Ballzy

The Rangers' new manager joins John and Evan to discuss how he's attacking the job, what makes him tick and what matters most to him. John and Evan get the warm fuzzies over the World Series, then launch into the offseason issues for the Rangers, starting with payroll. And finally, John cracks open the archive vault to consider Ranger managerial searches of the past, which could be a podcast all its own. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Kevin, Evan and Joe Hoyt break down [1:08] the Cowboys “fiasco,” and another Jerry Jones circus that included more word salad from the owner. After all of the chatter about the mystery trade, Joe suggests the deal for Logan Wilson of Cincinnati was a good move. [22:45] The guys spend a few minutes breaking down the bad optics of departures of long-time Rangers fixtures such as Mike Maddux and Tony Beasley. And then, the wearer of many hats, Lia Assimakopoulos joins [30:58] to try to make sense of the Mavs’ diabolical plan to imprison the Stars before switching over to the significance of SMU’s win over Miami. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

SportsDay Insiders Kevin Sherrington, Evan Grant and Calvin Watkins discuss [00:50] the Cowboys’ loss to the Broncos, which Evan says doesn’t qualify as a disaster because it wasn’t a surprise. Here’s a surprise: If Jerry Jones waves the white flag and trades his most marketable asset, George Pickens. [25:59] The guys give their take. Texas A&M picked up another road win against a ranked team with an impressive performance against LSU, getting the Tigers’ coach fired in the process. [56:05] Can the Aggies win their first national title in nearly 90 years? Shawn McFarland joins the group to discuss that and other college football as well as an 18-inning thriller in Game 3. The question: Is Shohei Ohtani better than Babe Ruth? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

SportsDay Insiders Kevin Sherrington, Evan Grant and Joe Hoyt [00:15] ride the Cowboys rollercoaster for another week, wondering if Sunday's defense against Washington can last. Will it be good enough to take advantage of what looks like Dak Prescott's finest season? And will that make them a playoff team? [20:00] Mike Curtis joins Kevin and Evan to give a preview of the Mavs' opener Wednesday against San Antonio. Cooper Flagg has made an early impression, but will he, Anthony Davis and the defense be enough to hold things together until Kyrie Irving returns? [36:43] Kevin and Evan take a look at the teams in Texas with a best shot at the CFP and close with their predictions for the World Series. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

SportsDay Insiders Kevin Sherrington, Evan Grant and Calvin Watkins analyze [00:40] a historically bad Cowboys’ defense and what it portends for Matt Eberflus, the defensive coordinator, as well as Brian Schottenheimer. Is it the scheme? The players? Both? How bad is it when Rico Dowdle calls out the Cowboys, and they not only don’t respond, they don’t even take offense? [32:33] The Skip Schumaker era will probably be different from Bruce Bochy’s in terms of communication, but it would be better if it involves better players. Does the Rangers’ director of amateur scouting escape blame for the farm system’s inability to deliver position players? [51:29] And has there ever been a better time for college football in Texas, where four teams are still in the running for three conference titles at the midpoint? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

SportsDay Insiders Kevin Sherrington, Evan Grant and Joe Hoyt try [00:19] to put the Cowboys’ win over the Jets into perspective. On one hand, it was the Jets, a truly bad team. On the other, Chicago isn’t great, either, and the Bears walked all over the Cowboys. Only a couple weeks after saying they’d be lucky to win five games, Joe now says his glass is “half-full,” if only because the offense is so good and the defense couldn’t be any worse than it was the first three games. Kevin and Evan discuss [25:30] what difference Skip Schumaker can make and rank the biggest needs. (Hint: It’s not pitching). And [51:35] if the Sooners’ John Mateer really is back for Texas-OU, the Longhorns could have a long afternoon at the Cotton Bowl. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

John and Evan discuss the season’s end and the decision for Bruce Bochy and the Rangers to split up. Evan breaks down the challenges the new manager faces and the list of guys not named “Skip Schumaker” who might be candidates. The guys discuss Bochy’s place among Rangers managers. Then Robbie Grossman joins the guys to pay tribute to what Bruce Bochy meant to the 2023 World Champions and give his favorite BBQ recommendations for Houston. Finally, John cracks open the archives to revisit the start of the 2023 playoff run. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

SportsDay Insiders Kevin Sherrington, Evan Grant and Calvin Watkins discuss [00:25] the Cowboys’ 40-40 stalemate with the Packers and what it means in the big picture. Calvin says it won’t matter how well Dak Prescott plays if the defense doesn’t improve, and he doesn’t see that coming. [23:29] Kevin and Evan analyze Bruce Bochy’s departure from the Rangers, his culpability in their two-year funk and what Chris Young does next, after he officially names Skip Schumaker manager. [46:18] And the guys consider whether Rhett Lashlee would be smart to leave SMU for Arkansas, his alma mater.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

John and Evan put a failed season to rest, bemoaning the lack of offense and wondering about what exactly Bruce Bochy meant when he questioned the team's "intensity" and "focus." Then, Rangers postseason pitching hero (at least pre-Nathan Eovaldi) Colby Lewis joins the show to talk about chemistry, having been a rookie on one of the most dysfunctional Rangers teams of all-time and a veteran on two of the most tight-knit. When John cracks open the archives, we find ourselves considering other great performances by other starting rotations in Rangers history. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

SportsDay Insiders Kevin Sherrington, Evan Grant and Joe Hoyt discuss [00:57] the Cowboys’ awful performance in a loss to the Bears. Joe calls Matt Eberflus’ defense a “disaster” and wonders what changes are forthcoming. He adds that the offense will need to average 30 points a game just to remain competitive. [27:17] Kevin and Evan give their thoughts on an up-and-down Rangers season, what Chris Young needs to do to the lineup and whether Bruce Bochy returns. [45:00] Kevin offers a quick take on Mike Gundy’s exit at Oklahoma State, and Evan says he’ll be happy if this season is anything like last year, when you never knew who’d come out on top.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After the Rangers were swept in Houston, John and Evan try to pick up the debris. Is there still a glimmer of hope over the final nine-game stretch of the season? John, as always, has the sunny disposition. Evan, maybe not so much. Then Mitch Moreland joins the guys to reminisce over how he was once a version of a "Little Rascal" in 2010 and how guys like Prince Fielder and Adrián Beltré empowered him to become one of the leaders on the 2015-16 Rangers AL West champs. Mitch is also the fellas' first Savannah Banana guest, having now appeared twice in Banana Ball games. And he shares with the guys his route to becoming a first-year high school head coach. Finally, Sunny John remembers some crazy final flurries to seasons that resulted in the Rangers' making the postseason because, in his words, "There's always hope." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

SportsDay Insiders Kevin Sherrington, Evan Grant and Calvin Watkins discuss [2:30] the Cowboys’ OT win over the Giants. Dak Prescott’s resolve to run this year after the Cowboys put him on a leash last year has made a big difference on offense, restocked by the likes of George Pickens and Javonte Williams. But the defense? Big problems. [25:48] Evan is in Houston for one of the season’s biggest series, and Kevin says [42:12] Texas A&M’s win over Notre Dame in South Bend doesn’t rise to the level of Johnny Football’s upset of top-ranked Alabama in Tuscaloosa, but it sends a similar message. Plus: What’s up with Arch Manning? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

John and Evan introduce us to the Legend of Michael Helman and continue to fumble for words on the Rangers rebound. David Murphy drops by to help them out, explaining how he came up with “The Little Rascals” description of the team, what he’s liked about watching them, his initial bitterness about analytics and how he’s transitioned into broadcasting. Finally, John explains how he manipulated an MLB record for a Ranger and the guys remember 9/11 with the team in San Francisco. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

SportsDay Insiders Kevin Sherrington, Evan Grant and Joe Hoyt discuss [00:13] the Cowboys’ near-miss against the Eagles, the elite play of Dak Prescott and what difference Micah Parsons would have made if Jerry Jones hadn’t sent him to Green Bay. They also look at the shifting landscape at the top of the NFC and Parsons’ role in shaping that. [24:50] Evan shares his thoughts on what the Rangers’ reserves have done to spark a late surge into contention and gives us a rundown on who’s coming back and when, as well as what it’ll mean for the spark plugs. [41:36] Kevin breaks down the big Texas A&M-Notre Dame game this week as well as the state’s other big college stories. But he can’t make sense of Steve Sarkisian’s comment in response to a question about Arch Manning.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After stumbling all year over how to explain the Rangers' stumbles, John and Evan stumble over how to explain an illogical hot streak and tales of travel woes. The former Rangers ace Cole Hamels joins the guys to recall his unexpected trade to the Rangers, the run to 2015 AL West title and if there is anything these Rangers can take from that. And he reminisces about the day of two Coles, when the Rangers asked him to chaperone first-round draft pick Cole Ragans around spring training. Finally, when John cranks open the Archives in Arlington, out tumbles the tale of the Ranger who played all nine positions - in five innings. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

SportsDay Insiders Kevin Sherrington, Evan Grant and Calvin Watkins discuss [00:10] the fallout from the Micah Parsons trade and how that impacts the Cowboys for Thursday’s opener in Philadelphia, which, according to our panel, will not be good. [20:52] Kirk Bohls, who covers Texas for the Houston Chronicle, joins Kevin and Evan to talk about Texas’ 14-7 loss to Ohio State at the Horseshoe. Evan and Kevin wonder [41:38] if the kids have given the Rangers a spark in a late climb in the wild card standings. And SportsDay Insider bids farewell [50:50] to the all-time great Cowboys linebacker, Lee Roy Jordan.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Rangers President of Baseball Operations joins the guys to break down the remainder of the season and to share thoughts on what has gone right and what's gone wrong. The guys wonder if the 5-1 homestand is a harbinger of a run and theorize on why the offense might have a different dynamic. Also, Evan gets emotional over the Rangers' great smiles and a little wistful when John mentions Yu Darvish in the Archives in Arlington. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

SportsDay Insiders Kevin Sherrington, Evan Grant and Joe Hoyt take a look [00:12] at the Cowboys’ final roster decisions and how it impacts several positions, running backs in particular. For the second year in a row, no one’s impressed. Kevin notes that Derrick Henry, who wanted to sign with the Cowboys last year, was ranked this year among ESPN’s top 100 players. The guys also try to figure out why Jerry Jones refuses to negotiate with Micah Parsons’ agent, David Mulugheta, and give their best guess when something gets done. [25:32] Kevin and Evan were both surprised at Bruce Bochy’s enthusiasm about his job, putting the ball in Chris Young’s court. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

SportsDay Insiders Kevin Sherrington and Evan Grant are joined [1:00] by Calvin Watkins in an effort to figure out exactly what the Cowboys have done leading up to the final preseason game to make us think they'll be better than what got Mike McCarthy fired. Holes at backup quarterback, defensive line, cornerback and possibly in the offensive line. [27:45] Meanwhile, the Rangers, in the midst of their most important week of the season, decided to do it without Josh Jung, who, not so long ago, showcased the advancement of their player development system. Not a good time for faint of heart fans. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

John and Evan break down the season's most critical week (though it feels like the Rangers have had lots of critical weeks) with a series at Kansas City and one vs. Cleveland, the two teams directly ahead of them in the playoff race. Then Hall of Famer Adrián Beltré joins to discuss the statue of him that will be unveiled this week outside Globe Life Field. What will the pose be? Will fans be able to touch the statue's head without getting tased? And finally, the great countdown to the Rangers most iconic regular-season moment has come to a close. Which won the fan vote: Kenny Rogers' perfect game or the first playoff berth in team history? And does John, the ultimate authority on Rangers' history, agree? Lots of mysteries to unravel this week. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices