The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Colin Cowherd Podcast - 'Sharp or Square' Week 17 NFL Picks, 'Fake Q's, Real Answers" on Madden, Cowboys, Kyrie

Episode Date: December 31, 2021

Colin does "Fake Questions, Real Answers" on why NFL QBs remind him of Ken Jennings and Jeopardy, why John Madden is the definition of the word "icon", why Dak and Mike McCarthy should be ok losing in the playoffs, what Lincoln Riley haters expose about themselves, and why Kyrie just admitted to his lack of intelligence. Then, the Action Network's Chad Millman tells Colin if his NFL Week 17 picks are "sharp" or "square". They, give their picks for Vikings/Packers (16:00), Browns/Steelers (22:00), Eagles/Washington (23:00), Cardinals/Cowboys (25:00), Broncos/Chargers (28:00), Rams/Ravens (30:00), Dolphins/Titans (33:00), and Texans/49ers (35:00).Make sure to Subscribe and follow Colin and The Volume on Twitter for the latest content and updates and check out FanDuel for the best wagering and daily fantasy action! Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Get a real offer online, and they'll come to your driveway to hand over a check. Give them a try today. at Driveway.com. Car buying, car selling on your terms and on your turf. Driveway.com. Colin Coward podcast presented by Fandual Sportsbook. No better place to bet the action than on Fandual Sportsbook during the football season. There's a lot of reasons. It's America's number one sports book. Incredibly easy to use. Super safe, totally secure. Super fast payouts in as quick as two hours. You're not going to get that anywhere. Also, same game parlay bets, live betting.

It's the best. Hey, if you're new, just download the Fandul Sportsbook app. I did it in 15 seconds. Get started now. Sign up. Please use the promo code Colin so they know we sent you. Please use the promo code Colin, C-O-L-I-N. Fandul-Sports book app, sign up. Hi, everybody, and welcome in to the Friday morning podcast. Sharps or squares. My picks of the week coming up with Chad Melman. But first, fake questions, real answers. Stuff I want to talk. about but don't want to wait for you to ask me the questions. Dear Colin, why does there seem like

such a big gap between the best quarterbacks and the other ones? And it's been expanded in the last few years. Good question. And to answer that, I would think about the game show Jeopardy. There used to be a rule on Jeopardy for most of its existence. You could only win a week, five games. And that would usually mean you win about $100,000. And you could clearly tell the difference between really, really good people that could win an entire week and bad contestants. You really couldn't delineate the difference between somebody that was smart and like maybe a genius. Then they got rid of that rule.

And Ken Jennings won 74 straight games. The human computer, James Holzhauer, won 32 in a row. and $2.5 million. When you subtracted the limitations on the number of games you could win, you could now see a huge difference between smart and genius. Same in the NFL. We could always tell for years the difference between, you know, a great quarterback, Peyton Manning, and a good one in Bernie Cozhar.

But in 2005, Carson Palmer led the NFL, passing touchdowns 30, before. Peyton had 28. Brady third with 26. They were all sort of bunched together, though we know Brady is the all-time great. But in the NFL, they have relaxed so many of those offensive rules. You can get away with more. They've been more restrictive on defensive rules. Suddenly, you now have guys throwing for 40 and 50 touchdowns. The gap between good Matt Ryan and great Aaron Rogers is not yards or feet, it's miles. In fact, you hear people say things like, man, this looks so easy for Aaron Rogers. Just like Ken Jennings, the gap between Ken and somebody who could win a week,

you didn't really see it, although maybe you suspect that he was smarter. The gap now between Aaron Rogers in an offensive-driven league in Matt Ryan looks like the Grand Canyon. Dear Colin, what's the best memory of John Madden you've heard people discuss in the past few days? Well, there's a difference between great and an icon. And let me try to explain it. John was so ubiquitous, so fantastic, so relevant for five decades that you can't really boil his career down to one coaching moment or one broadcase. casting moment or one video game moment. Same with Johnny Carson. He had so many decades of groundbreaking

shows, you can't boil it down. There are plenty of people, plenty of celebrities who have had a great show, a great movie or two or three, or a highlight. The difference between Carson and John Madden, you can't boil their career down to a moment. The difference between Great and Icon is Johnny Carson and John Madden and, say, somebody who just was a celebrity or starred in one of your favorite shows ever, Ted Danson. Dear Colin, do you think Mike McCarthy will take heat or DAC will take heat if they lose early in the playoffs? It's an interesting question. let's first address early in the playoffs. Let's give Dallas one playoff win.

They will host their first round playoff game. So let's say they beat a Philadelphia, beat a San Francisco, whoever is near the bottom of the NFC playoff picture. But remember, we generally don't blame an athlete if they lose to a greater athlete. We don't blame a coach if they lose to Belichick or Andy Reid. This is where Mike McCarthy and Dack could get a little bit of a pass if they at least win one playoff round. Is that if they lost to Tom Brady, it would be understandable. Or Aaron Rogers, it would be understandable.

Or Sean McVey and Matt Stafford, for Dack, that would be understandable. The truth is, after the first round, it's likely the Cowboys are an underdog. If Andy Reed loses, people will start talking about, this is it for Patrick Mahomes. Back-to-back years can't cap off the season. Those clock management issues will creep back in because he's got Mahomes and he's got a better roster than all but maybe one or two teams in the league.

McCarthy and Dak are not considered the best coach or quarterback going into the NFC playoffs. In fact, many would put them four of four in terms of division winners. Dear Colin, it's been a month since Lincoln Riley left Oklahoma for USC, and their fans are still chirping about it. Why? So glad you asked. There's a truism in life that most of us will eventually get dumped.

A boss will fire us. A girl will dump us. and we've all been vulnerable, let go, dumped, and fired. But let's say you were the high school quarterback, and you looked like George Clooney or Denzel in high school, and you did the dumping. And then you went to college and you were a Division I athlete. And again, you did the dumping. And then you start dating as you are a pro athlete maybe. And somebody dumps you.

Well, you've never experienced it. And it's very painful. Oklahoma's never been dumped. They've always controlled the firings, firing basketball coaches, football coaches, John Blake, firing coordinators. The university has never had this experience. Lincoln Riley not only left them, not for the Dallas Cowboys, but for another top five to ten college football program. That stinks. If you've never been done, dumped, it hurts. And in communities like Norman, Oklahoma, or Morgantown, West Virginia, or Tuscaloosa, Alabama, where the local university is not only the emotional centerpiece, but it's often the biggest component to a local economy, everybody's connected. Everybody is so emotionally invested in Oklahoma football.

And Lincoln Riley eventually said, hey, I'm out of here, and that never happened before. By the way, USC fans won't get emotional. John Robinson left USC for the NFL. Pete Carroll left USC for the NFL. Also, Los Angeles is a market that's got multiple options. It's got distractions like the mountains and the beach. It's got two NBA teams, two NFL teams, two soccer teams,

couple of hockey teams, the Dodgers. So if a coach dumps you, you move on to another team. That's why when Pete Carroll left USC, they weren't bitter. But in the small towns in America where the university is the fabric, whenever somebody leaves them, here's always the chorus. It's not that they left. It's how they left.

No, bro. She dumped your ass. And when it happens for the first time, it stings. Dear Colin, do you hear Kyrie Irving say he wasn't prepared for the consequences of not getting the vaccine? Yes, I heard that. He said he knew the consequences but wasn't prepared for them. Isn't part of knowing the consequences being prepared for the consequences? Listen, if you and I got into a fight 10 years ago with Mike Tyson, we would be prepared for the consequences that our entire face could be caved in.

Kyrie Irving's one of the top five to seven stars in the league. He was part of a big three on a marquee team in Brooklyn. If he couldn't see all of this coming, maybe Kyrie Irving's not quite as bright as he wants us to believe. It's sort of like when he said the earth is flat. Well, you do realize that for most of us, if anybody in our social circle ever said during a conversation, Colin, you know, I was thinking, about this, I think the earth is flat. My response would be, check please. Kyrie is trying to give off the vibe that he's ethereal and thoughtful.

The deeper you look, there's not much there. All right, Chad Millman, CCO Action Network. I got a booster shot last Wednesday night. And as it is, I don't get chills much or headaches much or coughs much. do overheat from time to time. Once twice a year, I'll get kind of a nasty fever. So I got a huge fever and did not work Thursday. And I already had Friday off. So I did not have picks last week. Have you gotten the booster yet, Milman? I got the booster about seven, eight weeks ago. Did not have the impact on me that it had on you where you just sounded like my Zadie when he was 85.

years old. Zadhi is like Jewish, Yiddish for grandfather. Yeah. I overheat sometimes. That's what it's. That's what I mean. I overheat once or twice a year. I might overheat.

And I did. I got, I slept for nine hours, got up, two hour nap, later an hour nap, went to bed at eight, slept 11 hours. Then I was fine. I'm a big fan of the booster. I will take, if people don't want their vaccinations, just send them to me. I will take whatever. anybody else isn't taken.

You ever thought about this? Some people don't get it because they're afraid of shots. I have two friends like that. They hate shots. One guy passes out. Like, I don't care. Do you know I do this once a week? Once a week, I go next door to a place and get zinc and magnesium and vitamin D in my body.

I do it three to four times a month next to my house. Instead of just taking the vitamins? Yeah, I get a shot of it. I get a boost of it. So especially when I go to Utah to ski or we go to. into the cold season. I'll do it like three times a month. Now, in the summer, I'll do it maybe once a month, twice a month.

I just go in. It takes about 15 minutes. It's called Myers bag. And I just loaded up with magnesium, zinc, vitamin D, B12. And if I'm going to go on a plane anywhere, if I'm going to go, I'm going to be, I'm going to have a long week of work, Super Bowl week. I just get all juiced up. So I got a needle in my arm.

I mean, I know that sounds bad like I'm a junkie, but I have a needle in my arm like three times a month. You know what? When you were living in West Hartford, you never would have gotten a Myers bag. This is just you moving to Southern California. Hippie-dippie-doo. Just getting all kinds of medicines. Okay.

So I don't love the lines this week, but I, between the COVID issues, which you have to monitor my entire life, I made my bets Sunday and Monday. The earliest I could. Earliest I could. Now I make my bets as late as. I can because of all the COVID stuff. So I'll just throw out games that interested me. Vikings beat the Packers the first time. Green Bay is at home minus six and a half.

I think Green Bay realizes they're not necessarily buttoned up, haven't played well, struggle to bury the bears, struggled to bury the brown. So I think it's important to not only win here, but play well. Jire Alexander practiced. He could take their top receiver Justin Jefferson to some degree out of the game. I'd probably take Green Bay minus six and a half, sharper square. That's going to be square.

That number is so big right now. You're probably getting three points of value on the Vikings. Most professionals would have this power rated closer to three and a half, maybe four and a half. But don't forget, the Vikings all season long, they, A, end up playing in close games. B, end up playing to the level of their opponent. So when they're playing someone bad, they play pretty bad and it's a close game. When they're playing someone good, they play pretty well and it's a close game. Saw the same thing last week at the Rams.

Obviously, they were three-point underdogs. Game ended at seven, but the game was that that was a close game. That's a one-score game, right? So you're getting the two or three points of value. It's interesting to me, the line had been holding at six and a half for most of the week, largely because the professional beters continued to bet on the Vikings at six and a half. The Alexander News came out, a little bit more public money came in on the Packers. Come Sunday, a lot of professional money is going to come in on the Vikings,

especially if this game stayed at seven. Hey, it's Colin for Fandall. Each win means even more in the college football playoffs. That's why Fandall Sportsbook is hooking up new customers. 30 to one enhanced odds. on any team to win their summer final game. That means $5 bet can win you $150 bucks. Just sign up,

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Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care which I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Cliver Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football,

or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment, and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast.

It's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So if you've ever supported me or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be. Listen to The Clifford show on the IHeard radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

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money, that's what the pros are doing. This has been a pros game all week. It did get bet down to three for about 24 hours. It's come back up to three and a half because of the public money coming out on the Browns. But you're right. I mean, people are betting on the emotion of Ben Ralthusberger's last game at home of Mike Tomlin being a coach who can rally his troops and put them in the rah-rah Mike Tomlin's spot. The fact that these games in the division tend to end up being around a field goal. A lot of sort of signals playing in your favor here. I would take Washington plus three and a half hosting the Eagles. I have a rule. If you are publicly humiliated, especially by a division rival, you'll bounce back and play very,

very well. I think Washington can cover or win straight out. I'll take the hook. I'll take three and a half. It's been one of my rules for years, sharper square. Totally sharp. In fact, on the favorites, on the podcast I do with professional better, Simon Hunter. You know we have this segment called Sharp Calls. It's where professional betters, we do the podcast on Tuesday afternoon. We go over every game. And then we go over the lines on Thursday to see where things are landing, how news is moving, how that information is impacting our decision making.

One of the segments we do is called Sharp Calls. It's where a lot of other professional betters who listen to the podcast, they call Simon and they sort of critique what he likes and what he doesn't like. or what we talked about. He got literally eight calls from other professional betting groups that are sort of peers of his with how much they love the Washington football team here. It was at plus four when it opened. If you could get that great, get it down to plus three and a half.

That's fine to a couple weeks ago, the Eagles at home were minus two and a half. And so then all of a sudden, like there's a huge, huge swing. This is a couple points of value here that you're really. getting. It's a total, total overreaction to what happened in prime time for the Washington football team against the Cowboys. And your instincts about getting blown out, you were specific about the division, but it's really specific to anyone that's blown out. Teams that didn't cover by more than 28 points. So like the Washington football team last week, when they are blown out, since 2003, 78, 46, and 5 against the spread the next week.

That's 63%. So bookmakers are banking on the public overreacting to the Eagles. Everyone in Vegas loves this game. So the Cowboys are swallowing four and a half against Arizona. Arizona's problems, according to Greg Coasell, are that they're not handling pressure in man-to-man coverage particularly well. the Cowboys create pressure and play the most man-to-man coverage in the NFL. So I think Dallas at home wins.

I do worry about teams that win easily. Games over by half can lack the intensity and urgency the following week. So my guess is the sharp play is Arizona. My play is Dallas minus four and a half sharper square. You're playing both sides of it and the wise guys are kind of playing both sides of it too. I can't give you a definitive sharper square on this. The game was at six, and it got bet down to four and a half. And then when it got to four and a half, with the Cowboys favored by four and a half points,

it got bet bad up to six. And I think a lot of people, a lot of wise guys, as they've done the research this week, similar to what Greg talked to you about, and Greg's amazing, and I always love when he's on your show, is Kyler especially, Kyler Murray on third down, is just struggling without DeAndre Hopkins. And I think Cliff Kingsbury, professional betters have always thought Cliff Kingsbury, once it gets to the second half of the season is a terrible coach. And you can go back to his record at Texas tag. Playing with Patrick Mahomes.

Awful. Awful. Once you get out of September, October. And it's proving to be true again. What he did in that game last weekend, the decision making he had on that Saturday night was just dreadful. Not even against like the new sort of looks at analytics and how people are thinking about

going forward to various spots, just terrible. So you've got Cliff making bad decisions. You've got Kyler Murray struggling. on third downs without Hopkins. It's kind of a game like if you can get the Cowboys at six, I think it's still the right side. If it gets to six and a half or seven, you probably want to skip it.

I've had a lot of success this year betting the Chargers. So I'm going to take Denver plus five and a half, Bridgewater practice this week. I bet against him in one. I bet for him, and here's why. I'll go back to this. Why does Kyler Murray struggle so much without DeAndre Hopkins, yet Tom Brady doesn't missing Chris Godwin or a Mike Evans.

Why? Aaron Rogers, by the way, has never lost a game missing Devante Adams. Why? Because when you get to a certain number of years in this league, five or six or seven years starting, you're much more capable of working without your best targets. But a Kyler Murray or a Justin Herbert last week missing Mike Williams and his starting Pro Bowl Center,

Young quarterbacks struggle, even if they're talented much more than veteran quarterbacks missing key pieces, because this is a hard position to play. So Vic Fangio has given Justin Herbert troubles. Bill Belichick given Justin Herbert troubles. He's still a kid. And in this instance, I think the game is close. It's divisional. I'll take the error-free Teddy Bridgewater plus five. and a half, sharper square. Yeah, I mean, that's the sharp side. You're kind of guessing right now

that Teddy Bridgewater is going to play. In the last 24 hours, he has practice, but his status is still a little bit uncertain. But the Broncos right now, for an example, 98% of the money coming in on the Broncos, majority of bets, a little more than 50% coming in on the Chargers. So you do have a pro-Joe discrepancy here. The Broncos with Teddy Bridgewater on on the road as a sort of close to touchdown underdog are going to be the side that the wise guys consistently play, especially against Justin Herbert. Forget even no matter who the Broncos are playing, that's the side they're going to like because they like Teddy and they like the way this defense plays and they like them on the road.

They're always a little bit undervalued on the road this team. Justin Herbert has just been too inconsistent, right? And I don't think he has the advantage, again, of a coach in Brandon Staley. he's not Cliff Kingsbury. He's much more consistent in his decision-making. But with that consistency, you know that there's going to be opportunities for them to not score points inside the red zone

because of his tendencies to go forward and fourth down. So that has the opportunity to keep the game a little bit closer. However, I will say, I wouldn't bet this one yet. Like, wait and make sure Teddy Bridgewater is playing because Drew Locke is not an NFL quarterback. And if he is, then you skip it. Rams Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged.

It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard radio app,

Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined.

And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment, and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast, it's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So, if you've ever supported me or you're just chasing down a dream,

this is right where you need to be. Listen to the Clifford Show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or we're you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok podcast network on TikTok. 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 J. And I'm 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 was big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack all day, but just so you 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. 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 IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hard Way with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Keer 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.

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At the Ravens, Fandul now has the line at Ravens plus four and a half. I saw video of Lamar Jackson, and the limp was significant. If he doesn't play, I would take the Rams

minus four and a half. That's what it feels like to me. I feel like. like the Ravens have done as good a job as possible to put band-aids on their problems, but they've been in so many emotional games recently. I kind of feel like even though the Rams were just on the road, went home, go back on the road, I probably take the Rams minus the point sharper square. Yeah, this is a really, really tricky one. Early in the week, when the Ravens were three and a half and the speculation was not knowing about Lamar Jackson, but expecting him to play,

the wise guys were all over the Ravens. And then that video came out. And since that video came out, the line has been shooting up. So now you mentioned it's a four and a half. I know a lot of professional betters are trying to sort of buy back on the Rams because they saw that video. So my take on this is personally, if I can make an executive decision here, I'm sticking with the Ravens. And if you keep getting the value, great. But Lamar Jackson is probably going to get a pretty significant shot to play on Sunday,

which you might not have gotten on Wednesday at practice. They're getting much healthier in their defensive secondary, which is important where they've been missing so many players. I think you've got a huge coaching advantage in John Harbaugh. And the one thing the Ravens haven't suffered on when it's coming. to injuries in COVID is the running game on their defense. And that's what the Rams need to set up the entirety of their offense. So give me a team that has a better coach at home with the quarterback who may be, you know, not feeling any pain on Sunday and the opportunity to stop what the other team can do offensively that sets up their system. I'd stick with the Ravens. So you don't like

Sean McVeigh as a coach? I think he's great as a coach. I think John, I think, I think, John Harbaugh is just better. No. And I will say, you know, it's funny, earlier in the year, there were conversation, do people like the Rams to win the NFC West? Do people like the Niners to win the NFC West? My feeling on this is, who do you like better, Kyle Shanahan or Sean McVeigh? I'm a huge Kyle Shanahan fan.

I think that what he did last year when he was basically playing with a different lineup every week that was almost always second and third stringers, he almost relished. the opportunity. He looked at it and said, I can do so many interesting things and he kept his team in so many games. That to me is the mark of a great coach. You're seeing with Belichick too and sort of the way he was able to recast his entire team in 24 months. I think Shanahan's the best coach in the NFC West. And it's not to say I don't like Sean McVeigh. I think he's obviously incredibly talented, but I think Harbaugh is better. If I could be you and you could be me for just one hour. could find a way to get inside.

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By the way, now I give you the line I missed. I'm guessing it's dolphins plus three and a half of the Titans, because I think the Dolphins defense is great, and I don't trust Tannahill without a power running back, although A.J. Brown has emerged as a spectacular player. So I would take the dolphins plus the points, but is there a bet I missed you love? Well, I'll counter you and say that actually the Titans are the game other than the Washington football team that the wise guys have loved the most this week. They have been riding this Dolphins team and playing him in the right spots, but look at who the dolphins have beaten in their winning street. Lamar Jackson in a short week, Zach Wilson, Mike Lennon, Joe Flacco, Ian Book, Cam Newton, Tarad Taylor. Their O line is terrible.

Tennessee is now healthier. And got extra prep. And they've had more time to prep. So that because they beat the Niners on a Thursday night. This line moved for a minute, for literally a minute on Tuesday. to minus three. I bet it at Titans minus three. A ton of money came in on the Titans at three and a half. And so, and this is really interesting because this is one of those games that is a pros Joe's game in favor of the, in favor of the, the dolphins getting the best, the Titans getting the money. The dolphins getting the, the bats and the Titans getting the money. So the underdog here is a little bit of a public underdog. Finally, got anything else? So I just mentioned Kyle Shanahan, and it's just an

interesting trend to pay attention to. Another very public dog right now, the Houston Texans, right? This line should be between the Texans and the Niners is 12 and a half. Most wise guys have it power rated at 4T, so there's a little bit of value in a very, very big dog on the Niners. Obviously, Tray Lance is playing, but I think that a lot of professional betters are looking at this and thinking this is a much better team that has more value from a point spread point of view, and you're going to get away from backing a public dog. And you get a lot of public dogs these days. And we've talked a lot about this. The more betting becomes part of the public consciousness and the more people are aware of it and the more legal it becomes in more states, there's some people that are getting

smarter. And the Texans, they're one of those teams where people like the way they play. They feel like getting a lot of points is an opportunity to bet them. The wise guys are fading that trend this week. So the wise guys like San Francisco. Right now. All right. Anything else happened to you recently? I haven't seen my wife in a week and she got snippy with me on texting this week. That's when you know you need to hang out together when you're arguing on texting. Will you get a a matcha green tea zinc cocktail shot in the arm on New Year's Eve with your wife. Is that? How are you going to celebrate it? I don't do New Year's Eve because I lived in Vegas for seven years. I went out one New Year's Eve and it's the last time I threw up in the back. I'll tell you a true story. I was dating a girl. She had gone to Nordstrom's and bought some slinky stuff. I drank too much at a party. I was going to throw up in her new convertible.

She said, don't throw up in the car. I grabbed the bag and threw up all over her slinky stuff. Felt terrible. Lost a lot of money. And I decided I'm never going to get that drunk again. That was the last time in my life I've been drunk. That was over 30 years ago. I haven't been drunk in 30 years.

What? What were you drinking? I think I was doing stuff like, you know, rum, brown liquors, which I don't like. I'm not a big, you know, it's funny. I tell my kids, I like drinking so much, I never drink too much because I never want to be told you can never have another drink again. So I love having a tumbler a couple days a week and just tonight, I'm going to have a tumbler. I'm going to have a tumbler and watch some NBA or watch a bowl game. And, you know what I mean?

Sometimes when you like something so much, you don't want to do it too much because you're eventually limited. So I completely agree. Yeah. Like I've, you'll hear about these people. I used to work with somebody who'd never touch, never touched an ounce of alcohol. He was very intense. And I always wanted to say, you probably should. Do you need to lubricate a little more?

To me, I'm intense. So occasionally, you know, it's got to knock one out. I will tonight, December 30th, I will make myself probably a boulevardier, which is a bourbon. sweet vermouth and Kampari. I don't like a very sweet cocktail. Tomorrow, we're going to COVID test in the morning. If we're negative, our friends are COVID testing in the city. They're coming out.

We're going to cook all day. We'll probably make a couple more drinks. It'll be a good time. But I'm with you. I see people puking on television from drinking too much. And I'm like, I never want to feel that feeling again. I'll have two at the most and then I'm done. Same. Same. That's it.

Like, I don't need it. I don't need it. I remember like when I used to work at Sports Illustrated when I got out of college. I left Sports Illustrated and we had a huge party the night that I left, came home living on 57th Street in the city in Manhattan in the middle of the night leaned over, puked on the carpet. Oh. And we had to cut out use a mat knife to cut a square out of the car. And like when it came time to sell the apartment, we had to take the bed out and just take the carpet out entirely because we couldn't have an apartment with a hole in the middle of the carpet and try to sell it. I think that might be the last time that I pute. And that was probably yeah, close to 30 years ago. When my son was 12 or 13, I was having a cocktail once.

And he said, dad, you know, that's just a coping mechanism. That's what my son said. He was 13. and I said, yeah, have kids. You'll need to cope. He never brought it up again. No. My kid once said to me, I once fell asleep on the floor while playing with my kid. And I would fall asleep when they were younger anywhere. Yeah.

And then he finally said to me, he goes, why do you fall asleep every single time we're playing? And I go, you are wearing me the fuck out. Never, never got asked that question again. You know what they say. My wife always says, the days are long with kids and the years fly by. Dude, the other night, my kid who broke his leg, he's been home from college for like two months, but all of his friends just got home. And so he had like 12 friends over. And my wife was out of town with our younger son. They went away for a few nights. So I was solo with like these 12 kids. they were up until 3.30 in the morning.

And that's crazy. I can't. And like I was trying to go to bed. I wasn't like openly trying to monitor them. But like it was too loud. I couldn't go to sleep. Yeah. Can't do this anymore.

Yeah. I'm too old. Yeah. My daughter, she can stay up. My daughter's sleep. I don't get it. It's not for me. I haven't seen an 11 on a clock since I was like 24.

Forget about it. I forget. There's. No way I'm staying up past 10 o'clock at night. It drives me insane. I set my little Apple watch and my thing like 10 o'clock, dismiss everything, nighttime, no notifications. I am done. Well, finished.

When I worked at ESPN for 10 years, I never saw fourth quarter of a Monday night football game. So I always laugh when Mike and Mike were doing that show. You know, they were talking about NBA games when the Lakers were in the playoffs. And I'm like, I know what time you guys have to show up to work. I know you didn't even watch that game. but they'd get these great information packets. I would have done the same thing, by the way. I'm not standing up till midnight getting up at four.

The best part about living out west, A, the weather, and B, if you're a sports fan, all the games are wrapped up by 9.30. There is no midnight baseball playoff game. Well, look, you have Nick Wright on your show all the time. And he helped co-host that show in the morning on Fox with Kevin Wilds, who you know really well, and I know really well, who's a good friend and brilliant creative producer who's now having a Star Turn hosting a show with Nick. And he and I had lunch like maybe a month ago. And we were talking about the schedule and how he's adjusting and like, you know, how he's getting his information and watching games so he can be ready to talk about the Lakers

early in the morning. It is, it is a nightmare. Oh, it's incredible. I told him when you're in your 30s and 40s, like there was a point. I was doing a three hour radio show at ESPN, sports. nation and writing a book and occasional side projects. Like those days are over. Daddy does a radio show, comes home for a nap, couple times a week does a podcast. That's what you get from me. Yeah. This is classic Colin, by the way. Those days are over. Other than the radio show I do three

hours a day and the business I'm building, that's it. I'm not doing anything else other than the employees I have and the 17 podcast and the talent scouting I'm doing and the radio show, that's it. Now, these guys who run the volume, they know what they're doing. I don't do much. I got to be honest with you. I don't do much. I agree with you.

Yeah. On both counts. They know what they're doing. They do. Just let it go. Let it go. All right, partner, good seeing you. Happy new year, brother.

All right. Same to you, Chad Milman Sharper Square. Check us out. YouTube page. Put that little red button. Click it, subscribe to us at the Volume Sports plus Instagram rate review subscribe. Talk soon. Volume. If you love to be remembered as the person who gives the best birthday gifts, I'm here to tell you that 1800 Flowers.com is your ultimate birthday gifting destination.

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