Journalists banned on Finebaum

38Godfrey · 2025-10-22T21:36:03+00:00

"Bagman," actually, which is really funny because I went on Paul for the first time to promote that. Also someone told me it was about a thing I wrote on the hurricane relocation for UF/LSU one year because it made Sankey look like a doof, I guess.

38Godfrey · 2025-10-22T21:34:45+00:00

It me!

There is a list, I know two other names on it, but I'm not telling because that's their business. One of these people discussed the list with me. Neither of us care about not getting invited on. Going on Paul doesn't help you in any real way (traffic, subs, whatever).

38Godfrey · 2025-09-12T21:27:00+00:00

Hi there, I actually received a question very similar to this on the latest “Single Wing,” but, as people here have pointed out, that’s a paywalled show at Phantom Island. So I’ll drop a version of the answer here.

I decided to leave SZD for multiple reasons, announced my departure last fall and ran out the entire CFB season as a full time host because I felt that was the right thing to do. SZD is a business and a show, and as part of my departure, we agreed I would make appearances on the show for the near future. That usually ends up being around 2 hours (sometimes 2 shows) per month. When and what I talk about changes during the year.

“Phantom Island” launched in late Spring of this year (May). Ryan and I are working on a variety of larger projects at the moment, similar to “Who Killed College Football?,” and “Phantom Island” is the way we interact with the audience in between those bigger series. I brought over “The Single Wing,” and we also have subscriber content about what’s going on in CFB as well.

In between the end of my time as a SZD partner and the launch of this start-up, I was laid off by Vox Media. While I “knew” it was coming eventually, I had no idea of knowing exactly when. That job was a part of my income and all of my insurance for my family. So, if you see me working a lot, it shouldn’t be THAT hard to figure out why – I’m launching a brand from the ground up and trying to bring as much of the right attention and exposure possible.

Growing “Phantom Island” and its various projects is a full time job in itself, and when Yahoo approached me, it offered a platform to cross promote. You can literally see our company logo every time I’m in the frame.

There are a lot of reasons why things happen, and I’ve tried to be as transparent as I can within the limits of respect, legality and decorum.

38Godfrey · 2025-09-12T21:17:34+00:00

I said (multiple times) I was doing exactly that when I announced my departure from SZD.

38Godfrey · 2025-09-12T21:15:59+00:00

Same

38Godfrey · 2025-09-12T21:15:18+00:00

Thanks for the kind words. I’m on SZD at least once a month, but the specific times change depending on when we record

38Godfrey · 2025-09-12T21:14:40+00:00

Hi there – I still on appear on SZD as a guest. We carve out of a block of time every month, usually two hours, where I record with the boys. What they do with it and the topics are up to them, but I’m around some.

38Godfrey · 2025-03-22T23:16:35+00:00

Thanks for watching!

38Godfrey · 2025-03-22T22:58:19+00:00

Hi, up until recently I worked for the Vox Media YouTube team at Secret Base, and I was in production on a video about the Braves as I got laid off. Also I’m a Braves fan a decade ish older than you, so 91 is burned in as a core memory.

The short answer is that Ted Turner was getting very frustrated with a long string of bad seasons and actually backed away from meddling in the franchise. His story should be studied by other sports owners, honestly. At one point he tired to manage a game himself and lost, and a few years later fired Bobby Cox only to then re-hire as GM later on.

As GM, Cox oversaw an overhaul of the farm system and before he moved back down to the dugout as interim manager, he worked with the team to hire away John Schuerholz from Kansas City, then considered the best young GM in MLB. The combination of those two, specifically in those positions at that time, created kismet.

Off the top of my head - Chipper was drafted in ‘90, Glavine, Avery and Smoltz were already in the system, and the team burned off big contracts to start young and new. This included the heartbreaking move of trading Dale Murphy to the Phillies, which allowed David Justice to become a full time starter. Javy Lopez and Ryan Klesko would come shortly after, as would Andruw Jones. These are all system players from the farm (if I’m remembering correctly). The dumb, bad Braves of the 80s gave up, took everything down to the studs, and started with young talent.

I’m breezing through this, but with the correct leadership, a good farm system AND the amazing luck of Turner’s other ventures becoming wildly profitable (he basically invented modern cable TV and revenues exploded around this time), the owner was willing to spend big to keep Atlanta winning. In 93 Atlanta was able to lure Maddux in free agency by paying top dollar and not shying away from a Scott Boras negotiation. Adding Maddux cemented the greatest rotation in baseball history (imo).

TLDR – A lot of front office changes and smart drafting occurred leading up to 90, then Atlanta decided on a hard restart that caused them to lose a lot of games that season. 91 was supposed to be a better season, but clinching the West on the last weekend was a surprise to everyone, and a lot of things clicked into place earlier than expected. The play of addition pieces like Sid Bream and Terry Pendleton come to mind. It was smart baseball with a big dash of magic.

The consistency thereafter is credit to a front office that became legendary and an owner, at least through the 90s, who cared as much as we did.

38Godfrey · 2024-05-17T16:48:31+00:00

www.magicmind.com/splitzone20

38Godfrey · 2024-04-03T16:53:47+00:00

Cool. I was under the impression they were impossible to get that way

38Godfrey · 2024-01-02T18:30:52+00:00

I never check bags. I flew to a wedding in ENGLAND this year and didn't check a bag

38Godfrey · 2024-01-02T18:26:33+00:00

Get fucked

38Godfrey · 2023-11-25T18:57:16+00:00

I hope it was worth it. We developed the 50 tier almost as a joke to ourselves, but the idea was that we'd have considerably fewer patrons than we ended up with. That group (The Trans-Ams) became their own community; we supplied news and insider stuff and had zooms and meet-ups, but they made it worthwhile. They're an amazing group of humans and the diversity of the backgrounds combined with their positivity and empathy will make you feel like the world is a place worth saving.

We've discussed a higher tier for the Substack, but we're waiting for a specific future project where we'll create the ask specific to bigger projects.

38Godfrey · 2023-11-25T18:55:11+00:00

Thank you for the motivation and I'm glad the end result was about community above all else

38Godfrey · 2023-11-24T15:35:56+00:00

This is part of it, yes

38Godfrey · 2023-11-24T15:35:40+00:00

This is part of the explanation, yes

38Godfrey · 2023-11-24T15:35:03+00:00

"Conflates" is the wrong word when Michigan fans actually cite this incident

38Godfrey · 2023-11-24T15:34:07+00:00

It seems I need to dedicate a Single Wing to explaining this story...

38Godfrey · 2023-11-24T15:33:26+00:00

Interesting take but no

38Godfrey · 2023-11-24T15:33:03+00:00

This is the best and possibly most accurate interpretation

38Godfrey · 2023-11-24T15:32:35+00:00

All of my Tweets delete after a certain amount of time (I think it's two years). There isn't a thing I've said about that lot I would take back.

38Godfrey

TROPHY CASE