Quick Hits: Recent Episodes
Alex Reba
At the intersections of sports, music, movies, and pop culture is the Quick Hits Podcast. Hosted by Alex Reba, Quick Hits aims to tackle any number of topics while featuring a variety of contributors. While the show features unique takes and original opinions, it draws elements from some of our show's favorite podcasts before it and hopes to pay homage to them.
In Part 2 of the Pending Approval MLB Trade Deadline special, Alex power ranks teams 1-30, while Oscar share his top ten teams. What is unique about these power rankings is that for each team ranked, Oscar reacts to Alex sharing his company comparison for that organization.
In this week's episode, Oscar and Alex deep dive into the Major League Baseball season. They start Part One by breaking down which players are most likely to be dealt, which in some cases are already on the move ahead of the August 1st deadline. In Part 2, they reveal their 1-30 Power Rankings with a slight twist by revealing their company stock parallel for each organization up to this point in the season and beyond.
Major news out of the world of golf as the world learned this week that the LIV Golf Tour and the PGA Tour intend to merge into one league! Oscar and Alex provide their instant reactions to a complicated situation which is sure to be the focus of the upcoming U.S. Open. The duo discuss the details which we have as of now, while providing their thoughts on the potential challenges which the two leagues could face in terms of antitrust government regulation and public backlash. It's one of the most shocking announcements in the world of sports that either of us have seen in our lifetimes and could also open the possibility of further attempts by Middle Eastern and other investors from around the world to gain access to North American sports leagues. Finally, at the 34:40 mark, Oscar and Alex turn their focus back to the NBA as Denver leads the Finals 2-1 and prepares for Game 4 in Miami. Oscar and Alex agree that one more win by Denver is likely all the Nuggets would need to put this series out of reach from the Miami Heat. Do the Heat have enough in the tank to repeat their Game 2 performance? Or has the Joker been too dominant to be taken down now? Recorded on June 8, 2023
As the Pending Approval podcast reaches double digit episodes, the NBA Finals is upon us! Oscar and Alex react to the unlikely matchup which will cap off the 2023 season and feature the #1 Denver Nuggets out of the Western Conference and #8 Miami Heat out of the Eastern Conference. Oscar reflects on another unsuccessful attempt by the Boston Celtics to win a title with their star duo of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. The two then discuss what makes this Heat so special to make it to this year's finals and whether or not they have a chance at pulling off one more upset over the Joker.
Recorded on May 31, 2023
Oscar Garner III and Alex Reba react to the Denver Nuggets sweeping the Los Angeles Lakers out of the playoffs. Despite his fragile state, Alex heaps praise on the Nuggets ability to break down a strong Lakers team on the back of yet another dominant series performance by Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray. Moving to the Eastern Conference, Oscar's psyche also hangs by a thread as the Celtics cling to life in a tight series against the Heat. The pairing close out the episode by reacting to Brooks Koepka winning the 2023 PGA Championship at Oak Hill Country Club. Episode was recorded on May 25, 2023.
On this episode of the Pending Approval podcast, Oscar Garner III and Alex Reba dive into the NBA Playoffs yet again. It was a wild Round 1 as we saw a #1 seeded Milwaukee team lose to #8 seeded Miami for only the sixth time in NBA Playoffs history. Additionally, Alex's beloved Cleveland Cavaliers crashed out of the playoffs after losing in a gentlemen's sweep to the resurgent New York Knicks. While we saw Philadelphia and Denver cruise in Round 1, tougher matchups lie ahead for these teams in their conference semifinal opponents of Boston and Phoenix, respectively. Finally, the Lakers appear to be a true contender behind LeBron James and the elevated play of Anthony Davis. In a script meant for Hollywood, Los Angeles' premier basketball team will have to face the defending champion Golden State Warriors, as the Splash Brothers look to extend the Warriors Dynasty. Alex and Oscar get into all of this and finish the episode with a thought provoking conversation about Giannis' post-game remarks about failure in sports. Thanks for listening!
It's been a busy time for the hosts of the Pending Approval podcast. Specifically, for the underpaid editor of these podcasts, Mr. Alex Reba, who is the reason there is a backlog of content hitting the page just now. In any case, there are some great episodes and topics which Oscar Garner III and myself have gotten into over the past few weeks. In this episode, the two of us touch on all things NBA heading into the First Round of the playoffs. The episode begins with a brief conversation about our trip to Orlando to watch the Cavaliers take on the Magic in their final home game of the 2022-2023 Regular Season, while also touching on our theories about how traffic gets backed up and why the NBA Regular Season is currently broken (03:00-14:15). After our thoughts on the play-in games, we discuss the state of some of the teams which just missed the playoffs or failed to make the playoffs by way of the play-in (14:15-34:20). From there we move on to a series by series breakdown of each Round 1 matchup.
34:20 - Lakers vs Grizzlies
46:48 - Timberwolves vs Nuggets
53:08 - Bucks vs Heat
1:08:45 - Warriors vs Kings
1:37:56 - Celtics vs Hawks
1:44:22 - Nets vs 76ers
1:47:12 - Clippers vs Suns
1:59:27 - Cavaliers vs Knicks
In this episode of Pending Approval, Oscar Garner III and Alex Reba react to the NBA Playoffs through Round 1 and preview what they expect to see in the Conference Semi-Finals. The two give instant reactions to the Jets acquisition of Aaron Rodgers and they finish the basketball portion by acknowledging the recent Miami sports moment, with the success of the Heat, Panthers, Hurricanes, and Marlins. They close the episode by discussing how they feel about the offseason MLB rule changes and how it has impacted the game. The episode was recorded on May 1st but did not upload properly.
With the sports equinox in full swing, Alex couldn't help but dedicate time to a breakout episode on one of the stories that might be going on under the radar in the world of sports. The Tampa Bay Rays have the hottest start to an MLB Season since 1987! Alex shares his thoughts on why the Rays strength of schedule isn't as big a factor as others may lead you to believe and why this team could be special throughout the 2023 season.
We have reached a sports equinox this week and while the NCAA March Madness Tournament has come to a close, another tournament is here to capture the spotlight, one with tradition like no other. In Episode 4 of Pending Approval, Alex Reba and Oscar Garner III review the path that led the University of Connecticut Huskies to cutting down the nets in Houston (0:00). The two reflect on their dominance in this year's tournament and consider UConn's resume submission for blue blood status among college basketballs most storied programs (21:50). In the second half of this week's installment, they take a look at the field for The Masters at Augusta National and discuss what to expect in the 87th edition of the tournament (41:58). Finally, the anticipation has begun to build with the NBA regular season winding down. Oscar and Alex briefly touch on what they expect to see in the final games of the season before the start of playoffs and they cast their votes for MVP, Coach of the Year, ROY, DPOY, 6th Man, and Most Improved Player (1:34:09).
On Episode 3 of the Pending Approval podcast, hosts Oscar Garner III and Alex Reba take a look back at a wild Sweet 16 and Elite 8 weekend which saw all of this year's #1 seeds exit the tournament before the Elite Eight for the first time ever since the NCAA began seeding teams in 1979. Now that the nets have been cut down at the regional sites, it is time to look forward to Houston as the "Lone Star State" prepares to play host to the UConn, Miami, FAU, and San Diego State faithful. Oscar and Alex discuss the Final Four matchups we have on tap this weekend and make their final picks on who will be the last team standing on Championship Monday. Finally, the duo share their excitement for the start of the upcoming 2023 Major League Baseball regular season and give a brief preview on the NBA teams that are fighting for a playoff spot in the last few weeks of the regular season. We hope you enjoy!
In the second episode of our show, Oscar Garner III and Alex Reba react to a chaotic first weekend of the 2023 NCAA Tournament. After seeing a Round of 64 which featured a 16 seed knocking off a 1 and a 15 seed knocking off a 2, we can't wait to see what is in store in the regional semis and finals. With the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight quickly approaching, we break down our favorite matchups this weekend and make our second chance bracket predictions together. Additionally, we touch on the rapidly changing coaching landscape in college basketball with Rick Patino, Ed Cooley, Micah Shrewsberry, Tobin Anderson, Chris Beard, and Will Wade among the names to sign deal with new programs. We hope you enjoy the show and the second week of the madness!
It's March Madness! And with March Madness comes the launch of a brand new show featuring Alex Reba and Oscar Garner III. Oscar made his debut in radio in early 2021 when he was brought on as a guest contributor for On the Tee! with Mike Rickord, the flagship program of the Tampa-St. Pete Sports Connection. It wasn't long after that Alex was brought into the fold and the two have become regular contributors for the Saturday based sports radio program recorded live at Ferg's Sports Bar and Grille in St. Petersburg, Florida. Axe Man & The Big O aims to be a sports variety show which touches some of the hottest topics around the world of sports. We hope you listen and enjoy!
In this week's episode, Matthew DiMichele and Will Hayes join me to for an in-depth break down of all six 2020 NFL Wildcard Weekend games. The three of us also make predictions for who we think will represent the AFC and NFC in this year's Super Bowl. Finally, we talk NFL head coaching openings and who we think would be the best fit for the six vacancies currently available. (Recorded on January 6, 2021)
On this episode of the Quick Hits Podcast, Will Hayes and Matthew DiMichele stop by to share their thoughts on all the events going on in the world of sports recently. This episode also includes the addition of new segments to be featured in future episodes of the show.
Matthew DiMichele makes his debut as a guest on the second episode of the Quick Hits Podcast hosted by Alex Reba. This week's episode is recorded outside of Highmark Stadium as we breakdown the Pittsburgh Riverhounds upcoming matches in the USL and Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup then pivot to a breakdown of Major League Baseball, focusing on the American League. New segments are introduced and Matthew makes his first "Bot Take" of the year.(Recorded on May 25th, 2019 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania)