Tag Archives: MLB

The Toy Department – Episode 40

  By toyAdmin | September 21, 2016 - 11:34 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 40 (hard to believe we’ve made it this far) Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky woke up extra early to talk to you about LOTS of television things and a bit of sports, including:

  • TV sitcoms in general (2:00) and the return/premiere of a few specific ones: The Good Place (4:40) and (following some digressions, like a few minutes about high school melodrama and a couple on The Voice) Brooklyn Nine-Nine (20:20) and New Girl (21:55)…
  • A little more on the achievement that is Donald Glover and FX’s triumphant show, Atlanta (30:15)…
  • The season finale of HBO’s Vice Principals (35:00) and whether the guys are on board with the surprising end to the season… Followed by a check-in with HBO’s less edgy comedy, Ballers (38:40)…
  • Some thoughts on the new Kiefer Sutherland vehicle Designated Survivor (42:20)… Which leads to a bit of meditation on the nature of show development in this over-populated TV landscape, particularly for major networks…
  • The San Francisco Giants and their wild second-half collapse (53:15)… They’ve been BAD since the All-Star break, and the guys try to figure it all out…
  • HOMEWORK!! (1:00:05) We have learned that Derek Madden is terrible at doing his homework… And yet he continues to assign homework to others!

By the way, if you like this podcast, TELL A FRIEND!! And if you want to subscribe via iTunes you can just click on the link below the player… Some other links down there as well… And if you want to contact the Toy Department, it’s easy — find us at ToyDepartmentPod (at) gmail.com.

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The Toy Department – Episode 39

  By toyAdmin | September 15, 2016 - 10:47 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 39, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky return just a day late thanks to scheduling conflicts and bring you discussion of:

  • Their collective disappointment with USA’s Mr. Robot (1:15) and its apparent disinterest in moving the plot along…
  • The start of the NFL season, from Terrell Suggs’ amazing appearance on HBO’s Ballers (19:10) to the love they have for the return of regular season football (22:35) despite the discomfort some NFL issues cause to a quick look at a couple of specific teams and situations…
  • The end of the MLB season (32:10) and how it seems like almost nobody is watching it at all… Plus a little love for home-run-hitting machine Brian Dozier of the Minnesota Twins (41:50)…
  • A few thoughts on EPL Soccer (45:40) and it’s availability as a pregame show for NFL football…
  • CM Punk’s UFC debut (50:55) and whether he actually has any chance to make any progress in the new phase of his career…
  • FX’s new show Better Things (55:55) and how it allows Pamela Adlon to do what Louis CK did before her… and how it relates to Louie and FX’s other new show, Atlanta (57:00)…
  • An assorted mishmash of topics to end the show (1:03:15), including discussion of homework and Kolsky’s distaste for Fred Armisen…

By the way, if you like this podcast, TELL A FRIEND!! And if you want to subscribe via iTunes you can just click on the link below the player… Some other links down there as well… And if you want to contact the Toy Department, it’s easy — find us at ToyDepartmentPod (at) gmail.com.

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The Toy Department – Episode 32

  By toyAdmin | July 28, 2016 - 12:37 am | Uncategorized
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In Episode 32, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky briefly revisit their intense golf argument from last week, but avoid falling too deeply down that hole… Instead they get in some quick hitters on:

  • The new HBO drama The Night Of (3:00) and Derek’s confidence in it compared to Kolsky’s early questions about its quality…
  • USA Network’s hotshot cyberdrama Mr. Robot (8:55) – where Kolsky has faith but Derek is developing some quality questions…
  • The upcoming Rio Olympics (17:30) – will you watch? what will you watch? why will you watch? Madden and Kolsky discuss these questions and more…
  • The only-a-few-days-away MLB trade deadline (27:15) and the appropriate philosophy for teams heading into it…
  • A brief survey of the movie and music worlds (39:40) because those venues have been ignored by this podcast for far too long – Madden and Kolsky both recommend some tunes and flicks for you before assigning some homework and hitting the road…

Oh, and if you want to subscribe via iTunes you can just click on the link below the player… Some other links down there as well… And if you want to contact the Toy Department, it’s easy — find us at ToyDepartmentPod (at) gmail.com.

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The Toy Department – Episode 30

  By toyAdmin | July 13, 2016 - 10:36 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 30, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky threaten to do a “mini” episode of The Toy Department… but it was an empty threat, because after opening with a discussion of the summer doldrums, they spend about an hour talking about:

  • MLB’s Home Run Derby and All-Star game (4:15) and why it doesn’t really work as entertainment anymore… Plus a little bit of general All-Star discussion…
  • Last week’s homework assignment, which was the premiere of the new HBO drama The Night Of (17:10) and why you should be excited about the show’s future…
  • Kolsky’s obsession with the band Phish (26:00) – just HOW obsessed he is, why he is obsessed and why Madden thinks he’s pretty much just a stupid hippie for being so obsessed… Which naturally leads to a discussion of how the guys got into music early in their lives, and about showmanship in music performance…

Oh, and if you want to subscribe via iTunes you can just click on the link below the player… Some other links down there as well… And if you want to contact the Toy Department, it’s easy — find us at ToyDepartmentPod (at) gmail.com.

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The Toy Department – Episode 22

  By toyAdmin | May 18, 2016 - 10:50 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 22, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky begin by talking about music — or at least, about the way we consume music in 2016… It’s a brave new world with Spotify and their ilk, and these dudes have thoughts on it — thoughts that lead to a 25-minute conversation about music consumption and distribution. They move from there to sports with a conversation about the Rougned Odor-Jose Bautista baseball brawl (29:05) and some NBA Playoff talk (36:25). Then the show heads down Kelly Ripa road for the home stretch as Madden and Kolsky break down the ins and outs of ABC’s TV host debacle (43:50).

Oh, and if you want to subscribe via iTunes you can just click on the link below the player… Some other links down there as well… And if you want to contact the Toy Department, it’s easy — find us at ToyDepartmentPod (at) gmail.com.

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The Toy Department – Episode 14

  By toyAdmin | March 16, 2016 - 9:26 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 14, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky return after a not-so-well-earned week off with HOT TAKES for your cold ears… It begins with an intense discussion of Game of Thrones – which released its first real trailer since the last pod and returns to TV in about a month – and then a short but ardent appeal from Madden in favor of his favorite TV show, The Americans (20:50)… Then sports talk takes over for a bit as the gentlemen discuss Goose Gossage’s response to Bryce Harper and one-man get-off-my-lawn campaign (26:00). Finally, they get into some music (39:50) as both Kolsky and Madden make listening recommendations for pod fans — take their advice, they have excellent taste.

Oh, and if you want to subscribe via iTunes you can just click on the link below the player… Some other links down there as well… And if you want to contact the Toy Department, it’s easy — find us at ToyDepartmentPod (at) gmail.com.

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The Toy Department – Episode 8

  By toyAdmin | January 28, 2016 - 12:40 am | Uncategorized
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In Episode 8, Derek Madden tracks Matt Kolsky down while he’s driving around the Bay Area for a delightful chat that begins with Blake Griffin’s recent mishap (which is another word for punching your friend in the face and breaking your own hand) and then turns to the recent rumors that baseball is considering adding the DH to the National League (16:30). Then they jump OFF of the sports page as they revisit R. Kelly with a quick discussion of the singer’s recent GQ interview (29:30) which of course leads to some big picture questions about cognitive dissonance (around 40:00). Thankfully the conversation takes a lighter turn after that, as Madden and Kolsky get into the Friends-assaince, if you will — the apparent rash of young people binge-watching Friends on Netflix (48:25). Finally, they wrap things up by assigning some homework (58:30) and teasing ahead to next week’s episode…

Oh, and if you want to subscribe via iTunes (and you really should), just CLICK HERE!!  And if you want to contact the Toy Department, it’s easy — find us at ToyDepartmentPod (at) gmail.com.

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The Toy Department – Episode 5

  By toyAdmin | January 7, 2016 - 3:17 am | Uncategorized
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In Episode 5, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky start with a little holiday break recap and quick Star Wars follow-up (thanks to George Lucas’ odd comments) before Madden attempts to convince Kolsky to to watch the Netflix series Making a Murderer (starting around 9:30). Then it’s a breakdown of some prestige TV (24:30) – mostly FX’s incredible Fargo but also the USA series Mr. Robot. Kolsky talks about a hip-hop audio tour of the Bronx (41:10) to spur a brief discussion about art and human nature, and then there’s some discussion about the Baseball Hall of Fame and its awful voting process (49:00) to finish off strong.

Oh, and if you want to subscribe via iTunes (and you really should), just CLICK HERE!! 

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