Holmberg's Morning Sickness – Arizona

Episode Summary: 10-28-25 – FULL SHOW – TUESDAY
Host: John Holmberg
Co-hosts: Brady Bogen, Bret Vesely, Dick Toledo
Date: October 28, 2025

Overview

This episode of Arizona's #1 morning radio show delivers quintessential Holmberg: an irreverent, high-energy mix of sports commentary, bizarre news, personal banter, and listener call-ins. Major themes include the wild, marathon World Series game the night before; the comedic disaster of extra-innings baseball; one crew member’s World Series ticket debacle; medical oddities (notably a trainer with a “unicorn horn”); outrageous call-in auditions to accompany Toledo to LA; and their usual blend of mockery, camaraderie, and “disturbing the peace” radio humor.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. World Series Marathon: Dodger/Blue Jays 18-inning Epic

• Recap: The crew recounts the previous night’s nearly 7-hour marathon World Series game that stretched to 18 innings before Freddie Freeman’s walk-off home run.
• Commentary:
  • “You watch a sporting event, that's great...and then you get your wish and you're like, jesus Christ, I wish this thing would have ended about two hours ago.” — John (02:40)
  • Baseball’s current extra innings approach is lampooned as a “problem that needs fixing.” They riff on the tedium and ridiculousness of ultra-long games and the players’ struggle to keep energy up, including Dodgers/Blue Jays literally eating charcuterie mid-game.
• Funny Moment:
  • Discussion of TV shots showing Blue Jays’ trainer, “Voon Chang,” who sports a conspicuous protrusion (“unicorn horn”) on his forehead — which becomes comedic obsession for the next 15 minutes.

2. Voon Chang, Bone Spurs, & Medical Oddities

• Focus: The Blue Jays’ athletic trainer’s bizarre forehead horn, its medical roots, and why no one on TV mentioned it.
• Host Banter:
  • They compare the horn to John’s experience with a lipoma, have a hilariously uninformed debate about bone growths, and joke about aliens, mindreading, and insurance companies.
  • “Boom Chang has a unicorn horn growing off of his head. Remarkably huge horn.” — John (05:23)
  • “If you had a unicorn horn on your face… You would keep it rather than take a chance that maybe the skull was a little bit affected.” — John (12:05)
• Memorable quote:
  • “If I had one of those, medical insurance or not, I'm not waiting, I'd hit that thing with an angle grinder in my garage.” — Text from listener (13:16); crew agrees.

3. The Ticket Fiasco: Toledo’s World Series Seat Woes

• Setup: Co-host Toledo shelled out $2,400 for World Series tickets, but as secondary market prices crash (down to ~$750), he’s desperate to recoup his loss.
• Content: The team jokes about resale losses, what it’s like for Arizona fans to go to LA, and the possibility of having to road trip with random listeners just to break even.
• Listener Involvement: Hilarious auditions from fans offering to buy, accompany, or "cuck" Toledo at the game; offers involve free hotel, flights, and an unending stream of odd promises (including teachers, teachers’ spouses, a “diversity program,” and even a “cripple-tackling” behavioral health tech).
  • “You can take Gary’s whore wife and get a road BJ on the way—that’s true, but you don’t have to take her to a World Series game for that.” — John, on notorious past callers (45:51)

4. Listener Auction: Who Gets to Go?

• Segment highlight: The show runs a “dating game”–style audition for listeners to become Toledo’s World Series date, fielding calls from welding inspectors, poor club-makers, all-night partiers, and a behavioral health tech who “tackles the handicapped and shoots them up with booty juice.”
• Revelations: Most callers have little to offer but good stories. The prospect of roadtripping with strangers for baseball gold brings out the best/worst in KUPD listeners.
  • “I don’t have a whole lot to offer Toledo, but, you know, I’d be a good time!” — ‘Marty’, third caller (130:03)

5. Party Foul: No One Wants to Go with Toledo

• Plot twist:
  • Even their regular “Thriller” (a coworker with mobility challenges, typically up for hijinks) declines: “I am not a spontaneous guy, and to be honest, baseball’s not my number one.”
• Finale:
  • Christian, a teacher who offers flights and Hilton rooms, is deemed the winner if he responds — but it’s moot, as Toledo sells his tickets near the end at a $600 loss. The show closes with musings on the absurdity of it all, and what might have been if a magical World Series moment had unfolded that night.

6. Bizarre Uber/PSA Segment

• News item: Discusses the story of a rideshare driver who assaulted a passenger; pivots into a comedic but semi-serious PSA:
  • “Uber is not an excuse to be blind drunk and climb in a car with a stranger…You have got to be smarter than that.”
  • The show floats the idea of a premium “cocaine rideshare” or “Bump Me” app for blackout drunks — tongue deeply in cheek.

7. Banter, Bits, and Miscellany

• Pet insurance advice:
  • “If you want to take on a pet, you have to be able to afford a pet. And it helps a ton…” — John (56:13+)
• AI Music Segment:
  • Showcases AI-generated music (e.g. funk/metal covers of pop songs) with “Never Gonna Give You Up” as a hair metal song and “Tom Sawyer” in a funk flavor, to audience delight.
• Romper Room–style 'Name Hour':
  • They riff on radio consultants' demands for localized engagement, pretending to dedicate entire hours to “Jeffs,” “Brandons,” and so on.
• Hot Releases:
  • Christmas music by Pretty Reckless; new Puscifer; AI song highlights. TV: “Down Cemetery Road” on Apple TV+.
• Brady’s Standing Mystery:
  • Frequent on-air joking about co-host Brady’s discomfort, standing, and implied medical woes.
• Call-in Mayhem:
  • Fodder for KUPD regulars, with callbacks to local characters, old station stories, and relentless self- (and audience-) mockery.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Voon Chang’s horn:
  • “He scans your body with that.” — Brady (07:47)
• On extra-inning baseball:
  • “It was epic. Epic play after…It’s everything you love about the game. It was outstanding.” — John (03:25)
• World Series ticket saga:
  • “You're getting punched in the trunks, my friend.” — John to Toledo about ticket value collapse (18:04)
• Listener auditions:
  • “If you buy Toledo a first class ticket, Toledo has to take you.” — John (135:02)
• On Uber as a danger zone:
  • “Don't put yourself in that position… Maybe Uber shouldn't be used as an ambulatory transport of your corpse.” — John (71:19)
• Thriller’s refusal:
  • “I do really appreciate it… but I am not a spontaneous guy.” — Thriller (145:54)
• PSA for pet lovers:
  • “If you don't have enough money to take care of your pet, you're playing with emotional fire, the worst kind. Don't do that.” — John (56:46)
• On medical “horns”:
  • “If I had one of those, medical insurance or not, I’m not waiting, I'd hit that thing with an angle grinder in my garage.” — Listener text read by John (13:16)

Informative / Comedic Timestamps

• Baseball recap & "Voon Chang" horn: 02:40–15:09
• Ticket resale woes, call-in offers, “World Series date” game: 17:04–41:54 & 123:27–138:40
• Pet insurance PSA: 56:13–56:46
• Uber segment (PSA, cocaine rideshare): c. 61:55–76:44
• Romper Room 'name' hour, radio consultant riffs: 87:50–92:54
• Listener auditions & “booty juice” guy: 130:03–137:34
• Thriller Walsh refuses World Series invite: 143:27–147:47
• Hot Releases (music & TV): 152:26–159:01
• Brady standing/health running bit: Multiple (esp. 98:42, 109:37)
• Show close—reflection on tickets, missed opportunities: 149:54–176:55

Tone & Language

• Ribald, relentless, self-deprecating, and distinctly Arizona blue-collar
• Gentle cruelty, inside jokes, ‘disturbing’ comedy, and no topic is off-limits
• Listener engagement is central; everyone is fair game

Takeaways

• The show’s strength lies in authenticity: unfiltered humor, sports obsession, and loving ridicule (of themselves, their listeners, and anyone in pop culture).
• The “Toledo’s sad ticket ride” saga provided a backbone for the entire episode, teasing out interactions with fans, co-workers, and a parade of Arizona’s weirdest, all handled with characteristic but affectionate bite.
• The episode’s energy and meter-shattering banter are perfect for dedicated listeners and radio comedy fans, offering a full measure of chaos and community in the KUPD style.

Recommended for: Fans of raw, local morning radio, sports talk with a comic edge, and listeners who appreciate the rhythm of inside jokes and long-running morning show sagas.

Skip if: You want tidy narratives, minimal sarcasm, or sanitized content—this is rollicking, anything-goes “guy talk” radio at its core.