Ten Thousand Losses - Should Young Men Get CTE?

Episode Date: September 7, 2026

A rare morning pod, the boys talk Clippers, Phillies, then do a deep dive into the recent "Should Young Men Play Football?" op ed in the WSJ. We ran too long for the mailbag, sorry folks. Next time!  Shoot a message or leave us a voicemail (leave your name and pronouns): 267-371-7218 Find our bonus episodes and Discord on Patreon. Follow us on Bluesky:  Podcast Liam Tom

He is actually going to eject a fan. Because bad things happen in Philadelphia. Bad things. Joy it is to come to Philadelphia and stand here at Dodge Ice Ball. Dallas Cowboys. Head of Smyth, John Cooney. We're live recording. This is a morning.

Wow. Wow, Liam. Saturday morning show. Bringing the energy there. That's me, baby. Meanwhile, I'm like, I got my coffee. I'm medicated. Oh, hold up.

I got the goods. Sorry, I'm on the travel setup, as you can see. You got the monster, the pink monster? Yeah. Ultra Strawberry Dreams. It's not the A&W group beer float. I'm so fucking mad that Matt has that, and I don't. That's been going back and forth in our group chat that you guys don't ever be part of, I guess.

Unless you end up becoming personally a good friend. I don't know. I like that. Sorry, sorry. because there's like, like, I might be in a class with another listener for Irish or something. Like, you know, you never know. I guess that's true.

Yeah. That's not highly specific to one person. But yeah. Yeah, so it's September. It's the football's back. Football's back. Oh, football, man. We're talking about football a lot today.

So. And we don't like it. And we don't have to talk about the Phillies. We're not going to talk about the Phillies because I hate them now. I don't want to play with you anymore. Yeah. We don't have to talk about the Phillies all day. That's the nice part.

Yeah. But we're going to talk about football. We'll get to football like last. Right. I think that makes sense. We're talking about football spiritually and in actuality. I'm sorry, I sit in my coffee there. So, fun fact.

Yes. And to all that, oh, those teaky drinks, right? Yeah, of course. And now during the school year, I'm not drinking as much. That is a good thing. Yeah, and some down to like, you know, like two beers. Six, six cocktails a day. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Oh, I have a fun story about that, actually. It doesn't involve alcohol, but so when I, do you like this weird angle I'm looking at? Because my, like, I'm using the monitor up here. So it looks like I'm just staring at nuts. Yeah. You get your side profile. It's looking nice, by the way. Thanks, dude.

It's three-quarter profile. Thanks, dude. So, okay. So my dad does not drink. and hasn't since long before I was born, okay? Just does not drink alcohol, reasons. He was like, at one point he was like, it was ruining my life, it was ruining my marriage, it got sober, like, good for me, et cetera.

Yeah. But he drinks three beverages. He drinks water. He drinks coffee. He drinks once a year a full sugar Coca-Cola, okay? Mm-hmm. Okay. So he drinks no shit or used to about 20 cups of coffee.

day. Ooh. Yeah. And like, like, well beyond what you should reasonably be doing, obviously. Like, and I don't, this, like, I, like, the 20, like, is maybe, like, a little bit of an exaggeration. But I've seen it, like, he just drinks constantly. Yeah. Constantly.

And, um, he went to the doctor and they're like, okay, like, do you drink, do you smoke, blah, blah, blah, blah. Like, no, no. Well, do you drink, you know, caffeine? He's like, oh, yeah, yeah. And they're like, okay, how much? Like, he's, like, 20. And they're like, okay. Like a week, that's not great, Mr. Anderson, like, trying to cut the...

He's like, a week. A week. And they're like, well, you, like, you know, what the fuck do you mean 20? Like, you have to cut back. You have to come back. Like, now. So he cut back to 13. Hmm.

I mean, that's an improvement. Yeah, markedly so. But, like, he was so mad. Yeah, that, I mean, that... Because a cup of coffee, that's like, what is a cup of coffee? I think, like, some, it's four, some it's five, some it's eight. Yeah, like, it depends. in caffeine, but like...

It's like 125 milligrams. Yeah, I know that like, that's one of the things that's really funny to me is that like you search like how much caffeine and you'll get like six different answers. Yeah. Well, because it changes. It depends on the roast and the grind. Right, exactly. And that's my favorite things.

People are like, oh, dark roast has the most caffeine. Not true actually. Yeah. Yeah, it's stronger flavor, but it has less caffeine because it's burned off during the roast. It's burned off. Exactly right. Hmm.

Oh, I'm, I can delve into coffee. I mean, we, I have the, the, the, we talked about this, I think, before. The mocha. Yeah, yeah. The Dutch one. The only good thing the Dutch ever made. Uh, maybe,

this coffee machine and then the New York City, I guess. No. Yeah. No. Damns. Just dams. Damned polders. Uh, I think that's it.

Yeah. So, so my, my, my, my, my grandma would do, she had her morning pot and her after a noon pot. Right. But it was a full, like, prop a whole pot. Right. And that woman fell asleep at like 8 p.m. every night.

Yeah. My dad is usually up until about 2 a.m. But then wakes up at like 9. Hmm. That's the poster schedule right there. Yeah. Yeah. He,

it's really funny because Corinnell will be like, oh, like I'll go to like call my mom or my dad at like 9, 9.30. Yeah. And she's like, oh, like they're probably like, getting ready for it. I'm like, they are not even close to that. Yeah. Yeah, they're up enjoying life. But, oh, to go back to the teaky thing. So I made out of seraps, right? And since it's, how did you say that word? Serips. That's not how you said it the first time, my guy. How do they say? They say serips. Serps. Serips. With the, with the, with the Schwarz.

Yeah. Like serrated knife. Serips. Yeah. Okay, yeah. No, I probably did. That was actually, that was funny. It was one of the ones that was on that dialect test that everyone was taken yesterday with syrup. And no, to go back to the serps. But, see, in a sentence where I'm saying, I am turning that into a schwa. Is they make for like a good pumpkin, like a little bit of philermenum, like alcohol-free philerminum orosia and some cinnamon syrup and a coffee. Damn, that's like some PSL type shit. and it melts easy like the sugar because it's you know the sugar's already in liquid form so

shouts out to the sticky serfs finding usage because I'm not I'm not drinking like two doctor funks a night during the school year also you hope not right also yeah get to get the the weight numbers a little back down again but uh that creeping up my my weight weight loss chart with the ozempic and then off ozepic it's like a V but like this is a very steep V with Theo Zempe and then off it's like a slightly shallower V so I didn't gain it back in the exact same amount of time but like it's it dude it sucks like

this because I'm on Manjara which is super helpful obviously we're big boys as we know but it's it's really frustrating I think because like there's this like you like

adapting to like the weird ways your body now processes and handles food is just such a mind Yeah. Like, it's not, like, I've got to the point where, like, I can, I'm like, like, I'm avoiding, like, sugary stuff anyway. Like, that's a zero sugar monster that I'm drinking, you know, but, like, like, like, random stuff will kind of trip me up and I'll just have, like, I'll, like, I'll, like, feel like then dying, right? Yeah. Like, I went and got a, we went out for dinner last night, um, down the shore and I got a fillet.

I, like, like, like a good steakhouse had, uh, yeah, and mac and cheese, right? Nothing, like, crazy. I woke up, like, 2.30 in just, like, like, like agony like dude and I was just like not it I'm not even gonna get like graphic on it but just like I was like I'm fucking dying out here like

and it never used to bother me and I like just random stuff I'm like oh I feel like I'm like I feel like I'm fucking killing over like this is the end yeah yeah it is it is true it's a shame it's like I mean obviously hopefully they develop these things to be where the side effects are more minimalized

over time I mean they're very useful drugs I blisters know why I am not on it now because of having to go to hospital, but, or take meds that continue on it, but take meds that cause, what's it called, facial ticks, the tardic dyskinesia. TIA, yeah, yeah. So, yeah, figuring that out, I have, listen, I went from 315 at one point to 235 over a couple of years just on my own. I know I can do it. It sucks when you're a little older and you're not as active and you live in the suburbs.

When you live in the city, it makes it a lot easy. Just walk everywhere. Like, I'll just walk instead. That's all I do. Yeah, I won't even take the train. I'll just walk. Also, like when I lived in fucking brewery town, like, yeah, I could walk. I could go to, hey, we're going to go out to, you know, fucking, I don't know, see a comedy show.

Then we're going to go amongst after. And then walk back. Yeah, it's a, it's a 45 minute walk, but it's still doable. Right. Anyway, I don't want to ram about SARS because it's going to be too. There's a lot of ranty today. Like I said, I'm medded it up. I'm caffeinated.

I'm caffeinated. He's got the juice, ladies and gentlemen. I'm able to recall thoughts and names and places. So, I mean, well, I'll get into it. Hello. Welcome to another episode of 10,000 losses. The only Philadelphia sports podcast that exists. I'm your host, Tom Paine.

My pronouns are he and him is with me. It's my co-host, yay. Liam. Hi, I'm Liam McAnneson. My pronouns are also he and him. Yeah. No guest. Fuck you.

Sorry about no bonus for August. It's a dollar a month, man. I don't tell you. Oh, I did want to announce something. Yeah. Obviously, like, a lot of people who listen to this also listen to, well, there's your problem. I am absolutely. I'm now neck deep in the Penn State.

Well, there's your problem bonus. Oh, hell yes. Dude, I have a lot of thoughts. Hell yes. I do want to, like, address that in this episode. I'm going to add that to the notes. Yeah, as best we can. And again, like, there's not.

much to say that like we that hasn't already been said but I do want to like we hate I think it's it's worth of the week we hate Penn State for a fucking reason right like like it's not because they're like a good like they've been historically a good program right and I like I would not have a problem with Penn State if it wasn't for what happened personally um I went there for two years I had too much fun I had to leave but I don't have I don't have any like hatred towards the the school itself, you know, towards like professors and like the experience there. I mean, obviously hate all college admins. Yeah.

As you as you as you're right to do. I mean, the state should fully take it over and make it, you know, $2,000 a semester. Even that's expensive, but that's better than what it costs now. It's insane. So, yeah, fuck you. Call in 267, 3717-17218. Give us your name for pronouns. Patriot.com.

So that's 10,000 losses for all, all the bonus. episodes, Discord, access as well, where a lot of listeners like to hang out and be cool and stuff like that. Cool, wing, a rots of word. Yeah. So, yeah, last episode, we didn't really cover any sports news because I was too busy ranting you. It's crazy.

You know how cathartic that was and therapeutic? Like, I felt, I went to bed that night. No thoughts about it. Don. Just like, empty. I don't care. Gloriously empty. Like, a couple day, a couple, like, for the next couple days, I did look up.

like other people shitting on him and realizing this is something we didn't we didn't realize that brett has only published two papers since his dissertation what was his dissertation um it was in 2018 i think yeah he's only published two papers he's contributed to like a couple like chapters to books but like that's not that's not that's not doing a paper he's not doing research right that's he's gaming too much right now that isn't hard to be an act in that it is it does sucks to be an academic. It does suck, but... Yeah, but even so, like, you can't...

I don't know, it's a bit much to, like, kind of post-jurize yourself as this like, oh, like, I'm, you know, a genius and an academic and this and that, and not meaningfully contribute to, like, academia, right? Like, yeah, you're just doing takes. Like, he's got... That's what I'm getting at, yeah.

Yeah, he's just doing takes, so he's going to keep doing takes. Feel free to go use the new Blue Sky moderation, uh, targeted harassment category to, to try and report him. I don't think it'll do anything, but... But we can sure try. We can sure try. Anyway, enough of that, loser.

Look at you. Look at that. That's growth, baby. I'd probably make more than him. I mean, my... His salary is public information, right? Like... That's true.

You're a state university. When I make my, like, max scale, I will definitely be making more. Like, that's, no, and that's a thing. Like, people say, like, why don't you, I've had kids ask me like, oh, you're like smart, allegedly. Like, but you're like, well, you're knowledgeable and you're good at like sharing information. Like, why aren't you a college professor?

It's like, one, I don't want to write papers too. Right. They, a lot of, it's really, really hard to get tenure. And if you're just an adjunct, odds are a lot of these adjunct professors make less than the high school teachers. Yes, they do. Because they don't necessarily have a full schedule. What is the publisher parish? Yeah, publisher parish.

Yeah. Our friend of the show, Violations Greg, who was on his wife. is a scientist. And I just remember how many years it took her to get tenured. Like from when I first met her when I was a kid to to like, oh, I'm like in college. Now you finally got tenured. Right. Jesus Christ.

That's insane, dude. Yeah. Jesus Christ. And doing legitimate research in her field. Right. Genuinely publishing reading papers, doing conferences, how hard it is. Grant, always writing fucking grants forever and ever. Yeah.

But anyway, we're here. This is a sports podcast. Allegedly. I want to talk about the Clippers for a little bit for, I'm down. The Clippers death penalty. Yeah. Kind of.

So, I don't know, man. Five first rounders is big. Five first rounders is big. And that's pretty funny because Kauai is now off the team. Yes. Because he's back in Toronto. I assume that the NBA will now let that trade go forward. but I do think it's very funny

just that like the reporting that had come out even I struggle to call it reporting obviously because it's ESPN but ESPN had launched a story or a release story at the beginning of August or the end of July that was like preliminary evidence is that

the NBA has found nothing like no wrong doing and it's like you should we explain this maybe as best we can yeah It's a weird story, and the Pablo Tori finds out writing or episode, the podcast is much better and more thorough than what we can do, right? But, yeah, like, just, just Kauai Leonard, they sort of Steve Ballmer's owner of the Clippers, like, kind of found ways to pay him behind more or less under the table, under the table, and evasion of the salary cap. To evade the salary cap, yeah.

And it was like, so, so he's going to get penalized. by having to pay $70,000, which is nothing to quiet. Yeah, he makes, he's right. And Steve Ballmer's probably, I think, is 30 mil. 30 million. With exclusion from team activities for a year. Do I have that right? Yeah.

And then they have to suspend. So they're losing all their first round picks from 2019 to 233. That is a big penalty. It should be now. Right. But, yeah, when it first came out, it seemed like there was not going to be really much of anything. And there was a little bit of outcry, like,

oh, this is all fucking rig, like, everyone's colluding, like, no one gives a shit. And then they did come out. Right. This week with, with, like, the final, the final, like, judgment. Report, right.

I mean, you'd think that you'd be, like, this, this is, if this is such a gross thing, shouldn't you just, like, not be allowed to own a team anymore? Contract the team, right. Well, like, I don't know, man. I, I have, I have thought that,

but one of the things that really pisses me off is the Clippers. Sorry, I got to plug it in my crap top. Give me one second. Um, but, but,

but, but, but, do, de, d, d, d,

d, do, I have to remember which one it goes in. See, it's always a little lower than you think.

Is it that one? It's that one. Right. It's, it's probably good now. All right. So one of the things that, uh,

that I feel is that this, like, power to remove like ownership, which they never do, they have done, right? They do have the power to do it. Is that I think, like, the previous owner of the Clippers was a guy named Donald Sterley. You remember this? And he said just a bunch of racist shit.

Oh, yeah. And had done for years. And there were like discrimination allegations and weird other stuff that I, it was bad, right? And the NBA basically forced him to sell or the NBA owners. forced him to sell but he still made like whatever $3 billion off that like I guess

There's no real penalty Yeah it's no real penalty except like you don't have your name attached to the team anymore essentially I do think that like It would be funny to like I don't know that you could even enforce it But like ban the clippers from postseason competition Like I don't I see because I don't know Bonus revenues or anything like that

Right, right, right. Or, like, the NBA is going to now start taking shares, like, more aggressively. Yeah. I don't know. I think that, like, for a guy like Balmer, where it's just, like, I think one of the things that I'm trying to distill it down, but it's like, you're already a billionaire, right? You're already a fucking billionaire. You're worth 30. He was, he's the guy who was drunk coding windows, right?

Yeah, the Balmer Peak. Bollmer curve. Yeah. Steve Balmer Network. let's see. I'm going to get really mad at this number. 51.9 billion dollars. So I, oh, as of February 2026,

the Bloomberg Billioners Index estimate his personal wealth at about $145 billion. Great. Okay, so one of the things that, like, money doesn't matter to these guys, right? No. This is just like. 30 million dollars is not anything.

It's just nothing. But I do think that, like, they've got to get ways that like even seizing the company like the team is maybe a good start just because like it embarrasses him yeah but what pisses me off right with balmer is that like you have all the money in the world and this and that and the third thing and you still want to like just not play by the rules like you can't like you can't be bothered right that like I like wealth has warped your brain in such a way that like oh the rule simply don't apply me because he fucking knew what he was doing they all know what they're doing like that's

you know all behavior's purpose or like they all know they're fucking doing but it's really frustrating that just like there is nothing that can ever be enough it's like this is kind of a on a microcos how i feel about like guys like Elon and uh Jeff Bezos specifically like as very highly visible like ultra wealthy guys yeah is it like why are you still working right why do you have a job why do I hear from you more than once every like seven years years. That's just like, hey, guys, I'm alive on my remote desert island. Yeah. It's funny you say this, because I'm often late to get around to movies, so I finally watched Glass Onion last night. And besides it being a very stark reminder of the pandemic, which I didn't like, was just the absolute shitting on rich people and rich people, like, influencer culture and all these tech guys?

like it's all just a vapid and point these people are and they have no integrity and all this kind of stuff and I imagine it's so that he feels useful because it like but if you gave me his his amount of money

I mean besides the fact that I'm going to be like doing debt jubilees and and I don't know trying to get everyone educated in healthcare in some way right um like I'm going to be doing

lots of cool shit like I'm not like you won't hear I don't need to run a fucking sports team. Right. Yeah, I might buy a sports team and then like run it as a co-op. He bought it for $2 billion. Yeah.

Like 12 years ago. But yeah, it's just like, exactly right. Like this is just like, you know, and obviously there's, we,

I think our politics on this are all known. One of the things that that kind of baffles me is like, gilded age robber, bear guys, at least we're afraid that like, there would be, Some horseback to some point, right? Well, you could also like, you could get, like, I mean, think about,

oh, I always fuck up his name. The guy who tried to kill the anarchist. Coul. Frick? He almost killed Frick, but what was the guy's name? Colgos or something like that. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, like, he almost got him.

And, you know, that kind of stuff. Like, like, technology is so good now. like you're very insulated from consequences of your actions. Yeah. The politicians are wealthy and it's such a shock whenever anything happens, like in the case of, uh, um, uh, Berkman. Uh, what's Berkman? Thank you.

Yeah. Leo Colgaz, who was that? That was another guy. Leo C-O-L. I'm messing up his name. Solga, Shogash. He's the guy who killed McKinley. Yes.

Yes. Yes, yes, you did. Chol gosh. Anyway, fucking poles. Yeah, and your last themes, it was CZ in them. Excuse me. But, yeah, like, it is a shock. Like that's what?

That's the, that's the, you got shot by a person we haven't found. Right. At front of the show, Matt, it's actually, you might hang on. Oh, speak of the devil. you're just talking shit but he's texting you and not the group chas yeah because we're doing an exchange of goods

oh they're trading energy drinks folks right and to the guy who got really mad about Liam typing I'm going to leave this all in thank you I'm actually trying to do it quieter the Mac the Mac keyboards are loud they are

let's see yeah I'm a little to try to be quiet that's okay I mean, I'll just cut it out. It's not going to leave all that in, actually. Leave it all. Yeah, man, I, I, like, that's the point, right? Is it, like, these guys, someone tweeted this ages ago,

and I think it's actually a really good in cancellation, like, what it must be like to be ultra wealthy. Yeah. Which is, like, it's just a series of your own preferences, right? So, like, cognitively, it's the equivalent of being kicked in the head by a horse every day, right? Like, because you just, you're so. disconnected from any sort of like meaningful

consequence or you're not going to jail like even because like you know I always find interesting like Martha Stewart went to whatever club fed right but that was just because like they wanted to make an example of her right and I was back when we like meaningfully enforced securities lawsuit right

we don't we don't yeah it's it's it's it's not to get that political takes that we all know but like right now things it's open season for rich guys to just like raid the coffers right we're stealing the copper but the plumbing the the the whatever anything not literally nailed out yeah is is is is being robbed uh while while they distract the jingling keys of gender right gender and and let's be war in low tea and shit like that um these dumb ass i don't know fucking idiots dude Jesus Christ but like they're not at on someone I guess

they're not idiots right like this shit is like purposeful yeah They know what they're doing. It's just like getting you, you hopefully not the listener, but you, your average whatever person and who gives a shit Indiana, saying, you know, oh, like they're putting litter boxes in schools. It's just like that. It's just like, it's just like culture war bullshit. Like, you're getting robbed fucking blind.

You're getting robbed, but you're literally being distracted. Like, and not to go like, I wanted to say if you are like a lib and not a socialist listens to this, I'm going to tell you something. The Democratic Party is not going to save you. They're not your friend. They're not going to fix this. They don't care. They might fix a couple things.

They might, oh, we're going to, you know, the government's hiring again. We're going to maybe reverse some of these policies, some of like the most egregious ones in the tariffs. But a lot of stuff is not going away. They don't, they don't, they hate transgender people too for the most part. A few of them, a few of them are okay. They'll sell them out. They don't give a shit, right?

Most of them still love, still love Zionism. Right. They're a corporatist class bullshit nonsense, right? Like, we all know this. I mean, that's the, I was talking to Corinne the other day about Cheryl Parker. So for those of you who did all love in Philadelphia, Cheryl Parker is our mayor, right? And she is trash at her job. Yeah, two-time DOI have her.

Yeah. She's just bad at her job universally. She can't do anything right. I mean, machine politician, particularly a person who would only, she's only in. Love you. She's only in her position because of machine politics. and the nature of how the primaries run in Philadelphia. You know, there's no ranked choice.

It's a straight plurality. Helen Gim and I can't remember. Ryanard split the progressive vote because neither could get out of their own way. But that's near the here nor there. One of the things that's really baffling to me about Sherell Parker is like it's just like a non-interest in governing. Like she's very much like, I'm here for the PR And the trappings of the office And absolutely fucking nothing else

Right Where she just likes the perks of being in there Right she just She does this one Philly United City stick bullshit And you know Meanwhile it's kind of like Stuffly I don't know

Like just an example I know stuff those funding structures are a complex And it's not entirely the city Philadelphia But like this stuff And like This is not entirely Sherald's fault but just this like visible lack of governorship of like statesmanship. Visible lack of like caring about anything beyond like the trapeas and stuff down to like weird shit that happened around the Wawa Welcome America concert where she was like she wanted, I forget what it was, but the Welcome America stuff had been run maybe the Fourth of July stuff.

I could be obviously getting a little of this confused. I'm sorry if I do. But it had been run by a nonprofit. And then she basically installed one of her buddies in. And, like, the city took it over and it was a disaster. And it was just like, it's so nakedly corrupt, right? Yeah. And she's, it's just like, that's indicative of just like the whole, they're corporateists, man.

They don't care. And I just want to, obviously, our listeners understand our positions on, on, on politics and stuff like that. And we're, you know, anti-racists and all this stuff. I want to, I just want to point out that, like, Cheryl Parker represents, like, she represents the bourgeois of, of the black bourgeois of Philadelphia. and not the average working person. Because sometimes you'll see people, when you respond, you call her a fucking idiot.

She's a fucking idiot. Yeah. You're like, oh, why? Because she's like, no, it's absolutely not. It's because she's an idiot. And she's not a good person.

Because she's, hey, guess what? Importantly, she's not a good person. I liked Nutter. Like, I liked Mayor Nutter when I was a kid.

You know why? Because he did, he did street cleaning and he fucking got rid of the abandoned cars. And I visibly, in my part of Kensington, violence went down when he was in charge, whether that was his fault or not. not, but we saw increase in police response times.

Again, I'm not saying, you know, oh, I love the blue, right? Like, like, you know, I've had friends killed by gang violence. But in a place like Kensington, right? Yeah. It's sort of, it is like, like, having a cop car in the corner every once in a while. I'm a pregnant with this, right? Like, a place like Kensington is just like all hands on fucking death, right? Like, what, like, we're going to just try everything.

Right. We have to try everything. And the older neighbors who had wanted nothing to do with the drugs. and the people with kids who didn't want their kids going into drugs felt very happy that they would actually see a squad car parked on the corner a couple times a week. On the particular corner, that was bad.

Well, Mother Street, that was one of the streets. Yeah, that's that little tiny street that goes nowhere. Yeah. Where the one girl was killed because she was testifying in the corner store there because she was testifying against the Latin King. Um, but, but that, that, we had a cop car, uh, on the corner there for, for years. And it's like, oh, wow, we can go to a corner store again, you know, without having to worry about like, people fucking hassle on you.

Um, yeah. And like, there's this, there's this problem to or like, uh, I'll get you up. Again, I'm not saying, I'm not, I'm not pro public safety. I'm pro, right. Like, people should not feel threatened to walk around the neighborhood. Like, like, I, like, I'm sorry. Like, this is maybe a little conservative take of mine. When you are.

with people smoking on the subway. Yeah. The quality of life goes down. Yeah. Right? It goes down. Yeah. Like, that's my beef.

It's like, you do, I can't believe that the fucking says. Like, again, like, if anyone wants to beef with me in the Discord, my DMs are open, go fuck yourself. But I don't even think they're open, but that doesn't matter. Like, it is not a fucking human right to smoke a cigarette on a subway train. It's not. No. Fuck off. Buy a vape.

Smoking on your house. Yeah, if you need nicotine, you sneak a vape. Who cares? You shouldn't have open drug use on public transit. Like, that's, I'm sorry. There should be safe places for people to do drugs. Save injection sites are, and it's embarrassing. Charles Parker killed that program.

Yeah. And like, Cheryl Parker has done stuff like when they cleaned up K&A where they were like, oh, we're going to clean up K&A, which like, okay, sure, take it a face value, right? What we're going to do when we say that is we're going to deploy. the cops to K&A with fucking, what's that called? Like power washer. Yeah, they had power washers.

They power wash people shit up. That's not cleaning anything up. And on top of that, they purposely did it without telling social workers people like me who do this for a fucking living that like, hey, this is what's going to happen.

Like, I have a place on on prima facia, but on top of that, like, you didn't give us a fucking chance. Yeah. Yeah. And then like, and then what happens is the drug problem like just moves around. doesn't go away. No, it doesn't go away.

This is what I've been saying, right? Is it like, like, there are, like, where, so where Kana is, like, for those of you who are really, like, whatever, look at a fucking map. I'm not, I'm not just dad. Kents and Allen Ganey. Right. It's just, look it up. The problem, the drug, the drug workers have just moved to, like, Tioga and fucking, like,

down to fish town. And they're still around K&. And they're still around K&A. Some of them move a little further back. They're trying to gentrify up that corridor. Right. They're trying to go basically up the out, up the aisle, which makes sense that you would want to redevelop those areas. And I'm not mad about redevelopment. Like, I kiss people like, oh, gentrification. I'm like that. Listen, like, again, at some point, this is a all hands-on-deck problem. Right. Like, we are just going to have to throw everything at the wall and some shit's going to work and some shit's not. Yeah. But you get these people who are just like, oh, like, oh, like, you would you walk around? It's like I fucking have. Yeah. I also understand. Like, I'm the side.

eyes I am and I look like I do. Yeah. And it's funny. I was having a conversation with a couple different people. We're doing really good to stick into sports, by the way. That's okay. 33 minutes in. I was talking about my wife. So we went to dinner.

We went to dinner. This is another aside of an aside. But like last month, we went to like Frenchtown New Jersey, this Italian place. And as I'm pulling out of this place, a guy in a jacked up, blacked out, like Dodge Ram, 2,500. big fat, red-faced fucking baboon of a white guy, right?

Yeah. And I'm not leaving the parking spot fast enough. So what is my response? Sit there. I went one mile per hour. And I backed up a bunch of times and I looked at him and he's going. Like, and he's free. And I'm going, the more he freaks out the start.

And my wife's like, come on, come on, hurry up. Like, he's going to, what if he has a gun? I'm like, I hope he has a gun. Like, I'm legitimate, like, like, like, like, that. Like, that guy was going to have a coronary in his car. If he has a gun, first of him were in New Jersey, so I'm assuming that he doesn't have a handgun. People's Republic of New Jersey, yeah. You know, like, like, like, he's got jersey plates.

I'm assuming, like, oh, if he has a gun, he's going to go to jail for a long time if he kills me. Right. And I'm like, but he better get that, get out, get out of his fucking car, level that fucking firearm and take me out in the 20 feet. Because if, if he pulls a gun on me with, with my wife in the car, car, pray that I don't get to you first. Right. Because I'm just looking for an excuse to rip your jaw open. I think that's legitimate.

Yeah. Yeah. Like, that's my, that's my, that's my side, like my deep down psychosis, whatever. My, my issue is like I would have no problem murdering somebody if they threatened my wife. Right. That's a pretty normal thing, right? Yeah. It's not murder technically.

It's self-defense. But anyway, but we had this conversation on the way back. Like, she was like, she was genuinely framed by this guy. And like, I wasn't. And just like the dynamic of women having to be afraid of guys, which is understandable and all that. I don't know. It seemed relevant in my mind. But like, yeah, we don't fear some places because we look like we do.

We look like we do when we're men and most people don't see us as like, like, I want to go fuck with this guy. Right. I will say, I will get back to sports as soon as I wrap this anecdote up. but um i Corinne points on the out to me when I wait on the L platform uh I will

I think I've said this on the on air but uh I noticed a few months ago I was waiting for the L to go home and like one white girl like stood by me and I was saying yeah okay and then like a second and then a third and then a fourth and then I'm a fifth and I texted

Corinne I'm like why am I being surrounded by white girls yeah and she was like oh well like like she explained to me later she was like because like men look at you and are like okay probably not but uh women are like oh that one's that one's safe I guess

like it's because it's gonna get yeah I wonder like how much of that is like a racial component or something but or just yeah you could give off the vibe I have I have mean mug I have a severe mean mug syndrome so

so I have experienced the oh she's crossing the street because I walk down the street I had that. And it's like, when I was younger, I would get, like, upset at that. Because it's like, what's wrong with you? But it's like, no, now, now, like, I realized that as I got older, you know. They first started when I was like a teen. Also, too, I avoid teens as much as possible.

Yeah, me too. Yeah. It's just, that's just smart, you know. I don't know. It's city sense. You assess, you assess things. And that guy in Frenchtown, I did not clock him as a threat. Right.

City brink, I did the ocular pat down, right, and cleared them. Like, no, we all have to do what we have to do. But no one should ever have to feel that way, where they live, or ever, anywhere. Everyone should always feel safe in a person. It really is like the end of it going, wow, we started off. How did we get to this? We were talking about, who knows? Clippers?

Clippers. think but uh so and the cons of there can never be enough for these fucking people oh we start talking about shrell parker yeah well whatever she sucks um so i let's go back to the notes yeah phillies like i was just say they did well in the rest coast road trip i watch no games because they're too late and then we i actually watched some of them but yeah they they were they were doing all right and then yesterday they just like forgot how to play baseball it looks like it's the Braves. Sanchez just looks shakish shit.

Like, maybe it's jet leg. I don't know, dude. I mean, this is the thing with this team this year, right? Is it like,

it's not just the, it's like, they'll, the, they'll win games that they should win. Right. And then they'll lose a game

that they should win. And they'll, like, blow the doors off, like, an objectively good baseball team. Yeah. And it's just like,

what are we doing? Like, I don't know if it comes, like, understand the sort of like inconsistency inherent in baseball it's a long season like change like you don't have to say i will say that the lineup uh like day to day lineup uh for the most part looks better than it has right like definitely getting good production harper had reached five times the other day yeah that's sick uh but one of the things that's really

frustrating with this team is just like it feels like like it's and this is like how i felt about the phillers for a couple years now it's just like two steps forward one one step back, right? Every single fucking time. It's two steps forward, one set back. Yeah. We're like, okay, cool. Like, we short up our fielding and, like, we're hitting, like, our eyes is, as, as we're

told, like, a fucking singles machine. Like, but then you just get this, like, Christopher Sanchez, who's been ice cold in a good way all years, just, like, forgotten how to pitch in the zone. Like, I don't get, I know it's one game. It's a small sample size. I get that. It's also the barfs, like, whatever. Yeah.

But it's just like, man, I just, like, I just, like, I say. two steps forward, one step back. When it's the team, you really, like, like, it counts, it counts twice as much when it's a, when it's the team you're chasing, right? We're five games back, right? That's the team we're chasing if you want to win the division.

Right. We're in the second wild card spot right now. But it's, it's, um, it's a race. It's an open race. You know, Cubs, Phillies, Padres, uh, D-backs. And then, the Marlins and the cards are, or not too far back.

I mean, even fucking, even the pirates, which are, which are below 500, like, they're only four and a half games back. So it's not like insane,

like that any of these teams couldn't surge ahead in the last month. Right. And like baseball is really fucking weird. Like that's the one thing I've learned. So, so for, I mean,

we, again, we're, okay, no mailbag this week. But I think for, for one of the things I've learned, because I kind of was into baseball as a kid.

But I don't, so I never played baseball or even, team ball, right? And one of the things that's interesting about picking up a sport as you're like well into adulthood. Is it like there's shit that like I just like

I look at it. It's like what the fuck? Like this weird like because I know about in hockey, right? Like yeah. If you get a goalie that gets hot at the exact right, well you can ride that guy out of a Stanley Cup. No problem. Happens not in frequently.

And then like the Knicks this year who won the NBA championship. Like were they the best roster in the league? No, but they got hot perfectly, perfectly timed. But baseball, it feels like you can get hot. And then what's going to happen is like the following three games are just going to be like you shitting your pants. Yeah. Yeah.

And baseball, too. It's like a little sport where you can go on like a 20 game win streak and so maybe miss the most season. And there's a lot more chances for like. dumb mistakes the compound. I think that that's... You miss a relay and suddenly two outs. Two outs. Base is loaded.

Hey, hey, four city base, force city base. All right. And you fuck up the relay on a ball. And now instead of it being like, oh, they score a run,

but the inning's over. Now it's three runs. Now three runs in and you got to run on third. Right. And that's a really good, interesting. point. I really like that.

I think that's something we can talk about, honestly, and death probably is like the weird, the weird kind of, I don't know, not unique, like, just weird bits about each sport,

right? Because in football, like, if you fuck up, right, if you muff a punt or something, like you're going to get scored on, but that's one score,

right? Where, and in football, like, especially now with the way modern offenses work, like you can get those points back relatively easily. It sucks and it's not going to feel good.

But like with baseball, like, who knows? Because that's, that's not you. That's the other half of the team. Right. Yeah, it's kind of if you think about it, like a grand slam is like giving up four touchdowns. Yeah. Yeah. Like if you think about that in a sort of equivalence.

Right. Because a run is only one score. But, you Yeah, like the nature of that game can change much more fluidly where you still have to have possessions. Like you have to give the ball back and they have to go three and it. Like you have to force a three and out. You have to get the, you have to force a phone or whatever. You have to get the ball back. Right.

And the other team doesn't give it up to you. But whereas in baseball, it's like, nope, three outs change over. But sometimes it's really fucking hard to get that third out. Right. And if you have like a pitcher who throws like three bad ones, you're, you're, you're, Like that's the ball game. Yeah. You can,

you can, you can lose the game in the first inning. You absolutely can't. And then it fucking sucks because you're all pissed off in the dog hell. I've been,

I've been there. I've been there. And, you know, playing now as an adult like with softball, you know, dude,

sometimes that third out at a good team, especially like softball, it's, it's hitting season, right? Everyone's hit. Like,

I'm hitting 600 this year, right? Right. I finally been able to fucking hit. And, and that's low for softball. That's like, like, 500 is like the floor in softball.

the guy. Yeah, yeah. So, well, you know, it's my, my second year, it's my third season. But,

such you have to play softball. Yeah. Yeah, well, this is, yeah, we're treating the fall ball as like it's a dev league

and you can just play wherever position you want. But, like that. That's fine. No, no, it's good,

it's good vibes team. Um, but it, it, it really can. It can go completely fucking, I mean, you could lose like 20,

you can be down 20, nothing in the fourth inning. It's like, what the fuck am I doing? I'm going home. Whatever position you want to play, go out there. It doesn't matter. There's no mercy rule.

There's no clock. Who gives a shit? But speaking of football, football starting, I mean, we had week zero already. We're recording this on Saturday, the 5th. So Temple's playing today against Rhode Island. Yep. But I do want to talk about just the sickos were feasting on Thursday. 99 to 1 people calling UMass beating record.

And Rutgers fucking collapsed. I watched this game, by the way. I watched it too. And it was UMass was beautiful. No one, no one expected this. So one of the things I'll say about, about UMass just really. 37 and 21, by the way. It's like a history of the program.

UMass, uh, along with Delaware, uh, was like the preeminent FCS power. back when it was called like whatever Division 1A and then UMass transition to FBI so for those of you who are not prepared to sit through the next whatever 15 weeks of us just yelling about

college ball yeah I will very quickly division one is broken into two groups Division one football is broken into two categories subdivisions right there's football there's FBS the football bowl subdivision which is which includes

the The power forward conferences. It's the teams you think of. Right. The power forward conferences and also like temples there for some fucking reason. For some reason. For some reason. I don't know why.

Because they've always been there. They've never been below. They've never been in FCS. Yeah. And then there's FCS ball, right? Like, which is like Villanova and William and Mary and the University of Rhode Island and North Dakota State, right? Like. Right.

Well, not anymore. North Dakota is in FPS now. North Carolina State's not FBS, are they? Yeah. At the ASU? Yeah. They moved up this year. Okay, now we all have to look at the same time.

Yeah. They're in the Mount West. Football bowl subdivision. You went online. Wow. Yeah. Sacramento State's now on the Mac. That I know. With UMass.

Dude, listen to the bison have won 18 Nadies. They have won 10 division on FCS national championships between 2011 and 24. The most overall and the most overall. and the record for the most consecutive championships with five. Yeah. They were a very good program for us, yes, yeah. Yes. And like that 2011, 2012, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2019, 2021, 2021, 2024.

Just, Christ. They also won 83, 85, 86, 88, 1980, 1990, and D2. Okay. So one of the things that is, well, again, this is actually going to be a deep eye for all to talk about this with that, but, like, what is the future of college football look like? Because one of the things that I want to talk about, and again, this is, like I said, this is probably deep back is,

there is so much money in this fucking sport now. Yeah. There is so much money. And no one has a handle on it. No one's regulated it. It's a wild fucking west. It's insane. And there's stuff like LSU is getting sued by the SEC

because of, because Lane Kiffin's an insane person. We talked about this like two episodes ago, rostering players who have signed NFL contracts. Or attempted to. Yeah, they didn't roster them for this game on purpose. They rostered 103 out of 105 spots leaving two open. Because Lane, I hope for Clemson.

I've never rude for Clemson before. I am fully prepared to root for Clemson right now. But I also have beef with Lane Kiff because he left Ole Miss hanging when they were running to the, when they were going to the playoff. And I thought that was dirty shit. He left in the middle of the, that's dirty work, dude. Yeah, he sucks. That's not the point.

So, your I kickoffs in six minutes, but your eye is the first of what game? Temple, Rhode Island, right? I thought we not kick off a noon. Temple, Rhode Island. I thought it was two o'clock start. Please do, do you. Please, too. I mean.

No, I'm not looking for a temple on Rhode Island, dumbass. 2 p.m. Okay, great. Clemson LSU kicks at 7.30 at the night. So one of the things that's really frustrating, or not frustrating, but like, so your eye is a good FCF school, right? They're number seven in the FCS poll, I think.

Temple, I was talking about this. Temple has to win this game. Oh, no, for sure. And it's also like a trap game. It is. Because FCS is like, you think FBS balls, well it was. FCS is fucking insane. But to my original point,

UMass beating Rutgers, UMass was, like I said, along with Delaware, before they transitioned to FBS ball, the preeminent like FCS team. Yeah. In 1998 national championships, national championship, back in the 60s, the 80s,

when the Yankee conference was still around for my old heads out there. Yeah. UMass was just dominant. Yeah. And like, that's Delaware and then Sam Houston State, or Casey Killer came to us from. But it's really funny because UMass and the FBS has absolutely been fucking rock bottom awful.

Yeah. They've never, they've, I don't think they've ever been good since they came up, right? Mm-mm. No. Mm-mm-mm. Yeah.

Yeah, whereas, where's, how did Delaware do last year? Not great, but like, I mean, it's tough to transition.

It's a transition. Yeah. The, the, I'm looking at like season results. You have such a, uh, oh,

they went seven to six last year. For your first year in FBS, that ain't half fucking bad. That's not bad at all. They went to the 60th Ventures Bowl. They were better than Temple. Well, Temple could have been 7.05. Yeah, we should have been. And that's what Casey Killer.

There's a lot of Casey. Naturally, we can transition to Temple. Yeah, there was a great article, the interview the Inquirer did with Casey Killer. The dude has the right mindset. He was saying, where do we recruit? We recruit Ohio, Pennsylvania. New Jersey, New York. He's like Connecticut, Connecticut to Virginia, New Jersey to Ohio.

That's a recruiting. If a kid from Florida wants to come to our team, that's great. We won't turn them down. But where we're looking, we are looking for guys in our area that are getting overlooked. That's smart shit. That is exactly what Matt Ruhl did too. Yeah. And he's saying NIL and that stuff, agents, I don't deal with any of that.

I got a guy for that. That's a different side of things. I worry about getting the guys. He's like, I don't call plays anymore. He's like, I'm putting the team together. I'm putting team together. And that's, you know, that's a good thing. We kept all of our starters.

All of our starters stayed. We're the only FBS team to do that last year. There's a thing, too, that there's a story. I'll send it to you. If you can do me a solid and either skein it out or put it in the show notes. So the University of North Texas, Mean Green, who I believe is also in the American, because we all They all

with the conferences don't mean anything at UNT there was this really interesting story that came out that was like

what happened these are the programs that get depleted right that like you do two years at like UNT that's effectively

this is not an indictment of like UNT's academics or their athletic programs it's just like you you

get overlooked out of high school you go to you and T and then Texas or or A&M or whoever

comes knocking the doors as, oh, we really want you. And you transfer out, right? Like, because go get that bag. Right. Not knocking you, right, but that leaves UNT kind of holding the bag a little bit. And so there was a story talking about how they had to reload in the transfer portal and got 50 guys in 10 days. And they were like, this, like, this is the new normal.

I would have to get, like, swimmer, swim or die. Well, the guys, well, the teams that are smart with the transfer portal aren't going, like, like, our, our, our, quarterback Jackson Smok, hey, you're not going to get any time of Penn State. But you can start here. Yeah, you can start. Why not? B.J. Walker was the NFL. Yeah.

NFL's looking for it if you can play. Yeah. Guys get drafted from FCS. Guys get drafted from D-2. Of course, it fucking Wentz. Yeah. He was, he was North Dakota State. Yeah.

But guys, do you get drafted out of like Kudson? I mean, you have to be really good to get dressed out of somewhere like Kutstown, but it does happen. But it does happen. But yeah, so like NFL scouts are just looking for the guys, right? And being a starter at any program is good. Worth its weight in gold. Yeah.

Yeah. So, yeah, would you rather fucking sit there? Ride the bench at Penn State or like, yeah. Actually play. Yeah, I'd rather play. One of the things I want to talk about too, I think we will have to have Matt on for this. But like I was talking to my mom actually where she was, she was asking me the difference between, I forget what it was exactly. but I was trying to explain very quickly the difference between college ball and the NFL, right?

Like, and I was like, they might as well be doing different fucking sports. Right. Because of how fast the pro game is. Yep. Because the biggest guy you've ever seen in your entire life runs a four, six, 40. Right. Right. It's that filter.

It's all, you have to be incredibly athletic. You have to be intelligent. You have to be intelligent to play football. I mean, we joke. I mean, all right. Do you really have to be that intelligent to play edge rusher, not as much. Well, it's fine.

Yes, you do. Well, but edge rushers, yeah, you do because like you have to. Yeah, you do actually do. Well, because you have to line up in these really weird. I would say that like, I would say that the, the edge rush has, the position has changed so meaningfully in the last 20 years where now you talk about these like very weird like your hybrid outside line back. Because everyone's an OLB now, right?

Like, you have to be. And like, if you're, if you like place like one of the things that's really interesting to me as like a little niche is like how the. fuck do you cover the slot, right? Like, yeah. Because if you're a slot receiver, right, you have to like go, you have to know where like 20 people are all at once. It is, to my mind, the second most like, I don't know how I was this, like, intellectual position

on the offense after quarterback because of like where you have. I'd say Oline's the most intellectual. Okay, okay. Yes, I kind of meant skill position. But like, okay, got you. But like with Oline, you're only blocking one or two guys, though. Like, right? There's so many different permutations.

I understand that. I understand that, but that's exactly what I'm arguing with the slot receiver. Right. Because you have to worry about like your back's falling. You have to worry about a strong safety or free safety coming over the top and just knocking you into a blimp. You have to kind of re-coverage in the same way a quarterback does. That's what I'm saying. That's what I'm saying.

Right. You said it better than I could. Yeah. Because if you're like, oh, you know, this, this is a, oh, I think they're actually a man-fit or something like that. Right. and the match coverage or whatever. Oh, okay. And I'm running an option route, right?

Which means that I have a choice based on what's open. Okay, now I'm going to break, break in and do a slant or something like that, trying to get a quick hit because this guy's behind me, whatever. Frix that over the top, hopefully go off of 12, 15 yards, right? Right. I mean, that's what I was saying to current yesterday. We were talking about this is like, that's the hard part, right? Is it like everything moves so fucking quick. Yeah.

And you have to, you have to, you're playing chess in your mind. You have to be able to do this. And you have to, you have to, man, it's, what's interesting, I would say, CFB 27 this year, there's tons of adjustments you can make now. And, fridge. Liam's communicating. We'll let him communicate. This one was for me. I'll share it with you.

I didn't know he had one. Yeah. So, geez, I will tell you, though, like, my wife smells so bad. No, I do. Wow. I'll censor that. No, I'll censor that.

Leave it in. So I was saying CFB 27, right? This year, they put a whole shitloaded defensive and offensive adjustments in there. The kids who are playing, they're like, what the fuck is this? Like, they've never played football before.

Right. And like, honestly, like, I played, I played fullback in defensive end. Like, I didn't have to worry about stack. No one's running the doubles, gun stack in fucking Catholic League in 2001 2002 right

we're running fucking wingtie and option shit flex bone yeah if it's stupid and it's stupid if it's stupid so as a defensive end look I just needed to know okay what's how to crash and is there a stunt

right right that was what I needed to know and that's why I didn't actually play a game as fullback because that was too much all right you just you're you look find the hole block block it block the guy coming through the hole look for look for the look for the right the loose guy you know or spy or whatever yeah yeah yeah like yeah i was like oh i don't know this shit that's why i never got off third string because i didn't put the work in to learn the playbook that well uh that's why i played more defensive end but um yeah it is an intellectual game um this this sort of like leads naturally into our are our um

sort of like deep dive I want to talk about, which is, there's an article in the Wall Street Journal by fucking Ben Sass saying, he's not dead yet? No. Saying that young men need to play football. More American young men need to play football. And see, if you didn't have CTE and horrible injuries in fucking practice, I would, I would be inclined to at least the premise of that, I would say, well, football can provide things, can provide good things to young men

but it doesn't it doesn't outweigh the CTA it doesn't outweigh the life altering injuries you know like the fucking what was it Friday Night Lights the book yeah right what's his name boogie or some shit gets his knee destroyed

doesn't get to surgery yep right goes in plays fucking dude's life is gone never goes the NFL grab me yeah yeah I think the dude's in jail now yeah shit head like like domestic

abuse or all that kind of stuff. But that's the kind of stuff that football does. Like, because you want to play, you want to be out there for your guys. You want to put, you have to play, you have to play through injuries. Were you ever 100% for any football game that you ever played? Me? Yeah. No. No. No. You always have some sort of something sore, something hurts. Your finger got bent weird. Love you. There was, there was never any, like, like, like, and I didn't, you started. Right. I didn't start and I didn't play all four years in high school. But I remember just being fucking sore. Everything hurts.

Everything hurts. Just because I was in practice. I practiced every, every game. I fucking, I broke a couple fingers. This is just being on the practice team. Yeah. Broken fingers. At one point, I pulled my calf really bad.

The same calf I eventually tore. So that probably was the origin of that. Right. And then when I when I tore my partially tore my, what's it called? Back, the back thing. Disc. Partially hernia ate my disc. There we go.

When I got the MRI, they're like, oh, you have like four like bulging discs. Right. They're like, did you ever play football when you were kids? I was like, yeah. Yeah. That was from that probably. That'll happen. Yeah.

So do young men need to play football is the first question. and this has been going around on social media today. Right. If not, what can we do to like fill that sort of get? Because I do want to say the positives of football. And I was kind of formulating this theory today. It provides young men. And when I say young men, I don't, you know, we're all for, we support, you know, everyone of every gender expression and all that kind of stuff, your freedom to transition and everything like that.

So young men here is an inclusive, not exclusive term, right? Right. But but but in general, we're talking most this is very, this is very heteronormative kind of conversation we're having here. Yes. But it doesn't have to be. Right. But as it exists in this country, it is.

Right. What we're, we're playing with the ball we have, right? Right. So I, I want to say if I'm sorry, I just want to say one thing. I actually have a very interesting story about this from very recently. So I was talking to my mom and she's like, hey, I've got this friend whose kid is like about like he's he's he's had a gross bird, very wide shoulder like ideal like backer belt, right? Like. And she was like my friend, you know, is really like worried about.

He like basically the coach who also is like a one of a history teacher, right? because of South Coast America. Yeah. I was like, hey, like, is your kid interested in playing football? And the mom was, like, asking my mom for advice. And I, and she turned to me and I was like, unless your kid is like, got to be good. Yeah. Fuck now.

Like, fuck now, right? Like, right? Right. Can start, like, the school has like a meaningful, and like, what do you want? What do you want out of it, right? Because, like, unless you believe that this kid can go D1, there is zero points letting your kid play football to my mind. Like, if they can go D1 or even D2, sure, fucking let them have it. But, like, and that's still like a mercenary calculation.

Right, right? Exactly. That's not, like, I don't feel good saying that, right? Yeah. But I see these, like, nine and ten-year-olds play, and I'm like, that's just bad. Yeah. Like, and, like, I, you know, I, of course, have talked about having children. And, you know, one of the things is, like, would I let my kid play football?

I don't think so. Like, just because, like, it's, it's. Like, dude, we, we sucked at football and still got pretty bagging up. Yeah. I didn't even have to fucking start. I don't get a couple games. Like, and I got, and, you know, if I played it off four, and you know, and that's the thing I said, I still kind of wish I played all four years. I wish I advocated for myself more and worked harder.

Dude, it's so fucking ingrained in my mind from childhood because it's, it's, and this is the thing. It's this like fraternality. I'm using a very old word. There's like brotherhood of things. You literally are putting your body in the way of other people and willing to take injuries. Life potentially, rarely but potentially. Life-threatening injuries for your guys. And that is, is I think, and listen, you guys can tell me what you think of this.

I think there is something. I could be wrong. I'm not doing evo-psych or anything. I think there is something psychologically ingrained into, I don't think it's necessarily men, but I think just in humans that putting your putting your life on the line for one of your guys,

one of your people, is probably essential to the survival of the species and it forms a bond because you know this guy's got your back. There's a reason the fucking quarterback takes the O line out to dinner, right? Because you guys,

you guys are protecting me when I can't see, where I can't protect myself. Hashtag church gang, baby. Yeah, like it's, it's, yeah, O line or no line. O line.

O line. So you have in our society now, this is a form of this collegiate, in the traditional sense, fraternal experience where you are risking your lives and being physical, in a positive way that encourages teamwork, you are leveled in football

because it doesn't matter. I mean, it can't matter who your dad is, but it doesn't. about us for coaching I'm bad at a reply I'll say that right now how good you are because if you are really good

and you work really hard and you fucking study your ass off on the playbook you will play right nine times 99 times out 100 you will play

you will or if you can't play where you're at you will find someone who will let you play and it's a leveling thing and where race race doesn't matter and and in class doesn't matter

you're just a guy on the team with your boys against the world I need to know that like the guy I line up next to is not going to let like a D-Lyman come over the top and then turn me into a pancake, right? Like that's the thing.

Right. And what experience do you get from like what what compares to that? Well, go in the fucking military. But that isn't even the same anymore because you're throwing it from everyone around the country. It's guys from your town, right? Like supposed to be like high school football. It's guys you know.

Or old school college football before we ruined it with this conference. Yeah, it was guys from your state. Like like like like. And previously what is this? Your local militia company before the like we ended the regimental system, right? You're your fucking banned like because traditionally, right, men in the West would form these like militia companies that would protect your town and you would come out in muster. Every Sunday you would practice your archery or your shooting or whatever.

And that formed and like the older guys were the officers and they helped teach the young guys how to do it. And that was part of you becoming part of the community. what can we do to replicate? Because I do think there is a way we can harness this sort of like natural drive for this community. We don't have it anymore. Football does provide this, but it fries your brain. It turns your brain into mush and it destroys all of your joints.

Yep. Can't confirm. I don't feel good. Yeah. I mean, it is very martial and more like of all the sports it is. there's a lot of analogies you can apply for football to the military, vice versa. But yeah, what can you do? And I was saying like some sort of like new civilian conservation corps where like you go through like a like a woodsman training thing or like carpentry training thing.

I don't know. But it's like do young men need to play football? It's like I think it's miss. I think and you can you can listeners you can call and tell me what you think. Liam, you can you can rebut if you think I'm off point. but I think young people in general need community and a source of civic, a source of civic pride and a source of fraternity, but they don't need to kill themselves to do it. Right. I think that like, so I think that that's that you're, you're hitting an excellent point, which is to my mind, one of the things that we do badly in the city of Philadelphia is we take away these third spaces from teenagers, right?

Absolutely. Like one of the things we always talk about is and people get mad like oh these flash mob flash mobs of kids the mall like so give them a community center and have it open to like I don't know 10 11 like and just be like all right you know we're gonna play we can play pickup basketball we can play like baseball flag football flag football like you know and just like or chess or whatever right and what's that skate parks too right like stuff like that we're built since community and also like you're not turning your brain into fucking Swiss cheese right like that to me is the answer is these like third spaces where kids like you know you can have like a teenager working the coffee counter right and they make a little extra money and like they they're not they're not going they're not being pressured to do like illegal shit because like or influencer shit or influencer shit right okay well yo i got to go to work from like six to 10 right you get them home in a reasonable hour yeah they make a little extra money yeah and they and they have a

safe spots, like do homework and hang out and build that, like, sense of community because, like, they're in, they're helping to build it. And a sense of success in prime. Right. Exactly. But the other thing is, like, like, yeah, man, I, I liked. And one of the things that I think we also, like, as, as two people that, again, look like us, is that I, I liked football for a couple reasons, right?

One, it was to cheat. And, like, I was not really, like, a kid who, like, I wasn't necessarily a loner, but I didn't, like, I had trouble making friends, right? We all do. But, you know, football also was like, okay, this is a sense of, like, identity and community in people. And then people that didn't always look like me. Like, I understand that I came from fucking central Pennsylvania where you're, you know, it's the racial diversity. It's not terrific. But nor is class where I was.

But it was like, okay, like, we're all going to, like, line up and just get the shit and just beat the shit out of each other for eight hours a week. and if you can take the hang out with your friends and do an activity where you have to think and review and like and like even to the point of like improve each other right because you watch film right and you break down like okay you missed like

you miss this blocker and I got fucking pancake into oblivion because of it like and there's almost there's there's like body acceptance too because because the big oh you're the big beefy guy we love you you're going to play line you're the skinny guy right who's like agile you're a wide receiver you can't catch great we're going to have you on defense

Congratulations is your TV now. But still, there was like a spot for every guy. Like, like, like, yeah, you, oh, you're short. Cool. You're going to be a running back. Like, like, like, you can play, like, like, like, you can be a linebacker and be five foot 10. Then one gives a shit. Right.

Like, like, like, the, that five foot 10 is short, right? But, but, uh, as a five foot 11 man myself. Um, I am six foot in shoes. Good enough. That close. That close. But yeah, like, like, yeah, it formed this like, come around. It's like, God damn it.

Bit, like, this makes me want to go play. If there was like, we're having a football, we're going to have a football team of just guys who are 30 and up. I'm like, fuck it. Let's go. That's fucked up, man. That's fucked up. But it's because I want that community.

I think that's what it is. And like, like, you should have a team sport you play, I think. If you just, if you want that sense. Right. Team sports are a great source of it. One of the things that we should talk about. And like, obviously, like, I know that, uh, oh, geez, sorry, my head's all tag on. like Matt has talked about,

especially in the CFB Boys, is, like, how expensive, like, travel ball is? It is. It's crazy. And one of the things that, like, I, like, again, like, as Corinna and I talk about, like, maybe having kids, is like, like, if I have a kid,

like, unless you're going D1, we're not doing travel sports. Right. Like, if I can guarantee, if somebody, you know, John Q, who gives a fuck comes up to you with when you're, like, 15 and says, all right, bud, there's a fully guaranteed scholarship to fuck it.

I don't know, what's a school? Like, don't hate it. That's a very short list. Right. Like, you know what I mean? Like, we have a, it's not even Kristen, but Kurt has a cousin who does travel ball. And it's just like, they're on the road like six out of seven like every weekend. And it's like, but this is insane.

It's too, that is too mercy. It should be guy. It should be little league with the guys from your front from your neighbor. Exactly. And that's who you should. Yeah. I think that like, I think one of the things that, you know, not. to titter on horns too much,

or just do the thing where we just read our tweets as a call it a podcast episode. But like... The age old tradition of the poster. Yes, yes, yes, so, so we... I think one of the things that that's hard for me, right? And that's hard for... And I assume you, because our politics look very similar.

They diverge, obviously, but they look very similar. Is it like, we love this game. Yeah. Love it. Love it. Like... Yeah, it's built into me. Like, it's... For so many, it hits so many points for both of us.

Same. Like, we love this sport and want to watch it grow and want to watch it like exciting, weird shit, like Stanford trying to hang tough against the University of Miami and just getting blown up, right? And yet we also know that the sport is killing the people. We'll kill you. It will, not the if when. It will. It gives you CTE.

You cannot avoid CTE. Right. It's not the concussions are bad. Right. It's not, you don't, you can, you can play football, never get concussions, still get CTA. Oh, yeah. Yeah. Because they're, what are they like, technically like a micro concussion?

It's these micro impacts, yeah. There we got micro impacts. But yeah, it's hard for me as somebody like when I, when, you know, you get this, again, we're just going to rehash tweets, but like Trump posted or whatever, you know, someone in the room's team, I guess, posted a picture of him. Like it was AI, but like, oh, college football's back. And it's like, you never played this game. Like, you don't, you just want to show up at like Alabama LSU and be, you know, fedded. Like, yeah, you've never played. You've never played the teens

where your fucking life, dude, like. I think he did actually play a little bit, but when he was in high school. I think, but like, he wasn't like a standout athlete. Yeah, because he like lied about all his like records playing baseball, I believe. Right. But yeah, no, like you didn't like, like, yeah,

he wasn't playing. He wasn't playing at Penn, right? Right. He wasn't like, I don't know if he started. Like, I don't know. I do know that he like, at least there was some, some, some, uh, Oh, that it's Donald Trump

and American football where he killed the USFL. Yeah, right, exactly. But that's a guy who wants to be in a sport. He wants all the glory, but none of the effort. That's really, like, if you could sum his psyche. He tried to buy the Patriots and the bills. Yeah. Turns out, it's like, keeping Hitler in art school would have been a good idea.

Keeping Trump, the owner of a football team probably would have been a good idea. Dine from Queens. Yeah. Yeah. I just, you know, I, again, like, you've never, I don't know. Yeah. He did not, like, it would be like me going around. Like, yeah, I was a great football player when I was in high school.

It's like, dude, I was on practice team. I got, I got in like three games. Right. I have a half a sack. Congratulations. Yeah. That's like, I remember that because it was like awesome. How cool it was to fucking take that dude down with me, me.

and it was in garbage time, by the way. Good enough. Yeah, it was like the last four minutes of a game we were losing. They were just trying to run the ball. And they did like a play action. I guess it must have been third. I don't even remember, but I do remember running past the guy, me and the defensive tackle took down the quarterback.

That was it. Oh, yeah. That was it. How nice that crunch felt. All right. Any other words on do young men need to play football? I think we could say no. No, but they need to do something.

We need to figure out what it is. We've talked about this right just before we wrapped it. People need a ritual and I think especially young men need a ritual, right? Like by that, I mean, I know we're being cis-normative, but we're an hour and 20 minutes in and I'm delirious and I want to watch kickoff at this point. So, yeah, I mean, you need a ritual and team sports are important. Yeah. Otherwise, you start watching Andrew Tate.

Yeah, right. Exactly. That's, again. I want to be, says normative, right, I want young men to be good people. Right. And they need things like team sports to help make you a good person. There's other things too. It's not the only thing.

But the male loneliness thing and stuff like, that is real. There is a there is dude the shit I hear my students are young men say But as soon as they find a good older male mentor They can they could stick to you start to see them change Yes they need guidance we don't have it because we don't we don't we don't We don't raise collectively anymore no we don't we it's all individual and it's fucking us up And team sports is like one of the last bashings where you can get a good older mentor and other like like align to a good cause And I think that is like this guy is like

okay, like I'm not just I'm trying to, because like, okay, we like real quick, but one of the things I always want to point out when people like talk about Andrew Tate or Rogan or, you name it, any, like Nick Fuentes or whatever the fuck.

It's like, these guys are grooming you. This is, it's not sexualized, but it is grooming. You are being groomed. You are the, like, you are the product, right? Yeah. And like, it's much better to have a guy who's like, you know, takes you aside and says, hey, man, like, you're, you're not acting yourself,

right? Like, yeah. And says, like, hey, like, what's going on? Like, especially, like, I had that happen at practice and after games. Like, coach Kurt would come up to me. They'd be like, hey, man, like, did good up there. Like, you're a little off. Like, what's going on?

Like, you want to come in my office and talk. Like, that shit, like, no shit, like, got me out of high school and into college because I was like, all right, like, we just have to get through this. Right? Yeah. For real. Yeah. I mean, we could probably talk about this for hours.

Right. Oh, we could. Yeah. I think it's something for both those. Like, my dad really wasn't a factor in my life. And I had, that's my personal growing up in a tough neighborhood and like trying to find male mentors. And I really didn't, I didn't really find them until my 20s. Right.

But I did eventually find them. And they helped me out a lot. And I found that, that fraternal, collegiate sort of thing. sense of community, right. Sense of community, you know, in volunteering with a certain maritime search and rescue organization that remains unnamed. But that was a massive impact on my life. But if I hadn't found that, I have no idea what the fuck I would have been doing. Tim.

I mean, we're too, I mean, I'm from a very conservative part of Pennsylvania. Like, obviously, we're both straight cis white men who look the way we do, right? We get called brother at the gun store. Yeah. something died on my end yeah did you like unplug a mic or something nope I did nothing so one of the weird things that I've had happen with Zencastor no shit is like oh even my fucking even my fucking audacity stopped yeah I've had that happen when one stops the other stops I don't know why that must have been something some weird glitch with my USB yeah yeah that's what I'm saying yeah so so we were saying yeah like young man need a fucking thing I was making a really good point point there to like sort of put a fine point on it. Any other words on that? No, I'm good, man.

They're good. All right. I have all your audio and everything like that too. We're good. So again, two weeks without going through this your messages, I'm so sorry to everybody. I do want to shout out. We do have a message from Egan who also made a fucking sick Eagles logo with Irish flag and Palestinian flags. you do have a DM.

I am going to get to it. All of the voicemails we will get to. We'll do it next week. This is like a really, really, really important subject for us. And like I said, it's close to both our hearts for different reasons. But a lot of the same reasons. And yeah. So I want to give a shout-out to our North Catholic to your patrons.

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You can call in. Send a text there, too, if you don't want your voice on the show. You can also DM and follow us. I'm at Tom Payne on Blue Sky. He's at W-TyP.com on Blue Sky. And I think the pod's 10K losses pod because I was stupid and didn't consistently brand our podcast. Patreon.com slash 10,000 losses. And you can have our bonus episodes.

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probably be good people go owls go owls baby all right and well thanks for let's say well we're here fuck pen state and fuck hells you too yeah that's true um yeah we'll see we'll see you uh we'll see you next time guys see in the next one folks bye bye bye