30 Comments
Dec 15, 2023Liked by Bob Sturm

Hey Bob not a founding member here (but an early one) but would like to suggest the infamous Ice Bowl as a Classic Game Of The Month. I was 10 years old sitting on the floor watching my two favorite teams (how conflicted was that for a born and raised Texan but I loved Bart Starr and his story) and remember it like yesterday. So glad you now have what looks like a permanent home at Substack. Love the format and the great work you do.

Expand full comment
Dec 15, 2023Liked by Bob Sturm

Great mailbag. I’m sure you’ve seen it but The Violent World of Sam Huff is a great film. Made me fall in love with football as a kid.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=wKeAX9rmzbk

Expand full comment

I hope it's not a "Freudian slip" but in the Dak's footwork piece your wrote "fool confidence" not "full confidence" :)

Expand full comment

Hey Bob, tried to flip from monthly to yearly subscription, but it listed $80 as the price. Is there a fix or workaround for this?

Expand full comment
author

Ok, Here is the answer and while I don't love it, it is the solution. So, if you are already a monthly subscriber (thank you!), I guess you have to first cancel that sub to see the better pricing. When you do, you will then have access to the annual special price of $60 instead of $80. Unfortunately, there is a bug in the system that prevents an easier path without you first cancelling. So, this is probably the only time I will ever ask you to cancel me. haha.

Expand full comment

Lol, thanks, Bob, you've got a deal

Expand full comment

Not ideal, but not that difficult either. Thanks Bob!

Expand full comment
author

we are working on this. Stand by.

Expand full comment

Same issue for me. I would like to upgrade to yearly but price is $80 and not $60.

Expand full comment

And still is.

Expand full comment

Thanks Bob. Even though I am still subscribed to The Athletic, I thoroughly enjoy and try to absorb the points you make weekly. I anticipate you doing the same on the Mavs and Stars, although I do not follow them like I do Football and NASCAR.

As for the folks complaining about an extra $20 bucks for the subscription, GEEZ just pay it! A case of beer costs more than $20 and is gone much quicker, as is a good bottle of whiskey. Suck it up and pay for good writing! It's hard to get elsewhere.

Expand full comment

I stumbled across this literally decades ago, but one of my all-time favorite names in professional sports is Doug Gwosdz.

His nickname was Eyechart. 😀

You could look it up: https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/g/gwosddo01.shtml

Expand full comment

I'm on the yearly until Sep 24 but I would like to get the $60 plan and extend to all of 2024 at the $60 rate, how can we do this? Thank you

Expand full comment
author

getting this fixed.

Expand full comment
author

Ok, Here is the answer and while I don't love it, it is the solution. So, if you are already a monthly subscriber (thank you!), I guess you have to first cancel that sub to see the better pricing. When you do, you will then have access to the annual special price of $60 instead of $80. Unfortunately, there is a bug in the system that prevents an easier path without you first cancelling. So, this is probably the only time I will ever ask you to cancel me. haha.

Expand full comment

I don't think that works for the people like me who paid $80 upfront for the annual plan (in Sep before the season started). Would have loved a holiday pkg that I could use to extend my plan throughout ALL of 2024, everybody loves a holiday deal, thanks anyway.

Expand full comment

Wow. A Sixto Lezcano reference on Sturmstack. I was an 8 year old Phillies fan when he came to Philly toward the end of his career. I thought Sixto was some kind of nickname because he had six toes. What a random blast from the past!

Expand full comment

As an old OL coach I know officials don't like to call offensive holding. They want to be SURE because many have told me it has a huge impact and they want to be right. Probably leads to DL not getting as many calls as they'd like, and probably deserve

Expand full comment

Hey Bob - Thanks for the mailbag! To add on to the DQ HC question, do you think he might just be waiting for the right opportunity, meaning he does not want to be a part of a rebuild and wants a team that he can win a Super Bowl with right away? McCarthy's job situation always seems to be in question, so maybe he is waiting around to see what happens? For a coach that has come so close to winning the Super Bowl, he knows how hard it is to get there, and nobody has infinite time in this profession.

Expand full comment

Bob, I loved the Barry Sanders documentary. I'm around your age and grew up sports nerding on Monday's diving into the Dallas morning news box scores to see how Barry did when his games weren't on TV as a kid and before we had cable at my house (hence no ESPN for highlights, I usually had to watch the Sports Machine to see the occasional highlights). When people have the Emmitt versus Barry discussion I feel like they are having 2 different conversations. One is who's career would you rather have (the best career ever) and I think that is hand's down Emmitt (MVP, super bowl MVP, rushing and TD all time leader, 3 SB wins) and the other conversation is who do you think the best running back was and I think there is no question that was Barry. I think both are top 5 in both categories but one rules one and the other rules the other, and to be honest I bet Barry would trade his career for Emmitt's every day but the opposite cannot be said.

Expand full comment

I’m with Sandy. I purchased a yearly but would like to use the $60 offer to tack on the my current subscription. I’m a Cowboys only subscriber so I’d be subsidizing the ones who are fans of colleges, Mavs, Stars, etc. and that’s ok.

Expand full comment

I would take you up on that offer but the link you reference doesn't mention the $60 deal.

Expand full comment
author

fixing it.

Expand full comment
author

Ok, Here is the answer and while I don't love it, it is the solution. So, if you are already a monthly subscriber (thank you!), I guess you have to first cancel that sub to see the better pricing. When you do, you will then have access to the annual special price of $60 instead of $80. Unfortunately, there is a bug in the system that prevents an easier path without you first cancelling. So, this is probably the only time I will ever ask you to cancel me. haha.

Expand full comment

So I cancelled, then tried to re-subscribe to get the $60 plan. When I did, it still showed $80 as the only option.

Expand full comment

You have to also choose the immediate cancellation option with no refund option. For me, I had three weeks left on a monthly subscription. So I lost ~$6 to save $20 on the annual. Might not be a good option for anyone on an annual plan with significant time left.

Expand full comment

Hi Bob. I'm sorry to bother you here on this old post, but I couldn't find any other way to send you a PM. (I'm social media challenged.)

I'm a subscriber to your Sturmstack. I was talking to my wife about it this morning, and I asked her if she ever signed me up for the annual special you recently posted. She replied "No, I thought you were going to do that."

I looked online and found the offer. I realize it is expired, but I thought I would reach out to you directly to ask if you would be able to make an exception based on marital communication.

I understand if you cannot, and I won't be mad if you say no, so don't worry about that. I just figured "the answer is no if you don't ask," so now I'm asking.

Thanks in advance for your consideration, and thank you for your excellent work!

Expand full comment

Can't really beat adolescent me snickering over the baseball player Dick Pole.

Expand full comment

Hey Bob, as a beer league hockey player and someone who works in healthcare here in Dallas I am shocked by the Juuso Valimaki story. Would something like this happen in the MLB, NBA, or NFL? In light of Adam Johnson’s death what is being done to make sure that the players at the highest level of sport are being appropriately cared for?

Expand full comment