Lowdown BlogCast Classic: October 28, 2008

In the midst of all the euphoria (we use that term very loosely) over our third anniversary, we realized that our first anniversary show wasn’t posted in our podcast archives. That’s because that episode was actually a Best Of episode of The Lowdown. This episode put together the best parts of the first three games of Season Two of The Lowdown. This classic Best Of episode starts with Steve’s adventures at 2008’s Homecoming weekend. That’s followed by some rapid fire segments including news about guys trying to outkick their coverage, 2008-09 season previews for the Detroit Red Wings and Toronto Maple Leafs and Steve’s exploration of the internet. That’s followed up by the big Homecoming game recap package (which was one of our best produced segments ever). And the show wraps up with Steve’s tour of the UWO campus.

Click here to download the 10 MB podcast version.
Click here to download the 26 MB high-quality version.

Lowdown BlogCast: October 26, 2010

It’s the third anniversary episode of The Lowdown. On October 30, 2007, The Lowdown went on air in London, Ontario from the campus of the University of Western Ontario. Today’s BlogCast may no longer be on air at the U of WO but both episodes are about roughly the same thing. The show starts with a look at the suspension of Rick Rypien and the inconsistent “supplementary discipline” handed out by the NHL. From there, it’s on to entertainment which contains two of Jackie’s singles of the week, It Came from YouTube and a familiar Worst of Music. Then the show gets sidetracked when Steve takes over talking about celebrities outkicking their coverage and the hypothetical trade of a heart attack for sex. Our series premiere and this episode are both NBA season previews. The boys talk about LeBron and Bosh taking their talents to South Beach. They also look at the Vegas over/under lines for all 30 NBA teams. This special third anniversary episode of The Lowdown is over two hours long. It’s the longest episode ever and is more that worth a listen.

Click here to download The Lowdown BlogCast.
Click here to download the podcast quality version.

NHL Power Rankings: Week 4

It’s time for our second dose of the weekly Lowdown power rankings of NHL teams. We’ve got a new team atop the rankings because the Caps forgot how to score and save. The Central Division isn’t on top but they control the Top Ten. And the Leafs are who we thought they were. It really is a good week to be objectively rating hockey teams against each other. Continue reading

Wednesday Link-Off: From Russia With Love

Here’s Russian not-so-super spy Anna Chapman. She’s looks like she’s straight from a Bond film.

Brock Lesnar lost the heavyweight title at UFC 3047 or something like that. But that wasn’t the big news. It looks like we’re coming close to Brock Lesnar vs. The Undertaker in a ring or octagon soon. (The Big Lead)

Now time for Dongslinger-ness. Favre has admitted to leaving the voicemails for Sterger but not sending the pics. There’s one problem with his stories… (Deadspin)

And in other athlete love stories (kinda), here’s GQ’s profile of Alex Ovechkin which includes Ovi and the intrepid writer hitting a club. (GQ)

After the jump, the NHL’s new slogan, a soon to be new NCAA sport, and Wrangler’s new open fly jeans. Continue reading

NHL Power Rankings: Week 3

As we get into the third week of the 2010-11 NHL season, let’s kick off a new feature. I figured that our hockey coverage could use a little boost so I’m starting The Lowdown’s NHL Power Rankings. Just about everyone has a power ranking list but if you need a quick primer, each of the league’s 30 teams are ranked from top to bottom. I’ve never really understood why people do power rankings but I find them oddly compelling. Hopefully these ones will be too… Except for Leafs fans. Continue reading

Lowdown BlogCast Classic: September 8, 2007

As we close in on the third anniversary of the debut of The Lowdown radio show, here is the pilot episode that somehow got us on air. Amazingly, despite us dragging two topics out for about 27 minutes, we somehow were described as humourous and likeable with excellent production value . (Ironically, two-and-a-half years later, someone else had the exact opposite opinion of us which was also the exact opposite opinion of most feedback we get. We were also told to up scripting in our original feedback which we never did but somehow our scripted-sounding lack of scripting somehow got us dumped.) Anyway, on this episode, the boys give a quick overview of what the show is all about before diving into a discussion about whether lectures should be recorded and posted online for students. Talk moves on to the now infamous Vanessa Hudgens nude self portraits (and Steve leads in by asking for the lowdown in the first and only time in show history) and the 2007-08 TV season. After the commercial break (we had those in the pilot too), the boys preview the 2007 NFL season and talk about the place of fighting in hockey. And the show wraps with Steve doing the outro on his laptop’s built-in microphone because he forgot to do it at the studio. If you’re a longtime fan of The Lowdown, this is a must listen classic edition of the show.

Click here to download the 10 MB podcast version.
Click here to download the 26 MB high-quality version.

Sunday Link-Off: Wrath of the Dongslinger

Kicking off her first linkdump is Avril Lavigne. On behalf of Canada, I’m sorry for her music.

Now that the shock factor has worn off about Brett Favre’s dong pics, we have to wonder what the long-term impact of this story will be on journalism. (Sports Journalism)

Over the short-term, sports writers are ganging up on Favre and saying he should hang up his cleats and call it a career. That’s really just the status quo for sports columnists. (Slate)

And tangentially related to Favre, here’s a look behind the scenes of this week’s edition of Monday Night Football. (Star-Ledger)

After the jump, hockey awesomeness, old-time press failure and Favre getting hit by football. Continue reading

Lowdown BlogCast: October 12, 2010

A couple weeks late and a couple dollars short, it’s time for another edition of The Lowdown BlogCast. We were hoping to get this episode online sometime over the last couple of weeks but general laziness prevented it. So tonight, here’s our NHL season preview.  The show starts with the guys’ championship-calibre fantasy hockey tips for your standard draft fantasy pool and for your salary cap pool. They pick the best players at each position whether you don’t need to worry about money or if you need bang for your buck. That’s followed up by entertainment which is dominated by electronic/dance-ish music in each of Jackie’s single of the week, It Came From YouTube and the Worst of Music. The boys also do a brief examination of the new TV season after a couple weeks. After entertainment, it’s back to more hockey. The boys pick their division champions, season-end award winners and make their picks for this season’s Stanley Cup champion. In all, it’s 85 minutes of classic Lowdown fun and hilarity.

Click here to download The Lowdown BlogCast.
Click here to download the podcast quality version.

When Autopick Goes Wrong: The Lowdown Fantasy Hockey Pool Preview

Sorry I haven’t gotten around to it sooner but now it’s time to have a laugh at the expense of The Lowdown Blog crew. This year, we started the first ever Lowdown Fantasy Hockey Pool (though we were a presenting sponsor of the  UWO radio hockey pool). As I mentioned on Twitter and in my last Humanoids column, autopick hockey pool drafts are the tool of the devil. That’s only fitting since we’re running our pool on the TSN/ESPN fantasy platform. Anyway, here’s how the Lowdown team stack up after the draft and how I think they stack up. This’ll probably get me in shit with the boys. On this Canadian Thanksgiving Day, be thankful you don’t have my fantasy team, at the very least. Continue reading

Sunday Link-Off: The Gossip Guys

Here’s Olivia Munn to remind you that G4 isn’t all for the nerds.

Let’s take a break from Favre for a moment. Hear about that Tiger Woods sex tape with Devon James? Well, smart money says that it’s a fake. (Sports By Brooks)

And back to Brett. Deadspin’s latest Favre story can be summarized with: But wait! There’s more! More Jets employees say the old dongslinger wanted a piece of them. (Deadspin)

And tangentially related to the above, the president of  Bolivia isn’t the cleanest soccer player in the world. While the ref wasn’t looking, he kneed an opponent in the groin. (Out of Bounds)

After the jump, the start of the new NHL season, more Cigar Guy and the return of Taiwanese animated news. Continue reading