Lino's Roast: The Lost Minutes

Craving to hear the 11 minutes of yesterday's roast that got cut off by Notre Dame Basketball? Can't wait for this afternoon's rebroadcast, or won't be around for it at all? No problem! We at Lino Watch have done you the courtesy of posting the audio of those final minutes below. We backed up a little bit and started at the beginning of Father Rob Keighron's turn at the mike. So sit back, relax, and enjoy!

Who's the real Vay-Kay Villain here?

We ran across this gem on the LinoFans Facebook page:

Gus Lloyd cut a promo for TCC bragging that he's on vacation and begging people to listen to his re-runs. Jerk chicken! - Dan @ LinoFans

Jerk chicken, huh? Well, let's see if we have this straight. Lino took or will take the following vacations in 2009 (not including jury duty or the random day or two off):

• A week in mid-February (Bahamas)
• A week at the end of April (Italy)
• A week near the middle of July (fishing in Minnesota and Canada)
• Three days at the end of August (retreat in Minnesota)
• A week at the end of October (Italy)
• From Christmas Eve through the end of the next week
  

Total: 30 days, four of which will fall on a holiday (which in this scenario means a day with no live hosts for ANY show on TCC), which in essence means he took 26 days off in 2009. Gus, on the other hand, took:

• Thanksgiving week
  
• The last two weeks in December

Total: 15 days. And of those 15 days, about five or so of them fell/will fall on holidays. So really he took 10 days off that weren't holiday-related.

So Gus takes no vacation during the first 10½ months of the year and gets badmouthed for taking off the last two weeks and letting his listeners know about it, while Lino takes nearly the same time off around Christmas, already took more than twice as much vacation throughout the rest of the year, and subjected us to a lot of "best-ofs" that still needed more time in the bottle to ferment.

Jerk chicken, indeed.

Lino announces preliminary info on Italy Pilgrimage 2010

UPDATE 12/23: Full details of the trip, including itinerary, are now available at The Catholic Traveler website.

Today on his Facebook page, Lino announced preliminary information about the previously announced pilgrimage to Italy to test response from his fans. Here's what he posted:

• Dates: July 9-17, 2010.


• Sites: Rome, Florence, & Assisi.


• Who's coming with: The Catholic Guy Crew.


• Approximate cost: $2,499.

Reprise: You mock my show and I'll mock yours

We have just enough time remaining before Christmas to re-run two audio gems we posted last year involving Lino and his arch-nemesis, Gus Lloyd. Gus takes it on the chin from Lino on an almost everyday basis, yet is a big believer in Matthew 5:39... "But I say to you, offer no resistance to one who is evil. When someone strikes you on (your) right cheek, turn the other one to him as well." In other words: he usually ignores Lino.

Usually. But while Lino was in Rome last year for the 2nd anniversary of TCGS, Gus decided that it was the perfect opportunity to strike a blow for justice. The result? The Catholic Guy Who Stole Christmas...

Upon his return to New York, Lino swore swift retribution upon Gus. "Swift" was a relative term, as it took three days to come up with it, but what he came up with makes Bob Dylan's Christmas In The Heart sound like a Bing Crosby special:

Gus has wasted no good opportunity this year replaying his song on Seize The Day. Lino's parody on TCGS? Nothing... and we wonder why. We thought that maybe it would have something to do with the mention of names of former TCGS crew members in one of the songs. But that's childish... and we all know that Lino would never act childishly.

We're th1s many!

December 16, 2008... a date which will live in infamy. Why? We started writing about all things Lino.

Fast-forward 365 days. We're still here. We just spent our last ten bucks renewing linorulli.net for another year. We're astounded, the public is incredulous, and Lino's having severe stomach pains. Coincidence? We don't think so.

So on our first anniversary, we thought we'd take a look back at our first post and compare where we intended to go then with where we're going now. Last year's post is in yellow, our comments follow in white:

What this blog is:

• A forum for expressing our thoughts on Lino Rulli and The Catholic Guy Show as we see them.

  As the poster behind George W. Bush so prematurely proudly declared: Mission Accomplished. While we don't post as often as we would like (or as seldom as Lino would prefer), 96 posts in the past year ain't bad.
  

• A means of poking a little fun at Lino when we think it's deserved... which is often.

  In all honesty, we had imagined us poking fun at Lino a lot more often than we did. Looking back at our posts for the past year, we think we had a pretty decent blend of praise, mocking and criticism of Lino... going from more mocking a year ago to more supportive now. Of course, who out there ever would've foreseen the events of August and September.
  

• A place to remember classic Lino moments, especially from the older shows with Maureen and Tom that Lino has quietly buried.

  Except for our Twelve Ten Days of Lino series we wrote during last year's Christmas season, we never really did this. In fact, when Lino discussed our first post on his show back in January, he mocked us for this particular point and proclaimed (paraphrasing) that Tom and Maureen were part of the past. Then Maureen came back-to-the-future in September, and the past is now re-lived on a daily basis. We still miss Tom, though, and hope that his head has not fallen out of the Earth's orbit yet.
  

What this blog is not:

• A competitor to CatholicGuyShow.com and the Unofficial Lino Rulli Fan Club. That site certainly has its place and we're an eager reader of it. We see this site as a complement to it... posting thoughts that don't always toe the line of the die-hard Lino fans.

  First off, our tone last year was just too harsh. They're good people who have a great site, the show's unofficial sanction, and are doing their best to keep a positive tone. And that's good because the gist of our statement is still true: we're not competitors, but our sites complement each other in an odd sort of way. Plus, their positive outlook should in no way should infer that we're the place that's going to bash Lino day in and day out. It just means that we're going to call things as we see them, positive or not.
  

• A mouthpiece for Gus Lloyd. Gus doesn't maintain this blog (he has his own, after all), and we're not a shill for him. But we're as much of a fan of his "dog and pony show" as we are The Catholic Guy, and we think that Lino and his pack take the Gus-bashing a little too far sometimes, even if it might be in jest. We're more than happy to poke a little fun back.

  If we're a mouthpiece for Gus Lloyd, then our mouth needs to be washed out with soap. We've done at least half-a-dozen posts over the past year that didn't portray Gus in the most flattering light... from his back going out again to his impromptu use of Spanish on the air to his mocking of televangelists. Yeah, we made an audio slideshow out of The Catholic Guy Who Stole Christmas, but just like Fox News we were Fair and Balanced™ by doing the same for Lino's Catholic Guy Christmas "album" that mocked him right back.
  

• A resurgence of the Catholic Taliban's defunct blog. We're not that orthodox.

  If you don't remember this blog, you never will: what was once merely defunct is now extinct. However, the site's domain name (catholictaliban.org) is available for purchase if the Spirit so moves you.
  

Our final comment:

Will it last? We don't know... only time will tell. But we'll give it our best shot.

Well, so far it's lasted a year... and a heckuva year it's been. Will we make it to our second birthday? Our third? As we said last year, only time will tell. But we gave it our best shot last year, and we'll do the same again.

Now that the review of our first post is over, here are some things to look forward to in the coming weeks:

• A minor site refresh, whose primary goal is to add another column for posting stuff. We know... we said way back when that this was coming out today, but it just hasn't worked out. Our new goal is to get the refreshed site posted by the end of 2009, but we're not making any promises.
• The extra space in the new design will allow us to post a few new evergreen items that you won't have to scroll down to see. Nothing earth-shattering, but it'll certainly enhance the site a bit. Look for these at the same time as or shortly after the site refresh.
• Like almost every other site at this time of year, we'll be doing a series of posts tentatively titled "Lino's Top Ten for 2009". It is what it says: a look at the Top 10 Lino moments in the past year. And there's no shortage of moments to choose from. These will come out while Lino's on vacation later this month.
• We'll also do a feature on Lino Watch's Best & Worst, highlighting the stuff we're proud of and the stuff we wished had never seen the light of day. That, too, will come out sometime before Lino returns to the air in January.
• There'll be one other surprise that'll make it easier for the public to reach our site... that'll come out sometime after Christmas.

To all Lino Watch fans and foes: thank you for reading our drivel for the past year. We may not like Lino as much as the other guys, but we wouldn't be doing this if we didn't like him at all. Onward to 2010!

Week 14 football picks recap: The last shall be first and the first shall be last

(MNF updates in yellow)

This was an interesting week... lots of correct picks and few wrong ones, neither of which came from the people you expected. So let's start off with the poor saps in this week's loser's bracket:

LOU: We admire people who pick with true conviction, and that's especially true for people who specifically choose against Lino's Vikings to make a point. And had it not been for that pick, Lou would be in a four-way tie for the win. It's painful to label Lou a loser this week because he really doesn't deserve it.

FR. ROB KEIGHRON: The other loser this week, on the other hand, deserved everything almost everything he had coming. Why? Primarily because he picked a Steelers team that had lost 4 straight games, three of them to teams without winning records. He also picked his beloved Giants over the Eagles, and while loyalty is admirable it doesn't guarantee a win. (Just ask Lou about his picks for the Cowboys this season.) Even the pick that should've panned out didn't, as Arizona committed seven turnovers against the 49ers. There was so much talk during the Vegas trip about Fr. Rob's "system" for gambling: he still has the best overall picks record for this season, but if he indeed has a system for making his football picks it sure as hell failed him this week.

So that leaves for the tiebreaker:

MAUREEN: Whoa, dude! 0-for-3 last week, 3-for-3 this week. The boys snicker at you each week when you make your picks. This oughta shut 'em up... at least for a few minutes.

MARK HART: At the very least he owes Brett Siddell from The Busted Halo Show a beer for making his picks for him.

LINO: He finally has a chance to end his seven-week losing streak. We're now taking bets on whether or not he does so by declaring himself the tiebreak winner on Thursday.

One more game on Monday night to see if Fr. Rob can save some face or totally embarass himself, and then it's off to Thursday!

UPDATE @ 11:50pm ET: Fr. Rob's shame is complete, as Arizona commits seven turnovers and goes down in flames to the 49ers, giving him his first 0-for-3 week this season.

Ode to a Catholic Guy T-Shirt

Remember when we posted that Lino had put his Catholic Guy T-shirts on sale on his website? Well, who are we not to go and order one for ourselves! And this past Saturday it arrived in the mailbox of Lino Watch World Headquarters & Karaoke Bar. To celebrate this momentus event, we have been inspired to compose a poem in the style of 'Twas The Night Before Christmas. We hope you enjoy it!

'Twas three weeks before Christmas at Lino Watch HQ
And our radio was tuned to Sirius 2.

Holiday Classics blared through the halls,
As staff members bounced new ideas off the walls.

"A contest… the winner with money we'll thank!"
"Nice, but we have just ten bucks in the bank."

"How 'bout a poll? Polls are so where it's at!"
"Nah, the CatholicGuyShow folks already do that."

When all of the sudden there arose such a clatter,
We sprang from our desks to see what was the matter.

Outside the mailman was hard at work,
Stuffing our 'box full of junk… what a jerk!

But before we could run out and chase him away,
To the next place he drove in his rear-wheel-drive sleigh.

We opened our mailbox: bills, bills, and more bills.
The amounts that we owed gave us all tingly chills.

But then we spied out of the corner of our eye,
A label that read "Sirius XM… Catholic Guy"

Quickly we began to dance and to twirl,
And to giggle and smile like a four-year-old girl!

For what to our wondering eyes should appear?
Oh, we knew… our Catholic Guy T-shirt was here!

"C'mon, guys! The brisk air is starting to sting!
Let's all rush inside and rip open this thing!"

"To the top of the porch! To the front of the hall!
Now dash away, dash away, dash away all!"

Once out of the cold we examined our prize.
That white envelope was a sight for sore eyes.

We looked at the postage and emitted a gasp:
"They mailed this on Tuesday… boy, that was fast!"

We were certain that it would be two months or more!
Perhaps mailing is not Maureen's job anymore.

It cost $3.71 for handling and shipping,
"But we paid just ten bucks!", our staff started quipping.

Lino's so clever: "We paid $9.99,
but he made sure the postage was on Sirius' dime!"

We then read the label and declared very truly:
"That chickenscratch HAS to be written by Rulli!"

"Enough with the outside… let's see the shirt!
Or somebody here will soon get real hurt!"

The package ripped open, taking great care to handle,
There it was… purple as an advent candle.

We examined the front, the words fit for a plaque:
On one day, "I'm leaving!", and the next day "I'm back!"

Just like Brett Favre did in NFL lore.
And that's why the back has a big number "4".

Then one of us noticed, "Hey, that's really strange.
The front of his shirt has the wrong date range!"

"He announced his decision to leave on a Monday,
But August 16th was in fact, a Sunday!"

"Calm down!" we all shouted as his temper got hot.
"Don't twist your underwear all in a knot!"

"Why worry that the dates are off by one day?
We need to be grateful… he decided to stay."

"Besides, no one's perfect… not even Lino.
Not even Gus Lloyd or Rob Astorino!"

And with that, calm re-entered our dwelling,
as staff member hearts with pride started swelling.

Sinful, we know… but we couldn't resist.
The t-shirt was ours, it was now in our midst.

Because it has short sleeves, we won't wear it now.
So we'll find a way to display it somehow.

Come glorious springtime we'll wear it all places,
So people can stare, get weird looks on their faces.

We'll politely respond with a genuine grin,
And say, "It's a great show… why don't you tune in?"

"Sirius 159 is the channel.
Just punch it in on your radio panel!"

No Sirius, you say? Try 117!
That number should work on your XM machine!"

"And if you have neither, try it online for free!
You'll get not one day, or two days, but three!"

So the t-shirt now hangs at a humble workstation,
Giving our staffers new-found inspiration.

To write about Lino, his show, and his crew,
Especially the good, but the not-good stuff, too.

Not to be mean or vindictive or cruel,
But as a reminder of The Golden Rule.

And thus ends this ode… we've plain run out of room!
Besides, we have duties that we now must resume.

From the Lino Watch staff: "Merry Christmas!" and such.
Where we always like Lino… just not as much!

Week 13 football picks recap:the after-Vegas bloodbath

When the crew of TCGS left Vegas on Sunday, you can be certain that Lady Luck wasn't on the flight home. How do we know this? Check out the sea of teams in the right column that are lit up in red: nine picks, only two of them right. Ouch.

With no further ado, here's how the loser's bracket shapes up:

MAUREEN: Just brutal… there's not much more we can say. We already knew it wasn't going to be a good day for her when she picked the undefeated Colts to lose, or when she picked a one-win St. Louis team to win. The final insult came when two old warhorses—Brett Favre and Kurt Warner—played each other: one played well, the other played terribly. The terrible one just wasn't the one you (or Maureen) expected. Hey, at least there are still only two teams out there with better records than the Vikings.

LINO: We'll give him a pass for picking the Bills over the Jets, but we guess he didn't get the message that the Steelers have been in a tailspin lately. So that's, what… seven weeks in a row that you've lost? And you started out the season with such promise. You should've stayed in Vegas a little longer… you were doing better there.

LOU: When will you learn that the Cowboys are not your friend this year? Or that the Patriots are incapable of winning on the road this year?

So at the risk of repeating ourselves again, that leaves Fr. Rob Keighron and Mark Hart as this week's contenders. Fr. Rob, fresh from Vegas and brilliant as usual, went 3-for-3. Mark is 2-for-2 so far with one game left on Monday night. If the Ravens win, we have another tiebreaker to be settled later in the week. If the Packers win, Fr. Rob wins outright. We'll check in after tomorrow's game with an update, and after that it's sayonara until Thursday.

UPDATE 12/7: The Packers won 27-14 over the Ravens, so Mark Hart misses his pick, and Fr. Rob Keigron is this week's winner!

Lino on "The Catholics Next Door"

Greg and Jennifer Willits checked in with Lino this morning during the last hour of The Catholics Next Door. Click on the audio slideshow above and listen to Lino recap the trip... including stuff that'll be mentioned live on TCGS later today!

TCGS: Broadcasting Live from Venice!

Well, that's sorta true... Lino and crew (and Fr. Rob) are actually broadcasting live from the "Seven Deadly Sins Suite" at the Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas. If The Catholic Channel can't afford to send you to Italy, go for the next best thing: a scaled-down, compressed version of an Italian city that Lino doesn't really care much for. Hey, at least there's gambling! And we wouldn't bet on Lino being up $16 for very long.

So tune in all this week to hear Lino, Lou, Maureen and Fr. Rob (if he's not busy at the sports book) celebrate the third birthday of The Catholic Guy Show, with pithy commentary from us if/when we deem it necessary. Buon Compleanno, guys!

Programming alert: Vegas, baby!

No live Lino today, as the crew of TCGS and master football picker Father Rob Keighron wing their way toward Sin City for three days of live broadcasts celebrating the show's (and the channel's) third birthday!

In the spirit of Vegas, we are now taking bets as to what episode of TCGS will be replayed this afternoon as today's best-of. Considering recent events, we believe that the show from October 14th is the odds-on favorite.

UPDATE @ 4:00pm ET: And we start the best-of with a beautiful rendition of "Ave Maria". Somewhat un-Catholic-Guy-like, don't you think?

UPDATE @ 4:05pm ET: We transition from "Ave Maria" to some groovin' Gospel music, then get the beginning of the show played over it for a few seconds before going into it full tilt. Anyone who bet on October 21st as today's best-of is a winner! Tell 'em what they won, Lou! Uh, right... nothing.

Football picks recap: Week 12

It came down to the Sunday night game to settle this week's score, and here it is without further ado. First, the losers:

LINO: He was poised to go into this week's tiebreak until the Ravens' Paul Kruger intercepted third-string Steelers QB Dennis Dixon in OT and kicked a 29-yard field goal to win it. Darn it all! But don't worry Lino... you weren't the only person who got hosed at the last minute this week.

LOU: It was arguably worse for him... he picked the Cardinals, but then had to watch the Titans win their fifth game in a row by scoring the winning touchdown as time expired. That'll depress you.

MAUREEN: Kind of a given that she's here, but would've gone 2-for-3 had the Falcons not scored their winning touchdown over the Bucs with 40 seconds left. So she still would've lost, but boy was there a lot of last-minute stuff going on this weekend.

That leaves Fr. Rob Keighron and Mark Hart, who both go 3-for-3 yet again and are headed for a tiebreaker to be announced by Lino on Thursday. Considering how well Fr. Rob's been doing with his football picks, he should be cleaning up in Vegas later this week.

Later, dudes.

We always liked October 14th, but we don't really know why

TCGS was not live on Thursday and Friday due to it being Thanksgiving. On Thursday they ran a best-of from October 14th. Not as creative as rebroadcasting the Rome Trip or Spring Break Broke, but we'll grudgingly take it.

Fast forward to Friday, and the best-of was from... October 14th. Are you kidding us? It's the same one from yesterday! We can vaguely understand giving us a best-of from six weeks ago, but the same episode twice in as many days?

And just in case you missed either rebroadcast, the Thursday and Friday shows are usually rebroadcast on Saturday and Sunday. So we're talking about half-a-dozen rebroadcasts of the same show in the span of four days. Can anyone out there spell l-a-z-y?!

Buy a t-shirt and help out a poor Catholic radio show host

You know you want one, don't you? Well, here's your chance to finally own the t-shirt of your dreams. Click here to buy one of the (in)famous Catholic Guy Show t-shirts in time for Christmas, and help Lino add to his benevolence fund! Pay only $9.99 and you too can receive interesting looks from passers by as you model the latest in Lino fashions. Operators are NOT standing by, so click on the link above and get to work!

Football picks recap: Week 11

Well folks, another week in the NFL is in the books, and so is another week of football picks by Lino & Company. And the end result? Another three-way tie. But first, our condolences go out to…

MAUREEN: The first contestant to lose today by picking against the undefeated Colts. Even if she had gotten that one right, she still would've been brought down by the Bengals' unexpected loss to the lowly Oakland Raiders. Coincidentally, that's the same game that also brought down…

LINO: Bummer about the Bengals, dude. Isn't this like the fifth week in a row that you've lost?

Now to the tiebreak contenders, who all were perfect this week…

FR. ROB KEIGHRON: Can this priest pick 'em or what? We haven't calculated it yet, but he certainly must have the best overall record of any of the contestants.

LOU: Refreshed from a week spent deciding the fate of others, he goes 3-for-3 but gets lucky with his Dallas and Detroit picks, which could've easily gone the other way. Yes, Fr. Rob had two close games as well, but he's been much more consistent. But that's no slam on Lou… a win is a win, and he's definitely been turning things around lately.

MARK HART: A no-brainer, a close one, and the inexplicable… that sums up the Bible Geek's 3-for-3 week. Granted, Lino and friends made his picks for him. And hopefully you all heard Lino's spiel about why he picked KC over the Steelers, since they both were in town for the National Catholic Youth Conference. Question is, did Lino even fathom that that pick might actually win? We certainly didn't. We can only guess that the Holy Spirit decided to hang around in KC after the conference concluded.

So there you go. With the show running a best-of on Thursday for Thanksgiving, our best guess is to tune in on Wednesday for Lino to dictate who wins the tiebreaker! If not, then expect Lino to declare this week null and void just like he did for Week 6 after he came back from Italy.

UPDATE 11/25: As expected, football was discussed on today's show, and Lino decreed Mark Hart the winner of Week 11's "tiebreaker" (whatever that means nowadays). Mark won thanks in no small part to Lino, who thought he'd get a laugh by picking the Chiefs on Mark's behalf, only to see his plan completely backfire. Gotta love it.

Snazzy, huh?

Check out the new Catholic Guy T-Shirts... shamelessly lifted from Lino's Facebook page:

Week 9 football picks recap

Gee. Another tiebreaker. Never would've predicted that in a million years. Now that we've been sufficiently underwhelmed by the outcome of this week's contest, let's recap it for you:

GOING TO TIEBREAKER: Lou and Fr. Rob. In case you missed last Thursday's fun, Lou got all of his picks in Week 7 right and was in a three-way tiebreak to determine the winner... that is until Lino wiped out Week 7's contest altogether and reminded us that sloth truly is a deadly sin. To make it worse, he did it with Lou in absentia, and he shushed Lou (and Mark Hart) on Wednesday's show when they started talking about how well they did. Okay Lino, we understand that you're sore about not having won the past few weeks, but no need to take it out on your assistant producer. Sheesh!

Anyway, thanks to a truly lousy spot that the Eagles got after a 4th and 1 quarterback sneak (resulting in a turnover that led to a Dallas touchdown), Lou will compete with perennial tiebreak contestant Fr. Rob Keighron on Thursday to determine a winner. So Lou gets another shot at greatness. How will it be decided? Only God knows... and Lino's even trying to keep that secret from him.

LOSER'S BRACKET INDUCTEES: Lino, Maureen & Mark Hart. This week you were either good or terrible, and these three fall into the latter category, each getting only 1 pick right. So get out your bibles, fire up Twitter, and cue the Beastie Boys... it's gonna be a fun week for these three.

"Okay, what kind of a sick doggy snuff film is this?!"

Easily the best part of yesterday's train wreck of a show was Lino finding out live on the air what really happened to Old Yeller at the end of the movie. Having listened to this, we can't help but offer you the following clip from the TV show Friends, where Phoebe makes the same unnerving discovery... only she's actually watching it:

Godliness is next to Laziness

Leave it to Lino to pull another fast one on us. On Thursday's show, Lino declares Week 7 of the picks contest a wash. Officially, the reasoning is that the picks were made a long time ago and that he doesn't want to dwell on the past. Unofficially, he's the laziest person we've ever laid ears on.

So here's the final verdict on Week 7:

• Lino and Maureen automatically lost because they each missed a pick. We'll grudgingly acknowledge that he did sing the Beastie Boys on the air to fulfill part of his punishment.
• The remaining three got all their picks right, but no winner is declared since Lino's a lazy bum. This is especially bad for Lou, since he had a decent chance of being Week 7's winner had there actually been a tiebreaker.

Way to throw your assistant producer under the bus while he's not around, Lino.

All cats go to purgatory

Welcome back, Lino! We're impressed that your return flight didn't explode in an enormous fireball as we had thought it would.

As our gift to you on your first day back on the air, we present to you Gus Lloyd's status update on Facebook from earlier today:

Today is All Souls Day. We pray for all the souls in Purgatory. We're not really sure what Purgatory is like, but I think it would have to include listening to Lino Rulli on a 24/7 loop. Now that's punishment!!

Isn't that just a knee-slapper? But to show that we at Lino Watch are Fair and Balanced™, we also present to you part of his status update from Friday (when he unexpectedly took the day off):

The devil works in funny ways, doesn't he? Last week my cat bit me, now it is infected and I'm on antibiotics.

That's right. Gus was standing at his window last week when his cat snuck up behind him and laid down. He accidentally stepped on his tail, and the cat repaid him the favor by sinking its fangs in Gus' leg.

And of course, the comment that ties it all together, made in response to today's status update and courtesy of Raymond:

You know this is going to come back and bite you in butt, right? Oh wait, didn't your cat already do that?

Football picks recap: Week 7

Let's get this out of the way first and foremost:

• "Who has a better record than the Vikings? Nobody." Heeeeey there, Sparky... we can think of at least three teams with better records than the Vikings!

• "4+28=1" is sooooo yesterday. The new math says that 4+28 acutally equals 2.

Now that Lino has been properly mocked for his highly-overused statements on the Viking's previous undefeatedness, let's get to this week's picks. First the bad news (at least for those involved):

• LINO & MAUREEN: 2 out of 3 ain't bad. Unfortunately, 2 out of 3 isn't good enough this week, so both contestants go down to defeat... and Lino has his first losing streak of the entire contest! We're not really sure who the true loser is in this: Lino, or the TCGS listeners who are going to have to hear him sing the Beastie Boys' "Paul Revere" live on the air.

Now the good news:

• LOU: Can you believe it? Lou was a perfect 3-for-3 this week! We at Lino Watch salute you! The only bad part is that one other contestant was also perfect this week, and another might join the club tomorrow night. But at least if you do lose the tiebreaker, Lou, it won't be your fault.

• FR. ROB KEIGHRON: Our other 3-for-3 contestant so far this week. 'Nuff said.

• MARK HART: 2-for-3 so far, and just waiting on the outcome of the Eagles-Redskins game tomorrow night to see which club (tiebreakers or losers) he joins.

We'll update tomorrow once the last game is played. Note, however, that since Lino is off this week, the tiebreaker will not occur until Thursday, November 5th. Until tomorrow night!

UPDATE 10/26: The Eagles won 27-17 over the Redskins, so Mark Hart moves into a three-way tie with Fr. Rob and Lou. See you on the 5th for the tiebreaking points guess/coin flip/whatever-the-heck-Lino-springs-on-us-this-time!

Buon Compleanno, Lino!

Yeah it's a few days early, but since Lino's abandoning us for his beloved Italy for a week we wanted to get this posted before he left. We here at Lino Watch wish you, Lino, a very Happy Birthday! We even pray that your flight on Saturday doesn't explode in an enormous fireball so that you'll be around to celebrate your special day. (Coming back is a different matter, though.)

So have a great day and celebrate in style with some great Italian food (or just plain 'food' over there) and some tasty adult beverages. You may despise us, but we still like you, Lino… just not as much!

Check out the new CatholicGuyShow.com

For a while there we were wondering if Lino Watch was going to have to carry the Lino blogosphere banner alone. Fortunately for us (and especially for Lino), that's not the case! Check out the totally redesigned CatholicGuyShow.com that launched late last night. dustin has done a fine job with the site's redesign, and they even have a quasi-offical stamp of approval from the Catholic Guy Show crew, as Maureen and Lou are now contributors! Maureen has already posted exclusive behind-the-scenes stuff, and we'll also hear from newly-appointed co-ambassador of the show Alicia. The big kicker is that for some reason, they kept the link to our humble little site up in the top right corner... as hard as we are on Lino sometimes we thought we were goners! All in all, a job well done and worthy of Lino adulation!

On a side note, Lino Watch also has a redesign in the works... primarily to make better use of browser space and to give the site a bit of a facelift to keep it from getting stale. It won't be as big of a makeover as CatholicGuyShow.com just got, but it'll retain the edgy look we debuted with. One thing that won't change is our site's philosophy: to applaud Lino whenever we can but to gently slap him on the wrist when it's necessary and appropriate, and to poke at him just a tiny bit. Like we said when we began our site, we're not out to compete with other blogs but to complement them.

Look for our redesign in mid-December, just in time for Lino Watch's first birthday!

Football picks recap: Week 6

UPDATE 10/22: Lino pulled a fast one on us… instead of employing the points guessing system that was used on the previous two tiebreakers, it was decided that coin flips would be used to decide the winner. So thanks for telling us, and congratulations to Mark Hart, who in his very first week of participation is the Winner of Week 6!

----------------------------------

We told you so. It came down to the final game of the day between Chicago and Atlanta to determine our winner… and even that didn't happen. Here's how things stand now:

• LOU - Unfortunately, the only contestant who didn't draw Chicago-Atlanta was Lou… and by virtue of going 1-for-3 is declared the early loser this week. Poor Lou… he just can't catch a break. But we here at Lino Watch are pulling for you!
  

• LINO - His three-week winning/ego-flashing streak has come to an end. Even if Chicago had won tonight, Maureen made the same pick, which would've made her this week's winner. Instead, Lino gets to share his 1-for-3 record this week with Lou.

• MAUREEN - If not for picking the Bears, she would've won with a perfect record this week… and Lino would've had to attribute it to some flimsy excuse. (Our guess: he would've mentioned something about her getting an easy pick with the Patriots' 59-0 demolition of the Titans.) Still, she went 2-for-3, which ain't bad at all.
• FR. ROB KEIGHRON & MARK HART - Each got hosed by one of their picks. (Ironically, Lou got hosed by both of those picks, which explains why he lost.) But they made it to overtime by predicting a win by the Falcons.

Bottom Line: Maureen, Fr. Rob and Mark Hart each went 2-for-3 and currently share a three-way tie for the lead. Quick reminder of the tiebreaker rules: each contestant guesses the total number of points scored in their three games. Whoever estimates closest to the actual number without going over wins. See you on Thursday!

And *BOOM* goes the dynamite…

…blowing up what's left of a TCGS institution known as Who's More Catholic. After today's events we wouldn't be surprised if we never see this game played again. It certainly shouldn't be played when the host is liquored up on cold medicine… boy, that is some strong stuff. Why are we so pessimistic? Well, let's see if we've got the events of this Friday's game straight:

1. After Cathy from Woodbury, Minnesota gives Fr. Jim the first point for what admittedly arguably was a really bad answer, Lino bans all call-in votes based on the premise that no one outside the studio will be fair to him. He also bans Cathy from calling in for four months. (Mark Tuesday, February 9th on your calendars, folks.)
2. After tying up the game at 2-2, Lino demands that Fr. Jim give up said first point on the basis of it being tainted. Fr. Jim, exhibiting far more class than Lino did, complies. There have been plenty of tainted points (on both sides) to go around in the history of this game, and only now does Lino resort to circumventing the rules to get his way.
3. Somehow Lino goes off onto a bodily fluids tangent, informing us that his frequent fluid intake is forcing him into multiple potty breaks, and then wondering out loud why "Number 1" and "Number 2" are referred to as such. The ensuing sound clip played by Lou turns out to be the only truly funny part of this whole segment.
   
4. Lino demands the trumpets when he "wins". How dare they not be ready for me, dammit!
5. After Fr. Jim loses, Lino is so pumped that he gives poor Maureen a shot at going against him to further boost his ego. Fortunately Maureen holds her own, as their round ends in a split decision.

So at least for now, we bid Who's More Catholic a fond farewell. At this point it has become a shadow of it's former self, it's already been reduced to once-in-a-blue-moon status, and we'll be surprised if it comes back bearing any resemblance to its former glory. We guess that it wasn't enough that Lino usually won anyway… after Fr. Jim's four week winning streak a few months ago there's no way that Lino could let anything like that happen again.

Gus' spiffy new logo

Our friend Gus Lloyd has revealed the new logo he had commissioned for Seize The Day:
Makes your mouth water, don't it?

Seriously, though... now that Lino is debuting his new tagline at the end of today's show, shouldn't he have a proper logo to go with it, or even to put it on? He can even steal some of Gus' ideas: he's going to have his logo put on coffee mugs and stuff like that and use them as prizes on Seize The Day. Can you imagine the schoolgirl-esque glee you'd experience if you won a coffee mug on Let's Make A Catholic Deal emblazoned with Lino and his tagline? He could even take some on his next trip to Rome and have them blessed by the Pope! Move over, popener... there's a new grand prize in town.

Football picks recap: Week 3

Compared to last week, all three contestants did a good job with their picks this week. We could've had a 9-for-9 week if not for a couple of "sure thing" picks that sure didn't pan out. Our assessment of Week 3 follows:

The Good: Went 3-for-3, and no team has a better record than the Vikings.
The Bad: We're going to have to hear him gloat about it on Thursday Wednesday. A lot.

The Good: Still has the best overall picks record of the three contestants (8-for-9). Prayer is good, too.
The Bad: It would've come down to a tiebreaker, except that the Lions decided to actually play football for the first time in two years.

The Good: He got two picks right, which is two more than he got last week. He's also becoming very well versed in John's gospel.
The Bad: Where do we start? The Bengals won, the Falcons lost, and Lou has yet to win a week, going 4-for-9 overall.

Football picks recap: Week 2

As a service to listeners of The Catholic Guy Show everywhere, Lino Watch has decided to become the unofficial and unsolicited online home of the weekly football picks contest between Lino, Lou and Father Rob. The picks, the pressure, the prayerful punishments... you can now find it all in the box to the right. We'll update it every Thursday with the new picks, and we'll do our best to update the winners and losers as the games are played.

That being said, here is our assessment of Week 2, in the style of The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly:

THE GOOD: Father Rob Keighron. Not only did he get his first two picks right, he doesn't even need tonight's game to be declared the winner: his beloved New York Giants came in and spoiled the Cowboys' opener in their new stadium, simultaneously knocking Lino out of the running. It doesn't get much better than that. (UPDATE @ 11:30pm ET: It does get better… how's 3-for-3 sound?)

THE BAD: Lino Rulli. He bet against the Giants (you need to listen to the priest, Lino), and he didn't give the Jets enough credit for being able to shut down Tom Brady & Co. He can use his down time at jury duty today to contemplate it all and to pray the rosary.

THE UGLY: Lou Ruggieri. Three picks, three losers. Bummer. Where's that Bible? You've got some reading to do.

BREAKING NEWS: She's baaaaaack!

Lino announced on the program this afternoon that Maureen McMurray, recently married former producer of The Catholic Guy Show, is former no longer. Yes, you read that right… after Lino swore up and down on many occasions that Maureen would never return to the show (especially after her ill-fated stint at NPR), Lino has somehow lured her away from Martha Stewart Living Radio to replace the recently departed Jared Rizzi as his producer.

For those of you who listen on XM 117 or otherwise began listening to The Catholic Guy Show after Maureen left, you have much to look forward to:

• An uncanny knowledge of Catholicism and Sacred Scripture
  
• The ability to produce a great Catholic radio show through inadvertent sabotage (especially when it involves Lino asking questions of single Catholic women).
  
• A virtual guarantee that any prize you may win on Let's Make A Catholic Deal will show up weeks or months after you won it, if it shows up at all.

This also means that Father Jim Chern will be tasked with resurrecting the Maureen Fan Club! We just checked, and maureenfans.com is available again if you want to snag it.

So now that Maureen is back at The Catholic Channel, it's time for her to get in shape! Lino has already outlined an exercise regimen for her:


UPDATE @ 5:20pm: Maureen's official start date hasn't been determined yet, but it'll be at least a couple of weeks from now. Just in time to coincide with Lino's other big announcement, which he says is coming in two weeks. Suspense, anyone?

BREAKING NEWS: Jared Rizzi leaves The Catholic Guy Show

Well, it looks like we were right about Jared. At the end of today's show, Lino announced that Jared was leaving his position as producer of The Catholic Guy Show and would be moving down the hall to one of Sirius/XM's political channels to produce a show there. Jared then came on the air briefly to confirm everything and to say goodbye.

We're sorry to see Jared go and are glad that everything worked out well for him. Still, a 30-second goodbye? And what was with the huge silent treatment of this over the past few weeks? C'mon Lino, Jared deserved better than that.

Silence can be deafening

Since our last post about Jared's absence from the show there have been a couple of subtle changes on air. Both Lino's traditional opening line at the beginning of the show (I'm Lino Rulli, The Catholic Guy, here with Lou and Jared…), as well as his line thanking everyone at the end of the show (Thank you Lou, thank you Jared…) have quietly vanished, replaced with witty banter. If you have really good ears, you might also want to listen to the "Heeeeeeey" at the beginning of each show. How many voices in that chorus have you heard since August 18th? If your answer is "two", then you should have no problem passing your next hearing exam.

To add more to what is quickly becoming a conspiracy theory, Lino in a show last week made mention of "my producer" working on something that a caller asked about without mentioning Jared by name. And the couple of times that callers have actually mentioned Jared's name on air, Lino has artfully steered the conversation away from that direction. Smooth.

All circumstantial evidence, you say. Well, here's some more circumstantial evidence we uncovered: a job listing on the Sirius XM Careers web site advertising an open Producer position for The Catholic Guy Show. The only caveat is that this job wasn't posted recently, but back on June 23rd. For all we know the powers that be might've just been trying to bring a second producer on board. Then again…

So what is one to make of all this? We said in our last post that we were not suggesting something fishy was going on. Given the events and discoveries of the past few days, however, we are now changing our position… and our new position is this: we believe that Jared is no longer a part of The Catholic Guy Show.

We freely admit that we have no concrete proof of this… nothing on Lino's Facebook/Twitter pages, Jared's Facebook page, or anywhere else we could search on the Internet says anything about this subject. And if it turns out that we're wrong, we will gladly retract our statement and apologize humbly and profusely for making it. That being said, we can't simply ignore the evidence we've seen so far.

More importantly, we can't ignore the silence surrounding it. There may be perfectly legitimate and important reasons for not mentioning Jared's absence. Contractual requirements. A personal request not to say anything. Timing an announcement to coincide with the introduction of a new producer somewhere down the road (which is exactly what happened last October when Jared replaced Ryan Stewart). If any of those is the case, then we absolutely respect that.

But barring any of the reasons above, we're left to wonder why a constant on-air presence who brought a lot of laughter and creativity to the show has met such an inglorious end. Tom Falcone and Maureen McMurray got whole shows dedicated to them. Ryan didn't get a sendoff, but he was always a behind-the-scenes guy, and in any case was just moving to a different show on the same channel. Even phone screener Christine, who was never one to make a fuss about stuff like this, got a 15-minute farewell at the end of her last show.

Jared Rizzi? We'll probably find out what really happened at some point. In the meantime, though: silence. The deafening kind of silence that speaks volumes on its own.

Have you seen me?

"I'm the Catholic Guy, Lino Rulli, here with Lou and Jared…"

Is it just us, or does Lino's opening phrase ring a bit hollow lately? As far as we can tell, we haven't heard a peep out of Jared on the air over the past couple of weeks. The last time we remember hearing Jared's dulcet tones was on the August 17th broadcast (otherwise known as The Day Lino Retired but Didn't). Since then: bupkis.

We're not suggesting that there's something fishy going on, but we're still left to wonder why Jared's daily presence on the air has suddenly vanished without even a mention on the show.

Weren't we promised "classic" best-of's?

We all knew (at least those of us who've been listening for the past few days) that today's Catholic Guy Show would be a repeat/rerun/best-of. We assumed that it would be a classic episode from the first two years of the show as Lino promised. And lo and behold, today's show originally aired on… June 16, 2009.

'Sup wid dat? I hear the theme song from Seize The Day playing…

UPDATE 8/27: Today's show is from August 6th. Ironically, Lino predicted at the beginning of this show that it would end up as a best-of someday due to Jared's absence from it. Go figure.

UPDATE 8/28: And today's "classic" show is from July 31st… the day that Father Jim Chern won Who's More Catholic for an unprecedented third week in a row! Classic, no. Funny listening to Lino whine about losing for three straight weeks, absolutely.

Slander of the Day: Lino's pooch personality

Today's Slander of the Day comes not from Lino, but from the person he's most likely to slander on a regular basis, our man Gus Lloyd. On Seize The Day this morning Gus was talking about the new greyhound that he and his family are serving as a foster family for, and the conversation evolved into best liked/least liked breeds of dogs. Roxanne from Saskatchewan, Canada called in with her most/least favorite breeds, and her vote for "most annoying" breed was all the inspiration Gus needed. Click on the audio slideshow above to hear "the rest of the story".

One man… three women… one giant nose

As Lino chats with Dave Sloan from Catholic Thrive on his show today, we present to you this Catholic Thrive promo that was just posted on Facebook, with images taken from the event he attended in Southern California in June! Click on the image above to play the 20-second video. WARNING: Some images of Lino in this promo may permanently damage your eyesight…

BREAKING NEWS: Stickin' around after all

After enormous fan response, Lino has announced on his show that he intends to stay with The Catholic Channel, and work with the powers that be to do the kind of show that he wants to do.

The plus sides:

• More chances to win Popeners on Let's Make A Catholic Deal
• More chances for Father Jim to beat Lino on Who's More Catholic
• Many more chances for Lino Watch to patronize and annoy Lino on a regular basis
  

The minus side:

• We're going to have to shell out ten bucks to renew the linorulli.net domain name in December. Time to start saving our pennies!
  

Just in case Lino's struggling for show topics today

It's not like there's anything else important going on…

ESPN: Favre to sign with Vikings

A source close to Brett Favre said the quarterback, pending a physical, will sign a contract with the Minnesota Vikings for between $10 million to $12 million, according to ESPN senior NFL analyst Chris Mortensen.

Like sands through the hourglass…

…so are the days with our favorite Catholic radio show host. From Facebook this morning:

Lino Rulli is going back to the drawing board… even though I can't draw. But I'll try to figure out a way to stay with the show. Why? Because of your reaction. (Two words: Catholic Guilt.)

BREAKING NEWS: Lino says bye-bye to The Catholic Channel… with a catch

If the powers that be give him the resources to do the show the way he wants to do it, then he'll stay. Otherwise, it's sayonara in September! Film at eleven.

"Should I stay or should I go?"

Just when you thought that Lino's whole contract negotiation drama couldn't get dragged out any further, we get this gem from Lino's Facebook page this morning:

Lino Rulli has to announce today if I'm renewing my contract or not. Honestly, I have no idea. I'm as curious as everyone else to find out what I say. (Sorry to have dragged this out. I decided over the weekend that I'm quitting; now people are making me second guess my decision and I'm torn again...)

Up until today, Lino Watch was convinced that Lino was going to re-up, regardless of his protestations of indecisiveness. He's led us down this path before with previous re-ups, so we're suffering from a little bit of a "Boy Who Cried Wolf" complex right now. He's also got his new gig on New Evangelization Television, and as much as he likes to do independent TV work, having his radio show to fall back on if/when times get tough isn't a bad idea. But there's something a bit different about this at the moment that we can't put our finger on. Perhaps that fact the he had actually decided to leave the show before pulling back? We're not quite sure.

Here's Lino Watch's position: we may not like you as much, but we want you to stick around. We wouldn't be running this fan site for the twelve people who visit it if we didn't think you had something great going. You annoy the h-e-double-hockey-sticks out of us sometimes, but you also show us that being Catholic doesn't have to mean living a solemn, boring existence. How many people have you brought back to the Church in the last three years? How many people have you brought into the Church? Is that worth walking away from? Well, it's not for us to decide. You and the Holy Spirit have to work this out… and you two have about five hours left to do it.

Besides, what are we at Lino Watch going to do with all of our spare time? We may have to start "Gus Watch" now to keep us occupied. "We like Gus Lloyd… just not as much"?? That just sounds bizarre. Don't make us do this!

So while Lino ponders his future, enjoy this YouTube video of The Clash singing Lino's new theme song:

Another day, another best-of

Lino's out today. Something about a speech in Philly. So enjoy today's best-of from July 30th. July 30th?? Can't Jared pick something a little further in the past? We'd rather listen to a recording of Seize The Day than a rerun from less than two weeks ago.

Naming the spawn of Lino

This morning on Seize The Day, Gus Lloyd told the story of a mother in Arkansas who put the naming rights of her unborn son up for bid on eBay in an effort to raise money for her family. Convinced that spouseless, childless Lino might actually be neither spouseless nor childless one day (a view that Lino Watch can't share in good conscience), Gus posed this scenario:

You've just won the naming right's to Lino's firstborn child on eBay for the princely sum of $11. What name would you give to Lino's child?

Some suggestions that came in from the peanut gallery (and their explanations):

• Uhnnn Rulli (get it? Weird spelling added to make it interesting.)
  
• Nose-Shawn Rulli (a proboscis pun on the name of former UGA running back Knowshon Moreno)
  
• Methuselah Rulli (after the oldest guy ever to walk the planet... lest we forget that Lino is rapidly approaching the age of 40)
• Diva Rulli (suggested by Seize The Day producer Emily Marlow)
  
• Twitter Rulli (also suggested by Emily)
  
• Julli Rulli (suggested by Gus for it's alliterative qualities)
  
• Gus Rulli (self-explanatory)
  
• Dymphna Rulli (after the patron Saint of the mentally ill)
• However Rulli (the caller says that Lino says 'however' over and over and over again on his show. Okaaaay...)
• Emmy Rulli (suggested by Emily as a tribute to his three awards. Gus added onto that by saying that multiple kids should get the same name [à la George Foreman], boys or girls. He has three Emmy Awards, why not three kids named Emmy?)
  
• Mint Rulli (also self-explanatory)
• Romeo Rulli (yet another one from Emily, on the premise that Lino thinks he's God's gift to women and want to pass that on to his son. Gus takes offense and suggests that Lino actually thinks he's God's gift to humanity, not just women.)
• Metric Rulli (as in metric ruler? Rulli? Get it?)
• Golden Rulli (as in the Golden Rule; suggested by Gus as a lifelong reminder to Lino on how to live his life a little bit better.)

Any more naming suggestions out there?

Back in the saddle

Lino just did a "promo" at the end of Across the Nation, so it's safe to say he's back live. Now for the inevitable explanation for yesterday's absence...

UPDATE @ 4:03pm ET: No explanation until later in the show. Can you say procrastination?

UPDATE @ 6:37pm ET: Finally, an explanation... Lino felt that he had no decent material to do a show, so he took the day off. Lou said it best when he said that a best-of would've been more entertaining than doing a live show yesterday. I wouldn't know... once I realized that the show was a repeat I turned on my iPod and listened to a recording of that morning's Seize The Day on the way home from work. :)

The Sounds of Silence a Best-Of

Apparently no live show today. No Tweets from Lino. No message on Facebook. Nothing. We smell hate mail coming! Be sure to let Lino know how you really feel!

Anyway, tune in today for a replay best-of from June 2nd!

UPDATE @ 8:41pm ET: Lino finally confirms the obvious.

Mmmm... beeeeeer!

So, was yesterday's Beer Summit with Lino a success? Here's a reconciliation rundown... you can judge for yourself:

• Father Rob Keighron — Already drinking a Blue Moon. He calls out Lino for ragging on him for drinking too much. Lino apologizes.
  

• Paul in Illinois — Chooses to drink a Bud Light. He won both a rose-scented rosary and a Mark Hart book on Let's Make A Catholic Deal but has not received either. Lino calls Jared on the carpet for not sending out prizes; Jared attempts to reconcile simply by drinking beer. Jared them promises to send the rosary out right away and the book as soon as he gets it from Mark. Lino proposes that Paul call in to the show every day until he receives his prizes. (NOTE: Lino Watch will be happy to run another Jared countdown on the site if Paul actually does call in each day.)

• Vindictive Vince — Apologizes to Lino for all the times he called him out and aggravated him with his humor. Asks Lino to reciprocate for the times he called him out and hung up on him, and for nicknaming him Vindicive Vince. Lino does so only after Fr. Rob says he has to. Chooses to drink a Blue Moon.

• Gus Lloyd, host of the awesome morning show Seize The Day — Way too much to write. Chooses to drink a Diet Dr. Pepper; thought that Lino should've had a Dos Equis instead of a Bud Light. Listen to the entire clip below (coming soon).
  

• Amadeo in Temecula, California — Asks to trade Lino's reconciliation for a trip blessing from Father Ron. Lino then asks him to reconcile with Father Rob for calling him Father Ron. Lino promised to bring him a little bottle of wine from his hotel room's minibar during his trip to Rome last December. He didn't. Lino apologizes, and Amadeo gets a blessing from Father Rob.

• dustin in Mansfield, Arkansas — Apologizes to Lou for sending an e-mail to the show insinuating that Mark Hart was more important to the show that Lou. Lou accepts apology. Then apologizes to Lino for not updating CatholicGuyShow.com as often as he should, and for getting critical of him when he does. Lino then goes off on dustin about the quality/timeliness of the site and how it makes baby Jesus (and sometimes Lou) cry. Lino accepts dustin's apology, and makes him apologize again for his site as he resolves to improve it somewhat. Then he gets in another jab at dustin by alluding that Lino Watch has been picking up the pace recently in terms of updates. (Lino Watch does not take any pleasure in the excoriation of CatholicGuyShow.com, although it does appreciate the shameless plug for Lino Watch that resulted.) Chooses to bring his own Sam Adams instead of one of the other beers offered. Lino gets upset, and dustin relents and chooses Blue Moon. Lino hangs up on dustin.
  

• "Crazy" Cathy in Woodbury, Minnesota — You knew this was coming. Cathy starts listing Lino's many sins, including getting put on hold. Lino promptly puts Cathy on hold and goes on to the next caller. (There's more of Cathy below.)

• Kimberly in Fairfax, Virginia — Lino inferred during an installment of Let's Make A Catholic Deal that Kimberly was a pothead because she grew up in the 70s. Lino apologizes after hemming and hawing a bit, then asks the 70s to apologize to everyone. Also complains about not receiving the Popener she won; Lino promptly yells at Jared. Asked to choose a beer, Kimberly complains about the choices. Lino yells at her, then she chooses Sam Adams, at which point Lino hangs up on her.

• Cathy (Part II) — Just listen to the clip (coming soon). Basically they end up apologizing that the other's actions cause them to act badly. Chooses to drink Bud Light but reconsiders after hearing that it's the same thing Lino's drinking.

• Alex in Kansas City, Kansas — Tells Lino that the show is so funny that his coworkers are staring at him as he laughs like a girl; wants Lino to apologize. Lino apologizes for having such an entertaining show. Chooses to drink a Hamm's and uses Scripture to justify choosing a beer that's not in Lino's list.

• Bad Connection Bob — Apologizes for his bad connections (just as he has a bad connection). Lino apologizes for spending about five seconds talking with him at the Eucharistic Congress in Atlanta after he drove 800 miles to be there. Chooses to drink a Red Stripe.

• Tony in Fort Dix, New Jersey -- Apologizes for being in his office, in uniform, drinking a beer while listening to the show. Is drinking a Peroni, which despite not being on the list is accepted by Lino because it's Italian.
  

A comeback for the ages

American League Championship Series, 2004. The New York Yankees are up three games to none on the Boston Red Sox (having outscored the Sox by a combined 32-16), and are leading Game 4 by a run going into the bottom of the ninth inning. It looks like it's in the bag, especially with Mariano Rivera pitching in relief for the Yankees. But then: a leadoff walk, a steal of second, and a single brings home the tying run, and the Sox eventually win it with a walk-off homer in the 12th. They would go on to win the remaining three games (as well as the World Series), and became the only MLB team to ever win a best-of-seven playoff series after losing the first three games.

Fast forward to the July 24, 2009 installment of Who's More Catholic. Lino quickly goes up on Father Jim 3-0, and as the connections to sound clip #4 are read he thinks he has it in the bag. In fact he's so smug about his seemingly-assured victory that he gets a little too smug and selects good ol' Cathy from Woodbury, Minnesota to cast the potential game-winning vote:


Yes, it's true: Lino Rulli is the Mariano Rivera of The Catholic Channel. Except with a lot less class.

Father Jim reels off two more victories, coming back from 0-3 down to tie it up. Then the final round is played, and Lino illustrates to perfection what a sore loser sounds like:


Father Jim pulls off the ultimate comeback, winning 4-3 after having his back to the proverbial wall. Lino, run over by a bus he never saw coming, can't even muster up enough dignity to acknowledge the win… feigning phone problems and calling technicals on the three callers who agreed that Father Jim had won. Less class has devolved to no class.

Cathy was right: Lino is a spoiled brat. That's harsh coming from one of his fan sites. But Lino declares every Friday that he want honest callers. And sometimes the truth hurts.

Fun times in Cleveland again

This is coming a little late, but on Monday Lino played a brief portion of the new Cleveland tourism video on his show. Click the video above to view the entire clip!

Also, for those who missed the original, click below to view that clip! Beware, though, that the clip below has a couple of vulgarities around the mid-point that might make the Catholic Taliban shrivel up into a prune if they were to hear them uttered. You've been warned.

So many friends, so little time to write them back

On today's show, Lino tried to show up Kayla by bragging about the 2,400+ friends he has on Facebook. Then Donna-Marie from Annapolis, MD called in and shot right back to Lino that he rarely responds to messages she and other friends have sent him on Facebook. Mildly embarassed, Lino has now promised that everyone who contacts Lino today (and today only) via his Facebook page will actually receive a reply from Lino. Let's get Lino to flex his typing fingers today!

Is Jesus a friend of yours?

While Lino is still on vacation we thought we'd take this opportunity to showcase the video of the song every Boring Catholic Radio host and listener is talking about: "Jesus Is A Friend Of Mine." Click below to enjoy!

Gone fishin'

Courtesy of Lino's Facebook page... proof that Lino's plane didn't explode in a huge fireball as some of us had hoped:

Boring Catholic Radio redux

If you missed the original installment of Boring Catholic Radio from March of 2008, tune in now to hear the new-and-unimproved version! Started at around 4:25pm ET (12:25am ET if you're catching the replay). You can count on audio clips of this coming very soon to a Lino Rulli fan site near you!

UPDATE 7/9/2009: I never said which fan site it was coming to first. Discerning Dan over at CatholicGuyShow.com beat us to it! So we'll just piggyback off of his efforts (which we are very grateful for, BTW)... listen to 35 minutes of mind-numbing, side-splitting Boring Catholic Radio right here.

Time's up… and Jared gets a big fat "F"

Two weeks ago on The Catholic Guy Show, this four-minute conversation started things off:

Since then Lino Watch has been doing its part to keep Jared on track by counting down the days at the top right of our page. Well, the day is now upon us. Will today's show open with a new theme? What kind of flimsy excuse will Jared offer if the new open doesn't materialize today? Will Lino even care, given that he's about to leave for vacation? (And if he doesn't care, why would he give up such an easy opportunity to mock Jared?) Tune in to Sirius 159 / XM 117 at 4:00pm ET for the exciting conclusion… or to hear absolutely nothing about it!

UPDATE 4:01pm ET: Show opened with the old theme. Probably shouldn't have expected them to spring it on us, but it would've been an interesting surprise.

UPDATE 4:06pm ET: Hey, at least they're talking about it. That's progress.

UPDATE 4:11pm ET: No new open. Jared gets a big fat "F". Lino's prediction was after Labor Day. Shall I resume the countdown?

UPDATE 4:13pm ET: Listening to Jared's excuses. Blah, blah, blah…

UPDATE 4:15pm ET: And so it ends. We'll leave the countdown box on the page for a few days so that Jared can continue to be mocked for his procrastinating ways.