The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz - Hour 1: Grammy's Grandson + Mina Kimes

Episode Date: March 14, 2024

We have located the grandson of the woman who fell into the water trying to step onto a boat. We get the whole story about how and when this went down. Juju cooked up another Thursday Thunder parlay as he looks to recover from his recent loss. Finally, Mina Kimes joins the show to discuss all the happenings in NFL Free Agency and Aaron Rodgers' statement on allegations that he shared Sandy Hook conspiracy theories. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

You're listening to Giraffe King's Network. This is the Don LeBattor Show with the StuGuts Podcast. This is very exciting. I mean, we were talking earlier in the show that we have now in our employ here Someone who is trying to recreate what Allison did for our show many years ago where if we were talking about something She could find pretty Instantaneously that person wherever they are or were in the world and bring them to us So while we cannot get grandma we have not gotten close enough to Grandma,

I'm assuming she's waiting for her Good Morning America interview. We have gotten her grandson, Drew Saltzman, he was handling the camera when Grandma went into the sea between the boat and the dock. I don't know where you guys were. Drew, thank you for joining us. I'm going to start with, I'm assuming grandma's okay or you wouldn't be doing interviews thanks for having me and it's Grammy but yes Grammys right that's a fire and yes she I mean like it was really scary in the moment and five minutes later she somehow miraculously was okay but the trip went on as planned and it was just a little blip in the road.

Okay, no, it's not a little blip. It is, your grammy, excuse me, fell into what? Where are we? Where is this video? We're in Split, Croatia, and we're on her 80th birthday party. So she brought the whole fam out. We were getting on a boat for a week and it was the grand embarkment and there was a big deal. All eyes were on Grammy. Like, Grammy's first

on the boat. She paid for the trip. So there was a lot of pressure, high pressure situation. and it's. No no excuse has Grammy been on a boat before. Ranny the odds of her being in the first in the water were probably plus a 100,000. I've never seen her with their hair wet. Oh wow wow okay now you have have okay so take take us through though she's been on a boat before like what what part of

this was she not understanding where did what did she miss. Other than I said. I don't know she's really been on that many boats and my dad was telling a story about when she was like telling him what she's going to do for her 80th birthday. He's like, you're going on a boat? Like, are you dementia? Are you losing your mind? Like, that's not your type of scene. But that, I mean, it was, that ended up being an incredible time. Drew, I have a question for you. Did she fall into the water? Was she caught? What happened afterwards? How did you get her out? What what went on? It's a lot of questions. Yeah,

I have more than one question. What happened when the camera goes off? Yeah. So the video kind of cuts it short. There's a longer version where you hear like the screams of terror and she can't swim and she can't swim And they tap the two captains that were right there. Shout out to rocko. He immediately jumps in And he they save her and they got her out um But yeah, they Immediately jumped in the water like Like no hesitation at all.

She fell all the way in, not just her feet or anything. Yeah, no, she was fully submerged. How angry were we at these guys, the useless hand helpers here? Rocco. I mean, that's who we're blaming for this, right? Rocco should have caught her. Then I found out he was the trip captain.

And I was like, he was completely embarrassed. We talked to him now and he's like, that day that play runs through my brain every single day in my life. I bet you it doesn't happen to him again. I bet you that never happens to them again. The then of the game, a running joke, like every time Grammy's getting on the boat,

obviously I have to use all caution. I have a number of different questions though I still have many questions. How long would it have taken before you would have been the one to jump in because there are certain perils involved here like what was happening with you because you were holding the camera? So I'm actually not the one holding the camera um it's my cousin's fiance and I'm in there. I'm in the background the one with the glasses like There's a frame you can see and The thoughts running through my head are like, oh my god, like is the trip over like it's Grammy. Okay, it's the trip over That's the order that it happened. Is Grammy okay?

Is it? Have we just lost all our funds for the trip at the bottom of the sea? And also Grammy is perished. I wasn't so worried about Grammy like sinking or anything. I know she can't swim, but it was someone went in to get her. I was worried like she hit her head, broke a leg, broke her hip or something. And she didn't, she actually only had a little bruise on her elbow.

Wow. There's something about Croatian waters that seems scarier than average waters, just hearing Croatian waters. If this had happened at Key Biscayne, you're fine. I'm not fine, but just more fine. I think there, I don't know why I'm doing that. I'm profiling Croatian waters in a way that's not fair.

How deep was the water she fell into? I, it was deep enough for the boat to be docked. So I don't think she hit the bottom. So how, but how much did she sink? How scared did she say she was? She was fully submerged. I heard her yell, get me a towel.? I heard her yell get me a towel Get me a towel get me a chair and then I knew she was okay

That is the international sign for being okay if you call for a towel Do you have any idea what the panic was for her if she doesn't know how to swim and she doesn't know how deep the waters? Are and furthermore, I don't know how turbulent the waters were So I don't know if she runs the risk of the boat coming back and pressing her against the dock. Yeah, I a lot of people were really scared. I, I think I was trying to be more rational and, and think and hope that she was okay. But I'm sure in the moment, like she was terrified

and just like, she didn't panic. She handled it great, I think. And some of my cousins were hysterically crying. Shout out Brooke. Drew, are you guys, you say that your granny doesn't swim? Grammy. Grammy, sorry. Fine. Okay. Drew, sorry. Fine.

Okay. Drew, where are you guys based? Where are you from? And is boating, if not swimming, have you guys done that before? We're from Baltimore and big boat culture there. Yeah, seafaring town. Culture.

Yeah, we're not boat people, I wouldn't say. How much danger was she in of the boat pressing up against the dock? And just in general? They had the fender there, you can see the fender. The fender, is that what it's called on a boat? Dan, you're a bit obsessed with this visual. Well, because this is why I'm telling you,

I'm scared of a number of things here. It's not just drowning that I'm scared of here. And those guys had to act quickly to save her life. Like, I don't know how heavy she was. And I don't know how easy it was. She's 80. I don't know how easy it is. I don't know how easy it is to get her out of the water. Part of what made the video so great was like the mystery about

it. You don't see where she goes and you don't know what's down there disappears get to see it. She disappears That's the author to angle. I mean, I can't believe the fact that she didn't hit her head is insane I don't know how many like how many times could you replicate that fall without? Hitting your head or I don't know drew. how does she feel about this video being on the internet? So my whole family, we're in the group chat has been going off lately and we when it started going viral, we kind of had a separate chat without Grammy and are talking about it like what like how's this going proceed? Like Barstool texted my sister saying, this video is about to be posted

and it's about to be super viral and I'm just warning you now. That's about to be super viral. Yo, let me ask you a question, Drew. You mentioned that like, she said, get me a towel, get me a chair and that's when you knew she was okay and then the trip went on as planned.

Was she just soaking on that whole trip? They got her a towel. Do you think a towel, you think you fall in the water like that, a towel is gonna, you think, your question is was she wet for a long time afterwards? For days you thought she was wet? That's your question.

No, the boat trip, the boat trip, her clothes would not dry off with a towel. It was like a week trip, it was a week trip they were going on. Yeah, we were on the boat for a while. So you had a suit, she had her clothes with her, is what you're saying. Yeah. Okay.

Yeah, she, but she was wet while the captain was introducing himself and the whole crew and they brought us champagne and like martinis. Since she was wet that whole time, her hair was a little wet, she had a towel around her. And everyone was coming up to her individually being like, are you okay? Like that's really scary.

But I mean, it ended up working out. Stu got to actually just text it in a question for me to ask you here. Did you guys parlay this into a cheaper cruise? Like did you guys get a discount on the trip because of this fall? Because of the failure of Grammy's caretakers. The cruise, the ship just texted us

and we're like, we have an open spot from June 2nd to July 2nd, or not June, since July, that's a month, like for a week in June. And I don't know if they were offering that for free for us or if we maybe get a discounted rate, but Maybe we'll go back drew Do you have anywhere on you this family chat you speak of that didn't include Grammy that we can read together as the

As the family asks whatever the questions are about what was she thinking and how did she not know that she needed to take a step there? I can read you one thing that is from my uncle Alan. He said, Rue, do not go on that show. Just flake on them and tell them that they don't have permission to use any additional videos. Good joke

I don't think it's a joke. I think his uncle just giving him the advice. Don't do that Don't be a lawyer. Don't spread grammy's uh grammy's disgrace all over the internet. Don't allow it now drew We've got some exclusive footage here of Grammy afterwards happily dancing and kissing her husband. And she's wearing a t-shirt that says Grammy goes wild and it says Croatia 2022. Did that happen two years ago? Yeah, it was two years ago. I was just like, why you know?

That's why we were so confused why this is going viral. Like, we don't know who sent them the video. God damn Instagram reels, link to everything. The shirt says Grammy goes wild, but it should have said Grammy goes overboard. Yes, it should have. Drew, thank you. We really were proud of our guest booker

until we realized that as soon as she fell in the water, we got her two years later. Thank you, thank you very much for being on with us. We appreciate the story, Drew. Thanks, Dan, I appreciate it too. We're the slow report. Really slow, really slow. I wonder if Amin wants to ask her if she's dried off since,

in the two years since. Weird question. Has she been soaking this whole time? Shout out uncle. Hell yeah. The Dan Lebatard Show with Stu Gutz is sponsored by BetterHelp. A lot of us spend our lives wishing we had more time.

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slash prep to post your job for free terms and conditions apply Don LeBattard a recreation of the iconic scene in a few good men as told by Chris Cody Stugats! Colonel Jessup, did you order the code red? You don't have to answer that question I'll answer the question. You want answers? I think I'm entitled to them you want answers. I want the truth I you can't handle the truth This is the down lebatar show with the stook at That's right It's time for Thursday Thunder and it's sponsored by DraftKings.

Stay tuned because you'll hear more about DraftKings and all it has to offer throughout the show. DraftKings, the crown is yours. Thursday Thunder, cooked up by Juju Gotti, brought to you by Roy Bellamy. Roy, what do we got? All right, tonight's Sun Celtics game. We have points for Devin Booker. DraftKings has it at 24 and a half points. Juju is saying go with the over. Over 24 and a half points for Devin Booker. DraftKings has it at 24.5 points. Juju is saying go with the over. Over 24.5 points for Devin Booker.

And the Mavericks-Thunders game, Thunders, sorry, the Mavericks-Thunders game, they have 11.5 points for Lugansk Dort. Juju is saying go over 11.5 points for Lugansk Dort. Dortnet. Dortnet. And in the next 12 Blazers game, they have nine and a half rebounds for Josh Hart. Juju is saying go over nine and a half rebounds for Josh Hart.

That's Thursday Thunder. We missed Thursday Thunder last week by one game. Juju's been on fire, so you want to ride with Juju if anyone around here. It wasn't one game, it was one leg. It was Michael Porter rebounds. Michael Porter betrayed us. Michael Porter, who was the worst starter in last year's finals, and I will never forget. wasn't one game is one leg was michael porter rebound michael porter betrayed us michael porter

who was the worst starter in last year's finals and i will never forget for costing us that thursday thunder because uh... we were very close to juju going four straight three and owes and only because michael porter won't grab rebounds did we not get that uh... do not do we not refer to him as Lou Dort? Isn't Lou Dort the way everyone, because it's a funny name, he's great at defense.

I think they should be the Thunders, frankly. I think they should be plural, the Thunders. Multiple Thunder? I think there should be multiple Thunders there, yes. What's a Thunder, you know, like a... Clap? A Nick, and you play for the Knicks, what are you, a Nick? What is a Thunder? A Thunder. You're a Thunder. A Thunder thunder I don't know cuz for jazz it's a jazz man you know

that right I did not they're called the heats a weird one it's like he's a heat he's a he'd'll heater no he's a but it's a member of the heat he's a heat he's a jazz jazz man they call him Jasmine I think you're just like I'm telling you I'm telling they do that they do that Mormons Utah people like who's the who's the they the organization Dan? That's that's what it's called a jazz man jazz man. That's what it's called. You never hear just one thunder though No, cuz they usually come in groups claps. They call them. Yeah claps Yeah, thunder claps. Is it true that you don't hear one thunder? No. You don't hear just, you don't see a flash of lightning

and then one thunder? I'm just saying, sure. Do they come in, I don't think they come in pairs. You can hear a single thunder. No, it never goes, poof, it goes, poof. That's one thunder. That's one thunder, that's not thunder. You're saying that each syllable in a thunder

is a different thunder? Just single thunder. Multiple thunders there. They're coming in little groups. Pshh, that's like multiple thunders coming together. Hey, what's up man, what's going on? I heard lightning was around here. Pshh, did you hear that?

You hear that? Pshh, that's not just one. That is one. It's cascading. That sounds like an echo. Pshh, it's once the thunder starts and then ends, that's a single thunder no way Lucy you have no opinions on this. No, it's it's one thunder. I don't know what the argument is

This is a really dumb take just one fun Wow And nothing starts and ends with that much reverberation without having multiples That's a no. I won't wake up in the morning and man, there were a bunch of thunders last night. There was a bunch of thunder last night. Did you hear all that? Let me ask the basketball expert, the authority among us here.

And thunder expert. For something, because I do want to ask you about the thunder. Yes. In the history of basketball, because one of the things I think happens all the time with sports analysis is because we haven't seen something happen, we don't think it happens, history of basketball because one of the things I think happens all the time with sports analysis is because we haven't seen something happen we don't think it

happens and then all of a sudden everyone thinks last year that the Denver Nuggets aren't going to win the championship but they do. On their way to the championship the Denver Nuggets had some heartbreak. And generally speaking, in that sport, you don't ascend from where Oklahoma City or Minnesota are right now to winning the championship. I don't know if you have an outlier for me that provides the exception on this, but usually, I can say every year and be right,

that a team like the OKC Thunder will not win the championship, even and be right that a team like the OKC Thunder will not win the championship even though I think that basketball team is good enough to win the championship but generally people talk about what needs to be learned if indeed Curry and LeBron are going to go away this year because people still believe that they're going to turn something off on in the playoffs that I don't believe they're going to turn on. But how often will I be wrong if I say the Thunder can't win the championship this year because a team like that has never won the championship because you have to suffer heartbreak,

you don't just go from you were nowhere in the picture and then next thing you know without losing and hurting, you're holding up the trophy. I would say the last time this happened, where a team went from nowhere to champion, would probably either be the 1981 Celtics or the 1980 Lakers. Like, it's a long time. So are you willing to say,

are you willing to flatly say that unless you have playoff experience You are not a team in the last 45 years and last half a century in that sport You can't win the championship You won't Minnesota and OKC will not win the championship because a team like them hasn't won a championship like that in a half A century well I would make a distinction between Minnesota and OKC because Minnesota has been in the playoffs and has had some playoff trauma and also has I don't know, KC, because Minnesota has been in the playoffs and has had some playoff trauma,

and also has multiple members, even though, like for instance, Rudy Gobert has a lot of playoff trauma, even though it didn't necessarily happen in a Minnesota Timberwolves jersey. Okay, but how does that work though with players versus teams? Having a single player who has hurt and been on the bench

at the wrong end of playoff failure isn't the same as having a team that has been hurt. Like for example, if the Boston Celtics won the championship this year, they would win it the way that it has always been won. You learn what you need to learn about get Marcus Mark out of here, Tatum and Brown have to get stronger.

Okay. God damn. This guy right here. I'm right here. You're right here, but the Boston Celtics have made the bet that they needed to give the team over to Tatum and Brown and couldn't do that for as long as Green Hair was around. Yes, no, it is objectively true.

Green Hair? Why are you being so disrespectful today? I just enjoyed him. Marcus Smart can be beloved, and the organization traded him because they thought that their young players needed him traded so that they could grow up. Is that not what happened organizationally?

The part I'm objecting to is you calling him green. Okay, I have to get green hair out of here. No, he's the soul of the team. I keep being told he's the soul of the team. He's the toughness, but they're better than they've ever been because of not having Marcus Smart and the replacements for Marcus Smart. To quote one Mike Schur,

maybe it is not as important to have that dog in oneself. Wow, he's recycling material now. Okay, look, here's the deal, Dan. The idea is that for a team like Oklahoma City, it is bereft of experience. That one, I can say very confidently, won't win a championship. I mean, they just got Gordon Hayward. Come on.

Gordon Hayward is modest at best at playoff experience, right? And so when you start thinking about what it takes, right, that collective hurt is not really about a hurt. It's about guys who haven't been to the playoffs or haven't been deep in the playoffs don't understand the jump in Intensity and execution where no one is making mistakes anymore the things that people just let go Regularly are gone in essence Talent beats experience except when that gap is really small smaller gap the more experience becomes more important And so Oklahoma City is a very talented team. But at some point in the playoffs,

they're gonna play against another team that is also very talented. Maybe not as talented as them, but also very talented. And that's where that experience gap comes in and it's gonna overtake. For Minnesota, they have had some playoff experience, first round albeit, quick knockouts. But Anthony Edwards has been in the playoffs, Carl Anthony Towns has been to the playoffs, Kyle Anderson, Mike Conley,

Rudy Gobert, all these guys have been to the playoffs and played deep in the playoffs at some point, so for them not quite a first time at the rodeo feeling as it is for those who've been to the playoffs. You say not the first time at the rodeo, but my experience with Minnesota is that everyone thinks they're gonna be dumb when it matters, that they're not gonna be trustable when it matters, that they're not going to be trustable when it matters, that they're going to do knucklehead things when the games ratchet up to an intensity where you can't trust Carl Anthony Towns to play playoff basketball. Isn't that, if people are talking about Minnesota, they're saying Rudy Gobert is going to be

played off the court and they're going to be knuckleheads. Are they not? Okay, so but now you're talking about things that have nothing to do with experience. No, they do have it to do with experience. No, no, no, if you're talking about Rudy Goberg and played off the court, that's not because he's a second year player. He's been around, that's a basketball thing.

If you're talking about Carl Anthony Towns making bad decisions, that's not an experience thing. That's a basketball thing. Do you trust the Timberwolves in late game playoff situations to be smart? No, but that's not because they're inexperienced. It's because they don't make, for whatever reason, they are not a great execution team. It's like the Knicks last year.

The Knicks last year, that's an experienced team. That was a talented team. But I knew, I was like, this team does not execute because they are an impulse driven team. Guys just feel like doing stuff and they do it as opposed to when you get to play off basketball it is a chess match. It is decided by very deliberate actions, right? And I knew that team playing against the Heat would not be able to keep up because they were not an execution team. It had nothing to do with, well the Knicks are just too young, they haven't been here before. It has nothing

to do with that. These are two different things. In the one hand, for instance, Oklahoma City, I do trust them to execute. I just don't think they'll be able to do it their first time at the rodeo. Minnesota, it's not their first time at the rodeo. This is a different conversation. This is more of a conversation akin to what we had with the Knicks last year, which is you got impulse guys. You have guys that are actually going to think the game here. Mike Conley does. Kyle Anderson does. Do the rest of them do? Why is the rodeo the place where we're doing first time things?

Because that's the worst place to do your first time. On the bowl? Yeah. I also think it's a place that not that many people have been, so if it is your first, it's not unlikely that it would be your first rodeo. How about the runner in the bowls in Pamplona? That would be a bad place to do your first, like it's not unlikely that it would be your first rodeo. How about the runner in the Bulls in Pamplona? That would be a bad place to do your first thing, right?

But that's kind of rodeo adjacent, is it not? I feel like Roy just gave us the first Bull associated thing that he had that was, if Sugats was here, it would have been a Michael Jordan take of some sort. But you just gave us, yes, it would be bad to be the first time in Pamplona as well. We did the UNLV football coach who was clearly

in his first time at the rodeo, but is that why it is? Because the bowl is extra dangerous and everyone knows you don't do that for the first time without any experience like the UNLV football coach? Here's a question though. Doesn't at some point, if you are a rodeo person, doesn't every, everybody has to have a first rodeo? Yes.

Then that's what the Thunder are gonna go to, their first rodeo. And they're gonna get gored. Oh. Yikes. That's it, you have it, you have one of the most talented teams in the league by virtue of not having been there, you simply don't trust them.

Well, it gets even worse, Dan, because here's the thing, usually being a one seed or a two seed, you get one of the worst teams in the conference. This year, they might have to play the Warriors, they might have to play the Kings, they might have to play the Dallas Mavericks. These are all talented teams that have been around, so it's an extra level of difficulty for them.

If being around the rodeo a lot means that you're better at doing something, shouldn't the Bulls be a lot better? They are. That's why you get gored. She meant the Chicago Bulls. Oh. Al Gore. Invented the internet, an inconvenient truth.

Kicked save in a beef, that was not a save! Don Lebatard. Mike, Marty Schottenheimer passed away. Stugatz. Why do you sound so happy? How did you say that? Yeah, you're very excited about that. Well, I was in the wrong tone. Unbelievable. I was not excited, I was not excited. still got

Pointing out that a Brown's legend Hold on and maybe the greatest coach to never win a Super Bowl. Okay, wait a minute. Let's just everybody settle down let's all settle down. Mike! This is the Dan LeVatar show with the Stugats. A lot of football talk to get to with Mina Kymes. I have in front of me an Aaron Rodgers statement from X that I did not expect to be reading today about Sandy Hook. We will get to that in a second, but before we do that, I have to introduce Mina Kimes because she was on first take and I guess she had never been on first take with Mad Dog Russo before. If she has, I don't think she's dismantled him this way by way

of hello. This is how Mina Kimes introduced herself, it sounds like, to Mad Dog on first take. Relaxed. Yeah. Chris, you, first time, long time, huge fan. This is one of the worst lists I've ever seen. So, the most egregious choice that you made was putting the 49ers at five for no football reasons, unless I missed something.

In fact, the point that you made was that they've lost to the Chiefs because they made it to the Super Bowl and they're largely returning the exact same team that was so dominant during the regular season that they got to the Super Bowl in the first place. In fact, the team- Bristol, turn that down video, thank you very much. It's a minute too long. You dismantled him by way of hello, Mina.

It's called the foot in the door technique. The foot in the door technique. He is a great person to do first take with, is my takeaway from today, because he is perfectly willing to stand under the hoop, which is, and get dunked on, which is the defining quality of someone you want to be on that show with,

especially when you have Dominique in your corner being your hype man as he is like my life hype man. I will get to the Aaron Rodgers statement in a second but I will instead of the heavy stuff I will do some of the light stuff with you that we've been talking about this week so please explain to me how the finances of the sport have changed where Saquon Barkley makes three years $37 million dollars 26 guaranteed and Darnell Mooney makes three years $39 million dollars 26 million guaranteed. It feels like that happened quickly even though you told me two years ago when I was paying Dalvin Cook and an assortment of other running backs that that ship had sailed and you can't pay the running backs anymore. I still find that shocking that Darnell Mooney,

the wide receiver position is that much more valuable than running back. What's remarkable, Dan, is that the Saquon Barkley deal was kind of rich. I was surprised that Philadelphia gave him that much. Because Philadelphia, more so than any other team right now in the NFL, I think, is one where it has felt like any running back can come in, any good, you know, average to above average to good running back and come in and produce.

They were the best run blocking offensive line in football last year. They had, you know, I've seen sort of the question to take, oh, well, say, one, Barkley, take them next level. They had the fifth best rushing attack in the NFL last year. They had, you know, I've seen sort of the question to take, oh well, Saquon Barkley take them next level. They had the fifth best rushing attack in the NFL last year. I mean, it could be better and I think there's things to like about Saquon there that we can get to, but like this was the team that has saved money at the position. They have not spent, you know, premium draft picks there. So I was actually shocked to see them pay this much for Saquon because this is one of only really two running back contracts handed out this year that had legitimate multi-year money. The vast majority of the contracts you've seen

around the NFL, they're big names. We all know them from fantasy football. They're really one-year deals, single digit millions. And that reflects, I would say, a number of things that we've talked about. A lot of these teams now approach it by committee. So you have multiple backs sharing the load, which means you're less likely to pay one, like a bell cow, back all of the money. We've seen rookies come in and get just as much production. I can name, there's a bunch of teams that come to mind where that's been the case. And we've seen that by and large, when we look at run games year to year to year, the offensive line seems to matter more

for continued success, which is why, by the way, we talk about running backs not making a lot. Have you seen these guard contracts get handed out? Robert Hunt from your Miami Dolphins making a hundred million dollars? Like this is not a, hey, nobody wants to pay anyone and everybody's getting cheaped out. It's like, a, hey, you know, nobody wants to pay anyone and everybody's getting cheaped out. It's like, no, the allocation of money has shifted as teams have a different

view of what matters in the run game. Are the Falcons and the Eagles going to actually get in trouble for tampering Mina? I don't know. I saw that come across. It's kind of with, yeah, with Saquon and Kirk, it's odd because the whole concept of a legal tampering period is so bizarre to begin with. So I don't really know when the clock on these communications technically begins and it doesn't seem to me that there's any legitimate evidence. I suspect the NFL would just want this to go away.

But we've seen them dock teams before for this sort of thing. But think about the Cardinals last year. What was most surprising about the flurry of activity the first couple of days in free agency? I would say the running back contracts going quickly was really interesting because it wasn't a lot of money, but they all got signed very quickly and all switched places, which I think reflects,

one, the view of the draft. This is not a great draft for running backs, but also I think teams having like a specific desire for like types of backs to fit what they want to do and sort of the, you know, so that was a little bit surprising though. And then I would say, you know, the other thing would be those guard contracts were pretty massive.

You know, you're seeing, you know, not a lot of big wide receiver contracts by comparison. I know you talked about Mooney and Davis got some money, but this was a very heavy free agency for those positions. Then the one more thing is the speed with which this all happened. We always say in free agency, you got to wait for a week, that second wave for the best deals to get done.

I'm not so sure that applies this time. The speed with which money was spent this year was unusual and maybe that has to do with the rising cap and I don't know but that took me by surprise. You know which team is going to have the greatest regret for their free agency decisions? I didn't I thought some of the decisions made by the Jaguars and the Titans were a little bit confusing. Washington to a lesser degree, teams that had a lot of money coming into free agency, and you could tell just kind of had to spend it, and maybe there weren't enough good players for them to spend on. Carolina is another one where you know

like I mentioned the hunt contract that that was pretty surprising obviously trading Wade Burns wasn't good I did like the trade for Deontay Johnson and I think that highlights like something to remember with free agency which is the biggest spenders aren't the winners of free agents like we often say that like when we do our grades like oh who spent the most this guy got the best player and whatnot but you know we've seen over time that that's actually not the case. I asked you and didn't have an explanation earlier this week for why it is Jacobs was the running back in Green Bay and Aaron Jones had been pushed out.

What did I miss there? Has your reporting the last couple of days done anything to help explain what happened there better to you? I, it sounds like I asked some people around the lake, what they thought that they just felt it was like a youth and health thing, uh, with Jacobs, obviously Jones, you know, I mentioned to you, he came back fantastic. He looked excellent, but he was hurt last year. He is I believe three years older, which I guess in running back years is like,

you know, times seven or whatever. Um, and so I get, they saw the opportunity to go younger at the position without spending much more money because that was re you know, it's really a one year, $12 million deal. Um, I don't know. It was one of the, I usually like what the Packers do, uh, what they've done over the last few years and that one struck me as still a bit odd. I love the safety that they signed. Xavier McKinney, that was one of my favorite signings in free agency and it was kind of uncharacteristic of them to spend big there,

but that one I didn't really understand because Aaron Jones played so well last year. Which signing was oddest to you and where was something that you thought, oh they got a bargain there, they were smarter than everyone else there. The Titans spending all that money on Calvin originally was a little bit odd. In part because something Dan that we actually talked about with receivers, which is this is such an unbelievable draft at the position. And over the last, you know, five, seven years, we've seen so many rookie receivers come in and produce at a high level. My feeling is unless you have like a true number one, you're Justin Jefferson's, you're Amon Ross St. Brown's, you're Mike Evans's, I guess, I would not want to spend a lot of

my cap at that position now. And while Calvin Ridley has been, you know, extremely good. It's a last year was like, he was kind of inconsistent in Jacksonville, obviously coming back from the year off, I still think he's a great talent, but to drop the kind of money that they did on him was kind of surprising to me. Can you guys put up on the screen, please, the photo of Pittsburgh Steelers punter, Cameron Johnston, formerly of the Texans, and tell me why he looks so much like Bill Burr. And if before his appearance here you had... Oh my God.

Oh, you hadn't seen how much he looks like Bill Burr. He looks more like Bill Burr than Bill Burr. Yes, that is correct. It is a little bit strange. This guy doesn't look like me! Damn liver tot! That's a bad impersonation of Bill Burr. That is a terrible Bill Burr impersonation.

Was that a Boston accent? A little agitated too. No. A little angry, pretty poor. No. All around, yeah. You gotta try it sometimes, guys. Didn't really work.

You didn't have to try it. Shoot or shoot. Aaron Rodgers is on X saying, as I'm on the record saying in the past, what happened in Sandy Hook was an absolute tragedy. I am not and have never been of the opinion that the events did not take place. Again, I hope that we learn from this and other tragedies

to identify the signs that will allow us to prevent unnecessary loss of life. My thoughts and prayers continue to remain with the families affected, along with the entire Sandy Hook community. I don't know how true the reporting is, but the reporting is that in private conversations, Aaron Rodgers has questioned whether or not Sandy Hook actually happened. Here he denies that. What are your thoughts, Mina?

I don't have the reporting, the CNN story in front of me. I do think it's, did he, was it reported in the story? Maybe one of you guys has it up. You can, cause I don't remember the exact wording. Did the reporter say, and then I think they cited another person that he said it didn't take place or that he questioned whether it was an inside job and- There were actors involved.

It was on a CNN report and it was allegedly something that he said to a CNN reporter in 2013 at the Kentucky Derby, I believe Yeah, yeah, but what but what he said just was it that it did he I don't think he said it never took place Am I wrong or was it I just want to I Specific about what the conspiracies were that he shared But that he was saying some very bad things about it. Right, implying that there were crisis. That's not great of us on the reporting.

I don't think that's how, I don't think that's how he- No, I think it says deranged conspiracy theories. I bring it up because I think this is someone who chooses his words carefully. Do you guys disagree? I have lost sight, obviously, with immunized, we all sort of paid attention to how he was choosing his words when he chose immunized. But I have lost count of sort of some of the things that have been said by Aaron Rodgers. You just spent three hours on a conspiracy

podcast. Right. Which I mean, I think what was look, I'm glad he put this out. It's good to disavow the notion that it didn't take place. I think it's pretty telling that when the story came out, the universal reaction of his kind of people saying, I'm not surprised, right? Which is pretty stunning. Like typically if a story

like that came out about maybe anyone else at this point in professional sports, people would be pretty shocked. And then this morning, someone I saw an awful announcing transcribed like the podcast he did, and it was full of conspiracy theories, some more harmful than others, some alluding to like there's a quote about some theory about immigrants serving in the military and turning against America. I mean, it's worth reading all of them. I mean, the general picture is, and he says this because in the interview he talks about, I saw this in YouTube and I watched this video. He didn't say YouTube, he watched a video saying this. As someone who's just, you know, been entirely too online, has gone down way

too many rabbit holes. And as we've talked about on this show, those rabbit holes tend to lead to another rabbit hole and so forth and so forth. And you end up in pretty dangerous, upsetting places. But, you know, I think what's now interesting to me, because I don't think he is a particularly interesting person anymore, because all of this is pretty predictable, is how people react to him. Like what this means for the perception of who he is as one of the faces of the NFL, whether he can be anymore, whether fans can sit with this. Fans in New York, I mean, that was another thing that kind of jarred me about like thinking about Sandy Hook and this in particular, the proximity of it all. Again, he's denied it sort of, you know, to he put out this statement. I'm kind of wondering like what happens next for him

in the public imagination, setting aside the VP aspect of it all, right? Like, because this is pretty reputation damaging stuff. It should be. The comments that he's made. The phrase setting aside the VP aspect of it all. That's fair. Like that being a normal thing.

Mina, good talking to you. Thank you. We've reached a special, special, extreme part in the space of insanity. Thank you for being on with us. I am not and never have been of the opinion that the events did not take place.