Monday Morning Podcast · All Things Comedy

Rick Middleton | Thursday Afternoon Monday Morning Podcast 3-5-26

March 5, 2026·1 hr 58 min·5 clips

Bill Burr is openly thrilled. He welcomes Rick Middleton like a childhood hero in the room, tying him to his earliest Bruins memories, the Boston Garden, his big orange Afro, and the first wave of players he watched in the early 1980s. The tone stays personal. Burr talks through jersey nostalgia, pickup hockey, and the joke that he was nowhere near skilled enough to wear Middleton's number without getting exposed. He keeps circling back. From Stan Jonathan, Wensick, Wayne Cashman, and the old Big Bad Bruins to the later Peter McNabb and Barry Peterson era, he builds the conversation out of the teams and names that shaped his fandom. Middleton stays gracious while Burr keeps overcommitting to the memory, admitting how much his numbers and production changed when Barry Peterson became his centerman and the whole thing started clicking. The rhythm is loose, and that suits a host who is checking in, reacting in the moment, and turning a small detail into a longer hockey detour before landing back on the point. The episode feels lived in. It is less about neat structure than about hearing a superfan try to compress years of Bruins obsession into one conversation with one of the players he worshipped. Burr never hides the joke. He says he used to disgrace Middleton's name and number in pickup hockey, then jokes that he had to switch to a Jay Miller jersey because he could not fight and had to knock a few people around. The affection is real. Even when he is ragging on himself, the gratitude underneath the bit keeps the conversation warm and makes the guest feel genuinely welcome. There is no pretense here. It is a fast, messy, fan first hang built from memory, reverence, and a host who can barely believe the guy across from him is actually there. The appeal is specific. If you know the Bruins eras Burr is chasing, or you like watching a comic totally lose his composure around a sports hero, this one lands exactly there.

As heard by us

A Bruins-focused conversation driven by Bill Burr's delighted fan energy.

This episode is a Bruins conversation shaped by Bill Burr's excitement at having Rick Middleton on the show. Burr keeps circling back to childhood memories, the orange Afro, trips to the Boston Garden, pickup hockey, and the players he grew up on, while Middleton stays calm and…

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Why you'd press play

For when you want Bill Burr in full childhood Bruins-hero mode.

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