Fox & Fallon

It took until Week 15 when the Patriots were officially mathematically eliminated from the playoffs for the cowards to get up on their soap boxes and declare that we finally have proof that Bill Belichick can't do anything without Tom Brady. This podcast is dedicated to firing that lazy, bad faith, garbage fire take into the sun to burn for eternity (04:54). 

It's the first THANKSGIVING episode of Almost Shameless, which is appropriate because almost shameless is how most of us feel about the amount of food we're about to consume. First up, it's asterisk szn!! Time to start being honest with ourselves about the realities of what COVID has done to affect the fairness of the game, and what it will mean for the eventual winners and losers this year (3:56). Then, we dive into the eeriness of Tom Brady's time with the Buccaneers so far -- what is going wrong and why does it feel like the GOAT isn't all there? (15:28). And of course, we couldn't close out this holiday episode without a scorching takedown of the most wretched of the Thanksgiving side dishes (24:55).

NBA draft analyst Bryan Kalbrosky of HoopsHype and USA Today SMG joins Tanya with some fun tidbits to help the casual NBA fan prepare for the 2020 NBA Draft. 

Before all the ranting, Tanya takes some time to reflect on and remember the lives and impact of Alex Trebek and Tommy Heinsohn, the media grandfathers that many of us shared and lost this week (01:22). Then it's back to sports, with an optimistic take on a wild Patriots win over the winless Jets and Cam Newton's success in the wake of Tom Brady's failure (8:04). Then, league commissioners and team owners can't stop reminding an economically suffering general public that COVID-19 is very inconvenient for their bottom line (19:15). And finally, a classic rant about the kind of person on Twitter that every media person hates but is too afraid to say it (22:00).

This week Tanya is detouring from the insanity of the NFL to chat with USA Today Sports Media Group NBA managing editor Bryan Kalbrosky about the league's plans for the final two months of 2020. They discuss the report that the NBA is looking to begin camp by Dec. 1st with the season starting before Christmas (5:49), and whether LeBron will be back on the court that soon (14:04). Bryan also give his diagnosis for the Celtics, and whether they need to make any major changes to succeed in 2021 (20:39), and they debate whether the Clippers are better off with Ty Lue and if Doc Rivers can really make a difference for the 76ers (32:00).

The Patriots lost a closer-than-the-score-would-have-you-believe contest against the Chiefs on Monday night, but the story actually began early in the weekend prior. Tanya breaks down Cam Newton's COVID timeline and the inconsistencies in how the NFL handled the Patriots game and the rescheduled Titans-Steelers game (03:47). Then it's on to the juicy stuff, and boy was it sour. Patriots fan (and a lot of hot take media) learned a hard lesson 20 years in the making on Monday night that began long before Cam Newton came to town. In short: the quarterback IS the system, and always has been (13:45). And finally, a re-run of Tanya's inaugural Trash Take Hall of Fame Induction -- because as bad as this take was before, it has only become more moldy and stinky in light of the Brian Hoyer/Jarrett Stidham disaster on Monday night (20:54). 

Russell Wilson is the MVP of the NFL and probably has been for longer than we've realized (4:00). Plus, the Patriots are the best team in the AFC East despite preseason expectations -- and their 1-1 record (10:50). And finally, re-assessing how we talk about athletes and their adversity during the pandemic (15:30).

Things come and go, especially in 2020... but the NFL remains. Week 1 has passed and many things happened that we expected, including Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs looking like Super Bowl contenders yet again (06:14). However not everything went according to the offseason script. Cam Newton and the Patriots surprised with their dominant if not always tidy win over the Dolphins, and Tanya has some thoughts about how it all went down - and the reactions to Newton's post-game skirmish (11:13). Then it's time to celebrate the annual Tom Brady Is Washed For Sure This Time: Buccaneers Edition! Is it possible that Brady and the Bucs lost a game they were supposed to lose?! We may never know (21:10). And finally, the debut of the Trash Take Hall of Fame. The inaugural inductee gets an unceremonious fleecing, as shall be the tradition henceforth (26:30).

BASEBALL'S UNWRITTEN RULES HAVE GONE TOO FAR THIS TIME, FOLKS. Tanya breaks down exactly what happened between the Padres and Rangers to cause the latest BS meltdown over baseball players doing their jobs well, and why the unwritten rules are more than just antiquated ... they're a sign of resistance to diversity and social change. (3:30) Then it's on to college sports again, where it's time to address the hypocrisy of adults asking kids and young adults to self-police during a pandemic that none of us know how to handle. (14:46) And finally, an FYI for other baseball fans who try to wrangle their way into the sacred Red Sox-Yankees rivalry. (21:35)

Tanya is back and kicking things off loudly with a condemnation of one BIG10 football coach who is the perfect example of dealing with COVID-19 in sports the wrong way. Then she breaks down Brett Favre's comments regarding kneeling in the NFL, and the journey of learning to have difficult conversations with people who are approaching highly emotional topics with ignorance but also in good faith. Things lighten up a bit with a good old roasting of Bucs fans, and finally, Tanya returns with her rant of the week -- in defense of goalies. 

Almost Shameless is back at it now that everyone has settled into life in quarantine, and while there may be no sports happening at the moment, there is never a bad time to have a Bill Belichick, Tom Brady debate. Or is there? Tanya rips apart a rant by ESPN's Mike Greenberg, who believes the GOAT coach has to prove that he's still the GOAT without Brady. Then it's time to investigate what worked and what didn't with ESPN's 64-person bracket of All-Time College Basketball Players. Let's just say that it appears the kids have never heard of Lew Alcindor. And finally, Tanya welcomes fiance Chris Armendariz to the pod. He is a longtime ESPN video editor, but these days, their greatest mutual interest is binge-watching TV shows - and so they review everything they've watched start to finish since the start of quarantine. 

We start out with a breakdown of the world in sports and at large as the United States comes to terms with the coronavirus outbreak, thanks in large part to Adam Silver and his leadership with the NBA (01:50). Tom Brady has officially left New England, it appears that everyone is sad about it and no one could do anything about it - and so Patriots Nation is left with a lot of questions and very few answers (08:52). Meanwhile, news broke that Brady plans to sign with the Buccaneers and Tanya reacts live (13:50). Plus, Bill O'Brien is still the worst GM in all of the NFL, much to the delight of the Arizona Cardinals, and Stefon Diggs just made the Bills potentially the best team in the AFC East (16:54).

Tanya opens things up in episode 5 with a loving, nerdy ode to voting before hitting on the big topic of the last 10 years -- WHAT THE F**K IS GOING ON WITH TOM BRADY AND WHY/HOW HAS HE BROKEN ALL THE REPORTERS?! (5:33). Then she breaks down the inherent flaws in choosing regular season NBA MVPs when legacies are created in the playoffs, and why what LeBron does this season will probably end up mattering more than what Giannis does (16:26). Finally, most definitely the weirdest rant to date. If you ever wanted to know how Tanya feels about sticking an earring on an ear of corn and calling it art -- today's your lucky day (25:15).

This week Tanya got herself in a weird Twitter beef with the "lunch pail mentality" establishment, so she explains her issue with the use of the phrase in relation to NFL players - and specifically, the decidedly-not-blue-collar New England Patriots (3:14). Then she goes over what it was like to watch the public memorial service for Kobe Bryant and Gianna Bryant, and how their deaths have reshaped her interpretation of his legacy and his destiny (11:20). Finally, what is the right thing to do when your waiter is very bad at their job and the service sucks?

It's mid February which means it's time for a ROUND UP of all the hottest stories so far this winter. We kick things off with Justin Turner and a whole host of baseball superstars getting very mad at their commissioner, so Tanya offers a little advice to the MLB (3:40). Then she breaks down what AP got right and wrong with their Male and Female Athletes of the Decade (12:30), rediscovers the joy of basketball thanks to 2020 NBA All-Star weekend (22:45) and gives the latest on the Tom Brady free agency saga that might never end (27:13). And finally... reality TV can be better, and here's how (31:12).

Everyone wants to know where Tom Brady might go but no one has a single good answer or any real insight so Tanya is controlling what she can ... which is figuring out who could *actually* be the quarterback of the New England Patriots in 2020 if the GOAT goes out to pasture. (04:13). Then she attempts her most daring feat to date .... fixing the MLB -- and the purists are not going to like it. You just might, though (19:24). And of course, what would the week after the Oscars be without a little complaining about Joaquin Phoenix and his aggressive, terrifying veganism rants? (29:21) That, and more, in the second episode of the revamped ASP with TRF. 

The all new, rebranded, relaunched Almost Shameless podcast is finally here! Same Fox, just more of her. And new theme music! What better way to kick things off than with a full PUMPING of the breaks on the Chiefs dynasty talk. Mahomes is the real deal, but didn't we just do this a decade ago a QB in the NFC? ... Plus there are murmurings that Tom Brady might want to build a Super Team with all of his discarded offense buddies somewhere, but not so fast. Brady has it better with the Patriots than he seems to think? Finally, Tanya grapples with the life and legacy of Kobe Bryant.  . . . Follow @shamelesstrf on Twitter and Instagram. Email almostshamelesspod@gmail.com 

BREAKING NEWS: We finally got nice and asked someone important to join our podcast .... NFL Defensive Player of the Year candidate and All-Pro Patriots CB Devin McCourty joined us and it was glorious! BUT FIRST... Sam Darnold was caught saying that he was “seeing ghosts” on Monday Night Football and we break down just how poorly the Jets handled themselves in the aftermath. (Yes, there will be ranting!) Then we hit on even more insane stats from the NFL’s best defense and break down the state of the offense in the wake of the trade for Mohamed Sanu. Finally, we chat with NFL interceptions leader and Patriots captain, Devin McCourty, who reiterated that he is NOT a fan of nicknames (we will persist anyway). And don’t miss our final thoughts, which include the Astros-Nationals World Series and the bitter end of LeBron’s Taco Tuesdays.

At long last, Fox & Fallon have done it ... an all Patriots podcast, people. It was our destiny. The Patriots improved to 6-0 on Thursday night with a 35-14 blowout of the Giants, so we did you the favor of breaking it all down. First we combine the stats with our expert eye test to examine just what is so special about this year's defense (04:50) and (07:18). Then we look at overreactions and major needs on the offense (13:50), and cut Tom Brady a little (a lot) of slack. Then we go through the rest of their 2019 schedule (23:54) to see which games they could realistically lose and make final season record predictions. And of course, we honor and celebrate Rob Gronkowski's epic debut on Fox Sports (29:12).

We kick it off with a victory lap over our perfect Patriots vs Bills prediction (00:44), then carry the New England talk into the breaking news that the champs have lost kicker Stephen Gostkowski for the season (08:00). Apparently his hips did lie ... with every extra point he missed. Then, we break down which of the 0-4 teams (14:49) in the NFL are most likely to fulfill their destiny by tanking and rebuilding. Spoiler alert, none of them seem ready to right the ship anytime in the near future. And of course we make the case for the Red Sox to pay Mookie Betts (23:20) and stop whining about the luxury tax. Time to pony up the cash, John Henry. This isn't Pittsburgh. Finally, we rattle off our quick hits on some spooky trending sports stories (31:05) that have us feeling the October Halloween vibes.