The Bobby Bones Show - 25W: Bobby Gets Honest and Vulnerable About His Gambling + Steve Smith Sr. on What He Remembers from Playing in the Justin Timberlake-Janet Jackson Memorable Super Bowl Halftime Show + Beanie Wells Committing to USC Before His Mom Said 'No'
Episode Date: January 8, 2026Bobby opens up in a way he rarely does—getting honest about his own relationship with gambling, how many thousands of dollars he lost in 2025 and what he learned. Then NFL legend Steve Smith Sr.... joins to relive one of the most unforgettable Super Bowl weekends ever, including what he remembers from being part of the game tied to the Justin Timberlake–Janet Jackson halftime show that turned into a cultural moment no one saw coming. Plus, Beanie Wells tells the story of his recruiting roller coaster: how he nearly committed to USC… until his mom stepped in with a firm “no,” changing the path of his career before it even started. Download the DraftKings Sportsbook App today: https://dkng.co/bobbysports If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, crisis counseling and referral services can be accessed by calling 1-800-GAMBLER (1-800-426-2537) (IL/IN/MI/NJ/PA/WV/WY), 1-800-NEXT STEP (AZ), 1-800-522-4700 (CO/NH), 888-789-7777/visit http://ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-BETS OFF (IA), 1-877-770-STOP (7867) (LA), 877-8-HOPENY/text HOPENY (467369) (NY), visit OPGR.org (OR), call/text TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN), or 1-888-532-3500 (VA).21+ (18+ WY). Physically present in AZ/CO/CT/IL/IN/IA/LA/MI/NJ/ NY/PA/TN/VA/WV/WY only. N/A in NH/OR/ON. New customers only. Valid 1 per new customer. Min. $5 deposit. Min $5 wager. $200 issued as eight (8) $25 free bets. Ends 9/19/22. See http://draftkings.com/sportsbook for details. Follow the Show: @25WhistlesSports Follow the Crew: @MrBobbyBones @ProducerEddie @KickoffKevin @MikeDeestro @BrandonRayMusicSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Hey, everybody.
All right, blow it.
Welcome to the show.
I do want to start off with, and I brought my stat sheet on Draft Kings.
Just full transparency with how much I lost last year or won last year.
Let's go.
And I can tell you this, I was having a pretty good year up until about August.
The last two months, though, really set me back.
That's when things just started getting weird in both the NFL and college.
I was very open about my struggles.
Yes.
And we appreciate that.
Vulnerable.
I never want to be the guy that acts like he wins all the time because I don't.
I do well some years.
I've had years where I've really come out ahead.
This was not one of those years.
My total for 2025 was minus $24,256.
See it again?
24,000.
Oh, my, oh my goodness.
And 18 of that thousand was in the last two and a half months.
Oh, my goodness.
I couldn't hit.
Yeah, it was hard, dude.
And I was doubling up to catch up.
And I was also doing a lot.
I wasn't chasing, but I was doing a lot of...
I think that's called chasing.
No, no, no.
I wasn't chasing immediately.
I wouldn't chase as my emotions were high.
The next week I would go,
now I check my stat sheet.
Let me try to climb back in this thing.
That's a version of chasing.
It is.
But I don't like chase.
I don't feel like that's chasing.
No, I don't...
Chasing is like the night of a big loss.
Like, I need to make it back.
You West Coast Chase.
Yeah.
And more deposits.
More deposits.
More deposits. We're chasing.
I did a lot of bets, though, this year that were
big bets, big futures
that I did not hit.
Are those are all done?
I have one left.
I have the 49ers.
I put a thousand bucks on.
I can make it all back, right?
Oh yeah, it would.
Wasn't that pay like 20?
Yeah, 23,000?
Yeah, $2,000.
But like, I bet a future
and it didn't count as a loss
until it hit.
I bet at the beginning of the year,
preseason, $2,000
on the Broncos and the bucks
to both make the playoffs.
I thought that was easy money.
About week seven.
Uh-huh.
So, yeah, I lost $24,000 in 2025, and most of it was in the last two months of the year.
So there you have it.
Don't say I'm not being honest with you guys.
Oh, thank you.
I had to, so you sent a bet, I don't know, a couple weeks ago, and I showed my kids and
like, look what Bobby hit.
And they were like, whoa, that's crazy.
And then I was like, relax.
He loses a lot too, all right?
Just so you know.
I don't want them growing up.
That was a good one, though.
It had like a seven game parlay for $2,400.
Yeah.
They were like, he hit all that.
Yeah.
I did, though, and that was fun.
But yeah, it's been a rough year.
It has been tough.
Yeah.
Dang, that's a lot.
I've had to slow down a little bit.
Yeah?
Yeah.
I'm a boy.
Especially since our skin.
Brandon's head, same under his breath.
I don't know if you heard him.
Oh, yeah.
We haven't heard from Brandon about gambling in like three months.
I remember a lot of Brandon stories.
Dude, I hit five touchdowns.
It was seven parlors in a row.
But I have to say, you guys were 100% correct.
I don't know if you remember this, but I was like, oh, yeah, I'll get into it.
I started winning, like, just that first time.
And you're like, dude, you don't understand.
Like, you're, it's not going to last.
I was like, I think it's pretty good.
Like four or five weeks in, I was like up.
I was having it.
Oh, my God, dude.
Bobby, you're not kidding.
Like, this has been just the worst past like two months.
Losing money, but how much fun has it been?
Well, you have to do it for entertainment.
Yes.
Yeah.
And I was entertained the crap out of minus $24,000.
That sounds like a lot of fun.
I'm trying to think like, what else could we do?
much fun, man.
It's awesome.
It was fun.
Look how much fun it was.
So, yeah, don't do it unless you have it to lose.
It's entertainment only.
But my wife, my wife thinks I have a problem because, and it's not a, I don't have a problem, okay?
And I know if I did.
You know what someone without a problem says?
I don't have a problem.
Yeah.
I can quit whenever I walk.
No problem here.
I have black friends.
No, what's that?
Oh, that's if you're called the racists.
Got it, guys.
Get it mixed up.
You guys had done that bet, you know?
and like, what was it,
it was Arkansas basketball parlayed with...
San Francisco.
Something.
Something, okay?
And I was at a basketball game.
And I saw Kevin's text come in.
Never saw your text come in until Kevin's came in.
And I was like, oh, I want to jump in on this.
And I was in a gym where there was no service during the basketball game.
I'm going up to the top of the bleachers.
That a boy.
Putting my phone up high.
Entertainment with us.
You hang with your buddies.
And my wife goes, you have a problem.
You try to hang out with the boys.
said, no, no, I'm just trying to place a bet so we can all be part of it. That's it.
Yeah. Those ones are fun, though. Like when all three of us get in on one. And then you're
rooting for you're like hanging out, but you're not. Exactly. And you know what that's worth
to me? $24,000. That's crazy. I was a little surprised at it. Yeah. Because I don't
look while playing. I'll look at the end of the month and just go month. And I think the stat sheet is
great too because it really lets you know what you're doing. And if you're losing too much,
you stop. And I looked at the end of the year, and it was.
like, oh man, my last couple of once were real bad on me.
But it was a lot of those futures.
I just never hit those futures.
Never.
But it's, see, to me, the futures are fun because it lasts a long time.
Oh, yeah.
A lot of entertainment there.
You know, I couldn't find it back in my stat sheet, but I looked like in December or November,
and I had placed 5,000 bets last year.
Nickel at a time.
5,000 bets.
That's a lot.
Well, so we'll start with a little honesty there to get us started.
I do have the richest.
athletic departments in college sports.
Who has not seen the list?
I have not.
I have not. I haven't.
Okay.
What do you think the richest athletic department is in all college sports?
Texas.
Texas.
Ah, Vanderbilt.
Not endowment for education.
That's just rich to go to Vanderbilt.
That'd be probably like Harvard too.
But athletic departments.
So I'll let you come back on that one.
You can also go with their answer.
I'll go Texas.
Okay, it's Texas.
It's Texas.
And number one.
We've seen it.
It is Texas.
Oh, you saw it.
Okay.
No, not the list.
We saw Texas.
It was crazy.
Oh, yeah.
And we've seen other rich schools and then you see Texas.
It's unbelievable.
I don't know how they lose a single game at anything.
That's the thing.
Yeah, they shouldn't.
They shouldn't.
Yeah, I missed it on that one.
Yeah.
But Oregon, you guys said it's better than even Oregon.
It is.
Oregon was.
And Oregon was nice.
And that was the one that was like, wow, they have so much money.
Then you go to Texas and you're like, oh.
This is money.
This is money.
Number two.
By the way, Oregon.
does not make the top 15.
That doesn't mean that their football
doesn't have more.
Because they could take and put a ton in football,
which they do.
I got a guess.
This is college athletic departments.
Go ahead.
I'm going to go to Notre Dame.
That's a good one.
I got another guess.
What is your guess?
Ohio State.
I was going to say Ohio State.
Ohio State at 2.
Oh, come on.
Notre Dame at number 6.
So we'll go to like 10.
You guys have been on.
Number three.
Florida.
Michigan.
Oh, that's a good one.
Michigan.
No, Texas, A&M.
Oh, dang, they do a lot of money.
Stay in Texas.
Yeah, Florida at 14.
I thought they gave all that money to,
was that coach that left?
Jimbo and Bo Fisher.
Jimbo's got all their money.
He took all that money.
They had to hawk all their weights.
Got to sell the weights, guys.
Georgia at four, Michigan at five.
So three of the top four are SEC.
Michigan at five, Notre Dame at six.
And they have Notre Dame listed as ACC,
because they are except for football.
Tennessee at 7. Southern California at 8. Alabama at 9, Nebraska at 9, Nebraska at 10.
Penn State at 11, LSU at 12, Oklahoma at 13, Florida at 14, at 14, and Kentucky at 15.
Wow, Kentucky's up there, huh?
That's interesting.
Basketball, I guess, is that much?
And they had a bad loss last night in Missouri. They keep losing.
They're like, I was going to say, they're really bad.
They're not ranked anymore, right?
They spent a, no, they spent a ton of money on roster.
a lot of teams do. I think they spent more than average because that's a big part of Kentucky
sports. They're playing terrible. I've reposted some of Matt Jones's eclipse of him being like,
thank you for taking John Calaparte from us. We love it. And I'm like, I reposted one the other day.
I said, no, no, no. Thank you. Thank you. Yes. Nice. From the bottom of my heart. Yes, yes. No, thank you.
So, yeah, that's what's up. We have a big show because we have two really cool interviews that we're
going to do. We can go first to Steve Smith, which
I think we'll do now.
Here's our talk
with former NFL wide receiver, Steve Smith.
He was drafted third round, 2001,
and he's just been that dude.
Carolina's all-time leader in receiving yards,
touchdowns, all-purpose yards.
He was inducted into the Panthers Hall of Fame,
which is the Hall of Honor in 2019.
Now he's doing a lot of work with the NFL,
doing a lot of media.
You can follow him at Steve Smith Senior 89.
Here he is.
Steve, really appreciate the time, man.
Big fan.
Oh, appreciate it, man.
How are you guys doing today?
Doing pretty good.
You know, I was just looking at Mike Me, Daniel,
just got fired. A lot of coaches. It feels like in college football we just had this too,
whereas more than I think I've ever seen. I feel like now in the NFL we're seeing this a bit.
I guess I would like to talk first because it's all just so new with John Harbaugh leaving with
the Ravens. After 18 years, like what are your thoughts on that situation?
18 years is a very long time. I come in a little bit caught in between just because of being
a former Raven experiencing John Hardball personally being in that city and in that organization.
And then a little bit of understanding as an analyst where when you hear reports or you hear things,
not everything is true.
However, enough discussion really kind of brings you to the conclusion.
Anywhere you are for 18 years, there's a little bit, I don't want to say complacency,
but your message gets stale.
And that's just kind of part of business.
Every organization, every individual,
when you have a longstanding relationship
or tenure somewhere,
there are going to be people sad to see you go,
and there are going to be people,
unfortunately, happy to see you go.
And then there's going to be people in the middle,
like myself, where I'm not really sure
if it's a good thing or bad thing,
because you've got to start to see what the next steps are.
And over time, you'll say,
hey, that was a good move or it wasn't.
If you were an organization and you were looking for a coach,
or let's say you had a coach kind of right on the fence
and you didn't know, would you bring Harbaugh in to be your guy?
Yeah, you would.
Bring him in because you know he's going to manage every aspect of it.
You know, his background is special teams.
So he's not an offensive play caller.
He's not a defensive play caller.
So he allows his coaches to really do their job.
And he just kind of oversees and manages the,
aspect of the team. So I think it's good. I think John Hall,
Harbaugh would be in a, would be good for a place that has an established quarterback,
that has some things already established because he is 62 years old. And, you know,
for him to start all over and be with a team that's going to rebuild and restructure and all
that stuff, I think it's going to take a little bit of time, right? I'm here in Carolina. So
you've seen that. It's taking a long time. They've in the playoffs for the first time in, what,
10 years. So to say that it's how long it's going to take to build up, I don't think John Harbaugh is
going to put himself at his age and the experience he's had that he kind of want to go through that
again. We live in Nashville and the Titans are here. I'm not a Titans fan. It's hard to be a fan
of a team that isn't good and you didn't grow up around, right? So like they haven't been good.
Who is your team there? I'm from Arkansas. I'm just sitting here. I'm just sitting here about to judge
you. So go ahead. No, no. I'm a time. I'm a time. I'm a
This is absolute truth.
I'm not pandering to you at all.
So I'm from Arkansas.
We did not have an NFL team.
So I'm a diehard razorback fan.
And because I, everybody in Arkansas was a Cowboys fan,
so I refused to be a Cowboys fan because Jerry Jones is from Arkansas.
So I, this year, before the season started,
I said, I'm going to pick a team, a team that does not,
and I'm going to be a super fan, a team that does not have an easy culture,
like an absolute winning culture.
And I picked the Panthers.
And I've been a diehard fan of the Panthers.
Why did you do the face?
Wow.
I don't know.
know if that's a compliment. Well, because one, I said I was going to judge you. Yeah. You said
Arkansas and used football. Yeah, yeah. I'm not sure where there's two actually. They don't. They
haven't in a while. Yeah, they haven't in a while. It's a great point. Yeah. Okay. I did pick the
Panthers and I got to keep pounded jersey. Well, thanks. Yeah. Well, thanks for jumping on the
bandwagon. We're a little crowded though. No. There was no wagon when I got on. It was empty. It was
before the season started. So I have been a diehard year one
Panthers fan and so it's been real fun. And we went last year. I went last year to camp
and, you know, talk with Bryce Young and it was a lot of fun. We had a good time. And so
I've been room for the Panthers. When did you come to camp? I was there a few times. I never saw
you. Yeah, you never. I was the normal, you know, goofy dude with the big head. You didn't see me
walking around? It was at the college. Was it Wofford? It was at Wofford last year. Yeah, we
We went at Wofford.
No, it wasn't.
Last year it was not at Wofford.
Last year it was in...
Not this year.
Two years ago.
Two years ago, yeah.
Because I was going to say they haven't been at Wofford for two years now, so...
Two years ago.
I'm just trying to keep up with the story.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, me too, actually.
Wait, did you have camp at Wofford?
That didn't look comfortable.
Did you have that when you were with Spanthers?
Oh, yeah.
I spent the whole...
I spent the full year of my life in a...
Spartanburg, South Carolina.
That did not seem comfortable for players that had a comfortable life at home.
Yeah.
I mean, that's what training camp is for, though.
Training camp is not you're going to the risk call to, you got a bungalow over the water.
That's not the purpose of camp.
Camp is to make you uncomfortable, to strip you away from all the luxuries,
and to get down to the nitty-gritty, can you and will you make this team and be able to focus?
So you're staying at a college when you live in a house in dorms.
So, no, it's not very comfortable.
But you can do some things to make it comfortable.
I had a luxury like blow-up mattress with a top.
And I had that for years because you can rent a bed.
So I bought a luxury from, I think it was front gate or sharper image back in the day.
And so I kept it for about seven years.
So I got my money's worth.
Because it was like $300 a day to rent a good mattress down there.
So I just bought myself.
You know, I'm very, as my kids would say, I'm very frugal.
Really?
That's my thumb process.
Oh, yeah.
I'm a, I pick up pennies and quarters off the street.
Bang.
Put in my pocket and I get a coin thing.
and a coin collection.
And after six months,
I cashed it in,
going to the coin star,
a full $500 cash.
Dang, right there.
Did you save a lot of money
while you were playing?
Yes, I sure did.
Because I feel like,
like,
I didn't grow up with any money at all.
And at first when I made money,
I bought all the stuff that I didn't have as a kid.
And then I got right.
Yeah, I mean, I screwed it up.
My first check was blew it.
However, I learned a little bit after that,
and so I took care of my money, and I'm pretty comfortable.
You think that Panthers can beat the Rams?
This is a recorded line.
I think yes.
Okay, what do the Panthers have to do then?
They have beat them before, but what do they have to do?
So, well, it's really tough because it's hard to be at a really good team twice.
And it's even harder to beat a team where,
the team before they sustained some injuries,
just like the Carolina Panthers,
but they're getting some players back,
and we aren't.
So it's going to be tough,
but the biggest things is
don't leave the field
without scoring points
because you know Matthew Stafford is
in company. Sean McVeigh is not going to have
the same game plan.
And biggest part is
third down. The Carolina
Panthers are
not great in the low 30s
in third down conversions. So keeping
themselves on the field continuously
going through drives and not leaving points on the board,
I think they give themselves a chance. If they don't do those
things, it's going to be very difficult to repeat
exactly what they did last season. And ultimately,
the playoffs, everything you've done in a regular
season, that's great. That's
doesn't you get no brownie points and they don't give you a four second head start because of what
you did in a regular season is now zero zero and everyone has a clean slate however you know we all
know the records and statistics and it's going to be it's going to be a tough game but i'm excited to
watch it and excited to to talk about it after is it possible to be too hyped up for a playoff
game as a player yes but no you want to be
be hyped up, you want to have nerves.
Where it can get you is
probably in those first
few series.
You're so hyped up, you have so much
adrenaline running through you
that you get super winded, super quick,
because you're going 100 miles per hour, where you probably
should have been going 75 miles per hour.
How do you feel about a team getting a by?
Let's say it's not about injuries. Do you like the week off?
And would you take week 18 off,
if you were getting a buy.
That's two weeks off then.
Yeah.
It just depends on your team.
I have had the buy that's been beneficial for me at the time because I had an injury, so yes.
But I also felt the rust.
It took me a few series to get back in the mix of things.
I prefer to play the wild car weekend.
So you just kind of have a flow and a feel and you can start to get in rhythm.
and hopefully you get in the rhythm
and going all the way to the Super Bowl.
So be able to start, stop,
and then reignite
after watching another team run around
and make their mistakes
and get the rust off.
I think it varies for both
for different teams
and it really counts
and people utilize it based on the outcome.
Josh Allen in the playoffs
and there's not a Lamar,
there's not a Patrick Mahomes.
And there hasn't been to Joe Burrow
for a couple of,
couple years, but he's one of the elite guys over in the
AFC. Is this a year that he's got to do it?
I think a lot of people are saying that,
and I'm not, I don't think it's fair to say
he has to do it because he's
also playing Jacksonville Jaguars team, who is pretty
style, right? Offensively, they're doing what they're doing,
but defensively, they're holding a lot of running backs,
really good running backs, and James Conner is one of those guys
below 75 yards per game.
Jonathan Taylor, who's almost,
I believe the league,
leader and running but for the running backs and yards and they held him to like 75 74 yards
quarterback receivers they're holding under 75 yards per game so it's going to be tough to say that
Josh Allen needs to do it where his supporting cast actually needs to do a little bit more and
take some some weight off of his back because he's been carrying that team for a very long time
I want to talk about return yards because you have a lot of them.
But when you're returning, are you approaching that different than if you're catching a ball?
Meaning the players are running at you all of them.
Do you have to have like supreme peripheral vision when returning a ball?
That's a great question.
Thanks.
Neither one is different.
And here's why I would say, when you're running a ball, when you're running a route, jump up and catch it.
What's the outcome if you drop or pat?
You drop or catch the football.
If you drop it, I don't know.
You still might get hit.
Yeah, if you catch it.
Yeah, I mean, if you drop it,
you still might get hit too if it's close.
Yeah, but if you catch it,
it's a guarantee you're going to get hit.
Yeah.
Home return, same thing.
The difference is they have a head start
and you just get to watch them.
That's it.
It's a mind trick.
The outcome still happens
only if the ball that's thrown to you in the route is uncatchable or if you fair catch.
Other than that, you're going to get everything you hope you don't get when catching a punt
or catching a route with the ball in hands. Big guys try to knock the snout out of you.
Did you hate fair catching?
Yes. I sure did. I was a stat whore.
So, yes.
Could you tell on a punt when they're running down,
could you see the lane before the ball even got to you?
Yeah, that's where the film study comes,
where the ball is going.
So for me, it's catching a football.
I'm looking up.
As I'm looking up, I'm also, because, look,
you're on a team with 53 guys, 46 that dress.
You eat breakfast with them.
You're around them since, you know,
in those dorm rooms, two years ago, though,
Those dorm rooms where you're standing, staying next to each other, you're learning each other.
You also know who has a tougher matchup.
So if my gunner is singled or doubled, singled on the right side, doubled on the left side,
I traditionally go, okay, I need to be paying attention to my single side.
But if the player, the gunner is extremely good, and that's why they're doubling,
I still have to pay attention to him, and then you're going to have an outlier where someone gets out of whack,
and maybe loses a little bit levered.
So I'm constantly looking at the ball
at the flight of the ball.
And while the flight is going,
I'm looking at the football as it spins.
Is the nose up,
which means it will continue to keep going,
or is the nose starting to go down,
which means it's going to fall,
it's about to fall at that depth
that we know that the punter is usually hitting.
And then is it a left to right?
Is it a right foot of punter or left foot a punter?
Right foot of the punter is spinning.
It's going to go to the right.
but when it's left, it actually falls and it goes to your left.
Most punters are right foot it.
So that throws it off and it's a different spin,
so it hits your hands a little bit different.
So it's a lot of calculated detailness that that's why the couch folks
that watch football think they could just get off the couch
after a beer and some wings and go do it.
It's not that easy.
Were you a guy that when you juke somebody out,
you went whoop, yep, got you.
Would you ever talk while making plays?
Oh, yes, I would definitely would say some things.
I said more things inside of my head than I allow.
But then out loud would be after I make the play.
But it was more psychological thing and just, you know,
going through my keys and going through all of those things I need to do.
So on the punt return, I had to make sure that was 11 guys on the field.
You know, so just 10 guys ahead of me because I would be the 11th.
It took me a while to figure that out because when I first did it,
I almost called time out because we were short.
And they said, hey, stupid, you need to count yourself.
So that's the requirement of the pump returner.
And then just kind of seeing everything, is the return right?
Is it left?
Am I on a 10-yard line?
If I go more than a step or two and a half steps,
that means I'm beyond the eight yards,
which means it's going to go on the,
the ball is going to go on the end zone.
So I have to be cautious of that.
and I got to look up and try to distract the donors who are trying to down it
within the before it goes in the goal line, the end zone.
And so I now have to trick them.
So there's a lot of steps that goes into it that is less about what you're saying
outside the people.
And it's more of how quickly can you go through your checks list before the play goes on
and be able to have the right judgment call on the punt return or catching a football?
What quarterback did you have the best chemistry with?
The one I mean, the one I was with the longest.
I was with Jake DeLum, I think probably about eight years.
We grew up together.
We made the playoffs together.
We went to the Super Bowl together, N.N.C. championships together.
So athletically, though, best quarterback, obviously, is Cam Newton.
But, you know, athletically, gifted, and spending time and growing,
into this game with, man, it's hard to just
it's hard to just kind of cross out eight years of experience
to say, hey, man, I just had a more athletic quarterback
for three years.
I don't think that's necessarily fair.
Who's the team to be in the AFC?
Man, I would, I want to say Jacksonville.
I'm interested in seeing how the Patriots are going to do.
I wouldn't be shocked if the Chargers win.
and then but the Texans
the Texans are one of those teams
I'm really trying to figure out who are they
because defensively they're top notch
offensively they've had a lot of hiccups
emotional rollercoasters so
I would have to go with
I'm kind of favoring the Jags or the Patriots
I'm gonna ask you the same thing about the NFC
because again both sides they're really
I don't feel like there's a team
that's head and shoulders above everybody else
but from what you've seen
who's the team on the NFC side
surprisingly
I think the Bears can shock some people.
The Packers were doing really good
until Michael Parsons went down
and they haven't been able to generate a lot of sacks
so their defense has changed dramatically.
The Rams, let's see how they play the Panthers.
Do they play down?
Is this another game where Matthew Stavre has two touchdowns
and then they also give up a fumble
so it gives more opportunity to the Carolina Panthers?
And I'm intrigued to see which Eagles offensively shows up
how Brock Purdy does against the top-tier defense like the Philadelphia Eagles.
So I'm leaning towards I can see in the NFC championship, I could say, the Bears and Rams.
You gave me like eight teams there.
You basically said every team.
You covered all bases there.
I'm analysts.
But here's why.
Here's the real truth.
The real truth is if I don't mention all these teams, the teams that I don't mention that are playing,
when I go to that game or I'm on the sideline reporting,
they will say something to me.
Oh, I saw you picked when Philly in Arizona
when Philly was playing Kansas City Chiefs.
I have picked on like four different,
a couple of different ones.
I would say, oh, I got the Eagles.
Then the next one.
I got the cheese.
And so I'm doing some things at the Super Bowl of the game.
Patrick,
strength coach
and equipment manager
so you picked the Eagles
I said come on bro
I went on another show
and I picked the Chiefs he said didn't hear that one
so
for now on I'm going
I'm going to make sure I hear every team
every team so I can make sure
I'm good because I still got to do my job
man I can't have
one team blackballing because
I didn't pick them
whenever you're going into the Super Bowl
and there's that two week break
Does that feel like an eternity after you've been playing every week?
It is.
It feels like an eternity.
But it also allows you to get everything ready.
There's a lot of planning that's involved.
And you still have to practice.
So you have practice to get prepared for the Super Bowl,
our biggest event of the year.
And yet you got family members chomping at the bit of trying to how they're going to figure out to get those tickets.
And when you go to Super Bowl, each player is allowed it, allotted so many tickets.
That you're paying for, not for free.
You're paying for.
So if you, they give you, I think, 10 tickets or you get to purchase 10 tickets,
or you know it's the biggest game.
And football is crazy popular.
10 tickets is not enough tickets.
So you're trying to.
And so there's a lot of bartering or willing and dealing going on amongst players
on the teams that are going to see, hey, are you going to use all the 10 of your tickets?
No.
how much you're going to sell him to you.
And then you got a guy who starts to realize that he got a hot commodity.
And so he starts to, the price that he said for face value,
now he maybe tries to get extra $100.
So it becomes a lot of will and dealing going on.
With the halftime show making a longer halftime,
did you feel that during the Super Bowl?
No, you don't.
It goes by so fast.
You don't feel anything in that.
It seems short.
Do you remember who played your halftime show when you guys playing the Broncos?
I do because it was
umpteen years ago because it was the infamous Justin Timberlake
Oh, that was the halftime show then?
Yeah.
Did you, now do you even hear about that during the second half at all?
No, we didn't.
Unless you have, you're listening to the broadcast, no.
And I'm on the field, so I don't have broadcasting ears to listen.
Yeah, I didn't know if he did.
I didn't know if they, yeah.
Well, that's a great question.
That was crazy for us.
That was such a cultural moment.
I didn't know if maybe word got back.
Like, Janet Jackson's nipple was just shown at halftime.
No, never went to cross our play sheet.
No nipple talk.
When we're sitting in the nipple, we're sitting there in the huddle and they're going, hey,
do you know what happened to halftime?
That never happened.
But a little bit, though, let's say in the game, if something like you see somebody in the stands.
Like, you see Samuel L Jackson's here, Adam Sandler's here.
Like, you see him over in row three.
You guys talk about that in the huddle, right?
We may talk about the huddle if you run out of bounds.
is really hard to see, and you kind of see the celebrities before the game.
During the game, you're so locked in, you're trying not to pay attention to it.
So when someone does say something, it's a big deal in the huddle.
Talk about your podcast for a second.
What are you guys talking about on Cut to It?
Oh, man.
So Cut to it, I switched the name from Cuttoe it to 89 just recently.
But we just talk about football, everything that's going on currently right now,
talking about the Carolina Panthers.
And then John Harbaugh getting fired that we did that one on Tuesday night just because the news came,
Tuesday morning because the news came so early.
And it was surprising.
And then obviously, like today with Mike McDaniels, what does that look like?
So we talk about everything about football.
And then right now when the playoffs start in the Super Bowl combine, I'll start getting in the nitty-gritty of evaluating these wide receivers that are coming out.
It's a ton of wide receivers, a ton of guys.
So I do a little breakdown on them, what I like, what I think they need to work on.
And that's been pretty successful and I enjoy it.
I love watching film still.
So it kind of gives me a little niche.
And I'm kind of a film nerd, so it lets me kind of geek out.
And I enjoy it.
So it's called 89.
Now you change your name?
Yep, the 89 show, yeah.
Oh, the 89 show.
That's much easier than just typing in 89.
Yeah.
No, it's the number 89.
So we got it, you know, you got a kiss.
Keep it simple.
Steve.
Yeah, the 89.
On YouTube.
All right.
And it's yellow
and has the number
8, 9.
Like the number 89.
Absolutely.
Yeah, yeah.
Just making sure
89, yeah, you were there.
All right.
Hey, look, I appreciate the time.
We mentioned every team.
You're covered.
You can't go on a sideline
without them being like Steve Smith.
You set our team.
We appreciate that.
You can follow Steve at
Steve Smith Senior 89, like his show.
The 89 show on YouTube.
All right, Steve.
We really appreciate the time.
I'm a big fan, so thank you very much
for spending some time with this.
I appreciate it, man.
All right, see you, Steve.
Okay, have me on again.
All right, we will.
All right, let's build the college football parlay here
with Draft Kings.
Tonight, Miami minus three versus Ole Miss.
I feel like my heart is weighing too much on me here.
I really want Ole Miss to win
because I want Ole Miss to win at all
because I want Ole Miss to win at all
with a different coach.
I don't even like Ole Miss.
I don't hate Ole Miss.
but I have no affiliation.
I don't even root for the SEC because it's the SEC.
Like that doesn't really happen as much as it used to.
That's not why I'm rooting for Ole Miss.
I'm rooting for Ole Miss because I love the disaster of
they win a national championship without their coach who left them
because he could win a national championship somewhere else.
So I'm just going to go over 52 and a half.
Oh, okay.
Smart, okay, good, yeah.
I feel like I have too much of a bias.
And when you bet, that's kind of what you want.
want to do. Take that bias out. If I go to Friday night, Oregon at Indiana, I think Oregon
wins the game straight up. Let's go. Anytime in my life, well, most times that people are,
well, this is a for sure thing in sports. It turns out not to be a for sure thing. Like when all
the commentators pick the same team, it's not good. Like when you say the Cowboys are for sure
going to win, they almost always lose. Not always. I'm going to go Oregon plus three and a half.
Okay.
I'm hedging my bet there.
But see, isn't that one kind of a heart?
That's a heart bet.
No, because I don't have a heart in this.
I really don't care.
Okay.
I think Oregon can win that game.
But I'm going to go Oregon plus three and a half.
I think that's going to be the parlay.
Do I need to do three?
Well, you need to hit the...
Was it 375, Mike?
Is that what it is plus 375?
The odds.
You know what?
Over 48 and a half.
I never bet unders.
Over 48 and a half?
the second game.
And Indiana's got a really good defense.
Indiana.
Really, yeah.
So does Oregon.
Yeah.
Screw it.
We're going over is on both.
Okay.
And Oregon plus three and a half.
All right.
That's the parlay.
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see DKNG.com.com slash audio limited time offer.
The 2026 NFL draft is here and the NFL Daily podcast has it covered from all angles.
Join me, Greg Rosenthal and Jordan Roderig after night one on Thursday.
Nick Shook joins me night two Friday and then Sunday to recap everything that went down over the three days in Pittsburgh.
We'll tell you who won the draft and which players were my favorite picks.
Listen to NFL Daily with Greg Rosenthal on.
on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.
A win is a win.
A win is a win.
I don't care what you're saying.
Yep, that's me, Clivert Taylor the 4th.
You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football,
or my career in sports media.
Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined.
And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show.
This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes,
creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated.
One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment,
and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music.
The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast, it's a space for honest conversations,
stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger.
So, if you've ever supported me, or you're just chasing down a dream,
this is right where you need to be.
Listen to the Clifford Show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you're
you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network
on TikTok. You can have opinions. You can have like a strong stance. And then there's your body
having its own program. I'm Dr. Maya Shunker, a cognitive scientist and hosts of the podcast, a slight
change of plans, a show about who we are and who we become when life makes other plans. We share
stories and scientific insights to help us all better navigate these periods of turbulence and
transformation. There is one finding that is consistent, and that is that our resilience rests on
our relationships. I wish that I hadn't resisted for so long the need to change.
We have to be willing to live with a kind of uncertainty that none of us likes.
Listen to a slight change of plans on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever
you get your podcast. I'm John Green. You may know me as the author of The Fault and Our Stars,
and now I guess also as the co-host of The Away End, a brand new world soccer podcast. I'm Daniel Alarcon,
a writer and journalist, and John and I have known each other since we were kids. My first World
Cup was Mexico 86. I was nine years old. I watched every game and I fell in love. On our new podcast,
The Away End, we'll share with you the magic of international football, all leading up to the
2026 World Cup. For us, soccer, football.
Is a story we've shared for over 30 years since Daniel was the star player on our high school soccer team.
Very debatable.
And I was their most loyal and sometimes only fan.
I love this game.
I love its history, it's hope, its heartbreak, and above all, its beauty.
Together, we'll find out why, of all the unimportant things, football, soccer, is the most important.
Listen to the away end with Daniel Auer Kohn and John Green on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever.
you get your podcasts.
On a recent episode of the podcast,
Money and Wealth with John Hobriant,
I sit down with Tiffany the budgetista
Aliche to talk about what it
really takes to take control of your money.
What would that look like in our families
if everyone was able to pass
on wealth to the people when they're no longer
here? We break down budgeting,
financial discipline, and how to build
real wealth, starting with the mindset
shifts. Too many of us
were never, ever taught.
Financial education is not
always about like I'm going to get rich. That's great. It's about creating an atmosphere for you to be
able to take care of yourself and leave a strong financial legacy for your family. If you've ever
felt you didn't get the memo on money, this conversation is for you to hear more. Listen to
Money and Wealth with John O'Brien from the Black Effect Network on the I'd Heart Radio app, Apple
podcast, or wherever you get your podcast.
Okay, NFL-wise.
Saturday night.
Rams at Panthers.
No spread.
Rams at Panthers.
Ram.
Yeah, Ram.
No heart?
Just who's going to win?
No spread.
Rams are going to win that.
No-brainer.
Packers at Bears.
What's surprising to me is that the Packers are a favorite on the road.
The Bears are healthy.
The Packers obviously aren't.
Yeah.
I agree.
Their best player isn't.
playing.
Micah Parsons.
Yeah.
Right.
I think the Bears win.
Same.
Bears.
Let's go, baby.
What do they know?
That the Packers have been there before, at least played in the playoffs?
Yeah, but Love hasn't played in like a month.
That's what I'm thinking.
Like, do they know that?
But they're a favorite on the road.
Yeah.
They don't trust Caleb?
Sunday.
Chargers.
I'm going to take the Packers.
Oh, really?
Okay.
Yeah, that's one of the different than you guys.
Yeah.
I figure.
I look at you three and I'm like, idiots.
And I lost 20.
$4,000.
Sunday, Chargers at Patriots.
Let's go.
Patriots.
Die hard.
Okay.
We need them.
I'll go Patriots.
Bills at Jags.
I'm going bills.
I'm going at Josh Allen.
Yeah, same.
That's it.
I feel like the bills need this one.
I feel like this is the bills year.
So yes.
Just like Cowboys?
No, I just feel like the bills for the first time don't have the chiefs in the way.
You know?
So they can do it this time.
49ers at Eagles
I'm surprised the Eagles
and again I know we're not talking
spreads here I'm surprised the Eagles
are a four and a half point favorite
I get at the 49ers
have lost their stars on defense
but they've been gone for a while
their defense does suck
49ers the eagle
I'm going 49ers
yeah same
I could also have a massive future on them
yes so probably my heart talking there
oh that's what you meant about heart earlier
the heart yes
yeah 49ers
really yeah
Brandon say 49ers
90s yeah Eddie please pick the eagle
this hurts me
not to pick the Eagles.
49ers and one guys.
I got perfect.
Let's go.
We're all good then.
Texans and Steelers on Monday night.
Yeah, Houston.
Texans.
You got to go Texans.
I'm going with the Steelers.
I feel like that's such a slam dunked Texans win that I think the Steelers can do it.
It is in Pittsburgh.
The Steelers got so lucky to be there.
They're so hard to watch.
They won the games they needed to win.
I know.
It just they wouldn't have been there.
Ugly division.
I mean, that's what it was.
Same thing with the Panthers.
That's the ugliest division.
Ugly kick is what it was.
Yeah, that sucked.
Now let's get over to former Ohio State.
An NFL running back, Beanie Wells.
Beanie played for Ohio State from 06 to 08, had 16,000 yards rushing.
Wow.
That's right, right?
The combo was put in the wrong place on this, but it's 16,000 yards rushing, right?
That's got to be it.
Is that it?
Wait, 16,000.
No, there's no way.
That's a lot.
There's no way.
Nope, that's the typo on me.
Okay, 1,600,000 yards rushing.
That's better.
Yeah, we got it now.
How many yards of Beanie Wells have?
Leave this end by the end by the way.
way. Of course.
Fifteen touchdowns.
Maybe he just had
1,600 yards and 15 touchdowns in 2008, 2007.
Yeah, that's what it was.
1,600 yards. Screw it. He had 16,000 rushing
yards in... I saw it.
Yeah. He was drafted by the Cardinals 31st overall.
He set the Cardinals record with 228 yards in a game.
You can now follow him on Twitter
at Beanie Wells 26 to keep up with this work.
Let's talk with him now. Here it is. Beanie Wells.
Hey, Beanie, I was checking out your podcast,
which is, it's on
Ohio State, right, called the script?
Yes, yep.
So what's interesting to me is I want to play it in this basketball, like, camp once as an adult.
So it's like guys just trying to like relive whatever shred of athleticism they had back
in the day.
And your partner, Cardo Jones, was in it too.
And he dominated everybody.
It was so annoying.
He was dunking.
He, that's wanted to say that.
Tell him that when he came to Arkansas, play that basketball, he was dunking on everybody.
And I was like, man, you guys just don't lose it.
Do you still have that Twitch in you as well?
I don't.
I wish I did.
I can tell you one thing about Cardell.
Anytime he's in any type of competition,
you know, he's going to go full force,
no matter who he's going against.
There was a situation to where, you know,
he was at the Ohio State James Hospital
visiting kids that had cancer.
And one of the kids wanted to play him in Madden.
In that Madden game, Cardell took no prisoners.
He beat the kid like 70 to nothing.
It's the most ridiculous thing in the world.
Well, I appreciate the time.
Everybody check out the script.
It's a podcast.
on Ohio State.
Hey, what were your takeaways from that game against Miami?
I mean, it was brutal.
It was very brutal.
I mean, the Miami, they were so dominant at the point of contact.
You have to love the pass rush that they have in Ruben Bann and the Keen Messador.
But for Ohio State, you know, as a former Buckeye and as a Buckeye fan, watching that game,
I was kind of in dismay the fact that we couldn't pick up the blitz.
We couldn't figure out ways to get the ball out quick and manufacture some type of offense on a
consistent basis.
It was disheartening to see because I thought this was a year, Ohio State.
was trending in that Georgia-type direction to where they'd be making a statement as being back-to-back
national championships and going on and making a run and create this dynasty. But unfortunately,
they came up short, but Miami played their tails off.
You played for Coach Tressel, but can you give me some, maybe some commentary on Ryan Day
and why you think he is the guy for Ohio State?
I love Ryan Day. I think he's the perfect mix between Jim Tressel and Urban Meyer.
He can be a feisty guy. He comes across.
a very nice individual, but, you know, behind closed doors, he gets after his players.
He makes sure that those guys are prepared.
And, you know, one of the things that he has that a lot of people don't get a chance to see is that edge,
that edge to, you know, make sure guys are in the right mental space because he is.
He's going to be, and he's preaching that to his players on a consistent basis.
But then when you go looking at the exes and those, you know, Ryan Day's teams are always prepared.
And, you know, him being a former offensive coordinator, he dials up offenses with the best.
Now, unfortunately, versus Miami, it didn't show.
But when you go look at his track record, you know, he's always had Ohio State in contention to win a national championship down the stretch at the end of the year.
And I think that's what you want out of a coach to have your team in it in the thick of things when it matters most.
And he's done just that.
I want to ask one other Ohio State question.
You played with Brian Hartline, and then he obviously was coaching on the staff.
He just took over the job at USF.
What do you think about him as a head coach?
What did you think about him as a player?
Can you give me both of those?
Yeah, no, the heartline is an overachiever as a player.
He's one of those guys that's always going to have an edge.
He always played with a chip on his shoulder.
And that was the same way that you saw him coaching at Ohio State.
You know, you saw him go out and be able to go and get the four and five stars guys
at the receiver position at an insane clip, but not only get those guys, but develop him.
You talk about his track record of a who's who in the National Football League right now.
You talk about Emeka, Mbuka, you know, the list goes on.
Chris Olive, Garrett Wilson.
I mean, the list goes on and on.
Margaret Harrison, Jr., he developed all of those guys,
and it's doing part to the edge and the chip on the shoulder that he always had,
and that dates back to high school.
Heartline felt like he was a guy that was overlooked,
even though he did end up getting a scholarship to go to Ohio State.
He felt like there were a lot of guys always talked about more than him.
So he approaches the game from a different perspective,
like his back is against the wall.
And I think he's going to do a heck of a job down there, USF.
What about you growing up in Akron?
Did you feel like you had to go to Ohio State?
Initially I did.
Growing up, I had family, and there's a small portion of Akron that are Michigan fans.
So, you know, you have people that are Michigan fans and that, you know, growing up in the 90s, Ohio State didn't fare well versus the University of Michigan.
So me being a Buckeye fan, I was like, you know what, I got to go and avenge some of this.
So when I got the opportunity to go to Ohio State, it was certainly the case that I started where I wanted to go growing up a fan and not seeing them beat the arch rival.
You had a nasty taste in your mouth.
But there was a situation to where, you know, as I'm being recruited, I take a trip out to Los Angeles and, you know, go visit USC when Pete Carroll is, you know, dominating college football.
And it was a brief moment in me that was going to USC because, I mean, what 16, 17 year old kid doesn't love the lights of Los Angeles, especially when you got the USC who's running the world out there.
There's no professional football team.
So those guys, Matt Liner, Reggie Bush, Dwayne Jarrett, those guys were it in that town.
So, you know, there was a small portion of me that was going to USC when I went out there on my visit.
Did you ever commit to USC?
I did.
I really did.
Dang.
So the crazy thing is I committed to USC while I was still committed to Ohio State.
But my mom shut that down so quick.
My mom got on the phone.
I literally called my parents, we're after breakfast with Coach Carroll.
And I'm like, I'm coming here.
I'm telling him I'm going there.
I call my parents, my mom and my dad and my dad.
I tell them I'm going to USC.
He chuckles.
He passes the phone to my mom.
And I say, I'm going to.
the USC and then she gives me an earful and says give Coach Carroll the phone and all I see is his face
starting to turn red and I'm like well what did she say to you she said take you back to the airport
immediately so that was my short brief 10 minute commitment to USC where else did you visit so I didn't
go to a lot of places I went to the university of Michigan went to Ohio State and USC that was it
you know once I committed to Ohio State it was a kind of a deal between me and coach trusser well you can go to
one more place to visit and see what you like.
And, you know, I think he kind of knew my parents wouldn't let me go all over
across the world to go to college.
So he was like, yeah, go visit USC, go check out what LA has the offer.
And that was the one other place that I went.
I still think I have a bit of brand bias unfairly against Indiana, even after watching
them be awesome, be dominant.
I've just seen them for so many years not be.
I mean, I've not seen a coach like Signetti come in and completely shift a program
in two years like he has there.
Indiana, they are the favorite to win the whole thing.
What do you see from them that makes them so strong?
I mean, they're a complete football team.
You know, we talk so much about, you know, Fernando Mendoza,
but, you know, it's not just Fernando Mendoza
and what he's able to do in the past game.
They have a great offensive line.
They got a two-headed monster, you know,
and Black and Hymie in the running back at the running backs position.
But they don't know defense aside.
I mean, they get pressure like no other team in the country
and they're not talked about because there isn't that one dominant pass rusher
that you see winning all the college football awards.
I mean, they're a complete football team.
And, you know, it's been a tough.
nothing short of amazing to watch a coach
coming to a program that has been
essential doormat for college football
for so many years and resurrect it.
And not only resurrect it, but resurrect it to the point
in which he's had them in the highest points
in college football, the college football playoff
the last couple of years. And I think
they're probably going to win a national championship.
I mean, this story, I mean,
he's going to have a statue when it's all said and done
outside in Bloomington, Indiana,
because of what he's been able to do there
at that program. But, I mean, it's been crazy.
I mean, they're so good at every single
position and is doing part to
one Kirksonetti but him going out and
finding the right guys in the portal.
You know, we hear so many people talk about the portal, but
it's not an exact sign to us, but he
most certainly hasn't figured out because he's getting the
right guys to be able to come into
his program and be able to deliver right now.
They're killing it in the portal right now, but
fairly, because they've been really good the last couple years, and they can
now pitch that with money.
But year one, it brought a lot of his
JMU guys. It wasn't that they had a ton of
money. It wasn't that they had a staff
a winning culture that people knew about.
How the heck has he done this?
I would say it goes back to the culture in which he had at GMU.
He brought in guys that were familiar with the way that he did things,
guys that were big-time playmakers.
Elijah Zarat is one of those guys that's still on the roster right now in Indiana,
killing it.
But when you bring in guys that understand the way you want to do things,
now as a coach, you don't necessarily have to do it all your own
because these players can speak to the locker room.
They can speak to the other players.
They can kind of galvanize and get those guys.
infatuated with the way that you do things
and knowing that is going to lead to the ultimate success
because, look, he won at the other programs.
And now if I'm a guy that was on JM News roster,
I can tell a newbie on Indiana's roster,
like, all we have to do is listen and buy in, and it works.
And when you have other people in the locker room
preaching that same message,
I mean, that thing makes everything cohesively
and it makes everything jail so much easier.
But it's crazy.
It's wild to see because we haven't seen anything like it in college football.
A guy that come in from,
from a smaller program, go up to the big leagues, essentially, and dominate in the fashion
in what he's dead. I mean, one of the all-time great coaching stories that we'll see in college
football history. Yeah, it's been odd, but refreshingly odd, because I've compared it to, in a different
way, Adrian Peterson bouncing back from injury so fast that it actually showed you could do it.
And so then, fairly or unfairly, people were trying to match themselves to that standard.
Like Adrian Peterson's back, he's running the ball months after he was injured.
They let people know. But now all these coaches are getting compared to Signetti,
fairly or unfairly because he came in and changed that word that's thrown around so much culture.
Have you been, and I don't want you to say any names if you don't want to, but have you been
in bad cultures before?
Yeah, 100%.
100%.
When you play football, we play any sport for a long period of time, you're going to experience it.
And, you know, the one thing that you can't let happen with the culture is once you start losing
the locker room, you start losing some of your veteran players, that stuff starts to trickle down.
and everybody starts to kind of, you know, start questioning the system and start trying to, you know, figure out their own way.
And once, you know, people start figuring out their own way, I mean, nobody's jelling together.
Nobody's together.
So that's the most awful thing that can happen to a program is you lose a locker room and you lose your veteran leadership.
That can go south really quick.
Let's talk about the portal.
I feel like it's the Wild West.
I'm sure you do too.
The story that I was thinking about this morning was the Williams kid, the quarterback at Washington.
and, you know, he signs four million bucks a year.
They've pretty much said that's what it was now.
He signed the paperwork.
And then now it's like,
hey, LSU's offered him six,
so he wants to go to LSU now.
And that is just,
that's representative of kind of what's happening now.
I mean, it is definitely on the polar side of it.
If somebody who signs and then probably gets poached and said,
hey, we'll give you even more money.
Like, what are your thoughts in general on what the porter?
I think players should be paid, first of all.
I think absolutely players should be paid.
But there's got to be some sort of boundary, right?
100%. I mean, I honestly think they should be paid as well.
But when we talk about, you know, guys, you know, agreeing to something and then, you know, all of a sudden,
boating thinking they're going to get more dollars and going to greener passengers, I mean, I think that's where we have to, you know, get this thing reeled in a little bit.
And obviously, on one end, we see it with coaches too, because coaches, you know, can leave and go to a different program for more dollars, i.e. Lane Kiffin and Ole Miss.
But nonetheless, I mean, when it comes to the portal, we don't necessarily even talk about the fact that a lot of,
lot of these kids, if you don't pan out after that one year, you may be pushed back into the portal.
So I think, you know, there has to be some collective bargaining agreement that is in place
for these guys to not only protect the players, but protect the university.
Because if I shell out, you know, $4 million, I want to know that this guy is going to be
committed to this program and not leave me after a year.
And after he has a great year, just because the program says we're going to give him two more
a million dollars.
Now, let it be a situation to where I can come and necessarily up my money.
my contract that I'm offering a kid before he says, you know what, I'm leaving and going
elsewhere. I don't like that standpoint of it. I think there needs to be some rules to rein it
in on both phases to protect both the player and the university because nobody wants to be left
in the dark. And then in the flip side, nobody wants to be pushed out if I don't necessarily
live up to the contract you gave me the year before. You bring up something really interesting.
And I think we saw it with the receiver at Texas who is now going to Oklahoma. He basically
said, hey, I was pushed out. Like it's not all just players.
going, hey, I want to leave for more. Some players are getting in the portal because the coaches are
going, we don't have a spot for you anymore. You got to get in the portal. And I think there has to
be something there too, right, to protect players. No question about it. I mean, just imagine if you
are, you got a kid and you're trusting a coach and a program to say, you know what, my son's
going to commit to you and we're going to expect you to go develop my son, not only to be a great
football player, to be a great young man, to be a great student. And then all of a sudden,
the program isn't winning
and we're trying to figure out ways as a program
to go out and get players that are going to
help us win right now, your
son is going to be exiled
because he isn't a player that's making an impact
right now because he didn't develop soon enough.
I don't want that. I wouldn't want that
as a parent. I mean, nobody would.
So, you know, you have to put in some
rules and parameters to protect
these student athletes, if we're still going to call them
student athletes, right? If you're still going to have
the expectancy for these guys to go to
school and go to class, and go to
class and to be students, you still have to protect him some way in form or fashion. I don't want
my kid to be pushed out just because he is a producer right now for you because he's still a young
kid. He still needs time to develop. He needs to figure out how to be a student athlete, but also
be a young adult in the same sense. And it's not easy, especially in this day and age and
this climate where it's become more about winning and dollars than anything. The timing of
the portal opening is terrible. I think everybody agrees on that. I mean, you have running backs
at Oregon, hopping in the portal, they're still in the tournament.
If you were the commissioner of college football, like, what is the one thing you would do
with the portal to at least give it some sort of semblance of it being collective and
unified and working?
Not even just with the portal, but I think just with everything that we've experienced
this year with college football from the coaching changes to the portal to signing day,
I think we need to bump this thing up.
We need to move the schedule up to where it's a clear-cut date to where we're going to be done by,
to where the portal opens after the season, and you can take a new job after the college football season.
Make this thing done in the early part of January to where we're not faced with these situations to where Elaine Kippen has to decide on if I can finish up my college football season where I'm at Ole Miss and still be able to take a job elsewhere and finish up a recruiting class or go out and get the portal guys that I need to help me for the following season.
So I think it's a whole college football issue.
It's not just a port of issue, but they most certainly have to fix this calendar if they don't want these issues to continue to be a problem.
And for us to face – we sit here talking about these issues next year.
We can't – it's too much money at stake.
It's too much at stake for this to be an issue when it's a simple fix.
Ole Miss is playing with their new head coach, but obviously he wasn't the head coach all year.
And their old coach is at LSU right now.
And that makes me root for Ole Miss.
I would love to see Ole Miss.
I'm not an Ole Miss fan.
As a matter of fact, I don't like a coach.
Ole Miss because I'm an Arkansas guy, but I'm rooting for
Ole Miss because I would love to see
Lane Kiffin leave for a team he thinks can win a national championship
and watch his team win a national championship.
As someone who doesn't live in SEC country,
what are your feelings on Ole Miss? Are you rooting for them or against
them? Yeah, I'm rooting for Ole Miss, no question about it.
I think it's like between Indiana
and Ole Miss, they're the best stories in college football, right?
I mean, I honestly couldn't believe Lane Kiffin decided
to vote and go to LSU when he's shown right now,
you can win at Ole Miss.
You can get the guys, you can get the players,
and they're essentially going to give you the money to go out
and get more players and give you everything that you need at your disposal to win,
and you decide to go to a program at LSU
where the expectation is going to be so much higher.
It didn't make sense to me.
It didn't make sense.
At the end of the season, this year,
he would have had a statue at Ole Miss and been riding high forever,
and then he would have been able to go out and get recruits at a high rate
that he wasn't before at Ole Miss.
I mean, it just made no sense.
The issue that I have, especially with him going to LSU,
if he doesn't win in three or four years of LSU,
he's going to be on a hot seat,
and he's going to be scratching his head
saying that I make the right decision.
Hell, he may even be scratching his head at the end of the year
if LSU or Ole Miss wins a national championship
saying if I made the right decision.
Cardinal Tate just said he's going to the NFL.
What advice do you give new guys going in
from what your experience was?
One, enjoy the process.
You're getting an opportunity to live out a lifelong dream.
So take it for that, but also understand that this is a business.
Understand that there's certain expectations of you that maybe weren't of you at the college ranks.
And you're going into this.
You have to understand that it's a business first.
And you are the captain of your ship, meaning you call the shots.
Don't let, you know, an agent or, you know, some marketing guy kind of force you in a certain direction.
Understand the narrative that you want for yourself and the path that you want to go with your career
and that you are at the ham.
You're the captain of this boat
and you drive it in a direction that you want to go in.
I want to ask you a question just about you in high school
because I'm always so interested in guys who were number one.
You were the top running back out of high school,
which is awesome.
And congratulations on that retro.
Was it just wild in the stands to see all the scouts
or all the coaches always there or the fan?
I mean, it had to be crazy, right?
Was it about you a lot when you were in high school?
It was, from my junior year to my senior year, it definitely was.
And it was a whirlwind.
It was a crazy time.
I mean, this is when, you know, recruiting magazines and recruiting pundits were really
starting to get popular, right?
So, you know, all of those guys were at the games.
And, you know, I felt like after the game I was doing, I don't know, six, seven interviews.
And then obviously you had the scouts there.
So it was a fun time.
It was a wild time because it was all new to me and my family, for that matter.
But nonetheless, it was a great opportunity.
and looking back on it,
I wish I would have enjoyed it a little bit more
because you really never know how fast that time period goes.
I mean, you know, I was 20-some odd years ago,
and it literally feels like it was yesterday.
So I most certainly wish I would have taken it and lend in
and enjoyed it a little bit more.
But it was a fun time.
It was most certainly, you know, fun seeing Jim Tressel,
Lloyd Carr, the Urban Myers of the world
at your school, at your game, you know,
walking through your halls,
and then all of the other kids in the school
pointing and seeing, oh, they're talking to me.
beanie right there. It was an amazing time.
Was your mailbox just full?
Yeah. It definitely
was. I mean, my mom still
has tubs of, you know, the letters
that I got in college and now my son's
getting an opportunity to read them. And as
they're going through the recruiting ranks, they're comparing their letters
to the letters that I was getting in college.
So it's the fun time. What advice are you giving them
as they're going through the process? Oh, man, just work.
You know, I'm telling them all the time. Just keep
working. I mean, things will come and,
you know, you'll end up where you're all to be,
but you have to put in the work because
without it, I mean, you're going to be nothing. And there's always going to be somebody outworking.
You are working just as hard as you think you are. So just keep working nonetheless.
Let me ask you one final question about the NFL. Obviously, you played in Arizona. You crushed it there.
What's happening there? They just fired their coach. You're talking about culture. Did they have it?
It doesn't look like it right now, most certainly. I mean, especially when you're in a situation
to where you're running through multiple coaches or running through multiple GMs and people in their front
office, that's a tough task. It's hard to build a culture when you don't have,
that continuity upstairs in the front office.
And I think right now, that's what we're seeing.
I mean, they're not giving guys a lot of time to win.
And that's how it is in the National Football League in general.
They want to win right now.
So you're getting two to three years to go out and develop a program,
build a culture, and expect it to win.
And that's a hard task.
But it starts in the front office.
You know, I think when Steve Kahn was there,
when he was at the gym position, they were winning games.
They were doing a really good job and retaining players and bringing players in
from the free agency aspect.
And right now they just haven't been able
to get it done. And I think it starts
upstairs. They have to figure out the right guys
and the right pieces to the puzzle.
And Bidwell, who's the owner, he's a great owner.
He's willing to give, you know, the
GM and the coaching staff whatever they need
to win, but it has to, you know,
start with whoever they choose at the GM position.
Over on Twitter, Beanie Wells 26. Hey, your
CBS analysis is really good. I don't know how long you've been doing
this, but we were coming on. I went to watch a lot
of your clips. Like, you're really coming into it. You enjoy that?
Oh, I love it, man.
It's the best thing in the world for me.
I mean, growing up, obviously I wanted to play in the national football league
that was a dream of mine.
But secondly, it was to talk about the sport for a living.
And, you know, I'm fortunate enough to be able to do that.
It's something that's fun to me because I actually love college football.
So it's not even like work to me whatsoever.
That's why I'm always honed in and dialed in
what's going on across the landscape because I actually enjoy it.
Beanie you really appreciate the time.
It was a big fan of you when you played.
And yeah, thanks for coming on with us.
Hope you have a good rest of the day.
All right.
Thank you for having me.
Beatty.
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The 2026 NFL draft is here and the NFL Daily podcast has it covered from all angles.
Join me, Greg Rosenthal and Jordan Roderig after night one on Thursday.
Nick Shook joins me night two Friday and then Sunday to recap everything that went down
over the three days in Pittsburgh.
We'll tell you who won the draft
and which players were my favorite picks.
Listen to NFL Daily with Greg Rosenthal
on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,
or wherever you get your podcast.
A win is a win.
A win is a win.
I don't care what you're saying.
Yep, that's me, Cliver Taylor the 4th.
You might have seen the skits, the reactions,
my journey from basketball to college football,
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Well, somewhere along the way,
this platform became bigger than I ever imagined.
And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show.
This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes,
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One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment.
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The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast.
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Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.
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You can have opinions. You can have like a strong stance.
And then there's your body having its own program.
I'm Dr. Maya Shunker, a cognitive scientist and host of a science.
the podcast, a slight change of plans, a show about who we are and who we become when life makes other
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that none of us likes.
Listen to a slight change of plans on the I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
I'm John Green.
You may know me as the author of The Fault and Our Stars, and now I guess also as the co-host of The Away End, a brand new world soccer podcast.
I'm Daniel Alarcon, a writer and journalist, and John and I have known each other since we were kids.
My first World Cup was Mexico 86.
I was nine years old.
I watched every game, and I fell in love.
On our new podcast, The Away End, we'll share with you the magic of international football, all leading up to the 2026 World Cup.
For us, soccer, football, is a story we've shared for over 30 years since Daniel was the star player on our high school soccer team.
Very debatable.
And I was their most loyal and sometimes only fan.
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Together, we'll find out why, of all the unimportant things,
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On a recent episode of the podcast, Money and Wealth with John Hobriant,
I sit down with Tiffany the budgetista Aliche to talk about what it really takes
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What would that look like in our families if everyone was able to pass on wealth
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We break down budgeting, financial disabilities,
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Too many of us were never, ever taught.
Financial education is not always about, like, I'm going to get rich.
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If you've ever felt you didn't get the memo on money,
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Before we get to the games tonight
As far as actually watch them
What do you think about Michael Irvin
And Miami?
Because he's become a bit of the face
Yes
Like with his antics
And I love Michael Irvin
Because you're a Cowboys guy
The Cowboys fan
Michael Irvin's a cowboy man
Like I love the dude
It's a little too much to me
You mean the wop-in, the belt wop-and?
The belt whooping.
I'm talking even like watching the games and between every play.
Let's see what Michael Irvin thought about that play.
It's like he has his own area on the field.
You're right because he runs back and forth and dancing and like, oh, and he talks to the players.
He's almost like Matthew McConaughey has been for the last, I don't know, how many years has Matthew McConaughey been on that field?
With Texas?
With Texas to Miami.
He's way worse, though.
Like he's more, his antics, I'm saying.
He's much more visible out there.
Because he's loud.
Noticable, yeah.
A little more polarizing, too, because he is active.
Right.
McCona is not.
He's there and people put the camera on him because he's famous.
Yeah.
Michael Irvin's there and he wants the camera.
So he's doing things to keep the camera on him.
Because even Ray Lewis is there and he's chilling.
He doesn't stand by.
No.
He's like, I'm out.
What do you think about him?
Yeah, it kind of annoys me a little bit.
It annoys me a little bit.
It just annoys me when they take, like,
The Taylor Swift stuff was kind of annoying to.
Like, we're watching the game.
And I know Michael Irvin is a huge, he went to Miami, he's a huge supporter of Miami, and he's the face of Miami.
I get it.
But I want to watch the game.
And I think Michael Irvin takes that away from the team that's actually playing the game.
You think Travis Kelsey's retiring?
Yes.
You?
Yeah.
Yeah?
I don't think so.
Why not?
I just, I don't know.
I just don't think he'd go.
out like that. Bad? Yeah, he goes out sour. Like bad. Well, now he's also on the drama with
his charity. I saw that. Oh, I didn't see that. I don't know about this. They steal money?
Money laundering. That's where my mind goes. Um, so I'm not going to say, and you may look it up
because I'm going to give you what I know, and this is without reading the articles, that I think
when they did some investigating of his charities, like 40% of it went to the actual cause.
60% went to the people that were running the charity and the people that were running a charity
were like his clothes. And that's not out of the ordinary. No, that's normal.
Yeah, but they're going, well, you're a really rich dude and it's your foundation.
We think more money should be going to the charity other than just paying like your people
that are your possible friends and family that are running the charity.
There's nothing illegal happening.
And with most charities, that's kind of how it goes.
Yeah, I've dealt with charities.
You pay for the infrastructure.
And you, yeah, and the people running the charity, the people working for the charity needs to get paid.
You know, and so that's kind of, it's a weird thought to think that, you know, you have money.
and some of it, not all of it,
goes to whatever the cause is
because people need to get paid.
I think it's really dumb and short-sighted
when people go, man, this CEO of a charity
makes a million dollars a year, that shouldn't happen.
But, okay, let's say you get somebody
that makes $50,000 a year
and the charity makes a million bucks
overall. Or you get someone
you pay a million bucks
that would be running another company
and that charity makes $700 million.
Because they know what they're doing.
Because they know what they're doing.
Like, do you actually care about the cause?
Because if you did, you wouldn't so much care
about how much money somebody makes
if they're making more money for the cause.
So I always think those people are idiotic.
They complain about CEOs of a charity making money.
Because if they weren't doing that, they'd be running a company.
But they go and hire people that run companies well to run this charity.
What do you see, Kevin?
Yeah, it says about 41 cents of every dollar has gone to the charity.
Raised in the last couple of years, $1.5 million and spending roughly $1.1 million.
And who is running the charity?
It is a A&A management group, a firm co-founded by Travis
Kelsey's longtime business manager.
So that's connected to him too.
I don't think anything's wrong, but that's the controversy now.
I don't think there's anything wrong either.
I mean, yes, it's a little weird.
It sounds weird, right?
It sounds weird that more money doesn't go to the actual cause of the charity, but I understand
it.
I think this one's amplified, though, because it's Travis Kelsey, and he's ain't Taylor Swift,
and he's also a really rich guy, and you're like, well, why don't you just pay the people
to run the charity because you have millions and millions of dollars?
What do you think about that?
I think it's unfair to judge him.
him differently because of the accomplishments and the success that he's had.
I agree.
Yeah.
I think they're running the charity as the charity should be run.
From what I know, I know very little.
I haven't been in the books.
Give me the books.
I'll get on the books.
Give me the books.
Let me dive in here.
We'll see how I come out.
I tend to think if Mahomes is healthy enough to come back at the beginning of next year,
that he may come back as well.
It is an ugly way to leave.
Yeah.
Yeah, dude.
This is a bad year.
Bad taste in your mouth, sour out.
When's the wedding?
Who knows.
There's no date?
My invitation says...
Pull it up.
Brandon open for Taylor Swift.
That's right.
Yes, he did.
On the Red Tour, right?
Oh, yeah.
We're not kidding.
No, no, not a joke.
Yeah.
But you're making it sound like we're kidding.
I know.
Yeah, yeah.
Tell us a little more.
What was she like, dude?
She was awesome.
Yeah.
I mean, everything, everybody says, you know, sweet, kind, takes care of.
of everybody. Would she talk to you in person?
Like, look at you and me, hey, Brandon.
I think she got my name wrong a few times, but I didn't care.
But by the end of it, she knew it.
Hey, Braylin.
What's going on, Braxton?
What's going on, Braxton? I'm like, whatever.
That's cool, though. That's awesome.
Yeah.
The 26 NFL draft is here, and the NFL Daily podcast has it covered from all angles.
Join me, Greg Rosenthal, and Jordan Rodriguez after night one on
Thursday. Nick Shook joins me
Night 2 Friday and then Sunday
to recap everything that went down
over the three days in Pittsburgh.
We'll tell you who won the draft and which
players were my favorite picks.
Listen to NFL Daily with Greg Rosenthal
on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever
you get your podcast.
A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what you're saying.
Yep, that's me.
Clever Taylor the 4th. You might have
seen the skits, the reactions,
my journey from basketball to college football,
or my career in sports media.
Well, somewhere along the way,
this platform became bigger than I ever imagined.
And now I'm bringing all of that excitement
to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show.
This is a place for raw,
unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite
athletes, creators, and voices
that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated.
One week, I'll take you behind the scenes
of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment,
and the next we'll talk about life,
mental health, purpose, and even music.
The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast.
It's a space.
For honest conversations, stories that don't always get told,
and for people who are chasing something bigger.
So if you've ever supported me or you're just chasing down a dream,
this is right where you need to be.
Listen to The Clifford Show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast,
or wherever you get your podcast.
And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford
and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok.
You can have opinions.
You can have like a strong stance.
And then there's your body.
having its own program.
I'm Dr. Maya Shunker, a cognitive scientist and hosts of the podcast, a slight change of plans,
a show about who we are and who we become when life makes other plans.
We share stories and scientific insights to help us all better navigate these periods of turbulence and transformation.
There is one finding that is consistent, and that is that our resilience rests on our relationships.
I wish that I hadn't resisted for so long the need to change.
We have to be willing to live with a kind of uncertainty that none of us likes.
Listen to a slight change of plans on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your
podcasts.
I'm John Green. You may know me as the author of The Fault and Our Stars, and now I guess also
as the co-host of The Away End, a brand new world soccer podcast.
I'm Daniel Alarcon, a writer and journalist.
John and I have known each other since we were kids.
My first World Cup was Mexico 86.
I was nine years old.
I watched every game and I fell in love.
On our new podcast, The Away End,
we'll share with you the magic of international football,
all leading up to the 2026 World Cup.
For us, soccer, football,
is a story we've shared for over 30 years
since Daniel was the star player on our high school soccer team.
Very debatable.
And I was their most loyal and sometimes only fan.
I love this game.
I love it.
history, its hope, its heartbreak, and above all, it's beauty.
Together, we'll find out why, of all the unimportant things, football, soccer, is the most important.
Listen to the away end with Daniel Alarcon and John Green on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
On a recent episode of the podcast, Money and Wealth with John Ho'Brien, I sit down with Tiffany the budgetista Aliche to talk about what it really takes to take control of your money.
What would that look like in our families if everyone was able to pass on wealth to the people when they're no longer here?
We break down budgeting, financial discipline, and how to build real wealth, starting with the mindset shifts.
Too many of us were never, ever taught.
Financial education is not always about, like, I'm going to get rich.
That's great.
It's about creating an atmosphere for you to be able to take care of yourself and leave a strong financial legacy for your family.
If you've ever felt you didn't get the memo on money, this conversation is for you to hear more.
Listen to Money and Wealth with John O'Brien from the Black Effect Network on the I'd Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.
Who's the favorite to win the Super Bowl according to the odds?
Eddie?
I know you haven't seen it, so.
I have not seen it.
I'm going to guess, I'm going to guess the bills.
No, no, no, no, no, no.
Bad, they're plus 1,100.
Dang, that's a good bet. So you should bet on that then.
That's a really good bet. I got a little bit on them as a future.
Yeah, I did too, like a couple months ago.
The Seahawks are the favorite.
Oh, yeah.
At plus 320, the Rams are second, plus 400.
And I think if the Rams win this week, that will probably even itself out.
I think the Seahawks are getting that slight edge because they have a buy week.
Yeah, and the home field, they're out.
Yeah.
The Broncos at three.
The Patriots at 4 plus 900.
but the big gap is between the Rams and the Broncos.
It goes from, what did you say?
Plus 300 to 900?
Plus 650 is the Broncos.
Patriots, Eagles, Buffalo, Jacksonville, Houston, Green Bay, Chicago,
San Francisco, the Chargers.
The Steelers and Panthers are at plus 20,000.
Dang.
That's a nice payout.
I bet on that.
Just an update because I haven't seen it and you have.
What do we owe on our Skins League going to the playoffs?
Boys.
You did the math?
No, I didn't do the math.
No, he just looked at the math.
4,900.
That's what we're down before the postseason.
So basically five grand, which would mean I owe 25.
You guys owe $1,000 each.
We need the Patriots to win to only lose like $100 this week.
Okay, just this week.
But if they lose, we lose like $600, $700.
And then we stop making money.
Yeah, but we don't make money the first two weeks.
We're just trying to stay even.
They need to win so we don't lose money the first two weeks.
Okay.
The only thing that makes me feel better is we're not the...
We don't owe the biggest.
That doesn't make me feel better.
What's that number right now?
That's 7,900.
Ayah, aye.
Oh, my goodness.
Dude, that would sting.
If the Patriots, just doing some math for you guys,
so you can know, if we're 49 now,
and there are, what, six games?
This weekend?
Yeah, yeah.
I thought you're talking about the Patriots.
So we could basically lose another thousand this week,
another thousand the next week.
If the Patriots lose.
So if we lose, the Patriots win, we're probably even.
Okay.
So it doesn't matter.
Now, 500.
So I would say we could lose, if they lose, lose this week, we're going to be down
a thousand more after next week.
So we could lose another $1,600.
If the Patriots lose immediately, we will.
Okay, the Patriots lose this week.
We're going to lose another $1,600.
So it's going to be basically...
It's an $8,000, right?
Just to be safe?
No, five.
No, probably seven.
Okay, seven for the season.
I would say
Oh yeah
That's what I meant
Super conservative
Yeah
No no I want real
Well I can't do the real
Because
I want worst case
Yeah worst case
Realistic
7500
Okay
You need the Patriots to win
Or that's going to be
What it is
And the Panthers right
What about the Panthers
Winning?
What if they win the whole thing
If they win the whole thing
That's going to save us
400 bucks
Go
All right
It's already
It's already impossible
But okay
Guys I know it's
January
But should we
Start a car wash
Should we...
A food drive?
Any offerings?
So we could lose.
Let's just say...
So bad.
What's up?
That's so bad.
Those numbers are bad.
Like, like, and I know, every time you do something like this, you're like, oh, there's a chance we can probably owe a lot of money.
But I didn't...
I wasn't really ready for all that.
I wanted us to be like, oh my gosh, we want $10,000 off this thing.
It's awesome.
And we definitely could have.
We could have.
We didn't.
So if we get to 7,500, each of you guys will owe 1,800 bucks, basically.
Okay.
So just say the worst case scenario, $2,000.
Okay.
And why didn't Brandon jump on this?
Because he's smart?
Yeah.
Remember you wanted to go split in third to their idea?
Yeah, I was never asked.
Here's the question for you guys.
You want to jump in now, Brandon?
Take over for me.
Maybe next year.
Will you guys want to get in next year?
Nope.
I have to think about it.
I'll get in next year.
Let's see the damage this year and then we'll think about it.
It shouldn't be that though.
You should already know based on what's that.
Well, no, I got to know how much to save all year.
Hey, I'll be in next year without a doubt.
Because if I lose a bunch this year, I'll probably be bad even again.
Because I had a couple good years in a row.
There's got to be some conditions.
There'll be no conditions.
No.
You can't make conditions.
Hear me out.
You can't blame me when Joe Burrow gets hurt.
We didn't.
You made me feel like crap for a whole month.
We said we fought about it.
And I also said if the Bengals win, it's your very.
victory.
Yeah, but that wasn't going to happen.
But it doesn't matter.
I said before Joe Burrow got hurt,
if the Bengals end up being a really good team,
this before Burrow got hurt,
you're the one that was right the whole time.
It wasn't just take the shots at you.
It was you also get to be the hero, too,
because you fought for the Bengals,
over the Packers.
Yeah, my crystal ball was foggy.
That's all right.
So we are going to do a NCAA Calcutta.
I know.
I saw that email.
I don't think I can do that.
Those are awesome.
It's too close to the damage.
But you don't, yeah, maybe.
for you. Maybe, maybe, but you don't lose more. There's the limit on you're losing. You bet on
team so you can bid 500 bucks and get a team. Dude, it's crazy. But you don't lose any more than what
you already pay in. You can sit in the draft and then you're like, all right, I'm going to do $20
and then you never have a chance to play. So you have no team. You get a 13 seed. But the more
your team wins, the more money you make. Yeah. Just like the NFL sees. Let us breathe, dude. I got
to breathe a little bit. I'm not saying you have to be in. I know. I saw the email.
My favorite thing is the Calcutta, NCAA Calcutta. It's fun. March Madness. It's fun.
All right, we're done.
I've been think about that for a little bit.
What's up?
Just think about all that.
We need the Patriots to win.
We do.
Yes, we do.
Because it will save us a bunch of money.
Are there any other teams that we should be rooting for that people have as losers?
Well, yeah, one guy has the Seahawks as a loser, so he's lost a bunch of money.
So if they eventually lose...
Or if they lose immediately.
Well, they're not going to lose it this week.
No, no, the next week.
Yeah.
Yeah.
So because they also get money for winning if they're on a buy.
It's a free money as well.
Oh, really?
So they got to win.
So they got to win.
They earned it, you know?
I sure did.
All right.
All right.
We're out.
We'll see you guys next week.
Eddie Blow the whistle.
Here we go.
Theme song written by Bobby Bones.
That's me.
And performed by Brandon Ray.
Follow Brandon on social at Brandon Ray music.
You can follow the show on Instagram at Bobby Bones Sports.
Thanks to our crew.
Co-host at Producer Eddie.
Segment producer at Kickoff.
Kevin, an executive producer at Mike D. Stroh. But most importantly, thank you for listening.
Bobby Bones, we'll talk to you next time here on 25 whistles.
The 2026 NFL draft is here and the NFL Daily podcast has it covered from all angles. Join
me, Greg Rosenthal and Jordan Roderig after night one on Thursday. Nick Shook joins me
night two Friday and then Sunday to recap everything that went down over the three days in Pittsburgh.
We'll tell you who won the draft and which players.
were my favorite picks.
Listen to NFL Daily with Greg Rosenthal
on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,
or wherever you get your podcast.
A win is a win.
A win is a win.
I don't care what you're saying.
Yep, that's me,
Clifford Taylor the 4th.
You might have seen the skits,
my basketball and college football journey,
or my career in sports media.
Well, now I'm bringing all of that excitement
to my brand new podcast, the Clifers Show.
This is a place for raw,
unfilled conversations with athletes,
creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated.
So let's get to it.
Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.
And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok podcast network on TikTok.
Hey, I'm Dr. Maya Shunker, a cognitive scientist and hosts of the podcast, a slight change of plans,
a show about who we are and who we become when life makes other plans.
I wish that I hadn't resisted for so long the need to change.
We have to be willing to live with a kind of uncertainty that none of us likes.
You can have opinions. You can have like a strong stance. And then there's your body having its own program.
Listen to a slight change of plans on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
I'm Daniel Alarcon, and this is my friend. It's much more famous than I am. I wouldn't go that far.
But I'm John Green, co-host of the podcast The Away End with my old friend Daniel.
On our podcast, The Away End, we'll share with you the magic of international football,
all leading up to the 2026 World Cup.
Together, we'll find out why, of all the unimportant things, football, soccer, is the most important.
Listen to The Away End with Daniel Auerkone and John Green on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,
or wherever you get your podcasts.
On a recent episode of the podcast, Money and Wealth with John Hobrient,
I sit down with Tiffany the budgetista aliche to talk about what it really takes to take control of your money.
What would that look like in our families if everyone was able to pass on wealth to the people when they're no longer here?
We break down budgeting, financial discipline, and how to build real wealth, starting with the mindset shifts.
Too many of us were never, ever taught.
If you've ever felt you didn't get the memo on money, this conversation is for you to hear more.
Listen to money and wealth with John Hope Woff.
Ryan from the Black Effect Network on the I'd Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.
This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.
