Podcast Summary

Holmberg’s Morning Sickness - “Hammering Toledo Again For Buying World Series Tickets After Mariners Get Blown Out In Game 3 Of ALCS / New Fear After Tesla Video Of Man Spraying Substance On Woman's Driver Door”

Date: October 16, 2025
Hosts: John Holmberg, Brady Bogen, Bret Vesely, Dick Toledo
Show: 98KUPD | Hubbard Radio, Arizona

Overview

This episode of Holmberg’s Morning Sickness centers on two major themes:

1. Toledo’s infamous jinx—the ongoing ridicule of Dick Toledo for prematurely buying World Series tickets after his Mariners took a 2-0 ALCS lead, only to be crushed in Game 3. The hosts debate sports jinxes, team loyalties, and “bush league” decisions by franchises.
2. A new disturbing trend in personal safety: The crew discusses a viral video of a man spraying an unknown substance on a woman’s Tesla door handle, raising fears about chemical attacks, surveillance technology, and the everyday risks people might now face.

Holmberg and the team also riff on sports superstitions, athlete legacies, and sprinkle in their signature banter and sarcasm throughout the discussion.

Segment 1: The Toledo Mariners Jinx (01:37–18:45)

Key Discussion Points

• Toledo's Premature Purchase
  The episode kicks off with the crew roasting Toledo for buying World Series tickets as if the Mariners were guaranteed a spot—just before the team got blown out.

  • Brady: “We were teasing Toledo for getting a little bit ahead of the game… He’s already bought tickets for the World Series. I would never buy Super Bowl or… AFC championship [tickets]… I would have felt like it was my fault.” (01:37)

• Sports Jinxes & Superstition
  The hosts share notorious real-world sports jinx moments, especially for baseball:

  • Bernie Mac singing “root, root, root for the champions” at the Cubs NLCS (2003), which was infamously followed by the Bartman incident and a Cubs collapse.
  • The “Black Cat” incident in 1969 that supposedly cursed the Cubs.
  • Quote: Brady: “Baseball people are superstitious… when [Bernie Mac] did that, you knew. Oh boy. And then Bartman happened…” (03:50)

• Randy Johnson Loyalty Rant
  The team lambastes Mariner legend-turned-Diamondback Randy Johnson for appearing in Mariners gear during the postseason, despite having won a championship in Arizona.

  • Brady: “You forego your spokesman of the Mariners thing when you have… clearly moved on and won a World Series for someone else.” (06:41)
  • “That’s Randy pandering for good tickets. That’s all he was doing.” (07:16)
  • “That’s what the Cardinals would do. That’s a bush league team move.” (07:47)

• Who Deserves the Spotlight?
  They discuss which historical players franchises should honor—and which ones should be “off limits”—highlighting Ken Griffey Jr., Ichiro, King Felix, and others.

• Ownership of Athlete Legacies
  More teams that “claim” players they didn’t win with:

  • Cubs retiring Greg Maddux’s number though he’s “a Brave” (12:33).
  • Cardinals with Emmitt Smith, Warner, Edgerrin James.
  • Suns and Robert Horry or Shaq.
  • Utah Jazz’s reverence for Carl Malone and Stockton—even though they never won.

• Fan Emails and Further Ribbing

  • A Yankees fan email scolds Toledo: “As a 40 plus year Yankee fan, I would never, ever buy World Series tickets before… proof that this guy just isn’t good with money.” (17:29)
  • Toledo: “Full refund if they’re not there.” (18:02)
  • Brady: “If anybody wants to buy Toledo’s World Series tickets. If you’re a Blue Jays fan, you’re going to need these.” (32:52)

Segment 2: The Tesla Door Handle Incident & New Urban Fears (20:09–26:56)

Key Discussion Points

• The Video:
  Holmberg recounts disturbing surveillance footage: a man walks by a woman’s Tesla, sprays something on the driver’s side handle, and leaves. The woman only noticed via her car’s camera days later.

  • Brady: “She shows it to some people and what do you think this is? Everyone’s reaction’s the same. Oh, that’s poison.” (20:09)

• Possible Motives
  Discussion of potential threats:

  • Could be an attempt to poison, “roofied” or sedate, or simply vandalism.
  • Tie-in to real overseas cases where attackers used surface toxins to incapacitate or attack victims (23:24).

• Public Safety Takeaways

  • Advice to keep Clorox wipes in your car and always clean your hands after touching car handles.
  • “It is horrifying… when you see it, you’re like, oh, do I have to think about this too? This just opened a whole… new world of worry.” (33:11)

• Homelessness & Drugstore Anxieties
  Conversation segues into anecdotes about local CVS stores and encounters with vagrants, including one caught applying and returning deodorant.

  • “If we’re going to lock up all the acetaminophen, can we lock up the deodorant too?” (27:49)

Segment 3: Sports Legacy, Rivalries, and Listener Callbacks (26:28–33:28)

Key Discussion Points

• More on “Bush League” Moves
  The hosts further debate when it’s appropriate for a franchise to parade former stars—especially those that won elsewhere—during critical games.

  • Brady, on the Mariners and Randy Johnson: “When you don’t pay a player and he leaves your franchise, you can’t bring him back to the ring of honor if you never won anything with him.” (14:48)

• Listener & Staff Jokes

  • Jokes about buying/selling Toledo’s World Series tickets (face value $2,400–$2,500, up for grabs to Blue Jays fans).
  • Hilarious callbacks to the “Curse of Toledo” whenever teams fall short after his fan moves.

• Listener Messages About the Car Incident

  • Multiple listeners share similar stories with “spray bottles” and cars, jokingly calling the substance “Crazy Juice.”
    • Listener: “That spray bottle thing on the car happened to me. The cops said it was Crazy Juice and I couldn’t control myself saying Mark Sanchez.” (32:16)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Brady (on jinxes):
  “All of it. All of it. Here’s my beef with last night…” (03:59)
• Brady (on Randy Johnson):
  “That’s Randy pandering for good tickets. That’s all he was doing.” (07:16)
• Brett (on Greg Maddux):
  “He’s a Brave.” (12:33)
• Brady (on legacy):
  “When you don’t pay a player and he leaves your franchise, you can’t bring him back… if you never won anything with him.” (14:48)
• John (about the Tesla incident):
  “It’s like some kind of roofy type…” (23:23)
• Brady (on new urban fears):
  “It’s chemical warfare, so nightmare fuel for everybody out there. Next time you open the door, just know, keep your eyes open and don’t touch your face.” (24:33)

Timestamps of Key Segments

| Timestamp | Segment | |-----------|--------------------------------------------------------------| | 01:37 | Jinxing sports teams & the story of Toledo’s World Series buys| | 03:50 | Bernie Mac, the Cubs, and the history of baseball superstition| | 06:41 | Rant against Randy Johnson’s “Mariners” appearance | | 12:33 | “Bush league” teams and retiring the wrong numbers | | 17:29 | Email from a Yankees fan on superstition & spending | | 20:09 | Tesla door spray incident & new personal safety worries | | 24:33 | Public safety/chemical “nightmare fuel” warnings | | 27:49 | CVS & homeless vagrant applying deodorant | | 32:16 | Listener jokes about “Crazy Juice” and the car spray |

Tone & Language

The episode is rife with:

• Sarcasm and ribbing (especially towards Dick Toledo)
• Candid, irreverent storytelling
• A mix of light-hearted and serious moments around urban paranoia and sports fandom

Quotes are true to the show’s style—brash, teasing, and always a little outrageous.

Final Notes

For newcomers:
This episode offers a classic blend of sports agony, friendly locker-room banter, cautionary urban tales, and hilarious callouts—capturing why Holmberg’s Morning Sickness is Arizona’s #1 morning radio show. If you’re a sports fan, urban dweller, or just love some shameless ribbing among friends, it’s well worth a listen.

Key Takeaways:

• Never buy tickets before your team clinches—unless you want to shoulder the blame.
• Be careful opening your car—modern dangers now include spiteful chemical attacks.
• When in doubt, keep the jokes—and the disinfectant—handy.