radio people learn how to interact on the phone. They just took it away from like, don't do that. Phone calls are terrible. The People even talk radio doesn't do it anymore because they hardly ever go, let's go talk to people. They do real quick, like recorded stuff. Most of the time. It's different. It's weird. I got another email from a guy who. Brady, it's about you and I. It says, john, this is. This is the power. When you talk about loving Brady and what he's going through, I see deep into your childhood, it's your dad coming out. And it's effective. It's revealing that when trouble or bad news hit you and you ran directly towards it as a family or at least as a dad. Am I right? I bet you hear your dad when you show Brady your love, because I hear my dad when you do it. And honestly, it makes me cry. I lost my dad in 2019, and anytime we had adversity, he powered through it. If it went sideways in life, he sort of brought a mean realism to it and made us all stronger. So I guess what I'm saying is, Even though I'm 46 years old, will you be my dad? Because you reminded me so much of him. He said today, but yesterday, Aaron, I will. I'll be your father. Because a 46 year old is exactly the age of a child I want in my house. I don't want anything younger than that. That's the youngest. I'll go. Thank you very much. Yeah, that is very much my dad. Don't be a jackass. Let's go. You've got a problem. Let's face this. Let's knock it down. You make an error, you pick it up. You throw a pick, you go back in and throw again. You get told, don't eat salt. Don't eat goddamn salt, mother. That's the thing. But enjoy Vietnam. That's what it is. I worry about the kid. And that's love, damn it. That's all it is. Speaking of love, also football season, right around the corner. Saw a story that brought tears to my eyes. A widow. Did you see that? Yeah. Yeah. It's a beautiful thing. A widow of a Steelers fan. Her husband died at age. Well, we'll get to it. Jesus Christ. Toledo gets to dies at 55. She wants to keep a little piece of him. He had sleeve tattoos. He had tattoos all over his body. She's like, what's it cost to keep one of those? So she cut out the Steelers logo that he was so happy with. This is pure fandom. No Cardinal fans gonna do this to their dead husband. Carves out the part of his skin goes through Some sort of a weird process to, you know, keep it forever. Frames it, has it on her wall, and it's gorgeous. It's this dead man she skinned. Her husband right there, took his tattoo by his request, and he asked for it. That's the best part. He's like, hey, when I die, frame this part. Do not let this logo go into the earth. This does not. This is good stuff. Carved it right off. He had hundreds of tattoos. The one he cared the most about, the Pittsburgh Steelers. And that's how fandom works. That's the way it is, baby. That's. That's what you're supposed to do as a fan. Your kids. Nothing creepier than having your kids faces tattooed to your body, I'll tell you that. That's gross. But Steeler stuff, forget it. You never put that dumb cardinal logo on your body. And anybody wants to save that, they're happy to bury it if you want it done.

[Brady]

Save my ink forever.

[John Holmberg]

Yeah, there's. There's a place that's like, you know what? This is the thing. 30 million views on TikTok of this process, as she put it out there, and how this happened and how they preserved the dude's tattoo. And damn it all, that's fantastic work, man. It's the only tattoo I would ever get. I don't want it because I want to decorate myself with just one. If I'm going to do it, it would just. I'd cover them. I put it. I just have a Steelers uniform just tattooed to my body. Almost had a D back sworn. Almost had a Brady in the center of my chest. And usually it would have to be a punishment for me to do it. Steeler tattoo. It's the only one I've ever thought I would do, and I almost did it once, but the guy said I was too drunk. The tattoo artist had some sort of moral obligation to not make that 85 bucks that day. It was a long time ago, and I said, I'll give you extra. It's like, I'm not tattooing you. You're too drunk. You'll bleed. Like, I'm gonna lay down on your chair and you're gonna tattoo it. And my idea was to have. This is how bad it was, and I. I should go back and find this guy. It was Jack Nicholson in the Shining cracking through the door. Yeah, right. And he was supposed to come out of my calf for some reason. No reason really whatsoever. Also, he had a shirt, like, at a Steelers logo on it. Like, as you see, here's Johnny Coming out of the. And it was the dumbest idea of all time. But when I saw the. Him coming out of the calf, I'm like, I want that. And let's include some Steeler stuff in it, too. I considered having just a Steelers logo on my calf. And then I started to think to myself, what if they move? They probably won't. But that's what people in Cleveland said. That's what people in Baltimore said. So people in Houston said, what if they move and you're stuck with a Steelers tattoo and now they're the, you know, Nashville Steelers. You have a White Sox. They talk about moving all the time. Yeah. You can't get a White Sox tattoo and have them move down and become the Memphis. Well, they wouldn't even be the White Sox anymore. I don't know why they even try that.

[Brett Vesely]

I'd have it removed. And I know that's more painful than when I would have it removed.

[John Holmberg]

Totally agree with you.

[Brady]

Redskin helmets.

[John Holmberg]

Oh, Redskin helmets are gold. That's that. Keep that frame that even if you're still alive. Cut that out and get that.

[Brett Vesely]

Same with Chief Wahoo, if you got that, too. Oh, you're an Indians fan.

[John Holmberg]

I might get a Chief Wahoo. Anyway, I'm not even an Indians fan, but Chief Wahoo is awesome. Yeah, you can't do that kind of stuff, man. You gotta. Gotta be smart about it. And Steelers nation, tip the cap. Football season's right around the corner. It's tough to top that fandom. Cowboy stars, stuff like that Gay bar.

[Brady]

I learned something about the Buffalo Bills. The name.

[John Holmberg]

Yeah.

[Brady]

And it was watching this documentary on when America was expanding west. So one of the reasons the people, the United States were clashing with the Indians going through there, they had a problem. And the Indians, the main tribe, Shoshone. The.

[John Holmberg]

Land. The damn plane. What are you doing?

[Brett Vesely]

Hey, Byron. I was [e-mail]'s website. You have everything, and the prices are incredible.

[Byron from MMP Guns]

Yes, sir. Mmpguns.com has over 400,000 products for sale daily. Everything from firearms, ammunition, accessories, optics, clothing, decoys, and more. The best part is, if you see it on our website, it's in stock and ready to ship.

[Brett Vesely]

Wait, there's no backorders?

[Byron from MMP Guns]

Nope. We work with all our distributors, so what you see on our site is what's actually available. We ship all over the country, so we're not just for Arizonans anymore. If the firearm you want is legal in your state, we can get it to a dealer for you to pick up.

[Brett Vesely]

Sounds simple. That's why I always go to MMP.

[Comedy Announcer]

Guns.Com all right, HMS podcast time again to let you know where to go for some great comedy in the valley this week. Lots of entertainment coming to town with Vinnie Guadagnino of Jersey Shore fame. Coming in Friday and Saturday to stand up live at the Desert Ridge Improv. Improv up north you have the Sklar Brothers Thursday, Friday and Saturday and Eastside at the Tempe Improv. It's Steve O Friday, Saturday and Sunday for the complete lineups. And for tickets, go to standuplive.com desertridgeimprov.com.

[John Holmberg]

And tempeimprov.com it's John Holmberg here for the amazing people at the Core Institute. A very close friend of mine had his knee surgery at the core. He's not going to be back on the court immediately, but in a few months time he will be. He's got some rehab in front of him and that's all you need to worry about. Get to work and get feeling better. Get rid of of the pain you've been living with the Core Institute celebrating 20 years because they've been changing people's lives for 20 years and you don't last that long unless you're great. Stop living with your pain and say yes to the things you love to do. Again, go to the core institute.com Holmberg's Morning Sickness.

[Brady]

They lived off of buffaloes.

[John Holmberg]

Oh, yeah.

[Brady]

Sherman. General Sherman, who was vice president time, sent American buffalo hunters and said, the only way we can get them to get off this land is decimate.

[John Holmberg]

Kill the buffaloes.

[Wayne from Amco]

Kill the buffaloes.

[John Holmberg]

Take their food away.

[Brady]

So they're named after the buffalo hunters that were contracted over there to slaughter buffaloes.

[John Holmberg]

The buffalo slaughtering crew. Yeah.

[Brady]

Sweet and Buffalo Bill cody.

[John Holmberg]

Yeah.

[Brady]

Nicknamed over 4, 000 buffalo.

[John Holmberg]

He was the one that was. So basically we treated the Indians like we do scorpions. If you take away their food, they'll leave.

[Brady]

That's what the plan was. So don't you think. I mean, if that's the history of.

[John Holmberg]

The name, I mean, it's worse than Redskins.

[Brady]

I think so.

[John Holmberg]

But does it make it work? Well, I mean, the Redskins won in the end because they beat the Bills in the super bowl back in the early 90s. So I guess that's even. Now I bring up the tattoo thing, Brady, mainly because I'd like you to get a Steelers tattoo just in case. Then we can carve it out and I can get it put up on my wall. If you wouldn't mind get it tanned. Yeah, I would like that. Like a. Well, we get you tan first and probably in a spot that's not like moly or hairy. I don't want to shave it off or see like a. A skin tag for the rest of my life. A smooth part of your body, maybe a thigh, you know, well, arm perhaps.

[Brady]

Yeah, he had it on his sleeve.

[John Holmberg]

On his right arm. I don't care about him. I'm looking at you.

[Brett Vesely]

That's not gonna remind you of Brady.

[John Holmberg]

I know. I don't care about.

[Brett Vesely]

You need a brisket tattoo and then.

[John Holmberg]

Hang on. I don't want him. I don't care if it reminds me of Brady. Oh, I want Steeler skin stretched out from a human being on my Dexter style. I want that up on my wall. Oh, okay. And he's the closest one to, you know, the thing and we could carve it off and his skin's pretty fresh. It would be the ultimate act of love for you to get that for me as you, you know, Viettong yourself into tomorrowland. It's up to you. I'll pay for everything, including. What do you care once you're gone? Let's just carve that part out and then we'll shove you in the oven and all is good. And we'll go slow and low in your honor once we. When we start to cremate. I think that's. That's slow and low for Brady. I think we'll. We're not going to do that. 1875. We're just going to crisp you. How about we just throw you in there at about 580, roll about 580 for about 12 to 13 days. I think that'd be really nice. I think that's good. Instead of that 2 hour 1900 degree oven that just. Hey, come on. Nobody's interested in that. That nice smell that you're gonna, you're gonna. It's gonna. You're gonna let out a nice stink, but you're gonna have one chunk of your arm missing.

[Brady]

Is that how long it takes? 2 hours at 1900 degrees?

[John Holmberg]

Yeah, like an hour and a half.

[Brady]

I think it'd be quicker.

[John Holmberg]

You would think so, but they got to get it down to nothing.

[Brett Vesely]

Bones and stuff.

[John Holmberg]

Bones take a while to. And that temperatures, you know, it's pretty good. I think they, they. Some places will try to cut corners and do the 40 minute burn.

[Brett Vesely]

Still got a mortician show.

[John Holmberg]

Remember putting 12 people in there, it would take a little longer, but you get them in there and Then you. And then you got to sweep it all out, clean it for the next guy. It's a process. So this guy said, I would have bet my wife that Brady was heading towards the direction of the Bills being named after buffalo wings. Because there's only one thing heavy on his mind right now. Things he can never eat again. That's probably true. But you got him tonight. You can watch people eat. Brady's going to go out there tonight to native, which is ironic. Ironic that they serve buffalo wings now that your story's been told and we're gonna destroy some tonight, something called Native. I mean, we.

[Brett Vesely]

You're not supposed to do that.

[John Holmberg]

No, you're not getting any of those. Brady gets none. And everybody who goes tonight keep smacking out of Brady's hands like it's poison. Tonight. Signal. No, don't mind your own business. Don't mind your own business. Smack it out of his hands. Signal. But in baseline tonight with Brady's gonna be out there Native Grill and wings. And after Brady told the story about how he got rid of the natives by using Buffalo Bills, we're gonna celebrate the wings and the natives all back together again. It's. It's, you know, it's 979 bucks getting handed to you by the folks over at Native. That's pretty good. And you get out there, handle the heat, eat the wings, go crazy. I believe two and a half pounds was pretty much the common number. And then you. You win all sorts of stuff. You get free food. And again, like I said, go to the Native tonight. Say you want to be part of the contest, get yourself five pounds of wings for the weekend and slow. Eat a couple of them, tell him you got a tummy ache and walk out with a bunch of wings. It's great. So you don't win. Big deal. Good chance to say goodbye to Brady just in case all of it applies tonight. So head on over there. Signal butte and baseline with Brady tonight as he watches you eat Wing five thirty. You are now the Toledo of food. The way Toledo cuck set next. Brady now has to cook food. You get to watch people eat things you love to do, and you're not allowed to have it anymore. Strong. And if there's a tattoo artist, maybe bring your equipment down there and throw a Steelers logo on Brady's arm so I can. I can stretch that out and put it on my. And then your name underneath. Just say, Brady d. Brady Bogan. 1835. 2025. And it'll be stretched out on this big shadow Box. It'll be beautiful. Beautiful stuff.

[Brady]

Could just put it, like. It's just sewn through, like a thread, almost like the.

[John Holmberg]

You want me to like.

[Brady]

Like a dream catcher, you know, they web it up.

[John Holmberg]

Do you want to do that instead?

[Brady]

Yeah, we could.

[John Holmberg]

You would like to have it thread sewn into your arms. I don't want a Southwest Steelers thing. I want the real one. But I like the idea that we could get some sort of tapestry sewn into your skin that I could have.

[Brady]

You know, you could have a Steelers drum. It could be the top of the skin on the drum with.

[John Holmberg]

There's just enough of you that we could do that. A big enough Steelers logo on your back, stretch you out, and make some sort of a weird tribal drum out of you. Okay, good idea, man. I didn't expect pushback, but I certainly didn't expect brainstorming, man. Oh, man. All right, we'll do that. We'll stretch you out. That'll be good. I also got to find out where Brett's going a little bit for the Operation Hydration, the penultimate. I believe this is the second to last one you'll be doing. You'll be doing. I think we got three left, right? And we're going to break the million bottle mark for sure. We have a count yet? Well, yeah, well, not account right now, but the people over at Phoenix Rescue Mission. Sean has been on a little media tour telling everybody this is a knockout and 91,000 bottles a week are going out the door. That's how many they use. So we've done this. Think about that. That's insane. We've gone for. And a lot of times, you don't even realize that it's for the person. It's. They wash with it sometimes because they got no other option. I know that sounds terrible. That's the way it is. And these people are trying to make their lives, but they still work. They're homeless and they work. So they're like. They'll go behind a tree with one bottle of water and try to make themselves at least a little bit cleaner to go to work, to wash their hands in the sink there. But they can't just go wandering in with a night of sweating in the park stink. It's crazy when you start talking to them, it's like, man, these people are. There's a lot of them that are just doing the best they can, trying really hard, sleeping in their car. And it's 100F outside. So 91,000 bottles a week is what the rescue mission's doing. We started this memorial day. That's four weeks of June, four weeks of July. Here we are two weeks into that. That's ten. That's a million. Right. We're at 990. 910,000 bottles out the door. Already we've given them 950,000. That's nothing left. Isn't that unreal?

[Brady]

And we provide them basically with 11 weeks of water. If they're going through it at 91,000.

[John Holmberg]

Well, that's what I just said. Yeah. You go through the whole. We're at week 10 right now.

[Brady]

Yeah.

[John Holmberg]

And if we hit a million, we got two weeks. They're going to be right on pace, because 910,000 at this point, with 91,000 going out the door every week, they've got a few weeks left, tops. And, you know, it goes on all year. They use it for other things. But that's mind blowing because we're sitting here watching this much come in. You're gonna have water for years. Nope. They're already, like, almost out. Every. Every week, you guys bring us 50,000.

[Brady]

It's getting used.

[John Holmberg]

They're 40,000 down. That's crazy. And we shouldn't have that issue. We should not have. At the very least, you know, there's arguments for homelessness and all sorts of stuff and drugs and how. Look, I'm with you. Like, it's. It's nuanced. A lot of things can be true at once. But water, the basic necessity being at a supply like that is unreal that we go through that much. 91,000 a week they use. That's huge. So, Brett, your job today. 91,000 bottles.

[Brett Vesely]

Does that include all the bottles Dale's jacked from us since he's been here?

[John Holmberg]

No kidding. Yeah. I wonder how many have gone without. Because Dale steals a case every once in a while, but he's got to stay hydrated, too. And that's a lot of wasted body space to stay hydrated. That, too. That's a thick man. Anyway, thank you, guys. Because when you think about charitable endeavors, every one of them. And I say this about all of them when I do stuff with the dog rescues and humane society, things like that. Lost our home. I always tell them. I'm like. It's like you guys are constantly climbing an ice mountain. You're going up an ice mountain. It's. You're never going to see the top at the pace we're currently on. And that's them, too. It's like this never. And it's amazing to put Yourself in the brains of the people that are like, I don't care that my job has no ending. That it's the cyclical, constant climb that we're not going to, we're not going to see the mountaintop because the problem won't go away. It's, it's amazing. And so you guys are helping that in a huge way. Huge way. Massive. This Guy said at 6:11am, John, this is the phrase you used to the person I was expecting pushback from, but not ideas. We're going to stretch Brady out. Yeah. All right. We'll stretch Brady out before he dies, that's for sure. We'll let all the audience do it too. Tattoo artist, I need you tonight. Let's get a wake up song. Find out where Brett's going for that. Another 91,000 out the door today. You call us 5 859-800- we'll scream it together. It's 98 KUPD. Wake up, Arizona's most powerful rock radio station. He said fully erect 90 X K.

[Brett Vesely]

Hey Byron. I heard you have something new to announce from MMP Guns, Brett.

[Byron from MMP Guns]

I sure do. It's MMP Guns Customs MMP Guns is creating some amazing firearms. We offer polishing, plating, bluing, custom laser engraving, laser stippling, cerakoting and performance upgrades. We do everything in house with our master trained craftsmen. You can select our designs or make up your own.

[Brett Vesely]

Well, can you do this to my gun?

[Byron from MMP Guns]

We can do it to nearly any firearm. Doesn't matter where you live, you can ship it to us or. We already have completed firearms and inventory daily with. No wait.

[Brett Vesely]

Well, there you have it. MMP Guns on the northeast corner of 12th street and Indian School or online at MMP GU.

[Larry McFeely]

Mpgunscustoms.com It's Brady from the HMS Crew for game Day Men's Health, the valley's largest men's health clinic with 12 locations. You should do what I did and schedule a complimentary appointment which is quick and easy. You'll meet with a board certified medical director and figure out what treatments that can help you. Whether you need more energy, medical, weight loss or sexual health treatments. Game Day Men's Health clinic is a true game changer. Go to gameday phoenix.com and schedule your complimentary appointment today. Get back in the game with Gameday Men's Health.

[Brett Vesely]

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[John Holmberg]

No problem.

[Brett Vesely]

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