Word of the Day
Flagging (adj., FLAG-ging)
Declining, like the temperatures as summer gives way to fall.
Gif of the Day
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Link of the Day
The Solid Verbal
This past weekend, college football began again. The first full weekend is this upcoming weekend, but a handful of games are already in the books. And The Solid Verbal podcast is beginning its tenth season covering college football.
The Solid Verbal understands that college football is inherently ridiculous, somewhat corrupt, and incredibly compelling, and they've channeled that perfectly into their coverage of the sport. They're more serious than the wild mania that is The Shutdown Fullcast podcast, but they keep the "this is crazy and we can have fun with it" feeling of the other show.
The Solid Verbal works for a lot of reasons. Ty Hildenbrandt and Dan Rubenstein are perfect as hosts, working off each other wonderfully. They've kept their enterprise small, growing at a sustainable rate and adopting new technology. (The still above was from a one-season live video version of the show.) But their willingness to have fun with college football has led to a variety of great ideas:
• The weekly "Reverbs," where listeners call in to voice their feelings about a game from the past week
• The yearly Fantasy Things draft, where they pick the storylines that will be most prominent in the upcoming season
• The Talking To Your Kids About an Undefeated Iowa from a couple years ago
• The litany of sound effects, ranging from the "USC Hype Machine" to "Nick Foles in a Losing Effort"
• The North Korean broadcast of an Oklahoma/Oklahoma State game:
You don't have to love college football to enjoy the show. It's darn near perfect entertaining sports coverage. But embracing the fun of college football makes it even better. If you're looking for a "how to podcast well" course, listen to these guys. They're pros. (Pun slightly intended.) It's a great show with an interesting history, and it's worth a listen each week.
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