Holmberg's Morning Sickness presents: The Sports Thing Podcast

w/Holmberg, Hellestrae and Nash — Episode 14

Date: November 7, 2025

Episode Overview

This episode dives deep into recent sports headlines — from a breathless recap of the epic 2025 World Series, to the ongoing drama with Kyler Murray and the Arizona Cardinals, to basketball culture, wild ideas for NFL franchise ownership, and even a side trip into sports broadcasting, dog cloning, and voting. With the familiar chemistry among host John Holmberg, three-time Dallas Cowboys champion Dale Hellestrae, and personality Dave Nash, the conversation is as much about sports culture and personalities as about the games themselves.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Greatness and Humility in Sports

• The show opens with playful banter about personal humility (or lack thereof) when it comes to sports accomplishments and self-congratulation, likening attitudes in golf to those of superstar athletes like Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers.
  • Memorable Quote:
    • “I always look at, like, Tom Brady was one for years... He just assesses himself with the really good stuff.” — Dave Nash [04:00]

2. The 2025 World Series – Greatest of All Time?

• The hosts dive into the details of the 2025 World Series, calling it perhaps the "best...of our lifetimes" [06:15], comparing it to classics of the TV era and recounting the drama of Game 7 between the Dodgers and Blue Jays.
  • Holmberg shares a personal anecdote involving Jerry Colangelo predicting Luis Gonzalez's iconic ‘blooper’ in 2001.
  • The conversation highlights the rarity and magic of what they witnessed: multiple pitching duels, dramatic defensive plays, a nail-biting finish, and “magic moments” that define sports nostalgia.
  • Key Timestamps:
    • [06:15]–[15:25] — World Series Recap, details on the series & historical context
  • Quotes:
    • "That game seven, I was out of my seat four or five times." — Dave Nash [07:21]
    • "If this World Series ends on a review and they reverse it, I'll never watch another pitch of baseball in my life." — Dave Nash [11:30]
    • “To me, that’s the type of baseball I love. I’ve always said the glove is more exciting than the bat.” — Dave Nash [12:52]
  • The panel also critiques small details, such as a missed secondary lead at third base possibly costing the game — emphasizing that "little things...don't happen at that level" anymore [12:01].

3. Managerial Guts vs Analytics and Baseball Philosophy

• The men praise this year’s managers for making gut calls instead of strictly following analytics ("This was a guts World Series... It went back to gut calls." — Dave Nash [23:25]).
• Discussion branches to the pressure of making risky decisions in the biggest moments, and how managers are judged in hindsight only.

4. Personal Anecdotes and the Athlete's Mind Under Pressure

• Hellestrae shares stories about the pressure of big moments as an NFL long snapper, including Super Bowl nerves, equipment mishaps, and the importance of mental preparation ([17:00]–[20:10]).

  • Quote:
    • "Here's the first play of our Super Bowl in the Rose Bowl with 100,000 fans. I'm not thinking about TV watchers and all that, but I'm like, I can't screw this." — Dale Hellestrae [19:14]

• Dale tells a story about blowing a no-hitter in college by losing a fly ball in the sun, followed by practical insights about playing outfield and ball visibility ([26:53]–[29:25]).

  • Quote:
    • "If you keep your head between the ball and the sun, you'll never lose it." — Dale Hellestrae [28:17]

5. Coaching, Leadership, and "The It Factor"

• The group explores what makes a true leader — referencing Jimmy Johnson and Dave Campo as NFL coaches with and without “it,” and how athletes and teams react to leadership.
• This segues into an assessment of Kyler Murray's lack of “it factor” with the Cardinals: "I see body language on this Cardinals offense when Kyler Murray is out there that they kind of assume his body language." — John Holmberg [50:15]
• The contrast between the attitude and effect on team of different QBs (e.g., Jacoby Brissett and Baker Mayfield) is discussed.

6. The Kyler Murray/Cardinals Saga

• The show dives into the latest with Kyler Murray: his perceived lack of leadership, likely trade attempts, and why Arizona hasn't moved on, speculating about what goes on behind the scenes ([48:12]–[63:10]).
  • Notable Quotes:
    • "There's something else wrong. And the team does not respond to him." — Dave Nash [49:01]
    • "With the quarterback, when he steps into that huddle, you're either with him or you're not with him." — John Holmberg [55:08]
    • "How can most people see it and the general manager and the owner not see it?” — Dale Hellestrae [58:04]

7. Culture and Construction in Pro Sports

• The discussion turns to NBA team-building, with an emphasis on patience and the folly of “microwave teams.” The Oklahoma City Thunder are cited as a model for slow, stable franchise construction ([37:16]).

  • Quote:
    • "Everyone thinks it's just microwave teams... This is a human game. It's not a video game." — Dale Hellestrae [37:29]

• The Suns' early-season woes are discussed, including injuries and questions of effort versus accomplishment.

8. Wild Ownership & Relegation Proposals for the NFL

• Holmberg pitches a tongue-in-cheek "Holmberg Doctrine": after seven years without playoff appearance, NFL franchise owners would be forced to sell the team for the original purchase price [39:21].
  • The idea spirals into jokes about lottery ownership, collusion between teams, and comparisons to European soccer relegation.
  • Quotes:
    • "So you don't make the playoffs... you have got to sell your team for the cash equivalent of what you bought it for..." — Dave Nash [39:21]
    • "Not one owner would lose his team. But your team would not have seven-year droughts." — Dave Nash [42:41]
• The crew discusses how current NFL economics remove incentives for owners to actually win, as profits are ensured by massive TV and stadium deals.

9. Sports Officiating and Gambling

• Thought-provoking segment on officiating differences between baseball and football, and how gambling might affect integrity in different leagues (esp. after UFC and NBA controversies).

10. Broadcasting, Cloning, and Bizarre News Items

• The guys riff on sports broadcasting, language barriers (David Ortiz’s English on TV), and Tom Brady reportedly cloning his dog — speculating whether he’s cloning himself too.
  • Memorable Moment:
    • “Brady’s building a new Tom Brady. Let me be the first Don Quixote to start screaming at this windmill. This dude’s up to no good building a whole army of himself.” — Dave Nash [71:48]

11. Voting, Elections, and Society

• Dale ends with a mini-rant about his distrust of electronic voting and concerns about American elections, with Dave and John taking a typically irreverent approach to the seriousness of the subject ([73:26]–end).
  • Quote:
    • "In America you are not elected. You are selected by the upper class that want them to do your bidding." — Dale Hellestrae [75:06]
  • The segment ends in typical fashion: “Satanist me. There goes Dale. There goes Dave. That's it. The sports thing is over for yet another week.” — Dave Nash [78:03]

Notable Quotes & Timestamps

• On the World Series' greatness
  "That was spectacular... you can't ask for much better than what we got there." — Dave Nash [06:15]

• On gut managerial decisions
  "That was my favorite part of this World Series. It went back to gut calls." — Dave Nash [23:25]

• On Kyler Murray's leadership
  "He's amazing...but the quarterback, when he steps in that huddle, you're either with him or not." — John Holmberg [55:08]

• On sports leadership culture
  "Jimmy Johnson would walk into our team meeting room... you could feel him walking down the hallway. By the time he got to the door: dead quiet." — John Holmberg [49:01]

• On fast franchise building
  "Everyone thinks it's just microwave teams... This is a human game. It's not a video game." — Dale Hellestrae [37:29]

• On NFL profitability and lack of incentive to win
  “They don’t have to sell a sit-down ticket... Everything else was gravy... The hot dogs, the beer, the T-shirts, the parking, the ticket sales. Everything else was money in their hands.” — John Holmberg [46:29]

Segment Timestamps Breakdown

• 00:47 – 06:00: Opening banter; humility in sports; golf stories
• 06:15 – 25:25: The 2025 World Series — full recap, key plays, managerial philosophy
• 25:26 – 30:34: Personal pressure stories; “the yips”; stories of choking and redemption
• 30:35 – 38:22: Officiating differences; integrity; gambling in sports
• 38:23 – 42:00: NBA and team building; Suns and Thunder; “microwave teams”
• 42:01 – 50:26: NFL ownership overhaul scheme; joke ideas for fandom and franchise movement
• 48:12 – 63:10: CARDINALS & KYLER MURRAY — leadership, contracts, trade speculation
• 63:11 – 72:22: Cultural bits — Matt Khalil’s infamous divorce, Tom Brady dog cloning theory
• 73:26 – 78:08: Riffing on voting, election fraud fears, American society — show close

Final Thoughts

This episode puts the spotlight on sports as both game and culture, with the hosts' irreverence, strong opinions, and chemistry providing insight (and plenty of laughs/support for their wild ideas). The Sports Thing Podcast blends sharp sports analysis, behind-the-scenes stories, and barstool debate in a way that gives you the feel of sitting in on a spirited night at your favorite sports bar.

Whether you want a play-by-play retelling of one of baseball's all-time classics, a nuanced sports leadership debate, or just to laugh at the idea of Tom Brady running a one-man genetic dynasty, this is an episode worth catching — or reviewing here.