Slow States Podcast #29: Crime Rules Everything Around Me

Slow States writers are not required to disclose their juvenile rap sheets during the application process. The result is massive street credibility and for Kevin, a second chance at life after he stole a street sign with his last name on it during the seventh grade. Jeff Benedict assures you that it was utterly ridiculous that Kevin wasn't relegated to Cuyahoga Community College for his transgressions. Or worse!

Our podcast can most accurately be described as the antithesis of this shameless plug from CNN's homepage:

But most fans, school officials and coaches have no idea about the extent of college football’s biggest problem these days: crime.

CRIME. And I thought college football's biggest problem was Jesse Palmer's continued employment.

Slow States Podcast #28: We Know What You Did Last Month

Okay, so it's been a while since the last podcast. We know. And no, we're not going to recap the horrific end to the Big Ten bowl season. It's a more friendly, more casual podcast featuring Patrick's unabated excitement for the return of The Rock to WWE and the tragic death of his Honda Accord during his aborted Super Bowl trip from Des Moines to Dallas. Scattered among the wreckage are tales from my newfound parenthood, Kevin's Mad Scientist brewing operation which has produced an IPA with a bitterness that makes Bell's Hopslam taste like tap water, and much more.

And of course, what would a Slow States podcast be without music tips, including Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, The Decemberists, Joanna Newsom, and Angus & Julia Stone. This week's beer tips: Victory's Golden Monkey, Highland Black Mocha Stout, Backpocket Slingshot Dunkel, and Bell's Two Hearted Ale.

Slow States Podcast #27: Football Ends, Things Get Interesting

It's been a weird week. Momentum that Iowa and Illinois built was crushed on January 1st in a way I didn't know was possible. Penn State avoided staff turnover when Tom Bradley was turned down for multiple HC jobs, and is now a guy that didn't get an interview from Pitt but somehow new lead candidate after the man they picked the first time around went to jail. But he doesn't have the job yet, and in combination with the on-again, off-again firing of RichRod at Michigan, we've seen the rebirth of the #KOK4Pitt and #JayPa4Michigan hashtags.

Patrick comes along for a bowl wrap before the Internet breaks in Iowa, leaving Chris and I to try and make sense of what in the world is going on at Penn State, where things are getting hairy.

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Music: It's a little mellow this week but I swear that's not on purpose. Bright Eyes has a new album on the way, more on that later, and your intro'd by the new Delta Spirit EP. Also, most creative use of a Delta Spirit song goes to Wolverine Liberation Army.

Slow States Podcast #26: Bowl Previews And Our Albums Of The Year

Podcasts this big only come around but once a year. We touch on all the Big Ten bowl games (the first of which kicks off tonight at 10:00 pm Eastern) and then switch gears and hit all of our favorite albums of 2010.

Can anyone from the Slow States reasonably expect to win their bowl game? Is the Kanye West album really as good it sounded the first time through? What is the best variety in the Robitussin Christmas Variety Pack? (Spoiler: all of them.)

Slow States Podcast #25: We Is Legend

Another potential bowl preview turned into a discussion of the happenings. Namely and most obviously: Big Ten logos (your EDSBS deconstruction), division names and annual trophies (of which this one is my favorite).

We also play out what Al Golden to Miami means for the KOK’s chances at Pitt, and who else is keeping a drug house in Iowa, anyway?

Slow States Podcast #24: When The Walls Come Tumbling Down

Perhaps this won't be another boring off-season, after all. We planned on blasting through the various Big Ten bowl matchups -- only Ohio State is favored by the oddsmakers, by the way -- but decided to postpone that discussion due to a variety of breaking news stories. Indiana made a stunningly good hire for their football program. Minnesota's Athletic Director went Full Frontal Dipshit in an interview with a local newspaper. Dave Wannstedt was fired yesterday in Pittsburgh (although his iconic mustache will receive a dandy golden parachute package), and about 10 minutes before we recorded, the DJK story filtered out of Iowa.

How to cope? If you're Patrick, it's Templeton Rye every time.

Slow States Podcast #23: Dadgummed

As we were kicking around ideas for off-season (yes, it's kind of here) podcasts, Kevin came up with the bright idea to talk with the Bud Elliott, founder of SBNation's incredibly popular Florida State blog, Tomahawk Nation. We talk about -- what else? -- life with an 80+ year old coach in a young coach's world. Could the scenario in Happy Valley play out the same was as it did in Tallahassee? Yeah, probably not, but we look at the situation from all angles -- recruiting, political power plays, manipulation of the press, and much more.