Podcast Summary: Holmberg’s Morning Sickness (98KUPD)

Episode: 12-04-25 – Thursdays w/ Former Dallas Cowboy O-Lineman Dale Hellestrae – Thoughts On Chris Paul And The Suns Ring Of Honor – Is Dale In Any Halls Of Fame
Date: December 4, 2025
Core Crew: John Holmberg, Dale Hellestrae, Brady Bogen, Bret Vesely, Dick Toledo, Larry (guest segment)

Episode Overview

This episode dives into Phoenix's sports culture and legacy, focusing especially on debates around sports "Rings of Honor," criteria for recognizing athletic impact, and the local tendency to elevate big-name players based on brief but high-profile tenures. Former Dallas Cowboys O-lineman Dale Hellestrae offers both local and national sports insight, mixing sharp takes on the Suns' Chris Paul era, Phoenix's sometimes puzzling Hall of Fame choices, NFL viewership records, and plenty of self-deprecating humor about his own "hall of fame" candidacies. The tone is humorous, irreverent, but also thoughtful about what sports and recognition mean for a city’s sense of identity.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. NFL Dominance and Thanksgiving Viewership

• The crew marvels at NFL viewership numbers, noting the Cowboys’ game drawing “57 million knuckleheads” ([02:00], Hellestrae).
  • Dale notes how the NFL’s holiday games are “a bigger part of the tradition than the food” ([02:19], Holmberg).
• Discussion about traditions evolving, food talk, and the role of football in unifying American households during the holidays.

2. Chris Paul’s Suns Tenure & The Ring of Honor Debate

2.1. Should Chris Paul Go in the Suns’ Ring of Honor?

• Holmberg raises the question about Chris Paul's candidacy:
  • “Phoenix sports tends to hoist up guys just on name rather than what they did for the team. Do you think Chris Paul goes into the Sun’s ring of honor?” ([04:38], Holmberg)
• Hellestrae is skeptical:
  • “No, he wasn’t here long enough.” ([04:48], Hellestrae)
• Barkley–Paul comparison crops up:
  • "Charles Barkley was here the exact same time." ([04:50], Holmberg)
  • Dale corrects: “No, Charles was here at least five years.” ([04:52], Hellestrae; it’s established as four years)
  • The discussion outlines that both Barkley and Paul had very high team success in a short window, but Barkley’s personality and post-career presence gave him more staying power in the city’s collective memory.

2.2. The “Transplant City” Complex

• Discussion morphs into how Phoenix, full of transplants, often latches onto big-name athletes to create instant city traditions, sometimes at the expense of honoring long-tenured, less-flashy players.
  • “We even use transplant players to feel like... that’s part of the story.” ([10:41], Holmberg)

2.3. What’s the Real Criteria?

• The hosts and Dale cannot pinpoint a clear standard—iconic moments, personality, local engagement, or just star power?
  • “It negates real ring of honor stuff and just makes it most famous guy…less.” ([14:25], Holmberg)
  • “What’s your criteria for the Ring of Honor?” ([07:24], Holmberg)
  • “It’s a hoax, is what it is.” ([22:14], Holmberg, on Hall of Fame dinners/events)

3. Other Sports Hall of Fame Oddities

• Humorous and critical look at local Hall of Fames (Scottsdale, Mesa), and the tendency of sports and entertainment Halls to be more about ticket sales, networking, and ego than genuine honor.

3.1. Dale’s Own “Hall of Fame” Credentials

• Dale jokes about being in the “Scottsdale Hall of Fame”:
  • “You go to... Scottsdale Stadium. If you walk along, though, you’ll see a picture of me back in the day. All my accolades. Mine’s got the most accolades.” ([17:03], Hellestrae)
• They joke about these honors being placed in random places—like the men’s restroom.

3.2. Local Legends Overlooked

• Running joke (and genuine gripe) about guys like Larry Centers (Cardinals) or long-serving, “true blue” team members never making these honors while big names get in mainly for notoriety.
  • “There’s guys who played 10, 12 years here with the Cardinals who had really good stats... that probably should be in before Carson [Palmer].” ([11:13], Hellestrae)
  • “Larry Centers. That’s the guy. Larry Centers.” ([12:54], Podcast Host & crew)

4. Why Phoenix Reveres Certain Teams Over Others

• Barkley’s Suns (“93 finalists”) hold unique place in collective memory versus Chris Paul’s “should-have-won” 2021 team.
  • Dale: “Charles Barkley in the public eye. Personality, personality. Chris Paul—anybody develop a connection with him here?” ([10:14], Hellestrae)
• The group attributes this to Barkley’s charisma and lasting presence in Phoenix.
  • “Phoenix became a nationally known basketball place because of Charles, his mouth and his attitude.” ([14:19], Holmberg)

5. Ring of Honor: What Should Really Matter

• John proposes a new rule:
  • “If you didn’t want him through a contract negotiation in his prime, you can’t be in your Ring of Honor.” ([15:57], Holmberg)
  • “That’s my rule. That’s my only criteria.” ([16:09], Holmberg)
• Hellestrae agrees with the spirit of keeping honors for those most closely tied to, and invested in, the city/team.

6. The Suns' Current Season & LeBron Moment

• Hellestrae and Holmberg praise the current Suns:
  • “This is just a fun team... they give you 48 minutes even when they lose, you like watching them.” ([24:37], Holmberg)
  • They share a specific anecdote about LeBron James focusing on his double-digit scoring streak during a blowout, highlighting both ego and legacy in sports.
• Memorable quote:
  • "LeBron had four points going into the last five minutes... and it became important to LeBron to get to 10 points, and he was clunking up some messy shots... not trying to win this game." ([25:17], Holmberg)
  • “It’s like [being a] member of Scottsdale hall of Fame and bragging about it. It's pointless, but it meant something to him.” ([25:37], Holmberg)

7. Hall of Fame: Value, Ego, and Meaninglessness

• Extensive, playful banter about the hollowness of many “honors.”
  • “I don’t like meaningless halls of... They don’t have a roofing hall of—like, real people who do real jobs don’t get a Hall of Fame.” ([23:43], Holmberg)
  • “It’s ego nonsense.” ([23:56], Holmberg)

8. Comedy & Survey: Larry’s Football Indifference

• Guest Larry, who barely follows sports, struggles to answer simple football trivia (e.g., “How many points is a field goal?”), leading to comedic moments:
  • “How many points is a field goal?” ([26:54], Holmberg)
  • “Seven!” ([27:01], Larry)
  • Discussions touch on how personal history and family habits can turn people off sports, with Larry describing his father screaming at the TV.
    • “I grew up sitting through that and you tense and miserable.” ([27:52], Larry)

9. Personal & City Identity—Connection To Sports

• Reflection on the role of sports heroes, “rings of honor,” and communal moments (e.g. Thanksgiving) in bringing cities/people together—despite the sometimes arbitrary nature of who gets honored and who is overlooked.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

On NFL ratings:

• “57 million knuckleheads… and then everybody got in an argument. Oh, that's because of the Chiefs. It was Thanksgiving… it didn’t hurt the Chiefs and Cowboys. Obviously it didn’t hurt!”
  — Dale Hellestrae ([02:00])

On Suns Ring of Honor:

• “Phoenix sports tends to hoist up guys just on name and rather than what they did for the team.”
  — John Holmberg ([04:38])

On city’s “transplant” mentality:

• “Because we’re all transplants… even use transplant players to feel like… that’s part of the story.”
  — John Holmberg ([10:41])

On Barkley & Chris Paul comparison:

• “If you look at it objectively… the careers while they were here with Phoenix… finals appearance with Charles, finals appearance with Chris Paul. 60-win season with Chris Paul, 60-win season with Barkley.”
  — Dale Hellestrae ([07:43])

On "real" Ring of Honor candidates:

• “There’s a running back… in the 90s, a couple good running—really good running backs… not in the ring of honor yet… Larry Centers. That’s the guy.”
  — Dale & John ([12:54])

On the meaning of Hall of Fame inductions:

• “If you didn’t want him through contract negotiation in his prime, you can’t be in your Ring of Honor. That’s my rule.”
  — John Holmberg ([15:57])

On the Suns’ current appeal:

• “This is just a fun team… even when they lose, you like watching them.”
  — John Holmberg ([24:37])

On the trivialization of Halls of Fame:

• “I don’t like meaningless halls of… They don’t have a roofing hall of, like, real people who do real jobs don’t get a Hall of Fame. Entertainment—it’s ego nonsense.”
  — John Holmberg ([23:43-23:56])

Larry’s football quiz:

• “How many points is a field goal?”
  — John Holmberg
• “Seven!”
  — Larry ([27:01])

Timestamps for Important Segments

• NFL Viewership/Tradition: 01:49–02:28
• Chris Paul & Suns Ring of Honor: 04:01–10:52
• Role of Transplants and Honoring “Names”: 10:33–14:25
• Who Should Be in the Ring of Honor (Larry Centers etc.): 11:00–13:36
• Value & Meaninglessness of Halls of Fame: 16:11–23:56
• Larry’s Football Quiz & Sports Aversion: 26:40–30:15
• Reflection on Parental Sports Fandom: 27:23–30:15
• Current Suns Season & LeBron Anecdote: 24:33–25:42

Summary Tone

The episode is classic morning show sports radio: casual, satirical, quick-witted, and self-aware. The hosts riff on city pride and sports disappointment as unique Arizona traits, often poking fun at themselves and the passionate (sometimes irrational) ways fans and cities enshrine sports figures. Dale’s anecdotes balance humility and humor—he’s proud of his own (minor) honors but delighted to mock the concept. The entire segment feels as much like a roast as it does a real debate about sports “immortality,” and it’s delivered with plenty of laughs and inside-local perspectives.