This was a fun year for the Eleven Dubcast. We had some great interviews, did a little video media, and got an amazing amount of listener input and interaction. Blogging and podcasting are unique and fun because of all of those things (the latter especially), and in 2012 the Dubcast pulled off some pretty memorable moments.
Logo by yours trulyIt was definitely a year of change, in a lot of ways. Being given a platform to sound off about Urban Meyer, the Penn State scandal, recruiting, dogs, etc. is a gift, and though our voices being literally amplified through the internet doesn't make our opinions any more valid than the next person's, it's cool to be able to comment on the titanic shifts in the college sports landscape in the way that we do.
Of course, there was change in terms of the Dubcast as well. Luke rode off into the sunset at the end of basketball season, and I assumed his editing and recording duties. Sarah stepped up and did an amazing job co-hosting the show with me, and for the past several dozen episodes, the Dubcast has been rolling along as well as it ever has.
But enough wistful sighing! End of the year lists are fun because they save you, the reader, the hassle of trying to find the proverbial raisins in your cereal bowl full of bran. To accomplish this, I collected what is probably the greatest selection of podcast material that has ever existed or will exist on the internet. These 11 episodes of the Dubcast were put together with care, determination, and a dash of liquor to create the ultimate sonic experience for the Ohio State fan. Enjoy.
11. & 10. Alex and MarC break down the 2012 Ohio State Recruiting class
These two episodes were among our most listened to for the entire year, and the lesson is clear; Ohio State fans love intimate details about the daily whims of high school students. Athletes! I mean athletes.
Seriously though, our own Alex Gleitman and Marc Givler talk extensively about the class of 2012 in these podcasts, and in hindsight it's a super interesting look at which prognostications worked out, and which ones did not. This is especially relevant because those recruits will be a huge factor in any potential national championship run, so if you want to cement any memories of these guys as blue chippers, here you go. Also: Meg! Meg! Meg!
Alex comes on at roughly 7:39 to discuss his take on Urban Meyer's recruiting approach, and how it differs from Jim Tressel's take on things. Suffice to say, it's... slightly different.
More signing day fun with Marc at 17:59, who takes on a magical mystery tour of what was in store for the potential class of 2013 (and beyond???).
9. Johnny can't Help Himself
This is how my brain works: one little nudge, and I can't stop the rocket house that is my mouth until it has either run out of fuel or it crashes into a tour bus, killing five. In this case I just decided to stop recording before anyone got hurt, but I decided to post it again for posterity in case any one needed a reminder that 80s cop shows are about all I ever think about. The real fun part is at the end where Sarah struggles to comprehend what just happened.
For the record, I think this would be a great show.
The fun starts at 52:23, and the rest of the Dubcast is pretty good too!
8. The Queefcore Conference
Sometimes things just come together. I don't really know how, or why, especially since we record the Dubcast when I'm half dead, but occasionally the flow is right, I'm feeling feisty, Sarah is sick of my crap, and things just work. "Mr. Conductor's Evil Twin" is, in my humble opinion, the funniest episode of the Eleven Dubcast that Sarah and I have done so far. Our guest Travis was great, but the real star of the show was the Ask Us Anything segment, where Sarah and I speculated on the musical tastes of the various coaches in the Big Ten.
The Ask Us Anything segment starts at 50:38, but whole thing is great. I stand by my assertion that Kevin Wilson loves calliope music.
Our fearless leader7. Rappin' with Rabinowitz
One of my favorite perks of doing the Dubcast is getting to talk to guys like Ken Gordon and Doug Lesmerises about sports and the coverage of it in general. I'm not one of those guys that sees a huge conflict between traditional media and internet media, and it's heartening to see that the people on the other side of the street see it the same way.
Which it was why it was a lot of fun to bring on Bill Rabinowitz of the Columbus Dispatch to talk a little Buckeye football back in April. His insight was terrific, especially where the attitudes of players with regard to their new coach was concerned.
It's a great interview all over, and it starts at 16:23.
6. Baby's First Podcast!
I had never edited a podcast before. Sarah had never recorded one. Together, as Luke was away from the Dubcast in early March, we gingerly tipped our toes into the deep end of the internet podcasting pool and emerged as an unholy combination of man and fish. In other words, it worked out pretty well! For fans and regular listeners of the Dubcast, this is the genesis of all that has been since last April, and it's not too bad for a first attempt.
Also notable: Sarah drops knowledge on what constitutes good TV, which is her personal wheelhouse.
5. You've got to be a football hero
Bar none, the worst story of the past year or so in college football was the Jerry Sandusky story, and the ramifications that it entailed. Normally the podcast is pretty light and jokey (and all the better for it), but sometimes things take precedence over making dumb jokes about pizza or whatever.
Luckily we had Chris Grovich on to talk with us about the whole ordeal from the perspective of a Penn State fan, and also talk about his take on the NCAA sanctions that were levied against the program. There were a lot of Big Questions being thrown around about the nature of college sports and it's larger meaning within the context of a community, which are definitely important questions to think about.
The interview starts at 20:51, and pay special attention to his comments on football culture.
4. Chris Leak Dishes on Meyer
Few people (if any) in this world have better insight on what Braxton Miller has experienced and is experiencing as a quarterback under Urban Meyer than Chris Leak has, and we were extremely lucky to be able to interview Chris about that very subject back in September. Leak, it should be noted, is a great interviewee, and though I personally would find it very weird to answer questions about myself, he shows none of that and did a great job.
The real MVP in this episode is Sarah, however, who asked some really great (and tough) questions of the former Florida QB. Sarah always raises her already considerable game for our "big name" interview subjects, and 13:18-31:15 is a prime example of that.
3. The Coolest Kid at SI
When Sarah and I first called up Luke Winn to do this interview, he kind of sighed and said to us "Hey, guys? Can we just have a conversation? I mean, you know, just talk about basketball and stuff, kind of informal?" and I internally squealed but played it cool and said "That would be great!"
And I think it was. Luke Winn (creator of the Aaron Craft Turnometer and writer of some of the most informative pieces of college basketball writing on SportsIllustrated.com) gave us what I think is easily the best interview Sarah and I have had so far. The dude was fun, informative, and totally off the cuff, and to me, that's exactly what a great podcast guest should be. We had a ton of fun recording this one with Luke (the magic starts at 18:38), and like I said in the original post, we'd love to have him come back on sometime.
2. The End of an Era
I forget who initially came up with the concept of the Eleven Dubcast, me or Luke, but I do remember that it was Luke who was ready and willing to take on the responsibility of recording, editing, and publishing the thing for the first year or so, and for that I owe him a ton of thanks. This is the last Dubcast we recorded together, and yeah, it's a little sad, but it's also a culmination of dozens and dozens of hours of dumb jokes, interviews, and a couple of parodies of the Common Man and the Torg.
If you want to get a little more insight into how this whole crazy thing got started, go to 29:54, kick up your feet, and take a listen.
1. E2B 2012
I didn't really expect this to work out half as well as it did, but the video Dubcast that we did for Eat Too Brutus 2012 was a kickass cherry on the delicious sundae that was the weekend of the Nebraska game. It was also a perfect storm of all the things I love about working for this site; silliness, reader interaction, insane amounts of food and drink, and a great game of college football on a perfect autumn Saturday in Ohio.
2012 in Review
And that's the best of the Dubcast in 2012! It was a lot of work and a lot of missed sleep, but Sarah and I are dedicated to bringing you a fun and interesting Ohio State centric podcast that hopefully will one day go down in the annals of history as the greatest Ohio State sports centric podcast of ALL TIME. Frequent listeners and Ask Us Anything submitters like Matt, Jared, John, Steve, Kevin, and one sarcastic (yet strangely alluring) girl named Courtney are what keeps us going, and I am still blown away by the amount of listens and support we get. Thanks guys, and we expect 2013 to be just as fun as 2012 was.
