We also discuss:

• Billy Beane being extended until 2019
• Elvis Andrus and Nelson Cruz resigning in Texas
• The Jeremy Guthrie trade to Colorado
• AJ Burnett possibly being traded to the Pirates
• We spotlight the Detroit Tigers
• Ryan Rayburn (well the whole Tigers infield) is horrible on defense (as this video shows)
• Andy Dirks’ Dominican dominance
• Corey and I each give our 3 best and 3 worst off-season deals

Click play on the player below to listen:

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How to subscribe to and follow the MSF Podcast so you never miss an episode:

• Subscribe to the MSF Podcast on iTunes
• Join the MSF Podcast Email Digest and get an email whenever a new episode is posted.
• Follow @PodcastMSF on Twitter or via RSS to get random funny tweets and updates as soon as new episodes are posted.
• Download this episode in mp3 format for later: Right-click this link, then hit “save link as”
• To learn about and subscribe to individual podcasts, click here.

This week’s topics include:

• Whether Duke is all that good
• Whether UConn might play their way out of the tournament
• Whether Baylor will beat either Kansas or Missouri this week
• Whether Alabama might miss the tournament
• Which of the four Big Ten bubble teams should be most concerned
• Whether the Pac-12 could get three bids,
• Whether Xavier can right the ship.

They also look ahead to a number of big games on Saturday.

How to subscribe to The Bottoms Line College Basketball Podcast:

• Subscribe to the The Bottoms Line College Hoops Podcast on iTunes
• Join the The Bottoms Line College Basketball Email Digest to get an email whenever a new post or podcast is posted
• Follow the The Bottoms Line on Twitter or via RSS to get updates as soon as new articles and podcasts are posted.
• Download this podcast in mp3 format for later: Right-click this link, then hit “save link as”
• For all MSF podcast subscriptions options, click here.

We talk about:

• the Prince Fielder and Edwin Jackson signings
• Argue over whether the Patriots and Giants will combine for more points Sunday than the Astros will win games in 2012.
• We share our feelings about the unnecessary amount of coverage of Josh Hamilton’s “relapse”
• Corey learns a valuable lesson about Casey Kotchman’s defensive abilities
• Pat yells about Marc Rzepczynski being a viable deity
• We give our pre-spring training picks for playoff teams and cellar dwellers.

Man, the Astros stink.

Click play on the player below to listen:

—–

How to subscribe to and follow the MSF Podcast so you never miss an episode:

• Subscribe to the MSF Podcast on iTunes
• Join the MSF Podcast Email Digest and get an email whenever a new episode is posted.
• Follow @PodcastMSF on Twitter or via RSS to get random funny tweets and updates as soon as new episodes are posted.
• Download this episode in mp3 format for later: Right-click this link, then hit “save link as”
• To learn about and subscribe to individual podcasts, click here.

Among the topics discussed on this week’s episode:

• The rest of Rob and Troy’s road trip
• Potential tournament teams from the ACC
• Slumping Kansas State
• The resurgence of Pitt and Notre Dame as well as UConn’s continued struggles
• Wisconsin’s place in the Big Ten
• Washington and Arkansas’ chances at making the Big Dance.
• We also looked at the BracketBusters matchups that were released on Monday and looked ahead to the Kansas-Missouri game this weekend.

How to subscribe to The Bottoms Line College Basketball Podcast:

• Subscribe to the The Bottoms Line College Hoops Podcast on iTunes
• Join the The Bottoms Line College Basketball Email Digest to get an email whenever a new post or podcast is posted
• Follow the The Bottoms Line on Twitter or via RSS to get updates as soon as new articles and podcasts are posted.
• Download this podcast in mp3 format for later: Right-click this link, then hit “save link as”
• For all MSF podcast subscriptions options, click here.

This week is a build-up to one of the greatest holidays in American history (don’t even try to tell me it’s not a legitimate holiday).  Join your favorite crew — Drew, Tyler, Chris, and myself — for discussion, predictions, and the latest insight on Ron Gronkowski’s ankle injury.

Show details:

• Date: Thursday, February 2nd
• Time: 6:00 CT (7:00 ET)
• Call-in number: (858) 365-5571 (also use this number to listen to the show anywhere right from your phone)
• To listen: CLICK HERE

Tentative Show schedule:

• Welcome
• Pro Bowl Recap
• Super Bowl Preview and Predictions
• Brady vs Manning
• Super Bowl Commercial Leaks (WHAT?!)
• Plus random shenanigans throughout

In case you didn’t know about it or had to miss it, and are now distraught about what you may have missed last week, we’ve got you covered. Listen to the Pro Bowl Preview episode of The NFC North Report right here:

This week’s episode features a thorough look at the world of college basketball with hot topics from all BCS conferences discussed as well as some notable mid-majors as well.

Specific topics discussed this week include:

• Big 12: Thoughts on Baylor, Scott Drew, and a key stretch for Iowa State
• Big Ten: Michigan’s inconsistency and the future for Illinois and Northwestern
• Big East: Syracuse’s recent struggles and thoughts on who the second best team in the league is
• ACC: Talk about Austin Rivers, Michael Snaer, and Harrison Barnes
• Pac-12: Oregon’s chances at a Pac-12 title
• SEC: Attempts to make sense of Lunardi’s bracket projection for Florida
• Other thoughts on Dayton, the race in the Colonial, New Mexico, BYU, and the number of bids from C-USA.

Listen using the player below:

How to subscribe to The Bottoms Line College Basketball Podcast:

• Subscribe to the The Bottoms Line College Hoops Podcast on iTunes
• Join the The Bottoms Line College Basketball Email Digest to get an email whenever a new post or podcast is posted
• Follow the The Bottoms Line on Twitter or via RSS to get updates as soon as new articles and podcasts are posted.
• Download this podcast in mp3 format for later: Right-click this link, then hit “save link as”
• For all MSF podcast subscriptions options, click here.

Among the topics discussed:

• The Texas Rangers signing Yu Darvish and about the possibility of them signing Prince Fielder.
• The Michael Pineda-Jesus Montero trade and how it works for both teams.
• The Reds doing more to make a run at the NL Central this year.
• Most importantly, we make too many jokes about Fausto Carmona’s name and Jamie Moyer’s age.
• We wrap things up talking about the cases that went to arbitration this past week.

Click play on the player below to listen:

—–

How to subscribe to and follow the MSF Podcast so you never miss an episode:

• Subscribe to the MSF Podcast on iTunes
• Join the MSF Podcast Email Digest and get an email whenever a new episode is posted.
• Follow @PodcastMSF on Twitter or via RSS to get random funny tweets and updates as soon as new episodes are posted.
• Download this episode in mp3 format for later: Right-click this link, then hit “save link as”
• To learn about and subscribe to individual podcasts, click here.

This week the topic list is long and includes:

• IU’s recent struggles,
• Cincinnati’s post-brawl resurgence,
• Thoughts from Baylor-Kansas and a look at this weekend’s Baylor-Missouri game,
• UNC’s blowout loss,
• Alabama’s continued offensive struggles,
• Rob and Troy’s impressions after seeing Doug McDermott in person,
• Early thoughts from the Mountain West,
• A look at some A-10 teams beating each other up.
• Rob and Troy also provided more updates from their roadtrip which were pretty funny.

How to subscribe to The Bottoms Line College Basketball Podcast:

• Subscribe to the The Bottoms Line College Hoops Podcast on iTunes
• Join the The Bottoms Line College Basketball Email Digest to get an email whenever a new post or podcast is posted
• Follow the The Bottoms Line on Twitter or via RSS to get updates as soon as new articles and podcasts are posted.
• Download this podcast in mp3 format for later: Right-click this link, then hit “save link as”
• For all MSF podcast subscriptions options, click here.

We also talk Matt Garza possibly being traded, the Yankees looking at Edwin Jackson, an update on where Prince Fielder may wind up with the options dwindling, and we focus special attention on the Oakland A’s as their firesale and potential move to San Jose pick up some steam.

Click play on the player below to listen:

—–

How to subscribe to and follow the MSF Podcast so you never miss an episode:

• Subscribe to the MSF Podcast on iTunes
• Join the MSF Podcast Email Digest and get an email whenever a new episode is posted.
• Follow @PodcastMSF on Twitter or via RSS to get random funny tweets and updates as soon as new episodes are posted.
• Download this episode in mp3 format for later: Right-click this link, then hit “save link as”
• To learn about and subscribe to individual podcasts, click here.

Topics in this week’s episode include:

• Rob and Troy’s trip;
• Answering some questions about all the major conferences;
• Previewing a few key mid-major games coming up this week.

How to subscribe to The Bottoms Line College Basketball Podcast:

• Subscribe to the the Midwest Sports Fans Podcast on iTunes
• Join the The Bottoms Line College Basketball Email Digest to get an email whenever a new post or podcast is posted
• Follow the The Bottoms Line on Twitter or via RSS to get updates as soon as new articles and podcasts are posted.
• Download this podcast in mp3 format for later: Right-click this link, then hit “save link as”
• For all MSF podcast subscriptions options, click here.

To close things out, Pat and Corey look at the players on the ballot for the 2012 Hall of Fame and what their chances are for getting in eventually.

Click play on the player below to listen:

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How to subscribe to and follow the MSF Podcast so you never miss an episode:

• Subscribe to the MSF Podcast on iTunes
• Join the MSF Podcast Email Digest and get an email whenever a new episode is posted.
• Follow @PodcastMSF on Twitter or via RSS to get random funny tweets and updates as soon as new episodes are posted.
• Download this episode in mp3 format for later: Right-click this link, then hit “save link as”
• To learn about and subscribe to individual podcasts, click here.

In addition to our chat with Susan, I discuss my recent blog post over at Primility about my first couple of weeks as a “Real Food Flexitarian” and how I am going about instituting healthy habits that stick into my daily life in 2012.

Note: This show recorded live at 8:00 ET on Tuesday evening. Listen to this episode using the player below:

To download the episode, click here.

Background on Susan Armijo:

Full bio: http://www.centrefordance.com/staff/susan/

Susan is the Owner and Artistic Director of Centre for Dance. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration from the University of North Texas where she studied Marketing and Advertising. Susan began dancing at the age of 18 months old. She has studied Tap, Jazz, Ballet, Hip Hop, Drill, Country, Salsa and Gymnastics, as well as taught in all of these fields and group fitness classes. She has competed and received awards in dance, softball, color guard, winter guard, drawing and playing clarinet. Susan directed the award-winning North Garland High School Color Guards and Winter Guards for three years, while guest teaching and judging for area high school color guards and dance teams. She has also choreographed several Christmas plays for local churches.

Susan has worked with Shella Sattler, Kim McSwain, Jenny Durbin, Gino Johnson, Buster Cooper, Dejan Tubic, Chelsea Traille, Janelle Ginestra, and more! She managed Dallas Power House of Dance for 6 years, and helped to open and manage their Frisco location as well. In addition to managing Power House she also taught classes during her time there.

Susan’s additional credits include: Guest judge for the 2006 Dallas Mavericks Dancers auditions, Trix cereal commercial, Diamond Rio music video, fashion show for a local clothing store, featured performer at the Super Cuts Convention, can be seen on various packaging distributed nationwide for The Brinkmann Corporation, and appearances on Fox 4′s Good Day and WFAA Channel 8′s Good Morning Texas.

If you haven’t been listening to their weekly breakdown of all things Packers, Bears, Lions, and Vikings, you really should start.

Why not tonight?

Show details:

• Date: Wednesday, January 4th
• Time: 6:00 CT (7:00 ET)
• Call-in number: (858) 365-5571 (also use this number to listen to the show anywhere right from your phone)

Listen live right here at MSF starting at 6:00 CT:

As for tonight’s topics, here is what the NFC North Report crew plans to discuss.

Tentative Show schedule:

• Welcome: Final thoughts on season for Drew and Tyler

• Packers Talk – Matt Flynn success and the Packers “system”

• Bears Talk – Staff changes and looking to the 2012 season

• Vikings Talk – Jared Allen ties Minnesota’s sack record

• Lions Talk – Playoff ready

• Playoff previews

• Plus random shenanigans throughout

In case you didn’t know about it or had to miss it, and are now distraught about what you may have missed last week, we’ve got you covered. Listen to the Week 17 edition of The NFC North Report right here:

Topics in this week’s episode include:

• Michigan State’s win over Wisconsin
• Seton Hall’s win over UConn
• A look at teams like Illinois, Minnesota, Northwestern, Louisville, Marquette, Pitt, LSU, Miami, Kansas State and more.
• Plus we spend time talking about Rob and Troy’s upcoming road trip of college games.

Click play on the player below to listen:

How to subscribe to The Bottoms Line College Basketball Podcast:

• Subscribe to the the Midwest Sports Fans Podcast on iTunes
• Join the The Bottoms Line College Basketball Email Digest to get an email whenever a new post or podcast is posted
• Follow the The Bottoms Line on Twitter or via RSS to get updates as soon as new articles and podcasts are posted.
• Download this podcast in mp3 format for later: Right-click this link, then hit “save link as”
• For all MSF podcast subscriptions options, click here.

Editor’s note: Healthy Habits is a new regular online radio show/podcast that will be hosted by MSF founder and editor Jerod Morris and Kimberly Westphall, the author of MSF’s ‘Blogging Fitness’ series.

The first episode, which features an interview with ‘Coach Carla’ Ferrer, as Kimberly explains below, goes live tonight at 8:00 ET (7:00 CT). Listen live right here:

Update: Our thanks to Coach Carla for a great interview! Listen with the player above or download the mp3 of the episode here: Healthy Habits Episode 1.

Happy 2012!

Time to jump on the New Year’s Resolution bandwagon again. Hopefully by January 3 your hangover has diminished, you’re tucking all your mistakes away in 2011, and you don’t plan on eating lard-filled foods anymore like you did over the holidays.

What better time to talk about shaping up?

Stop by any gym this week and the walls are practically bursting. Looking fine and fabulous is on everyone’s mind. But we all know the aesthetic part is just the icing on the cake (sorry, visions of sweets are still dancing in my head). The root of our 2012 “fit” goals should encompass our desire to feel well. Not asking much right?

Tonight we will be dishing out all the fitness secrets of life coach Carla Ferrer. ‘Coach Carla’ prides herself as being an advocate for people who genuinely want to have the greatest life and best health they can. She simply acts as their compass and cheerleader to help them get to the finish line.

Coach Carla serves as the CEO of Ferrer & Company, Inc., a wellness organization. She is also an author, certified personal trainer, nutrition & life coach and a motivational speaker. She is one busy gal!

Perhaps most remarkable about Coach Carla’s story is her determination to lose 130 pounds eighteen years ago…and she’s kept it off.

She is a straight shooter who will tell you exactly how she feels about the diet industry. She says no thanks to anything you must drink, eat, pop, or ingest that is a specific product. She is all about the sustainable weight loss.

So be sure to tune in so you can hear all she has to say about setting your path straight for 2012. There are thousands upon thousands of people she has helped lose weight. Just look at her Facebook page and you’ll see the friend requests and fans dripping off the page. I believe the last fan count was 32,000…wow!

Did I also mention Oprah invited her as a guest on her last weight loss show in the spring? You will have to tune in for yourself and be captivated by Coach Carla!