From Bob's Office: Recent Episodes
From Bob's Office
Podcast hosted by Jake Mathes and Jacob Baumer. Hoping to inform and entertain weekly with guests about sports and faith.
If you were looking for in-depth soccer analysis, you should have looked elsewhere. But Zach Krosschell stopped by and helped guide us through the little we do know! Subscribe, share, and keep an ear out for the Word of the Day!
A brief, accurate look at what our podcast would be like if we didn't have a little more self control. Poor Zach.
Our conversation with Wyatt Fiddyment went several very entertaining and contemplative directions. Make sure you are paying attention for the word of the day!Like, subscribe, follow and share!
The slightly less professional side of our time with Wyatt Fiddyment. Though it's hard to tell.
The always-electrifying Jacob Nielsen joined us for this episode, but he was too much for the current infrastructure. Somewhere a fuse blew, knocking out our power. But we persevered and you will not be disappointed with what Nielsen shared with us. Though, just to clarify, nobody was harmed in the making of this podcast.Like, subscribe, follow and send us some feedback and guest requests!
Shenanigans with Jacob Nielsen featuring Bane and cats. And, of course, Ian still sucks.
For our first guest in the reboot we thought we would bring in an old friend and get caught up, so Khalil Meade joined us and did not disappoint!Like and subscribe, and let us know if you want to be a guest!
Some preshow shenanigans with Khalil Meade. They are rapid fire, so have fun keeping up!
WE. ARE. BACK!!! After a two-year hiatus, we have returned with a new location, new format, and varying levels of professionalism. We recap where we have been and what we are currently doing, and fill you in on what the show looks like moving forward. Thanks for listening!
Now that sports are back in full swing we decided we would gather our friends Jacob Nielsen and Jake Hardy and give some personalized sports updates. We talk about a very long hockey game, the dire situation college and pro football faces, a ton of bubble basketball talk, and a myriad of baseball topics including a lot of hating on the Angels and Astros, for very different reasons. Thanks for welcoming us back!
Intro and outro music produced by Kaden Struiksma
6/23/2020 On today's episode we welcomed an incredibly special guest. Jack Witherspoon is a business owner, published author, entrepreneur, three-time cancer survivor, and he hasn't even seen his 21st birthday yet. We talked to him about all of it, including what it was like to receive three cancer diagnoses by the age of 11, developing a passion for cooking that has gotten him to where he is today, and how his mom has been his hero through everything. We also talked about his creation of Skonies (available at ChefJacksKitchen.com), raising money for pediatric cancer awareness, his work with hospital cafeterias, and what his future goals for cooking and business are. You do not want to miss it.
Intro and Outro music provided by Kaden Struiksma.
On this episode we all had some thoughts about current events. You may have other opinions, but Khalil lead the discussion for us so you can hear our perspectives. Thanks for listening.
May 27, 2020 After a short hiatus we are back and joined by our great friends, Jake Hardy and Jacob Nielsen! We open by talking about a scandal that almost ended our friendship involving pizza and milk. We then transition into unique ways we have been spending our time during the quarantine, including Hardy making ping pong ball trick shot videos and the four of us investing in video games. Nielsen gives us the lowdown on his own podcast (CCPodcast on Spotify and YouTube). We end with a little IMDB rating trivia, so feel free to play along.
Shout out to Kaden Struiksma for producing official intro and outro music for our show!
On today's episode we welcomed Kyle Van Lant! He was one of Jacob's students in youth ministry a few years ago and since then has graduated from Long Beach Poly High School and is currently enrolled at UC Irvine. After the oft-discussed topic of too-hot vs too-cold preference, we had full conversations about the purpose and model of fraternity life and how Kyle found himself in one. We also talked about Kyle's journey into competitive cycling and the peaks and valleys he has experienced in that world. Kyle is also a fantastic writer, so we got a sneak peak into the science fiction world he has cultivated in his mind, and he got a soap box moment to remind us that creativity lives in all of us. Check it out, share it, and let us know if you want to be a guest!
On today's episode we welcomed aspiring firefighter and podcaster, Antonio Jorgensen! Antonio has been passionate about firefighting since he was a young kid, so we covered all the bases of the work he has done to this point with LA County Explorers, Long Beach Search and Rescue, and now as an EMT. We also talked about a possible future with Air Force Pararescue and what that would look like. Antonio has also developed a profound interest in leadership, so we spent a lot of time discussing various types of leadership and what good leaders do. We ended our time talking about Antonio's faith journey and how he's rededicated himself in the last couple years. Thanks for listening!
On today's episode we welcomed Servite alum, Cal State Long Beach graduate, Los Angeles Aviator and HVAC engineer, Thomas "Debo" Anderson! We first covered the hard-hitting topic of hard tacos vs soft tacos before getting into more mundane things. Tons of baseball talk, including Debo becoming a Dodger fan and his obsession with Yasiel Puig and Clayton Kershaw. We threw in some fun baseball history trivia today. Let us know if you knew the answers before we revealed them. We also went in depth into Debo's ultimate career, from his beginning college days to making his professional debut. Then we learned more than we thought we'd ever know about the HVAC industry. Join us for the education! Let us know if you want to be a guest.
On today's episode we welcomed our East Coast friend and former youth ministry intern, Josh Kinyanjui! He told stories about how we met on his first trip to SoCal, and some of the great times he spent and memories he made while interning with us during the summer of 2019. He gave a rundown of his current school situation and the transition to online schooling, then also told us how he tapped into his creativity and pursuing that with his education and near future. We finished by talking about Josh fully establishing his relationship with Jesus a few years ago, what it looks like to evangelize and have conversations with people on the street, and some verses that help keep him focused and encouraged.
As always, let us know if you want to be sponsor us or be a guest!
On today's episode we welcomed Los Alamitos grad and current pitcher for the baseball team at Loyola Marymount University, Josh Agnew! We covered everything about his baseball life, from starting out as a little kid on the Marlins and youth travel ball to developing as a pitcher in high school and at Long Beach City College. Josh shared about his experience going up against friends and top recruits at schools like UCLA, and about his mindset while he's on the mound. Then he shared with us about his faith journey, starting in private school and transitioning to public school, and how his relationship with Jesus has taken a huge step forward in the last couple years. Give it a listen, share with your people, and let us know if you want to be a guest!
On today's episode we welcomed Katie "Reece" Drozd! She is playing ultimate and studying environmental science and policy at CSULB, though at the moment she is in a houseful of family in Chino Hills. We talked about our quarantine experience (more video games, movies, books, and laundry) before hearing about Reece's athletic career growing up and transitioning into ultimate in college. Then she gave us the lowdown on what studying environmental science means and the direction she is looking to take it in (get rid of those invasive species!). Then we went on a little tour through Twitter. Join us for the fun, share with your friends, and let us know if you want to be a guest!
On our episode today we welcomed another one of our high school students, Ellis Negron. He gave us a look at what his life looks like during this quarantine before we talked about his interest in anime and cars, and went into some detail about his work and aspirations as an artist. Then we closed with a discussion about his life in private school and the development of his faith. Give it a listen, share, and think about being a guest or sponsor!
Nothing new to report, just a normal conversation with another new guest, asking them a bunch of questions and talking about all the sports going on right now. Seriously though, we had a blast recording this episode, so check it out!
And, check out our friend's new podcast, "CCPodcast" on Spotify, iTunes and YouTube through Bethany Church and TheWayLB.
In our first episode relying 100% on distant communication, we welcomed Naomi "Stitch" Guzman to the show via a Zoom meeting! We apologize for the slightly lower audio quality, but the conversation quality is still everything you have come to expect from us. We opened the show talking about how we are all surviving the quarantine. A lot of disc golf, Tiger King and sleep is involved. Then Stitch shared with us about ultimate frisbee, an in-depth look at the topic of linguistics and the current and future life of a linguist, traveling, and Lord of the Rings! Have a listen and share with your friends. And let us know if you want to be a guest, from far and/or wide!
After a little time off we are back with a new episode and got to share our friend Seth Hoskins with you! We started by talking about the current situation our country is in with the Corona virus, how it is complicating all of our lives and how we are dealing with it individually. Then we got to hear a lot from Seth about studying industrial organizational psychology at Pepperdine University, his experience in middle school with Jacob as his math teacher, his time at Whittier Christian High School, and some insight into his faith. You will not want to miss his story in the middle of the episode about being asked to his first dance in his freshman year of high school. Give us a listen!
3/10/2020 On this week's episode, we welcome Shane Morgan, the LA City Director for FCA. There is a big event going on this weekend called "Night of Champions", one on Friday in Irvine and another on Saturday in Gardena, where food, games and music will be in abundance and multiple professional athletes are sharing their testimonies. So he gave us all the info about that, and we also learned a lot about his role in FCA, what FCA huddles look like, and heard a portion of Shane's personal testimony. Check it out and join us at the event on Friday or Saturday!
On this week's sports episode we asked some our Instagram followers to vote on five topics and we discussed them in some detail: Lebron vs Giannis for NBA MVP; how many times the Astros are going to be hit by a pitch this year; how many wins the Angels will have this season; who will finish higher in National League MVP voting between Cody Bellinger and Mookie Betts; and who will win the XFL Championship. Give it a listen, and look for similar polls in the future. Send us some commentary for us to share on the show!
On this week's episode, we first cover in great detail the emotional and touching celebration of life for Kobe and Gianna Bryant. Then we spend some time talking about Sabrina Ionescu of Oregon University and her incredible statistical accomplishments. We also go in depth about Alexander Ovechkin reaching 700 career goals, and then take a little detour about Wayne Gretzky. We end with quick mentions of the XFL, Joe Burrow's small hands, and Pistol Pete Maravich. Enjoy!
2/20/20 On this week's episode we welcomed one of our current high school students, Ashton Sharp! He is currently in his junior year at Los Alamitos High School where he plays volleyball and helps produce the Griffin News. We'd like to say we had a conversation that flowed in an organized manner and covered the intricacies of Ashton's life, but that would be a lie. Instead, we had an incredible random and entertaining conversation that included Wojtek the military bear, Star Wars, geography, animorphosis, and many other things. Enjoy!
Sorry we haven't been around for a couple weeks! Despite all that has transpired, we just kept this episode to recent content. We went to an XFL game on Sunday, so we recap that experience (Shawn Oakman plays for LA!). Then we covered the NBA All Star weekend, and the exciting events of the Daytona 500. Give it a listen, send us your feedback, and feel free to disagree with our takes!
2/13/20 Our guest on this episode is Giddeon Massie, a 2-time Olympic cyclist who now does real estate and volunteers some of his time with FCA. We spent a significant amount of time asking Giddeon about cycling in general: how he got started, what the youth cycling scene looks like, training as an individual and as part of team. Then we go in depth about his experiences at the 2004 Olympics in Athens and 2008 in Beijing. Finally, we hear about Giddeon's faith background and how his relationship with Christ helped shape his actions and relationships in athletics and otherwise. We are so grateful that he made time to talk to us and hope you enjoy listening!
2/6/2020 This week we welcomed our friend Simon Viss to the show. Simon is a graduate of Biola University and currently the high school pastor at Cornerstone Church. We spent the start of the show recapping our weekends, including a little Super Bowl talk, but a lot more about our dinner party Friday night with FCA. We all played the game "Two Truths and a Lie" that night, so we talk about what we shared and some of those stories. That conversation led right into what Simon did for a summer in Nebraska in between college semesters, and you'll learn more about that topic than you ever thought you would have. Then we had a lengthy conversation about youth ministry, including how Simon developed a heart for it and ended up in the position he has today, and we talked about a lot of things going on with youth in the world right now and some of our thoughts on on that topic.
Give it a listen, comment and share. Let us know what you think, and if you want to be a guest!
The guys talk about everything regarding Super Bowl LIV between the San Francisco 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs, including specific player performances and some of the controversial calls that happened, plus a look at the halftime show and the conversations that surround it, and they highlighted some of their favorite commercials.
1/30/2020 On this episode we welcome our good friend and former student Christian Almanzan. The conversation covered everything from video games to separated parents to foiled plans to be an astronaut. Check it out!
Kobe Bryant meant a great deal to Jake and Jacob during his playing career. His death on Sunday, January 26 was a devastating shock. In this episode, the guys talk about how they processed the news of his passing and spent a long time sharing memories about him and what kind of impact he had to them and the world. At the end, Jacob read some thoughts submitted by other friends in the community, what Kobe's wife Vanessa posted on social media, and lastly the audio from the Oscar-winning animated short, "Dear Basketball" by Kobe himself. His absence will leave a huge hole in the heart of many people, but his legend will live on in the words and actions of generations to come. Hopefully you are able to share in that with us.
1/23/20 On today's episode we were joined by Traco Rachal. A standout football player in high school and college who developed a relationship with Christ while playing at Texas A&M-Commerce, Traco now works with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, reaching students on campuses, and is a youth pastor and coach. As one of eight siblings, and the youngest of five boys, Traco had a lot of family to talk about, and as someone who was influenced greatly during his youth and through his work with youth now, he had a lot to talk about regarding youth ministry. We covered all of that and much more, so join us for the ride!
We look back at the college football national championship game between Clemson and LSU, noting LSU's dominance and Clemson's future. Then go in depth on the two NFL Conference Championship games before lamenting the Lakers getting drubbed by the Celtics, and some thoughts on the aftermath of the Astros cheating scandal.
1/16/20 On today's episode we welcomed songwriter, music teacher and Tacoma-native Tom Kell! We covered everything from Tom's first guitar-playing experiences to his time in the Army as an X-ray technician. He recounted parts of being a member of the Skyboys band, a very popular group in the Seattle area in the 70s, and his short-lived time with Warner Brothers. He talked about teaching choir at the Lakewood Christian Schools for the last 17 years, and what Los Altos Grace has meant to his life. And we sprinkled in some sports along the way. Tom is a phenomenal story-teller, so you'll definitely want to give it a listen!
1/13/20 On today's episode we welcomed WILSON High School and Cal State Long Beach alum, FCA area representative and world champion paper airplane distance thrower Jake Hardy. After getting a litany of mistakes by the hosts out of the way (Jacob now for sure knows where Jake H. went to high school...), we were all able to share about our weekends in relative detail. Summary: Go see "1917", don't throw footballs in crowded areas, and be on the look out for a local wiffle ball game (0:00-27:40). From there conversation got really sporadic: board games, bowling, and Polish ping pong (27:40-45:50). Once we finally got focused on Jake H., he told us about his family before laying out his work history in the Angels' and Chargers' organizations and transitioning into his current position with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, with some fun behind-the-scenes stories along the way (45:50-1:14:00). Jake had to leave for work, so Jacob and Jake H. were left to their own devices. After some stories about driving (1:14:00-1:27:00). The majority of the rest of the episode was Jake H. giving a full-detail recounting of his adventure traveling to Austria last May and competing in Red Bull's Paper Wings World Finals, earning the distinction of longest airplane thrower in the world. Yeah. You'll want to give that story a listen. (1:27:00-2:03:55). We ended with a short preview of the NCAA Football Championship Game between Clemson and LSU (2:03:55-2:10:10).
It skewed long again, but it's worth it for the final story! Check it out and share it!
After a weekend full of great games, we review Vikings/Niners, Titans/Ravens, Texans/Chiefs, and Seahawks/Packers. We focus on SF shutting down Minnesota's offense and some of Richard Sherman's postgame comments, the majesty that is the Derrick Henry/Ryan Tannehill duo, the Chiefs seemingly toying with Houston before clobbering them, and a couple close calls in Green Bay. Then we looked ahead to the Conference Championship games and made our predictions. Speaking of championship games, we previewed tonight's Clemson/LSU NCAA Championship Game before briefly mentioning AJ Hinch and Jeff Luhnow being fired by the Astros.
1/9/20 Our guest on this episode is Brenden Peach, a good friend of Jake's with a media degree from Cal State Fullerton and currently a production assistant at TMZ. After a discombobulated intro (0:00-9:30), Jake started the interview with asking Peach about his favorite food. The ensuing spirited conversation included Jacob ranting about under-cooked Del Taco fries, Peach's work history at In n Out and some of those trade secrets, plus the "Peach Special" animal fries (9:30-23:25). Next we got a synopsis on Peach's family life and school history, from being at Los Alamitos and Ocean View for high school, to his journey from Fullerton JC to Cypress to CSUF pursuing basketball, experiencing possibly the worst first day of college in history (23:25-48:00). Once his basketball career ended, Peach started to focus on a career in media, eventually landing him a job at TMZ, so he gave us some interesting info about working there (48:00-1:10:30). The rest of the show was a potpourri of conversation revolving around more food, Pokemon, video games, and pets (1:10:30-1:45:31).
Listen, share, comment, and give us feedback!
1/7/20 In the first guest episode of the new format we welcomed Angel Sanchez onto the show. He is another member of the Long Beach Pyramid Scheme ultimate frisbee team and goes by the nickname "Loops". We started the episode with a recap of our weekends, including friends leaving, disc golf, Rosca de Reyes (aka Baby Jesus Bread), and the greatest Jeopardy tournament of all time (0:00-17:30). We started with finding out how Loops got his nickname. Bird noises are involved (17:30-23:00). We spent the next conversation focused on Loops' family life, mostly on life with a quadriplegic stepdad, not knowing his biological dad, significantly older siblings, and the pride and pressure of being the first in his family to plan on finishing college (23:00-45:00). Then we looked at Loops' educational background, how music has played a major role in his life and how he plans on studying music composition moving forward (45:00-1:10:15). Our last conversation was focused on Loops' faith background, being influenced by his mom and stepdad, joining the Cru community in high school and college, and how the story of Jonah has impacted him (1:10:15-1:38:37).
Give us feedback on the new format and share it if you like it!
Our first episode of the new format, Jake and Jacob recap the Wild Card round of the football playoffs, preview Gardner Minshew's cross-country adventure, and look ahead at the Divisional round of the football playoffs. They also talk about Alex Caruso and Dwight Howard being among the leaders in NBA All-Star Voting, and a bounty set on President Trump being equal to the contract of Domantas Sabonis. Finally, a quick look at the Associated Press choosing LeBron James as Athlete of the Decade.
12/31/2019 Our last guest of 2019 was our good friend, Kevin Jentes. He is a graduate of Los Alamitos and is currently studying at Grace College in Indiana. Since we haven't been around for a few days, we started by pointing out some of our highlights from the holiday. These ranged from Throw, Throw Burrito and disc golf to celebrating a wedding and other group celebrations (0:00-22:50). Then we recapped the college football playoff semifinals games between LSU/Oklahoma and Clemson/Ohio State, and talked about the end of the NFL regular season (22:50-45:00). Jake took a break, so Jacob and Kevin talked about disc golf and bowling for a little while (45:00-52:30). When Jake got back we heard from Kevin about his parents and his siblings, and some details about life at Grace College and what he's studying there (52:30-1:07:40). From there the conversation took an unexpected turn and we had an in-depth look into the game of Minecraft, which has been a major part of Jake and Kevin's lives for quite some time and is much more complicated than it sounds (1:07:40-1:22:25). Moving into more important things, we had some discussion with Kevin about some of the people who have influenced him and the personalities and dynamics present in his relationships with his siblings (1:22:25-1:42:40). We concluded our conversation with Kevin giving a detailed look into his faith journey from being the son and grandson of pastors to the most influential three weeks of his life one summer and a couple really important verses for him (1:42:40-2:12:15).
Have a fantastic start to your year and decade! Please listen, comment and share!
12/19/19 Our guest for this episode is our friend and colleague Mariah Shope! She is an integral part of the Los Altos community, and has just completed her undergraduate coursework in Geography at Cal State Long Beach. We intro'ed the show with Jake telling a funny story from his week, getting excited about Star Wars, recapping the most recent Mandalorian episode (spoilers!)and Jake and Jacob giving a recap of their high school group Christmas party (Jake gifted a toilet seat...) and bowling night (0:00-33:25). After we quickly previewed the upcoming football weekend (there are three games on Saturday; 33:25-39:10), we had a very interesting conversation with Mariah about why she doesn't like sports and the psychology behind competition and being a fan of a team, and some of the economics of sports (39:10-57:15). After that, Mariah gave a riveting summary of her life up to this point, covering specifically the death of her father and brother, the abnormal circumstances surrounding both events and the overall mental state of her entire surrounding family, a church community that stepped up to support her through her difficulties in middle school and high school, and how God facilitated her surviving all of her circumstances and getting her to where she is now (57:15-1:39:10). That discussion lead into her telling the story of her entering a dating relationship, and how that unfolded in ways that were extraordinary all on their own (1:39:10-2:03:30). Our last conversation with Mariah was about her desire to study geography and what urban planning looks like as a future career for her, and her favorite bible stories (2:03:30-2:17:30).
Listen, share, and send us feedback! @frombobsoffice on Instagram and Twitter.
12/17/19 For this episode we welcomed our good friend Khalil Meade. He is currently studying business and competing in discus and shot put at Cal Poly Pomona, and he has become a popular counselor at summer camp.Additionally, previous guest Ian Silva sat in on the show. After recapping our weekends, a few sports topics were covered: Jacob explained NFL coin toss protocol because of the debacle at the start of the Rams/Cowboys game; Drew Brees breaking the career passing touchdown record; LeBron James and his new view on load management; Anthony Rendon signing with the Angels (0:00-35:40). Then we turned our attention to Khalil and first talked about the different ways that people re-seal bread packages, and how Khalil almost broke a kitchen (35:40-44:00). Jake asked Khalil how they met, and we learned about Khalil's family (44:00-54:50). From there we transitioned into the more serious discussion of how Khalil lost him mother to cancer a few years ago. Khalil let us in to that struggle, what his mother meant to him, and how he has grown as an individual through that process (54:50-1:07:45). Then we turned our attention back to his dad a little bit, and that lead straight into a discussion about Khalil's education in private school and his views on being raised by two teachers and the education system overall (1:07:45-1:24:45). Next we had a thorough discussion about Khalil's faith and being a Seventh Day Adventist (SDA), specifically on how he processes what happens after death and the role of doubting and questioning faith in a healthy way (1:24:45-1:57:20). Our last topical conversation was about Khalil's involvement in sports, specifically field events, and the philosophical discussion of being a team player in an individual setting, and what motivates him to train and perform (1:57:20-2:14:20). We ended with Jake asking some of his fun, random questions, so we learned about some of Khalil's musical leanings and his favorite memories of interacting with the other three of us (2:14:20-2:30:26).
Listen, share, and give us feedback! @frombobsoffice on Instagram and Twitter
12/13/19 In the first ever "From Bob's Office" special event, Jake Mathes accepted the challenge of trying to eat five pounds of ham in one hour for a $100 prize. Jacob Nielsen, a previous guest, sponsored the event and joined us for it, and Jake Hardy of Orange County FCA also sat in with us for the action. We were recording the podcast and streaming live on Instagram, so some parts of the audio change and are not up to the usual standards at times, so we are sorry about that. But the content is still hilarious. Find out how Jake did!
12/12/19 Our guest on this episode was writer/poet/friend Micah Bournes. Jacob has known him for 15 years and they have both seen the other go through some incredible growth, personally and spiritually, over the last decade and a half. We opened the show with an exciting event that happened at the bowling alley the previous night, then talked about big baseball news and the upcoming football weekend (0:00-32:50). Then we learned about Micah's sports history, including playing baseball, soccer and football as a kid into high school (32:50-53:40). From there Micah gave us a rundown of his family, including some history of how his parents ended up in SoCal and insight into the life of being one of six children (53:40-1:00:30). That led into a lengthy discussion of Micah's experience in school and how some of his struggles in the classroom shaped some of the success he has had in his career. It lead into a lengthy discussion about education and how individuals find success based on some of their advantages and disadvantages (1:00:30-1:42:10). We got back to being focused on Micah and taking a thorough look into how Micah developed his creativity and became a writer, rapper, and poet (1:42:10-2:07:45). We ended our conversation with a look at the importance of community in our lives, specifically the art communities Micah has become a part of and the bible study group that him and Jacob were in and the role those played in their lives, and some of the most meaningful traveling journeys and personal interactions Micah has had in his career (2:07:45-2:48:06).
Thank you for listening and please share and give us some feedback on any of the available platforms!
12/10/19 Our guest on this episode was Aaron Meade. Hailing from just outside the city of Cork in the great country of Ireland, Aaron is the first guest we have had on the show who was not actually recording with us in person. Go us for utilizing technology! We started the show with Jacob telling the story of how he and Aaron got acquainted (specifically how Jacob ignored Aaron for a year) and then all of us recapping our weekends, including Jake and Jacob going to the Rams/Seahawks game and interesting travel stories (0:00-15:18). Then, we introduce the first event in From Bob's Office history: "Jake vs Ham", this Friday at 1 pm. (15:18-22:40). From there we talk about the football weekend. We start with Packers/Redskins, but get go on an age tangent and Jacob tells the story of how he almost made the Clippers Summer League team once. We get back on track looking at playoff scenarios, Jameis Winston, and the final college playoff rankings (22:40-41:17). Then we briefly cover Lakers/Timberwolves in basketball, and the Stephen Strasburg/Gerrit Cole/new pitching rule topics in baseball (41:17-47:45). We finally turn our attention specifically to Aaron and hear about his already lengthy ultimate frisbee resume, and do a little comparison of Irish ultimate culture to American ultimate culture (47:45-1:09:43). From there we shifted into overall sport culture in Ireland, including the incredible-looking sports of Gaelic football and hurling and the emergence of American football, and Aaron's personal interests in American sports (1:09:43-1:34:15). After that we drifted a little into Ireland's popular culture, a bit about the country's history and celebrations (practically every day is "a reason to drink"), and the upcoming tradition, "12 Pubs of Christmas" (1:34:15-1:49:07). Then we got to talk about Aaron's family, what his parents do for a living and how he dealt with them splitting up when he was fairly young (1:49:07-1:58:10). Our last topic involved a very complicated explanation of the education system in Ireland, Aaron's unorthodox journey through it, how it compares to the American education system, and what the future looks like for him (1:58:10-2:18:45). We ended the show with Jake asking a couple of his patented fun questions, leading to an explanation of a ridiculous mountain goat fair (2:18:45-2:34;39).
We are incredibly excited to share this episode with you, and are really looking forward to having Micah Bournes on Thursday and "Jake vs Ham" on Friday. Stay tuned!
12/5/19 This episode features Tony Landini as our guest. He is from Victorville, California, graduated from Biola University and is the high school youth pastor at Arbor Road Church in Long Beach. We started the show talking about Star Wars, other movies and video games (0:00-11:10). Football this weekend includes Cowboys/Bears, Rams/Seahwaks, Packers/Redskins and Giants/Eagles, so we talked about all of those games in varying detail. The college football rankings came out and we talked about that for a bit, and had a lengthy discussion about Uga, the University of Georgia's mascot bulldog (11:10-36:30). We also talked a lot of basketball, including Tony's Timberwolves, MVP talk, and two LeBron controversies against the Jazz (36:50-1:00:50). From there we transitioned to Tony's athletic career in football and basketball and his eventual decision to focus on school instead (1:00:50-1:17:00). Next we journeyed through Tony's early life, first in Phoenix then a quick stop in Azusa before settling in Victorville. He filled us in about his parents and siblings, and the awesome job his mom has (which resulted once in Tony getting cussed out by NBA great Oscar Robertson!), leading up to how he ended up at Biola (1:17:00-1:40:25). That was an easy transition into Tony's faith journey, becoming a Christian in high school, sparking a faith revival in his family, learning how to navigate relationships, meeting his wife, Natalie, and living on campus at Biola (1:40:25-2:01:05). We finished up with Tony telling us how he got interested in youth ministry and the path he took to get to his current high school pastor position. We sprinkled in some other random questions and insights (Tony really likes Italian food) along the way (2:01:05-2:32:43).
Give us a listen on this episode or previous ones, let us know what you think, send us some questions and comments, and share with your friends! frombobsoffice@gmail.com
12/3/19 We welcomed our good friend Kyle Vitwar to this episode of the podcast. He is another member of the Valley Christian community and came to summer camp with us a couple years ago. We battled sounds from the outside world as there was work being done on the roof, so don't mind the hammering, pounding, sawing, whistling, and any other random noises that you hear in the background.
We started by talking about our Thanksgiving weeks and having some story time from Jake and Kyle (0:00-31:20). Then we recapped the football weekend, starting with our NFL teams and a some of the craziness of college football. Plus some quick NBA talk (31:20-56:00). Then we turn our focus to Kyle and spend some time talking about his sports playing career in baseball, basketball, volleyball and track & field. Kyle also shared a little about his family and his experience with choosing and attending Vanguard for college, why he chose to study Liberal Arts, and his plans for being a teacher moving forward (56:00-1:23:23). From there we talked about his church life, his experience in high school ministry as a student and as a leader, and his involvement in Royal Family Kids Camp during the summer over the last several years, with some random stories sprinkled in along the way (1:23:23-1:48:54). We ended with talking about Kyle's personal faith, from his journey to owning his own faith to a couple people that have been examples in his life and some scripture that has been really meaningful for him (1:48:54-2:21:21).
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11/26/19 This episode's guest is Ian Silva. He has been a good friend of Jake's since they were both little, and it was a lot of fun letting our audience get to know him. Another alum of Los Altos and Valley, Ian is currently studying sports management at Grand Canyon University. And he's another big sports fan. We also have our firsts sit-in guest, Owen! In our intro we talk about our weekends and cover the Packers and Rams getting routed, and Jacob and Owen attending the Rams/Ravens game in person. Ian gives us some insight into the Chargers and the college football landscape (0:00-47:00). Then Jake gives Ian some rapid-fire questions and the conversation covers all kinds of topics, including Ian's high school football and baseball career, his Scottish mother and Mexican father, his summer camp experiences at Green Oak Ranch, his obsession with Texas, jeans and boots, and his private school education (47:00-1:20:10). We talk about the decision-making process for why Ian ended up at GCU before he had to take a quick break from the show and we talked to Owen for a little bit (1:20:10-1:36:50). Ian then fills us in on when he got diagnosed with Tourette's syndrome and how he has overcome that challenge in his life (1:36:50-1:54:30). After a quick discussion about coaching and leadership, we spend a significant amount of time on Ian's faith and the role it has played in his life and the people who have taught and influenced him (1:54:30-2:34:34).
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11/21/19 Our guest on this episode is Ethan Scherch. We are very excited to share this show with you, even considering its length, because Ethan had a variety of topics to go over with us, and we had some amazing conversations as a result. We started with a preview of a couple of this weekend's NFL games, including Colts/Texans, Packers/49ers, and Rams/Ravens, which Ethan and Jacob will be attending in person (0:00-28:30). We spent a few minutes getting to hear about Ethan's life as a Ravens and Spurs fan, keying in on some Baltimore history and discussing Ray Rice and Ed Reed briefly (28:30-45:40). Then came our first lengthy discussion. Ethan is a huge soccer fan, so he informed us on a lot of things regarding the MLS and the national teams. That conversation flowed smoothly into a really good dialogue about the topic of equal pay in sports for men and women. We didn't solve anything, but there was a lot worthy fodder (45:40-1:31:50). Ethan then gave us an overview of his immediate family and talked about what it has been like growing up with two older sisters and now two nieces as female presences in his life (1:31:50-1:41:55). The following conversation started with a look into Ethan's experience in seeing a therapist, and what it looks like for us as individuals to seek and receive help towards improving our mental health. The consensus: See a therapist at least once. It's worth it. (1:41:55-1:56:20). Then Ethan talked about growing up in Texas, mostly in Austin, before moving to Missouri and finishing high school there and his extensive career of playing sports along the way. He also explained how he ended up at Concordia, Irvine for college, and how influential his time studying abroad was for his personal faith and views of the world (1:56:20-2:14:45). The last portion of the show was a look into what Ethan's faith looked like as a child, how it developed through high school and college, and how he views ministry things now. We also discussed discipleship and what that looks like, and how important it is to have actual, real-life conversations with people in order to learn about them and share ideas with them (2:14:45-2:55:32).
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*If you want the full experience, just let it play out. But if you would like your ears to continue to work, you might want to skip or mute the episode from the 1:02:50 mark until the 1:03:12 mark. We had our first bad technical issue and it created an unpleasant noise multiple times.
11/19/19 On this episode we welcomed our first female guest! Faith Negron is a recent graduate of Valley Christian High School and currently attends Berklee College of Music. She is a long-time member of the Los Altos Grace community and comes from a movie-making bloodline. We started the show talking about our weekends (0:00-11:45). Jake is very excited about his new Pokemon and Star Wars games, and Jacob had an all-day Harry Potter marathon. Then we got into some of the major sports stories from the past five days. From Trout and Bellinger winning their respective MVP awards, to Tua Tagovailoa's season-ending injury, Colin Kaepernick's workout, and full coverage of the Myles Garrett fiasco (11:45-46:45). Then Faith gave us some background on her and her siblings' sports history. Faith had a rough go of it in softball, but found a home in soccer (46:45-57:50). After that, Faith gave us an introduction to her family members, full names and all, before moving into a description of her education background (you don't want to be in lower band... But you DO want to be in Broadway Showcase) and current status. There may have been a Baroque joke (57:50-1:22:38). Faith's father and grandfather are both in the movie industry, and she wants to follow in their footsteps, so we traveled down the IMDB rabbit hole with her while examining what her career might look like (1:22:38-1:36:10). We finally got to ask her a little about the development of her relationship and a couple of her favorite bible stories, and what it was like to attend private Christian schools through graduation (1:36:10-1:52:43). A quick story about a disastrous Casting Club meeting was followed by a short discussion about having her name in a faith-based community (1:52:43-2:01:43). We ended the show with a terrific look into Faith's perfectionist/type-A mind and all of the habits and decision-making that go along with that personality type (2:01:43-2:32:14).
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11/14/19 A last-second guest change means we were joined today by Mateo "Swipa" Dominguez. He hails from Gilroy, California and is a freshman at CSULB studying criminal justice and playing ultimate for Long Beach Pyramid Scheme. After an intro describing the presence of some background noise and a sad fish story, we briefly previewed a couple of the games for this NFL weekend (0:00-17:52). From there we took quite a journey through yodeling, Jake recounting his near-death experience this morning, another Pokemon and Star Wars segment, and Jake discovering new information about J.R.R. Tolkien (17:52-29:05). We returned to sports a little bit and talked about the latest basketball injuries, then our gripes with the College Football Playoff rankings (29:05-43:55). We finally turned our attention back to Mateo to hear about the origins of his nickname, but got sidetracked again by some of the old cartoon tv show themes we listened to last night (43:55-1:08:00). When we got control of ourselves again, Mateo gave us some insight into his who his parents and siblings are and what they do, and what life growing up in Gilroy is like, especially in regards to the Gilroy Garlic Festival (1:08:00-1:20:12). Then Mateo told us about his high school career, and he and Jake had an in-depth conversation about running track and cross country. Mateo also told us about how he decided on CSULB, and his interest in criminal psychology (1:20:12-1:45:00). Then Mateo gave us a thorough look into the shoe reselling business, his personal business plans, and so much more than we ever could have hoped to know about shoes (1:45:00-2:08:30). Lastly, Mateo had the opportunity to attend the Camp Flog Gnaw musical festival at Dodger Stadium last weekend, where a big news story developed and spread all over social media. He filled us in on all the details the media missed out on, while teaching us again about another subject we know nothing about (2:08:30-2:37:06).
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11/12/19 Today's guest is Jason Dunn, the worship pastor and all-around handyman at Los Altos Grace. We had a great time hearing about his journey through life, church and faith. We started by recapping our weekends in going to games, taking pictures, and Disney+ (0:00-18:26) Then we recapped Rams/Steelers, Packers/Panthers, 49ers/Seahawks and had some NFL MVP talk (18:26-34:20). We followed that with a quick look at the Lakers and why Jacob is invested in Iowa basketball, followed by Jason giving a brief synopsis of his sports fandom and playing career, featuring Slurpees and guitar during baseball (34:20-49:56). Then Jason told us about his parents and siblings, his education at Los Altos and Brethren, and how much Los Altos has meant to him and his family in the past, now, and into the future (49:56-1:18:12). Next, Jason told us about his life after high school, including some time at Fullerton College, joining a metal band, spending a very interesting year in New York, moving back to SoCal and becoming the worship pastor at a church in Anaheim, then making his way back to Los Altos full-time and engaging completely in worship (1:18:12-1:53:50). Finally, we got to talk to Jason about the beginnings of his faith, how it is the center of his marriage, and how he will pass it on to his children, with a quick interlude about his beard and favorite movie (1:53:50-2:30:51).
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11/9/19 Special bonus episode this week! Jacob helped coach some ultimate frisbee in San Diego on Saturday and while driving three of his players down to the tournament, they all agreed that recording an episode would be fun! Don't mind the white noise of the car and the freeway in the background. But come along for the ride we had talking about ultimate, movies, how the three guys got to where they are and where they're going, and some freeway shenanigans along the way! Big thanks to Morgan "Rush" Ortiz, Christian "Ghost" Plascencia, and Krysean "Pluto" Baluga for being good sports.
11/10/19 Our guest today was Alex "Ajax" Grimm. He's in his fourth year at CSULB getting his degree in history and pursuing a career as a teacher and he's the president of the ultimate frisbee club team on campus, Long Beach Pyramid Scheme. We started the show with anticipation of Disney+ starting on Tuesday, so there was a lot of Star Wars talk, with other Disney topics and then some Harry Potter sprinkled in (0:00-24:05). Then we talked about upcoming football, including Steelers vs Rams, Packers vs Panthers, the three primetime games, and Antonio Brown's latest rant (24:05-48:00). We followed that with a quick conversation about basketball (48:00-58:45), then hearing about Ajax's rooting interests (58:45-1:09:00) and his playing career in soccer and ultimate (1:09:00-1:21:15). Ajax told us about his parents, his brother, and his education, including the transition from public school to private school in high school (1:21:15-1:32:00), followed by a great discussion about his Catholic faith, First Communion, Confirmation, and current faith life.
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11/5/19 We were joined on today's podcast by Kyle Oscarson. Jacob was a leader in the high school group for Kyle at Long Beach Grace and now Kyle is a CSULB graduate and pursuing being a physician's assistant. The guys covered their weekends in the intro (0:00-10:45) before getting into a recap of the Packers/Chargers game and other news from the football weekend (10:45-35:10). Next was a couple quick conversations about baseball free agency and a Lakers update (35;10-59:30), followed by Kyle giving us a rundown of his favorite teams, players and moments (59:30-1:23:10). Then Kyle gave a very thorough description of his family, his education and the transition from private school to public school, his church history and some cool moments he's had serving youth, and where he is at with his education and his career pursuit (1:23:10-2:03:10). We ended by asking Kyle some questions about what it's like to be a middle child and his relationship with his brothers, his experience in Boy Scouts and earning his Eagle Scout, and some final thoughts about his faith development and how he sees God at work in his life right now (2:03:10-2:26:47).
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10/31/19 Happy Halloween! Our guest today was Ryan "Crash" Lepore. He's a CSULB alumni working on getting hired as a firefighter. He's a huge sports fan and has played sports his entire life, including professional ultimate for the L.A. Aviators. In our intro we introduced our first sponsor (thank you Emily Harrington!), discussed our pumpkin carving with youth group last night, a fire across the street yesterday morning, and talked a little about the Nationals winning the World Series (0:00-13:00). Then we looked at this week's football schedule while getting sidetracked with a couple other topics including Gatorade, Nike, Adidas, and geography (13:00-49:55). We briefly mentioned Steph Curry's injury and the KAT-Embiid fight from last night, then followed a Rootstown, Ohio rabbit hole highlighted by aardvarks and armadillos (49:55-1:00:20). Ryan then filled us in about his history with sports, including being a fan of the Packers, Braves, and Kings, and growing up playing soccer, hockey, baseball and ultimate (1:00:20-1:29:15). Then we got to talk about Ryan's family and upbringing and his elongated pursuit of a firefighting career (1:29:15-1:48:20). Lastly, Ryan discussed his faith journey with us, including being the least-informed kid in youth group and having a heart-breaking breach of trust with a youth leader that had lasting repercussions with Ryan's family (1:48:20-2:24:00).
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10/29/19 Today's episode with Bethany Church high school pastor Jacob Nielsen was an adventure from start to finish. In recapping our weekends, Jacob B. talked about the retreat he went on, and Jacob N. described a couple birthday parties he went to (0:00-17:10). We followed with a recap of the sports weekend, including Packers/Chiefs, the World Series, and the NBA (17:10-55:55). Jacob N. gave a synopsis of his sports life and a quick look into his childhood, family life, and educational struggles (55:55-1:25:10). then we derailed into an incredible conversation about food and various life skills and quirks (1:25:10-1:35:55). After a quick glimpse into how he met his fiance (1:35:55-1:39:00), we digressed again, this time into a conversation about dogs and cats and giant chickens and more fiance talk (1:39:00-1:49:25). We digressed further into allergies, milk, dipping sauces, sandwiches, and other food quirks (1:49:25-2:08:40). We concluded the show with miraculously getting back to a conversation about Jesus (2:08:40-2:26:15).
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10/24/19 On today's show we welcome Jesse Smith, a quarterback coach and former player at Valley Christian High School and invaluable member of the Los Altos community. We start with a quick look at the first two games of the World Series (0:00-9:50) then break down the first two days of the NBA season (9:50-23:35). We spend some time previewing some of this weekend's NFL games, and Jesse breaks down his Pittsburgh and college allegiance (23:35-56:10). Jesse recaps his playing career (56:10-1:13:55)and then shares briefly about his career path towards fire fighting, and we have examine education a little bit (1:13:55-1:19:20). We spend the rest of the show discussing the death of Jesse's dad when he was young, and the implications that had on his life, his development as a young man, and his faith (1:19:20-1:57:57).
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10/22/19 On today's episode we welcome Cody Kirtz, a huge sports fan, aspiring teacher, and good friend of the show. We opened with talking about our weekend's, including Jacob's last wedding of the season and Jake's weekend trip to Arizona (0:00-8:12). Then we discuss the football weekend, focusing on Cowboys/Eagles, Packers/Raiders, Rams/Falcons, and Patriots/Jets (8:12-31:00). With the basketball season and World Series both getting underway, we talk about that a little bit and give a couple predictions (31:00-44:10). Continuing in the sports theme, Cody gives us a rundown of his favorite teams and some of his all-time favorite players and moments (44:10-1:01:15). From there we spend some time hearing about Cody's personal life and upbringing, and that turns into a great conversation about the teaching profession (1:01:15-1:19:50). We spend the rest of the show hearing about many of the different aspects of Cody's faith (1:19:50-1:47:00).
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10/17/19 In today's episode we welcome Blake Wall, a friend of Jake's from high school who is a big Pittsburgh Steelers fan and is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Following the show introduction (0:00-9:10, the three of us look at the entire slate of NFL games and give our picks for each one (9:10-37:30). Jake gives us this week's "Minshew Minute", followed by some random stats and getting sidetracked by chicken strips (37:30-42:15). We follow that by asking Blake about the details of his Steelers' fandom and how he feels about the team's personnel changes over the last two years (42:15-58:38). We then spend time getting to know Blake a little better, learning about his family, how he grew up, and a description of the two-year mission he recently returned from (58:38-1:23:56). Then Blake details his current faith life and an overview of the LDS church on the macro and micro scale (1:23:56-1:52:14). We conclude with learning about The Book of Mormon and final thoughts from Blake (1:52:14-2:17:30).
10/15/19 in today's episode we interview our friend Mike Jentes. We start with a quick update about our weekends (0:00-8:05) followed by a late recap of Dodgers/Nationals and some more baseball goings-on (8:05-19:15). We give a brief insight into the world of uploading podcasts, including Jacob's frustration with what should have been a much easier and quicker process (19:15-23:25). We spend some time looking back on the football weekend, spending a good amount of time on Packers/Lions and questionable refereeing (23:25-41:25). Then we have an extended conversation with Mike about his sports background and the highs and lows of growing up as a Cleveland sports fan (41:25-1:14:46), then dive into his life and faith and all the travels and milestones that got him from his humble beginnings in northeast Ohio to his current status here in Long Beach.
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10/8/19 In today’s episode we welcome our first guest to the show, Bob Mabry! We give an intro and talk about our weekends (0:00-5:55), then Jake and Jacob give a run down of current sports events, including Cowboys/Packers, the Minshew Minute, Dodgers/Nationals, and “cot darn” Dave Peterson (5:55 -36:00). Then, Bob shares about his love of surfing and some of the adventures he has been on in Hawaii and other locales (36:00-1:01:45). Lastly, Bob shares his testimony, and gives us a few more insights into his life, with some school stories along the way (1:01:45-1:33:50).
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10/3/19 Jake and Jacob introduce themselves and their favorite teams and players. They tell a story from the previous night. Then they give introductions to their lives and faiths.