We had an eventful 36 hours or so from July 1 to the morning of July 3. In that narrow window of time, Clayton Kershaw fired his 3,000th career strikeout, the great Alex Delvecchio passed away at the age of 93, hockey insider Bob McKenzie announced he was walking away from broadcasting and hockey after 48 years of work, and the soccer world mourned the loss of Portugal and Liverpool's Diogo Jota. A lot of material for Shawn and Howie to cover in a single episode.

The passing of the newly inducted Baseball Hall of Famer, Dave Parker brought sadness to a lot of people who were looking forward to seeing the baseball superstar with his plaque at the ceremony in Cooperstown later this summer. Shawn and Howie look back at his career and the careers of some other players who so far have been snubbed by their respective halls of fame. They look specifically at the case of Carey Price and this year's Hockey Hall of Fame selections. It was a spirited conversation covering a wide range of people and sports.

On June 24, 2025, the Hockey Hall of Fame inducted eight new members and Shawn and Howie were standing by with their thoughts and opinions on the inductees and some of the players who did not make into the class of '25.

In this episode of The Sports Lunatics Show, Howie talks about the Florida Panthers winning the Stanley Cup and their celebrations with the trophy. He talks about Jonathan Toews signing with the Winnipeg Jets and his hopes for next season for Toews and his new team. He also talks about a number of things that happened on June 22 through the course of sports history.

Shawn and Howie had so much fun discussing ChatGPT's Top Ten Stanley Cup Heroes list that they decided to check out a similar list for the Canadian Football League. There were some surprising results, both on the list and off. Give it a listen and see where Russ Jackson ended up.

Jim Marshall was a great defensive end for the Saskatchewan Roughriders, the Cleveland Browns and most notably, the Minnesota Vikings. He was truly an ironman. His NFL career lasted 20 seasons. He was an All-Pro, and the Vikings captain as a member of a stalwart defensive line on those great Vikings teams that went to four Super Bowls. That front four included Carl Eller, Alan Page, Marshall and Gary Larsen and was known around the league as the 'Purple People Eaters'. Marshall had his jersey number 70 retired by the team and his name sits in the Vikings Ring of Honor at their stadium. But almost more important than his playing days were his experiences away from the team. What a life he had. Shawn and Howie discuss all of this in this episode as they remember the life and career of Jim Marshall.

The Sports Lunatics are never afraid of trying something new. With the Stanley Cup Final Series now taking place, Shawn asked ChatGPT to make a list of the Top Ten Stanley Cup Heroes since 1970. Shawn and Howie were somewhat surprised at the players on the list and the order in which the app ranked the players. They sat down to discuss that list in this episode.

As the 2025 NHL Postseason heads into the Final series, Shawn and Howie look at how this year's Panthers-Oilers final series may be different from last year's. They also examine the handshake line, Paul Maurice's take on the coaches and other staff participating in it and how it has evolved from years past to what we see today. They also talk about how animosities in series can manifest themselves in the actual handshake line at the end of it all. They even discuss how some of their own handshake lines have devolved into strong words, coming just short of exchanging blows...even in pickleball! They also look at the passings of George Wendt and Rick Derringer and how both men connected with huge factions of sports fans. It was a fun and spirited conversation!