Podcast review: Kissing Suzy Kolber's House of Punte

First, an admission: I've used swear words (and even using that term exposes me) probably less than 10 times in my life. I'm a mild-mannered guy who vainly tries to come up with culturally accepted ways to describe my anguish when Rex Grossman dances suggestively with completing 50 percent of his passes. But, when used in the right context, I appreciate others' application of a precise f-bomb.

With this, I heartily recommend Kissing Suzy Kolber and its new podcast, House of Punte. The writers emerged from the heady early days of commenting on the sports blog Deadspin, and combine an appealing mix of football fanaticism, creative writing, poor Photoshop skills and, when all else fails, pictures of cheerleaders. In just about every case, however, KSK finds a way to find a new twist to present the traditional standbys of sports blogs. For instance, a cheesecake photo of a cheerleader is accompanied by a fictional biography that leaps well past innuendo.

So, you can imagine, the site isn't necessarily for the easily offended, and would tend to confirm the worst about male sports fans in commentators not familiar with the subculture of football fans. But where Commissioner Roger Goodell tries to fine his way into some odd amalgam of violence without injury, Kissing Suzy Kolber sees the game for its pure reach into our base instincts ... with a sense of humor Goodell would be wise to gain.

The site recently managed to transfer its brand of commentary into books (Men With Balls by Drew Magary) and a fledgling podcast. House of Punte includes conversations among the site's writers, segments like "Compound Swearword" voiced by a relative of Radiohead's "Fitter Happier" lead singer and whatever else happens along the way. Again, KSK avoids the perils of other sports blogs making the multimedia leap both with its creativity and a sheen of quality. Host Josh Zerkle keeps the 45-to-55-minute show moving with short segments connected expertly by music bridges, as well as a voice that wouldn't be out of place on the AM dial (if not for the talk about smoking illegal things in illegal places, of course). And, in something I appreciate from listening to plenty of new podcasts, there is precious little talk about the podcast itself and how nobody knows what they are doing with the technology. It's all about the show.

The file sizes might tax a small iPod (100 megs for the episode), but if they can work out some compression issues there will be only one's taste standing in the way of enjoying this podcast. The podcast and site entertain both with absurdity and a limitless passion for the sport that provides the writers with so much to mock. And a marathon listening of the first episodes will inevitably provide many more highlights than the entirety of Sunday's Carolina Panthers/Oakland Raiders game.