It all started with a road trip for a kid and his family, interrupted by a decision of which cassette to purchase at a roadside restaurant. That launched a rock and roll journey and a first passion for the music of Grand Funk Railroad. Join Emmy Award winning journalist Ed Berliner for s fascinating and entertaining time with Grand Funk Railroad lead singer and songwriter Mark Farner, discussing the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, life on the road, and what happens when an airplane engine catches fire. "The Man in the Arena" is also available for audio podcast download on all the major platforms.

While the amateur psychologists try to tell us what's going on in Vladimir Putin's head, discussion is being marred by their bad guesses and without taking into account the one factor driving the Russian madman: HISTORY. Putin may well be on the way to getting what he wanted, and that may very well include sacrificing Ukraine to stave off nuclear war. Dr. Robert Rabil is a foreign policy expert, and without being a phony shrink, he leans on that history to explain what others are not discussing.

Dmytro Maruchok is a son of Ukraine and a former journalist, who is unafraid to point out the real reason why this war was launched, who is truly to blame for allowing Vladimir Putin to bring us to the point of a nuclear conflict, and the history this world has yet to learn when it comes to murderers such as Putin.

Time to get off the lawn, older baseball fans. The game doesn't care about you, doesn't need you, and doesn't want you. They need and want to go younger in order to make the cash. That means the game we see right now is doomed. Let's add to this mix that not only baseball, but EVERY sport is caring much less every day if you actually attend the games.

All this nonsense about what's wrong with Major League Baseball makes the first mistake in not asking someone who was there, on the field, and who understands the game with more than an eye for flashy commercials and stupid rules for extra innings. Former MLB All Star Jim Kern takes a blowtorch to how MLB has screwed the pooch, all the while telling excellent insider stories from his new book, "70's and 80's Tales of the Texas Rangers".

A series of recent demonstrations in and around Orlando FL rocked the community and the nation, as American Nazis showed up to shovel more hate with signs, swastikas and salutes. What can and should be done to stop the spread of this cancer? Why do certain politicians such as Florida Governor Ron DeSantis not strenuously object to these demonstrations?

Member of the US Military need to make the choice of being vaxxed for COVID19 or being busted out. BRAVO. A media kneejerk in Denver proves again why local news has become such a joke in certain places. NIL is ridiculous seeing as colleges fail to cough up their millions and pay college athletes.

Another exceptional episode in "Free 4 All". Time to hammer down on knuckleheads like "Duct Tape Boy" who disrupt air traffic and put lives at risk. Also, time we stopped having any sympathy for anyone who suffers from COVID19 when they made the call not to vaccinated to wear a mask. Time to stop the ridiculous reliance on instant replay in sports, AND time to stop coughing out big bucks to see aging rockers such as the Rolling Stones.

Get vaccinated or go home, and it's about time. How do comics find anything funny these days? Right wing racists and the usual dipsticks show blathering ignorance about #SimoneBiles. NO MAGA in the #NHL.

Simone Biles spits out an uncomfortable truth, and is hammered by the despicable amongst us. The real issue of mental health and why so many people fear it's discussion. America still gripped in a COVID19 nightmare and those elected conspiratorialists are trying to duck and cover. How popular IS NASCAR anymore, and does the casual sports fan care about that sport? And the return of "Team America: World Police" has people frothing at the mouth.

The head shaking fact that some people still won't touch a vaccine that could keep them, and others, from dying. The NFL sets new COVID19 guidelines that could, and maybe should, ripple across all sports and every business. Did Nancy Pelosi get caught in a right wing trap over the January 6th hearings? And just how good can a 75 year old look in a Playboy Bunny outfit?

What the despicable verbal racist attack against an Asian restaurant owner in Florida teaches us about a portion of society that will seemingly never surrender their evil.

The tragic state of local TV news, how COVID19 is helping to thin the stupid herd of one political Party, why black America is still wary of the COVID19 vaccine, and the reality of conservatorship fraud that is much more than meets the eye in the Britney Spears case.

The tampa Bay Lightning players basically took a dump on the Stanley Cup, or a bump if you will. No one enjoys great athletes anymore, and can we still laugh at Bill Cosby and Woody Allen jokes from the past?

VP Kamala Harris started a firestorm with her tweet ignoring the meaning of Memorial Day and tossing it off as a "long weekend". It was insensitive, short-sighted, and a mistake she and her staff hopefully now realize. It opens the door to a larger issue, that of wishing people a "Happy" Memorial Day. It's just as wrong, and without knee jerking, take a few minutes and understand why we would be better suited to consider other words in connection with the holiday, that means so much more to so many people other than hot dogs and picnics.

The single biggest issue driving America toward a level of empty-headedness we have never before witnessed is the inability of people, and platforms, to separate real news from fluffy nonsense. Demi Lovato's reveal this week was not news to be carried by legitimate sources. While it was important to a faction of people, and certainly snared Lovato plenty of attention, clicks and new sources of revenue, it was not real news. Oh, and don't start the debate by saying anyone who says that is criticizing her for a lifestyle. That's NOT the point here, people.

The announcement that Tim Tebow was on the verge of attempting another NFL comeback turned out to be the single most interesting and ridiculous media event of 2021. Heads of so-called NFL "experts" and analysts, including more than a few out of work former NFL assistant coaches, were imploding from coast to coast, and angry couch potato fans were livid at the possibility. Why? What's the big deal? What is about Tebow that gets people so riled up?

While they certainly aren't the only media outlets guilty of spreading propaganda horse manure regarding the 2020 Presidential election, FOX and Newsmax are the two outlets that have been snared and damned publicly for their admitted use of disinformation, misinformation, and just plain falsehoods. Knowing this, both outlets need to be prepared when someone calls them out publicly. Recent interviews on both outlets showed how badly prepared their on-air hosts were when challenged by guests who laid the trap, and the talent fell right into it by becoming combative, arrogant, and more than a little unprofessional.

What was once sold to people as "The Sport of Kings", thoroughbred horse racing in America is now little more than a greedy bloodsport. Every single day, horses die in training, on the track, and in their stalls. Those in the sport repeat the lies about "caring" for the animals, when in reality, horses are drugged to the point of where they feel no pain even when bones are shattering. These are relative infants being forced to perform unnatural acts, all in the call for owners and trainers to get richer, and for gamblers to plunge their brains out watching as the athletes they cheer on could be dead right in front of their eyes.

1986 remains a year frozen in time for baseball fans, and specifically those of the Boston Red Sox. This was a truly magical season, one where a team given little shot at the World Series was pieced together brilliantly, and knowing full well their importance to an entire region and generations of loyal fans, this team did the impossible. Well, almost. There are those who believe there could never have been a Red Sox team that broke the "Curse of the Bambino" were it not for this 1986 team, and they well may be correct.

Tales of athletes putting every ounce of their heart and soul into competition are there for all to see, however it's rare when we find two young ladies who share a common bond and are determined to not allow misfortune get in their way. Noelle Lambert and Femita Ayanbeku once had athletic paths set before them, only to have everything change in an accidental instant.

The Governor of Georgia is on fire with his take on recent voting legislation, but a deeper look into the actual law reveals he's not being entirely truthful. There's also the case for Major League Baseball, as they themselves are doing penance for a long and deep seated history of racism within their own ranks. It all culminated again in athletes doing what they believe is correct in seeking to change societal wrongs, and in the process, lighting again the fire for those who say sports has no business in politics when, in actuality, sports may do more for social change than any politician.

With absolutely no evidence whatsoever in the DeShaun Watson case, we are overwhelmed by terrible actors such as Shannon Sharpe pretending to be lawyers, and the easily amused falling for their nonsense and sometimes hysterical opinions.

Are we really still talking about SAVING BASEBALL again? What one thing would Joe add as a rules change that is overdue? We'll dig into how the relationship between players and reporters has changed irrevocably, and the discourse about "The Shift" with sage words from Cal Ripken Jr. It's not entirely what he says, but when he said it.

When was the last time you watched or listened to a show where both college football Hall of Famers Bobby Bowden and Steve Spurrier were together talking their careers, college football, and featured a good Bowden joke? It's all right here in a very special episode of "The Man in the Arena", as the men who helped make Florida college football the powerhouse that it is discuss their rivalry, what they look for in players, how they turn out winners, and what they're doing to help student athletes of today become more than just football players.

It was March 8, 1971. The hype said it was “The Fight of the Century”, and few perhaps realized how true that statement was. The first heavyweight title fight between champion Joe Frazier and challenger Muhammad Ali was more than just 2 men slugging it out in a Madison Square Garden ring for 15 rounds. It was a sporting, social, and cultural phenomenon that resonates to this day.

Cults are nothing new in America, but the stunningly fast rise of QAnon into becoming not just a political cult, but one filled to the brim with potential homegrown terrorists, has taken mindless devotion to dangerous heights. From the January 6th insurrection riots in Washington DC, to March 4th 2021 when zealots and cultists were all convinced Donald Trump would be inaugurated and again become President, cult behavior has turned from mere belief to sometimes murderous intent.

The Super Bowl is much more than just a football game, It is an experience, a carnival ride, a week's worth of color and dazzle that turned football fans into zealots, and made even non-sports fans part of the action. It took years to become the bacchanalia of today, and at the core of that revelry, popularity and profit, there sits Jim Steeg.

Newsfront, America holds its breath during Inauguration week as we need to ask who is protecting whom? What will Donald Trump do in private life to continue his shock and awe? Is he now the single most dangerous individual in America? And you will meet the single most delusional DC rioter of them all, or perhaps a perfect example of insanity.

Shaq goes after the whiny James Harden over his deal to the NY Nets and calls him out for failing in Houston. Even with a new Head Coach, why should NY Jets fans trust the worst ownership in the NFL? Should the US Olympic family punish one of their own involved in the Washington DC insurrection riots? And is the rivalry between Boston and NY still something fans even think about?

In any normal year, America is dotted with sports camps of all types and sizes. This is where they promise to prepare young athletes for their next athletic step, often from high school to college. But aside from teaching them how to block, tackle and shoot, are they really preparing this next generation for the real skills and opportunities they will face? The Florida Rising Stars Foundation is changing the way camps are run, bringing in notable coaches and athletes to impart more than just playing skills

The NHL emerges from a successful 2020 COVID19 bubble season with more questions than at any time in their modern history. Exactly when that 2021 season will start, the desperate need to put fans in the seats, franchises in more financial distress than ever before, players being told to get ready for pay cuts, and then there's the players on the way up and the ones who need to break out the golf bags. Speaking of money, aren't these franchises owned by multi-millionaires? Doesn't it seem more than a little insulting to hear them cry poverty because of the pandemic?

Whether sports or politics, it seems everything begins in New York City. Prolific author and noted sports reporter/commentator Sean Deveney has proof, both via his more than 20 years spent along the NBA hardcourt and every other major American professional sport championship, but also in his research intertwining such diverse figures as Doc Gooden, Donald Trump and Ed Koch making a solid point about greed and glory in America.

After 40+ years as the dean of the Daytona International Speedway press room, now former Daytona Beach News-Journal Motorsports journalist Godwin Kelly joins Ed Berliner for a wide ranging discussion of things such as why NASCAR fumbled their chance at the really big time, how they can get it back on track, why drivers both past and present are essential to that recovery, and why reporters here in 2020, both in racing and other sports, need to take lessons in humility and professionalism before writing good stories goes completely out of style.

He is one of, if not the, most prolific play by play announcer to ever call action on the ice. With more than 5000 regular season games to his credit, more than 200 NHL playoff games under his belt, and a few Stanley Cups to show for it, Jiggs McDonald is one of the very best there has ever been at calling hockey. Time to tell those tales as he joins Ed Berliner on "The Man in the Arena"

After almost 2 years, Boeing is slowly rolling back into service their controversial 737MAX. Supposedly having been made a safer aircraft following a pair of crashes that claimed more than 500 lives, both Boeing and the FAA are touting a safer aircraft. But is this still a massive coverup fueled by corporate greed and mismanagement?

One thing is certain: The NFL has done a miserable job in dealing with COVID19. But have they taken the 2020 season and turned it into one that will forever carry an asterisk?

The rampaging sexual assault case at LSU should surprise no one, and indeed it doesn't shock those who know anything about big time college athletics. History shows those who claim assault are shoved to the shadows and usually demonized. The greater part of this is the coverup, and it's always been helped by those who should be bexposing it. Pete Rose & Jim Gray are doing the "Apology Tour" dance again, but this time the Hall of Fame road closes forever for Charlie Hustle.

COVID19 has destroyed the normal ebb and flow of competition in both college and high school football, and with so many conferences not playing, so many schools sitting out, and so many players on the bench, is this truly a legitimate season for championships? How will COVID-19 really affect high schoolers heading for college, and what will it do to 2021 college football rosters and beyond?

It's a fair question. With COVID19 changing rosters, keeping entire programs off the field, and the competitive balance changed, are the 2020 NFL and CFB seasons really legitimate?

The NHL beat COVID19 for one shortened season, but what are they going to do now? Teams are shifting players like socks at the moment, and some teams are getting left out. Tampa Bay wins the Stanley Cup, but will it really do anything to help hockey in the USA? And why hockey players are better at putting game first and egos second.

the single best moment from the NFL COVID19 season, a few thoughts on a 2020 World Series that does indeed feature the best teams in MLB, more than a few words on the latest attack on Dr. Anthony Fauci, and another reason why Abe Lincoln was so correct when he said you could believe everything you see and read on the Internet.

Comments from the NFL and some of their coaches must conclude this sport is about as concerned with the pandemic's effect on their players as they were about concussions, and we all know how that ended. College football, meantime, has backed itself into a corner from which there is no COVID19 escape.

Let's get busy then with stories about the single greatest Facebook trap we all wind up falling into, why James Bond must never be female, (anything Bond makes for excellent debate, of course), the NFL still reaping the results of their decision to treat COVID19 like the common cold, a challenge to every baseball fan to prove why Tampa Bay shouldn't be the new "America's Team"

The NFL's 2020 season is a mini-disaster thanks to their ham-handed COVID19 approach, but let's dig deeper. Is this the new "CTE" era, where the League is hiding all the facts and overlooking player safety just to keep cashing in?

With so many sports back in play, let's discuss how Fantasy Sports and gambling has completely ruined the relationship between fans and players, and why there is so little passion anymore for the games themselves.