The Sports Lunatics Show

SiriusXM's Mick Kern guests on this episode and he and Howie discuss the life and career of John Garrett, the changes coming in 2027 to the CFL postseason and Mick's impressions of the NHL playoffs to this point. We'll see how his predictions stand up to reality.

Phil "Scrap Iron" Garner, the long time All-Star infielder, World Series winner on the 1979 Pittsburgh Pirates and Major League manager, passed away this week and Shawn and Howie discussed his career and what he meant to so many others as well. They also talked about veterans Alex Ovechkin, Anze Kopitar and Jonathan Quick. Playoff prospects of certain teams and the possible future in Detroit with the Red Wings also came up.

A little bit of a different Sports Lunatics Show for you here. Howie looks back at a couple of anniversaries marking the releases of a couple of classic baseball movies - Bad News Bears and Major League. Both endured because of their raw realism and their underdog themes. What they gave their audiences has endured all these years later. Bad News Bears was released in April of 1976. Major League came out in April of 1989. Howie talks about the movies and he goes through some things about each movie that you may not have known. It's a palate cleanse from the serious world of sports.

The Baseball world lost Davey Lopes this second week of April. Shawn and Howie talk about their recollections of Lopes, his infield mates and those great Dodgers teams of the 1970s and early 80s. They talk about the 2026 Masters golf tournament and the absences of both Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson. And they finish up by discussing the retirement of Joe Bowen and what he meant to both of them.

This was a lively and wide-ranging show. Shawn and Howie talked about who TSN in Canada chose as the Face of the Blue Jays; they discussed how Baseball is creeping back up in popularity ahead of a possible labour stoppage in 2026; they looked back upon the 30th anniversary of the passing on the field on Opening Day of umpire John McSherry and the spectacular final day that Jack Nicklaus had at the 1986 Masters 40 years ago this month.

Howie takes information from a chapter of his third book, The Consequences of Chance, and talks about the best parts of the 1969 Montreal Expos Season. There wasn't much but they did win their first ever game, their first ever home game and the franchise's first ever home run was hit by a pitcher. Bill Stoneman provided fans with their first really big thrill. Their first big star was a red headed outfielder who captured the hearts of the Montreal fans as quickly as they captured his. Hope you enjoy this episode.

This is a shorter Sports Lunatics Show episode. It's about Larry Bird and his collegiate rivalry with Magic Johnson and that incredible NCAA Final Game in 1979. It also covers how Bird's collegiate athletic career ended and it wasn't on that court in the final in Salt Lake City in the spring of 1979. Listen to this episode to find out how and where it came to its end.

In this Sports Lunatics Show episode, Shawn and Howie talk about Rodger Brulotte, the Montreal Expos' broadcaster, his career and his legacy as the great person he was. The boys share some stories and talk about their memories of the Expos and broadcasters they enjoyed listening to in years past. It's a fun episode.

On March 15, 2026, a bad call on what turned out to be the third strike that ended an exciting World Baseball Classic semi-final game between the United States and the Dominican Republic was made. After the game, Alex Rodriguez said on the Fox post-game show "a ball that's about four inches down, you just hate to end a game that big...on a pitch that's not a strike." Howie and guest Mick Kern from SiriusXM's NHL Network Channel talk about bad calls and missed calls by officials from the worlds of baseball, hockey, football - both Canadian and NFL - basketball and soccer. Mick finishes the episode off with a call that he figures is extremely important because it's changed the way hockey games have become officiated. It's another lively episode.

On March 12, 2026, Radko Gudas went knee-on-knee with the Toronto Maple Leafs' Auston Matthews, injuring the Leafs' centre. Given the way he forced Sidney Crosby out of the Olympic tournament, Howie asked guest Mick Kern about Gudas and the fallout from those hits. This was recorded before the NHL's Department of Player Safety ruled on any suspension, but Mick was on fire discussing Gudas and so many other NHL 'bad guys' from the 80s, 90s and beyond. It's a fun conversation and one that is sure to evoke a ton of memories.

Howie drives the bus in this episode and he looks at the long life and career of Lou Holtz. The longtime college coach was best known for his national championship while at Notre Dame in 1988. Along the way there were highs and lows and controversies just like in pretty much every life. (30 minutes)

In this episode, Shawn and Howie discuss the passing of Hall of Fame second baseman Bill Mazeroski. He's famous for his walk-off hone run in the seventh game of the 1960 World Series but there was more to Maz than just that. The boys also look back on the lives of former Dallas Cowboy and Toronto Argonaut offensive lineman Chris Schultz and Canada's Hockey Dad on the fifth anniversary of their passings. They also look at the necessity for community and the importance of old rinks like the Weston Arena in Toronto and the old Forum in Halifax.

On Sunday, February 22, 2026, the men from Canada and the United States met in Milan to play a hockey game to decide the gold medal winners. The game was incredible, with Connor Hellebuyck stealing the show and the victory for the Americans. The game was intense and the fallout was emotional as the game was not decided until Jack Hughes scored in overtime. Social media buzzed for days after the game was decided for many reasons. Shawn and Howie discuss the game and some of its many ramifications in this Sports Lunatics Show episode.

The 1974-75 New York Islanders were a team in their franchise's third year of existence. They had been a team that had been mediocre at best. But with Al Arbour as their coach and Bill Torrey as their general manager, the team shocked their rivals, the New York Rangers, in the first round. Then, when down 0-3 against the Pittsburgh Penguins in their second round series, they defied history and rose from the ashes to defeat their seasoned opponents in that seven-game series. Next up was the defending Stanley Cup champion Philadelphia Flyers who quickly took a 3-0 lead in that series only to see these upstart Isles tie it up and take it to a seventh game. Howie takes excerpts from two of his books, Crazy Days & Wild Nights and The Consequences of Chance to tell the story of this incredible team and their exciting playoff ride.

In this episode of The Sports Lunatics Show, Howie drives the bus and covers a lot of topics dealing with the third week of February, 2026. It was the legendary Red Barber's birthday on February 17. The last NHL game at Maple Leaf Gardens took place on February 13, 1999. Chris Paul retired after a Hall of Fame career. Three Rivers Stadium was demolished on February 11, 2001. Justin Verlander signed as a free agent with the Detroit Tigers. And the world lost Robert Duvall and the Reverend Jesse Jackson.

As Shawn has often said, our show has sometimes become a forum for remembering the sports figures that we've lost. This show is no exception. Toronto Maple Leafs public address announcer and long time radio man, Mike Ross, joins Howie to talk about the passings of British Columbia legend Jim Robson and Ottawa hockey coach Vince Malette.

When SiriusXM's Mick Kern comes on the show, we can figure on a lively conversation and this one is no exception. Mick and Howie discuss that momentous night fifty years ago, February 7, 1976, when Darryl Sittler scored six goals and had four assists in an 11-4 win over the mighty Boston Bruins, and many of the things that surrounded it. They talk about unfortunate Boston goalie Dave Reece, weave in and out of the topic and even get some CFL talk in as well. It's truly a fun conversation and Mick and Howie share a bunch of laughs.

It's February and the Winter Olympics are in our collective consciousness and so our thoughts naturally float to a couple of weeks back in 1980 when the sporting world was focused on what was happening at the hockey venue in tiny Lake Placid, New York and what a group of college kids were doing by upsetting the vaunted Soviet Union juggernaut. There's a new Netflix documentary and Shawn and Howie discuss it and the 1980 tournament and the players and personalities involved. They also take a look back at the life and career of Detroit Tigers' great pitcher, Mickey Lolich.

On Wednesday morning, January 28, 2026, it was reported that Bill Belichick would not be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility. Reaction was swift and intense. Tom Brady said, "I don't understand it!" Other athletes and observers were equally shocked. Shawn Lavigne and Howie Mooney discussed the snub in this episode of The Sports Lunatics Show.

In this freeform episode of The Sports Lunatics Show, Shawn and Howie look back at the things they loved about the 1970s (and some things they didn't). It's kind of a wild show and the boys go back and forth on a whole bunch of topics that were perhaps peculiar to the 1970s. You might remember a bunch of the topics they discuss here as well.