BullCityCoordinators

Interview – Season Prediction with Lee Rodio

Duke legend Lee Rodio returns to the podcast and provides us with his win-loss prediction for the Blue Devils this season. We go through each game and tell you who we think will win and why. We also check in with Richlandia to get an update on the status of the OG Optimistic Duke Football fan. You’ll like all our predictions as we’re very optimistic about what the Blue Devils can do this season.

One thing you’ll notice as we go through Duke’s schedule is how much time we spend discussing the differing degree of schedule difficulty the Blue Devils’ opponents have. This is one of the unfortunate side effects of conference restructuring – unbalanced schedules providing easier paths to a conference championship game. Sorry for an old man rant here, but there really is an upside to small conferences.

Please call the pod (540-632-0160), leave a message and you’ll get in an episode.

Let me know what you think about what we think in the comments, on Mastodon, on Reddit, on Instagram, Spoutible, Bluesky or on Twitter.

As always, Go Duke!

Classical Antiquity Sidequest 7 – Dr. David Walsh on the Cult of Mithras

In this Sidequest, we cover the ancient Cult of Mithras with the expert on the subject matter, Dr. David Walsh. This cult spread pretty widely throughout the Roman Empire and has remained a topic of interest for historians, archaeologists and people with passing interest in Roman history (like me!). During our talk, we cover many topics including the pronunciation of Mithras (no agreed way!), how the cult spread throughout the Empire, how widespread it became, the causes of its decline, what our sources of the cult’s information are and we dispel some myths about the cult including whether we should call it “Mithraism”. We also cover the locations where you can see the remains of Mithraic Temples. Turns out that Dr. Walsh is an expert not just on the Cult of Mithras, but the London Mithraeum itself! If you are ever in London, you have to stop by if it’s open. It’s such a cool place.

While I enjoyed the entire interview, I found the reasons for the Cult’s decline to be of particular interest. I think you will, too. And Rudyard Kipling wrote about Mithras. What else can you ask for? I mean, aside from me forgetting to mention the great John Huston movie, “The Man Who Would Be King“. That film has a John Huston ending (an ending in which all the characters get exactly what they deserve) that is arguably one of his best. And that’s saying something.

As for this episode’s reading assignment, check out “Pantheon” which covers ancient Roman religious practices.

On the opening theme music, for now it’s from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!):
https://uppbeat.io/t/kevin-macleod/folk-round
License code: SHTJJRTVTRXQAID1

Please call the pod (540-632-0160), leave a message and you’ll get in an episode. Let me know what you think about what we think in the comments or on Twitter.

And never forget that The Classical Antiquity Sidequest is a podcast without end.

Interview – Steve Wiseman Previews Duke’s 2024 Season

Our old friend Steve Wiseman stopped by the podcast to cover a few different topics. We start off by dissecting what all happened to Flip’s draft stock and discuss the strange family dynamic that may have played a role in him falling as far as he did. After a brief detour from there to The ACC’s fight for survival, we do a deep dive on what to expect from Duke this season. While the Blue Devils have some unknowns, there is a lot to be excited about. Steve brings us up to speed on the QB situation, talks about our four-game murder’s row stretch and tells us why we should be cautiously optimistic about this season. The offense is going to be a Power Spread and will apparently involve the TEs. How can you not be excited about that?!?!

Trigger warning – we discuss Duke’s recent history of underutilizing its TEs. Noah Gray is mentioned. Consider yourself forewarned. And it turns out that David Feeley is pretty darned important. Who knew? (That’s sarcasm, we all know it.)

We also take a few minutes to cover the upgrades at Wallace Wade and ask I why the official Blue Devils’ Twitter account isn’t following me on Twitter. Come on, folks, make it happen.

Please call the pod (540-632-0160), leave a message and you’ll get in an episode.

Let me know what you think about what we think in the comments, on Mastodon, on Reddit, on Post, on Instagram, Spoutible, Bluesky or on Twitter.

As always, Go Duke!

Interview – College Huddle Collab about … That Team

As you know, Bull City Coordinators is part of the College Huddle Network. As part of that, and as an attempt to try and bring our country together in these trying times, I reached out to my colleagues The Heel Brothers and asked them to come on and talk about the upcoming season for the Heels. You can follow them (if you want to) here.

Sorry for the audio not being normalized. I’m not sure what happened, but we had issues from the very start.

Please call the pod (540-632-0160), leave a message and you’ll get in an episode.

Let me know what you think about what we think in the comments, on Mastodon, on Reddit, on Post, on Instagram, Spoutible, Bluesky or on Twitter.

As always, Go Duke!

Classical Antiquity Sidequest 6 – Ben and Victor Review 300

Before we get started, please say a prayer for former Duke quarterback Thomas Sirk. His family is going through a tough time at the moment and they need your support.

In our first movie review episode, our old friend Victor Lamas stops by to give us his thoughts on the Zack Snyder epic 300. It takes us a while to say “This is Sparta!” but we get there. Eventually.

During the review, we cover a lot of topics in this review including the miscasting of Dominic West (Jimmy McNulty from The Wire) as Theron as opposed to a soldier, coin the term “McNulty Subplot”, cover what the film got right and scratch our heads over why Hollywood feels the need to add ahistorical events to what are already awesome stories. We (read Victor) also provide a good historical backdrop on why the Persians and Spartans were fighting in the first place. Another topic we cover is how Zack Snyder did the Persians dirty in this movie – the portrayal of the Persians was just awful (albeit not as bad as in the sequel which is just flaming garbage). Seriously, Snyder dropped the ball here and could’ve been much less jingoistic in his portrayal of the Spartans compared to the Persians. This is especially true given that the Spartans were no lovers of freedom which we fully discuss.

If you want to read more about the 300 and The Battle of Thermopylae, read Gates of Fire and Herodotus’ account of it. Those are very, very good.

On the opening theme music, for now it’s from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!):
https://uppbeat.io/t/kevin-macleod/folk-round
License code: SHTJJRTVTRXQAID1

Please call the pod (540-632-0160), leave a message and you’ll get in an episode. Let me know what you think about what we think in the comments or on Twitter.

And never forget that The Classical Antiquity Sidequest is a podcast without end.

Classical Antiquity Sidequest 5 – Dr. Amy Pistone on Sports in Ancient Greece

Dr. Amy Pistone from basketball powerhouse Gonzaga stopped by to talk about sports in Ancient Greece. Before we delve into Antiquity, we cover Dr. Pistone’s background, her ties to new ACC member Cal, her career as a football and basketball official and her experience running marathons. As you might guess, we take a number of sidequests including one about The Aeneid. If you’re bothered by our detours, remember that the name of the podcast includes “SIDEQUEST”, so, let me just say, “Sorry, not sorry.” In all seriousness, this was a lot of fun.

In regard to Ancient Greek sports specifically, we cover how ancient Greeks competed in the Olympics in the nude and learn that women weren’t allowed to participate in the Olympic Games with the exception of owning horses in carriage races. Women did have separate games they could participate in, however. The Greeks also had a form of MMA.

Given Dr. Pistone’s connections The ACC, I’m cross-posting this on the Bull City Coordinators podcast. So, let me just say, as always, Go Duke!

Returning to Classical Antiquity, if you want to learn more about Dr. Pistone’s work, check out her website which includes links to a lot of other podcasts she’s been on. Those are very informative and I recommend them to you.

On the opening theme music, for now it’s from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!):
https://uppbeat.io/t/kevin-macleod/folk-round
License code: SHTJJRTVTRXQAID1

Please call the pod (540-632-0160), leave a message and you’ll get in an episode. Let me know what you think about what we think in the comments or on Twitter.

And never forget that The Classical Antiquity Sidequest is a podcast without end.

Classical Antiquity Sidequest 4 – Dr. Gerrish on Augustus (and a lot more)

Our friend Dr. Gerrish stopped by the podcast to discuss the first Roman Emperor (or Princeps, if you will), Augustus. We cover how he managed to seize (and consolidate) power and overcome his rivals, the different names he went by, his legacy as an administrator and the importance of his First Lieutenant, Marcus Agrippa. We also discuss whether Augustus could be considered a tyrant and spend a good deal of time talking about two Roman TV shows – the BBC production of “I, Claudius” and HBO’s “Rome“.

Oh, and we unravel a mystery about Dido, the legendary Carthaginian queen who features prominently in The Aeneid. This is brilliant scholarship, folks! (At least I think it is. I wouldn’t necessarily say everyone else would agree.)

If that weren’t enough, we take a few sidequests into some serious nerd stuff. I’m talking Star Trek: TOS, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, the brilliance of DS9, the unequaled evil that is Gul Dukat and, of course, Fringe. After noting the Marcus Aurelius quote in one episode of the series, I detour into one of the greatest episodes of television episode ever – Fringe’s White Tulip. I can’t explain any part of the plot because it would give away too much.

To get better educated on the time period, check out The Roman Revolution, a book detailing the final years of the Roman Republic. To get better educated on “I, Claudius”, check out “I, Podius“, a podcast hosted by John Hodgman and Elliott Kalan. Give it a listen. It gets stronger as it goes on, much like the show it’s about.

On the opening theme music, for now it’s from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!):
https://uppbeat.io/t/kevin-macleod/folk-round
License code: SHTJJRTVTRXQAID1

Please call the pod (540-632-0160), leave a message and you’ll get in an episode. Let me know what you think about what we think in the comments or on Twitter.

And never forget that The Classical Antiquity Sidequest is a podcast without end.

Interview – Robert Brickey Talks Duke Basketball

Our good friend Robert Brickey stopped by the podcast to recap Year Two of the Scheyer Era. In addition to the Elite Eight run, we discuss the changing landscape of college athletics, what Duke did during the portal this offseason and what to expect from the Blue Devils next season. We also cover how well Coach Scheyer managed injuries and a roster that was missing a few key pieces. Our conclusion? Duke fans should be excited about the program under Coach Scheyer.

If that weren’t enough, you get to hear me talk about my son’s high school lacrosse team! They came up just short in the state championship game and while we all would’ve loved to see the guys win, this was a great season all the way around. So, great season, son!

This is yet another fun talk with a Blue Devil legend. I know you’ll enjoy it.

Please call the pod (540-632-0160), leave a message and you’ll get in an episode.

Let me know what you think about what we think in the comments, on Mastodon, on Reddit, on Post, on Instagram, Spoutible, Bluesky or on Twitter.

As always, Go Duke!

Interview – Conor O’Neill Talks Duke and Wake

NOTE – The day after we recorded this, Mike Wright committed to Northwestern. Two days afterwards, Sion James committed to Duke. Just ignore those parts of the podcast. Be super attentive to everything else, though.

Our old friend Conor O’Neill stopped by to give us his thoughts on Wake Forest and Duke as the programs head into 2024. Conor covers both programs for Rivals. He’s got a good thing going over at Devils Illustrated – sign up, folks!

Before talking football, we took a few minutes to discuss the legacy of one of the greatest recording engineers (also known as a record producer) in music history, Steve Albini, who, sadly, passed away recently. He was a member of influential industrial rock bands like Big Black and Shellac. Albini’s career as prominent independent musician gave him an opportunity to start recording for other bands and he made the most of it. During his legendary career, Albini worked with a wide variety of bands including the Pixies, Nirvana, The Breeders, The Jesus Lizard, PJ Harvey and Man or Astro-man?. The story behind the initial recording of Nirvana’s In Utero is worth the time to read about. I enjoyed Albini’s sound as a young kid living in a fairly boring town. RIP, man. RIP.

After discussing what the Deacs can expect, we spend some time talking the Duke QB battle and how we shouldn’t overlook what Grayson Loftis might be able to do if he gets a shot. While we’re both high on Maalik Murphy, it’s hard not to think that Loftis might be able to make a name for himself in Durham. Oh, and Murphy has a canon for an arm and will showcase it as the Blue Devils will run a variation of the Air Raid. All right, all right, all right!

Conor and I also discuss the portal, NIL and how the NCAA needs to let schools employ athletes. And we get into a little basketball, too!

This is another good talk with a guy who is close to the program. I know you’ll enjoy it.

Please call the pod (540-632-0160), leave a message and you’ll get in an episode.

Let me know what you think about what we think in the comments, on Mastodon, on Reddit, on Post, on Instagram, Spoutible, Bluesky or on Twitter.

As always, Go Duke!

Classical Antiquity Sidequest 3 – Scotland, the Romans and Walls

Our third sidequest takes us to Roman Scotland, or “Barbaricum” (The Land of the Barbarians) as it was known back in Antiquity. Dr. Andrew Tibbs is our guide on this quest. During our interview, we discuss the Roman invasions of Scotland, the native tribes, the incomplete historical narrative we have and the famous walls the Romans constructed. We also discuss how the Romans and the Scots interacted with another another. And, so you know, it turns out that archeology is critical to understanding Roman Scotland. So, if you want to become an expert, you’ll need to turn into Indiana Jones. Plus, I make a reference to The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance!

Dr. Tibbs has written a number of books on Roman Scotland which you can find here. He also runs the popular Roman Scotland account on Twitter. Follow him there to learn more about an underappreciated historical era. You can also monitor his Academia page to keep up with his scholarly work.

On the opening theme music, for now it’s from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!):
https://uppbeat.io/t/kevin-macleod/folk-round
License code: SHTJJRTVTRXQAID1

Please call the pod (540-632-0160), leave a message and you’ll get in an episode. Let me know what you think about what we think in the comments or on Twitter.

And never forget that The Classical Antiquity Sidequest is a podcast without end.