Episode Overview

Date: December 12, 2025
Podcast: Holmberg's Morning Sickness (Arizona’s #1 Morning Radio Show, 98 KUPD)
Hosts: John Holmberg, Brady Bogen, Bret Vesely, Dick Toledo
Main Theme:
A classic, raucous episode exploring hot sports topics (aging stars in pro sports, World Cup ticket prices/economics), moral and legal dilemmas in extreme situations (manslaughter after leaving a hiking partner behind), gender economics and equality, and the weird realities behind cruise ship protocols—all with the show’s trademark irreverence and sharp sarcasm.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Old Athletes Making Comebacks—A Symptom of Sports’ Decline?

• John Holmberg kicks off with a frank rant about the recent trend of veteran quarterbacks being considered for returns to the NFL (Philip Rivers, Tom Brady), expressing outright disdain for “old guy” comeback stories.
  • “Anyone who believes that when people who are old do well in a sport that it's good for the age person, it isn't. It means the sport's broken.” (03:00, Holmberg)
• View that sports should feature “the best possible talent”—so if a 48-year-old is the best option, something is wrong with the game.
• Extends this to other sports: Phil Mickelson’s win, George Foreman’s late-career championship.
• Turns morbidly comedic:
  • “I hope his spleen falls out… I hope instead of CTE he gets Alzheimer's knocked into him on the field.” (03:21, Holmberg)
• Argues that rooting for “old hero” moments only sets up the tragedy of witnessing a beloved athlete get hurt or die on the field/ring.

2. World Cup Ticket Prices and the Economic Inequality of Soccer

• Holmberg investigates attending the World Cup: Face value lower-bowl tickets are $8,000; secondary market prices may reach $50–$75K per seat!
  • “FIFA is charging $8,000 a ticket, face value for just lower bowl, not sweets, not anything else.” (07:56, Holmberg)
• FIFA’s World Cup generates an estimated $80 billion in revenue, dwarfing the GDP of many countries (Afghanistan makes only $11 billion/year).
  • “$80 billion. 109 countries don't make that much money.” (09:03, Holmberg)
• Champions a free-market stance: If people pay, it’s priced appropriately (“Nobody stands outside a Lamborghini dealership… You just didn't have enough to buy it.”)
• Sharp segue into the equal pay debate: The men’s event generates $80B, women’s $6B max.
  • “Ladies are like, we need to be paid the same as the men. No, you don't. You need to be paid… like 14 times less.” (10:57, Holmberg)
• Satirical analogy with a lemonade stand:
  • “If I made $80 at the lemonade stand and you made six, why would we split that evenly?” (11:32, Holmberg)

3. Gender, Responsibility, and the Hiking Manslaughter Controversy

• The crew discusses a real court case where a man faces manslaughter charges for leaving an ill-equipped girlfriend to seek help in the Austrian Alps; she died of hypothermia.
• Blistering back-and-forth on personal responsibility vs. legal/moral obligations:
  • “They can get us to go to jail now just for being better than them.” (20:12, Holmberg)
  • “If you say yes to climbing a Swiss Alp, you're in on it. You're not my responsibility. If you freeze to death…and you got in it, your fault.” (26:00, Holmberg)
• Parody of the “climbing code” (whether you’re supposed to stay and die with your partner or save yourself).
• Gender reversal—observes that if a male died, the woman would be called a hero for going for help; men are penalized for “not dying with her.”
  • “If a woman hiker goes up a hill and a dude dies, nobody's ever gonna know she killed him. He just wasn't as good as her. We accept it… She’d be a hero.” (21:43, Holmberg)

4. Cruise Ship Freezer Morbidity: “Free Ice Cream Means Someone Died”

• Creepy industry secret: When cruise ships offer free ice cream, it’s likely they’re using the freezer for a body because their small morgues are full.
  • “If we ever do a free ice cream giveaway, we're using the freezer for a body.” (35:11, Holmberg quoting a former cruise line worker)
• Discussion about how common cruise ship deaths are (especially among older passengers), how bodies are handled on board, and the black humor among crew: Carnival marks deaths by playing Boys II Men songs.
• Hilarious, dark cruise ship eulogies riffing on this—how Carnival would “say goodbye to Rallo.” (37:04)
• Details on freezer cleaning: Just bleach, defrost, and refreeze—“does the work for itself.” (39:42, Holmberg)

Notable Quotes and Moments (with Timestamps)

• On sports and age:
  • “When a 48-year-old is the best option, something's broken in the game.” (02:50, Holmberg)
  • “Stop putting old people in positions that are going to get them killed and acting like we want to see it. We don't.” (06:25, Holmberg)
• On World Cup ticketing:
  • “$80 billion…and I'm not a mathematician, is more…by at least half. I don't know numbers. I'm not Asian. I need an abacus and a guy named Kim.” (10:16, Holmberg—crude joke)
  • “If you can't afford it, it’s not their fault… Nobody ever stands outside the Lamborghini dealership going, this is out of control. You're charging too much.” (08:58, Holmberg)
• On male/female double standards and hiking:
  • “You climb the Alps. It's every man for himself.” (29:35, Holmberg)
  • “He should have bought me a better coat.”
    “You got a job?... No. Buy your own coat. Ask a couple questions. Is this coat good enough?” (33:48–34:07, Sarah/Holmberg)
• On cruise deaths and ice cream:
  • “‘If we ever do an ice cream giveaway, it means we’re using the freezer for a body.’” (35:11, Holmberg)

Major Segments (with Timestamps)

• [01:20–06:00]—Old athletes returning; sports and age rant
• [06:00–12:00]—World Cup ticket costs, FIFA economics, pay equity satire
• [14:00–22:00]—Austrian mountain manslaughter, morals, and climbing “codes”
• [34:20–38:00]—Cruise ship deaths and the freezer/ice cream code
• [39:35–41:00]—Cleaning up after a cruise ship body in a freezer
• [41:10+]—Music talk, audience song requests, and wrap-up banter

Tone & Style

• Fast, sarcastic, highly irreverent, and topical, blending dark humor with real social commentary
• Blunt opinions on gender and cultural norms, sports, and human nature, sometimes walking the line of political correctness

For Listeners Who Missed the Episode

This show delivers pointed social commentary on sports, money, and modern morality—with no sacred cows and plenty of gallows humor. Expect unflinching opinions, relentless teasing, and rapid-fire banter. The hosts argue that:

• Celebrating old athletes’ returns signals decline, not inspiration.
• Sky-high World Cup ticket prices are justified by demand and massive revenue, and economics—not fairness—should drive the pay debate between men's and women's sports.
• In life-or-death situations (like mountain climbing), personal responsibility trumps society’s desire for heroes or martyrs—gender bias still affects how these situations are judged.
• Even pleasure cruises have dark secrets, and sometimes your free ice cream is hiding a literal cold case.

Memorable, brash, and full of quotable moments, this episode of Holmberg’s Morning Sickness keeps the laughs (and uncomfortable truths) coming.