Podcast recommendations- The Mismatch

Coming to you twice a week is Chris Vernon, joined by Kevin O’Connor, a.k.a Kevin O’Bama, Kevin O’Candyland, Kevin O’Camerman,  Kevin O’Concert, KEVIN! What’s up Verno!

Now I’ve been hearing that same podcast intro twice a week since the 2021/22 NBA season first started all those months ago back in October! And since then, I haven’t missed an episode yet!

As the new NBA season was nearing, I thought to myself “wouldn’t it be nice to get back into the NBA?” Because as a kid of the 90s, I and all of my contemporaries were all into basketball. Be that watching NBA Action on Saturday morning TV, playing school-boy basketball (very poorly), or collecting and swapping basketball trading cards. We were all obsessed with Jordan, Shaq, and Kobe.

But fast-forward to the end of high school, for me when school ended  somehow so did my passion for hoops. And for years on end, I hardly thought about the sweet game of basketball and soon all the NBA superstars of the era became  foreign to me. Literally and metaphorically- like who is Embiid? Jokic? And Antetokounmpo?

And in my attempts to get back into it,  I literally stumbled upon these guys. You know, in your ‘Listen now’ tab of your Apple Podcast player, it suggests other shows which you might like?

I’m mainly subscribed to sports podcasts (NFL and F1), and news content, so all of my recommendations were on those lines. But the first NBA podcast it recommended, was The Mismatch from the Ringer Network of podcasts, and naturally I clicked on that first. And from the get-go I was welcomed by Chris Vernon’s predictable intro, to welcome his co-host onto the show, Kevin O’Connor!

And to this day, I still don’t know why the show is called ‘The Mismatch’- sure it’s a sporting term to refer to a far superior player matched up against an individual who has absolutely no chance of stopping said superior player. However, what’s the mismatch they’re referring to here?

Is the mismatch in their ages? As Chris is “an older” gentleman (probably in his 50s), compared to his younger co-host Kevin who is in his late 20s early 30s. Or is the mismatch referring to their accents? As Chris is from the South and has a distinct Southern accent  while Kevin is originally from Boston and now resides in LA and has more neutral tones. Or is the mismatch referring to their differing views? As they argue passionately their opposing opinion on the game, standing steadfast to their individual hot-takes. I think this is what they’re trying to lead us to believe if the podcast blurb is an indicator. But to tell you the truth- these days they seem to be more agreeable than argumentative. And that’s a good thing methinks, as who wants to listen to two men arguing at each other for 60 minutes?

But either way, as compatible or conflicting Chris and Kevin are, they have absolutely captured my attention for an entire NBA season, all 9 months of it. So as the 2021/22 season draws to an end, have I caught-up on the game of basketball? Sure have! Do I have a newfound enjoyment of the game? Yes sir! And have I found a new man-crush? Well, I wouldn’t go that far, but I do respect the duel of Chris Vernon and Kevin O’Connor! So, if I was going to recommend an NBA pod to anyone, it would probably be The Mismatch. Coming to you twice a week (Tuesdays and Fridays),and for good measure, mid-way through the season they introduced a third episode called ‘The Void’, where Kevin chats with a different guest each week to dive deeper into a single NBA storyline.

So, if you want to keep up-to-date with the NBA, but you don’t have the time to watch countless hours of NBA highlights or scroll through web-sites looking up box scores. The Mismatch is the perfect pod to keep you across the games, through the key storylines of the day, discussions on the biggest games of the week, and a deep dive into a specific topic which is sure to intrigue!

So, here’s something to look forward to as one season draws to an end, and the new season isn’t far behind it. To check out ‘The Mismatch’, just click HERE! We’re playing basketball, we’re playing basketball!