by Recent Memories
Recent Memories is a half-assed retelling of 1979-2009, one year, one story and one conversation at a time. For Season Three, the year is 2004. It’s Bush vs Kerry. Bennifer. Paris Hilton. And American Idol. You’ve heard those stories before. We’re gonna talk about the other ones.
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Publishing Since
8/18/2020
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April 12, 2021
<p><strong>Season 3. Episode 4: Baseball Malfunction. </strong>(Featuring special guest Tony Massarotti)<strong> </strong>In the summer 2004, in the middle of an otherwise rational baseball season, Manny Ramirez dove to cut off a Johnny Damon throw from 20 feet away. Eventually, the Red Sox would reverse an 86 year old World Series curse after making a historic comeback to beat the Yankees. And, along the way, a 40 year old man had the greatest offensive season in the history of baseball. What the shit happened? And, moreover, did I somehow cause all of this?</p> <p>In the winter of 2003, following another second place finish by the Boston Red Sox, I acted in an ESPN TV commercial bemoaning the statistical improbability of Boston’s baseball curse. This nationally run ad was yielding consistent and sizable checks for several months, an annuity I presumed would last for at least another eighty six years. But, starting in 2004, things began to get very strange.</p> <p>First was the infamous “wardrobe malfunction” at the Super Bowl, which seemed to portend what was to come. Then, on a boring summer day in Boston, Manny Ramirez sprinted and dove in left field to cut off a ten yard throw from Johnny Damon, allowing an unnecessary and singular inside the park home run. This illogical play, from a supernatural hitter who had not hustled in the field in a decade, was the first major sign of a baseball malfunction.</p> <p>The rest of that season is, quite literally, historic. The Red Sox would make the playoffs and come back from a three to zero deficit to beat the Yankees and then steamroll the Cards in the World Series, ending their near-century of suffering. Simultaneously, though perhaps more quietly, Barry Bonds was having the greatest offensive season in the history of baseball…at the age of forty. And the NL Cy Young award winner, Roger Clemens, was even older.</p> <p>Nothing about the 2004 baseball season made sense. It defied the laws of probability and of time, as we knew them. So, left with clues but no answers, we turn to legendary Red Sox sports journalist, Tony Massarotti, to try to understand the unimaginable. Unsurprisingly, Mazz provides us with plenty of insight into the Sox’s improbable comeback, but confesses to having literally zero insight into the “Manny cutoff.”</p> <p>Join Matty, Kevin and special guest, Tony Massarotti, for a look back at the year in baseball when reason malfunctioned.</p> <p>Special thanks to Tony Massarotti, who has can be heard on “Felger and Mazz” on 98.5 / The Sports Hub in Boston and whose book, “A Tale of Two Cities” documents the 2004 Red Sox / Yankees rivalry. And thanks to Quincy, Matt, Gabe and the Blue Duck Media team for their production support.</p>
April 5, 2021
<p>Season 3. Episode 3. And here’s the story we wanted to figure out for history: In January of 2004, Howard Dean gave an impassioned speech to his supporters following a disappointing finish in the Iowa caucuses. That speech was punctuated by an unusually shrill call to arms that was quickly dubbed “The Dean Scream.” Within weeks, Howard Dean’s once promising presidential campaign was over. Now, nearly 20 years later, it's time to ask: What was the big deal? And moreover, are we sure it was even a scream?</p> <p>Join hosts Matty & Kevin as they attempt to define the anatomy of a scream based on five criteria: Anger, Distress, Frequency, Duration and Roughness. Using these criteria, they travel through the mouth, into the throat and deep into the interior of Vermont's beloved former governor. From there, however, the duo wonder: When is it acceptable for men to scream? And why? Why are Steven Tyler and John Lennon beloved for their screams? Why is it hysterical when Jim Carrey and Anthony Michael Hall scream on film? What happens when an NFL quarterback celebrates in a shrill tone? Is he still embraced in the huddle? Is the rare audio of Tom Brady screaming in elation authentic or is it Belichick propaganda?</p> <p>As always, Matty & Kevin go deep. Too deep. And, when they get in over their heads, they are joined by Harvard professor, Nicco Mele, an expert in the intersection of politics, media and technology. Nicco, who had a senior technology role in the 2004 Dean campaign, takes us back to the days and weeks before the Iowa caucuses. He deconstructs the milieu and, somewhat reluctantly revisits the sound itself. In that noise, Nicco, Matty and Kevin all agree that Dean's sound exists in some uncanny valley and might be more accurately described as a "yelp" or "shriek." They agree that Dean was perhaps just not a competent screamer and had Brian Johnson from AC/DC or Joe Cocker lent him their voices, he would likely have been the Democratic candidate for President.</p> <p>Special thanks to Nicco Mele, who has a great <a href="https://nicco.substack.com/">politics Substack</a> here. And thanks to Quincy, Matt, Gabe and the Blue Duck Media team for their production support.</p>
March 29, 2021
<p>Season 3. Episode 2: Rico Dynamite. With very special guest <a href="https://extrapoints.com/series/extra-points/"><strong>Dave Dameshek</strong></a>! And here’s the story we wanted to figure out for history: Twenty years after his high school prime, we got the briefest of glimpses of a broken dreamer who claims he could have single-handedly won state and who could still throw a football over a mountain. If we could get into that time machine with Uncle Rico and head back to 1982, what would we see? Would he have gone pro? Would he have outplayed Bubby Brister? And, perhaps most pressing, would he have kept the toupee on under his helmet?</p> <p>He's been likened to Big Foot. To Roy Hobbs. To Len Bias. To Ryan Leaf. Was Rico Dynamite the greatest "what if" story in the history of sports? Matty & Kevin review the admittedly scant tape to determine if Uncle Rico could have been a generational, multi-arm angle, quick muscle twitch, elusive, possibly ambidextrous quarterback. Or, whether he was a charming sociopath who would have been cancelled before he took a snap in the pros. Or if it was all a conspiracy and that Uncle Rico was not even Napoleon and Kip's uncle at all.</p> <p>To start, Matty, Kevin and Josh agree that "Napoleon Dynamite" is, contrary to popular opinion, a football movie. Then, they go through a detailed draft profile of Uncle Rico -- from arm strength and speed to, of course, concerns about personality defects and the impact in the locker room. Collectively they plot Rico somewhere between Jeff Garcia and Kyler Murray, but acknowledge that the downside is somewhere below Ryan Leaf's toilet bowl. A rookie season with sixty interceptions and weekday house arrest is clearly within the bounds of plausible.</p> <p>Next, very special guest, Dave Dameshek ("The Willie Stargell of Podcasts"), joins to review the co-hosts work. Dave agrees that if Dynamite can get back to 1982 through his time machine that he could easily enter the 1986 draft, get picked in the second round (ahead of Jack Trudeau) and become the first NFL quarterback to wear a toupee under his helmet. Shek reminds us that, in 1998, both Brett Favre and Terrell Davis wore braces in the Super Bowl. Compared to that, the panel agrees that Rico's rug is barely a footnote.</p> <p>Special thanks to Dave Dameshek and to Quincy, Gabe, Matt and the Blue Duck Media team for their work on this episode.</p>
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Recent Memories is a half-assed retelling of 1979-2009, one year, one story and one conversation at a time.
For Season Three, the year is 2004. It’s Bush vs Kerry. Bennifer. Paris Hilton. And American Idol. You’ve heard those stories before. We’re gonna talk about the other ones.
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