Primetime Sports Podcast

di Joey Maiullari

Ep. 429 (6/11/26): Special Guest: Ben Risseeuw-Tipcke, 2026 FIFA World Cup Preview and Predictions

In this episode, Joey has the honor of being joined by Ben Risseeuw-Tipcke, a returning guest and a World Cup aficionado. At the start, Ben highlights his favorite part of the FIFA World Cup (1:30). Following that, he reveals which matchup he is looking forward to most (5:35), which country he thinks is facing the most pressure to succeed (8:02), and which country is the most underrated heading into the tournament (11:26). Then, Ben answers which group is most difficult and on the contrary, the easiest (13:24), along with what makes the game of soccer so special (18:39). After that, Joey and Ben move on to breaking down each of the twelve groups and providing their predictions for the results of each: Group A (20:42), Group B (27:46), Group C (31:49), Group D (36:45), Group E (42:14), Group F (47:29), Group G (51:48), Group H (56:47), Group I (1:00:11), Group J (1:03:46), Group K (1:07:59), and Group L (1:11:41). Next, the duo outline their top third-place finishers (1:16:01), their thoughts on the tournament expanding from 32 to 48 teams (1:16:45), and their predictions for the knockout stage, including the World Cup Final (1:18:18). At the end, Ben talks about the Minnesota Timberwolves’ new uniforms (1:27:35). Be sure to visit Ben's Sports Hub through the links below! https://benssportshub.substack.com/?utm_campaign=profile&utm_medium=profile-page https://benssportshub.blogspot.com/

E429

11 giu 2026

1:29:24

Ep. 428 (6/10/26): Special Guest - Pat Skerry, Towson University Men's Basketball Head Coach

In this episode, Joey has the privilege and honor of being joined by Pat Skerry, the head coach of Towson University men's basketball, who is a two-time CAA Coach of the Year and has led the Tigers to two CAA regular season titles. At the start of the episode, Coach Skerry talks about where his love for the game of basketball started as a Medford, MA native (1:33). He provides insight into his time as a point guard at Tufts University, where he is the all-time leader in career assists and is fifth all-time in career steals (2:41). During this segment, Coach Skerry points out a player who he used to model his game after (4:04) and how much of an honor it was to be a two-time captain for the Jumbos (5:04). Coach Skerry praises former Towson star forward Nick Timberlake for his impressive college basketball career (6:29). After that, he discusses how important it is to recruit in the Northeast (8:22) and the influence that legendary Tufts basketball coach Bob Sheldon left on him (9:32). In 1996, Coach Skerry was named the head coach at Curry College at just 26 years old, making him the second-youngest head coach in the country at the time. Skerry talks about how his experience at Curry propelled his coaching career (11:26). Additionally, Coach Skerry chats about his relationship with former Towson men's basketball assistant coach Luke Murray, who is now the head coach at Boston College (16:38). Then, they transition to highlighting Skerry's time at Towson, which includes the largest single-season turnaround in college basketball with the Tigers jumping from a 1-31 record to an 18-13 record within his first two years (20:44). Skerry reflects on the program's massive turnaround and how gratifying it was for the program to have its first winning season in 2012-13 since the 1995-96 season (23:17). Next, he reveals the challenges of the transfer portal era (26:27), the importance of building relationships and trust with his players (28:46), the values that the program promotes (30:55), and where his intensity and passion for the game come from (33:02). Furthermore, Coach Skerry breaks down how much it meant to receive the Skip Prosser Man of the Year Award in 2023, which is given to a college basketball head coach who demonstrates strong moral character (35:20). During this part, Skerry converses about his role in Autism Speaks, which has brought autism awareness to college basketball and has led to him being honored as the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Guardians of the Game Service Award winner. He points out how much it has meant to him and Tom Herrion to see hundreds of coaches across the country wear blue puzzle piece pins in support of Autism Awareness (36:44). Moreover, Skerry explains how the electric environment at SECU Arena in Towson, MD led to the program having two large win streaks of 16 games and 18 games over the last four seasons (38:04). At the end, Skerry lists his expectations for Towson for the 2026-27 season (40:40) and his favorite restaurants in Medford (42:21).

E428

10 giu 2026

44:45

Ep. 427 (6/9/26): Special Guests: Aidan Daly and James Daly - High-Level Boston Sports Talk

In this episode, Joey has the privilege of being joined by good friends of his and two Boston sports enthusiasts: Aidan and James Daly. At the start of the episode, Aidan and James reveal what their experience was like playing college football together at Saint Anselm College (1:20). Following that, the trio discusses the 2026 NBA Finals (7:25), what a redraft of the 2025 NBA Draft would look like (11:51), and what it would take for the San Antonio Spurs to win Game 4 (17:15). They transition to the Boston Celtics and question whether or not the franchise should trade Jaylen Brown (23:53) and what they would do if they were the club's general manager (31:30). After that, they reflect on the New England Patriots' 2025 season (41:14) and provide their reactions to the recent trade for star wide receiver AJ Brown (44:00). The trifecta talk about Patriots left tackle Will Campbell and explain why they have confidence in him heading into his second season (48:48). Additionally, they point out Patriots players that they think will break out next season (52:55) and give their expectations for the new-look New York Giants ahead of year one with John Harbaugh as head coach (57:42). Then, they chat about the state of the Boston Red Sox (1:04:24), Roman Anthony's injury (1:07:02), Jarren Duran heating up (1:11:56), and whether or not Payton Tolle or Connelly Early has a brighter future (1:15:15). At the end, Aidan and James break down the top five MLB ballparks that they have visited and outline their Mount Rushmore of Boston athletes (1:20:20). Before closing the episode, James highlights the work he has put into building baseball scouting reports (1:30:20).

E427

10 giu 2026

1:36:30

Ep. 426 (6/3/26): Late Upload - 2026 NBA Finals Preview, Reaction to Odell Beckham Jr. Signing with the New York Giants

In a late uploaded episode from yesterday, Joey provides a preview of the 2026 NBA Finals ahead of Game 1 between the San Antonio Spurs and the New York Knicks. Following that, he breaks down Odell Beckham Jr.’s new deal with the New York Giants.

E426

4 giu 2026

15:45

Ep. 425 (5/30/26): 2026 NBA Mock Draft 1.0 Predictions, Thoughts on the NBA's New Anti-Tanking System

In this episode, Joey breaks down his first 2026 NBA Mock Draft and provides insight into each of his selections. After that, he explains the NBA's new anti-tanking system, which was recently passed by the NBA's Board of Governors. During this segment, Joey outlines what this new policy will mean for teams in the bottom of the NBA's standings and how it will impact the value of draft picks with more uncertainty around where the lottery balls will fall. Although it is a harsh and aggressive approach to addressing tanking, Joey highlights the fact that the NBA had to do something to prevent teams from openly tanking, after 10 teams finished the 2025-26 regular season with a win percentage below .400.

E425

30 mag 2026

41:29

Ep. 424 (5/28/26): Special Returning Guest - Ken Powtak, Renowned Freelance Sports Writer

In this episode, Joey has the honor of being joined by Ken Powtak, a returning guest and a renowned freelance sports writer. To start, Powtak talks about how much of an honor it was to be one of 425 voters from the Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA) who voted in the 2026 Hall of Fame election (0:21). Powtak explains why he only had Carlos Beltran on his ballot (1:40) and provides reasoning as to why he ultimately chose not to vote for Felix Hernandez or Dustin Pedroia (3:45). Joey and Ken question the chances of Alex Rodriguez ever making Cooperstown (5:17) and discuss why Pete Rose will likely never be elected into the Hall of Fame despite MLB commissioner Rob Manfred taking Rose off of the permanently ineligible list in 2025 (8:17). Following that, they transition to the Boston Red Sox and reflect on the decision to fire Alex Cora (12:35). They contemplate whether or not the Red Sox are capable of still being a playoff team in a weak American League (14:58) and foreshadow potential trades that the club can make (16:20). After that, Powtak provides updates about Roman Anthony's recovery from a lingering finger injury (18:52) and outlines the difficult expectations that the organization and fanbase placed upon him (20:25). They revisit the decision to trade Mookie Betts in 2020 (26:22) and try to predict what the future of baseball will look like after a presumptive lockout (31:20). During this segment, Powtak provides his opinion on recent changes in the game of baseball, such as the Automated Ball-Strike (ABS) Challenge System (36:54). They point out how baseball has adapted with many pitchers throwing well over 100 miles per hour (39:55) and also break down their opinions on analytics in sports (43:11). At the end, they switch over to the hardwood and ponder about the future of the Jaylen Brown-Jayson Tatum duo in Boston (50:50). They praise the New York Knicks for their dominance in the Eastern Conference (57:59) and preview the 2026 NBA Finals.

E424

29 mag 2026

1:02:08

Ep. 423 (5/23/26): 2026 NBA Expansion Draft Simulator, Potential Expansion Teams in Vegas and Seattle

In this episode, Joey breaks down a 2026 NBA expansion draft simulation that he completed on Spotrac. Joey notes that he uses Spotrac's default settings for which players would be protected versus not protected in a hypothetical expansion draft if one took place this summer.

E423

25 mag 2026

16:49

Ep. 422 (5/13/26): The Return of the Dream Team: Special Guests - Sam Hofstetter and Aleks Djordjevic

In this special episode, Joey has the privilege of being joined by two returning guests: Sam Hofstetter and Aleks Djordjevic. At the start, Joey and Sam praise the New York Knicks for their run to the Eastern Conference Finals (1:03), ponder whether or not the Knicks would match up better with the Cleveland Cavaliers or the Detroit Pistons (14:16), and question whether or not the Knicks will make major changes if they fall short of the NBA Finals (16:39). Following that, they discuss the 2026 NBA Draft Lottery (24:14) and provide their expectations for the presumptive number-one pick AJ Dybantsa out of BYU (29:37). They move on to recapping the 2026 NFL Draft class for the New York Giants (38:54). During this segment, Joey, Sam, and Aleks debate whether or not the Giants should have a reunion with former Giants star receiver Odell Beckham Jr. (43:55-59:50). Then, they transition to the NHL and chat about the Boston Bruins' decision to sign forward James Hagens to an entry-level contract after his sophomore season at Boston College ended (59:51). After that, Aleks outline the 2026 NHL Draft Lottery results and provides his mock draft predictions for the first round (1:25:40). Aleks gives an in-depth look into his philosophy of the necessary roster construction for successful NHL teams (1:38:28). Additionally, Aleks breaks down the database that he recently published, known as The College Hockey Model, which measures how much a point in international professional hockey leagues compares to a point in NCAA hockey (1:46:12). Aleks's project strives to project a hockey prospect's success at the next level and allows hockey fans to compare prospects across different leagues. Be sure to visit his website through this link: collegehockeymodel.com. At the end, Joey highlight Sam and Aleks for graduating next week from BC with a master's degree in Sports Administration (2:04:50)! The trio recognizes individuals from the Woods College's Sports Administration program at BC that helped them get to where they are today in the sports world.

E422

14 mag 2026

2:22:49

Ep. 421 (4/24/26): Late Upload - Reaction to Day 1 of the 2026 NFL Draft, Best Available in Day 2

In this late upload, Joey reacts to Day 1 of the NFL Draft with his surprises and five winners from the first round. Following that, he questions whether or not a team should select a quarterback in Day 2 of the draft. At the end, he quickly breaks down his best players available heading into Day 2, which includes an under-the-radar quarterback.

E421

25 apr 2026

13:38

Ep. 420 (4/23/26): First-Round Mock Draft for the 2026 NFL Draft

In this episode, Joey delivers a last-minute first-round mock draft ahead of the 2026 NFL Draft. He provides insight into each selection and predicts which teams could potentially make trades in the first round.

E420

24 apr 2026

24:37

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