“It is accomplished.”— The Lord
That’s right, two teams remain standing in the quest to win Super Bowl 51. The New England Patriots are back in the championship game for a record ninth time, while the Atlanta Falcons have turned some heads to make their second Super Bowl appearance in franchise history and first since 1999. And, the Baseball Hall of Fame has three new members for its 2017 class, while the “Steroid Era” stars get more love than ever before. Two topics, two guests, let’s go!
Before we get into Episode 52, as a reminder, The Bridge is now broadcast as a one hour radio show every Wednesday night at 7 ET on Sports Radio America. Once the dust settles from that live broadcast, the show is released as a podcast on iTunes and this website on Fridays. You can listen to the live show every Wednesday on Sports Radio America here or through the TuneIn app.
- Sports News Read Like Real News told the tale of more gamblers throwing down preseason cash on the Cleveland Browns than the Atlanta Falcons and we pay homage to Brent Musberger and the end of his broadcasting to career for a new life as a sports handicapper (2:24).
- The Bridge Question of the Week is: Who is your favorite to win the Super Bowl and why? Call or text in your answer to 929-BRIDGE7, that’s 929-274-3437, and you’ll make it on the next show.
- This week’s first guest was Zachary Rymer, an MLB lead writer for Bleacher Report and friend of the show. Zach dropped by to chat about the Baseball Hall of Fame Class of 2017, the players who were snubbed and who might get inducted in 2018.
- You can follow Zach on Twitter @zachrymer. The interview starts at the 10:30 mark.
– In the interview, we discuss:
If any of the three inductees were a surprise (10:46), if he still tries to emulate Jeff Bagwell’s batting stance (12:26), why it took so long for Tim Raines to get in (13:17), why Pudge was the first “Steroid Era” player to get in on first ballot (15:32), if Bud Selig and Pudge getting into the Hall of Fame will open the door for other players like Bonds and Clemens (18:27), if Trevor Hoffman and Vladimir Guerrero get in next year (21:03), what players deserve more votes (23:48) and what big names are coming for the Class of 2018 (25:29).
- NEW SEGMENT—> Five Minutes in the Film Room with Kyle Cicilioni reviews the film Arrival, starring Amy Adams and Jeremy Renner (28:13). You can follow Kyle on Twitter and Periscope and find some of his work at ajazznetworks.com.
- This week’s second guest was Chris Wesseling, a writer for Around the NFL. Chris is excellent at covering the NFL and was kind enough to offer some thoughts on the AFC and NFC Championship games, break down each team playing in Super Bowl 51 and who should win the NFL MVP.
- You can follow Chris on Twitter @ChrisWesseling. The interview starts at the 35:05 mark.
– In the interview, we discuss:
- What it’s like being a writer for Around the NFL (35:19), his thoughts on the teams that made the Super Bowl (36:35), what makes the Falcons offense so successful (37:32), if there was anything the Green Bay defense could have done to stop the Falcons or if it was all up to Aaron Rodgers (39:47), if Packers fans should be concerned (40:26), how impressive Rodgers was this season but why it wasn’t MVP worthy (41:33), why Matt Ryan isn’t a playoff choker (42:30), if there was any surprise to Tom Brady once again owning the Steelers (43:47), if the Steelers need to shake anything up (44:52), how important the Patriots defense will be in the game (46:04), what Atlanta might try to do on the offensive end (47:30), what we’ll see from New England’s offensive attack (48:01), the impact special teams can have (48:58), what this season means to Atlanta fans (49:50) and who wins Super Bowl 51 (51:14).
- “Good Try, Good Effort” closed out the show and recognized Tom Brady’s dominance against Pittsburgh, Green Bay’s defense and the NFL playoffs as a whole (52:42).
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Show music: ‘Actionable’ and ‘Epic,’ courtesy of www.bensound.com.
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