Ben Ross is a Bay Area play-by-play broadcaster, sports writer, anchor and host along with being a CGP contributor for many years. He stops by for a couple of segments this week. This first one, the Oakland A's are up to bat. At the end of this season they've decided to leave Oakland for Sacramento for three years on their way to Las Vegas. Is anything else at work here? 

In part two of Ben Ross joining the program this week he looks at the Golden State Warriors. Are they the NBA miniseries that has hung around for one or two episodes too long? 

Eli Boettger is the founder of Heat Check CBB, a national college basketball writer and a longstanding contributor to The CGP. He stops by to share insights after his time at the Final Four and tries to explain what's going on in Lexington, Kentucky after John Calipari bolted for the University of Arkansas. 

Daily Beast Entertainment Critic and CGP regular Nick Schager reviews Fallout (Amazon), Civil War (theaters) and The Sympathizer (HBO). 

Eli Boettger is a national college basketball writer, the founder of Heat Check CBB and a longtime regular on The CGP. He joins us live from Glendale, Arizona to talk about the tournament and Final Four. Has this tourney largely been a ho-hum, did the Mountain West underperform again or simply get bad matchups and what do tourney results say about the relative strength of conferences. 

More with national basketball writer Eli Boettger live from Glendale, Arizona for the Final Four. A look at the national semifinals and who holds the edge in NC State-Purdue and UConn-Alabama. The impact on games from officials (is officiating in decline) and who gets to Monday. 

Stephen Rice is the Voice of the Fresno Grizzlies. He makes his first appearance on The CGP to talk about how the Grizzlies had the overall best record in the league last year but did not make the playoffs. Also, a look ahead to the 2024 season and the impact of last season's visit to Fresno by the Savannah Bananas. 

Daily Beast Entertainment critic and CGP regular Nick Schager joins the program reviewing Ripley (Netflix), The First Omen (theaters) and Sugar (Apple TV+). 

Rocco Paolilli runs/manages Ovidio Italian Restaurant here in Fresno, a wonderful, warm, culinary delight that was founded in 1979 by his parents Franco and Virginia. The history of where the restaurant's name came from, the recipes long journey from Sulmona, Italy and how he continues to fresh-mint the menu in this first of two segments.

Rocco Paolilli continues the discussion on Ovidio Italian Restaurant explaining how he maintains his current and loyal clientele while always expanding to a larger audience, the biggest challenges he faces as a restaurant owner and how he'd like to see the restaurant evolve into the next decade. 

Elite boxing analyst and CGP regular Derek X returned to fill in everybody on Jose Ramirez' next fight, April 27th at Save Mart Center vs Rances Barthelemy. How the fight came about, Jose's move away from Top Rank and how much he's grown and learned since his lone loss to Josh Taylor on May 22nd, 2021.

Daily Beast Entertainment Critic and longtime CGP regular Nick Schager reviews A Gentleman in Moscow (Showtime), Dogman (theaters) and Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey 2 (theaters).

Our bonus segment this week is with elite boxing analyst Derek X. Derek discusses the new association between Jose Ramirez and Golden Boy Productions (Oscar De La Hoya), fighters in the way of Ramirez and whether or not he can beat them, the oldest boxers in various weight classes who won a title belt and a breakdown of the Ramirez-Rances Barthelemy fight on April 27 at Save Mart Center.

Caruthers is a quiet town 15 miles south of Fresno situated in the heart of flourishing fields of ag. Another thing that flourishes there, but with ferocity: Caruthers High School's girls basketball team, the newly crowned D3 State Champion. Joining the program, head coach Anna Almeida and two standout players: Emmi Almeida and Gizelle "Monster" Aguirre. We get two segments with this talented trio including Coach Anna's thoughts going back to the summer of 2023 and what she believed the ceiling was for her team to whether or not the CIF got the seeding correct. Hint: Coach was emphatic with her answer! 

More with California D3 state champion Caruthers High School and head coach Anna Almeida, Emmi Almeida and Gizelle "Monster" Aguirre. The journey to a state championship is filled with twists and turns but if you're good enough to win it, it's not just the team and school that rejoices. 

Nick Schager, Entertainment Critic of The Daily Beast, reviews The Animal Kingdom (theaters, VOD), The American Society of Magical Negroes (theaters) and Alice & Jack (PBS).

A welcome second segment with Nick Schager this week. Here Nick gets into the Oscars and what the Academy got right, what it got wrong and how he rates the overall production of the show.

Bailey Warren is as accomplished a fiddle player as you'll find in American music. She's one piece of the very talented and versatile Bluegrass band, DownRiver Collective. The CGP had the good fortune of welcoming Bailey for three segments. Here in segment one Bailey discusses her background in music, which began at just three years old and is quite extensive. She also explains the difference between a fiddle and a violin and what differentiates Bluegrass from Americana.

More with Bailey Warren, fiddle player for DownRiver Collective. Bailey jumps into how the band found the remarkable voice that is Ali Vance. Also, the process of putting a song together - from writing to playing, back to writing... a lot of testing and measuring. Or, when you know, you know. And going into and out of the segment, you'll hear the a little bit of the band's song, "Blue Eyed Love."

Even more with wonderful fiddle player Bailey Warren from DownRiver Collective. Bailey talks about their song "Dead to Me" (which leads into, and out of, this segment), the ups and downs of touring and the importance of expanding Bluegrass. 

Eli Boettger is the founder of Heat Check CBB, a national college basketball writer and a longtime CGP regular. Eli takes a look at the recent situation of Dartmouth men's basketball team voting to join a local service employees union, the importance regular season conference championships should have leading to the NCAA tournament selection and his No. 1 seeds. 

This week's Bonus CGP is with national college basketball writer Eli Boettger. Eli discusses the upcoming NCAA, Pac-12 and MWC tourneys PLUS... his choice for National Player of the Year. 

Craig Campbell is the head coach of the Clovis West girls basketball team. To call him prolific would actually be an understatement. Over 730 wins, 19 straight TRAC championships, 12 straight CIF Section Championships (20-1 in Section Championship Games overall), Coach of the Year 27 years and National Runner-Up in 2017.... and this is just the tip of the iceberg. Coach Campbell stopped by the studio to talk about the legacy he's built, sustaining greatness and his view of how accurate state playoff seedings actually are. 

Paul Loeffler is the Voice of Fresno State Basketball, Football and Baseball. Paul returned to the program to talk about expectations for Fresno State Basketball (and what they should be), tell fans whether Jeff Tedford is still the head coach (we've not heard much since he stepped away) and a offer a preview of the baseball team.

Cadence Gabriel and Gianna Ruth were nominated (and accepted) to lead the Clovis West fundraising team (named TEAM EAGLES) for the 2024 Student Visionaries of the Year campaign. Their goal is to raise $200,000 over the next seven weeks. They joined the program this week to share how this process has unfolded and what the larger vision of being involved with this kind of undertaking means to them.

The Entertainment Critic of the Daily Beast and CGP regular Nick Schager reviews Dune: Part Two (theaters), Spaceman (Netflix) and American Conspiracy The Octopus Murders (Netflix). 

Christopher Elliott is a nationally syndicated travel writer and consumer advocate. His work has been seen in The New York Times, Washington Post as well as on ABC, NBC, CBS, the BBC and many more. He returns to the program this week to talk about the madness of getting on and off planes and... what to do with babies on planes? Some folks would like them banned. 

Sean Highkin, recently named Oregon Sportswriter of the Year, is a longtime regular on The CGP. He stopped by to talk NBA All-Star Game, the current reality of the Portland Trail Blazers in life after Damian Lillard and how the Western Conference may shake out. 

Ben Ross is a Bay Area play-by-play broadcaster, sports host/anchor and writer along with being a regular visitor to The CGP. Just when you think the A's potential journey to Las Vegas is actually on track, another odd triad of twists unfold. This time, from conflicting media accounts on the same day.  

Daily Beast Entertainment Critic and CGP regular Nick Schager reviews Drive-Away Dolls (theaters), Constellation (Apple TV+) and Shogun (FX). 

Micheal Smith became the Consul General of Ireland to the Western United States in San Francisco in August, 2022. Consul Smith takes us through how one actually becomes a diplomat. And once engaged at the Consulate in San Francisco, solidifying and growing the longstanding bond between Ireland and California while helping expand Ireland's economy through trade encompassing agribusiness, high tech and tourism. 

We were pleased to have Consul Smith join us for an additional segment. Here he discusses the importance to Ireland of an event like the World Ag Expo in Tulare, CA. Also, university students in Ireland interested in the ag industry and how the Central Valley could benefit them. Finally, the ancient game of Hurling!

The Entertainment Critic of the Daily Beast and longtime CGP regular Nick Schager reviews Madame Web (theaters), Land of Bad (theaters, VOD) and The Truth About Jim (Max). 

Nick joins us for a second segment. The trouble with remakes (West Side Story and soon, The Wizard of Oz) and how Oscar voters view their ballots: Do they genuinely like a film they vote for or do they think it's the film an Oscar should be associated with. 

Cam Worrell was a safety on the Chicago Bears and played in Super Bowl XLI  (Bears-Colts). Cam, a longtime CGP contributor, stopped by the program to share what the 49ers and Chiefs players are feeling leading up to kickoff Sunday afternoon while breaking down the game itself and telling us who he thinks wins.

Ben Ross is a play-by-play broadcaster, sports anchor and host based in the Bay Area. The longtime CGP regular returned to the program to discuss recent comments from Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman suggesting she'd prefer the Oakland A's stay in Oakland. 

Samuel Looper works at the Ag Center and took time to join the program previewing the upcoming World Ag Expo. He also gave what amounted to a 'State of the Ag Industry' report while explaining the specific role of the Ag Center.

Daily Beast Entertainment Critic and CGP regular Nick Schager reviews season two of Tokyo Vice (HBO), They Called Him Mostly Harmless (HBO) and The Taste of Things (theaters). 

Eli Boettger is the founder of Heat Check CBB and writes about college basketball across the nation. He returns to the program to give his 'state of the season' address now that we're halfway through it, shrinking arenas and the heightened difficulty of playing on the road. 

Nicole Linder is the CEO of the Marjaree Mason Center in Fresno. She returned to the program to discuss all aspects of teen dating violence, from the lowest threshold of what qualifies as violence to whether enough schools are dialed into awareness and education of it. 

Mike Shirinian is the owner of Fresno's Elbow Room. A magnificent restaurant in every way (food, beverages, service), Mike pulled the curtain on how a successful restaurant continues to maintain excellence while continuing to reinvent itself. 

The Entertainment Critic at The Daily Beast and longtime CGP regular Nick Schager reviews Argylle (theaters), Orion and the Dark (Netflix) and Curb Your Enthusiasm - Season 12 (HBO). 

Cam Worrell, former Chicago Bears safety and current Fresno State Football sideline reporter, understands this weekend very well. His Chicago Bears team made it to the Super Bowl so no one better to break down Lions-49ers and Chiefs-Ravens than Cam. 

Kimberly Mendez is an expert on doing weddings right. She's also the founder and owner of California Bridal Hair. I've done radio nearly 20 years and have never talked about weddings or planning a wedding. But it's big, BIG business and who knew - they are very easy to mess up. So Kimberly joined us to break down wedding truths vs realities and that includes her specialty: Hair. Prospective brides and their moms need to take notes here! 

Nick Schager is the entertainment critic for the Daily Beast and a longstanding regular on The CGP. This week he's here for two segments. In this first one he reviews Masters of the Air (Apple TV+) and American Star (theaters / VOD).

A second segment with Daily Beast entertainment critic Nick Schager. Nick talks about his time at the just-completed Sundance Film Festival in Utah as well as breaking down the recent Oscar nominations. Who are the favorites, who got snubbed.

Omar Ruiz is an anchor and reporter for the NFL Network. The longstanding CGP visitor returned to the program for two segments. Here, he discusses what Bill Belichick might be thinking for his next move, whether Antonio Pierce will be the next Raiders coach and exactly how much input players have on the naming of a coach.

NFL Network anchor and reporter Omar Ruiz is a longstanding regular on The CGP. Here he breaks down the four NFL divisional games and offers a bit of a surprise in one of his picks. 

Ben Ross is a Bay Area play-by-play broadcaster, a sports anchor/host and a writer. He returned to the program to give us an update on what, exactly, the problem is with the Golden State Warriors. And - can they come out of their funk!-

The Kiss Country Morning Show with Kris Daniels and Joe "On the Go" Castelan is produced literally across the hall from my program at KMJ. Kris and Joe are the new morning team but they are veterans in country music radio. It's always fun to grab colleagues here and have them pull the curtain on how they do what they do... and make no mistake, Kris and Joe are terrific!