Darren Smith and John Gennaro talk through their morning after announcing the launch of Section 1904 before talking all things San Diego Padres before tomorrow's Opening Day game against the Atlanta Braves.

Welcome to Section 1904, a modern media company that is San Diego-based and mostly sports-focused. Darren Smith and John Gennaro explain what they're starting with, what they hope to grow it into and why they hope that other San Diego sports fans will join the section.

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For the third week in a row, two unemployed guys who are passionate about San Diego sports (and politics) got together to talk about the San Diego Padres, the Los Angeles Dodgers, whether Roki Sasaki and Tanner Scott signing with the Dodgers is bad for MLB, what the Padres need to change about their roster in the next month…. and then we talked a little bit about inauguration day.

Darren and John are still unemployed and still talking into microphones, this time at Darren’s house in Imperial Beach. This conversation jumps all over the place, but it’s well worth your time.

You remember Darren Smith! He’s that guy from the radio who has been guesting on every podcast in town since he left radio. I lied and told him I had a podcast so that he’d come up and chat with me about the state of sports media, the Padres cutting spending, San Diego sports fandom, the future MLS team, dreams of an NBA arena in Mission Valley and so much more.

On this episode of whatever the heck this podcast is, Darren Smith and John Gennaro catch up after not talking for a few days.

The guys kick things off by discussing SDSU losing badly to North Carolina in the “first four” of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament before turning their sights on San Diego FC’s home tie against Columbus, USL announcing relegation, and the Padres pitching staff looking a little thin without an injured Yu Darvish.

The last 10 minutes or so is the guys talking about politics, or at least about the current government’s lack of respect for the rule of law and what it means.

John Gennaro and Darren Smith discuss San Diego FC's 1st home match, the homophobic chants from the fans, funny names on the Padres and the crazy world of politics.

Lucky you! Darren Smith is back, virtually this time, to join me on the podcast for a 2nd time this week. We spent the first 40 minutes or so getting excited about SDFC’s inaugural home game at Snapdragon Stadium before touching on San Diego Padres spring training, remembering Gene Hackman, and responding to Jesse Marsch’s comments about relations between USA and Canada.

Darren and John talk about SDFC winning their first MLS game, what we've seen from Padres Spring Training, the red-hot St. John's men's basketball team and This Week In Trump. The SDPD stop by about halfway through to find out how the guys got into a bar that was closed.

Darren Smith joins John Gennaro (yes, again) to talk about everything that has happened since they got together last week.

It’s the first match week for SDFC, the San Diego Padres appear to be going for it and the guys have thoughts on the SNL 50th anniversary special, the NBA All-Star Game and Elon Musk.

Darren Smith is in Florida, drinking Sicilian margaritas and generating thoughts on Super Bowl LIX, Kendrick Lamar’s halftime performance, the San Diego Padres (with pitchers and catchers reporting to spring training tomorrow) and This Week In Trump.

From the back patio of Border X Brewing in Barrio Logan, Darren Smith joined John Gennaro to talk about all of the things that cause John’s anxiety to be extremely high.

Is the San Diego Padres ownership situation to blame for the team’s slow offseason? Is it the reason Jurickson Profar signed with the Braves? And what would John Seidler look like as the “control person” of the team?

Darren Smith and John Gennaro talk about their (very different) experiences for the San Diego Padres' opening day win over the Atlanta Braves, and give some analysis on what they liked and didn't from the team, before switching gears and previewing Saturday's matchup between San Diego FC and LAFC at Snapdragon Stadium.

Music - Padre Gang

Darren Smith and John Gennaro spend most of this episode talking about the 9-year contract extension that Jackson Merrill has signed with the San Diego Padres, discussing why it might not be popular amongst other players and why it was important for the Padres to do. Also, how long has it been in the works?

The guys then talk about the Padres' 6-0 start and wonder how good this year's team might actually be.

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Darren Smith and John Gennaro talk about the Jurickson Profar's PED suspension and ask questions about the appeals process before Darren chats with Richard Deitsch from The Athletic about the MLB-ESPN breakup and what it means for teams like the San Diego Padres.

• After 36 years, ESPN’s ‘Sunday Night Baseball’ enters its final season (for now) - The Athletic
• MLB, ESPN opt out of TV deal for 2026-28; MLB cites ‘minimal coverage’ - The Athletic

Darren Smith and John Gennaro recap a great sports weekend in San Diego, with the Padres sweeping the Atlanta Braves and San Diego FC kicking off their rivalry with LAFC with a 3-2 win at Snapdragon Stadium.

Darren Smith and John Gennaro get together on a day when the stock markets are tanking to talk about what has changed in media over the last decade or so and how it has led us to a place where Dave Portnoy and Stephen A. Smith are important voices in the political discussion.

About 45 minutes in, the guys switch to talking about Jackson Merrill hitting another HR yesterday and then discuss Molly Knight's Bluesky post about the Dodgers and Padres.

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Darren Smith and John Gennaro discuss the San Diego Padres, whose fans might already be burning themselves out in the first month of the season, whether championship teams should visit the White House, the important of San Diego FC beating the Seattle Sounders on Saturday night and the college basketball championship games.

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Darren Smith and John Gennaro kick off today's show by talking about Luka Doncic returning to Dallas and scoring 45 points as a member of the Los Angeles Lakers, which leads to a whole conversation about what sports fans are actually rooting for and which sports lead fans to root for players instead of teams.

The guys also discuss MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred's interview with the New York Times, where he talked about robot umps, MLB expansion and a salary cap (that the players association is clearly against) before touching on Robert Suarez's blistering start to the season.

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Darren Smith and John Gennaro talk for a bit about the San Diego Padres' injury issues. Jackson Merrill is on the 10-day injury list, Fernando Tatis Jr. left last night's game with another shoulder injury and Jake Cronenworth is still feeling that fastball to the ribs. How much should Padres fans be worrying?

Then, John Conniff from MadFriars joins the show to talk about how the big-league squad would look different had they never traded for Juan Soto, Jackson Merrill's injury history in the minors, comparisons between Ethan Salas and Austin Hedges, and an unfortunate nickname for Tirso Ornelas.

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Darren and John are back and talking about Padres CF Jackson Merrill missing a game with a hamstring injury, the Sacramento-Oakland A's struggling to find a place to play or fans to watch them, San Diego FC's Anibal Godoy becoming a US citizen, the perils of home ownership, an excruciating end to the NCAA men's basketball championship game and another surprise NBA firing.

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Darren and John are in tax preparation mode, which has them reflecting on the nature of subscriptions and sports media coverage before talking about the idea of "being present" and how useful that's been for Ron Washington's Los Angeles Angels.

Later, the guys dive into San Diego FC's game against the Colorado Rapids on Saturday, Denver as a place to visit, and the nature of statistics in stat-keeping in Major League Soccer. At the end, the guys talk about why there's nothing really to talk about with the Padres today.

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Darren Smith had the chance to sit down with San Diego FC midfielder Aníbal Godoy to talk about the secret of playing into your late 30s, being a part of two MLS expansion teams, San Diego FC being underestimated by other teams, how Mikey Varas is building a culture, the type of player that he tries to be on gameday, planning goal celebrations, becoming a United States citizen and a lot more.