For the first time in many weeks, all three co-hosts (John, BJ, and Greg) sit down to review the past week's action and preview the X-League semi final matchups. In addition, the guys talk about the Dream Bowl, and specifically the selection of BJ to the team in what very well may be the future Hall of Famer's final game.  For those new to the show, please give our past episodes a listen to learn more about the gridiron game in Japan!

Greg has finally landed in Japan and has overcome his jet lag to sit down with BJ and review the upcoming slate of quarterfinal matches and a discussion as to who might be relegated to Area play in 2023.  They also talk about the upcoming post season championship games, including the Koshien, Rice and Dream Bowls. 

In this episode, BJ and Greg review the results of Week 4 in Super X-League play, from the blowouts to nail bitters, and look ahead to the teams on the bubble for relegation, and also on the rise in the Area division for promotion, including the Dentsu Caterpillars, whose star QB, and friend of the show, Aaron Ellis, did not respond to BJ's on air request. We have to assume he was busy at practice studying the playbook :-). We also talk a bit about the college championship game of Japan, the Koshien Bowl.  *Note, this game was recorded on Wednesday Japan time, but due to Greg's moving out of his house in Chicago over the course of the next 3 days, this episode was not able to be edited and published until Saturday morning. SUMIMASEN!

In the second part of this week's podcast, John, B.J. and Greg make their predictions for week four of X-League Super and also talk about the playoff format for the 2022 season.

Joining John, BJ and Greg from the The Great White North, legendary X-League kicker Toshiki Sato (who has kicked the longest field goal in league history with IBM Big Blue), and now a member of the Toronto Argonauts, sits down with the three to talk a football career that has spanned three countries.   Toshiki began his kicking career with the Waseda University Big Bears and is part of the CFL's inaugural Global Initiative draft class.  From the X-League to The Spring League (now the USFL), and now the CFL, Toshiki is one of small group of Japanese players who has brought attention to the gridiron game in Japan and helping fans see that great players also reside outside of North America.  Toshiki Sato on Twitter Toshiki Sato on Instagram

In football some of the individuals who make the biggest impact are not just on the field, but just as much on the sidelines and in the boardroom. For the X-League, one of the most impactful individuals to the league has been Tim Goins, whose influence upon the game of Japanese gridiron football has been significant, be it as recruiter of talent, as a coach, and most importantly, as a mentor and humble icon. Since 2015, Tim, or "Sensei" as he is often called, has built and engineered a title winning team with the Panasonic Impulse, created the X-League's most competitive system ever, coached with the the Baltimore Ravens, and helped Nojima Rise recruit top talent. The Sensei, a former standout lineman with UNLV and in the Arena Football League, was very gracious in the giving of his time to us on a night where we again turned down Al Michaels & TNF and turned up the love of gridiron football in Japan, and also reviewed the week that was in Super X-League play.  Thank you again Tim for joining us :-)!

With John on assignment, BJ and Greg mute Al Michaels and sit down for long conversation that covers his new English language show that is soon to debut this month over on X-League TV (and hopefully their Youtube channel). BJ's new show will focus on the stories of players and their journeys to Japan, and we hope will make the league more accessible to fans outside of the country. We then segue into a talk about Greg's plan to ramp up a beta X-League fantasy football league utilizing teams and players in both the Super and Area X-League divisions, and technology help provided by the fine folks over at Goal Line Software. After which we review Area week 3 and preview Super week 3. Lastly, BJ and Greg talk about their love of football video games, especially Tecmo Bowl, and how awesome it would be for someone with more programming skills than us to come up with an X-League version for free download over at TecmoBowl.org. Check out Gridiron Japan Television at www.gridironjapantv.net

In this episode, John, B.J. and Greg sit down with Texan Colton Runyan, a member of Club Bears of X-3 football and former player in Tokyo's Urban Football League. Colton also is a former player in the United Kingdom with Cambridge University and the Cambridgeshire Cats of the British American Football Association. In addition to his football career, Colton is also a trained sumo wrestler whom our own John Gunning has come to know while reporting on his training and career for the Japan Times. Colton is currently pursuing a doctorate from Cambridge University, with his research focus being that of premodern sumo wrestling.  The four also review the games of Week 2 in Super X-League play, with B.J. providing the type of insight on the week that was, which only a former player and now college coach can provide.  "Sumo makes its way to Cambridge" From the Japan Times, by John Gunning

A perfect football conversation to kick off the official start of autumn! Aaron Ellis, the starting quarterback of the Dentsu Caterpillars joins John Gunning (of Inside Sport Japan and The Japan Times), X-League legend B.J. Beatty, and football historian Greg James in a freewheeling conversation about his college career at the University of St. Francis in Joliet, Illinois; and in the Austrian Football League and European League of Football. We talk about his recent games in which he has passed for a total of five touchdowns and his experiences as a newcomer to Japan. We then talk about the Japanese college game and the dominance of the Kwansei Gakuin University Fighters.

For the new season of the Gridiron Japan podcast, Greg James and John Gunning are joined by former Obic Seagull linebacker B.J. Beatty to talk about last year's Rice Bowl championship and review the off season moves of the X-League. We review the first week of the Super X-League and talk about the top players making waves on the field. We then take a look at the current players from Japan playing in Canada and Europe, talk about the expansion of the league, and provide predictions for week two of the Super division of X-League competition.