Gridiron Gut Check: Recent Episodes
Wondery
Sports provocateur Dave Dameshek and NFL All Pro linebacker Ryan Shazier tackle the wildest and most talked about NFL and college football narratives flying across our timelines each week. But just because fans are talking about it on the internet doesn’t mean it’s true! Dave will run each and every over hyped, bandwagon fan and media hot take past Ryan for his unvarnished “gut check” on each one. Ryan will either throw the flag and call BS on it, or let it run free and unchecked to the end zone. No take gets a free pass on Wondery’s latest football podcast.
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Football is back baby! Shek and Shazier are joined by Amazon’s Thursday Night Football correspondent Michael Smith, talking all things Fantasy football. The guys are diving into who should go number one in your drafts? If WRs should go before RBs? Which QBs are worth grabbing this year? And then Shek and Shazier pick Michael’s brain on if Russell Wilson can bounce back from his nightmare first season in Denver, what it means for the 49ers now that Brock Purdy has the starting QB job locked up, and if Lamar Jackson and OBJ can recapture their old magic as fantasy superstars on the Ravens this year. Plus with Shek and Shazier’s alma maters Indiana and Ohio State duking it out this weekend in their season opener… they engage in some gentlemanly trash talk about if the Hoosiers can pull off the upset.
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Hot Dog! This week Shek & Shazier sink their teeth into a frank conversation with women’s competitive eating champion Miki Sudo about her recent dominance at the Nathan’s Famous 4th of July Hot Dog Eating Contest. Has she bitten off more than she can chew coming for Joey Chestnut’s record of most hot dog eating competitions without a loss? What foods does she refuse to eat competitively? And what’s it like dating a fellow competitive eater? They get into all the juicy details of Miki’s life as a competitive eater. Plus in a special edition of “The Check Down” the guys look into their comeback crystal ball and try to predict the biggest comebacks that haven’t taken place yet including whether the Eagles can get back to the Super Bowl, if a Pac-12 team can make the CFB Playoffs and if the Sid the Kid and the Penguins have one more run left in them.
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Wow! A Pittsburgh story on Don’t Call it a Comeback? Shocker! But Drew Maggi’s climb to the major leagues is truly so incredible it defies all hometown bias! The inspirational infielder joins Shek and Shazier this week to tell them how he FINALLY got his shot to show the MLB what he can do as a 34-year-old rookie. Originally drafted way back in 2008, Maggi bounced around college and the minor leagues for 13 grueling seasons before finally getting the call in April – a call btw that went super viral and touched the hearts of baseball fans everywhere. And he didn’t disappoint! Plus, the guys dive into the wild NBA offseason including the blockbuster deal that sent Bradley Beal to Phoenix and if Wemby-mania can sweep the Spurs to one more Finals before Pop retires.
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Ben DiNucci is BACK in the NFL after crushing it in the XFL, and now he’s on the pod! Shek and Shazier chat with Ben about his crazy 2020 season, going from the Cowboys’ 3rd string QB to starter and the roller coaster that led the XFL Seattle Sea Dragons to come calling in 2023. The former Cowboys’ QB set the league on fire, throwing for a league high 2,671 yards leading Seattle to the playoffs. This offseason, DiNucci turned his XFL success into a tryout at the Denver Broncos’ rookie minicamp and earned himself an NFL contract backing up Russell Wilson for the 2023 NFL season. The guys also offer some advice to the entire NBA on how to try to stop Jokic next year, handicap if Connor McGregor will ever fight professionally again and shout out Florida as the comeback capital of the sports world right now,
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Just because it’s the NFL offseason doesn’t mean there’s any shortage of comeback stories to talk about! Wondery’s own John Gonzales from the Lead: Starting Five is in the house talking all the mini-comebacks coming out of NFL mini-camps! Gonzo, Shek and Shazier whiz through Philly’s chances of staking another Super Bowl run, how much of an impact Aaron Rodgers will make for the Jets this season, which free agents might have the biggest impact on their new teams, and if the Steelers can make a playoff run. Plus, the guys go in on the PGA’s decision to take LIV’s money and Shazier drops his list of must-see summer concerts.
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Much to Ryan Shazier’s chagrin, the Michigan Wolverines are now roaring towards a possible National Championship run after a roller coaster last 15 years that only saw them beat rival Ohio State 3 times. If last season’s win against OSU in Ann Arbor was a fluke, the Wolverines' win in Columbus this season (their first at the Horseshoe since 2000!) has solidified Michigan’s recent comeback atop the Big Ten. So who better to join Shek and Shazier to gloat, trash talk, and rub it in 5-0’s face, than former Michigan great, NFL All-Pro Offensive Tackle, and host of Barstool’s Bussin’ with the Boys podcast, Taylor Lewan. Plus Shek and Shazier talk TCU’s unbelievable undefeated season and their chances in the CFB playoffs, Brian Robinson’s miracle comeback in DC, and Shazier’s current obsession with Fooooooootball.
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The World Cup is back! And so is the USMNT after an agonizing 8 year drought. Shek and Shazier are joined by ESPN’s Luis Miguel-Echegaray to unpack the fallout of the USMNT’s crushing ouster in 2018, the wholesale changes it led to for the program – from the Federation all the way down to a totally revamped roster – and the team’s chances of shocking the world this year. On the heels of their crucial test against the UK on Black Friday, can Christian Pulisic lead the USMNT to a comeback of global proportions? Plus Shazier dishes on how NFL players really feel about playing on Thanksgiving and Shek goes ham on Shazier for dissing turkey and pumpkin pie!
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After being labeled a bust and bottoming out as a backup, Geno Smith suddenly has the Seahawks in playoff contention thanks to a comeback season that no one saw coming. Shek and Shazier are joined by Jody Mac of CBS Sports Radio to talk Geno's Cinderella story, from struggles and sucker punches in New York to transforming the Seahawks from rebuild mode to Division Leaders. Plus, does Pete Rose deserve another shot at the HOF, and after their epic comeback against the Bills, are the 8-1 Vikings for real? Also, after Alex Pereira’s comeback win at UFC 281, Shazier shares whether he ever considered a career in combat sports.
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The Houston Astros are a team full of amazing comeback stories! But can we root for them after their cheating scandal that rocked baseball? This week Shek and Shazier talk to Fox Sports baseball analyst Ben Verlander about why it’s ok to love the Astros again?; His brother Justin’s magical comeback season on the mound; How Trey Mancini’s inspirational return to baseball lifted the team, and how both players helped lead the Houston Astros to another World Series championship. Plus Brady’s fourth quarter comeback powers vs. Mahomes’, can Aaron Rodgers come back from an epic Weezy diss, and can Logan Paul make a WWE comeback after multiple knee injuries vs. Roman Reigns?
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A HISTORIC comeback this week as Deion Sanders and the 8-0 Jackson State Tigers have thrust HBCUs back into PRIMETIME. Shek & Shazier are joined by HBCU Hall of Famer and former all pro sackmaster, Hugh Douglas to tackle the climb back to prominence for HBCUs in college football, if “Coach Prime” is long for Jackson St., and how sustainable the HBCU resurgence can be if Deion leaves. Plus, Shazier predicts if Tennessee can keep their comeback season going vs. UGA, shares why Tom Brady might NOT regret his comeback in Tampa, and dishes on the wildest locker room pranks he’s ever witnessed.
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A Double Whammy for our very first episode! New York and Philly are the comeback capitals of the sports world this week. Shek and Shazier dive into the GIANT return of winning football in New York with NFL analyst Marcellus Wiley. Plus, how Bryce’s bomb capped off his own personal Rocky redemption story on the Phillies' improbable run to the World Series with MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki.
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Every fan loves a comeback story. There are few moments more thrilling or inspiring. From an athlete’s resurgence after being left for dead to a cellar-dwelling franchise who suddenly defies all odds, these sports comeback moments stay with us and get passed down through generations.
And no one knows how to come back better than host and former NFL star linebacker Ryan Shazier: Ryan suffered a devastating on-field hit that left him paralyzed, then scratched and clawed his way back until he could walk onto a football field on his own just a few years later. It’s the stuff movies are made of… and now it’s the stuff Wondery’s new series Don’t Call it a Comeback brings you every week.
Host Ryan “Five-Oh” Shazier is joined by his pal and co-host Dave Dameshek and a rotating group of guests to spotlight the week’s biggest sports comeback stories. They’ll shout out the underdogs, Cinderellas, unlikely heroes, and shocking achievements, tracking the highs, lows, and hurdles they went through to make it there. Don’t Call It a Comeback, cuz they’ll be here for years.
New episodes come out every Thursday.
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