BTW: If you’re looking to loosen up those fantasy sports muscles, play the Draftstreet baseball game over at With Leather. It’s free to join and you could win part of a $300 prize pool. Oh, you don’t want $300? Never mind then.

Not that anyone’s keeping score, but this is the third straight show where we’ve featured an interview with an NFL starter. This week’s victim is 49ers linebacker Patrick Willis, who stopped in to talk about his work in those K-Swiss ads that came out earlier this month.

Some of this was covered in the With Leather post, but a lot of it is new, including Patrick’s explanation of Phil Collins’ “In The Air Tonight” is his favorite workout song. Am I the only one that automatically associates that with the subway scene in Risky Business?

You can roll straight to the Willis interview at the 40-minute mark. It’s a long-assed show; who could blame you?

We also interviewed Shakey. It’s exactly what you’d expect it to be.

You can listen to the show on the player above, download the MP3 here, follow the show on Twitter and on iTunes or from the host site.

Vikings punter Chris Kluwe stopped in the d?j? last night; it was the first time we’ve had an NFL starter “live” for a podcast recording. Kluwe has been outspoken on recent NFL policies and the recent CBA negotiations, and we asked him about that and a few other things.

Some highlights of the interview (which starts around the six-minute mark):

• Chris says that 90 percent of the current CBA will be recycled from the previous CBA, and that it wouldn’t take long for the players to vote on it once the player reps approve a proposal.
• He says the only grief that he got from his Brady v. NFL comments were from Colts and Saints fans, and that others reached out to him because he said what they were thinking.
• Nobody in the Vikings locker room will challenge Chris in “Guitar Hero” because he’s so good at it. This is also the same reason that nobody will play him in “Mario Cart” for money.
• His band, Tripping Icarus, plays music that makes me want to build pipe bombs in my basement.
• Chris was born on December 24, but he says tearing an ACL is worse than having a Christmas Eve birthday. I doubt that.

We also spoke with HOUSE OF PUNTE legal analyst Matt DeTura, who discusses the NFL CBA and gives some great-if-a-bit-dated insight into the Roger Clemens mistrial and Casey Anthony verdict.

Listen above or download the MP3 here or from iTunes, and follow @houseofpunte on Twitter.

We have a little bit of football on this football podcast today.

Brad Jackson from the free-market podcast “Coffee & Markets” drops in; the UT alum gives his takes on Vince Young and Colt “45″ McCoy. Brad became a Titans fan when Vince Young was drafted by Tennessee, which sounds a little crazy to me but what do I know; I root (read:loathe) the Bengals. And then the free-market fun times continue with Katelynn, who is commissioner of one of the 15 fantasy football leagues I’ll be playing in this fall. Yes, there will be football this fall. Let’s all just chill the eff out.

And there are some jokes about non-consentual coitus that some of you may not appreciate.

You can stream the podcast on that thingy above, download the MP3, and/or subscribe on iTunes and leave a comment. The first five minutes are the toughest.

Most people that have lived in the deep south understand the difficulty that pro football endures in winning over hearts and minds in the Bible Belt. Most so-called “Yankees” could pull their hair out listening to how locals prefer the college game, because the “student-athletes” there play for the love and not at all for the chance to cash in with a big NFL contract in three or four years.

I had a conversation earlier this week with Jay Busbee, noted double-fisting Yahoo! blogger and Atlanta native. He said on the podcast that in terms of overall popularity in the city, Jay puts Georgia football and even Georgia Tech football ahead of the Falcons, depending on how those teams are playing. That seems nuts to me, especially when the ACC seems content to serve as a BCS undercard. You have no reason to be excited about anything when Wake Forest wins your league.

Jay also talked about his new book, Bluff City, which is a crime/humor/thriller tale several years in the making. It’s only $3, which I told him was too cheap. We also chatted with NBA analyst Jackie Taylor, who joined the chorus of pundits talking shtt about LeBron James. It’s more fun than watching the Finals!

If you want to listen to the podcast, you can listen live here, download the MP3, AND/or subscribe on iTunes. Do people still use iTunes? I really have no idea.

For the podcast this week, we played a game called “NFL Draft Pick Or Registered Sex Offender?”, where I read a name to the panel and they had to guess, judging solely from the name, which particular database included that player. For those of you stuck at work without headphones, I’m going to list the names here and let you guys judge for yourself. I’ll post the answers in the comments later today.

Andrew Vizcarra.

Anthony Castonzo.

Orpheus Anderson.

Demarcus Van Dyke.

Sergey Proshak.

Jonas Mouton.

Dontay Moch.

Jywanza McWhorter.

Michael Faggard.

Sione Fua.

We have some other football talk on this football podcast this week. On this week’s HOUSE OF PUNTE, Dan Levy fills in as a special guest co-host, making his first return to podcasting since hanging up his own show late last month. Our guest was Brian Bassett of The Jets Blog, and we recapped the draft and discussed the mouthpiece that is Rex Ryan, who was on Colbert last night. If he hadn’t been “writing” a book and spent a little more time with his team, the Jets might have made it to the Super Bowl.

Listen to the podcast below or download the mp3. Follow the podcast on Twitter. Subscribe and rate us on iTunes.

PART I.

Is Jason Witten the best tight end in the game right now? I ask him that, plus who he thinks belongs on that upper eschelon of elite NFL tight ends. I also ask him about the probability of a lockout in 2011, and whether or not he’d be willing to sit out an entire season. He has a site.

Dan Levy and I discuss his kid’s bleeding penis and some of the storylines for the Super Bowl, including the media day and the weather. He also mentions his young son, and eventually Ben Roethlisberger is worked into a “To Catch A Predator” analogy. Dan does a podcast, also.

PART II.

Ines Sainz was again the star of the NFL’s media day. This is her seventh Super Bowl, and I ask her what the big deal is. I also ask her if the Jets issue has finally been put to bed, and we find out when Ines started spending more time on her appearance.

Ashley Burns has been helping me at With Leather for many months now. I found out that he runs a pageant magazine, which I think is the closest legal thing in this great nation of ours to pimping.

Two parts. Total runtime 103 minutes. With Josh Zerkle, Phil Raintree and Aaron Merrill.

Jason Witten’s appearance arranged by Take It To The House, presented by P&G. Like them on Facebook. They have some cool Super Bowl stuff up, actually.

Download the MP3s here, or go to the host site, or subscribe on iTunes.

Finally, we have some football on this football podcast.

We talk to Ken Dilger, who played ten years in the NFL with the Colts and Bucs. Ken tells us what it’s like to get ready for a Super Bowl, and what it was like to play with Peyton Manning. Maybe I should have asked him how to pronounce his last name.

Also: News. Shovel-Ready Game Show. “Who Would Win In A Fight.” And more foolish drivel.

Taped 1/25/2011. Runs 76 minutes. With Josh Zerkle, Ryan Walsh, Shakey, Amber Jones and Aaron Merrill.

Ken’s appearance provided by Take It To The House, presented by P&G. Like them on Facebook.

Download the MP3 here, or go to the host site, or subscribe on iTunes. Please leave us a review, even if you think the show sucks, which it does. No, we’re not being self-effacing here. This thing blows. Don’t even listen to it.

UPDATE: If you can’t get enough PUNTE (and honestly, who can), check his appearance on On The DL’s podcast here.

We have some football on this football podcast today.

Josh, Phil and Aaron start the show with a quick rant about tanking in fantasy football, as inspired by this Dan Levy piece. Josh interviews Jeff Metzger, author of The Rogue’s Handbook: A Concise Guide to Conduct for the Aspiring Gentleman Rogue. and yes, rape is mentioned. Aaron reads the news, and the show’s new NFL trivia segment, “The Wonderlic,” debuts…poorly.

Aaron reads the news while Phil sends Josh a disguised link to Meatspin (don’t Google that). Josh wonders what happened to Alec Baldwin and Phil delivers the Old Timey Picks, and the last 5 minutes of the show are almost completely inaudible since Josh had the music up too damn loud. Apologies. That’s what happens when you take three weeks off.

Recorded December 8, 2010 with Josh Zerkle, Aaron Merrill and Phil Raintree. Runs 64 minutes.

Prizes for “The Wonderlic” were provided by

Recorded December 8, 2010 with Josh Zerkle, Aaron Merrill and Phil Raintree. Runs 64 minutes.

Follow the show on Twitter @HouseOfPunte.

We have some football on this football podcast today.

I had a chance to talk to Jason Sehorn last week; Sehorn was in New York promoting Captain Morgan’s 1 Million Poses. You probably remember Sehorn for his 10 years in the NFL with the Giants and Rams; these days he’s doing color commentary for CBS’s college football coverage. We discussed his feelings on Mike Shanahan’s handling of Donovan McNabb, his conservative political leanings, and what it’s like to wake up next to Angie Harmon every morning. No, really. I asked him that.

We also had a chat with David Matthews of Deadspin. He and I met Jim Bouton (BOW-ton) earlier in the week, and he taught us how to throw a knuckleball. I wish he would have taught me how to pronounce his last name.

Also, Amber reads the news, Old-Timey NFL Picks for Week 10, Shakey, and more.

Listen here or on the embeddable player, download the ep here (right-click, “Save As…”) and subscribe to our podcast RSS feed and HOUSE OF PUNTE on iTunes.

We actually have some football on this football podcast today.

I had a chance to sit down with NY Giants defensive end Justin Tuck. Tuck was at Subway promoting the importance of building your day with a better breakfast, and his time with me and fellow WL contributor Shakey certainly made my day better. When Shakey and I asked him if he enjoyed spending his early days with Big Blue learning from two Pro Bowlers in Osi Umenyiora and Michael Strahan, Tuck coyly replys, “Hell no, I wanted to play!” The whole interview is like that, with Tuck dishing on sacking Jay Cutler, his on-camera aspirations and why he never gives himself any days off.

I also had the chance to interview Josh Smith, a rising star who plays for the NBA’s Atlanta Hawks but also played for Team USA in this past summer’s FIBA world championship. Josh and I spoke during his promotional efforts for the NBA2K11 video game release. I asked Josh about how he spent what little offseason he had and how he sees the Eastern Conference race with Miami picking up that one guy from Cleveland.

It’s a banner day for our little podcast. Special thanks to Subway, NBA 2K11, Don Povia and Travis Moses for making these interviews possible. For more on Justin Tuck’s charity, Tuck’s R.U.S.H. For Literacy, visit here.

Hosted by Josh Zerkle, with Brandon Moskal, Shakey, Amber Jones, and Phil Raintree.

Recorded October 14, 2010. Josh Smith interview recorded September 23rd. Justin Tuck interview recorded October 12. Old Timey NFL Spotlight Games recorded October 13th. Runs 69 minutes.

Listen here or on the embeddable player, download the ep here (right-click, “Save As…”) and subscribe to our podcast RSS feed and HOUSE OF PUNTE on iTunes.