Under the Radar with Sammy Bovitz: Recent Episodes
National Sports Radio
A podcast by Sammy Bovitz about sports and stories that lasted from September 9th, 2018 to June 6th, 2021.
Thanks for listening.
Under the Radar with Sammy Bovitz was a presentation of National Sports Radio. It was written, researched, edited, and hosted by Sammy Bovitz. It featured guest appearances by Eli Pearl, Eli Lesser, Robert Deiters, Jack Brooks, Ben Weiner, Paul Lukas, Drew Ajose-Nixon, Daniel West, Chris Linney, Alex Swift, and Max Strohmer. Help was provided by Russell Taber, Anthony Remedios, Ari Friedman, Cruz Ochoa, Jake Sirkus, Evan Sherrill, Chris Sharp, and BIG3 N3ws. Special thanks to Kofie Yeboah.
Alex Swift returns to help Sammy prove every nostalgic basketball fan right/wrong/confused.
The BIG3 hasn't played any games for nearly two years. So what have they done since then?
Thanks for Will from @big3n3ws for his help with this episode. Be sure to check out his socials and the 4th Man Podcast.
Sammy's tired.
CHAPTERS:
An Impossible Road to Stardom (1:08),
(Not) Appealing to Casual Fans (15:02),
Problems and Solutions, both Minor and Major (22:05)
With the help of some NSR friends, Sammy simulates an NFL Draft featuring dinosaurs, superheroes, Transformers, bounty hunters, and Pokemon.
Full player pool (spoilers?):
Avengers: The Hulk, Captain America, Thor
Star Wars: Chewbacca, Darth Vader, Boba Fett
X-Men: Wolverine, Mystique, Deadpool
Justice League: Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman
Pixar: Sulley, Frozone, Anger
Super Mario Bros.: Donkey Kong, Bowser, Yoshi
Pokemon: Charizard, Mewtwo, Pikachu
Transformers: Bumblebee, Optimus Prime, Megatron
Jurassic Park: Tyrannosaurus Rex, Velociraptor
Sonic the Hedgehog: Sonic, Dr. Eggman, Metal Sonic
The Legend of Zelda: Link, Zelda, Ganondorf
Sammy concludes his bizarre historical recap of baseball's weirdest, rarest possible ending.
Sammy discusses the fundamental problems with the NFL's All-Star events, the new gimmicks they have tried to use to push the event forward, and more.
Max Strohmer of Baseball at Its Finest joins Sammy to break down the 2010s Texas Rangers and where Adrian Beltre, Elvis Andrus, and company unfortunately went wrong.
Thanks for listening to Under the Radar in 2020.
Sammy talks about the most engaging monster Olympic games that he has ever seen in a Pixar prequel.
Sammy discusses the released kickers from this year (including some bizarre Jaguars GM role-playing), then goes on to talk about the weirdest and worst division of the NFL. Can you guess which one?
Sammy discusses the problems that come with Take-Two Interactive, Electronic Arts, and San Diego Studio pumping out new sports games annually for $60.
For those that want to see the video I referenced in this episode, you can check it out here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Te_pWL5a6b0
Sammy discusses the rise and fall of the ridiculously talented Detroit Tigers teams of the early-to-mid 2010s, and makes the case for their cornerstone to be enshrined in Cooperstown forever.
Alex Swift of Swifty Knows Soccer returns to discuss the US Soccer teams, sexism in sports, the Women's massive success and revenue, and how to fix it.
The weirdest baseball game you've never heard of in 20 minutes or less. Introducing UTR Files.
Sammy talks about Scott Boras, the most powerful agent in baseball, and how he has shaped and will continue to shape the MLB.
Sammy breaks down the 2010s Charlotte Bobcats and Hornets, dissecting Michael Jordan's mistakes and how executives can turn mostly terrible situations into something better.
Daniel West of the Informal Program returns to discuss a topic that's been nagging Sammy and dorks everywhere for a long time.
Sammy returns with a Tragic History about one of the greatest athletes to play who became one of the worst executives of the 21st century.
2019 free agency was insane. 2020 free agency is not, and might be a while away. Sammy decided to preview it anyway.
The second special project from Under the Radar. Written, researched, produced, edited, and narrated by Sammy Bovitz. This one was a little rushed.
The Oakland Raiders are dead. NSR member Drew Ajose-Nixon joins Sammy to recap the final years of their history.
Sammy explores the possibilities behind Andrew Luck leaving college early. Tons of QBs change hands.
Sammy breaks down the 2022 World Cup, which is chock-full of controversy, with Swifty Knows Soccer host and NSR member Alex Swift.
LeBron James has a complicated legacy in both Miami and Cleveland. By keeping his Decision for a longer period of time, Sammy changes his and the legacies of many others.
On Under the Radar's landmark 50th episode, Sammy does a redraft of 2010's loaded MLB Draft based on 2010 team needs, 2020 team needs, and the careers of those drafted.
Sammy gives his review of Gus, the 1976 movie from Walt Disney Pictures. It's about a placekicking mule and it's not very good.
Eli Pearl and Chris Linney join Sammy to talk about the weird two QBs to come out of the 2015 NFL Draft-- Jameis Winston and Marcus Mariota. They then talk about NFL free agency for a bit to wrap the show
Sammy is joined by Daniel West of the Informal Program for a conversation on sports media that ranges from analytical to laughing at Jason Witten.
Sammy discusses the Tennessee Titans through their wild 21st century, which includes four franchise quarterbacks and zero Super Bowls.
Sammy has set out on a mission to discover the best fictional basketball team of all time through a 16-team bracket, which he breaks down along with NSR member Chris Linney, who took part in the panel to decide the champion.
Josh Allen, for a while, was the consensus no.1 pick. To Sammy Bovitz, this made no sense. Let's explore what would happen if this draft projection came true.
All-Star Saturday Night is incredibly fun. But it is also flawed. Tonight, Sammy's going to try to fix it.
Sammy breaks down the Mariners' record-breaking 2001 season, and then discusses their decline as quickly and painfully as it happened in real life.
Sammy does something rare for this show and sets the players of the XFL aside. The league is back, for better or for worse, and tonight, he looks at the league as a whole.
Tonight's episode is dedicated to the memory of Kobe Bryant, gone too soon. May he Rest In Peace.
Eli Pearl, Chris Linney, and Drew Ajose-Nixon join Sammy to break down the 2020 NFL Free Agent class.
A History of Switch-Pitching, an Under the Radar special project, was written, researched, produced, and narrated by Sammy Bovitz. Special Thanks to Kofie Yeboah.
Sources include Baseball-Reference, SABR, SB Nation, and ESPN.com.
In the 2019 finale (not the Season 3 finale), Sammy talks about this coming decade and what it will bring for the world of sports. To wrap the year, Sammy looks ahead to the rest of Season 3 that has been planned and where Under the Radar will go in 2020.
Sammy breaks down the most interesting storylines from the sports media world in 2019. Then, Sammy talks about his own growth as a member of the sports media over the course of this year.
Sammy mourns each of the released kickers of the 2019 NFL season that remain free agents, who span from legendary (Matt Bryant) to infamous (Cody Parkey). Plus, Sammy takes some time to talk about the Ravens and 49ers, the two hot new teams that were in the Super Bowl togetheralmost 7 years ago and were completely different teams than they are now.
In the premiere to a new series within this show, Sammy reviews this year's City Edition designs, and then takes a look at the program as a whole. Plus, Sammy discusses an odd encounter he had with Knicks power forward Bobby Portis hours before he recorded this episode.
In the premiere to a new series within this show, Sammy undoes one of the worst trades of this decade, and the NBA gets weird.
Sammy breaks down the entire 11-year plight of the Oklahoma City Thunder, through their highs and lows.
Sammy and special guest Drew Ajose-Nixon break down the 2020 class of MLB free agents, with an emphasis on the more underserved storylines.
Sammy previews the upcoming NBA season by discussing the storylines he's watching out for.
The debut of a new series within the series, Sammy breaks down the heartbreaking 21st century of the Los Angeles Dodgers after their Game 5 loss to Washington.
Sammy discusses and ranks every sports shoe brand outside of the big four of Nike, Adidas, Jordan, and Under Armour.
Staying Secondary concludes with a look at the more successful secondary franchises in the Jets, Nets, and Clippers, as well as LAFC.
In the first of this 2-part series on secondary teams in big cities, Sammy discusses the Chargers, Mets, White Sox, Angels, and Islanders.
Season 3 kicks off with Sammy breaking down storylines he'll be watching in the 2019 NFL season.
In the penultimate episode of Season 2, Sammy breaks down the upcoming season of his favorite underrated sports league, the BIG3. NOTE: the season finale, Listener Appreciation Night, as well as episodes five and eight of season 2, have been removed for external reasons.
In the final episode of Under the Radar's 3-team format, Sammy breaks down the Heat, Bills, and Marlins.
Sammy brings on founder and head of Uni Watch, Paul Lukas, to discuss the brand with him.
Jack Brooks of Hockey Talk comes on as a guest co-host to discuss the Knicks and Giants.
Sammy breaks down the NIT and Reds, and brings on Jack Brooks to discuss his favorite NFL team in the Seattle Seahawks.
Sammy breaks down all three major Detroit sports franchises in the final of the all-state specials.
Sammy is joined by Eli Lesser to break down his favorite NBA team, the Clippers, then turns to cover the new AAF and old Pirates.
Sammy brings on Eli Pearl to discuss the Mavericks, then talks about the Browns and Cardinals.