Hooks & Runs · A podcast about baseball, music and culture.

275 - Wolverines, Free Agents and the Hooks & Runs Best Albums of 2025

·47 min·3 clips

Sharon Moore went from a $5.5 million Michigan job to felony charges and arrest.

1. Hooks & Runs closes season six by tying baseball, music, and culture together around the episode's title topic. 2. Craig and Rex host the show and frame the discussion as a mix of college football, MLB winter moves, and year-end album picks. 3. The episode asks whether Michigan football's collapse, MLB's spending race, and 2025 metal and indie records can all fit into one final season recap. 4. The opening story about a Connie Mack Stadium urinal sets up a joke about a retiree in suburban Philadelphia who may still have it. 5. Craig describes a recent New York trip with his family, including Chicago, the Rockettes, Brooklyn, Central Park, and the Jackie Robinson Museum. 6. New York prices become a running complaint as the hosts compare Manhattan apartments, bodega drinks, and hotel soda costs. 7. The most detailed football segment concerns Michigan coach Sharon Moore and the allegations that led to his firing and arrest. 8. Craig and Rex name the reported charges as home invasion, stalking, and breaking and entering, and they discuss the possible Michigan prison terms. 9. They connect the scandal to Michigan's earlier sign-stealing and scouting punishment under Jim Harbaugh and Moore's own suspension. 10. The hosts also note that Michigan still has an interim coach, Francis Xavier Poggi, before a bowl game against Texas. 11. One memorable line compares Craig's budget to Jake Paul while New York City is compared to Anthony Joshua. 12. Another recurring theme is the idea that college football fans have become less happy as playoff expansion and television money have grown. 13. Craig says the playoff era has made bowl-season debates feel more transactional and less rooted in conference pride. 14. The baseball block names Pete Alonso, Edwin Diaz, Kyle Schwarber, Robert Suarez, Hye-seong Kim, and Alex Bregman as part of the winter market. 15. The episode gives concrete spending figures, including the Dodgers' $169 million luxury-tax bill and MLB's total payroll tax of $402.6 million. 16. Craig notes that the Marlins' roughly $86.9 million payroll was smaller than about half of the Dodgers' tax bill. 17. The tone shifts into a ranked music rundown with Craig and Rex debating records, labels, genre labels, and live shows. 18. Rex pushes back with his own list and adds short explanations for German thrash, history metal, and power metal. 19. Listeners who follow college football scandals, MLB free agency, or 2025 rock and metal albums should get the most from this episode. 20. Listeners looking for a tightly structured single-topic conversation may skip it.

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