1995 MARINERS (team): The pinnacle of Mariners baseball (never mind the record-tying 116 games they won in 2001). Franchise’s first playoff appearance in 19th season of existence. Required victory over California Angeles in one-game playoff for AL West and comeback from 2-0 deficit in ALDS vs. New York Yankees, culminating in series-winning Edgar Martinez double that scored Ken Griffey Jr. from first base, aka “The Double,” with the Pelton brothers in attendance. Mariners eventually lost in ALCS to Cleveland.
AIRING OF GRIEVANCES (segment): Self-explanatory. Borrowed from the Festivus traditions on Seinfeld.
ALMOST LIVE (TV program): Longtime Seattle sketch comedy show that ran before Saturday Night Live on King TV and formalized joking stereotypes about local neighborhoods and suburbs, notably Renton. Formative influence on Pelton brothers. Cast member Pat Cashman was a guest on episode 223.
BABY FANTASY GENIUS, BABIER FANTASY GENIUS, BABIEST FANTASY GENIUS: Occasional names for Tristan’s children, from oldest to youngest.
BEN BALDWIN (person): Seahawks fan and NFL analytics leader who is a frequent Third Pelton Brother. Co-developer of nflfastR program and creator of RBSDM.com. Contributor to The Athletic Seattle. Not actually our brother, despite occasionally shocking similarity in our backgrounds. Also not his real name (gasp!)
BEST WEEK IN SEATTLE SPORTS HISTORY (doomed): Refers to the week of Dec. 4-10, 2017, when the Sounders played in MLS Cup at Toronto FC, UW men’s basketball faced both Kansas and Gonzaga, the Seahawks played a Jacksonville Jaguars team that would reach that year’s AFC Championship game and Shohei Ohtani was set to decide on his MLB team. As a result, Kevin declared it “the most important week in Seattle sports history” in episode 84, once mentioning the possibility it could be the best week. Started well with shocking Husky hoops win over KU but faded quickly into infamy as Ohtani signed with the rival Angels, the Sounders were shut out by Toronto on Saturday and the Seahawks and UW men’s hoops both lost on Sunday. Now invoked whenever Seattle sports scene struggles.
BETS (noun): Wagers struck on the Peltoncast between Kevin and Tristan. Actual value uncertain (winner in italics):
– DK Metcalf will average enough yards per game in 2022 (58.9) for a 1,000-yard full season (Kevin yes, Tristan no)
– Drew Lock will start by week 4 of 2022 season (Tristan yes, Kevin no)
Score: Kevin 2, Tristan 0
SUE BIRD (person): Iconic Seattle Storm point guard who led team to four championships and won record-tying five gold medals. WNBA’s all-time assist leader and one-time Third Pelton Brother.
BLUE SCHOLARS (group): Legendary Seattle hip-hop duo of Geo and Sabzi, now defunct. Their Sonics-themed song “Slick Watts” is featured in the Peltoncast intro.
BOLD PREDICTION (noun): A prediction that is plausible but not more than 25% likely at best. Featured in our Seattle sports year in review pods. Kevin serves as bold prediction ombudsman, creating possible conflict of interest.
JAKE BROWNING (person): Quarterback for the University of Washington during the team’s greatest success since early 1990s. Maligned by fans. Did nothing wrong.
TRISTAN CAROSINO (person): Co-host of the Peltoncast and younger Pelton brother. Changed his name to use our mom’s maiden name. Music manager in his spare time and father of three10-15.
CHARLESTON (location): After hearing of Kevin’s trip here to eat BBQ in episode 146, Tristan dreams of being “alone in Charleston” on vacation.
COACH’S CORNER (segment): Discussion of Tristan’s experiences coaching his children in youth spots. Kevin and The Famous Cousin Katie also occasionally participate in the coaching and the segment.
COACH PETE (person): Always refers to former UW football coach Chris Petersen, to distinguish him from Pete Carroll (Pete).
RANDY COTE (person): Talkin’ Taco Time co-host. Originally correspondent but promoted because he might love Taco Time NW more than any of us. Featured in TTNW Superfans commercials in fall 2021. Also serves as one of our Kraken correspondents. Worked with Kevin at Seattle Storm.
CUP (noun): Occasional term for trophy and tournament played to win it. Our rule is a trophy is only a cup if it can serve as vessel for drinking beverages, preferably Rainier.
THE DECIDER (person): Nickname for Zach Whitman, who typically joins us for the final of any search for Seattle’s best food. Also responsible for popularizing the phrase “Let Russ Cook” and ending the Seahawks as we knew them.
DERBY MATCH (phrase): Originally used to describe association football matches between two clubs from the same town. Hotly debated whether it refers to hockey and soccer matchups between the Sounders or OL Reign and I-5 rivals Portland and Vancouver. (Kevin says yes, Tristan says no.)
DICK’S DRIVE-IN (chain): Family-owned Seattle burger chain, a fixture since 1954 and ideal for late-night eating. Immortalized in Sir Mix-a-Lot’s classic song “Posse on Broadway.”
“DO IT FOR THE RUNDOWN” (phrase): Imaginary battle cry for UW baseball during the 2023 season when granted a spot in the rundown on a trial basis. Huskies earned it by making the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2018.
THE DOUBLE (proper noun): Refers to Edgar Martinez’s game- and series-winning double in the 10th inning of Game 5 of the 1995 AL Division Series between the Seattle Mariners and New York Yankees. Also occasionally referred to as “The Slide” in reference to Ken Griffey Jr.’s slide to score the winning run and now-defunct Seattle sports bar “95 Slide.”
EMERGENCY POD (phrase): Description of podcast recorded immediately after sporting event or breaking news. Typically accompanied by siren emoji.
FABULIST PELTONQUOTES (Twitter account): Account that posts quotes and highlights from each episode. Not affiliated with the Peltoncast, amazingly.
THE FAMOUS COUSIN KATIE (person): Our eldest cousin, actually on the Carosino side, die-hard University of Washington sports fan and popular guest. Three-time Peltoncast MVP. Name from when the listener asked whether they were meeting “the famous cousin Katie.”
FIFTH TALKIN’ TACO TIME CO-HOST (noun): Any guest on Talkin’ Taco Time.
FLU GAME (phrase): Tristan’s term for any podcast where he’s under the weather or even just tired. References Michael Jordan’s Game 5 of 1997 NBA Finals (where Jordan now claims to have had food poisoning).
FRESH HOP REGION OF WASHINGTON (location): Area of Yakima Valley famed for hop-growing. According to Tristan in episode 284, only beer made with recently harvested hops from this region can be referred to as authentic fresh hop beer.
FUN DIFFERENTIAL (phrase): Retort by Mariners manager Scott Servais when he tired of questions about the team’s poor run differential during the 2021 season. Not predictive of future success.
HAENER (verb): To get your hopes up for something that doesn’t happen, as when we thought quarterback Jake Haener would transfer back to UW in December 2021 only to find out he would stay at Fresno State. (See episodes 291, 292)
HOME OF THE PELTONCAST (location): Boulevard Park, Wash., unincorporated area just south of Seattle where Pelton brothers grew up and Kevin lived until 2021 (in a different house, to be clear). Site of inaugural Peltoncast recording in September 2013.
HOME OF THE SUPER BOWL XLVIII CHAMPS (location): Renton, Wash., location of Seahawks’ headquarters.
HOME OF THE 4X WNBA CHAMPS (location): Seattle, Wash., home base for the Storm — Seattle’s winningest pro sports franchise.
HYDROPLANE RACING (sport): Power-boat competition featuring speedboats that look more like airplanes for aerodynamic purposes. Most popular in Seattle area thanks to historic nature of Seafair races. Approximately 1/3 of annual races held in state of Washington. Obsession of Kevin’s.
THE ITALIAN GUY (person): Nickname for M’s outfielder Dom Canzone, who embraced his Italian heritage after being traded to Seattle in August 2023 by making traditionally Italian hand gestures to celebrate extra-base hits. Not to be confused with teammate Sam Onofrio Haggerty.
JAN (person): Our mother, famed for eating at three different fast-food chains during one meal/trip up and down the Las Vegas strip, as recounted on episode 164.
JERMAINE KEARSE (person): Local favorite who starred at Lakes High and the University of Washington before making the Seahawks as an undrafted free agent. Caught game-winning TD in both 2014 and 2015 NFC Championship games and scored TD in Super Bowl XLVIII. TD famously predicted by Nostratristan before Seahawks even reached the game when Peltoncast briefly sponsored Kearse’s page on Pro Football Reference.
KEVINDAMUS (person, archaic): Equivalent to Nostratristan for Kevin’s successful predictions.
KEYARENA (noun): Name of basketball arena at Seattle Center from 1995 renovation through closure in 2018 and renovation into Climate Pledge Arena. Home of the Sonics from 1995-96 (when the Pelton family got season tickets) through their move to Oklahoma City in 2008 as well as the Storm for the team’s first three championships. Correct style is “KeyArena” with camel caps and no space like sponsor KeyBank. (See history of KeyArena pod.)
KINGDOME (noun): Domed Seattle sports venue opened in 1976 and imploded in 2001. Home of Mariners, Seahawks, NASL-era Sounders and briefly Sonics. Either beloved or an eyesore, depending on which Pelton brother you ask. (See Remembering the Kingdome pod with Kevin Arnovitz.)
KRAKEN CURSE (nebulous): Explanation for downturn in Seattle sports after debut of expansion NHL franchise in October 2021. AKA the Coldplay Curse (because a concert by Coldplay officially opened Climate Pledge Arena, not the anticipated one from the more logical Pearl Jam), the Macklemore Curse (see Macklemore banner) or the Seattle Sports Curse. Apparently ended when Sounders FC won CONCACAF Champions League in May 2022.
LET RUSS COOK (phrase, archaic): Rallying cry coined by Seahawks fans (including Third Pelton Brother DJ Nphared) and popularized by Third Pelton Brother Zach Whitman encouraging Seahawks to allow Russell Wilson more early-down pass attempts. History detailed during Peltoncast Live from Home. Briefly resulted in one of best stretches of Wilson’s career to start 2020 but quickly became ironic as Pete Carroll retrenched in favor of a more conservative attack.
LET’S REMEMBER SOME … (phrase): Used for any organized recollection of memories. Comes from “Let’s Remember Some Years” segment, constructed to fill time with 2019-20 UW men’s basketball team struggling but eventually used to record episodes during sports pause for Covid-19 pandemic.
LIL WOODY’S (chain): Seattle burger chain that featured “Peltoncast Double Burger” in September 2018. “Burger Month,” featuring burgers created by local chefs, and “Fast Food Month” are regular features. Provided burgers for Peltoncast Live 2018.
THE LISTENER (proper noun): Any listener to the podcast. May not actually be singular. Always capitalized.
LOCAL BURGER CHAIN RED ROBIN (ironic): Tristan’s confused description of the very national burger chain that did indeed have its humble origins at a now-defunct location on Eastlake Ave. Subsequently used to refer to any national company with local ties.
LORETTA’S (bar): Beloved South Park bar with large patio and famed Tavern burgers. Spiritual winner of our search for Seattle’s best burger. Officially known as Loretta’s Northwesterner.
THE MACHINE (nickname): Nickname for Kevin, coined by ESPN colleague Tim Bontemps. Also occasionally “The Human Computer” (via Jorge Sedano).
MACKLEMORE BANNER (noun): Banner raised to KeyArena rafters in December 2017 to celebrate Seattle rapper playing most sellout shows in arena’s history. Removed prior to 2018 Seattle Storm season. Whereabouts unknown.
MODELO SCALE (measure): Method of measuring spiciness of food by the number of Modelos that must be consumed with it to cool the heat. Similar to Scoville scale.
MRS. FANTASY GENIUS (person): Tristan’s better half, a frequent guest during “Let’s Remember Some Years.” Grew up in Renton.
M’S HOT TAKES (segment): Our way of following the ups and downs of a 162-game baseball season by exaggerating the emotions and turning up the flames. Typically done by Tristan.
NBA PLAYERS TO WATCH (segment): Preseason list of 10 semi-obscure players, typically rookies, that Kevin provides Tristan to watch during the NBA season. Typically features international newcomers and those who project well by Kevin’s metrics. Best known for pre-hype inclusion of Nikola Jokic and other Denver Nuggets.
NORTHWEST CHAMPIONSHIP (imaginary): Title invented by then-UW football coach Rick Neuheisel to describe winner of games against Oregon, Oregon State and Washington State. Not to be confused with the actual soccer Cascadia Cup.
NOSTRATRISTAN (person, archaic): Early reference to Tristan’s accurate predictions, most notably Jermaine Kearse’s TD in Super Bowl XLVIII.
SAM ONOFRIO (person): Italian-leaning nickname for Mariners outfielder Sam Haggerty, whose strong play in 2022 combined with being Italian on his mother’s side (Onofrio is his middle name) made him a Peltoncast favorite.
PAGLIACCI PIZZA (chain): Famed Seattle pizza chain and sponsor of the Peltoncast. Provided pizza for Peltoncast Live and Peltoncast Live from Home (via gift cards).
KEVIN PELTON (person): Co-host of the Peltoncast and older Pelton brother. NBA and WNBA writer for ESPN.com in his spare time. Occasionally “ESPN’s Kevin Pelton” or “Al” (due to the Paul Simon song).
PELTONCAST BINGO (game, archaic): Inspired by the recurring topics in this glossary, Ben Baldwin began Peltoncast bingo. Items on the first edition included “Darrell Bevell” (who did nothing wrong), Kearse, (who may have done some things wrong), “MLS season length” (pre-format change), “Argument about Lorenzo Romar“, and “Regression to the mean”. The Famous Cousin Katie has made bingo to play at the live shows. The high score was 23 out of 25 squares on episode 154. Now defunct because Ben stopped biking to work when the pandemic started and isn’t at a computer soon after he listens.
PELTONCAST DARK AGES (period): Time from February 2014 through October 2016 where no Peltoncasts were published.
PELTONCAST GEOGRAPHY (phrase): Not typically a strong suit.
PELTONCAST GOLDEN RULE (phrase): “People aren’t good at predicting how they will feel about things before they happen.”
PELTONCAST HAT TRICK (phrase): Drinking a Rainier tall boy and eating either a Peltoncast search winner, Pagliacci or Taco Time at a Seattle sporting event. Defined on episode 362.
PELTONCAST LIVE (event): Live Peltoncasts, held in 2017 at Vermillion, 2018 at Barboza and 2019 at Belltown Yacht Club. Peltoncast “Live from Home” was held via Zoom in 2020 with no live show in 2021 before resuming in spring 2022 at Bad Bar and returning to Belltown Yacht Club in 2023. Typically crowns winner of searches for Seattle’s best food.
PETE (person): Casual name for Seahawks coach Pete Carroll. Occasionally “Peter Clay Carroll” when we’re upset.
PORTLAND (location): Nearest major city to Seattle and subject of complex relationship with Pelton brothers. Because of the Sonics’ move, the Portland Trail Blazers are the de facto NBA Northwest team. Also beloved for food scene. However, fierce rivalry exists between Seattle and Portland soccer teams.
PYRAMID (noun): Three-dimensional term for two-dimensional hierarchy of organizational principles, originally popularized by legendary UCLA coach John Wooden and subsequently used by both Pete Carroll and Chris Petersen. Not necessary for coaching success but certainly a predictor of it.
RAINIER BEER (beer): Seattle’s historic local brewery, located in south Seattle. Rainier “R” was an iconic landmark atop brewery that returned not long after Peltoncast debuted in 2013 and bears some similarity to Peltoncast logo. Rainier lager is no longer brewed in Seattle after brand was acquired by Pabst but remains inextricably linked to city. Best drunk from 16-ounce “tallboy” cans, used for scale. Tristan likes to search for Rainier equivalent from other cities, most notably Lone Star in Austin.
RUNDOWN (noun): Section of podcast highlighting Seattle’s full sports scene, done primarily by Kevin. Results/stats heavy.
SEARCH FOR SEATTLE’S BEST (phrase): Term for Peltoncast searches, typically for food. Began with burgers in 2017 (Uneeda), followed by dumplings (Dough Zone) and tacos/burritos (Tacos Chukis) in 2018, ramen (Ooink) and sandwich (Ma’ono Fried Chicken) in 2019, teriyaki (Toshi’s) in 2020, fried chicken (Quick Pack Food Mart) in 2021, donuts (9th & Hennepin) and IPA in 2023.
CHRIS SMITH (person): Talkin’ Taco Time co-host. Longtime friend and classmate of Tristan’s. Worked at Southcenter and Tukwila Taco Time NW locations.
SNEAK (noun): Way to get something popular without waiting in line. Typically refers to ordering takeout and eating it at a bar without food service.
SONG OF THE SUMMER (phrase, archaic): Topic frequently discussed during early pods but abandoned lately despite interest from The Listener.
MATTHEW STAFFORD (person): Quarterback whose trade from Detroit Lions to Los Angeles Rams was subject of much debate. Led Rams to Super Bowl LVI victory. Prefers “Matthew” to “Matt.”
SUNNY AFTERNOON IN TEMPE (expression): One-time Pac-12 football equivalent of soccer’s “Can they do it on a cold, rainy night at Stoke?” test. Inspired by Washington going more than two decades and counting without a win at Arizona State, albeit with some of those losses at night.
SUPER BOWL XLVIII (event): NFL championship game where Seahawks beat Broncos 43-8 to win first Super Bowl followed by emergency Peltoncast recap.
SUPER BOWL XLIX (event): NFL championship game matching the Seahawks against the Patriots that was mysteriously canceled with precisely 26 seconds remaining. This has never haunted us or the Seahawks, not even a little bit.
TACO TIME DIVIDE (test): Term coined by Allecia Vermillion of Seattle Met magazine in story featuring Talkin’ Taco Time investigating why locals love Taco Time Northwest and transplants typically don’t understand.
TACO TIME NORTHWEST (chain): Beloved Western Washington fast casual chain featuring fresh, locally sourced ingredients and occasionally confusing Mexican-inspired menu. Not to be confused with the other Taco Time. Has provided food for Peltoncast Live since 2018.
TALKIN’ TACO TIME (podcast): Peltoncast spin-off. Began after Chris Smith joined us to review Taco Time Northwest during our 2018 search for Seattle’s best tacos/burritos. Randy Cote joined us as a co-host in 2020.
THE OTHER TACO TIME (chain): Our name for Taco Time International, which operates Taco Time locations outside Western Washington, including Eastern Washington and Oregon. Originally part of the same chain before split. Common menu base, but less focused on freshness and local sourcing than Taco Time Northwest and more similar to Taco Bell.
TALLBOY FOR SCALE (noun): Use of the iconic 16-ounce Rainier Beer can to provide perspective on size of accompanying food. Pioneered by Tristan to show how close his Diamond Club seats were at T-Mobile Park and canonized by Randy in first-person Eater Seattle story.
10-15 CHILDREN (collective noun?): Inside joke about how many children Tristan’s coworkers in the music industry think he has.
THIRD PELTON BROTHER (noun): Any guest on the Peltoncast who joins the original Pelton brothers. Gender-neutral term.
TRADER BROS (podcast): Short-lived side podcast on Peltoncast network featuring Tristan and Mike Barwin of Tasteful Profanity talking about Trader Joe’s. Debuted at 2018 live show. Only one episode recorded.
UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON (college): Alma mater of both Kevin and Tristan, plus The Famous Cousin Katie and Mrs. Fantasy Genius.
WE’RE DOING YOU A FAVOR (phrase): Running Peltoncast bit inspired by Mariners president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto touting the way management was “actually doing the fan base a favor” in 2023 by not going all-in on a World Series appearance at the expense of sustainable success, which may or may not be true but is certainly a terrible way to message his point.
YOU’RE WELCOME (phrase): Joking message to the listener when they enjoy our suggestions. Inspired by full-page LA Times ad taken out by Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic when he signed with the MLS Galaxy.