Jack Vita Show: Sports | MLB | Baseball | NFL | College Football | NCAA Basketball | NBA | Faith

Mario Lanza Talks Magical Mariners‘ Season, Final Week of MLB Regular Season, Seattle Kraken, Future of Baseball, and Baseball Cards

Mario Lanza, creator of The Funny 115 and host of the Survivor Historians Podcast and Staff Picks, makes his annual visit to the Jack Vita Show. He and Jack take a look at the MLB playoff picture with just six days remaining in the regular season. After a quick rundown of where teams stand, Mario shares his thoughts on what has been a magical season for his Seattle Mariners, who will likely win 90 games, and have a real shot at sliding into the AL Wild Card game. They also talk Shohei Ohtani, and how he has the ability to revolutionize American baseball, collecting baseball cards and other baseball collectibles, visiting MLB ballparks, MLB's attempt to grow the size of its female audience, the diversity and meritocracy of baseball, the escapism and unity sports like baseball provide to fans, the designated hitter inevitably coming to the National League, major stories and takeaways from the 2021 season, and the debut of Seattle's first hockey franchise, the Seattle Kraken.

Survivor Legend and Baseball Wife Stephenie LaGrossa Kendrick Talks Survivor and Philly Sports!

Stephenie LaGrossa Kendrick is a Survivor great and a baseball wife. Her husband Kyle was a member of the 2008 World Series champion Philadelphia Phillies, but Stephenie is a star in her own right: she starred as a Division I all-conference lacrosse player where she won a conference championship, and a few years later, she quickly became one of the most popular, famous Survivor cast members the CBS show has ever had. She made Survivor history on Survivor: Palau when her tribe lost every single immunity challenge, and she survived and outlasted her entire tribe to be a tribe of one! She later returned for Survivor: Guatemala where she lasted all 39 days and finished in second place, and returned a third time for Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains.
 
We were very blessed to have Stephenie visit the Jack Vita Show for a longform conversation about her upbringing, her athletic career, her time on Survivor, the Phillies (as well as the rest of her favorite Philly sports teams), life as a baseball wife, and much, much more!
 
Find out how Stephenie got on Survivor, what drew her to the show, where her drive and strength comes from, her thoughts on her experiences on Palau, Guatemala and Heroes vs. Villains, what reality show she would have gone on had she not been on Survivor, and what her kids thought after watching her seasons of Survivor for the first time!
 

”Are We Sure THEY‘RE Good?” AP Top 25, NFL Officiating Mess: NFL Week 2 + College Football Week 3 Recap

Andrew Stem (@astem00 on Twitter) once again visits the show for a rundown of the weekend's football games, scores and news. Rookie quarterbacks seeing time and struggling was a common theme for Week 2 of the 2021 NFL season, as Zach Wilson threw four interceptions, and Justin Fields saw time in Andy Dalton's absence of the second of the Bears-Bengals game. Andrew and Jack discuss the pros and cons of trotting out rookie quarterbacks this early in the season, in the year 2021. Again, NFL officiating and league rules were a topic of conversation, as taunting penalties are here to stay. They also discuss the problems with the league's new crackdown on taunting. Together, they provide you all of the scores and news from Week 2 (0:00 - 31:05). Then, they tackle college football (31:05 - END), as many teams at the top have shown continued struggles and weaknesses through the first three weeks of the 2021 college football season. Jack and Andrew introduce a new segment called, "Are we sure they're good?". We ask this question about Ohio State, Clemson, Oklahoma, Iowa, Texas A&M, Notre Dame and many others. As always, Jack and Andrew provide a great depth of college football analysis, and later, Jack has an extremely bold Michigan football prediction.

ESPN‘s Baseball Tonight‘s Orestes Destrade Talks AL, NL Playoff Race, MVP Race, Maturation of Bryce Harper

Bally Sports' Tampa Bay Rays pregame and postgame analyst, former Marlins player, and former member of ESPN's Baseball Tonight team, Orestest Destrade returns to the Jack Vita Show for a quick rundown on the latest baseball news. The Toronto Blue Jays and St. Louis Cardinals have moved in to American League and National League wild card positions, respectively. Both teams are heating up at the right time. Orestes got a close look at the upstart Jays' team, when they took two of three from the Rays earlier this week. The Yankees and Red Sox have struggled lately, while the A's and Mariners have remained a few games back of the wild card game. How will it all shake out on the AL side over the final two weeks? Likewise, the Giants, Brewers and Braves remain atop the NL divisions. But will the Giants fend off the Dodgers and win their first NL West title since 2012? The Phillies are just 3 games back of the Braves in the NL East, 2.5 games back of the wild card. The Reds and Padres are just a game out, each. Orestes and Jack examine things on the NL side, and debate their AL and MVP selections. They also talk about the growth of Bryce Harper, who may be on track for his second NL MVP award.

Trouble For Ohio State, Green Bay? NFL Week 1 + College Football Week 2 Recap

Jack welcomes back Paul Oren to the Jack Vita Show to recap Week 1 of NFL action and Week 2 of the college football season. First, Paul and Jack chat about the conclusion of the Greatest Sports Movie of All-Time bracket and Jack's first trip to Wrigley since the trade deadline, as he attended Friday's game: Kris Bryant's first return to Wrigley after being traded to the Giants (0:00 - 10:15). Then, they shift their attention to the NFL's opening weekend. Who were Paul's Week 1 winners and losers? Jack provides a quick recap of all the week's scores, then he and PO dive headfirst into the week's top stories (10:15 - 57:55). Paul is a diehard Green Bay Packers fan. Is he still R-E-L-A-X'ed after the Packers' embarrassing Week 1 showing vs. the Saints, or is he hitting the panic button? What were the biggest surprises of Week 1? Jack shares his thoughts on the Steelers' impressive victory in Buffalo. Jack and Paul provide a defense of Urban Meyer and run through all the week's games and stories. Later, they recap the second week of the college football season (57:55 - END), a week that saw the no. 3 Ohio State Buckeyes and no. 9  Iowa State Cyclones lose at home. Could this spell the end of Ohio State's era of dominance? What does head coach Ryan Day have to prove this season and next? Jack's preseason top 4 has now entered the AP's top 4, setting up for Jack's projected College Football Playoff bracket. Jack and PO take a look at the top 25 rankings and PO airs his grievances with the College Football Playoff system.

College Football Week 1 Recap: ACC FLOPS, ND-FSU OT Thriller, Return of Fans, Week 1 Winners and Losers, Best and Worst from QB‘s, Big 12 Expansion

In the September 7th (2021) episode of the Jack Vita Show, Jack and Andrew Stem say "welcome back" to college football! Jack provides a rundown of the week's biggest games, scores and stories, and he and Andrew dive headfirst into college football to talk the ACC's embarrassing showing in week 1, Georgia-Clemson, Notre Dame-Florida State, Wisconsin-Penn State, the most impressive and disappointing performances from start quarterbacks in week 1, the impact and importance of fans packing stadiums (and a return to normalcy), Andrew's Michigan Wolverines, Jack's Northwestern Wildcats, the Big 12 potentially adding four teams to its conference (in the wake of Oklahoma and Texas' departure), a look ahead at week 2's games, and much, much more (8:35 - END)! First, Andrew and Jack catch you up on the latest from Major League Baseball (0:00 - 8:35).
Follow Jack (@JackVitaShow) on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and play in our College Football + NFL Pick'em Pool at jackvita.com and win prizes! Hurry! Pool closes Thursday, September 9! More info at jackvita.com.

2021 NFL Preview: NFC East, NFC North, NFC South, NFC West

Jack welcomes back CJ Revis for part two of our two-part 2021 NFL season preview, this time covering all things NFC, and revealing their Super Bowl and MVP picks. If you missed part one covering the entire AFC, check it out here. Together, CJ and Jack take a look at each NFC division and each NFC team's over/under win totals according to ESPN. CJ and Jack estimate how many wins each team will have this year.
 
Who do they have winning the NFC East, NFC North, NFC South, and NFC West? Which three teams will snag the NFC's wild card spots? Jack and CJ make the case for their playoff teams. CJ has a LOT of thoughts on the Chicago Bears as an organization and their latest quarterback controversy. They also break down the varying degrees of trade demands/drama from Aaron Rodgers, Russell Wilson and DeShaun Watson, and how each of their teams will perform this season. Featuring in-depth analysis of all 16 NFC teams and all four NFC divisions.
 
NFC East (0:00 - 21:45)
NFC North (21:45 - 52:40)
NFC South (52:40 - 59:00)
NFC West (59:00 - END)
 
Follow Jack (@JackVitaShow) on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and play in our College Football + NFL Pick'em Pool at jackvita.com and win prizes! Hurry! Pool closes Thursday, September 9! More info at jackvita.com.

2021 NFL Preview: AFC East, AFC North, AFC South, AFC West

One week after releasing both parts of our two-part 2021 college football season preview, it's time to set the table for the coming NFL season! In part one of our two-part 2021 NFL season preview, CJ Revis, winner of our 2021 Jack Vita Show March Madness pool, joins Jack to preview the AFC side of the National Football League, in anticipation of the 2021 season. Together, they take a look at each AFC division and each AFC team's over/under win totals according to ESPN. CJ and Jack estimate how many wins each team will have this year. Who do they have winning the AFC East, AFC North, AFC South, and AFC West? Which three teams will slide into the AFC's wild card spots? Jack and CJ make the case for their teams. CJ is a diehard Bengals fan, and has a LOT of thoughts on the AFC North. What is his outlook for the Bengals, and why is he feeling so optimistic? Where does Jack think his Steelers will stand in 2021? Let's just say, Jack and CJ do NOT see eye to eye on the AFC North! Listen in as they talk all 16 AFC teams, and touch on a number of topics along the way!
 
AFC East (0:00 - 28:00)
AFC North (28:00 - 52:25)
AFC South (52:25 - 1:12:10)
AFC West (1:12:10 - END)
 
Follow Jack (@JackVitaShow) on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and play in our College Football + NFL Pick'em Pool at jackvita.com and win prizes! Hurry! Pool closes Thursday, September 9! More info at jackvita.com.