Holmberg’s Morning Sickness – “The Sports Thing” w/ Holmberg, Hellestrae & Nash – Episode 2

Date: August 21, 2025
Host & Guests:

• John Holmberg (Host, 98KUPD “Morning Sickness”)
• Dale Hellestrae (3x Super Bowl Champion, Dallas Cowboys)
• Dave Nash (Entrepreneur, former Minor League Baseball player, and resident skeptic/conspiracy fan)

Episode Overview

This lively episode of "The Sports Thing" continues the trio’s freewheeling football banter, focusing on NFL over/unders, coaching impacts, preseason surprises, and some classic sports arguments, all spiced up with humor, personal stories, and Nash’s signature conspiracy rants. The tone is unfiltered, sarcastic, and sometimes combative—in keeping with the show’s mission to “entertain, question, and disturb.”

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Opening Bets & the Cardinals’ Chances

[01:42 - 04:10]

• Dale jokes about betting on the Arizona Cardinals to win the NFC West at +450.
• Holmberg doesn’t dismiss it, citing the division as "weaker than people think" and credits Cardinals’ coaching:
  • “I think the Cardinals will win that division… I think they're the best coached team in that division.” – Holmberg [04:08]
• They argue merits of other coaches (McVay, Shanahan) but most panelists agree the Cardinals are rising thanks to Gannon (HC) and Monti Ossenfort (GM).

2. NFL Coaching, Team-Building, and Overrated Legends

[04:50 - 09:47]

• Nash launches his annual “Belichick is overrated” rant, sparking heated debate:
  • “Bill Belichick is the most overrated coach in the history of football” – Nash [06:40]
• Holmberg counters, credits Belichick’s defensive genius but concedes offense/drafting is a weakness.
• The infamous Malcolm Butler Super Bowl benching resurfaces, leading to wild speculation:
  • “Malcolm Butler said, I don’t know why I didn’t play. I was ready. I’m healthy.” – Nash [08:33]

3. Over/Unders, Coaches That Move the Needle, and AFC/NFC Analyses

[11:00 - 18:21]

• Discussion pivots to the Raiders, Chargers, Broncos, and how coaching impacts team win totals.
• Dale suggests Pete Carroll is “worth two wins," arguing coach impact is underrated.
• Jim Harbaugh’s coaching ability is weighed:
  • “You cannot argue him as a football coach… Everywhere he’s gone, he’s won.” – Hellestrae [14:17]
• Holmberg notes: “I’d say eight wins is a reasonable mark for the Raiders. I don’t trust the Chargers to be… a team I bet on or against.” [13:34]

4. Chiefs, Eagles, Team-Building & Draft Capital

[18:21 - 23:20]

• The importance of drafting “up front” (O-line/D-line) as the Eagles have perfected is highlighted.
• Andy Weidl's draft philosophy—acquire as many picks as possible—gets praise:
  • “You give me 14 picks, I’m going to try to hit eight… If you’ve got 13 or 14 picks, you hit seven or eight, that’s huge.” – Holmberg [20:40]
• The Herschel Walker trade’s long-term impact & the Cowboys dynasty is discussed, with Hellestrae recalling the pile of picks.

5. The NFL’s Salary Cap Squeeze and Contender Windows

[23:20 - 24:59]

• Concerns are voiced for teams loading on young talent:
  • “A team that’s got two or three picks in the first round is doomed… Their window closes in four years because they’re not going to be able to afford if the worst thing can happen: you hit on four picks in the first two rounds.” – Holmberg [23:04]
• Bengals, with their highly paid WRs & QB, are used as a cautionary example.

6. Importance of Starting Strong & Personal Stories of Playoff Chases

[24:59 - 27:35]

• Holmberg and Hellestrae are baffled by T. Higgins’ quote:
  • “I’d rather be 0 and 8 so no one cares about us…” – T. Higgins (paraphrased by Nash) [25:03]
• Dale relives the grind of the 1993 Cowboys, who started 0-2 without Emmitt Smith and had to scramble for a playoff bye.
  • “So the entire season was a fricking grind. We had to beat the New York Giants in the last game… to win the division.” – Hellestrae [26:32]

7. QB Debates & Cleveland’s Over/Under

[28:23 - 30:20]

• Nash is bullish on Cleveland’s over (5.5 wins), touting Flacco, and lambasts Deshaun Watson:
  • “I wouldn’t trust him with anything except maybe a child’s toy.” – Nash [30:27]
• John argues Watson is still the best talent but agrees with Nash on the Browns' history of failure.

8. Bengals, Season Schedules, and Playoff Odds

[32:53 - 36:16]

• Group predicts Bengals under (9.5 wins), citing defensive losses.
• AFC North and East are declared the league’s toughest divisions.

9. The Role of Home Field and Playoff Matchups

[36:16 - 38:02]

• Home field’s importance is debated; only two modern teams (Steelers '05, Packers '10) have won Super Bowls as full-road wild cards.
• “It’s important to have a home game in the playoffs. You travel, 17-game seasons… even a good team running three straight on the road is hard.” – Holmberg [36:17]

10. Matching Up: 90s NFL & Ravens Heartache

[38:02 - 40:19]

• Hellestrae details playoff matchups: Cowboys always beat Packers, but 49ers were tougher.
• Holmberg gleefully bashes the Ravens’ playoff futility and Mark Andrews’ infamous drop:
  • “There’s a great meme… who in this room has F’d the entire football team?... Hi, I’m Mark Andrews…” – Holmberg [38:53]
• “[The Ravens] cannot get out of their own way. And nothing makes me happier…” – Holmberg [39:32]

11. NFL Over/Under Value Bets

[40:36 - 41:47]

• Ravens and Chiefs identified as under bets with high lines (11.5 wins), especially due to injury risks at QB.
• Running QBs (Allen, Jackson, Fields) flagged as fragile for their teams’ win total bets.

12. Preseason Surprises & QB Battles

[43:42 - 50:03]

• Discussing the “wow” of the Jaguars’ 70-yard preseason field goal, and its (non) impact on the record books.
• Dave Nash touts Giants rookie QB Jackson Dart as a preseason standout:
  • “He’s a big guy that can throw, that can move… I really like the Giants, and I think Jackson Dart’s going to be a really good find.” – Nash [47:18]
• Debate over when to unseat a starting QB (Wilson) in favor of a rookie, citing the risk of dividing a team.

13. Football Gear, Safety, and Concussion Stories

[53:49 - 62:20]

• Dale reflects on helmet tech advances from his high school days (suspension helmets, water helmets, air) to today’s “guardian” helmets.
• Open talk about how older eras were less explosive due to less athletic training and weight rooms.
• Hellestrae: “They say every time two linemen hit each other, it’s like getting into a car crash going 15 miles an hour.” [57:29]
• Both hosts and Hellestrae describe their own concussion episodes; Holmberg describes crying at Frazier after a hit [59:34]; Dale describes playing entire games, not recalling being on the field due to “ghost mode” from a concussion [61:03].

14. Nash’s Minute: Conspiracies & Vaccine Skepticism

[63:15 - 71:16]

• Nash’s “Nash Minute” tackles vaccines—with a highly controversial (and scientifically unsupported) anti-vax stance. He claims:
  • The polio vaccine didn’t eradicate polio [64:02],
  • “Not one vaccine in the history of man has helped us.” – Nash [69:00]
• Holmberg pushes back with statistics, but Nash stands firm, even denying the role of medicine in increased human lifespan.
  • “What has Big Pharma cured? …They don’t cure anything. They want you to stay sick.” – Holmberg & Nash [66:48]
• Nash claims all advances are due to plumbing and sanitation, not medicine.

Notable Quotes & Highlights

• On sports heartbreaks:
  “You can say birth of your first child, wedding—not even close to watching the Baltimore Ravens lose.” – Holmberg [05:13]

• On Bill Belichick:
  “He’s the most decorated coach in history.” – Holmberg [06:48]
  “What’s his record without Tom Brady?” – Nash [06:52]

• On over/unders in betting:
  “Generally you don’t go more than one or two games over… It’s usually right in there.” – Nash [12:49]

• On the Steelers crowd in Vegas:
  “70,000 people in that stadium and 60,000… black and gold jerseys. It was weird.” – Holmberg [11:39]

• On Dak’s shoulder pads:
  “Back in the 90s, you had to wear thigh pads and knee pads. Nate Newton, at 360 lbs, would put just a little plastic shell… The pads weighed 2 ounces, but he thought a full thigh pad slowed him down.” – Hellestrae [55:28]

Timestamps of Key Segments

| Segment | Timestamp | |---------------------------------------------------------|------------------| | Cardinals division odds & coaching talk | 01:41 – 04:10 | | Belichick argument & Malcolm Butler Super Bowl rant | 06:40 – 09:47 | | Raiders/Chargers AO vs. coaching impact | 11:00 – 18:21 | | Draft capital & Eagles/Cowboys philosophy | 18:21 – 23:20 | | Bengals’ salary cap dilemma | 23:24 – 24:59 | | T. Higgins & the importance of starting strong | 25:03 – 27:35 | | Watson/Flacco/Browns QB argument | 28:23 – 30:20 | | Bengals & AFC/NFC scheduling/odds | 32:53 – 36:16 | | Home field advantage, playoffs, and matchups | 36:16 – 38:02 | | Ravens’ infamous playoff gaffe | 38:53 – 39:32 | | NFL win total value bets | 40:36 – 41:47 | | Preseason surprises (70-yard FG, Giants’ Jackson Dart) | 43:42 – 50:03 | | Football gear/safety/concussions | 53:49 – 62:20 | | Nash’s conspiracy/vaccine segment | 63:15 – 71:16 |

Tone & Takeaways

• The episode is a fun, combative, and candid look at football through the lens of experience, fandom, and betting.
• Listeners get a mix of sharp football insight (“look at draft capital and roster construction”), nostalgia (Cowboys’ dynasties), and genuinely funny sports radio banter.
• Nash’s “Nash Minute” veers into conspiratorial territory, offering provocative (and widely debunked) anti-vaccine opinions, fully in character for the “angry fan” persona but flagged by Holmberg for skepticism.

The Sports Thing delivers memorable, irreverent football talk perfect for fans craving both sharp analysis and laughs, with this episode spanning everything from NFL coaching legacies to preseason QB hype to heated debates about medicine and society.

Memorable Out-of-Context Quote Award:

“Malcolm Butler’s banging everybody’s wife.” – Hellestrae [36:41]