The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz - GBF: Waiting for the Thumbs Up

Episode Date: March 22, 2024

Billy got a text from someone and Stugotz and Mikey A try and figure out who sent it. Dianna Russini joins the show to talk about how crazy her life has been since moving to the Athletic, going to the Super Bowl in Vegas, having two kids and dealing with NFL free agency. She tells stories of getting scooped by Adam Schefter and people who don't know how to use emojis properly which lead to embarrassing tweets. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

You're listening to Giraffe King's Network. God bless football, Billy Gill. God bless football, Mikey, eh? God bless football, Billy Gill. God bless football. Mikey A. God bless football. Stu Gotts. He's in here so I'm okay. Mikey A. I've noticed here we are taping this on Thursday of the NCAA tournament. You have nine TVs. There's only three game sides. What is happening? I need the Spanish language version just in case they're a little bit ahead. I gotta make sure I have all my bases covered. Right. Billy, how are your brackets?

My brackets so far intact because I haven't checked the results yet so I don't know that I've lost anything yet. Because we haven't had the official results yet. At the time we're taping, no official results, yes. I have a story that I wanna share with you guys about an old friend that happened to me yesterday that at this moment in time, in the entire world,

I have only shared with Gojo. And it's a go-to that every time something happens like this, I immediately discuss it with Gojo. It's really our only ongoing thread that we talk about me and Gojo is this. It's your only connection point to Mike Gullick Jr. It's not my only connection point but it's like we don't text and communicate all that often but every time this happens I make sure to reach out to him because I know that he will love it. Okay. And I think that you guys will enjoy it too. I'm so interested.

Oh no, I like you have really piqued my curiosity here. Yes. So it's a friend from the past that texted me and he likes this person as do the two of you. And this person will text things that don't they're just always so random. And this was by far the most random one I've ever gotten from said person and I had no idea why I was the chosen recipient of this text If you'd like I can read you the text first and you can guess who it was or I can tell you who it was And then read you the text, which would you like to do? I would like you to read the text. I want to guess Yeah, yeah, I want to guess. Okay. I really to guess. I really do. You've set this up beautifully.

OK, so at 10, 01 p.m. yesterday, kind of late. Not someone that I speak to that often at 10, 01 p.m. I received a text. Do you realize FDR led this country through a depression and World War Two while having polio all capitalized on polio? God. At 10.01? At 10.01 p.m. All right, so now we have to guess.

Someone that I would tell Gojo about, so try to start thinking of your Venn diagrams or whatever. What person would intersect with me? What person would intersect with Gojo? Who is someone? Is that what a Venn diagrams or whatever. Like what person would intersect with me? What person would intersect with Gojo? Who is someone- Is that what a Venn diagram is? Or I mean- That's capable of texting said thing

that I think that you guys would enjoy and I know that Gojo would enjoy. You know like when you get an answer that immediately pops in your head and you can't get off of it? Like there's a name in my head and I'm pretty sure that's not the person. But I can't move on from it.

So there's a name in my head as well and I'm pretty certain it's not the person because that person, well, he only texts about Leonard Fournette. And so I like it has to be- That's who I'm thinking of! That's who I'm thinking of! Who texts you guys about- Mikey C.

Mikey C. He only texts you guys about Leonard Fornette? He has this weird tic. He doesn't care really about sports at all, but he blasts Leonard Fornette whenever he gets the opportunity. Why? We don't know.

He always texts me about Kim Mulkey. I think with Fornette, it was something in college that he did that cost Mikey C a bet. It cost him some money. Yeah. Okay, so now I have to think. Wait, it's not Mikey C.

It's not Mikey C, right? What's your official guess? Is that your official guess? My official guess is going to be Dan Stanzak. Okay. No, I don't think Dan Stanzak makes that. I don't think Dan Stanzak texts that. It's that okay 10 o 1 p.m. Also remember, okay? All right, so not Stan's ik Hmm can I ask a question you can Bristol based yes Hmm

Like God, oh wow, this is a tough one Randy Scott no Hmm. Oh, wow. This is a tough one. Randy Scott. No, no. It's got to be a connection. You need to I mean, just put in an official guess. All right, Mike, you see. It was Mike, you see. It was like, of course, that's what it be. Has he ever texted you about Leonard Fournette? He's never texted me about Leonard Fournette, FDR or polio or the depression or World War

II, which is why I was so confused. I said, I did. Why are you thinking about that? And then he said, watching an FDR doc. And he thought of you. And that was the end of the conversation. I didn't know where to take it, I swear. I didn't know where to take it

and I was not a good texting partner. So when I replied to watching an FDR doc, my only response, this is now like 10, this is at 10.59. So like time has passed by because I was doing something else at the time. So I didn't respond for 45 minutes. So it's almost 11 o'clock at night. So I'm like, why are you thinking about this?

He goes, watching an FDR doc. And my response is just as bad as his initial text where I just wrote, Polio is kind of crazy. Where'd he take it from there? Nowhere. I was hoping to go down a path, but it didn't go anywhere. Anyways. Billy, can you do me and Mikey a favor and the audience, please?

I promise you it will be gold. We'll tease it for next week. The rare next week tease. At some point this week, okay, just ask Mikey A. Hey, what are your thoughts on Leonard Fournette? And just see the avalanche. He responds with it, okay? Read them to us, okay? Okay.

Anyways. He's gonna be like, how'd you know? So Diana Racini's on the show today, huh? She is, yep, she is. I'm very much looking forward to speaking with her. She left ESPN last August. She joined the athletics. She has been crushing NFL free agency, reporting everything left and right except when she gets scooped by Adam Schefter.

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Good. Good. Like, last week was absurd. The agency was nuts. I want to talk to you about that. In fact, I haven't spoken to you since before the Super Bowl, and I didn't see you at the Super Bowl, Las Vegas, Radio Rose, Super Bowl week.

I missed you and I miss you. But Mikey and I were just discussing, what'd you just put on your lips there? What was that? Put a little lip gloss on because I was shoving goldfish in my mouth as a snack. My eating habits have changed a lot lately. So I'm trying to get healthy.

Goldfish aren't doing it, but anyways. Because of the kids? Yeah, I just eat their food. What is your favorite of the kids' foods? Their chicken nuggets at nighttime. They're so delicious and any parent that serves it knows exactly what I'm talking about. Those things, because you don't make that as an adult.

I haven't had those since I was a kid. So now that I make them for them when I'm rushing around, it's just like the go-to snack and they are delicious. When's the last time you had like, you know, an adult meal? Great question. My husband, Kevin, does cook a lot. So I am fortunate that what we do now is we will give the kid food to the kids and then put them to bed.

And then we have the adult meal after bedtime. So we've been doing we've actually had some pretty good meals lately. So I really can't complain about the food in my house. Mikey and I were discussing before you put the lip gloss on and we we got diverted by food. I got that. We were wondering because I think it was last August where you left ESPN and you were killing it at the athletic and you and I spoke a lot before you made that decision

and so I'm just wondering as we fast forward here from last August till right now, how are you with your decision? Because you seem to be happy and you seem to be killing it. Yeah, you say we spoke a lot. I actually that's the first time you are underselling something. We spoke a tremendous amount, and I'm really so grateful for your friendship during that time because it was such a hard transition for me

going from walking away from ESPN and television to stepping into a medium that I wasn't really certain about. I think unknown is the scariest thing, or at least one of the scariest things in life, is just taking a leap and not being sure of it. And then also having to believe in yourself. Yes. It's hard. Bet in yourself. Yes. It's hard.

Bet on yourself, yes. You know, and you can be told a million things over the course of a career, but you have to truly know what your ability is in your heart. And I was relying on you so much during the transition to just, for guidance on that it was going to be okay. Like you just it's it's almost like you had the playbook and the or like the the the answer key that I didn't have

and maybe you didn't but whatever you were saying to me was giving me relief and it was it was constant um fear and paranoia right when I left ESPN. And I remember being at a park and I was with my kids. I was there, but I wasn't there. You know, like you're not present because your mind is racing and you just texted me like checking in. I'm like, thank God. And I think I wrote back like 700 words back to you. Meanwhile, you're like, hey, I was just looking for a good. But it was a really hard, you really saw me at a very, very

vulnerable state when all the times that you've been around me and you know me, I think I like to think I've been pretty strong and put together. So it feels so good now to be sitting here with you and feeling free of it all. It feels so good now to be sitting here with you and feeling free of it all. Yes. And happy and successful now. And when I say successful,

I mean in a space of self-satisfaction and really enjoying the athletic. It's been six months and it's really been the best move I've made. I just scroll through our text conversation over the years, and you're right. I just was checking in and you sent me 17 texts back before I responded, hey, just wanted to make sure you're okay. You were in a crazy space back then, man.

Yeah, you knew because it just you keep hearing. It's almost like the devil and the angel on your shoulder in these, during this time, during that time, because it was the voice of all people do is work in sports to get to ESPN and you're walking away, you're going to sink and regret this and this will be the biggest mistake of your life. And then you had the other voice who was you,

which was like, go, do it, believe in yourself, feel it out, try it. And I did it. I mean, I was armed with the proof that you could do it because we had done it and we were doing it for like, I think two years before you had to make your decision. So I knew that it was possible. And then I just believe in you and your talents and your ability. So I knew you'd be fine. You don't need ESPN behind you. You just need Diana Rossini behind you. That's all you need.

I realized, I think, by being away from ESPN that I did learn so much. It was the best training ground in the world to be an NFL reporter and to do what I'm doing now. And I obviously got to watch Schefter and Woj and the best do it. So to be out doing this now on my own, I miss it a lot.

I miss my friends. I miss the people. I miss TV sometimes. I miss Greeny. I miss Schefter. I miss, Darlington and I would go on shows together and just goof off. I miss those little moments,

but it's really cool to be back at that park every once in a while. And I've noticed it since and been like, man, I remember when I was at this place and I wasn't sure of myself and it feels good to be relieved and feel good about it all now. Let me say this the right way,

because we all work hard to, and we hope to land in a place like ESPN. And ESPN is a fantastic place to work for. And it helped me, it helped build my career. It catapulted both me and Dan to a place where we could do it on our own. So as good of a feeling as it was to get to ESPN, the better feeling is once you've learned

from all the great people at ESPN, to arrive at a place where you're like, hey, I don't need the four letters anymore. That to me was equally as good a feeling as arriving at ESPN in the first place. Maybe a better feeling, Diana. Yeah, and I think it's if you have the work ethic to do it because it's not an easy lift.

I'd actually argue being at ESPN, you can kick it back a little bit because it's such a mammoth of a place. Yes. And you still work hard at ESPN, you can kick it back a little bit because it's such a mammoth of a place. Yes. And it's not, you still work hard at ESPN, they put you on every show if you're gonna work there. But it's a different type of grind now. And even making that adjustment has been really hard for me

of going from being sort of TV fit to now what I'm doing now. And it's a different type of wear on you. You miss the Disney passes or what? Because I mean, you could use those right now. Yeah, it's funny, of course. My husband reminds me all the time. Of course you leave ESPN when our kids are gonna be getting

to an age where we could use a discount. But that's why you keep those relationships strong. Shout out Jimmy Patara, how you doing? How has your husband been during Super Bowl week, the Indy Combine, free agency, he misses you, what's going on there? Yeah, it's a nightmare. It doesn't matter that your partner understands

what you do, because that's always been the benefit of my marriage is I have a husband who completely understands the NFL calendar. He gets free agency, he gets and understands why I have to take phone calls and text messages and stop life at many times throughout the day on a daily basis to weigh in on something or listen to someone in the NFL world

to help get my job done. But I just mentioned this to him the other day that I don't understand if you have the knowledge of what is happening here, why you're so mean to me. We're over it now. He's over it now, right? Because it's like, all right, you're gone for Super Bowl for 11 days. You're gone for senior bowl for five, you're gone for an indie for seven days or six days. How about you pitch in, huh? It's like, I can't do everything.

And it's not like I come back and work overtime, right? I just hang out. Like I just go back to, I just go back on my phone. But he needles you because he loves you, because he cares, right? Like he understands that we can't run this house alone. You can't do it by yourself, not the way we live and with the children that we have that, we have a two-year-old and a one-year-old

and they're both in the same phase of biting and hitting and throwing things and just, they don't do anything right right now because they don't know any better. And then it doesn't help when the stomach bug's going around and you have two kids puking in the middle of the night while I'm at a party in Las Vegas. I mean, there were multiple nights

when I was at the Superbowl where I'd call Kev on my walk back to my room and he was starting the day in New Jersey. Right? So think about that. I'm coming in to wash off my makeup to get in my jammies and he's like getting breakfast ready for the boys to wake them up in a couple cases in like an hour.

And you're stumbling home three in the morning hammered. I mean. So. I wonder why he pissed. Yeah, go ahead. I didn't go hard on drinking on any of these trips like I used to. Okay.

Because I just, I can't do it anymore. Sure. You know, it's so difficult to operate on such little amount of sleep to begin with. I'm already behind the ball entering Vegas, right? Because I'm on mom's sleep, which is nothing. Right. So to then lose all that sleep because like,

there was one night PFT and I just got hot on blackjack and roulette. And so we're up a lot of money and I'm looking at my phone and it's like 4.15, I have a 9 a.m. breakfast with a source in the league. Right. And I'm like, I have a 9 a.m. breakfast with a source in the league. And I'm like, I have to walk away. And he's like, you're gonna walk right now? You don't walk when you're hot.

I'm like, I have to go to bed. And he's like, all right, and we pulled it. But please, five years ago? You're right, I'm never doing that. All nighter, right? Yeah, no more, Those days are over. Wait, so PFT is right. You cannot walk away from a hot table,

especially when you're the one winning all the money. Are you gonna tell me how much money you were up or no? Is that? I think at that time it was like 4K. You can't walk away in that spot. Did you call your husband? I talked to him about it. You did?

Okay, so I actually, I did something really cool, I think. All right, so I love to gamble, love it. It's a horrible, it's just my thing. Okay. And PFT knows this too. So every single night in Vegas, I think we had dinner once, he and I, I did not see him at all.

He's one of my best friends, did not see him. Only saw him at the casino late night. That's what we would do because he loves to gamble and I love to gamble and was like, we were just feeding into each other's disgusting habits. So Kev knows I love to gamble too. So I just never told him what I want. I kept all the money. Just usually, you know, you want to celebrate you, you call, you know, your significant other like, Hey, I won this. I kept it quiet. And what I did was I took all the winnings I had in Vegas and I put them in a drawer. And I told him when he got home from work,

the week I got back to get something from there. And he was like, whoa, what is all this? I said, oh yeah, I forgot to tell you I won all this money. So that was like my way to make up for the fact that I bailed on him for 11 days with two under two. That was his paycheck. Yeah, that's what she said you know? That was his paycheck. That's what she said. For your daddy duty.

For taking care of his kids. I mean, Jesus. Did you have a, did you go to any Super Bowl parties? Yes. You did. But no drinking. No drinking. No, I would have like a beer or two, but I never really like, I wasn't doing shots. wasn't really going hard. Okay. I'd say the best part I went to was the fanatics party It was the first time I've ever been to that Wow That was in that was intense to get in to Deal with the security there and then to just be shoulder-to-shoulder with Kim Kardashian and all her sisters and Justin Bieber

I mean, I don't know what I was doing there with Kim Kardashian and all her sisters and Justin Bieber. I mean, I don't know what I was doing there, but it was really fun and cool to be around all these A-listers who just kind of hang out and look at each other. I was actually standing with Miles Garrett and Will Levis at one point, and we were having just like the best conversation

looking up at all the celebrities in like the VIP section. Right. Which by the way, those two aren't too shabby in terms of celebrities in that space, right? But they were there next to me. And we were just thinking how it's just so much cooler not to be a celebrity like that, because you can just sit here and have a good conversation

and not care that people are staring at you. Whereas, you know, everything Justin and them were doing, we were all just gawking at them, you know? So it's good to be a peasant. Have you run into any of those instances where you run into the people that you used to drink with like that at those parties and they're still going hard? Like Trey Wingo.

I'm good with my one beer, I'm good. So I did see people that I hang with and they were like, why are you not drinking? People just get it. You get to an age where you're just like, I'm good. Yes. And I also don't think I'm any less fun because in those environments,

you guys think I'm, like my neutral is hyper, right? Like my regular all day is pretty intense and nuts. So then you put me in an environment with good music and people and industry people, I'm like fracked out. People probably do think I'm drunk though, actually now that I think about it. Right, you come off as always drunk, yes. Yeah, definitely.

Like what drug is that girl on? But yeah, even the combine in Indy. Right. So. St. Elmo's? St. Elmo's. Oh, St. Elmo's. I was at Harry and Izzy's, which is a steakhouse, and they have this really great circle bar at the center of the restaurant. And I had a bunch of meetings set up.

So I really attacked Indy this year like a psycho. I didn't just do the whole, let me run into people approach like I have in the past. I set drinks and dinners up with people around the league, whether it's coaches or GMs or agents, whatever, whoever I needed to see. And so there was this one day that led into a night where it was six back to backs.

Okay. So it would be like a drink, another drink, an appetizer, a dinner. Right. But I don't want, I'm lazy. I don't want to have to go to new places. So I just told these people to just meet me there at this time. So I just sat in the same seat. You set up shop at the Circle Bar?

I set up shop in Indy at Harry and Izzy's at the corner of the Circle Bar. I love you. And the bartender is definitely on to me and is like, what is happening? And on top of it, just to add to it, I think I also had some sort of food poisoning thing going on because I felt nauseous as well food poisoning thing going on because I

felt nauseous as well. So I'm not, I'm fake drinking, I'm nauseous and I have to have these meetings with very important people. And so the, by the third person, he just interrupts our conversation, me and this person, which I was shocked the bartender did this. And he said, are you a dating service? I said, what? He said, this is like the third person I've seen you sit here with in a row. Imagine you were. Horrified.

Like, first of all, I'm obviously not on a dating service. They're all meetings, right? They're like people in the NFL, but also the person I was with kind of looked at me like, like what kind of operation are you running? Like I didn't know it was like, it was terrible. And all I kept thinking, what if I was a dating operation there?

That guy just called me out. Right. Like isn't, I was in the service industry. I was a waitress for years. You don't do that. You I had a client a client a customer come in all the time. One night he came in with his wife. Another night he came in with his friend. I never said how's your wife doing? That's it. You know, it's a kid's

business. You don't do that. Right. So either way, I actually was able to get through all those meetings with my fake one Coors Light and a half a salad. So yeah, it was a good way to get by. And the best news is I woke up the next day and I remembered every conversation. So that's always a plus. Because you were sober and fake drinking.

How do you fake drink? Like, what's the key to fake drinking? I love this. You're so good at this. You have to keep ordering more even though the drinks not done. So, and most people are polite and the chivalry. So most of the people I met with one woman,

but that was another thing too. In part of that meeting thing, there was a female in there. So I'm like, man, this bartender really thinks I'm open to a lot of different options out there. Well, you're a dating service. You're not gonna turn down money. I mean. Correct, I'm not turning down anyone.

Guy, girl, whoever, whoever dogs come on over. But it was actually exceptionally successful in terms of just spending time with people. I love that part of the job. That's the one thing I do miss from my ESPN days was being around people, you know, even going to the get up studio and running into people. There were a few times where I'd see you. Like that is the best. It used to be just like a shot of energy. Electricity, yeah, there was a buzz.

Now you're by yourself for the most part. Yeah, I'm by myself. Or at the center bar just dating people, you know? Correct, just hanging out at Harry and Izzy, posting up. I'm trying to imagine like the funniest person that could sit down with you visually to that bartender that sat down with you and the bartender's like, there's no way. There's no way.

It's funny you say that. I had one with a very uptight person and I was thinking that, like what the bartender was thinking of that situation because I mean, I don't even think he was squir... You know, usually when you sit next to someone at a barstool, you're not completely square to them, but you're like half, right?

You kind of do the half thing because you're talking. This person was straight up to the bar and I was like talking to his ear. Maybe he didn't want to be there, I don't know. I'm dying for names right now, Mikey. I know, I'm sorry, I hate doing that, but. I love the idea. Those people I met with are-

She's a dating server, she's just churning through all these NFL coaches. I know, I know. So Mike Silver's one of my good friends, and he swung by to just check in on me because he knew I wasn't feeling great. And so I'm like, hey, I'm going through my rip of meetings here. So he swung by, he's like,

I'm just gonna hang out at the bar with my buddies, whatever, make sure you're doing well and stuff. And so he was witnessing it. And even he was like, you're a machine. How are you giving this much energy to people when you're sitting there? Right. It's like, well, you got to do it. It's part of the job.

What has surprised you the most through free agency here? Has there been a move where you were like, whoa, didn't see that one coming? What has surprised you the most through free agency here? Has there been a move where you were like, whoa, didn't see that one coming? So the Kirk Cousins thing felt, I always thought Minnesota had a shot because I thought the comfort Kirk had with Kevin O'Connell, with that team,

with that organization and his overall happiness being in Minnesota and just reading the tea leaves. I even follow his wife, Julie, on Instagram and I would just see what she shared and they just look so happy there. And I just kept putting myself in his shoes of two kids, you know, late thirties, you've made tons of money, you know,

maybe you just choose a space that you're just happy in. Why shake it up? Be still. You're still gonna make a lot of money, maybe not that much. So to see that he really went after that structured contract where he was safe

and guaranteed a job essentially in Atlanta for the next three years, that it surprised me a little bit more than I thought that he would do it. Same here. It surprised me as well. Atlanta seemed like a weird... I'm with you.

You're happy in Minnesota. You have kids. You have a family. You have a life. You don't have to change schools again. You don't have to find a new home. Just stay put. Minnesota's pretty good.

I went back to his wife's page just to watch them packing up and moving and the kids wearing new jerseys already. I guess maybe because he and I have had this discussion before that we're in very similar stages in our lives in terms of the parenting thing. So I guess I was just only looking through that prism, not as a top NFL quarterback. Through your prism. Yeah. Correct. Which is probably the

important ingredient in this whole thing was the whole, you know, star quarterback. Uh, the thing that I lack. I can't believe Kirk did this. I would never do this. What does he think? I also think I'm lazy now. Like I, you know how it goes. Like you get, it's hard just to have that spunk to just be like, let's pack it all up and go. And moving sucks. I've moved so much in my career. It is the worst. Granted, I'm sure they pay a lot of money for a lot of people to help them, unlike me who just would try to get my brother-in-law to come up to my apartments or out to my apartments wherever I was living and pack me up,

which I've done that six times, six. They let me know about it all the time, about how I always use them as my moving company. I never paid them. Barely bought them lunch. You should have left them the four grand in their drawer. What's the matter with you? You're telling me.

Was there a story you thought you had that you got scooped? Did someone scoop you? Is there a story you thought, this is Roussini's story. I got it. I've got the sources. I've got this story. And then someone swooped in last minute, and that's someone. Perhaps Adam Schefter.

I don't know. Yes. There's a lot of them. You love Schefter, by the way. It still pains me. There was a few of them. You love Shepter by the way. It still pains me. There was a few of them. Everyone has them.

If you're an insider, everybody has these. Where there's like five, and I'll say even for someone like Shepter, maybe 10 of them, well Shepter gets a lot of them, but I'm sure he's got a few too, but I'll give you mine. It actually was right before the start of free agency. And I spoke to some sources in Denver, some sources in Cleveland,

and it just appeared that the trade for Jerry Judy was going to be my story. It was lined up, this thing was mine. The graphic was made up, the tweet was written. I was sitting at my kitchen table. My boys were watching Miss Rachel, their favorite show. Everything was perfect. All I needed was the thumbs up.

Right. I got the thumbs up, but I got the thumbs up after I read Shepter's tweet. Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha. Broncos trade wide receiver Jerry Judy to the Cleveland Browns. Jesus Christ. Okay, so most of us have these stories down from multiple people and the teams usually

know you have it. Right. So they knew I had it. Both teams, the people that were in charge knew I had the story and they were comfortable with it. They're like, great. Like when you get it, great. Awesome. You have the right information.

Good digging. Great work. Enjoy your little victory lap. So I'm sitting at the kitchen table and I don't, I mean this, I get, I'm frustrated a lot with getting beat and I'm competitive, but it never gets me. Like I can usually, I'm like one of those athletes that can recover from a mistake or an error really fast.

This one, this one got me. So Kevin's in the kitchen and I said Jerry, Judy was trading. He's like, you got it? I go, no, I didn't get it, Kevin. And I just bang my head on the table like a two-year-old. Right, like, you know when you're just frustrated? Right. And I get up and now I'm dizzy and I'm like, now I have a

concussion because I missed a trade. You banged your head in a literal sense like, like, not even just that cute little thing that you do when you're just like, I'm a dummy. Like, I just I was so angry. Because there's also a process in a lot of breaking news where you I really want to do it the right way. And I like to almost over communicate with people involved. And sometimes it costs you the story because I should just shut up and tweet it. Yes. Yes. That's what Schefter does, by the way.

I mean, I think Schefter just had a bigger source on this, my guess. I did not talk to him about it, but I do know the word around the league from other reporters, not Schefter, they were messaging me like, heard that was yours, heard you got, like they even knew it was mine. You got Scheftered, yes.

I got Scheftered. Yeah. And I can't, you know, I can't get mad at him. You love him, Diana, you do. I do, but I don't now. He beat me on that. Right. Did he say anything to you?

Like, did he reach out to you? No, no. Oh, I'm gonna see him in a few days. I have another boner pic with him. Oh, great. He was on Pat McAfee today getting asked the other day, and he was asked about a story I reported. And he didn't even do like the polite.

Well, you know, Diana had a lot of good sources and a lot of different places. I'm sure her people are telling her that. Here's what my sisters are telling me, though. Oh, no, no. This dude just straight up picks up his phone. He goes, nah, the Colts and Sneeds peep. Not nothing. Not talking. No, no conversation. I'm watching. I he goes, nah, the Colts and Sneeds peep. No, they're not talking. Nope, no conversation. I'm watching, I'm like, Adam, what the hell?

He was wrong, by the way. Oh wow. You're happy about that, look at that smile. That devilish smile on your face. I'm having dinner with him in a few days, though. I can't wait. So Adam's the best to talk about this stuff with because he and I have a really good space of trust

with one another and we're pretty open. So I'm actually looking forward to laying into him and telling him the story about the trade that I did not get. So that was gonna kick off free agency and really put me in a nice position of like, all right, first trade of this window, let's go. Racini's got it.

So then I just, that's another thing that I had to do this time of what was gonna be the approach on free agency, right? So do you go for the little fish, knowing that not everyone's gonna be on that because they're not paying attention? Do you go for the middle, the middle tier guys and just try to stack up a lot of signings, right?

So you get like two dozen signings of the middle. Or do you go hard on the big ones, hover the heck out of them, and hope you get one of the big ones? Right. So I'm still trying to think about what was the best thing to do. I chose to hover the big ones this year. Okay. That was my approach. You did a great job. I would say moving forward,

just get a flurry out quickly, like just small ones, medium ones, just get a flurry out, get ahead of the game, and then hone into the big ones. You know? So it's interesting though, because the big ones get the traction though, right? Like nobody cares about the 19th running back that signs with the Rams, right? But any piece of information I had on her cousin's situation was insane. It was everywhere. Sequon Barkley everywhere. So it's, it, it's hard to figure out what the right approach is. Obviously any information you get, you're gonna put out. But in terms of fishing for stuff

and putting that effort in and having those conversations with the agents, for me, the big fish worked this time. So we'll see if I change it up. Mikey, I think you'll agree with me on this. If you're the athletic, you cannot do what they did to poor Diana Racini. You can't wait for her competitor to report the story, and that's your thumbs up. It's impossible to succeed in that spot.

Oh, I had a mistake. Hey, Diana, you're good to report that now. Schefter reported it. Well, I'm trying to beat Schefter. But like, I know, I had a horrible situation happen to me. So, Mikey wasn't feeling well at daycare during free agency. Kevin works in the city. That's an hour and a half to get home. So I'm the choice, even though it's free agency

and I'm home, I'm the option because by the time Kevin gets back to take, it's just too much. So I'm gonna go get Mikey and we're gonna watch a lot of Moana and Frozen, right? While I'm gonna be on my phone. That's my plan for the day. So I pick him up and I'm like,

you know what, he loves the car wash. I bet you I can get through the car wash, give him a little giggle, make them happy and I can get right back to it. So of course I pull up to the car wash and I start seeing some, some movement here with Eric Armstead. So I was in touch with Buffalo, uh, to just keep the communication open with, with the people there, people with Armstead's side. Um, and it just appeared that that there was momentum moving to Buffalo. So I'm in touch with the Bill side. I'm in touch with Armstead's people. I'm in touch

with other people around the league as well, but I reach out to my Buffalo people and the last couple text messages I had with them was about Armstead, right? So it's very obvious that the next thing I'm gonna ask them about is Armstead. Like that's the topic. So I write done deal and the person writes back thumbs up, like they thumbs up done deal. Which I translate that as Eric Armstead is expected

to sign with the Buffalo Pills. That's just how it goes. I get the thumbs up all the time. The person writes back like two minutes later, yeah, I think he's going to Jacksonville. I go, what? I said, I just changed it, he's going to Buffalo. And he's like, just tweeted that he's going to Buffalo. And he's like, oh no, he's going to Jacksonville.

I see Rappaport tweets and he's going to Jacksonville. I text Ian, I'm like, oh my God. He goes, dude, I can guess what happened. You know, whatever. We like wound up talking about it later. I was horrified. So in the moment I'm at the car wash, Mikey's screaming, crying.

I'm like, what am I gonna do here? So I don't know. In those moments, I just feel like when you're transparent, people understand. Yes, yes. I literally tweeted what I just said to you. I said, got a thumbs up from Buffalo about the deal being done.

Source didn't know I meant his team. Thought he meant the Jags. But that's how you do it. You've learned well. I'm so proud of you. Right? Like, trust me, I weighed just deleting it and just sitting in it and let everyone make fun of me.

But then I'm like, I'm just going to tell everyone that I made a mistake because I made a mistake. Right. Get ahead of everyone making fun of you by making fun of yourself. That's what you do. I've told you that. Yes.

Sorry, my sources are emoji stupid. You don't realize that a thumbs up on done deal means thumbs up for your team. That's how this works. Are you done with that source or no? Yeah, actually. Not because of that, because of something else afterwards. And I was like, we're done. You're terrible at this. His information's great actually. It's just his communication skills are not fantastic. I had another agent who I'm done with say to me, you know, I'm only talking to you just so you know.

And I said, oh, thanks. I appreciate that, that you're only sharing this with me. I mean, I've been doing this a long time. I know that's a lie, but if you're gonna trust the information with me, that's great. It turns out he wasn't just talking to me, by the way, because the story of the player he represented, that story got broken, not by me.

So that person, he gave it to someone else. So I can't help myself. So I circle back with him. And I said to him, hey, by the way, I'm so glad that you were only talking to me. And he said, no, what I meant is I'm only talking to you at this moment. And I said, oh, okay, well, I'm never going to talk to you again. So thank you. Right.

The stugats of agents. Yes. I mean, it's a heavy response by him. I mean, it's also the only response. It's insulting to my intelligence and my awareness. So while I'm sure he has tons of information that he can help give my career a lift, I would much rather have a little bit of self-respect. I love it.

I could speak to you all day. And I'd rather talk about your stories than talk about what actually happened in the NFL. But I was thinking as you were talking, you're addicted to this, aren't you? Like your job makes me tired. You're addicted to this. You're not going to be able to turn it off.

I'm not saying you're looking to turn it off, but when the time comes where you're thinking about retirement, I don't think you're going to be able to do it. Yeah. Look, I think about it all the time of what is it about this that I enjoy so much because it's painful. Yeah, I know. You know, like last week during free agency, I couldn't go to the gym. Obviously, obviously just told you the story about my car wash,

like for one second. You're addicted. It's unhealthy, but I like relationships. I like when people trust me with the information. And sometimes it's as simple as, I just like beating the boys. I just, it's like I'm back in third grade. Like I was in when I played sports,

I played on all the boys teams. I like just showing everyone in the NFL space that women can do it too. This isn't just a guys game. That is a perfect spot to end. You are not only doing it, you're doing it better than every single person who's out there doing it.

I am very proud of you. Diana Rossetti, the athletic. Tell Shep to go fuck himself when you have dinner, okay? I cannot wait. He's definitely paying to. Taking my trades. Use that Judy money. Yeah, exactly. He loves you. Shepter loves you. But that was disrespectful when he did a McAfee show. Tell him to go f*** himself!

Billy, you were not present. You were in a meeting while we were taping with Diana Rossini One of the stories she told was she had the Jerry Judy report of him resigning with the Broncos She had it all typed up. She had her sources. She had two sources. She was ready to go She had the tweet ready to send out she was waiting for the athletic to give her a thumbs up They didn't give her a thumbs up and while she was waiting for that thumbs up Adam Schefter scooped her, came in with a report. His source, I believe, was someone in ownership or something, she was telling us. And he had, what was that?

A higher up. A higher up. He had a higher source. Right, he had a higher source than she had. She had two sources. So she has this thing on social media. She's ready to hit send. She's waiting for the athletic to give her the thumbs up.

She gets the thumbs up from the athletic after Adam Shifter tweets out the Jerry Judy report. That's devastating. How can she succeed if the athletic is waiting for Shifter to tweet it out before they get Diana the thumbs up. I mean. She even said the teams were like, yeah, you got it. Yep, you got it.

You're doing great. Yep. Having a Schefter, like going against Schefter has to be annoying, right? Yeah, yeah. I would think. He's relentless. Who's better at their job? Schefter or prime Jordan

Prime Schefter prime Jordan. Mm-hmm. It's a great question Would you rather go up against I guess is how I should ask the question prime Schefter or prime Jordan Wow, I mean listen there was a period where prime Jordan where no one was winning titles He retired for two years. He went away for two years. That's the only reason Elijah Wan has two. But guys like Carmelo and Gary Payton, Sean Kemp, they realized pretty quickly, we're not winning titles because this guy's around and he's going to hog them all up.

There are occasional reports. I shouldn't even say occasional. Racini does win some battles. so I would say going up against Prime Jordan would be more difficult. OK, you know, just here's my thoughts. Because at least you win once in a while going up against Prime Schefter. You never want going up against Prime

Jordan, you know. You can hover around the third tier running back market and scoop him because he's not even paying attention to it. Yeah, he doesn't care. third tier running back market and scoop him because he's not even paying attention to it. Yeah, he doesn't care. Third tier running back. I mean, I bet that's what- I got a mere Abdullah resigning.

What do you got, Schefter? The thing though is that like, I feel like that's where our guy Leonard Fornette is right now and I'm like, he's a free agent and now I'm just locked in on wanting Leonard Fornette news. You know what I mean? Just to text Mikey C about this. So the Giants believe me because he sees it.

No, he's a 49er fan. I guarantee you wherever Leonard for net signs Billy, you won't get it. But me and Mikey A will get some text about her for that. The second he signed somewhere. Yeah, this may be the end of the line though. You know what I mean? I'm not sure. Practice squad guy last year. I don't know if it's gonna work out for him. Yeah. It's, I can't believe I really entertained and broke it down seriously. It really was a ridiculous

question by me. I couldn't believe that went anywhere. And then you're answering the question and in my head I'm like, I hope it doesn't come to me for like some sort of rebuttal because I didn't think about this before it came out of my mouth. This happened. My response was gonna be ditto. For someone whose job is somewhat like communicating,

I really should think about what comes out of my mouth more often, you know? Yes, right. And perhaps, you know, when I give a response, maybe just responding back. I don't know. You got it. You got it handled, I think. Broken down way too seriously.

You know. Anyway. Anyway, it was nice to have Diana Rossetti. It was like she really is. I miss her. I do. I miss her deeply. She's fantastic.

Anyway, guys, March Madness, Mikey, how many TVs you got rolling right now? Going with three. And as soon as we end this, the computer becomes number four. Wow. And you listen, if you didn't take Michigan State. What was that bill? You bring the phone or an iPad into the mix. Like, what's the max number of screens you can have going at once? Watching more games for TVs. OK, perfect. You bring the phone or an iPad into the mix? Like what's the max number of screens you have going at once watching these?

Four games, four TVs. Okay, perfect. Do you find yourself laughing at people who didn't take Michigan State in the first round? There are very few givens in life, okay? Death Taxes and Tom Izzo winning at least one game in March. That's it. You didn't take him, it's on you. Sorry. God bless March.