AI Summary
5 min readThe End of the Pro Bowl Game and the Death of the Bottom Line
On a Friday edition of The Ben Maller Show, host Brian Noe (filling in for Ben Maller) worked through a loose, conversational hour touching on baseball, football scheduling quirks, and two notable changes in the sports media landscape. The throughline of the episode is the tension between tradition and modernization in sports—whether it's the NFL finally killing off a goofy all-star game, ESPN removing a staple of its college football broadcasts, or a pitcher like Chris Sale defying modern pitch-count orthodoxy by throwing a complete-game shutout.
The NFL Kills the Pro Bowl Game (But Keeps the Honor)
The most substantive sports-news item of the hour was the NFL's decision to eliminate the Pro Bowl game entirely. Noe was unequivocally in favor. "No more probable. It's gone," he said. The league will still name Pro Bowl rosters—88 players will receive the distinction—but there will be no exhibition game, no flag football, no skills competitions. The NFL simply decided the event was beneath its brand.
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What you'll learn
- 1 (02:30) **Show Open & Baseball Tour Recap** - Host Brian Noe welcomes listeners, previews the show, and describes his multi-city baseball stadium tour.
- 2 (06:00) **Chris Sale's "With My Arm" Soundbite & Truist Park Gripe** - Host plays Chris Sale’s deadpan postgame interview and complains about the ballpark’s scoreboard visibility.
- 3 (09:15) **Host's "I Was There" Moment: The Bush Push Game** - Host recounts being on the sideline for the famous 2005 Notre Dame vs. USC game.
- 4 (12:21) **No Moss #1: NFL Kills the Pro Bowl Game** - Host approves of the NFL ending the Pro Bowl game while keeping the Pro Bowl honor.
- 5 (17:07) **No Moss #2: ESPN Kills the College Football Score Ticker** - Host disapproves of ESPN removing the bottom-line score ticker from college football broadcasts.
- 6 (19:00) **Segment Tease & Drum Fill Debate** - Host teases upcoming segments including Sean Payton vs. Jeff Schwartz and the “worst drum fill in history.”
- 7 (23:38) **Top 10 Drummers Debate & The Worst Drum Fill** - Host and Coop debate a list of top metal drummers, then dissect Bill Ward’s infamous drum fill in “Iron Man.”
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Guests on this episode
Show Notes
Brian Noe is in for Big Ben and talks about Braves ace Chris Sale throwing a complete game shutout to finish off a sweep of the Dodgers, the NFL eliminating the Pro Bowl but keeping the "Pro Bowler" honor, the Top 10 Hard Rock/Heavy Metal drummers, and more!
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