Season 14 Episode 7- Brad Balukjian, Al Strachan (FEB 2023)

Steve interviews Brad Balukjian (00:16:38) the author of a new book called, The Six Pack. Brad joins us and talks about the origins of his new book and his time working with The Iron Sheik. Brad talks about the Sheik on Howard Stern, discusses his demons, and explains why his book with Sheik was never finished. Brad also talks about his life as a wrestling fan, discusses the challenges of writing a book about wrestling, and gives his thoughts on why some huge acts from the golden era haven't been inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. Also, Al Strachan (01:02:09) returns to the show to tell stories about his career as the hockey writer that Wayne Gretzky trusted the most. Al talks about Wayne being traded to St. Louis, his reaction to not being chosen for the shootout at the 1998 Olympics, and how he found out Wayne was being traded to Los Angeles. Al also talks about the 1987 Canada Cup, the leadership dynamic in the Edmonton Oilers locker room, and tells us if he thinks the current hockey writers love hockey. (This interview was recorded in February of 2023). Steve starts the show with first things first and discusses the Sabres hiring Lindy Ruff, the Braves hot start, and the Saints successful draft. The book club is off this week so Steve can go track by track on the new Pearl Jam album. The show ends with one last thing about Steve's experience in New Jersey seeing the Italian National Team in person. For more information follow the podcast on twitter @sports_casters Email: [email protected]