Holmberg’s Morning Sickness – 09-05-25

Title: Mike Tyson Announces His Next Fight · Tucker Carlson Claims Pete Buttigieg Isn’t Gay · Should Your Money Go to Only Companies You Align With
Date: September 5, 2025
Host: John Holmberg
Co-Hosts: Brady Bogen, Tyler, Dick Toledo
Podcast: 98KUPD – Arizona

Overview

This episode of Holmberg’s Morning Sickness is a freewheeling and irreverent discussion covering major headlines: the spectacle of Mike Tyson challenging Floyd Mayweather to a fight, Tucker Carlson’s odd claim that Pete Buttigieg is secretly straight, and the ethics of spending your money only with businesses that share your political or social views. The crew jumps from sports lampooning to political absurdity, and then into a challenging contemporary debate about business morality, all with their signature sarcasm and edge.

Main Discussion Points & Insights

1. Mike Tyson vs. Floyd Mayweather: The Aging Boxer Spectacle

• [03:35 – 17:22]
• The crew debates the newly announced fight between 59-year-old Mike Tyson and 48-year-old Floyd Mayweather, decrying it as a cynical money grab.
• John scorns the culture of spectacle-driven fighting, mocking Tyson’s physical state and the trend of "old man" matchups.
• Mayweather is acknowledged for his defensive skill but criticized for boring exhibitions ("He lets the rabbit run himself out" – John [07:29]).

"When a 60-year-old boxer wants to fight...a 50-year-old boxer, two completely wildly different weight classes, it's just dumb and it's stealing. And please, for God's sakes, let’s send the message as a group: we don’t want to watch this.”
— John [10:47]

• The group compares the fight to the dying gasp of 1980s action movies (“The Last Action Hero”), arguing that the public should reject these cash-grabs.
• Calls to boycott the fight: “Please do not, for the love of God, pay for this fight.” — John [14:00]
• Fun sidebars: They joke about bare-knuckle fights in parking lots being more entertaining; nostalgia for athletes who retire and stay retired.

2. Tucker Carlson: “Is Pete Buttigieg Really Gay?”

• [17:51 – 29:00]
• John brings up a wild claim circulating in right-wing media: Tucker Carlson has accused Pete Buttigieg of faking being gay for political gain.
• This turns into a roasting session with escalating bits about how someone would “prove” their sexuality on television — the premise being played for laughs and satire.
• The team riffs on political hypocrisy, referencing other political scandals and the public’s hatred for being duped (Rachel Dolezal, Jussie Smollett, Anthony Weiner).

“If one of them faked gay and we caught him and we have to have him prove it and he either does or doesn’t, who’s the winner in that? The audience. Because I’m here for the laughs, I don’t care about politics anymore.”
— John [21:10]

• Wild hypothetical: “We’re gonna have to ask you to suck on this, Mr. Buttigieg… on TV and prove it to us.” — John [20:51]
• John underscores the American public’s universal disdain for being fooled: “People hate being fooled. It’s universal.” [22:00]
• Calls it "like a Black Mirror episode" and “the Rachel Dolezal of BJs” [24:09].
• The tone is intentionally outrageous, poking fun at both the claim and the absurdity of such demands for “proof”.

3. Should Your Money Only Go to Companies You Align With?

• [33:46 – 53:00]
• John raises a personal dilemma: a favorite Halloween prosthetics company posted on social media that they don’t want business from Trump supporters. He debates whether to keep buying from them.
• The group discusses whether businesses should turn away customers based on politics: “Isn’t that in a weird way, saying ‘no blacks allowed’?” — John [37:19]
• Mixed reactions, but consensus is that such exclusion is bad business and hypocritical, especially from groups touting tolerance.

“I don’t like anybody who says, ‘my business is small, we can’t do anything for you’, and then says, unless you believe exactly the same way I do, I don’t want you to follow us, or be part of my business... In a weird way, isn’t that the exact same thing [as discrimination]?”
— John [36:40]

• Tyler and Brady lean toward switching to competitors: “I’m looking for another company.” — Tyler [37:36]
• Parallels made to the Chick-fil-A gay controversy, wedding cake lawsuits, and other notorious examples.
• John references Michael Jordan's stance: “Republicans buy shoes too.” [48:49]
• The group generally condemns “thought-policing” from any business, preferring to “vote with your dollar” but against public exclusion.

4. Riffs, Tangents, and Notable Sidebars

• Tales of political and personal deception — the “Appalachian Trail” scandal [29:25], Anthony Weiner texting escapades, and a wide stance “airport bathroom” story [33:01].
• Roasting of WNBA scheduling and irrelevance: “When does their season end? I don’t even know. I thought it was over.” — Brady [05:12]
• The universal wisdom: “You retire from a sport because you’re slow and old in your 30s, not because ‘I just don’t feel like it.’” — John [13:07]
• Jokes about old athletes, like Aaron Rodgers “shouldn’t be there, but he is” at 41 [13:05].
• Extended riff on Melania Trump’s posture and attractiveness at a billionaire dinner, contrasted with political chaos [53:41–56:00].

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

| Timestamp | Speaker | Quote/Highlight | |-----------|--------------|------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 07:29 | John | “Floyd Mayweather is in my opinion the greatest defensive boxer I’ve ever watched. That doesn’t make for good fights ever.” | | 10:47 | John | “When a 60-year-old boxer wants to fight...a 50-year-old boxer... it’s just dumb and it’s stealing.” | | 14:00 | John | “Please do not, for the love of God, pay for this fight. You can’t do it.” | | 17:51 | John | “Tucker Carlson has gone out of his way to claim that noted homosexual politician Pete Buttigieg is actually straight.” | | 21:10 | John | “If one of them faked gay…who’s the winner in that? The audience. Because I’m here for the laughs, I don’t care about politics anymore.”| | 22:00 | John | “One thing the American people hate in unison besides the WNBA is being fooled.” | | 36:40 | John | “I don’t like anybody who says...unless you believe exactly the same way I do...In a weird way, isn’t that the exact same thing?”| | 48:49 | John | “Republicans spend money, too.” (credit to Michael Jordan story) |

Key Timestamps

• 03:35 – Lamenting the WNBA’s irrelevance and poor scheduling
• 05:31 – Discussion about NFL ratings, the universal draw of football
• 06:28 – The Tyson–Mayweather spectacle begins
• 10:47 – Old athletes and the absurdity of “old guy” sports
• 17:51 – Tucker Carlson/Buttigieg “is he gay?” saga begins
• 22:00 – American hatred of being duped; “prove it” rant
• 29:25 – Appalachian Trail scandal and political cheating anecdotes
• 33:46 – Dilemma: Should you buy from politically-opinionated companies?
• 36:40 – Is turning away customers for politics like discrimination?
• 48:49 – Michael Jordan’s quote about selling shoes, politics, and neutrality
• 53:41 – Melania Trump and billionaire dinner posture

Tone and Style

The episode is blunt, satirical, and unapologetically irreverent. The hosts approach politics, sports, and culture with a hybrid of dark humor and social commentary, provoking laughs as often as critical thinking. They take few things seriously, except for their distaste of groupthink, exclusionary attitudes, and public hypocrisy.

Takeaways

• On Spectacle Fights: The Tyson–Mayweather fight is widely condemned as a shameless “last action hero” money grab.
• On Political Performance: The “is Buttigieg really gay?” discussion serves as comedy fodder and a larger commentary on the performative nature of politics and the public.
• On Consumer Ethics: The crew questions whether spending only at “like-minded” companies is healthy for society, ultimately siding against exclusion and public divisiveness — “vote with your dollar”, but don’t advocate for businesses shunning customers based on beliefs.
• On Hypocrisy: Both left and right are criticized for inconsistency, with a recurring message that at the end of the day, politicians and the rich don’t really care; people take things more seriously than the powerful ever do.

For listeners new to the show:
You’ll get irreverence, open debate, unfiltered humor, and a willingness to say what others only think — all in pursuit of entertaining, provoking, and sometimes disturbing the audience.