The pod returns with a guest we have been trying to get on for quite a while. Longtime comics creator Karl Kesel (@karlkesel) is here to discuss his current Kickstarter project Section Zero 1959, a continuation of the series he and Tom Grummett started almost 20 years ago. We talk about the creation of that series in 2000 and its return as a Kickstarter project in 2017., with the hardcover out now and the story being serialized by Image Comics in April. We talk about the book’s inspirations ,

On the eve of the WWE Crown Jewel (aka Blood Money) special, I’m joined by Associated Press reporter Ashraf Khalil (@ashrafkhalil) to talk about a variety of issues related to the show. Among the various topics discussed, we talk about the history of xenophobia in pro wrestling, Middle East politics, the familial permutations of all the Samoans and other Pacific Islanders, late 1980s AWA and other diversions. We also actually talk about the show next week, how it will be booked and how much

The podcast is back from its summer holidays just in time to discuss a big week of lucha libre news and to help us digest it all, we welcome back Rob Viper (@robviper) to the show.CMLL just announced the card for the Anniversary show in September and needless to say, many folks are not happy we are not getting a Rush vs LA Park main event. We go over the whole card and spend plenty of time discussing why it did not happen, who's to blame, who's spinning their version as to why the match is not

Patti McClintock, has taught martial arts and self defense since 1978 in Minneapolis, Minnesota and San Diego, California. From 1987 to 1997, Shihan Patti worked full time providing self defense and personal safety instruction to the San Diego area. Her diverse experiences in teaching include workshops for corporations, military, college campuses as well as non-profit community organizations such as rape crisis centers and youth organizations. Her work with abuse and assault survivors gained much

Sensei Shay has been a practitioner for over 20 years. In that 20 years, he's racked up four SKI/NBL world titles, seven SKI/NBL national titles, and gives his time as an unpaid instructor for 18 years now.

The podcast returns after a medically-related hiatus to a jam-packed sports calendar. To help discuss it, we are very honored to have on the show Stephen Brunt from Sportsnet and the Fan 590 in Toronto. First, we discuss Stephen's return to co-host Prime Time Sports with Bob McCown, the genesis of his return, sharing the co-host chair with former pod guest Richard Deitsch and more. That segues into a discussion about sports journalism in 2018, the pay model of things like The Athletic and Second

I've had the fortunate opportunity to interview Professor Barongan on a number of occassions. Not to mention the time spent with him as my primary instructor for the last 15-plus years. I am excited that the technology available to us today is making it possible to share some of Professor Bobby with you.

I've known Shihan Colleen since the first day I stepped into the Barongan Kempo dojo back in 2003. She's done an incredible job teaching the youth students, as well as putting on numerous women's self defense classes.

I've been wanting to capture and share stories from real people in and in the periphery of the martial arts. This teaser sums up what you will hear.

For the first podcast of 2018, we are happy to welcome back The Cubs Fan (@luchablog) to talk about the resurrected Tapatia Awards and a plethora of lucha libre news. We start with the  2017 Tapatia Awards and why Cubs decided to bring them back. We then discuss all the winners (a clean sweep for CMLL) and what that says about the year in lucha. Then, it a look at lucha news with no real rhyme nor reason, including: Fantasticamania, the upcoming Angel de Oro vs Cuatrero mascara match,

The podcast returns before the holiday season kicks in discussing the world of futbol and more with Ken Early (@kenearlys) from the Irish Times and the Second Captains podcast (@secondcaptains). We start with how Ireland is dealing with their elimination from the World Cup and what the future holds for coaches Martin O'Neill and Roy Keane. That segues into a discussion about why they and the Irish national team have such a poor relationship in recent years with Everton. Then, it's onto a chat

Just in time for playoff baseball,, we welcome back to the podcast the Managing Editor of Awful Announcing Joe Lucia (@joe_TOC).  We start with the news of the day, the resignation of Atlanta GM John Coppolella and which managed might get the pink slip this offseason.  We then give our picks for the American and National League Cy Young and MVP awards.  Then, it's a series-by-by-series breakdown of each round of the playoffs, culminating with who we each think will win the World Series. After

On the ever of Star Trek Discovery debuting, we are pleased to be joined by John Champion (@dvdgeeks), co-host of the Mission Log Podcast, to talk Trek and more. We begin by going over the career of Martin Landau, who passed away in July 2017. Lots of Mission Impossible chat here, including some of his most memorable episodes and also some of his other guest star appearances as well as playing Bela Lugosi in Ed Wood. We also mention a number of connections between Mission Impossible and the 1960s

The CMLL Anniversary show is next week, so Dr Lucha Steve Sims (@drluchajr) returns to the show to discuss it.  We talk about Niebja Roja's injury and what that might been to the scheduled main event. We also discuss Diamante Azul possibly being off the show, despite still be on the poster released today.  We discuss the lackluster go-home show Friday night and speculate about the winner of the mask match between Princess Sugheit and Zeuxis. We also discuss the usual head scratching of CMLL booking,

With all sorts of news going on in the futbol word, we welcome ESPNFC journalist Gabriele Marcotti (@marcotti) to the show. We start with an analysis of the draws for the Champions League and Europa League, held this week in Monaco.  Which groups look the toughest and what are the prospects for the Premier League teams.  Then, we discuss the flurry of transfer activity this summer, including news just today that Ousmane Dembele is headed to Barcelona and Kylian Mbappe could be on the verge of

With some sports media news in the headlines, we are pleased to be joined again by Richard Deitsch (@richarddeitsch) from Sports Illustrated.  We recorded on Operning Day for the English Premier League, so we chat about NBC's near-universal popular coverage as well as their paid app and whether people will purchase.  That seques into a discussion of The Athletic, the paid content sports writing site, their successes so far and would their model work in a city like New York. We talk about ESPN and

Sam Adonis (@realsamadonis) returns to the podcast to discuss his upcoming hair vs hair match against Blue Panther August 4th in Arena Mexico. We discuss the world-wide media attention he has gotten for his flag-waving American gimmick in Mexico and how that fits in with wrestling's history of xenophobic heels. We talk about the feud with Blue Panther and invoking the name and gimmick of the late Love Machine Art Barr and his feud 25 years ago in CMLL. We chat about his favorite opponents and

Just in time for San Diego Comic-Con, an over-stuffed episode about comics, movies, TV and video games. We welcome Craig from the Puzzle Warriors 3 podcast (@PuzzleWarriors3) to talk all that and more. We start by going over what got Craig back into comics after a couple decades, what we are both enjoying right and looking forward to coming out soon. Plenty of good recommendations here. Also, why does Craig love Dazzler so mych? From there, we talk about the just completed season of Doctor Who and

If you missed the news a couple weeks ago, issue six of the magazine is now out. It debuted at the Break the Barrier show in Old Forge PA, where Puma and his dad Felino wrestled Guerrero Maya Jr and Skayde. That match was the basis for our cover (by Kcidis) and cover story bios by The Cubs Fan (@luchablog). To talk about his article in the magazine, we were joined on the pod by Dr. Lucha Steve Sims. We discussed his article on the Alvarado Family (Los Brazos, Maximo, La Mascara), their history and

To talk about a wild time in the world of lucha libre, we welcome back to the show Rob BIhari (@robviper). We start off by discussing the circumstances that led CMLL to fire Maximo, La Mascara and Bobby Villa. We go over the facts as we know them and where things go from here for those wrestlers, Super Porky, Psycho Clown and others.  We also discuss the history of micros in wrestling, from their start as a drawing act, through Antonio Pena reviving the concept in AAA in the 1990s to the recent