Holmberg’s Morning Sickness – Arizona

Episode: 12-11-25 - Thursdays w/Former Dallas Cowboy OLineman Dale Hellestrae
Date: December 11, 2025
Main Guests: John Holmberg (Host), Dale Hellestrae (Former Dallas Cowboy Offensive Lineman), Brady Bogen, Bret Vesely, Dick Toledo
Main Theme: Sports rivalries, the fallout from Michigan’s coaching scandal (the Sherrone Moore firing), and the psychology of sports hatred and petty rivalries—plus a deep-dive into how former players like Dale “got mean” on the field.

Episode Overview

This episode dives into the raw, unfiltered feelings that come with sports rivalries and the latest scandal at Michigan, where offensive coordinator Sherrone Moore was fired after an alleged extramarital affair with a staffer. John Holmberg and friends explore the intersection of personal pettiness in sports, the boundary between friendly hate and real-life consequences, and get some brutally honest, hilarious war-stories from Dale Hellestrae’s playing days. The hosts swap candid opinions about rooting for bad things to happen to rivals (with plenty of sarcasm), discuss infamous rival incidents, and dig into why sports fans (and players) savor rivalry almost as much as victory itself.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Michigan Scandal – Sherrone Moore’s Firing

• Context: Sherrone Moore (Michigan’s football coach) was fired for having a relationship with a staff member, raising questions about power dynamics and program integrity.
• Brady’s Glee, Rival Fan Schadenfreude:
  • Brady (an Ohio State fan) expresses enjoyment over Michigan’s misfortune. The crew roasts him for not celebrating enough.
  • [03:04] "I smiled when I saw a little bit. I'm not gonna lie." – Brady
  • Holmberg mocks him: “He sure was an easy coach to whip. Like. No, he wasn’t. He beat you twice. You’re one and two against this guy.” [02:33]
• Rumor Commentary
  • The team riffs on rumors—some true, some pure dark comedy—about the firing.
  • [03:56] “Is that true though?” [regarding Moore’s rumored press drama]
    [04:02] “That's what I heard.” – tongue-in-cheek, highlighting the rumor-mongering around sports scandals.
• Power Dynamics & Accountability
  • Dale briefly touches on the issue of power imbalance and why coaches (especially at big programs) have to recognize their positions:
    • [21:46] “Shouldn’t coaches who have...they should know. It’s like a fisherman being dropped in a boat and saying, don’t fish. If you’re susceptible to the college gal, you can’t, you can’t go.” – Holmberg
    • [21:49] “Yeah but maybe he wasn’t until he became a head coach.” – Dale

2. Petty Rivalries – Are They Good or Bad?

• Holmberg’s Brand of Petty Hate:
  • John confesses to rooting not just for his team to win, but for real, personal misfortune for rivals (all delivered with a heavy dose of comedic exaggeration).
  • [09:04] "I would root for this guy to have a disease named after him next...and for some reason his body is immune to like any anesthesia. So they have to do the cuts live like while he's awake."
  • [10:21] “See, I like all you’re talking about. And add in that there’s some diseases going around and they’re incurable. In Ravens locker rooms. That would be the best.”
  • [11:34] “If John Harbaugh got a like John Harbaugh's disease or the JHD as I call it...I'd be like, that's okay. It'll be a good day for me. I might order a pizza.”
• Dale – The Line Between Humorous Spite and Actual Harm:
  • [09:29] “See me, the way I...I don’t want human lives, the person involved, a rivalry, fine. But I don’t like the ancillary stuff. I don’t like that this girl's caught up in this. I don't like the wife and kids..."
  • Dale prefers his rivalry “victimless”—like when an Auburn fan poisoned Alabama’s famous trees, which only “emotionally” hurt the rival.
• Memorable Example – The Trees at Toomer’s Corner
  • [09:44] “What I like is like the Alabama Auburn deal where the one guy was slowly poisoning all the trees... Not bad.” – Dale
  • [13:11] "To me, that was one of the worst things that's happened in sports because, like, look, you can...yes, because you can root for someone to get a disease, but you can't prove that I gave it to them."
• Fan Behavior and Rivalry Psychology:
  • The hosts riff on the catharsis and community among fans who hate the same sports figures.
  • [19:26] "The guy just emailed me, said, oh my God, it's so nice to hear someone hate Lamar Jackson the way I hate him. It makes me feel normal. I want him to get VD of the mouth." – John

3. How Far Is Too Far?

• Dale’s Locker Room Stories
  • Dale reveals how, as a player, he harnessed his hate and created villainous backstories for his gridiron opponents as game-day motivation.
  • [16:37] “For you at SMU, at Dallas, when you're playing, it's like that guy across from me wants to kill you. If you don't hate him, if you don't have a proper amount of…ability to absolutely conjure up hatred..."
  • [16:39] Dale’s routine: "I would get the media guide, picture the guy I'm going against...put in my locker, and every day I'd walk in, I'd find something...by the time either Saturday, especially in college, on Saturday came, I hated that guy."
• Dirtiest Play Confession:
  • [17:50 - 18:44] Dale shares the time he twisted Ray Childress’s facemask at the bottom of a pile, admitting it’s one of the few “really dirty” things he’d ever done:
    • [18:17] “...through all the legs and arms, I can look down, and it’s Ray Childress. And I said, watch this and twist. And so I grabbed his facemask and I literally tried to corkscrew...”
    • [18:43] “…his nose is sticking out of his ear hole.”
    • [18:56] "He starts...he doesn't know what he's, who did it? He's trying to swing and hit somebody. Not only that, I probably broke his nose, but he got a 15-yard penalty from sports and..."
    • [18:55] “And I walked back the huddle, a big smile on my face. That's. You get, you piece of crap.”
• Winning Battles, Not Just Games:
  • [19:04] “Who won the game?” – “We didn’t.” – “Doesn’t matter. He won the battle.”

4. Player and Fan Hatreds – The Love/Hate of Lamar Jackson, Philip Rivers, and More

• Holmberg’s Ongoing Petty Targets
  • [20:21] “I swear to God, if Chris Collinsworth...Lamar Jackson thrown four interceptions tonight—‘That’s one of the most incredible plays I’ve ever seen…’ Like, he’s down four picks in this game and you’re still praising him.”
  • [20:39-21:06] John and Dale banter about broadcaster biases and the hero-worship of players like Mahomes and Jackson.
• Philip Rivers Rant
  • [14:48-15:13] Debate erupts about whether Rivers was beloved or despised by linemen.
    • [14:54] “He’s intolerable.” – John
    • [15:01] “Every offensive lineman hated Philip Rivers. All he does is blame and bark.” – John
    • [15:05] “No, he does not blame anything. John, John, how many times have you lined up in front of a 300-pound man...?” – Dale

5. When Rival Hate Goes Personal and Beyond

• The Danger of Power and Temptation in Big College Jobs
  • The group reflects on why big jobs (like coach at Michigan or Ohio State) seem to court scandal—and how “fishing in your own pond” often ends badly.
  • [21:53] “That's a horrendous situation...I do feel for...” – Dale
  • [22:02-22:10] “Weren’t they, like, dating, though? He wasn’t, like, molesting her.” – John
    [22:08] “She was. She was a participant.”
  • [22:33] John and Dale clarify the difference between “immoral” and “illegal” (the Moore case being the former, a local AD sending texts to a middle-schooler being the latter).

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments (with Timestamps)

• [03:04] "I smiled when I saw a little bit. I'm not gonna lie." — Brady (on Michigan’s scandal)
• [09:04] "I would root for this guy to have a disease named after him next...and for some reason his body is immune to like any anesthesia." — John Holmberg
• [13:11] "To me, that was one of the worst things that's happened in sports because, like, look, you can...yes, because you can root for someone to get a disease, but you can't prove that I gave it to them." — John
• [17:01] "I can see that is an arrogant SOB...by the time...Saturday came, I hated that guy." — Dale Hellestrae
• [18:43] "...his nose is sticking out of his ear hole." — John, describing Dale's facemask twist on Childress
• [19:26] "Oh my God, it's so nice to hear someone hate Lamar Jackson the way I hate him. It makes me feel normal. I want him to get VD of the mouth." — John, reading a listener email
• [20:21] "I swear to God, if Chris Collinsworth..." — John's satirical rant on Collinsworth's quarterback obsession
• [25:05] “Here we run the wishbone 300 times a game. That’s...stupid. You got 12 plays in your...and you got to remember five of them.” — John, on college vs. pro football

Timestamps for Important Segments

| Timestamp | Segment Description | |-----------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 02:25 | The Michigan scandal and Ohio State/Michigan rivalry – initial reactions | | 09:04 | Petty rivalries: rooting for disaster to befall rivals (comedic exaggeration) | | 13:11 | Discussion of “acceptable” rivalry pranks vs. real harm (Toomer’s Corner) | | 16:37 | Dale’s player mindset: manufacturing hate for the opponent | | 17:50 | Dale’s confession of his dirtiest on-field act – facemask twist | | 19:26 | Listener email shares similar rivalry hate – catharsis for fans | | 21:46 | The dangers of temptation in high-profile coaching, power dynamics | | 22:33 | Difference between "immoral" and "illegal" behavior in college scandals | | 25:05 | Rant on college football’s simplicity vs. the NFL | | 25:16 | Cliffhanger teaser: Is this Mike Tomlin's last year? (Not resolved) |

Tone & Style

The conversation is candid, bawdy, and laced with sarcasm and dark comedy. John takes comedic shots at rivals, Dale brings authentic locker-room stories and football culture, while Brady offers (mildly) the voice of conscience—kind of. The group’s banter mirrors how actual fans and former players process and rationalize the wild, unruly emotions that only sports rivalries can bring.

Who Should Listen / What You'll Learn

If you’re fascinated by the psychology of sports fans, the tribal joy of rooting against your rival, or you love hearing uncensored behind-the-scenes stories from ex-pros, this episode delivers hefty doses of all three. You’ll laugh at the over-the-top rivalry “wishing,” reflect on the blurry line between playful hate and real harm, and maybe even feel a little better about how much you resent that one guy on that team.

Note: Ads, intros, and non-content segments have been omitted. The above summary preserves the style, candor, and humor of the original episode.