Episode 61: Kirk Gibson
On the 61st episode of “Great Dane Nation,” Morten is joined by Dodgers, Tigers and Michigan State legend Kirk Gibson (06:55 – 01:10:01). But first, he checks in with TommyFreezePops (Tom Carroll) for this week’s edition of the “Opening Kick” (01:06 – 06:03). Morten talks about his amazing sports weekend – watching his Spartans in-person as they took down their arch rivals to remain undefeated, followed by attending World Series Game 5 between the Braves and Astros.We then move to our interview with Kirk Gibson, where he discusses a wide range of topics: his first impressions of Morten, and why he had big shoes to fill (09:19); his journey at Michigan State, going from a program on probation to winning the Big Ten in his senior season (10:24); why the Tigers were the only team Kirk was willing to be drafted by in baseball, and it’s not because he’s a local boy from Michigan (13:36); some of Morten’s favorite memories from his time as teammates with Kirk at Michigan State (15:54); how they feel about the Michigan-Michigan State rivalry, and why Kirk loves Mel Tucker with the Spartans (17:29); the importance of positive self-talk (20:22); why he took losses harder than anyone else, and how that attitude wasn’t accepted right away when he arrived in Los Angeles (24:01); why his iconic home run in game 1 of the 1988 World Series was only a small part of the reason that team won the title (29:21); the amazing backstory of his iconic home run against the Athletics (32:12); his thoughts on the 2021 Dodgers falling short of the World Series (39:32); the Tigers hiring A.J. Hinch after his controversy in Houston, and what constitutes “cheating” in competition (40:51); what he would do to make the game of baseball more enjoyable to watch (44:47); what his “moment of truth” was when he was at the plate (49:16); why positive visualization was important to him as a player, and remains important to him as he fights Parkinson’s disease (52:25); his battle with Parkinson’s disease, and the keys to why he’s doing so well (54:59); and this week’s edition of “The Name Game,” featuring Sparky Anderson, Alan Trammell, Fernando Valenzuela and Phil Hickey (59:49).Then we move to this week’s edition of “Morten’s Fast 5,” where our Hall of Famer makes picks for the five biggest games of the football weekend (01:12:03 – 01:19:24). Morten gives his picks for Falcons at Saints (01:13:02), Packers at Chiefs (01:14:27), Browns at Bengals (01:15:23), Titans at Rams (01:16:04), and Bills at Jaguars (01:17:23).Finally, we close things out with “Morten’s Game Winner” – a weekly monologue from The Great Dane on his biggest takeaway of the week. This week, Morten talks about his buddy Gibby, and how his toughness both on the field and in life should be an inspiration for all of us (01:19:24).