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Orestes Destrade AND Albert Destrade Recap ALDS, NLDS, Preview ALCS, NLCS

For the first time ever, Jack welcomes Orestes Destrade AND Albert Destrade BOTH to the show, to recap ALDS and NLDS, and preview the ALCS and NLCS! Orestes just completed his 12th season broadcasting Tampa Bay Rays' games on Bally Sports. Previously, he played 15 years of professional baseball and he worked at ESPN for five years as an analyst on Baseball Tonight, the Little League World Series and the World Baseball Classic. His nephew Albert played college baseball and finished third on the 23rd season of Survivor, Survivor: South Pacific. Jack, Orestes and Albert weigh in on the first leg of the MLB postseason, where the Rays came up short to the Boston Red Sox in four games, the Atlanta Braves took out the Milwaukee Brewers in four games, the Houston Astros rolled the Chicago White Sox in four games, and the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants went the distance, with the Dodgers edging out their NL West foe late in Game 5. The trio shares their thoughts on the Division Series and AL and NL Wild Card games, the latest MLB news (including the Cardinals firing manager Mike Shildt), what changes they would make to MLB's current postseason format, replay review's place in the sport and many other entertaining detours along the way, including stories from Orestes' playing career. Later, they preview the upcoming ALCS and NLCS matchups between the Boston Red Sox and Houston Astros, and the Atlanta Braves and Los Angeles Dodgers. What are the keys to victory in order for each to advance to the World Series, and who does each guy have facing off in the Fall Classic in ten days? Tune in to find out!

NFL Week 5 + College Football Week 6 Recap: Bama Has Fallen! Rattler Benched, Russ Out 4-8 Weeks, Jack‘s Top 25 Rankings

After two weeks off, Jack is back for another football episode of the Jack Vita Show! This week, he welcomes Fort Wayne NBC News anchor Jack Keenan to the show to recap everything from NFL Week 5 (0:00 - 51:25) and the sixth week of the college football season (51:25 - END), including: Russell Wilson having finger surgery and missing the next four to eight weeks, the Bears winning two straight with Justin Fields as their starting QB, Alabama falling to Texas A&M, Spencer Rattler hitting the bench vs. Texas and OU freshman Caleb Williams leading the Sooners to a Red Rivalry Showdown victory in Austin, Ohio State getting back on track(?), Jack's first ever top 25 rankings, darkhorse teams that could play spoiler down the stretch, and much, much more!

2021 MLB Postseason Preview + MVP, Cy Young, Rookie of the Year, Manager of the Year Picks (Feat. Brian Cohen)

Brian Cohen, cohost of The Challenge RHAP-Up Podcast on the Rob Has a Podcast network joins Jack to share his MLB regular season award selections and preview the 2021 MLB playoffs. Jack and Brian set the stage for both wild card games (Yankees-Red Sox and Cardinals-Dodgers), as well as all of the 2021 Division Series' including Rays-Yankees/Rays-Red Sox, White Sox-Astros, Braves-Brewers, Giants-Dodgers/Giants-Cardinals. Who will win the 2021 World Series, and who do Jack and Brian have winning the AL and NL MVP, Cy Young, Rookie of the Year and Manager of the Year awards? Tune in to find out!

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.