Casual Diehard

Colleen and Chrystal bring you the next installment of their exploration of iconic baseball character Billy Martin, this time exploring more of the 1950s Yankees and Martin’s departure, the end of his playing days with seven teams from 1957-61, and Martin’s entry to the world of scouting and coaching and the birth of Billyball. 

Colleen and Chrystal bring you the next installment of their exploration of iconic baseball character Billy Martin, getting into his playing days, starting with the Idaho Falls Russets in the Pioneer League, going up through the tear gas-soaked minors, and continuing to New York with the Yankees in their 1950s glory days and his bawdy friendship with Mickey Mantle.

Colleen and Chrystal bring you the story of Billy Martin, a story with so many layers, twists, and turns that this is just Part 1, covering his early years — and that means really early, starting with the tale of his birth at home in 1928, and how he found out his actual name, Alfred Manuel Martin Jr., and his colorful Northern California youth. Once he got into baseball, Martin became one of the game’s most interesting characters. What shaped him into the player and manager he became? Find out as we journey from a kitchen table circumcision to a slaughterhouse job to his first pro contract. 

Addy, Britt, and Jesse are back to take in a new world in F1 where McLaren leads the constructors standings after Oscar Piastri's victory in Baku over Charles Leclerc. With rookies Oliver Bearman and Franco Colapinto scoring points, it feels all the more like everything is changing, but one thing is the same: Sergio Perez's season from hell continues. When Kevin Magnussen returns to the track in Singapore, is anyone safe with the Dane having nothing to lose? And is the WDC really in play with Max Verstappen's lead shrinking, or is the three-time reigning champion simply on defense with Lando Norris having the better car?

Chrystal and Colleen bring you the story of Big Sexy, the one and only Bartolo Colón! From Cleveland to Montreal to Chicago to Anaheim to Boston to New York to Oakland to Atlanta to Minnesota to Texas, one of the era’s biggest arms, bodies, and personalities made a name for himself wherever he went. Signed for $3,000 as a Dominican teenager, Colón went from throwing at soup cans to winning a Cy Youg Award and spending more than than two decades in the major leagues, leaving his mark as a cult hero even after his prime years.

Addy, Britt, Jesse, and Katie all are here after a wild two weeks in F1 saw Lando Norris win a race to really put pressure on Max Verstappen in the race for the world driver's championship, then Norris getting passed from another pole start, slipping behind Oscar Piastri and eventual winner Charles Leclerc, and having to wonder if his window is smaller than it first appeared. Leclerc's win excites us most as Ferrari fans, of course, but are we gearing up for a championship chase with eight races left in the season? Meanwhile, NASCAR heads to the playoffs after wrapping up the regular season, the Mets are flying, the Yankees are pulling a Red Bull, and one of us is already in "season over" territory on a sport that only just began its season, leading to a search for new fandom in another league. Kevin Magnussen also will have time to watch football thanks to his one-race ban.