Jack Vita Show: Sports | MLB | Baseball | NFL | College Football | NCAA Basketball | NBA | Faith
Join published journalist and sports reporter Jack Vita each week for an in-depth breakdown of the latest news from the world of sports, featuring thoughtful analysis and exclusive interviews with athletes, coaches, executives and media members. Jack interviews athletes that provide a peak behind the curtain and a look at the daily life of a professional athlete. They also discuss life off-the-field and other various topics, including faith. Prominent guests include Brian Urlacher, Bob Nightengale, Jim Callis and Dan O’Dowd. This is the podcast feed for all sports content on the Jack Vita Show. For Jack’s entertainment and reality TV coverage, subscribe to Jack Vita Show: Entertainment, available wherever podcasts are found.
Episodes
Oct 27, 2022
Oct 27, 2022
1hr 2 min
2008 World Series champion Kyle Kendrick visits the Jack Vita Show to discuss the 2022 American League Championship Series and National League Championship Series, preview the World Series, reflect on the Philadelphia Phillies' 2008 World Series run, Kyle's 10-year Major League Baseball career and much more!
Kyle made his big league debut with the Phillies in 2007. He was a member of the Phillies for all five of their National League East division titles between 2007 and 2011, as a key member of the Phillies' excellent pitching rotation. In 2008, Kyle's Phillies won the World Series over the Tampa Bay Rays; it was the Phillies' second World Series title in franchise history. Kyle reflects on some memories with the Phillies and shares how the 2022 Phillies stack up against his squads from over a decade ago. The Phillies will be appearing in the franchise's first World Series since 2009, beginning Friday.
Kyle and Jack analyze the Phillies' 2022 playoff run, and preview their World Series matchup against the Astros.
Kyle discusses the art of pitching and shares interesting stories from his playing career. Find out about the time that he took matters into his own hands and threw at a player on an opposing team, for showing up one of his teammates. Hear Kyle rank some of the great pitchers that he played with, including Cole Hamels, Pedro Martinez, Roy Oswalt, Cliff Lee and Roy Halladay. When did pitchers start getting pulled at 100 pitches? Kyle discusses how the game of baseball has changed.
Kyle's wife is Stephenie LaGrossa Kendrick, three-time Survivor star and fan favorite (Survivor: Palau, Survivor: Guatemala, and Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains), and recent competitor on USA Network's Snake in the Grass. Stephenie has appeared on the Jack Vita Show four times before. Kyle shares how he met Stephenie and what it has been like going out in public with her over the past 15 years. All this, and much more!
Oct 19, 2022
Oct 19, 2022
1hr 7 min
Former MLB All-Star and member of the 1993 Philadelphia Phillies National League Pennant team Mickey Morandini returns to the Jack Vita Show, to discuss the latest from the Major League Baseball playoffs.
The American League Division Series and the National League Division Series are over. Mick and Jack provide a recap of the action, breaking down all four series from the past week. What, if anything, would Mick and Jack change about the MLB's new postseason format, and why did the top two seeds in the National League go down so quickly?
Later, they preview the ALCS and the NLCS. What will the New York Yankees need to do in order to finally get past the Houston Astros? What should fans expect from the NLCS between the Phillies and the San Diego Padres? Mick and Jack share their picks!
Follow Mickey on Instagram, @mickeymorandini12!
Oct 18, 2022
Oct 18, 2022
1hr 6 min
CBS Survivor legend (Survivor: Palau, Survivor: Guatemala, and Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains) and baseball wife Stephenie LaGrossa Kendrick returns to the Jack Vita Show to talk some baseball!
Stephenie's husband, Kyle Kendrick, won a World Series as a member of the Philadelphia Phillies, and was a member of the Phillies throughout their golden era of baseball, when they won five straight National League East division titles between 2007 and 2011. Over the weekend, the Phillies closed out game four of the National League Division Series, defeating the Atlanta Braves 8-3 at Citizens Bank Park, clinching their first trip to the National League Championship Series since 2010.
Stephenie shares about her weekend in Philly with Kyle and their kids, and watching Saturday's historic game from a suite with other former Phillies players and their wives. She also reflects on fun memories from the Phillies' run over a decade ago, her favorite ballparks to visit, and discusses the 2022 Phillies, and her optimism for the team entering the NLCS, beginning Tuesday night, against the San Diego Padres.
Follow Stephenie on Instagram (@steph_lagrossa_kendrick) and on Twitter (@stephlagrossa38) for more from the Survivor great!
Oct 10, 2022
Oct 10, 2022
1hr 11 min
Jason Romano, director of media at Sports Spectrum and the host of the Sports Spectrum Podcast visits the Jack Vita Show to recap the first weekend of Major League Baseball playoff action and preview this week's American League and National League Division Series matchups.
Jason is a lifelong New York Mets fan. He shares his take on what happened to the Mets down the stretch of the season, why they didn't win the National League East, and why they will not be playing in the NLDS.
The Mets fell to the San Diego Padres 6-0 in game three of the National League Wild Card Series. The Padres picked up their first playoff series victory in front of fans since 1998. They advance to the NLDS and will play the number-one seeded Los Angeles Dodgers. It will be one of four Division Series that are interdivision matchups, as the Philadelphia Phillies will play the Atlanta Braves and the Seattle Mariners will play the Houston Astros. The Cleveland Guardians will take on the New York Yankees in the other ALDS series.
The Seattle Mariners swept the Toronto Blue Jays in Toronto over the weekend to win their first playoff series since 2001. How will they fare against their division rival? The Phillies swept the St. Louis Cardinals over the weekend in St. Louis, winning their first postseason series since 2010. Do the fighting Phils have a fighting chance against the Braves?
How will a series between the team with baseball's third-highest payroll — the Yankees — and baseball's team with the third-lowest payroll — the Guardians — shake out? The Guardians walked off the Tampa Bay Rays in the 15th inning Saturday.
Jason and Jack break it all down!
Oct 6, 2022
Oct 6, 2022
1hr 3 min
Survivor: South Pacific second runner-up and world-class baseball coach Albert Destrade returns to the Jack Vita Show to preview the American League and National League Wild Card Series of the Major League Baseball playoffs, beginning Friday. He also shares his regular season awards selections for American League and National League MVP, Cy Young, Manager of the Year and Rookie of the Year.
The action begins Friday!
#6 Tampa Bay Rays at #3 Cleveland Guardians
#5 Seattle Mariners at #4 Toronto Blue Jays
#6 Philadelphia Phillies at #3 St. Louis Cardinals
#5 San Diego Padres at #4 New York Mets
Sep 26, 2022
Sep 26, 2022
1hr 53 min
Our resident Seattle sports guy, Mario Lanza (creator of The Funny 115, author of When It Was Worth Playing For, and host of the Survivor Historians and Staff Picks podcasts) returns to the Jack Vita Show for our annual baseball conversation together. This time, Mario's beloved Mariners are on the cusp of their first playoff berth since 2001, led by the soon-to-be American League Rookie of the Year. Is Julio Rodriguez the most exciting rookie in Mariners history? Mario and Jack dive deep into the Mariners' 2022 season, and assess the team's playoff chances, with just ten days remaining in the regular season. Meanwhile, the Cleveland Guardians clinched the American League Central for the fourth time in seven years, Sunday. If the season ended today, the Mariners would travel to Cleveland for a best-of-three Wild Card Series. Would the Mariners be better off playing the Guardians, or moving up to the no. 4 or 5 seed to face either the Toronto Blue Jays or Tampa Bay Rays? Mario and Jack have a discussion about Aaron Judge's phenomenal 2022 campaign, as he is just one home run shy of tying Roger Maris' single-season American League home run record, and Judge currently leads the American League in all three Triple Crown categories. Is Judge's 2022 season the single most impressive season from an offensive player, even more impressive than Barry Bonds' 2001 season? Should Shohei Ohtani be receiving more consideration for the AL MVP? All this, and much more, in a very fun episode of the Jack Vita Show!
Sep 15, 2022
Sep 15, 2022
49 min
Legendary baseball writer Bob Nightengale of USA Today visits the Jack Vita Show to discuss the latest baseball news from Thursday, September 15, 2022, including: the Los Angeles Dodgers clinching their ninth National League West title in ten years, Aaron Judge hitting his 57th home run of the 2022 season, Albert Pujols hitting the 697th home run of his career, Adam Wainwright and Yadier Molina breaking a 47-year-long record held by Detroit Tigers greats Mickey Lolich and Bill Freehan Wednesday, the latest from the American League Central race between the Cleveland Guardians and Chicago White Sox, the White Sox winning 10 of their last 14, the New York Mets being swept at home by the Chicago Cubs, and much more!
Who does Bob like for the American League MVP and National League MVP awards? What does the future hold for Chicago White Sox acting manager Miguel Cairo and current manager Tony La Russa? Could Cairo move in and replace La Russa after the season, or could he receive a managerial gig elsewhere this winter? Should we be making a bigger deal about Aaron Judge's historic home run chase and Albert Pujols' quest for 700 home runs? Who will win the National League East, the Mets, or the Atlanta Braves? Bob and Jack assess the playoff field, with three weeks remaining in the regular season. All this, and much, MUCH more!
Sep 14, 2022
Sep 14, 2022
1hr 24 min
Three-time Survivor star and wife to World Series champion Kyle Kendrick, Stephenie LaGrossa Kendrick, recently came out of retirement to compete on a new reality competition show called Snake in the Grass on USA Network. It was her first appearance on reality television in over 12 years.
Stephenie was thrust into the jungle of Costa Rica with fellow Survivor legend Cirie Fields and Big Brother icons Rachel Reilly Villegas and Janelle Pierzina DeSanto. The four women competed in a series of challenges and survived a night in the jungle, while one of the four attempted to sabotage missions as 'the snake.' The other three needed to identify the snake in order to win their share of $100K. If the snake went unidentified, the snake would win $100K.
Two weeks after the airing of the episode featuring the four reality titans, Stephenie visited the Jack Vita Show for an in-depth recap of her experience on her new reality TV venture. She shares everything that was running through her mind during the 36 hours of competition and discusses what it feels like to be back on reality television after all these years. She compares Snake to Survivor and shares what it was like competing on a different show, now as a mother of three! Steph is back, tell a friend!
This conversation includes spoilers for the fifth episode of Snake in the Grass titled 'Survivor vs. Big Brother'. If you have not seen the episode and would not like to be spoiled yet, do not listen to this conversation. Come back later, once you have! It's a great hour of television; you will not be disappointed.
If you missed either of our two previous podcast episodes with Stephenie, go back and check them out for more on Snake and Survivor: Palau, Survivor: Guatemala and Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains.