In The Matt Reigle Files Podcast's maiden voyage, Matt discusses the mascot that has taken the internet by storm, the Philadelphia Flyers' Gritty, and plays a clip of radio legend Cal McCallister interviewing the equally as legendary Johnny Carson.

I never thought I'd see the day where the Flyers would introduce a mascot.  As one of the last two teams in the league without one, I thought the idea of a costumed mascot wreaking havoc in the stands of the Wells Fargo Center would cheapen the integrity of the on-ice product. It became clear with a series of teaser videos that the Flyers were going to introduce a mascot, their first since "Slapshot" way back in 1976. Would they bring back Slapshot? Would we see the return of the old Philadelphia Phantoms mascot, Phlex. Nope. Enter: Gritty. My first reaction was this: What. The. F$*%. Is. That? After the shock had worn off, I was completely okay with the new Muppet-reject who would be leading "Let's Go Flyers" chants for the foreseeable future. A mascot's primary purpose is to entertain the kids in the crowd. If Gritty doesn't terrorize kids too badly, he'll do just that. However, after Gritty's pre-season debut in a game bet...

Anyone that knows me knows that I'm a big #PuppetGuy.  Their incessant flailing will always make me laugh and when Kermit starts plucking away on his banjo and singing "The Rainbow Connection," forget it. I'm in shambles. In fact, I once had a friend tell me they didn't like the Muppets, and I think I would have been less upset if he said that he used puppies for batting practice instead of baseballs. (That's a bit of hyperbole, but I was still pretty upset.) I would consider myself something of a pro-puppet activist. If they had legs and could march in parades, I'd be right there right along side Burt and Ernie as a "puppet pal," a friend to the puppet community. Because of this, when I learned about The Happytime Murders, the new film from Jim Henson's (AKA Puppet Jesus's) son, Brian Henson, I was very excited. An adult-comedy-mystery-puppet movie. Sign me up! I told anyone who would listen about the movie. "Yeah, t...