Podcasts by Wrecking the Toy Department
We don’t just "stick to sports" because we don’t have the privilege of doing so.
This podcast is about wrecking the toy department – the name derisively foisted on sports – where it’s supposedly all fun and games. It’s not and never has been.
There’s no shut up and dribble here. We want to hear what athletes, and people from all walks of sports – have to say, because they’re public figures with a platform. What they say and do, or don’t say and do, matters whether we agree with them or not. And it matters a lot.
We use sports to pull back the covers on society - culture, politics, race, civi
Further podcasts by Jake Williams
Podcast on the topic Sport
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From Winning Ugly to Ugly as Sin: Part 3 of 3 from 2023-07-25T22:30
As if 2021 weren't bad enough, the White Sox experience was about to get exponentially worse. As the team makes its heel turn, we'll explore the real time experience a fandom's divor...
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From Winning Ugly to Ugly as Sin: Part 2 of 3 from 2023-07-11T22:30
They were contenders, and likable ones at that. Until...
In this episode, we'll explore how owner Jerry Reinsdorf went rogue on his organization by attempting to rectify wha...
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From Winning Ugly to Ugly as Sin: Part 1 of 3 from 2023-06-27T22:30:34
Want to know why men, women, boys and girls are madly cheering for their team and all you see is laundry? This is how I fell in love, not just with baseball, but with the Chicago White Sox. For ...
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The Drama King of Green Bay from 2023-04-19T23:00:38
On this episode, we'll take a deep dive into how and why Aaron Rodgers, the quarterback who's arguably the best player in Green Bay Packer history, is the same guy the team can't wai...
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Djoker's Wild from 2023-03-08T00:00:58
Rules? Where we're going there are no rules. For world number one men's tennis player Novak Djokovic, it has been as startling a descent over the past three years as it was an ascent for the pre...
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The Best People Money Can Buy from 2023-02-22T00:00:31
You can't walk through this world without stepping on a few feet. You can't make an omelet without cracking a few eggs.
If you can't handle the heat, get out of the kitchen. Okay, b...
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The Ultimate Model Employee from 2023-02-03T21:03
The last shoe dropped on the relationship between Kyrie Irving and the Brooklyn Nets, as Kyrie forced his way out of Brooklyn. The first time he was introduced at Barclay Center after the trade ...
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Our Faltering War on Drugs from 2023-01-13T00:00:19
Why is the War on Drugs constantly faltering or stalling out? In this episode, we'll explore why've let so many opportunities to gain the upper hand against drugs, be it cocaine in the 1980s or ...
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Trailer: Our Faltering War on Drugs from 2023-01-11T01:00:59
Remember when we were told drugs would cook your brain as fast as it takes to fry an egg? And then the commercial ended, almost on a dare, with, "Any questions?" Well, here we are 35 years...
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Add to Resume: I'm a Dad from 2022-03-24T23:00
How do sports talk radio people react when they find out an afternoon drive host won't be going on a work trip to Las Vegas because of the possible impending birth of his child? The answer might...
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Add to Resume: I'm a Dad Trailer from 2022-03-23T23:00
Professional sports have shown us why the United States still has yet to enact federally mandated paid parental leave. But, could sports talk radio - known for the most lowbrow of Cro-Magnon guy...
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Billionaires Lives Matter trailer from 2021-12-03T19:46:01
When it comes to the reasons behind the resignation of Las Vegas Raiders head coach Jon Gruden, don't buy what the NFL is trying to sell you. Even though he had to go for the racism, homophobia, mi...
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Billionaires Lives Matter from 2021-11-30T00:00
The NFL can laud itself for doing the right thing in forcing Jon Gruden to resign as coach of the Las Vegas Raiders because of his racist, homophobic and mysoginistic emails. But, in this episod...
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Field of White Dreams Trailer from 2021-09-29T21:09:37
Should Major League Baseball be using Field of Dreams to celebrate its sport? On top of not being a good movie, it revels in the nostalgia of a time when Blacks couldn't play baseball and women ...
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Field of White Dreams from 2021-09-24T16:00:56
Why is Field of Dreams the movie Major League Baseball has chosen to celebrate its sport? Sure, August's Field of Dreams game between the White Sox and Yankees was a dream game<...
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The Motherhood Penalty trailer from 2021-06-30T14:34:49
Today, Canadian boxer Mandy Bujold will learn whether or not she's headed to the Olympics. She earned the right to go, having made the Canadian team that was to participate in the Olympic qualif...
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The Motherhood Penalty from 2021-06-17T15:41:41
Heading into what the International Olympic Committee has billed as the Gender Equity Games, Canadian boxer Mandy Bujold’s fight just to qualify for the Summer Olympics next month has served not...
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Sports Gets It First from 2021-05-05T18:15:08
There’s no such thing as, “just stick to sports.”
To paraphrase Oscar-winning film director Spike Lee: If you read the sports section, you’ll know what’s happening in the world. S...
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Florida Man Strikes Again from 2021-04-12T17:36:37
“Florida Man” isn’t just a meme or a jokey news story including a mugshot of a white man looking like he has no idea he’s done something wrong. Personified here by newly minted Jaguars coach Urb...
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Living the Dream from 2021-01-29T18:18:01
Because of the courageous and heroic work of her employees, the mostly Black women who play for the WNBA’s Atlanta Dream, a team named after Martin Luther King Jr.’s most famous speech, Dream co...
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The Old Boys Club from 2020-12-24T18:36:53
Why would the Chicago White Sox organization make the exact wrong hire at the exact wrong time? The Old Boys Club, of course. What’s that, you ask? Take a listen and learn about all the benefits...
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It's OK to Say You're Depressed from 2020-09-24T18:54:40
Dallas Cowboys QB Dak Prescott showed true leadership when he admitted to having suffered from depression and sought treatment. His story and those like his are a meaningful strike against what’...
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College football is broken from 2020-08-31T17:04:39
It's time to stop pretending that the "student" in the NCAA's student-athlete model is anywhere near as important as the 'athlete" part to those in charge. This structural imbalance in college s...
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A Capital Disgrace from 2020-08-12T20:14:33
Go Football Team! Yes, that's the new name of the Washington Football Team, formerly the 'Skins. On this episode, we take a look back at the team's last two decades under owner Daniel Snyder, an...
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Sports to the Rescue from 2020-07-24T19:34:59
It's on! Major League Baseball is back, but is bringing sports back in the midst of a global pandemic a good idea?
Are we ready? Is professional sports ready? Or could it be that sports a...
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Exploring an Empty Stadium from 2020-07-13T20:07:26
Professional team sports are coming back in bubbles, to be played in completely empty arenas and stadiums. Until the coronavirus pandemic ends, it's probably we won't get any further than partia...
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The forgotten World Series champions from 2020-06-17T22:18:36
In the season following the Boston Red Sox breaking "The Curse," there was bound to be a shadow hanging over the 2005 World Series champions.
But what if I told you the 2005 White S...
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When electric orange was the coolest color from 2020-05-15T22:14:26
We re-live the best season in Illinois basketball program history - how the Illini and coach Bruce Weber were ahead of their time, and we discuss the greatest moments of the season - a demolitio...
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The Beauty of Winning Ugly from 2020-04-18T20:40:56
We miss sports. A LOT. But why? Why does it feel, during this time, that there is such a void in our life?
This season is an exploration of the sports touchstones of my life, why sports b...
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The Legend of Patrick Mahomes from 2020-01-29T19:37:46
What's the secret to Patrick Mahomes' incredible popularity? Why does he seem to have become a national spokesman for so many companies so quickly? Hint: It's not just his on-field play; it's wh...
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A closer look at the Cubs' new cable network from 2019-10-07T19:19:47
With the end of the regular season came the final days of being able to watch the Chicago Cubs on the public airwaves - WGN and WLS. They're not the first team to create its own cable network, b...
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Bat Flips vs the Baseball Police from 2019-07-12T21:51:18
Why spontaneous celebrations in basketball and football aren't given a second glance but the same actions in baseball, like flipping your bat, spur conversations about showing up your opponent a...
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My Career Story from 2019-07-01T23:54:05
This is my career story, how I turned my most glaring weakness - stagefright - and turned it into a career in media, as a journalist, reporter, writer and producer - and the marriage of the two ...
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Making White House Visits Great Again from 2019-07-01T23:43:09
Ever wonder why the World Series or Super Bowl champion visits the White House? How did this tradition get started? Well, it wasn't always the joyous tradition it felt like when the New York Gia...
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