All posts by Matt Hubert

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M&B’s Podcast, Season 2

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If you haven’t listened to Season 1, check it out here. Ben decided he wanted to release the first three episodes of Season 2 now rather than waiting until the end like he did for Season 1. Enjoy listening to them all and leave a comment with what you enjoyed the most! Ben loves hearing feedback from friends and family.

Episode 1 (12/29/25): In this first episode of the second season, Mom & Ben broadcast on site from Pittsburgh, Pa., where they welcome special guests (Aunt) Abby Badach Doyle & (Uncle) Pat Doyle.

Episode 2 (1/14/26): A continuation of sorts from Episode 1, this second episode in the second season celebrates Ben’s growing love of chickens.

Episode 3 (1/28/26): M&B muse together on the kids’ growing hope that one day they’ll get a dog… but not just any dog — a basset hound!

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M&B’s Podcast, Season 1

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Over the past 15 months, Jessie (“M” for Mom) and Ben (“B”) have recorded a series of short podcast conversations on a variety of topics. Today they are releasing them to share with the world to spread a little holiday joy. Enjoy!

Episode 1 (9/21/24): This pilot episode explores the format and introduces the co-hosts, “M” (for Mom) and “B” (for Ben).

Episode 2 (10/8/24): Episode 2 features an exploration of one of the greatest children’s books of all time.

Episode 3 (6/6/25): Join M & B as they talk through the end of the school year and the start of summer.

Episode 4 (9/25/25): In this very special episode, M & B introduce you to the concept of a “Peace Room,” which has gone on to be a key element of the podcast series.

Episode 5 (10/5/25): In the season of the Feast of St. Francis, M & B talk about their love for animals and how the local “Blessing of the Animals” at church impacted them.

Episode 6 (10/17/25): B, an avid reader, talks about why books are so special and magical.

Episode 7 (10/23/25): This spooky episode features all things Halloween, in honor of B’s favorite holiday (well, tied for 1st place with Christmas, as he has recently articulated!)

Episode 8 (11/6/25): Join the groove with M & B as they discuss B’s recent discovery of jazz music and emergence as a superfan.

Episode 9 (11/19/25): M & B muse about the question, “What do you want to be when you grow up?”

Episode 10 (11/30/25) This special double episode, in honor of the final episode of the season, features back-to-back conversations on Thanksgiving and B’s experiences as a sports fan.

30 at 30

30 at 30 Lists #30: Looking 40rward: What I’m taking with me into the next decade of life

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In honor of me turning 30, I’m compiling 30 different top-30 lists on a wide variety of topics ranging from trivial interests of mine to meaningful life moments. Read the introductory post for more background information on my 30 at 30 project. Reminder: there is no scientific rationale for these lists. They were composed by a panel of one—me.

When I began this project a little over a decade ago, I was still a twentysomething. As I put the finishing touches on this 30th and final list I am one day away from turning 40. I’ve lived a lot of life this decade. I’ve experienced some profoundly joyful highs and some deeply painful lows. For my final list, I’d like to take some of what I’ve learned over the past decade and look forward (or “40rward” because I am licensed to make dad jokes like that) to the decade ahead. Here’s what I’m taking with me into the next decade of life:

30. Acceptance that not every goal will be achieved
Ten years ago, I made a list of 30 Things I Want to Do in My 30s. There are several things I have not yet crossed off on that list. Some of them remain life goals. Others, I feel OK to leave them unaccomplished. I think I knew it was a lofty list when I first wrote it, and I’m proud to say I accomplished a lot of the things listed there and grew in numerous ways in areas related to the goals I dreamed up a decade ago.

29. Concern about wasting too much time scrolling on my phone
Addiction feels too strong here, but I am guilty of overuse. I don’t know if I will be able to kick the mindless scrolling habit the way I did biting my nails last decade, but it is something I want to work on.

28. A few more aches and pains than I care to carry with me
I need to be better about preventative health in my 40s. Developing a daily stretching routine is one idea I am hoping to implement. I’ve been blessed never to need surgery through 40 years of life. Still, I don’t want to take my health for granted and coast on the merits of having pretty good genetics.

27. Intrigue about the future of AI
I was talking with my students about ChatGPT in class the other day. We talked about how this feels like an earthquake moment shaking up the education industry. The rise of artificial intelligence is compelling educators to rethink the way they teach and assess writing. I think it’s a great opportunity to rethink a lot of what we do in education that is rooted in outdated practices. My hope is that the education community will find ways to shift to a model of schooling that promotes student learning rather than a box-checking “doing school” model that turns so many young people from curious, question-asking would-be learners into compliant, zombie-like task-completers.

26. Questions about my next chapter of physical fitness
I haven’t had a gym membership since we dropped our family YMCA membership during COVID. I haven’t been a regular runner since about that time, too. Up until about a year or so ago I was playing basketball on a weekly basis, but that group lost access to a court and then lost touch with one another. So I need to make a move and make a plan to exercise consistently.

Continue reading 30 at 30 Lists #30: Looking 40rward: What I’m taking with me into the next decade of life →
Music

Matt’s Mix 200: September

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I turn 40 on Saturday, so as the calendar turns to September I am feeling reflective.

One of my favorite storytelling devices is the mix CD (AKA playlist for you young folx). I’ve been making mix CDs, affectionately dubbed “Matt’s Mixes” for about a quarter century now. In August 2004, starting with Matt’s Mixes 68-70, a 3-disc set I titled August ’04 and Everything After, I became more intentional about giving each mix a title and often a theme or connective thread to go along with cover art.

Continue reading Matt’s Mix 200: September →
30 at 30, Music

30 at 30 Lists #29: Albums

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In honor of me turning 30, I’m compiling 30 different top-30 lists on a wide variety of topics ranging from trivial interests of mine to meaningful life moments. Read the introductory post for more background information on my 30 at 30 project. Reminder: there is no scientific rationale for these lists. They were composed by a panel of one—me.

I’ve written previously about my favorite songs and Matt’s Mixes, but before closing out my 30 at 30 project, I wanted to write about my favorite albums.

I owe my love of music and music collecting to my dad. Growing up he had an extensive collection of vinyl records and cassette tapes (and later CDs, which he maintains to this day). I remember some of my earliest albums came on cassette tape: The Sign by Ace of Base, Please Hammer Don’t Hurt ‘Em by MC Hammer, Shaq Diesel by Shaquille O’Neal, and Code Red by DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince. Later, I became a member of the BMG CD club, taking advantage of the 12 CDs for a penny offer, and I never looked back. I think my initial order included the likes of Sweet Dreams by La Bouche and Villains by The Verve Pipe. I also remember having a sincere conversation with my parents when I was about 13 or so, explaining to them why I was mature enough to purchase and listen to CDs with explicit lyrics. To their credit, they trusted me, and to this day, I still don’t use a lot of profanity myself.

I am pretty sure at least a few of the albums on my list of favorites were purchased from that music club. The BMG CD club was also where I discovered one of my favorite bands, Dashboard Confessional, when they were a “featured selection” at one point. Over the years I also bought a lot of my CDs at Media Play and Borders. I used to treat myself to CD-spending sprees after each trimester of classes when I was in college at Mercyhurst.

Today my CD collection is well over 1,000. Plus, my wife Jessie and I also started collecting vinyl records a few years ago, which was greatly aided by receiving my dad’s collection and her mom’s. In today’s modern listening world, where any song can be queued up on YouTube or a streaming service in a matter of seconds, I remain fascinated by the artistic concept of a musical album, of listening straight through from start to finish, of the “story” or “theme” the band/artist was trying to convey through the album.

When I think of my favorite albums, they share two common characteristics. The most important factor is replayability, the idea that I never get tired of hearing it and even if it’s been around for years or decades, I’m excited to hear it again. The second quality is consistency. It’s not just about having one or two catchy hit songs—though those are fine—a favorite album for me needs to be one I genuinely want to listen straight through because I don’t want to miss anything on there rather than wanting to skip tracks to get to my favorite songs on the album.

Now without further ado, my top-30 favorite albums:

30. Graduation by Kanye West

Separating the art from the artist can be a controversial topic. For me, it’s not an all-or-nothing proposition. I can acknowledge some of the problematic and hateful comments and stances on issues put forward by Kanye West and still appreciate his music. Since I wrote about Kanye in 2015, he’s only become a more polarizing figure in pop culture. None of the albums he’s released since then have been my favorite works of his; however, I love his older stuff. In fact, Kanye is one of only five artists/bands to have more than one album on my list of favorites.

Graduation was released in the fall of 2007, a few months after I graduated from college myself, and won a Grammy for Best Rap Album. Fun fact, in researching this album, I realized there is a bonus track “Good Night” on Spotify that I had never heard before that makes me like the album even more, as it feels like a full-circle closing track linking back to the title of the opening track “Good Morning.”

29. Coloring Book by Chance the Rapper

Released in 2016, Coloring Book also won the Grammy for Best Rap Album (despite being a mixtape only available only on streaming platform). I was admittedly late to the party on Chance the Rapper. I did not become aware of his music until he was the musical guest on the Christmas episode of Saturday Night Live in 2016, performing “Finish Line/Drown” with Noname and “Same Drugs.” I was particularly blown away by “Finish Line/Drown,” and it led me to listening to the full album, which is a masterpiece with from start to finish.

28. The Head And The Heart by The Head And The Heart

Originally released in 2010, The Head And The Heart’s eponymous debut album is filled with emotional sweeping choruses that I love to sing along with. I enjoyed the album when I first heard it in the early 2010s and then rediscovered The Head and The Heart a couple years ago before seeing them live in concert at the WonderWorks music festival in Pittsburgh in 2023.

Continue reading 30 at 30 Lists #29: Albums →
30 at 30, College Football

30 at 30 Lists #28: Memories and Moments from Michigan’s CFP National Championship Season

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In honor of me turning 30, I’m compiling 30 different top-30 lists on a wide variety of topics ranging from trivial interests of mine to meaningful life moments. Read the introductory post for more background information on my 30 at 30 project. Reminder: there is no scientific rationale for these lists. They were composed by a panel of one—me.

30. Everything that came before this season
#TueFact: Michigan football has more devastating losses on my personal list than any of my other favorite teams. Ten of the top 30 spots on that infamous list belong to Michigan football. The joy of this moment of Michigan winning the CFP national championship cannot be fully appreciated without first recalling the anguish the Michigan fanbase has endured since they last won a national championship in 1997.

That was the last year before the BCS. Head coach Lloyd Carr and Heisman trophy winning cornerback Charles Woodson led the Wolverines to a 21-16 Rose Bowl win against Washington State, and the 12-0 Wolverines were voted number one by the Associated Press. However, Michigan was voted number two behind undefeated Nebraska in the Coaches Poll, leaving them with a split national championship. Carr would go on to coach Michigan for 10 more seasons. The team finished ranked in the top 20 in nine of those 10 seasons, but they never finished higher than 5th and lost four games in a row against Ohio State to close out Carr’s career, including the number-four-ranked game on my list of most devastating losses.

After Carr retired, Michigan hired Rich Rodriguez as the new head coach. Rodriguez tried to bring the spread offense to Ann Arbor, but the experiment was an infamous flop. The team went 3-9 in his first season, becoming the first Michigan team that failed to qualify for a bowl game in 33 years. They failed to do so again the following year after a 5-7 season. The next year they went 7-6, finishing with a 52-14 loss in the Gator Bowl against Mississippi State. Rodriguez was subsequently fired.

Enter Brady Hoke. Hoke inherited the electric Denard Robinson at quarterback, and led Michigan to an 11-2 record in his first season as head coach, which was capped off by a 23-20 win over Virginia Tech. The team finished the season ranked 12th in the nation. However, it was all downhill from there. The 2012 team went 8-5 and lost in the Outback Bowl to South Carolina. The 2013 team went 7-6 and lost in the Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl to Kansas State. The 2014 team went 5-7 and missed out on bowl season altogether. Hoke was fired after the season.

On Dec. 30, 2014, Michigan hired Jim Harbaugh as the school’s new football coach. Optimism was high in Ann Arbor. Harbaugh arrived on the heels of having success turning losers into winners at San Diego State and Stanford as well as in the NFL with the San Francisco 49ers. Moreover, Harbaugh was a beloved Michigan man who had played quarterback for the Wolverines in the 1980s.

Although he lost his first game as Michigan coach against Utah, Harbaugh quickly got Michigan back to its winning ways. In his first five seasons at the helm, his teams went 10-3, 10-3, 8-5, 10-3, and 9-4, a far cry from the low water marks of his predecessors Rodriguez and Hoke. Yet there remained a lot of questions from the Michigan faithful because while he was winning games, he was losing the big ones, often in painful fashion. He started 3-2 against Michigan State but lost the infamous “trouble with the snap” game. He started 1-4 in bowl games with the lone win coming at the end of his first season. The most damning stat though was undoubtably his 0-5 start against Ohio State, including a double-OT loss in 2016 (aka the “JT Was Short” Game) and four other losses by an average of 23 points per game.

The COVID-shortened 2020 season marked the low point in the Harbaugh era, and arguably, in the history of the Michigan football program. The team went 2-4, winless at home, and canceled The Game against Ohio State citing “an increasing number of positive COVID-19 cases and student-athletes in quarantine over the past week.”

That offseason was marked by a lot of reflection and change within the Michigan football program. Heading into the 2021 season, Coach Harbaugh made it clear what the goals were. “Well, I’m here before you, enthusiastic and excited as I ever am, always am, even more to have at it, to win the championship, to beat Ohio and our rival Michigan State,” Harbaugh said. “That’s what we want to do, and we’re going to do it or die trying.”

Although they did lose 37-33 on the road against Michigan State, Michigan made good on the other two promises. On Nov. 27, 2021, on the strength of five rushing touchdowns from Hassan Haskins on offense and three sacks from Aidan Hutchinson on defense, Michigan defeated Ohio State 42-27, snapping the program’s 8-game losing streak against the Buckeyes and giving Harbaugh his long-awaited first win as a coach in the rivalry. A week later they beat Iowa 42-3 to win their first Big Ten championship since 2004 and earned themselves a number two ranking in the College Football Playoff. They were beaten soundly 34-11 by Georgia in the CFP semifinal at the Orange Bowl on Dec. 31, 2021.

In 2022, Michigan rolled through the regular season 12-0, including a 45-23 road win against Ohio State, marking the first time the Wolverines had beaten the Buckeyes in Columbus in 23 years. They beat Purdue 43-22 in the Big Ten championship game, and Michigan once again earned a number two ranking in the CFP. Unfortunately, the season ended in the semifinals for a second consecutive season. Despite being favored, Michigan lost 51-45 to TCU. The loss left Michigan fans disappointed after a great season. After the game, quarterback J.J. McCarthy vowed the Wolverines would be back.

Continue reading 30 at 30 Lists #28: Memories and Moments from Michigan’s CFP National Championship Season →
30 at 30

Revisiting the 30 at 30 Project as a 39-Year-Old

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I launched the 30 at 30 project almost a decade ago in March of 2014 in an attempt to celebrate (rather than complain about) turning 30 years old. Now, one year away from turning 40, I realize I have a little work yet to do to complete the project. While I have finished the initial portion of the project, counting down my 30 favorite musical artists, I still have three lists of 30 to write before I can officially put a bow on the 30 at 30 project.

Exactly nine years ago I published my list of “Things I Want to Do in My 30s.” I’ve lived a lot of life since then. As I enter my final year as a thirtysomething, I thought I’d take an overdue look back at what I wrote entering this decade of life, celebrate what I have accomplished, and see if there is hope left of achieving any of the unachieved things.

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personal stories

Thankful for Rosemary

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Today is Thanksgiving 2020. I am going to resist the temptation to post about being thankful 2020 is almost over, though I do not begrudge anyone who feels that way. Undoubtedly, this year has been filled with challenges. The pandemic has changed the way we live. Everything from how we do our jobs to how we parent our kids to how we celebrating weddings, births, and holidays has been impacted. Though each family has faced its own unique set of challenges this year, it’s important to remember we are all in this together. This is my family’s story…

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30 at 30, NBA

30 at 30 Lists #27: Favorite People, Moments, and Memories from the NBA Bubble

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In honor of me turning 30, I’m compiling 30 different top-30 lists on a wide variety of topics ranging from trivial interests of mine to meaningful life moments. Read the introductory post for more background information on my 30 at 30 project. Reminder: there is no scientific rationale for these lists. They were composed by a panel of one—me.

30. Phoenix Suns go undefeated during the seeding games (yet still miss the playoffs)
Highlighted by Devin Booker’s buzzer beater against the Los Angeles Clippers, the Suns were one of the best stories of the NBA restart, rattling off an improbable eight straight wins in the Bubble. Unfortunately for Suns fans, their record was so bad entering the restart that the 8-0 mark was not enough to catapult them into the playoff picture.

29. Lakers beat Clippers in first game back
The opening night of the restart was highlighted by the Battle of L.A. in Orlando. The Clippers took two of the first three matchups between the two title contenders during the regular season, although the Lakers had won the most recent battle in March before the shutdown. In the Bubble matchup, the teams played with a playoff-like intensity. Paul George hit a 3 to tie the game at 101 in the final minute. But LeBron James put back his own miss with 12 seconds remaining for what would prove to be the game-winner in a 103-101 Lakers win that essentially clinched the Lakers’ path to the number one seed.

28. The first round duel between Jamal Murray and Donovan Mitchell
The Denver Nuggets came back from a 3-1 deficit to eliminate the Utah Jazz in the most entertaining first-round series in the Bubble. The main reason why it was the most entertaining series was the high-scoring duel between Murray and Mitchell. They set an NBA record for combined points between two opposing players in a playoff series (475 points), including four 50+ point games. Plus, Murray’s 360 layup to avoid Utah’s Rudy Gobert was on the shortlist of top highlights from the postseason.

27. The Clippers collapse
Experts and fans alike expected a Lakers-Clippers showdown in the Western Conference Finals. The Lakers and Clippers both jumped out to 3-1 series leads in their respective second-round matchups. The Lakers closed out the Rockets in Game 5. Meanwhile, the Clippers blew double-digit second-half leads in Games 5 and 6 against the Nuggets before falling short in Game 7, being outscored 50-33 in the second half of the series finale.

26. Bucks’ walkout leads to NBA boycott
In response to the shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin, the Milwaukee Bucks’ players agreed to forfeit Game 5 of their first-round series against the Orlando Magic in protest. The Magic refused the forfeit, and the rest of the NBA teams followed suit in refusing to play basketball in a sign of solidarity. Basketball stopped again, and it seemed possible that the Bubble experiment would end without the NBA crowning a champion.

After some emotionally charged players’ meetings, the league and the players eventually came to an agreement to resume play. The players returned under the condition that the league would increase their focus on raising awareness to combat issues of social and racial injustice and allow more access to voting.

25. The Lakers’ bench
I will comment on specific players later in this post, but I did not want to overlook the crew at the end of the bench, guys who may not have played the most important role on the team but nonetheless contributed on or off the court, whether in games or practices, in some small way to the Lakers’ championship season. Congratulations to Kostas Antetokounmpo, Devontae Cacok, Quinn Cook, Jared Dudley, Talen Horton-Tucker, J.R. Smith, and Dion Waiters. Also, a special shout out to Avery Bradley, who sat out the Bubble for family reasons but was a key contributor to the Lakers’ regular-season success prior to the shutdown in March.

Continue reading 30 at 30 Lists #27: Favorite People, Moments, and Memories from the NBA Bubble →
College Basketball

March Sadness

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This poem was my attempt to creatively channel my feelings of sadness and disappointment that the 2020 NCAA Tournament was (understandably) canceled because of COVID-19.

The visual bracket poem is meant to be read round-by-round rather than one whole region at a time to mimic the flow of a standard NCAA Tournament. I also put the full text of the poem in the description for an easier, more straightforward reading experience. It is still really strange and sad that there is no Selection Sunday happening today.

“March Sadness” by Matt Hubert

No conference tourney titles.
No auto-bid qualifiers.
No number one overall seed.
No one-seeded Dayton Flyers.

No Big Ten earning 10 or more.
No Kansas vs. Baylor III.
No fans rooting for Duke to fail.
No Pac-12 champs. No SEC.

No Selection Sunday to watch.
No “on the bubble” teams get in.
No bracketology this year.
No office bracket pools to win.

No invites sent to the Big Dance.
No Dick Vitale complaints to hear.
No Lunardi bracket breakdowns.
No predictions to make this year.

No filling out 15 brackets.
No chance to do 1 or 2 more.
No buzz Thursday morning in schools.
No students who peek at the score.

No Thursday at noon tip-off time.
No afternoon basketball treats.
No first-round games at neutral sites.
No sparse crowds. No fans in the seats.

No covert watching basketball.
No calling in “sick” just because.
No escape from day-to-day life.
No going back to how it was.

No TVs with b-ball on them.
No four games, four channels, same time.
No bars crowded with fans cheering.
No gamblers betting on the lines.

No buzzer-beating 3-point shots.
No Cinderella stories—none.
No fight songs played by student bands.
No “madness” redefined as fun.

No upset wins to brag about.
No big bracket-busting losses.
No highlight reel recaps to watch.
No slow-mo replays and pauses.

No Jim, Raf, and Grant on the call.
No first-possession “man-to-man.”
No “with the kiss” or “send it in!”
No last second “Onions!” shot. Damn.

No Sweet 16 sleepers to watch.
No second weekend with 12 games.
No star players making star plays.
No chance they become household names.

No Elite 8 blueblood clashes.
No dream matchups when greats collide.
No mascots with unique nicknames.
No Bluejays, Bison, Norse, or Pride.

No Werner ladders propped to climb.
No coach to point to fans above.
No players to help cut the net.
No new champs to feel the love.

No Monday night championship.
No “One Shining Moment” montage.
No celebration to witness.
No one to cue Luther Vandross.

No 68. No Final Four.
No postponement. Canceled for sure.

No March Madness is March Sadness.