The Herd with Colin Cowherd - 3 and Out - NFL Schedule Release Takes; NFL Coming For NBA X-Mas; Earl Thomas Goes 'Playmakers'; Shady Favre Speech Cash

Episode Date: May 8, 2020

In this episode, Middlekauff gives his first impressions of the newly released NFL Schedule, his favorite matchups; expectations, why the NFL is going to be aggressive trying to own what has traditionally been NBA's Christmas Day, the recent Earl Thomas wife drama, and Brett Favre getting money for speeches he never gave. He also answers questions in the Middlekauff Mailbag. Follow John on twitter @JohnMiddlekauff and go to theherdnow.com to find the latest content. Subscribe now! Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed Human. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo, and every episode, we're cutting through the noise,

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Another podcast from some SNL late night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smigel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel. Help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter.

Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and Friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, what's good, y'all? You're listening to Learn the Hard Way with your favorite therapist and host Kear Games. This space is about black men's experiences, having honest conversations that it's really not safe to have anywhere, but you're having them with a licensed professional who knows what he's doing. How many men carry a suit or armor? It signals to the world that you're not to be played. with and just because you have the capability that does not mean that you need to listen to learn the hard way on the iha radio app apple podcast or wherever you get your podcast on the look back at it

podcast from 1979 that was a big moment for me 84 is big to me i'm sam jay and i'm alex english each episode we pick a here unpack what went down and try to make sense of how we survived it with our friends fellow comedians and favorite authors like mark lamont hill on the 80s 84 was a while i mean It was a wild year. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. If you love to be remembered as the person who gives the best birthday gifts, I'm here to tell you that 1800flowers.com is your ultimate birthday gifting destination. 1,800 Flowers has thoughtful and artfully created options that are guaranteed to deliver the best birthday surprise.

Shop thousands of unique gifts at 1800flowers.com for exclusive offers and great values. To order today, visit 1,800flowers.com slash tune in. That's 1,800flowers.com slash tune in. What is going on, everybody? John Middellcock, 3 and Out podcast. Appreciate everyone listening. Record this a little later than I typically do on a Thursday because we had this little thing called Schedule Release. we know who everyone's playing

and I realize I got a lot of respect now for like the national guys that kind of have to talk about everyone and let's face it, a lot of them will just talk about like the Patriots and the Cowboys but there's just a lot going on with the schedule release. There's a lot of, I haven't done the math,

but 16 times whatever. There's a lot of games. I mean, a lot of games, a lot going on. I'll try to give a big overview of just several things that jumped out to me. There is one specific game that stood out to me like a sore thumb that is just like, wow, this is a transcendent potentially moment for the NFL

to kind of put a stake in the back of the NBA. Playing on Christmas Day, we'll dive deep into that. Earl Thomas, you know, has just has a crazy story. Brett Farve, fraud, I'll dive into those two stories that were just like, what the hell is going on? then of course the middle cough mailbag at john middlecoff is my instagram handle the direct messages are wide open you slide up in there and ask any question you want over the weekend in the next several days i'm not going to go team by team here so you got specific questions feel free slide up in those dms about specific games teams how you think the schedule and then i can answer it it just it's too difficult to go team by team right it just take too long it honestly what's the point of that exercise. Let's start with opening weekend and just the opening game in general.

I think the NFL did a good job. They have the Chief, so when you have Mahomes, you can't lose. But giving them the Texans, it's like, to me that's solid. You do two things. One, you get a pretty polarizing team. I think most football fans laugh and make fun of Billy O'Brien. Some of it justified. I think some of it is a little extreme.

He's treated like Freddy Kitchens when he goes to the playoffs every year. He's not the loser that he's port-off. trade on Twitter. You know, every guy with a Twitter account thinks Bill O'Brien's the village idiot. Now, is he a good GM? No. But does he win? Yes.

You give me Watson, you give me Mahomes, solid, you know, Thursday night game. And then I think the overall theme is a lot of teams got a lot of prime time games. Peter Schrager tweeted out that eight teams have five primetime games. That's a lot. And that doesn't include the Saints. Now, is it a little inflated? Yes. Because a lot of the Sunday night games, as we've seen the last several years,

I think it's the second half of the season, maybe it's after week nine or ten, they can flex, right? Like, the one thing when you're on Monday night or Thursday night, there's no flexing. If you get a Thursday night game or you get a Monday night game, you are playing that game. Logistically, you just can't move it. The Sunday night thing, because all I've got to do is bump you back three hours

or bump you forward three hours. It's an easy move. You're already traveling to that place anyway. It doesn't change the thing. So if you have the Sunday night games, definitely week 10 to week 17, there's no sure thing. But one thing's pretty clear. They got pretty aggressive. And they got aggressive with teams like the Rams and the Raiders because they're moving

into new stadiums. And I think the Raiders getting to a Monday night and a Sunday night game right off the bat, John Gruden against Drew Breeze Week 2 and Tom Brady week 7. Like, that's risky for the NFL. I get there moving into a new stadium, but they haven't been very good for the last 17 years. Now, there are a lot of other teams that I just don't know. Now, maybe the Raiders are good. Maybe I think Tampa's going to be pretty good, and we'll dive into them here in a second.

But I know one team I still take pretty seriously. I know right open, the first team I looked at their schedule was the Niners. And they go to at New England, at Foxborough. The Raiders actually go to Foxborough too. When you go to Foxborough, I get Tom's not there. And I get this team is not going to be the same. They're not going to win 11, 12 games. But they're not going to win 5 or 6.

I think they're like 7 or 8. And they are going to be a mother at home. They're going to be tough. They have an elite coach. They still have a good defense. They have good coaches. They are not just going to be some shitty team. They're not going to be the Jags.

They're not going to be what the cards have been. They're not going to be the lions. I just think a lot of people, I think this year are going to be like, win, when we just look at the schedule. And listen, we all do that. Think how often. then you go, oh, 10 and 6, or, God, this schedule looks hard, and then things change.

That's why I think it's very, very difficult for the schedule, is every year a couple of quarterbacks go down. Every year, even if a quarterback doesn't go down all season, they may miss a specific game, and you playing the Packers against Aaron Rogers or Jordan Love is a big deal, right? You playing, you just pick the team. You playing Kyler Murray or Brett Hunley. Brett Huntley even saw the team, but you get to my drift.

So the eight teams, five primetime games, I think there is more parity because of Corona and no off season. I don't know if we're going to see many 14, 15s, you know, obviously not 16, but even like 13 wins. I think this year 11, 12 wins is going to actually be like 14. Even with teams like the Chiefs, they're returning 20 of 22 starters. They have the best quarterback in the world. They had a really good draft.

If this was a normal year, I'd be like, you know what? Kansas City's probably going to go 15 and 1. They're going to dominate. They're going to be like, remember the season after the Packers won the Super Bowl in 2010? In 2011, they went to 15 and 1. Now, ironically, they got beat, remember by Eli Manning in the playoffs. But you know what? You catch my drip.

They came back even better after they, I think that is going to be the Chiefs. But with no off season, also factoring in all these guys, like dudes tried pelotons and lifting at home, it's not the same. This is not, you're not playing baseball where you've got to do calisthenics. or even being Tom Brady, pliability. If you're a 23-year-old lineback, you're trying to build some muscle mass,

and it's probably pretty difficult to do that right now. So I think it's going to dramatically change big picture just a win or two for even good teams. Now, here's one thing with Tom Brady. When you think Tom Brady and the Pats, you think, well, down the stretch, they always win between 12 and 14 games. They win so many games at Foxboro when it's really, really cold.

And we've all watched the games over the last, decade and a half, Sunday night, Monday night football, down the home stretch of November and December of a season, and it's the Patriots playing a lot of games because they've been the best team in the league over the last two decades. They deserved it. But one thing as you get older, even a guy that has lived in the cold for a long, long time, not me, Tom, and I think Aaron too, you do benefit from getting away from that. I'm 35 right now. During the winter, cold, like if I go, if I work out hard the next day, I kind of feel tight. I can't imagine being a professional athlete.

Being in the warm weather, have you ever tried to go for a jog in 100 degrees or go for a jog in 40 degrees? Now it's hotter in the 100, but it's much easier to run once you start sweating in 100 degrees. No different golf, no different to any activity. It's just easier to get loose. And Brady's final seven weeks of the season, home, home, buy, indoors, indoors home. That has a huge impact to me. I think Tampa's going to be really good. good. I think Tampa's going to be really, really good. And when I say that, like, 10 or 11 wins, but once it comes to playoff time, like, they can win the Super Bowl. Another thing that stood out to me. Over the last, you know, handful of years, definitely probably the last decade,

the Monday night schedule has been awful. Sunday night football has been the best games. When I close my eyes and think Sunday night football, I think like Eagles, Cowboys, Raven Steelers, you know, Pat's Chiefs, Niners, Seattle. I just think great game, Packers, Bears. I just think Packers, New England. I just think great games, Sunday Night Football. You name it, Cam Newton, Saints, whatever. Just Star Power, elite game, 20 million people watching.

And then Monday Night, which, as a 35-year-old, I still have a soft spot for. When I was getting into sports like anyone close to my age in the 90s, Monday Night Football was the shit. I love Monday Night Football. I'll never forget, like, Schottenheimer's teams, playing like the Raiders and the Broncos versus Shanahan and just some of the Farrve games.

It was awesome. Monday Night Football game has lost its luster. Part of it is, you know, once Gruden left, they've had a disaster in terms of the booth, but their games have been bad. It'd be like, God, Jags, Titans,

uh, Cardinals, lions? Like, what am I watching? But it's football. I watched it. And, you know, I kind of enjoyed it. Because, again, I'll watch it. any pro football game, but when I think Monday night football, I think big games. And that's what we've seen in the last several years with Thursday night football games.

The Thursday night football games, once Fox got involved, kind of trumped the Monday night games. A big part of that, let's call a spade a spade, ESPN became very anti-NFL. And there was like a political element to it. You know, the NFL's kind of the conservative league. The NBA is the progressive league. Even though the NFL is the league that everyone watches and the NBA now ratings-wise, and we'll dive into it with the Christmas game is a league that actually not that many people watch. But politically, a lot of reporters who lean extreme left kind of lean to that league,

even though the NFL and the NBA are exactly the same, they're trying to make as much money as humanly possible. One league gets kind of pigeonholed as the assholes. The other league gets pigeonholed. It's like, oh, they care about us. Even though it's all kind of fraudulent, I think they're exactly the same. Roger just doesn't really care what you think about him. Adam Silver, as I think Colin talked about it, this week is consumed about that.

Well, I'll give ESPN credit. They got rid of a lot of the anti-football people. You can be, I'm critical about football. Collins's critical about football. Shefters, you can be critical about things that happen. But when it feels like you hate football, and remember, there are countless people on ESPN that said, I do not like football.

Well, then why are you here? Football pays the bills. So get away. And you know what ESPN said? Bye-bye. You're fired. And this year, for the first time ever, I look down on the schedule, Week one is always weird, right?

Because you've got the doubleheader. And the reality is week one, right? You could throw any team. You could throw Jaguars playing the Jaguars, and we'd watch it. So it's the Giants against the Steelers and the Titans against the Broncos. But after week one, it really gets going. Saints opening up the Vegas Stadium, which will be cool. Chiefs Ravens, Falcons Packers, Chargers, Saints, Cardinals Cowboys,

which I actually think the Cardinals are going to be a really good watch this year. Bears Chargers, Tom Brady Giants, New England Jets, Vikings Bears, Chargers Tampa, Seattle, Philly, Buffalo, San Francisco, Ravens Baker Mayfield. Like, we just got some pretty good games. You know, it's not great, still probably not Sunday night football and not Thursday night football, but ESPN, you know,

they're starting to be a little not hate the NFL and you get better product. You know, and it's all kind of a team effort here. But, you know, whatever. you're looking at the schedule, to me the key is this. How many teams do you play that are coming off buys? How many teams do do you play when they're coming off bys

are you coming off a road game? Where are you when you're playing the Thursday night game? Like if you're playing, if you get a home Thursday night game and you're coming off a road game, that's difficult. If you get a home Thursday night game and you're at home makes it a little easier. If you're

at home and you've got a road Thursday night game, not as bad. But the Thursday night game can always get a little weird. And who do you play after your by week? Who do you play after your Thursday night game? Because that's usually a must win because you get a longer break. Those are key. And depending on your divisional games, you know, I don't think it's imperative.

Like last year, for example, the Niners went 5 and 1 and won the division by one game. You know, going 5 and 1 a division is really, really difficult. If you can go 4 and 2 in your division, that means typically you're going to be a good team. If you go four and two in your division and you can win six games outside of your division, you'll be 10 and 6 and be a lock playoff team. Hell, if you go four and two in your division and you go five and five, with seven playoff teams, you'll be nine and seven. I think nine and seven this year, the NFC, it might be a little more difficult. I think it's much deeper. When you look Philly, Dallas should be good. The Packers, the Bears, and Minnie could all be solid. The Niners,

Seattle are going to be good. Cardinals could be feisty. I kind of got the Rams red flagged. And then you look at the Saints, Tampa. Even Atlanta, hell, remember, they started really slow, but they ended up winning seven games. To me, the key is you just got to win the divisional games. And anytime I see a divisional game, road or home, I take it very seriously.

And I learned this when I was with the Eagles, a team in your division. Like if you're, let's say the NFC East, and if you're a Philly or Dallas fan, you go, well, the Giants, and the redskins are going to suck. Well, we know that's not usually the way it goes down. Because even if they do suck,

that one of the two games that you play them, it's going to be a tie game in the fourth quarter. And that's what makes football cool. That's why football is king. Because even when teams suck, we get great games on Sunday. We get, like, you're on the edge of your seat. You're like, how are we going to lose these guys?

It happens. I mean, it's the best part. Like, in basketball, it doesn't. You got Kevin Durand or you got LeBron. If they try, you're going to destroy terrible teams. In football, you can try it and still be a tight game. game just because nature of the sport. So I, you know, got to give the NFL credit, man.

They've had free agency, they've had the draft, and they've got schedule release, and during this pandemic, which is the shittiest time ever, they've had complete onage of it. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo.

Every episode, we're cutting through the noise. breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source, the athlete themselves, their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context, and ask the questions everybody wants answered. Sports Slice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them.

Listen to Sports Slice. radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Sliced Life 12 and the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of mental health awareness month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking, Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't really really. that we are in possession of the thing,

and we're still chasing it, and we don't know when we've done enough. Because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross, because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth, or are you a good person because you're afraid?

Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Kear Gaines, as we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, Learn the Hardway. Open your free iHeartRadio app.

Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tapped Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do with Little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam Jett. And I'm Alex English.

Each episode, we pick a here, unpack what went down. and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill, waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 was big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack on day, but just so y'all know. I mean, at this point, Mark, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack, so I'm starting to see that there's a through line.

We also have AIDS on the table right now, so. Then you're finishing that sentence. Yes. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. What's up, guys? This is Clever Taylor the Fourth. And on my podcast, The Cliverts Show, I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff. Like being an internet famous referee. We're in the middle of a game. This linebacker, this linebacker walks up to me. He goes, hey, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her. What?

Time out. Quarterback on office blue with 42. Hey, Wreck, my mama want you to weigh better. What? Where's she at? Hey, Miss Parker. Listen to the Clifford show on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast.

Everything we've talked about of what fans think about, they've been the only thing cool that's been going on. Now, there's an element of luck, as I talked about earlier this week, it just happened to fall in their off season. but you gotta give Roger Goodell credit he's kept his pedal to the floor, not flinched at all, kept everything coming. We don't even know if we can play these games. You know what Roger said?

I don't care. Put this bad boy out. Get the people talking. Let's own this real estate. Like I think he's gonna try to do with Christmas Day. Let's dive into that. If you love to be remembered as the person who gives the best birthday gifts, I'm here to tell you that 1-800flowers.com is your ultimate birth.

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And we're live here outside the Perez family home just waiting for the... And there they go. Almost on time this morning. Mom is coming out the front door strong with a double-armed kid carry. Looks like Dad has the bags. Daughter is bringing up the rear. Oh, but the diaper bag wasn't closed. Dipers and toys are everywhere.

Ooh, but Mom has just nailed the perfect car seat buckle for the toddler. And now the eldest daughter, who looks to be about 9 or 10, has secured herself in the booster seat. Dad zips the bag closed and they're off. Ah, but looks like Mom, I wasn't realize her coffee cup is still on the roof of the car, and there it goes. Oh, that's a shame. That mug was a fam favorite. Don't sweat the small stuff. Just nail the big stuff.

Like making sure your kids are buckled correctly in the right seat for their age and size. Learn more at nhtsa.gov slash the right seat. Visit nhtsa.gov slash the right seat. Brought to you by Nidza and the Ad Council. Okay, let's dive into a game that really jumped out to me on the schedule. and it made me think of a quote in the book, The Shoe Dog, about Phil Knight, the guy that started Nike, created Nike, and ran Nike.

You're a legend. I mean, if you're listening to this podcast, you know who he is. I recommend the book. And when I say I read it, I listen. I'm an audio book guy. I listen to it. Great, great listen. He had a quote that I immediately wrote down,

because it's so right. Business is a war without bullets. I would imagine many of you, listening are in countless different industries. And if you and I were sitting there with beers, whether you're in the food business, whether you're in football, whether you're in tech, whatever you're in, we were just bullshit and you would tell me horror stories about how cutthroat your business is and the competition.

Because at the end of the day, every business wants to wipe out their competition. Now they may not say it and they may not tweet it. I mean, if you like follow Facebook, you know, Zuckerberg, like, for the people, this about the community. He's been wiping people out since they really hit a big. I see it in Silicon Valley all the time. Talk a big game,

but the business, the model is to try to gain all the market share. As much as the government will legally allow you to make. And I just, times change so fast now. I talk about trading stocks and screwing around.

And I got rid of some of my square stock as the pandemic hit. And what's, square is, and I bet a lot of you guys know what it is, it's just like the portable thing you put your credit card in when you go to like a small business. Hell, even some bigger businesses have them. But my rationale was, well, during the pandemic, all these businesses are closed. This, this stock's going to tank. I was wrong. It actually has gone up a lot. And on the day I'm recording this, it went up like a lot. And I'm kicking myself because I'm reading, oh, they also

have the cash app. And someone last week told me about this, you know, this girl who runs this business. And she's like, uh, she's like, you know, actually I got a Venmo credit card. And you realize that like cash app and Venmo are starting to just operate like a bank. And so of course Square, yeah, in theory, they're, they've lost revenue with the percentage they were making on the small businesses. But they've made so much money on the way people trade and pay people through the cash app, which they own. It's no different like Venmo. I'm just kicking myself.

I'm like, God, I should have been more forward thinking. Because I'll never forget when I flew home from Hawaii. The biggest film in America, the Irishman, essentially went straight to Netflix. I pressed a button. Ten minutes later, it was on my iPad and I watched on the flight home. I'm like, God, if I could have told 10 years ago John Middlethoff that you'd be able to do this,

that, you know, movie theaters would be essentially dead. I wouldn't have believed you. But times change. Because forever, my entire. entire life. It was born in 84. Michael Jordan's rookie year. By the time I came to my own as a sports fan, there were two things that really made the, well, baseball was huge.

I mean, I would say baseball was as big as any sport when I was growing up up until the strike. Ken Griffey Jr., Barry Bonds, Cal Ripkin, Roger Clemens, you name it. The big baseball players were every bit as famous as, you know, what Tom Brady or James Hardin and LeBron James. I mean, they were rocks. stars. It changed after 94. Never was quite the same. And you could argue the NBA hasn't been quite the same since Jordan, but they were still

really, really relevant with Kobe and Shaq, and then again with the late Kobe and, you know, a large percentage of LeBron. But the last five or six years, they've fallen off a cliff. And they're taking on, I mean, they're like the Titanic right now, literally, because they leak all their plans to reporters. And then whenever Adam Silver has asked about it, he refused to say anything. You know why? Because he's scared. He's terrified of this quote-unquote backlash, which I was thinking about the other day, like, imagine if you ran a business and are terrified of quote-unquote backlash, what does that mean? Now, I think we're all terrified of, like, losing consumers or going out of business, but what does just backlash mean if it doesn't

cost you any money? Who gives a shit? Why does that even matter? It doesn't. And the NFL isn't scared of backlash. But they also see, they're like a great white shark. And, the NBA right now is like a seal that's leaking a little blood. And the Great White Shark's hungry for dinner. Because they put a game on Christmas this year. Christmas doesn't fall on a Saturday or Sunday. It falls on a Friday. Well, the NBA Forever has owned Christmas.

When I think Christmas, I think Jordan, I think Kobe, I think Shaq, I think Kobe again, I think some of those Celtics teams, LeBron, Steph Curry. The NFL goes, you know what? Because this year, their ratings on Christmas weren't even very good. The NBA ratings this year were atrocious, awful. I mean, terrible. The NFL ratings are massive.

And I think Roger Goodell realized, why don't we take some of that real estate? Why don't we stake our claim there and take that kind of over? And then, yeah, for the next several years, it kind of lines up in our favor. Friday this year, Saturday next year, Sunday next year, and then Monday the following year. So like in a four-year stretch, you know, just push. is back one year.

Why not in like four or five years? Why don't we just keep mushing Tuesday, Wednesday? Why don't we just compete with them and set up a buy some way? Because it won't be any competing. We will dominate. Because the NFL's competition is not the NBA anymore. They've lapped the NBA. You could argue the NBA if they don't play this pandemic right,

and they're going to be last to come back, clearly. Baseball's coming back. UFC's fighting this weekend. Golf's coming back. Hell, Phil Tiger, Peyton Manning, Tom Brady are playing. everything's coming back. The NBA is going to be last. They might actually be going through with this pandemic,

their version of the 94 strike, because the fans have already been tapping out anyway. And now if they just take the rest of the year off or don't come back or come back in a weird way, and who knows? It could really hurt the brand. Maybe the NFL's thinking, we can step on their throat.

Because who's owned the conversation for the last during the pandemic? Now, part of it was just they were set up. The NFL has owned the entire, conversation. Now, you could argue during free agency in the draft, they would anyway, but because the NBA hasn't done anything or even attempted to do anything, the NFL has just talked about, I mean, this is a football show, but every time you turn on television, every show or most podcasts, talking football, because there's a lot of football stories going on. Because the football, despite having to kind of, you know, work around the pandemic, while their season wasn't going on,

they still had to, you know, shut down buildings, do everything. They just kept adapting. And the, NBA can't figure it out. They cannot adapt. And they're quote unquote the most progressive league. Yet the NFL that if you just watch the media's takes over the last decade, losers, Goodell's incompetent, just greedy. The irony is the NBA was in bed with China. In the moment it got a little weird, they refused to say anything bad about them.

It's like every business is quote unquote greedy. Greed is what pays the bills, you know? I mean, there's not a more overused. word in pro sports than greed. Their expenses in all these pro leagues are insanely high. No workforce in world history costs as much as professional sports, right? The amount of money you pay players. So you have to be greedy.

It literally pays for things. Think about like the teams in baseball that aren't quote unquote greedy and don't do everything possible to make money, but just make money for themselves like the Oakland A's. I'd say it's all that moronic. It's just poor business. Luckily, Billy Bean is a dynamic general manager and talent evaluator that he can keep them above, you know, their head above water

and actually win while their owner just pockets all the profits. But the NFL, I just think, sees opportunity. And this could be a moment. I'm not trying to overreact and say it's going to change forever. But who knows? I mean, once upon a time, when I was growing up, you wanted to get a movie, you had to go to Blockbuster. Then all of a sudden, Blockbuster was dead,

and you got your DVDs delivered. do you. And then several years later, I downloaded an app, press a button, and watch the number one movie in America on my flight home. So the NBA owned Christmas for 34 years of my life.

When I thought Christmas in sports, I thought National Basketball Association. Who's to say, my unborn child will think that, who knows? Maybe in 15 years. I don't plan on having a kid anytime soon, but you never know. and all of a sudden he's like,

the NFL is Christmas. That's just how society's never changed fast as fast as it does now. And like Phil Knight says, business, these big, especially big business, they are so aggressive. And they will do anything to get them an extra percentage point. Because once you get to that level, like if you're doing six figures in revenue or whatever,

every percentage isn't that. huge. It gets bigger. Like if you go from $500,000 to a million dollars, then a million to $2 million, but once you get to like $100 million, there's a big difference between $100 and $150 million, or a billion and $2 billion. You know, money's all relative, relative, right? And I think they see kind of a sinking ship. You know, LeBron's career, well, he's actually still going strong. He looks fantastic. But I do think humans are somewhat numb to LeBron. I mean, we've heard his name for so long. He just, we know everything about him. We know all his kids. There's nothing to learn. Like, there was a lot of mystery with Michael Jordan. I'm watching this, I'm a diehard Michael

Jordan fan. I don't know that much about him. I think Tiger Woods is kind of like that. Like, I don't know that much about Tiger Woods. I mean, I've learned it as years ago, but I, I know everything had to know about LeBron. You know it all. He's told me at all. So all of his shows. I don't, I, I, do I know that much about Tom Brady or even Peyton Manning? Not really. Like, the NFL does a pretty good job of balancing this kind of mysterious act. I've said it all the time. I'm not. They have a built-in advantage with society

that when you get the amount of games that baseball and basketball have, we don't need to pay attention as much and we have more options to entertain us. We're football, it's just once a week. So whoever your team is, we all, if you're just used to Sunday, just kind of chilling,

it's built in and now with fantasy football, with gambling, can keep you engaged even if you don't care about the teams. But don't be shocked in 10 years. if when I say Christmas Day and associated with sports, you think football, not basketball. Okay, I'm going to dive into a couple stories that I'll be completely honest. Mid-pandemic, you never know exactly what you're going to get,

but I didn't expect either one of these two. And it reminds me of this. When I was my freshman, I graduated high school in 2003. So in the fall of 2003, I was in college. And I'm pretty sure. I don't know if it was the first season It might have been of the show Playmakers Remember on ESPN

That had dudes just doing everything under the sun It was crazy, it was NFL, but it was based on like From free basing drugs to sex to just it was awesome I mean it was everything I like in a television show Had sports had violence had drugs Had nudity It was great I mean it's what moves the needle for a young consumer

But the NFL because they were in partnership with ESPN, Gadel wouldn't even have been the commissioner then. I guess it would have been Tagliabu caused a huge stink because it portrayed the NFL in a bad light, right? Because it was pretty nuts. Though several years later, now they're not a partner, but HBO with The Rock and his show is kind of the same thing.

But you could argue playmakers probably just as bad, if not worse. The reality is over the last 15 years, we've literally experienced everything. and over the 20-year-plus period of the NFL, from murder to suicide, to domestic violence, to drugs, to drug trafficking, to fraud, to cheating. There's literally not a story that a movie has been made about that the NFL in some weird way hasn't been interconnected.

Or could just say, yeah, we had a coach do blow. We had a player go get drugs. We had a player shoot someone else. We had a player, you know, do this and that. It's all happened. Everything under the sun in the last 20 years. There's probably not an incident that you can't find. And don't get me wrong.

The majority, the heavy majority, most guys in the NFL are really, really high level. The percentage of these guys doing crazy stuff is small that are definitely getting in trouble. Now, there might be a percentage that aren't getting in trouble that are pushing the envelope, but welcome to society. Well, I got two stories for you. I'm going to start with Earl Thomas. Earl Thomas got into an argument with his wife earlier this month, I guess it was actually in April, and left with his brother Seth.

His wife, who actually was his high school sweetheart, used Snapchat and was somehow, I don't even know how this works. Now, I've always been actually a believer in Snapchat, my younger brother, when he sends me pictures, like of his newborn baby, of him playing golf of whatever he's doing he sends him via Snapchat and all of his friends

utilize Snapchat and I never pulled the trigger to buy the stock but I'm telling you Snapchat the youth they love it clearly Earl Thomas and his wife do too

because she was able to hack into a Snapchat find out where he was and when she got there Earl Thomas was having an orgy with his brother and several women

and he also owns a 9mm meter which she had had in her hands Now she was going to try to scare him, so she took out the clip, but clearly doesn't have much experience with a gun, knowing there's also one in the chamber. And they're all naked. It sure sounds like I'm sure in the next couple weeks,

if not sooner, the video will come out on TMZ, and it'll look like a scene in Playmakers, and she puts the gun to his head. Now, I don't think he knew whether it was loaded or not. I would guess he just assumed it was. I mean, your first reaction, we see someone pointing a gun at you. never had a gun pointed at me, at least an actual gun. I mean, I've had paintball guns and BB guns pointed out.

You always assume it's loaded. That's why you always turn. Now, he, I guess, fought it off. Again, having an orgy with his brother, we'll imagine a lot of commotion when she comes storming in with a couple of her friends. Again, you can't make this up, even though playmakers kind of did over the years.

And he's lucky he didn't die. So, I mean, for as funny as the story is, there was a bullet in there. If she pulled it, it would have been one of the, great NFL tragedies. Like it would have been, I can't even imagine what that, you know, you guys,

a Hall of Fame player has head blown off by his wife. Now, you could argue you shouldn't be cheating on your wife. That's their own issues. I just know the, heard enough stories, the young, the elites,

the rich, they don't live like you and I. So like, I make, when I say the word orgy, it's kind of funny. But like, I think it's probably

normal vernacular for some people. NFL, Hollywood. We don't relate. late, us peons in normal society. But we do, like, you piss off a wife or your husband or whatever. Like, you never know. Now, you put a gun, you know, I'm not a lawyer. I'm pretty sure even if Earl doesn't press charges, it's out of his hands.

Like, that's attempted murder, right? Or at least, I don't know the exact term, but she's going to get in trouble. I think it'll be hard for her to avoid jail time. But what a crazy-ass story. Only in the NFL could you have, you know, a borderline future Hall of Fame player, having an orgy with his brother, having his wife storm into the house, he's at some other house or hotel or wherever,

and with her friends, kick the door open, find them all naked, point a gun at him, have an altercation where he fights off the weapon, and then the police come and arrest her. I mean, if I made that up about a player, you would be like, Middlecoff, are you on drugs?

Put down the tequila. And this really happens. It's just, we can laugh at it, because no one got injured. But it's just like when you're kind of reading it, your jaws hitting the floor when I'm reading this TMZ article. I'm like, this shit is nuts. This is crazy.

I mean, this is, you can't make this up. The Brett Farv story, we've seen this song and dance before. A lot of rich people have defrauded other people. The story is that Brett Farv in Mississippi has this thing called Farv Enterprises, which I would imagine a lot of, you know, former athletes, famous people in Hollywood, whatever, that use their individual, quote, unquote, likeness as their money-making, you know, vehicle.

Just Farrv Enterprises, LeBron Enterprises, Curry, whatever, right? Tom, TB12, it's all, you know, it's all the same shit, just different pile. But here's what Brett Favre, here's a problem with what Brett Fav did. And I got a big red flag on this. Brett Fav, I guess, gives speeches. And to get Brett Fav to speak, it's clearly not cheap. because he got paid for two separate speeches, won $500,000 and won $600,000.

Now, I've read some articles, which I'm sure many of you have stumbled upon, like, I don't think he quite understand, and I definitely didn't until you read an article, like, damn, they pay that guy to speak, they pay him how much? They pay, I get like paying a former president, but you see some of these stories about former athletes

that just paid appearances. You can rack up some cash. Brett Farv, in his hometown of Mississippi, or his home state of Mississippi. I don't know if it's actually Hattiesburg or wherever he grew up. But charge this, you know, Mississippi, some sort of entity multiple times, and got paid $1.1 million. Well, here's a kicker.

He didn't actually give a... Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo. Every episode, we're cutting through the noise.

breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source, the athlete themselves, their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context, and ask the questions everybody wants answered. Sports Slice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to Sports Slice.

radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Sliced Life 12 and the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of mental health awareness month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking, Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't really really. that we are in possession of the thing, and we're still chasing it,

and we don't know when we've done enough. Because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross, because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth, or are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions, bro.

Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Kear Gaines, as we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, learn the hard way. Open your free iHeartRadio app.

Search Learn the hard way and listen now. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tap Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do with Little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam Jett. And I'm Alex English.

Each episode, we pick a here, unpack what went down. and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill, waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 was big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack all day, but just so y'all know. I mean, at this point, Mark, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack, so I'm starting to see that there's a through line.

We also have AIDS on the table right now, so. Thank you for finishing that sentence. Yes. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really, yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app,

Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. What's up, guys? This is Clever Taylor the 4th. And on my podcast, The Cliverts Show, I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff. Like being an internet famous referee. We're in the middle of a game. This linebacker, this linebacker walks up to me, he goes, hey, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her.

What? Time out. Quarterback on office blue with 42. Hey, Wreck, my mama want you to weigh better. What? Hey, Miss Parker. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

Beach, either time. Got free money. Now, I've seen enough true crime shows. I've known enough people that have done some shady stuff, or at least family friends, not actually my friends. We haven't made enough money yet. But this is either two things. Either Brett is full on defrauding these people,

and he was actively doing this, or he had an employee go rogue, which also I could see be very possible. Do I envision Brett Farv doing the books at Farv enterprises? No, I do not. Do I envision Brett Farv scheduling the speaking engagements at Farv Enterprises? No, I do not.

Would it probably be a pretty easy place to go rogue? just like a lot of famous athletes charities. We've seen these stories over the years where it's easy for a family member, a trusted associate to take advantage of the situation. But here's where I kind of wonder. Because Brett Farve immediately, immediately, like to me, if we were defrauding someone

and I was not involved, I would go, whoa, pump the brakes here. I would say, let's just stop everything. I would not move any money. I would not pay any one back. I would just start asking questions. Well, Farv Enterprise immediately paid $500,000 of the $1.1 million back.

To me, that's the classic, like, nothing to see here, just giving the money back. So I would lean, again, educate a guess that Farv might have known something. Now, I'm a big Brett Farv guy. He's one of my favorite athletes of all time. I got to meet him once when I worked in Philly. He was up seeing Marty and Andy.

I've met some famous people over my life. I don't remember kind of my heart beating kind of getting shell-shocked. Now, it was in my mid-20s or whatever, but it was still pretty cool. Getting to meet Brett Farb, walking right by him in the hallway. So I hope this isn't true, and I hope that he had an employee that went rogue.

But any time that you immediately pay someone back after you get caught and just go, oh, nothing to see here, we're just pay them back. My bad, our bad, we'll figure this out. I don't know. I'm going to lean that he might have known a little something. Because clearly Farv Enterprises was defrauding people. and you just now do i think brett farb's going to go to jail or anything of course not uh no chance

definitely not mississippi either but it shows you you know what's the famous saying you don't uh don't meet your heroes this would be sad if farv was really behind this for just a little one point one million dollar kicker to do nothing do you design engineer build or maintain buildings in california do you want to gain more knowledge about energy efficient or learn what's new with electrification. Each year, PG&E Energy Centers offer more than 500 free online classes. Get a competitive advantage when you learn from industry experts through live webinars or over 80 on-demand classes. Fill your career by enrolling at pg.com slash training.

Look through your children's eyes to see the true magic of a forest. It's a storybook world for them. You look and see a tree. They see the wrinkled face of a wizard with arms outstretched to the sky. They see treasure and pebbles. They see a windy path that could lead to adventure. And they see you. Their fearless guide is this fascinating world.

Find a forest near you and start exploring at discovertheforest.org. Brought to you by the United States Forest Service and the ad council. Adoption of teens from foster care is a topic not enough people know about and we're here to change that. I'm April Dinwiddie host of the new podcast, Navigating Adoption, presented by Adopt U.S. Kids. Each episode brings you compelling real-life adoption stories told by the families that live them with commentary from experts. Visit Adoptuskids.org slash podcast

or subscribe to navigating adoption presented by Adopt U.S. Kids. Brought to you by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families and the Ad Council. Okay, let's dive into the Middlekopf Mailbag, but before we dive in, I got to remind everybody, if you guys like the show, go to the Apple iTunes 3 and out podcast and leave a review. You can leave a review on the Apple iTunes podcast.

I know a lot of people have trying to get to four figures. I think last time I checked it was like 940 reviews. I like to get to 1,000 and then we'll shoot for more. But appreciate everyone that's been doing that and keep doing that. At John Middlecop is my Instagram handle. Same as my Twitter handle. That's my name, full name. Actually, my full name is John David.

middle cough but my twitter and my instagram go by john middlecoff two fs unlike this uh in the when you work in the NFL and you like win a division or you win the nfc or a fc you get like a ball you know it says like nfc east champs and then it says your name and it's like the score of the game that you won the division the game on they spelled my name wrong but you know it builds character uh but i got that i got that in my office right now ad john middle cop instagram hit me with your questions i'm gonna need a bunch Because I don't think I have that many left. Hey, John, I listen to a ton of sports talk radio

and I've been putting you on my rotation lately. Keep getting better. You haven't peaked yet. Appreciate it. Here's my question. What is the long-term future for the Big 12? Sub-questions. Can Texas survive as an independent like Notre Dame?

What's your opinion of the Longhorn Network? Can the remaining Big 12 survive without Texas and Oklahoma? I'll start at the end and work backwards. The first answer would be no. Texas and Oklahoma carry it. I don't watch the Longhorn Network. I think Texas should stay in the Big 12. You have built-in rivalries right there.

It works. Texas playing Oklahoma State, playing obviously Oklahoma. It's one of the best games of the year. Texas Tech feels like a big game. Iowa State. There's no reason to leave. I think the problem with the Big 12 right now is they have one legit powerhouse in Oklahoma.

And even Oklahoma is somewhat flawed because you have to build this spread defense to play all the spread offenses. And then as we've seen the last several years, when they get into the playoffs, it's hard for them to hang with Georgia, Clemson, Bama, whatever. And they have unreal offenses. And I think Lincoln, it's fair to say, is a stud. But to me, for the Big 12 to be legit, they need Texas to be good with Oklahoma. And then to have just some, you know, some of the extra teams just be eight, nine wins,

whether it's Texas Tech, whether it's Iowa State, whether it's Kansas State, teams Oklahoma State, and just be kind of nationally in the top 25. But you need Oklahoma and Texas to be your lead dogs competing to make the playoffs. And right now it's Oklahoma or bust. Tom Herman, it's just kind of been a disaster. You know, they haven't sniffed being what they were under Mac in the mid-2000s. Just a powerhouse, producing NFL players, and ranked in the top 10. Anytime they've been ranked in the top 10 recently, it's been fake.

It's been fraudulent. They're quickly out of it. They need to, I don't know, I don't have the answer. But it's clear they get enough recruits coming out of Texas. The brand's big enough where you can go just in that general area in the Midwest. You can steal a couple kids out of California. Austin's a cool city. It has history.

You've won a national championship. You got a lot of guys over the years in the NFL. Not recently. Like think about how much cooler it is to be at Oakland. Oklahoma alone. How many more guys in the last five years are in the NFL from Oklahoma than Texas. So it's one thing to go, oh, remember Vince Young? No, actually I don't. I'm 18 years old. It's 2020. So in 2005, I was what? Three? You do the math. I mean, what's, you would be born in 2002, right? No, I don't remember Vince Young. Remember Ricky Williams? No, I wasn't alive.

some of the cool players that I grew up on, like Roy Williams, trying to think of just some of it. Jamal Charles, no one remembers these guys. Think of all, think of it like, oh, you watch Oklahoma? Oh, yeah, Joe Mixon, C.D. Lamb, Sterling Shepard, all the offensive linemen, Kenneth Murray,

Baker Mayfield, Kyler Murray, right? Jalen Hertz, Lincoln Riley, Bob Stoops. Just feels way sweeter. Producing way more NFL play. Mark Andrew. Oh, I love Lamar Jackson. I throw it to him on Madden all the time. Who are you doing that with Texas?

That's a problem. Hell, you could argue Texas Tech is more relevant right now in the NFL because they got my homes. And even Baker played there for a split second. And Cliff Kingsbury's an NFL coach. With Dallas signing Dalton, I'm hearing mixed takes. Some say no trouble for Dak. Others say it takes pressures off the Cowboys to make a deal and happen with Dak.

Am I wrong to hope for an open competition between Dak and Dalton or Zach deserve to show up and be the quarterback one? with a new coach and show up, show us his work. Well, if DAC is there, whether it's on the franchise tag or whether it's on a new contract. And I'm trying to think, oh, I saw Schefter during like ESPN's schedule release show, say one point of contention right now

is the Cowboys want to sign him to a long-term deal, like five years. And I guess Kirk Cousins had talked to Dak Prescott. It's like, Kirk, why are you talking to anybody? buddy. You're not good enough to be giving advice to people, but he told Dak Prescott use the franchise tag to your advantage. And Dak Prescott wants to sign a shorter term deal, three or four years. Well, if I'm the Cowboys, I'm not signing you unless I own your rights for a long period of time. Irony is, I don't love doing that for Dak Prescott. I actually wouldn't mind going

short term. Clearly, I think Dak Prescott's trying to go Kirk Cousins. Like, Dak, you're overthinking this. You can win games with Dallas. you could, hell, their team might be good enough the next couple of years, maybe win a Super Bowl, be a legend. All Cousins is going to be no-for is having made a ton of money. No one will ever go, you know what? Kirk Cousins was pretty good at football, though he's not bad. But no one is going to talk like that.

No one's going to think like that. People are going to be like, yeah, that overpaid guy, the guy that made $300 million, and he's got to make that much. But you know what I'm saying? He made, I think how much money Kirk Cousins made. He got franchised twice, I think, what that number had up to like 47,

million. The Vikings gave him 85 million, purely guaranteed. So we're already at like 130 million. The Vikings just gave him another 60 million. I mean, Kirk Cuson's already like $190 million. One, one playoff game. There is no player that's in the upper echelon of quarterbacks, like top 15, that I would feel less confident in in a big game than that guy. It's made $190 million, give or take, in the next couple years. That's insanity. Like there's a balance stack You're going to be worth Easily that much

If you just play it right here And win big with the Dallas Cowboys You'll be a legend You'll be a legend Kirk Cousins will not be a legend He'll be rich But that's the guy that everyone's Oh yeah, you guys kind of average

Uh Hey John, after taking Chase Young That Redskins defense is looking very underrated Is it just me or is the five game Over Under and easy over? Well, the defense should be good. And Jack and Ron, defensive guys. They'll be physical up front.

Their front seven is good. I just wonder about the offense. I mean, I think Dwayne Haskins was really shitty last year. Kyle Allen's actually okay. But, you know, what do they have? They got Darius guys. They bring back Adrian Peterson. You don't have Trent Williams, but you didn't have them last year either.

You have the young kid Terry McLaren. Am I saying his name right? The rookie at Ohio State. like they actually could be good and be 5 and 11 be like much improved but yeah I mean I if I was going to bet an over under on the Redskins I'd probably take the over just and that's probably just Ron Rivera is a good coach I just the quarterback play I think there's a lot of unknown I don't think the Redskins know but defensively they could be good the the division you know the Giants are going to be better the Eagles should be better and the Cowboys should be better so the

division actually, which was bad last year, should be much improved. Love the show. What are your thoughts on Justin Herbert? Do you think he will be successful in the league and the Chargers franchise quarterback? Does he start this season or red shirt in 2021? You know, in 2020, I don't think you're redshirt players, unless you're like Jordan Love situation. But if I draft a guy in the top 10, I'm drafting him to play him.

And I get Jordan Love is not like Burrell or Tua in terms of being this finished product. can, like, read defenses and pick you apart. Let them learn on the job. Your team's so talented enough, you know, I think a good kind of comparison is when Rathusberger took over. The team had so many premium players, and that's what this team has, right?

They had Kenneth Murray to go with Derwin James, to go with Bosa, to go with Ingram, to go with Hayward, they have a good secondary, they got Gus Bradley, offensively, they got Echler, they got Mike Williams, they got Hunter Henry, they got Keenan Allen. Just, you know, I'm a big believer

is, you know, once a kid gets to a certain age, throw him in the deep end. Let him swim a little bit. I'll stand right there and don't let him drown, but put him in position to swim. You know, you've taught him. He's put some floaties on. He's going to have the opposite season.

Maybe don't even need to start him week one, but I'm not riding Tyrod Taylor out long. You know, this is, the NFL's changed. This guy's a four-year starter. Four-year starter. It'd be one thing, right, if he was, you know, he's just one-year starter at Oregon, kind of like a mischievous.

Because he's been starting for four years. years. Four. I got to play Herbert. I think he has a chance to be a really good player. And I think worst case, he's just kind of like what Josh Allen has been the last couple years. Kind of hit or miss, but his talent's so immense, and their talent on the team is good. Now, one issue I have is I don't love the head coach. I don't think that highly of Anthony Lynn. I think he's pretty average. But they're, they're defencing. I think I think highly of Gus Bradley is a defensive coordinator, and I think highly of their personnel. So anytime you can put a young, quarterback on a team that has good personnel, you have a chance to succeed. If I put any

young individual in any job and I put you in a job that has no clue what they're going and bad employees around you, the thing's going to suck, right? If I take some young last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo. Every episode, we're cutting through the noise. Breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source, the athlete themselves. Their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama,

the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context and ask the questions everybody wants answered. Sports slice brings you closer to the action with stories told by people who live them. Listen to SportsSlic on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slicelife 12 and the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of mental health awareness month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests.

I'm talking, Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing and we're still chasing it and we don't know when we've done enough because people scoreboard watch life becomes about wins and losses

Steve Burns, Dustin Ross because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth or are you a good person because you're afraid because that's two different intentions bro absolutely and that's two different levels of trust I want you to just really be a good person Join me, Keir Gaines, as we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, Learn the Hardway.

Open your free iHeartRadio app, search Learn the Hardway, and listen now. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tap Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do with Little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam Jette. Alex English. Each episode, we pick it here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how

we survived it, including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill, waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 is big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack on day, but just so y'all know. I mean, at this point, Mark, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack, so I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now, so. Thank you for finishing that sentence. Yes. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really?

Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. What's up, guys? This is Clever Taylor the Fourth. And on my podcast, The Cliverts Show, I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff. Like being an internet famous referee. We're in the middle of a game. This linebacker, this linebacker walks up to me, he goes, hey, ref, my mom wants you to

to wave at her. What? Quarterback on office blue with 42. Hey, Wreck, my mama want you to wave at her. What? Where's she at? Hey, Miss Parker. Listen to the Clifford show on the Iheart radio app,

Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. A producer, and I throw him on Coward Show, he's got a shot. If I take some young producer and throw him on some dude's YouTube channel that has one follower, it's probably not going to be any good. So if I take this young guy that actually does have some talent

and I put him around a bunch of talented people, I think he's got a shot to be a pretty good player. Chris Ballard hit the mother load with Nelson and Leonard, but his first draft doesn't look so good these days. Hooker, Wilson, Basham, and Banner. Three are gone and one has a foot out the door. Are these players not living up to expectations a function of Ballard just missing on players,

or does going from Chuck Pagano's 3-4 defense to Uber Flucis Tampa 2 require so much of a different skill set that players drafted for the old coaching staff would have a hard time translating? Well, I'll be honestly, I'd have to text around and get more of an in-depth scouting report on Mulek Hooker

because I liked Mulek Hooker when he was young, and then he got injured, and he clearly hasn't been the same. Banner, the tackle from USC, I was never a big fan of. I don't like unathletic tackles that don't move very well. It's just a bad fit. The other two guys, I can't pretend to have that good feel on. I also think the first time you ever draft, and any time you go through a draft when you have,

I mean, let's be real, a coach that was going to get fired at the end of the season. You're kind of wasting a year. I always like just pulling the trigger firing a guy and starting and just get going. Now, they didn't, and I think he's made up for it. I think he's proven. You see it again in this draft. You get DeForest Buckner, you get Jonathan Taylor, you get Michael Pittman, you land Philip Rivers. They're just a high-level organization.

I believe in Chris Ballard. John Snyder has just some terrible draft picks. Awful. You know, look at John Lynch and Kyle Shanahan, who went 13 and 3 and dominated the NFC last year. Drafted Solomon Thomas at third overall. It happens. Howie's missed on some guys. Coach Reed's missed on some guys.

Sean Payton's missed on guy. It happens. It's hard. but I'm a huge Chris Ballard guys anyone that listens to the show knows just because I'm not like I know him like coward just knowing him through my friends in the league like I know Nagy and Beach and Andy those guys love him just watch the way he operates

think about Chris Ballard takes over think of what happened has what has happened to Chris Ballard in his tenure he gets there he's got to fire a coach then he hires Josh McDaniels and he's left at the altar and then he has to scramble, he gets Frank, Andrew Luck retires on him, just quits. No one sees it coming. I mean, they had no clue.

He just quits. It's over. And they've done a pretty good job pivoting every time and not being an embarrassment. I think Chris is a really, really impressive guy. And at the end of the day, you're going to miss, I mean, you're going to miss on 50% of your first round picks, let alone as the draft goes on, it only gets more difficult.

So if I was a Colts fan, I would feel, good about it. I wouldn't even worry about that first draft and just go, we got a team this year that can win 10 games. And in the AFC, if we can just avoid Kansas City until the AFC championship game, just take our chances. We're going to be pretty good. Now, the big question, and I don't know the answer to this, is Phillip Rivers. Like the Phillip Rivers I saw last year, and being on the West Coast, I just watch a lot of Rivers games against the Raiders, against the Broncos. I thought he was bad. And I love Phillip Rivers. I think Phillip Rivers is going to be a star. on television one day if he so chooses to.

But his physical ability last year felt to me like he fell off a cliff. He's never been able to move, but his arm, it was just bad. Maybe it was just an outlier season. Maybe he knew he was leaving the Chargers. Weird spot. But he did some things last year that was like, what the hell is going on?

So, listen, I'm rooting for Rivers. I hope he's still good, but there is a chance he's bad. Now you have a backup. Like Jacoby, if he's healthy, can win you some games. Easton could not What grows in the forest? Trees? Sure. Know what else grows in the forest?

Our imagination, our sense of wonder, and our family bonds grow too because when we disconnect from this and connect with this, we reconnect with each other. The forest is closer than you think. Find a forest near you and start exploring at Discovertheforest.org

brought to you by the United States Forest Service and the air. Ad Council. If I could be you and you could be me for just one hour. If you could find a way to get inside. Each other's mind. Walk a mile in my shoes. Walk a mile in my shoes.

Walk a mile in my shoes. We've all felt left out. And for some, that feeling lasts more than a moment. We can change that. Learn how it belonging begins with us.org. Brought to you by the ad council. Walk a mile in my shoes. in the forest. Trees? Sure. Know what else grows in the forest? Our imagination, our sense of wonder,

and our family bonds grow too, because when we disconnect from this and connect with this, we reconnect with each other. The forest is closer than you think. Find a forest near you and start exploring at Discovertheforest.org. Brought to you by the United States Forest Service and the ad council. I just watched the Niners versus the Bucks from week one last season. God, NFL geek here. Passing the time in lockdown. And it's hard to believe the team ended up in the Super Bowl.

They looked horrible. The amount they improved was unreal. Very Belichekian. You know, whenever you look at the week one games, I don't think they mean much at all. You know, when you look at week one and you look back like week nine or ten, you see a lot of teams that are two and eight in week ten.

that look good in week one. And you see a lot of Super Bowl level teams that look completely different. I put no stock into week one besides you win or you lose. Especially this season. You're going to be coming off a, who knows how long training camp is going to be. There's going to be no off season. I personally, and I try to do this, in college is a little different because you've got to kind of win week one. You can throw off your playoff chances.

In the NFL, you could lay an egg. as long as you win, whatever. I think in that game, James, I think he threw two picks, and one was a pick six. So, yeah, they benefited from James, that's for sure. I've been listening to your podcast ever since I heard about you through Collins Show

and learned you were a Cal Poly alumni. I'm about to graduate Cal Poly during the shelter in place with my BS and mechanical engineering. I see you. Go Mustangs. I was wondering what opportunities exist for engineers in the NFL and surrounding media. It would be awesome to combine two things. things I love. Well, first and foremost, you are way smarter than me because not in a trillion

years could I have gotten to Cal Poly with an engineering degree. And even if they would have allowed me in, I would have lasted about one class. So for those that don't know, Cal Poly, we kind of consider ourselves Harvard of the West Coast and the engineering school is big time. It's where the smart kids go. So, Alex, you're smart. I don't know what the combination of engineering or mechanical engineering and in the NFL, but I'll say this. What your major is in college, if you do want to get into sports, you might have to leave the mechanical engineering element of it,

at least originally, and clearly you're a really intelligent guy. You could figure it out. Now, what I'd recommend is I would go mechanical engineering and just crush it and make a ton of cash and just dominate the world. And, you know, be able to watch football on Saturdays and Sundays and chill. but that's just me. But I don't necessarily know

the connection of mechanical engineering and football or just sports in general. But you're talking to a guy that's not smart enough to, I wouldn't have lasted with you. Let's see. I appreciate what you've been doing to help us get through quarantine.

Question, from your position, what will it take for the Jaguars to become a respected organization? Like you, I've gotten a lot less of a fanatic I've become and just more of a lover of the sport itself, the business of the game, Of course, I want to see the Jags win one day.

I mean, that's why we play and why we're close to a few years back. But truthfully, I'd rather see them involved into an organization, the Ravens, the Vikings, the Niners, the Eagles teams. They may not win the Super Bowl every year, but they're always in the conversation. Exude excellence from the top down regarding your experience with the Eagles. What do you think? Well, it starts with the owner with Philly.

And, you know, in fairness, I wouldn't quite put the Niners there yet. They had one good season, though I think Lynch and Shannon are really good. I think like the Eagles, the Pats, the Steelers, and it all starts with the owner. And it starts with the consistency at top. And there's just a consistent vision within the organization. I think the problem for the Jags is they got this new owner, Shot Khan.

They're trying to be like innovative, but they don't really know what they're doing, and then they don't understand what's going on, and they always missing on these draft picks. And when they do hit on the draft picks, the players end up not liking the place. Just kind of a bizarre place. And maybe there's an element of it as a football player.

you feel like you're kind of irrelevant in Jacksonville. It's why a lot of guys kind of forced their way out or get unhappy. I'm just, I don't know. I'm just throwing this kind of out of my ass. I'm not quite sure. But I also think if you win in football, people like it, and you become a star, right? It's kind of like the NBA. Like, Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant became superstars in Oklahoma City.

Like, you could become a star in Jacksonville. You know, if Leonard Fournett had been Christian McCaffrey, he would be a really big deal. Jalen Ramsey became a star, right? Yonick and Dockwood. ways, he's maybe a little under the radar, but he's a pretty big deal. Players over, you can become a big deal there. Just look at like Carolina. Now, Carolina, the market size is bigger, but you get to my drift.

I think they just need to get a good coach, and they need to get a good general manager, and they just need to let it play out. Right now, Dave Caldwell has been there forever, they draft in the top 10 every year. So I would say he's not the guy. I would say Doug Marone, not the guy either. So can you just fire everyone at the end of the season and get a good general manager, and a good head coach in there, that would be what I would attempt to do

and be my goal if I were them. Because right now they're constantly turning over coaches, Tom Coughlin in, and they fire Tom Coughlin. It's just kind of feels like a rudderless ship. The Steelers never feel like that. The Eagles have one weird year. Chip Kelly's acting weird.

Jeffrey Lurie's like, pack your shit up and get out of here. You get it. You're not welcome here anymore. And they haven't looked back since. Two years later, win Super Bowl. The Chiefs, it's like, Scott Pioly is leaving Snickers bars in the staircase.

Get out of here. Higher Andy Reed, never look back. P. Carroll, John Schneider, boom, kicking everyone's ass. You know, the Steelers, the Roonies, they just keep the same coaches and are just consistent every year. I think you just got to attempt to be consistent.

It just starts at the top. Owner, head coach. You could argue the head coach is more important to the quarterback. Because if you've got a good head coach, you'll find a quarterback. You know, we all would love to have Tom Brady or Aaron Rogers. But both those got, one guy went

24th, the other guy went $199. Right? So, like, look at the top quarterbacks in the league. Just go west to east. Russell Wilson, third round pick. Jimmy Garoppolo, second round pick. Dak Prescott, fourth round pick. You can find really good players.

You know, say what you want about Cochousins. The Vikings won a playoff game last year. He's a fourth round pick. Now, he costs a lot of money, but you catch my drift. So you don't always need to be drafted the number one overall to get your quarterback. Garner Minchew might turn out to just be. like a top 15, top 20 quarterback.

You can win with them if you have a good organization. I don't mean win big, but you could win eight, nine games. It feels like their leadership is always just out of it. Appreciate everyone listening. Yeah, this thing I already went an hour, basically. Enjoy the weekend. Hope I entertained you. And keep, I guess, quarantining.

Hell, some of you guys live in, you know, were reopening the economy. You guys might be out and about this weekend. Happy Mother's Day. Tell your mom. I say hello. And I don't know or anything, but I'm just trying to be friendly. I didn't mean that in a weird way.

And yeah, thanks for listening. Again, lead those reviews. Apple, iTunes, lead the review. Peace. If you design, engineer, build, or maintain buildings in California, you can get free technical training, continuing education credits, and prepare for a range of certifications through PG&E's online classes. Enroll at pg.e.com slash training.

Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where SportsSlice comes in. I'm Timbo, and every episode we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the biggest moments in sports and giving you the real story behind the headline. And we're going straight to the source, the athletes themselves,

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between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are Starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and Friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, what's good, y'all? You're listening to Learn the Hard Way with your favorite therapist and host Kear Games. This space is about black men's experiences, having honest conversations that it's really not safe to have anywhere, but you're having them with a licensed professional who knows what he's doing. How many men carry a suit or armor? It signals to the world that you're not to be played with.

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With our friends, fellow comedians, and favorite authors. Like Mark Lamont Hill on the 80s. 84 was a wild year. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.