The Basement Yard: Episode #539 – The Heated Rivalry Review

Release Date: January 26, 2026
Hosts: Joe Santagato & Frank Alvarez
Studio: Santagato Studios

Episode Overview

In this episode, Joe, Frank, and their producer ("Ant") dive into a playful—and often explicit—discussion of "Heated Rivalry," a buzzy new queer hockey romance series that's gotten both the widespread attention of their audience and the suspicious scrutiny of YouTube's content moderation system. The hosts recount their initial reactions (including a lost, too-hot-for-YouTube version), recap the show's plot and themes, share their emotional and comedic takes on LGBTQ representation in sports, and, as always, detour into irreverent personal stories about everything from gym rivalries and pastries to family, hot dog cravings, and stair-related mishaps.

The show is characteristically raunchy and riotous, but—beneath the jokes—offers genuine reflections on representation, identity, and friendship.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. YouTube Controversy & Podcast Format Changes

• [00:41] The episode opens with the hosts poking fun at YouTube flagging their previous review of "Heated Rivalry" for being too explicit, resulting in an age restriction.
• [01:27] "We had to record the beginning of this episode again because ... our review kept getting age restricted." (Joe)
• The solution: a "safer" re-recorded review of the show that still aims to preserve their signature honesty and humor, with lots of meta-jokes about tiptoeing around YouTube's rules.

2. "Heated Rivalry" Review

Initial Reactions

• [04:49] "Heated Rivalry. I knew going in that this show was G-A-Y. And it gets really off to a good start immediately." (Joe)
• The hosts remark on how quickly the show skips the usual slow-burn, launching right into its central romantic and sexual tension between the two main hockey rivals.

Audience Pressure and Meta-Commentary

• [05:00] The hosts discuss why their listeners were so insistent they cover this show:
  "We get the Internet is, like, fully shipping us, but ... are we proud of Frank or what?" (Joe/Frank)
• Laugh about how the fandom perceives them versus how they see themselves.

Plot & Dynamics

• The show centers on two hockey stars (inspired, Joe suggests, by Crosby and Ovechkin) whose heated on-ice rivalry develops into a passionate off-ice romance—a dynamic complicated by the homophobia present in sports, especially during the early 2000s.
• [07:28] "What a tough time to ... be gay in hockey." (Frank)
• [08:19] The hosts are surprised by just how quickly (by minute 12, Joe notes) the romance goes from implicit to explicit.

Representation & Social Context

• [13:01] "I love a good love story ... there are certain things I can and can't connect to, but I thought it was well done ... it's in the zeitgeist." (Frank)
• [22:55] "I think it's important to have queer representation in TV and film ... I don't talk to the president of the gays, so I don't know how the gay community feels about that." (Frank)
• The hosts reflect on progress in LGBTQ+ representation and the show's role as a cultural touchstone.

Performance & Writing

• [11:49] Frank and Joe praise the acting and chemistry between leads, and laugh at how transparently some tropes (like their texting pseudonyms "Jane and Lily") would never work as a real-life cover.
• [14:41] "How bad Shane Hollander is at ... flirting and hiding it." (Joe/Ant)
• Lots of ball jokes and metaphors for “scoring,” “getting hooks in,” and more.

Spoiler Section & Story Arc

• [20:12] Discussion veers into mild spoilers (episodes 2+, Kip's storyline, etc.), with Joe sharing that he "couldn't stop watching," citing the show's addictiveness and binge-ability.

Memorable Quotes & Moments

• [18:52] "That's what I feel like I would look like if you made my face perfectly symmetrical, and I was in a lot better shape." (Joe on a character's resemblance to himself)
• [26:13] "A lot of butt. A lot of dude round butts." (Frank/Ant)
• [26:28] "The Russian dude—impressively round. I'm like, wow, that's round." (Ant)
• [27:06] Joe's final take: "If you want to see a good love story start off aggressive, go watch the show."
• [25:25] "They didn't leave anything for the imagination." (Frank)

3. Tangent – Counting, Competition, and Gym Antics

• [09:29] Spirited talk about competing with strangers at the gym and who can last longer on a treadmill.

4. Personal Stories: Counting Holes, Steps, and Accidental Home Damage

• [35:45–43:33]
  • Counting holes in a salt shaker, random step counting rituals, and wild stair stories—including broken steps and makeshift "sledding" down the stairs in laundry hampers.

5. Food Tangents: Pastries, Hot Dogs, and Italian Delicacies

• [63:05–71:53]
  • A lengthy, passionate debate about the best Italian pastries and cookies, including black and white cookies ("whack!" - Joe), rainbow cookies ("you're bugging!" - Frank), and the need for "good, wet, deli rainbow cookies."
  • Plan for an upcoming "Pastry-on" episode (a portmanteau of Patreon and pastries) where they'll taste-test favorites on air.

6. Fun with Accents

• [45:58–53:07]
  • The hosts list their dream accents (from Scouse to Australian, British to Spanish), commiserate about Americans only knowing one language, and share ancestry stories.

7. Playful Roasting and Producer Antics

• [54:46–75:16]
  • "Ant" is roasted for being mean, for having an alleged billionaire Italian dad, and is asked to bring in more pastries.
  • A running gag about pointing, scoring, and the show's meta-games for tracking "offenses."
  • [77:10] Announcement of a pastry episode: "Let's make it like we're old Italian men sitting at the table..." (Frank)

Notable Quotes with Timestamps

• YouTube Drama:
  • "We're all upset because YouTube is being a little bit ... homophobic." – Frank, [00:43]
• Show's Intensity:
  • "They got in there, like, 12 minutes in." – Joe, [08:19]
• Representation:
  • "What a tough time to be gay in hockey." – Frank, [07:28]
  • "I think it's important to have queer representation in TV and film." – Frank, [22:55]
• Levity:
  • "The Russian dude—impressively round. I'm like, wow, that's round." – Ant, [26:26]
  • "If you want to see a good love story start off aggressive, go watch the show." – Joe, [27:06]
• Pop Culture:
  • "Andy Cohen is ... at least on the board of directors." (on the President of 'the Gays') – Frank, [23:46]
• On Cookies:
  • "Black and white cookies. Disgusting. Whack. So trash." – Joe, [66:31]

Important Timestamps

• [04:49] – Start of "Heated Rivalry" review
• [08:37] – Discussion of the show's sexual tension/tone
• [14:41] – How well characters "hide it"
• [18:52] – Joe's doppelganger in the show
• [20:05 & 20:12] – Minor spoilers, talk about Kip
• [25:25] – "No imagination left" critique
• [26:28] – "Russian round butts" moment
• [27:06] – Joe's broadly positive recommendation
• [66:31] – The cookie take-down
• [71:53] – Greek pastries and custard chat
• [77:07] – "Pastry-on" episode teased

Tone and Style

Unfiltered, fast-moving, and packed with the hosts' signature brand of NSFW humor (often riffing on sexual innuendo), the conversation is also candidly thoughtful whenever the talk turns to representation, masculinity, and LGBTQ issues in sports. Bantering, poking fun at each other and themselves, they're always swinging between deep and dumb, sincere and silly.

Conclusion

This episode is a raucous, revealing, and rewarding review of "Heated Rivalry" that manages to thread the needle between raunch and real resonance. For listeners who are after a blend of sports talk, social commentary, raunchy comedy, and heartfelt tangents about snacks and childhood, this is classic Basement Yard.

Follow the Hosts:

• @JoeSantagato
• @TheFrankAlvarez
• @AntPrisco (Instagram)

Catch the show:

• TikTok & Instagram @TheBasementYard
• Patreon.com/TheBasementYard (for upcoming "Pastry-on" episode!)