Podcast Summary: Holmberg's Morning Sickness - 12-11-25

Date: December 11, 2025
Main Hosts: John Holmberg, Brady Bogan, Bret Vesely, Dick Toledo
Episode Highlights: Revival of Durant’s in Phoenix, local landmark nostalgia, and Michigan football drama

Episode Overview

This episode of Holmberg’s Morning Sickness focuses on two big topics with Holmberg’s signature blend of irreverence and local pride:

• The soft re-opening (preview night) of Phoenix’s classic steakhouse Durant’s, and why local institutions matter in rapidly changing cities.
• The firing of Michigan football coach Sherrone Moore over an inappropriate workplace relationship, with the hosts reveling in the collegiate rivalry and the resulting Michigan embarrassment—especially as experienced by Ohio State fan Brady Bogan.

Humor, local knowledge, and a dash of sports pettiness are present throughout.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Soft Opening of Durant's: Phoenix Nostalgia and Local Legacy

• Holmberg shares his excitement about attending Durant’s soft reopening, describing it as a rare, enduring Phoenix landmark—"We need Phoenix classics to endure."
  • Durant’s is described as having heart, history, and a mobster-New York steakhouse vibe. The famed red velvet wallpaper was meticulously restored by the original installer’s family.
  • Notable Quote:
    “It makes you feel like you’re in a different time, different city... There’s some ghosts in those walls and heritage. Yeah, it’s got a thing.” – John Holmberg [04:10]
• High cost, high reward:
  • Holmberg jokes about the charity dinner’s hypothetical price: “The bill, as far as we could tell... would have been around two grand. It ain’t—it’s no joke.” [03:26]
  • He emphasizes it’s not for the faint-hearted or frugal—“If you look at a bill and ever say ‘who had the blooming onion?’... this is not the place for you.” [04:45]
• Phoenix’s lack of classic institutions:
  • Holmberg and Brady discuss how Phoenix tears down old spots instead of nurturing long-term landmarks.
  • Discussion of other places (Stockyards, Monty's, Cheese ‘n Stuff, Organ Stop Pizza) brings up nostalgia and the rare Phoenix institution that still feels authentic.

Notable Moments & Timestamps

• [02:17] Brady Bogan: “Take it over.”
• [03:56] The city’s lack of tourist destinations beyond natural resources
• [06:33-09:35] Phoenix restaurant nostalgia: Stockyards, Monty’s, Cheese ‘n Stuff, Tree of Life art project

2. Local Humor, Inside Jokes & Cheeky Storytelling

• Organ Stop Pizza “is gay”:

  • John humorously recalls his dad telling him as a kid that Organ Stop was “for gay people” as a way to dodge going there.
    • “He told us as kids, it’s like a gay bar... Which again is him being super cheap and super smart. You tell a fifth grader, ‘That’s for gay kids. So you want to be one of the gay kids?’... I think it was just to get us off his back.” [15:06]

• Gilbert as ‘pod people’ and suburban copycats:

  • Ongoing jabs at the nearby suburban community of Gilbert for copying Phoenix cultural trends and restaurants.
    • “Hopefully failing miserably so the pod people don’t have another thing they think they did. They’re plagiarists. They’re food and restaurant plagiarists.” – John Holmberg [22:12]

• Phoenix’s “theme” bars:

  • Carry On (airplane-themed bar with immersive experiences) and Undertow (nautical rum-runner vibe) get praise as the city’s first truly cool, experiential spaces.
  • Holmberg darkly jokes about wanting to simulate infamous flights like 9/11 or the Buddy Holly crash at Carry On.
    • “Recreate those and, like, that’s crazy.” [19:57]
    • “How many dark-minded, weirdo, gallows humor people like me would love the 9/11... It would be legendary.” [18:49]

3. Michigan Football Drama: Rivalry & Pettiness

• Sherrone Moore fired from Michigan for inappropriate relationship with a staffer, and then arrested.
• Ohio State fan Brady Bogan is gently teased for not celebrating the Michigan drama enough:
  • Holmberg, with glee: “Yours [prayers] did. Because Sherrone Moore of Michigan not only was fired, but shortly after arrested for something stupid. Awesome stuff. You hate Michigan with a passion.” [23:15]
• Mocking rivals is part of sports:
  • Holmberg pushes for pettiness: “That’s the glory of sport: the collapse of your rival. Nothing better.” [27:05]
  • Brady insists he’d rather Michigan struggle and keep their coach so Ohio State can “beat them fair and square.” Holmberg finds this unacceptably civil.
    • “You need some petty lessons... Real fans love that. Every second of it. You should be!” [30:53 & 31:01]
• Classic sports rivalry banter and hyperbole:
  • Holmberg fantasizes about rival coaches getting diseases named after them (“Lamar Jackson Disease”), heartbreaks, public humiliation, and rooting for a “complete failure in life.”
    • “Like, just Sherrone Moore. You have to sit and hope he wakes up in puddles of his own feces, crying that every day is worse than the day before...” [29:15]

Memorable Quotes

• “Please, I want you to say something like... would be great if like, he got gangrene or something and had his leg removed... Because he’s a Michigan guy. He hates you.” – John Holmberg [31:21]
• “Brady is the reason we hate Ohio State. Indulge, you idiot.” [38:10]
• “You’re a Somalian at a Cinnabon in Wisconsin. Nobody likes you.” – John Holmberg to Brady [39:33]

4. Wrap-up: Phoenix Identity, Sports Culture, and Satire

• Phoenix’s shifting identity and the hosts’ wish for more unique, enduring establishments is a thread through both the local nostalgia and their sports outlook.
• Holmberg’s satirical attacks on piety, sportsmanship, and suburban sprawl provide comedic edge and local flavor.

Important Segment Timestamps

| Timestamp | Segment | |-----------|--------------------------------------------------------------------| | 04:10 | Durant’s restoration and “ghosts in those walls” | | 15:06 | Organ Stop Pizza: Dad’s “it’s gay” story | | 18:49 | Carry On bar, dark jokes about 9/11 and famous flight tragedies | | 22:12 | Critique of Gilbert “food plagiarists” | | 23:15 | Michigan coach Sherrone Moore’s firing and Ohio State rivalry | | 27:05 | “Glory of sport is collapse of your rival” - rivalry pettiness | | 30:53 | Real fans, diseases named after rivals (Lamar Jackson Disease) | | 38:10 | “Brady is the reason we hate Ohio State. Indulge, you idiot.” |

Conclusion

This episode offers a feast of Phoenix nostalgia and sports rivalry, led by Holmberg’s sarcastic, rapid-fire wit. From the sentimental return of Durant’s (with detailed, enthusiastic praise) to deeply unserious debates about the merits of rooting for total humiliation of sporting enemies, it’s an episode for fans who love their city, their teams, and their inside jokes.

Listeners get a crash course in why local classics matter, why sporting rivalries run so deep, and why, as Holmberg would doubtless say, “a little petty never hurt anyone.”