The Slant & Go originated when Noor’s & Andrew’s friend, Paul Nixon, got sick of hearing the two of us debate sports endlessly at after-work happy hours and suggested we give ourselves an outlet for our ranting.
The sports commentary world has never been the same. Not because we started podcasting. It just changed. What, do you think people actually listen to us? Other than craig, we mean.
For this episode, we’re joined by Luke Fraley, world’s most affable Lions fan. (Not to be confused with craig Alimo, world’s most reasonable Patriots fan.) We do a quick recap of how the season ended for our respective teams before Andrew launches into a weird, pseudo-science-y lecture about why draft picks are unlikely to instantly make your team better (that guy can be such a downer). We proceed to talk about the draft despite him having taken some of the fun out of it.
You blink and 10 years go by, ya know? We put our first episode out into the world on 4/4/2014 and came back on 4/4/2024 to record from the place where it all started, World Famous Paul & Eddie’s Monte Vista Inn.
We were joined by Brian “Schmizzy” Schmoldt, long-suffering-no-more Browns fan, and craig Alimo, world’s most reasonable Patriots fan.
With craig being on the episode, we don’t know who’s actually ever going to listen to this, but let’s not kid ourselves and think that’s any different than how it’s been for the last decade of drunkenly swearing into the void, er…podcasting.
The concept for this episode is that we all created our dream rosters using as our pool all of the 1st round picks from the last 10 NFL drafts. There was agreement. There were differences.
As per usual, Noor’s takes were most wise while Andrew’s were in places…questionable (where, by “questionable,” we mean “Fred Warner was a 2nd rounder”). #FacePalm
Noor, especially (but what else is new?), offers up some airtight statements about the needs of our favorite teams going into free agency and the draft. That is, after Andrew makes him relive the horror (from Noor’s perspective) that was Superb Owl LVIII. As per uzh, Andrew makes everything about the Seahawks, but Noor salvages the day by bringing the knowledge on the topics of the day.
Don’t miss our 10th anniversary episode, recording on 4/4/24 and available as soon as Andrew sobers up afterwards!
It is well-documented that week 1 is a liar. Do not trust week 1. Yet, here we are, after the first weekend of the NFL season with both doubts and hopes, attempting to make sense of it all. Join us as we attempt to navigate the feels.
We’re less than 2 weeks out from the 2023 NFL Draft, so of course Andrew would choose to talk about…Dougal Robertson?! He tries to make a connection to the Seahawks’ fortunes over the last 12 months, but like so many of John Schneider’s picks over the years it’s a stretch. Thankfully, Noor brings actual analysis to bear on the myriad possibilities of draft season. No one does the off-season like the NFL and for whatever reason it’s when we do our best work, too. Join us for one craig-commute’s worth of football chatter.
# Episode 31: Wherein we talk for an hour and a half about quarterbacks…
March 9, 2023
NFL quarterback is the most demanding position in all of sport, right? So, it makes sense for us to talk for an hour and a half about who’s rising, who’s falling, who’ll end up where, right? Don’t answer that…!
Always wanting to give the people what they want, this episode is 2 of Craig’s commutes long. You’re welcome. Noor graciously starts us off by asking Andrew to recap his overachieving Seahawks before we spend most of the episode looking ahead, to the coming weekend, to the rest of the playoffs, and briefly to next year’s draft. We even give a preview of our next episode! (Assuming it doesn’t take us another 9 months to record…)
# Episode 29: And here you thought you were done with us…
April 17, 2022
Noor went out for a pack of cigarettes and…wait, that’s a different story. In this timeline, somehow we forgot to podcast for 2 years. Who does this? Us, apparently.
Well, you can’t get rid of us that easily. We’re back and better than ever! If, by better than ever, you mean the same conversational NFL chit chat you’ve come to love over our 8 years in existence, except this time with some USFL thrown in for good measure!
It’s NFL draft season, so of course we break that down after discussing the bevy of high-profile trades that have happened this offseason.
You won’t want to miss it, craig. Everyone else? Hard to say.
Everyone remembers their first time and hopefully so it will be for our guest, Bicky Bhullar, someone who, considering he is friend and family to Andrew and Noor, shouldn’t have taken 5 years to get on the ’cast.
Our apologies, Bicky, but we made up for lost time by spending 2 hours talking through an exhaustive if a little meandering recap of the recent NFL Draft.
You’d think we’d have spent time on the radically different format, how GMs were making picks from their basements, but no, we actually pretty much stick to football for the whole episode.
I think that’s a first for us. We should have this Bicky guy on more often.
As Noor so aptly put it, “Time flies when you’re putting out an episode and a half a year.” It was exactly 5 years ago that we published our first episode.
In that time, we’ve made a lot of predictions and if we were more organized we’d have gone through some of them and compared them to what actually ended up happening. But we’re not, so instead we talk about this pretty unprecedented free agency with a QB carousel like we’ve never seen, including going into a fair bit of depth about the ramifications for Noor’s Niners and Andrew’s Seahawks, before pivoting to the draft that is soon to be upon us.
Not ones to stay completely focused, we end up debating what constitutes a draft bust before wrapping up with a quick discussion of how the NFL league year might play out amid the ongoing global pandemic. All that and we kept it under an hour and a half. Maybe we are getting better at this?
# Episode 26: Name, image & likeness, an interview with sports antitrust economist Andy Schwarz
November 23, 2019
Sport occupies a central space in the American psyche. We tell ourselves all manner of myth about our heroes who wage symbolic combat on our behalf. One of these is that our sports are only pure if the combatants are “amateurs,” but how does that make sense in a world where a member of the marching band can be paid to play a music gig without risking her music scholarship, but the point guard on the basketball team can’t be compensated for signing an autograph without being barred from her sport?
On Andy Schwarz’s first day at his first job out of grad school, he was handed 10 depositions and told to make sense of Al Davis’ ill-fated 1995 lawsuit against the NFL. The Raiders lost the suit and Schwarz’s career was launched. In the 24 years since, he’s worked on some of the highest-profile sports antitrust cases of our times.
For the last half decade, Andy has worked tirelessly to right the imbalance of power that exists between the business of college sports and the athletes who the NCAA currently prevents from profiting from their oftentimes fleeting fame on the gridiron, court, and pitch.
A major milestone in this work was realized on September 30 of this year when California Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law SB-206, legislation unanimously passed by the California State Assembly that prevents colleges and universities in the state from restricting a college athlete’s ability to be compensated for the use of their name, image, and likeness.
Andy helps us make sense of it all through the course of a wide-ranging interview that includes going into some depth on his latest venture, The Historical Basketball League, an attempt again to give college athletes a fair shot at fair compensation.
If you’ve ever wondered what the difference is between a “league” and a “cartel” then this is the podcast for you!
So many trades! Noor and Andrew talk through recent trades, including putting on our GM hats and making idle speculation about other possible trades ahead of the deadline next week. Andrew, once again, butchers a player’s name and gets a division wrong, but it’s endearing, right? No, no it’s not. But both listeners will tolerate it. We hope. Oh, and we might have another project in the works….
# Episode 24: Wait, we actually remembered what episode it was?
September 18, 2019
You know that thing where we stumble over what episode it is, like, each and every episode? Well, we didn’t do that this time! I know, right? We’re getting better at this podcasting thing!
And, a propos of the season, we actually spend the majority of our time on Fantasy Football concerns. What a concept! With Ben & Drew out for extended periods and Stafford on Andrew’s bench, we strategize how to get the most value out of possible trades at this pivotal point in the season.
Then we talk real football. The NFL is becoming more like the NBA every day in terms of the balance of power between players and owners. Is that a good thing? Listen to find out!
Andrew tries to lure Noor into a bet about whether Miami wins a game. Who wins the war of wills?! #TeamTesla or #TeamSubaru?!
# Episode 23: Story lines, Dynasty, and Rookies…oh my!
August 19, 2019
As the NFL enters its 100th season, there are some historic story lines on the horizon. We talk about some of the all-time greats who should move up in the record books this season. Next, we get a little sidetracked talking about a possible work stoppage at the end of the season before pivoting to an explanation by Noor of the dynamics of a “dynasty” fantasy football league (not to be confused with a “keeper” league) compared to a traditional “re-draft” league. We wrap by talking about what promise we’ve seen in the rookies on our respective teams this off-season.
What better way to celebrate 5 years of podcasting than mocking a team’s new uniforms? (With apologies to our good friend and Jets fan, Jayson, who we will have as a guest on a future episode!)
Thankfully, we quickly pivot to lamenting the lame way the nascent AAF was managed. Can we please have spring football that lasts more than 80% of a season? After beating that dead horse, Andrew eventually segues the conversation to a bizarre fantasy of his Seahawks trading their best player to division rival, Arizona, for the possibility of taking Kyler Murray #1 overall. (Seattle fans should be glad Andrew’s not your GM.)
We talk NFL Draft for a bit, including Noor’s take on the Niners’ needs, then ponder Matt LeFleur’s chances of success taking over coaching duties for Green Bay and the mercurial Aaron Rodgers.
Basically, we’re all over the place. But what else is new?
Wherein we consider a rebranding as the NFL Outsiders, but instead spend over an hour dissecting the AFC, and in fact mostly the AFC North. Don’t judge, there’s a lot to talk about!
We welcome again our good friend, Brian Schmoldt, Cleveland Browns season ticket holder. 14 months after going 0-16, the Browns are poised to take over the AFC North. Andrew almost commits to buying season tickets…
My god, we don’t exactly get right to the point. Who’s your Batman? How does that pertain to football?
Well, let us take you on a little journey back to the 1980s and somehow manage to bring it back to the 2019 Super Bowl. Was this really the worst football in recent memory? Here, let us tell you whether that’s the case. We know. We’ll tell you. (Hint: It was neither the worst, nor the best.)
In any case, we spend an inordinate amount of time on this Superb Owl because there’s (let’s be honest) a lot to talk about. Eventually, we move on to talking about the future: draft needs, the draft, who’s going to take whom in the draft.
Hope springs eternal and we take solace in that. Join us. Please. Thank you.
We actually kick things off by talking about an entertaining NCAAF national championship game that showcased upwards of 2 dozen future NFL draft picks. We then move on to recap a wild Wildcard Weekend and make our picks for the remainder of the NFL playoffs. We can’t help ourselves and delve a little into the drama in Pittsburg before teasing a possible episode from the NFL Draft in Nashville. (Spoiler alert: Don’t hold your breath for that one, but do plan to meet us in Vegas for the draft in 2020!)
# Episode 18: Putting the Paul back in Paul & Eddie’s
December 16, 2018
The whole reason we do The Slant and Go is that our good friend, Paul, got tired of listening to us argue about sports at happy hours and suggested we channel that misspent energy into a podcast. In this episode, Paul joins us as we go back to our spiritual (if you can call it that) roots by recording at World Famous Paul & Eddie’s Monte Vista Inn in Cupertino, California. The discussion is a bit rambling, but Noor salvages things, as usual.
Exciting news! You can now find us on iTunes and Google Play. Subscribe today and never miss another of our drunken, sweary, rambling missives!
We had set out to talk mostly (exclusively?) about the Heisman Trophy, but got sidetracked right off the bat by talk about the current state of NFL teams with QB-heavy caps. It’s all good, though. We eventually get to a mock snake draft of former Heisman winners. Let us know who you think won, Andrew or Noor, on Twitter @theslantandgo!
Recorded during Monday Night Football on the eve of the 2018 mid-terms, this episode has nothing to do with either that game or politics. Instead, we spend a bulk of the time going division by division and assessing the question, “What have we learned?” through 9 weeks of the regular season.
We somehow managed to record another episode within the season. This is what progress looks like! We welcomed our friend Brian to discuss the Browns first win in two seasons. Also, we dove into the Le’Veon Bell holdout stand off and our perspectives on the Earl Thomas injury.
4 years and 4 months and we’ve only made 14 episodes? What kind of half-assed podcast is this? No wonder we only have 1 longtime listener. We’re sorry, craig. We will try to do better.
In this episode, Noor & Andrew make predictions and a bet on how the Browns will do. We review Noor’s family league fantasy draft and Andrew waxes poetic about the Seahawks’ new punter.
Brian Schmoldt joins us for a follow-up to our pre-draft musings about his beloved Cleveland Browns. In addition to talking about their draft, we cover the Niners and Seahawks in some detail as well as a couple of the more intriguing picks generally from the draft. We wrap up with a quick discussion about what rookies could make an impact in Fantasy Football this year.
Special guest, Brian Schmoldt, Browns season ticket holder, helps us break down how the team from Cleveland has been doing nothing but winning this offseason.
# Episode 9: Tunsil and trades make for a wild 1st round
April 29, 2016
We share our take on the Laremy Tunsil social-media-prompted draft controversy before talking actual football with an analysis of one of the weirdest, wildest 1st rounds of an NFL Draft we’ve ever seen.
Has it really been 7 months since our last episode? We are such slackers….
In this episode, we start by talking about the recent suspension of one of the league’s most popular players, Odell Beckham, Jr. We go on to the current playoff picture and our Super Bowl 50 picks, then wrap up with a discussion of who should be the league MVP and a wee homage to the about-to-retire Charles Woodson.
Then, what the crap?, a report gets posted that Peyton Manning, Mr. Clean, face of the league and Papa John’s Pizza, is about to be implicated in a doping scandal! Just when you think it’s a wrap, you get the microphones back out and go back in for a quick talk about the implications. Skip to 1:01 if you just want to hear our take on this breaking story.
Yep, in this, episode 7, your trusty oracles of the NFL tackle (so to speak) the topic on everyone’s minds at the moment: #DeflateGate. We throw in a debate about best QB of all time to fill in the hour. NFC draft implications is next on the agenda. Pinky promise!
Wherein Noor and Andrew discuss the recent NFL Draft. In this episode we cover the AFC divisions and sundry related topics. Next episode we’ll cover the NFC. Enjoy!
(NB: I fucked up on 2 counts in this episode. 1. I had the levels on Noor’s mic set too high so he sounds like an alien superhero. 2. I kept calling the AFC East the AFC North. Why am I even allowed on this podcast?)
So, if you’re not sick of talking about the Super Bowl and don’t mind a #PatriotsNation slant to the conversation, this is the episode for you!
(One other thing, apologies for the less than optimal sound quality for parts of the recording. We have some new equipment on order that should allow us to improve the ratio of us versus background noise for the next one!)
We proudly present Episode 3! We were joined by special guest Andy Villarreal, hear our ramblings in reaction to the NFL draft. This was our first episode in a few weeks and was also the first attempt at recording in a “more controlled” environment.
Give it a listen and stay tuned for our special feature mini-episode highlighting the matchups we’re looking forward to.
The Slant and Go presents our second podcast episode. In this episode, Noor, Andrew, and Paul cover a variety of topics including where Johnny Football might land in the draft, what teams could use the services of CJ2K, how well the Raiders did in free agency, a tangent on the NCAAB Championship game, longevity in the NFL, why DeSean was released and how it could play out in Washington.
Enjoy!
Welcome to Episode 1 of The Slant And Go, a podcast about the NFL, fantasy football, sports and random other topics.
In this, our inaugural recording, Noor, Andrew, and Paul cover a range of off-season topics including Mark Cuban’s comments about the NFL “imploding” within 10 years, free agency winners and losers, Jim Irsay’s recent arrest, whether or not the NFL should buy Uber, who out of this draft will we be talking about in 10 years, the DeSean Jackson situation (before he signed with Washington), and what we would do to fix the 5 teams drafting at the top of the upcoming NFL draft.
