Holmberg's Morning Sickness (98 KUPD) — FULL SHOW SUMMARY

Date: September 29, 2025
Host: John Holmberg
Crew: Brady Bogen, Bret Vesely, Dick Toledo

Episode Overview

This Victory Monday episode of "Holmberg's Morning Sickness" spans from the NFL’s weekend chaos to the controversial WNBA finals and a slew of irreverent, humorous takes on pop culture, sports, and news. With the usual blend of sharp sarcasm and self-deprecating jokes, the show covers football, the Super Bowl halftime show debate, women's sports, technology (drones for shoplifters), and delivers the infamous "What Would Brady Do?" advice segment. Throughout, John keeps the tone lively, challenging, and "disturbing" with a running thread around his outlandish betting promises, especially the "Merc Mania" Mercury trivia bet, which is complicated by their broken phone lines—prompting more rants and comedy.

Key Discussion Points & Highlights

1. NFL Recap & Riffs on Overtime/Ties

• Victory Monday: John, Brady, and Bret celebrate wins from their respective teams, riff on the weekend’s close games and bemoan the NFL’s acceptance of ties.
  • “No ties. You can't have ties. So screwed up our whole bet last night.” — John (03:23)
• Overtime Format Debate:
  • John misses "sudden death" and critiques both the current NFL and college systems: "Sudden death was the best...the only problem now...everybody can kick 90 yard field goals." (01:54)
  • Dissatisfaction with the college OT’s “drills” format and two-point conversion shootouts.
  • “If your defense can’t stop them, root for that coin toss.” — John

2. International NFL Games & Super Bowl Halftime Show

• NFL Globalization: Complaints about early morning international games, predicting that all teams may have one floating "international" home game per season.
  • “Boy, are they heavy-handing this international deal…” — John (05:26)
• Bad Bunny as Super Bowl Halftime Performer:
  • The crew has a lengthy and hilarious debate about the NFL choosing Bad Bunny over classic rock bands, interpreting it as a calculated move to capture a global audience and younger demographics.
  • "They’re marketing to everybody but you. They already got you.” — John (08:23)
  • On classic rock: "Stop thinking you're the NFL's target ever again." — John (12:49)
  • Predicts “unbelievable” complaints from “white men in America” (12:43)
  • Quotes:
    • "If anything, they would do like a years from now, a retro thing and Metallica would come out and do a song..." — John (09:35)
    • "Baboni is the most sense" — John (13:12)
  • Anecdote about realizing Bad Bunny’s popularity when a Baboni concert took over Downtown Phoenix, despite John never having heard of him before. (14:45)
• Future of Sports: Jokes about the future being “AI games” (13:03)

3. WNBA Finals/"Merc Mania" & Satire on Women’s Sports

• Phoenix Mercury in the Finals:
  • John and the crew mock how little attention the Mercury get despite being playoff-bound, leading to the running joke of “Merc Mania”—satirical hype over the city's supposed excitement.
  • John's infamous radio bet: offering up to $500,000 to a randomly called person who could name Mercury players, confident “no one in the city” could answer.
  • “I am so confident. No one will answer this.” — John (145:27)
• Women’s Sports Dissection:
  • Extensive, tongue-in-cheek critique of WNBA’s marketing, gameplay, and relative popularity.
  • “Nobody cares. It's different. You might be right about the thing you accused me of, but also, this product stinks.” — John (42:18)
  • Suggests lowering rims and switching to a 3-on-3 style league for better fan engagement (43:26).
• Satirical Sideplots:
  • Storyline about a fan allegedly using season tickets as a ruse to hide an affair, further poking at low interest in Mercury games (24:49—33:19).

4. Technology & Social Satire

• Drones to Catch Shoplifters:
  • Bit on stores proposing drones for theft prevention, John lampoons the racial profiling implications and legal/ethical issues.
  • “That is the most racist thing I've ever seen or heard of in my life…” — John (114:51)
  • Series of bits on potential drone abuse, legal nightmares, and customer lawsuits. (107:17+)
• ER Doctor Stories:
  • John shares a NY Post article asking ER docs about "the weirdest thing you've ever pulled out of someone's ass," launching into gross-out humor and musings on society’s boundaries (58:15—68:34).

5. Listener Interactions & Classic Segments

• What Would Brady Do? (156:18+)
  • Advice segment where Brady fields two main letters:
    • Apology advice for a texter who used the N-word in a football thread with a Black coworker present. (157:53)
    • Complaints from a man whose recently-out mom is bringing home a string of lesbian partners (163:11).
  • Both bits interlaced with the show’s characteristic insensitivity, honesty, and dark humor.
• Bet & Trivia Antics:
  • John tries to initiate the “Merc Mania” trivia bet, only to be foiled repeatedly by broken phone lines. Each failed attempt leads to raising the prize and more comedic exasperation.
  • “Every day we can’t get the phones to work, it’s another $50K…” — John (145:22)

6. Pop Culture & Entertainment

• News Flashes:
  • Commentary on the Jonas Brothers’ concert being cancelled due to Mercury playoff conflicts, showing league priorities. (169:10)
• Super Bowl Halftime Show:
  • Sincere yet tongue-in-cheek wish for classic rock bands to headline, ultimately accepting a pop-centric reality. (10:07, 12:13)
• Random News and Factoids:
  • Sloths hold their breath longer than dolphins (96:09)
  • Orange lobster rarity, holding breath records, and bizarre but true headlines (94:29—97:12)
• Listener Emails:
  • Calls from listeners feed further banter about women’s sports, sports betting, and pop culture.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

NFL, POP CULTURE, & SPORTS SKEPTICISM

• “No ties. You can't have ties.” — John (03:23)
• On halftime show picks: "They're marketing to everybody but you. They've already got you." — John (08:23)
• “Stop thinking that you're going to be the NFL's target ever again, because you're not. And that's so sad.” — John (12:49)
• On low WNBA engagement: “If you had a championship in the forest and it fell and no one was there, would it still count?” — John (41:18)
• On Mercury trivia odds: “I'm that confident. No one will answer this.” — John (145:27)

WNBA/CITY HYPE SATIRE

• “Mercball fever!” — Brady (131:53)
• “You see all the people walking around in their Merc jerseys. I mean, the whole city on Merc game days.” — John (141:28)
• On Mercury's anonymity: “If you can quickly name two Phoenix Mercury players... Click.” — John (52:02)

TECHNOLOGY & CULTURE

• On drones: “That is the most racist thing I've ever seen or heard of in my life…” — John (114:51)
• Dissecting ER stories: “People ask ER doctors what’s the weirdest thing they've ever pulled out of someone's ass…” (58:15)

OFFBEAT/JOKE PROJECTS

• Riff on faking Mercury game attendance as a cover for cheating (24:08–32:10)
• “I'm having an affair. Oh, I bet you're going to that Mercury game, aren't you?” — John, satirizing a husband’s cover story (27:57)
• Imagining a Mercury tattoo: “Phoenix Mercury, World Champions, 2025 — in block letters, like a prison tattoo.” — John (48:38)

Section-by-Section Timestamps

| Segment | Timestamp | Notes | |-----------------------------------------|---------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------| | NFL Weekend Recap & Ties | 00:41 - 05:04 | Celebrates wins; rages at NFL/college overtime formats | | International NFL / Super Bowl Halftime | 05:25 - 13:12 | Rants on globalization, Bad Bunny as halftime, appeals to youth | | Female Artistry & Sports Demographics | 13:12 - 20:42 | Generational NBA/NFL fanbases; pop acts vs. classic rock complaints | | Satire: Mercury "Victory" & City Hype | 22:45 - 52:03 | Mercury playoffs, trivia bet, “Merc Mania” parody | | Drones & Shoplifting Tech Rant | 107:17 - 114:51| Racial profiling humor, drone surveillance in stores | | ER Doctor Stories / Societal Decay | 58:15 - 68:34 | Gross-out humor, “what’s the weirdest thing in someone’s ass?” | | What Would Brady Do? | 156:18 - 167:16| Listener advice: racial slur apology, mom’s lesbian sex life | | Pop Culture, Entertainment, News | 174:00 - 177:53| Snoop Dogg Olympics, Jonas Bros cancelled, Tina Turner statue | | Phones Down “Merc Mania” Section | 132:01 - 146:17| Frustrated call-ins, increasingly huge bet, comic escalation |

Tone & Style

• Language:
  Unfiltered, playful, often crass; switches from sincere to hyperbolic satire.
• Humor:
  Sarcastic, self-deprecating, sometimes dark or borderline offensive (“disturbing”).
• Dynamics:
  Fast-paced, riff-heavy, most topics get volleyed around the room; sessions of John’s solo rants; frequent breaking of the “fourth wall” with inside radio or pop culture nods.

Useful For...

• Getting the show’s blend of irreverence, topical sports take, and risky pop culture jokes.
• Understanding popular sentiment around the Super Bowl halftime show & WNBA visibility.
• Gauging Arizona sports fans’ priorities—and the show’s deep skepticism toward manufactured hype (“Merc Mania”).
• Notable moments to cue up in the podcast for fans or first-timers.

Holmberg’s Morning Sickness brings the laughs and relentless jabs to sports, society, and everything in between. If you ever pondered who Bad Bunny is, why anyone bets on women's basketball, or what you shouldn’t store in your backside, this is your show.