The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Colin Cowherd Podcast - USC Stuns LSU, 49ers In Trouble? Big Ten>SEC? Expectations For Eagles

Episode Date: September 3, 2024

Colin reacts to a huge opening win for the USC Trojans and head coach Lincoln Riley over the LSU Tigers. (3:00) He points to several changes that have transformed the culture of the program, and explains why this win wasn’t a fluke.  Then, he’s joined by John Middlekauff, host of “3 and Out” to further break down the USC win (17:00), and they debate whether the Big Ten’s new additions of Oregon, Washington and USC will make it better than the SEC who added Texas and Oklahoma (32:00). They pivot to the NFL and discuss whether the 49ers could be in for a rude awakening this season (41:00), and how the NFL’s restrictions for team owners could impact Tom Brady’s broadcasting career as he pursues an ownership stake in the Raiders (45:00). Finally, they make their projections for the Philadelphia Eagles (59:00) and Colin shares stories from his trip to London (01:05:00). (Timestamps may vary based on advertisements.) Follow Colin and The Volume on Twitter for the latest content and updates!  #Volume #Herd #3andOutSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. The volume. All right, John Middlekoff, your buddy and mine, former NFL Scout, is about to stop by. But before we start with John, I want you to grab your smartphone, you know the drill, download the GameTime app. So Game Time has a new feature. It's called Game Time Picks that makes getting tickets for your favorite live of events even easier. So GameTime picks, filters out the fluff to show you only incredible deals

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but when I see late money moving toward a team, you know, I always feel. like, is there an injury report that's not out yet? So the late money came in on USC. And my two takeaways are, you know, I've said this for years. The NFL doesn't need three preseason games. And the LSU-USC game is a prime example. So USC has no preseason, no inner squad games like the NFL has. The players are much younger than the NFL. They have limitations on practice hours in college. And USC's offense is three top sophomore receivers, a quarterback that's never started, a regular season game of note, Miller Moss, an offensive line with a left tackle, Elijah Page is a freshman. Alani Noah, a right guard was a freshman. It's an incredibly

young offensive team. And they had a meticulous opening game in a high leverage situation against the top SEC program. You're telling me, you're telling me. You're telling me, you need three NFL preseason games. I thought my first takeaway is how meticulous the game was offensively. Seven and a half yards of play for USC, 24 first downs, only six penalties, no turnovers. These are 19-year-old. That USC offense is freshmen, sophomores, very few upperclassmen. Monheim, the center, who's probably a top three center in college football, is their real

experienced guy who he's moved up and down that offensive line. He was left tackle, very good at it. would have been drafted second third round is the left tackle he may be the first center off the board this year first or second in the NFL draft outside of him it's kids it's it's um mason murphy at right tackle who's been a finger cross for years he's going to finally hopefully develop i thought he played very well so i just thought it was incredible to ask a young young there were certainly more NFL talent veteran season NFL talent on the lSU side than the u sc side and for the Trojans to play that well, speaks really well of Lincoln Riley.

So I want to talk about that. It's, you know, I just roll my eyes at the clickbait crowd. Jim Harbaugh can't coach. You know, I defended him for like seven years at Michigan. It's, you know, Lincoln Riley's overrated. He's averaged 11 wins per season. The one thing that is true is that he was handed a program, a winning program at Oklahoma, and he'd never truly built one from the ground up at USC.

And there's a lot of things that matter. It's not just your IQ. He's a very smart play designer and a play caller. And he can develop quarterbacks overnight. We've seen that like five different times. But can he build a staff? Can he build a culture? He didn't have to.

He was handed one at Oklahoma. So the question's always been, can you really start from scratch after they got rid of Alex Grinch and the defensive guys? Can you start from scratch and build a defensive staff? Well, pass with flying colors. So, you know, I will tell you this about. about DeAnten Lynn, the defensive coordinator. He is USC's top NFL prospect outside of their center. I had an NFL general manager tell me that he will, USC will be fighting to keep him for the next two years.

He's very, very highly thought of as a defensive mind. He did a great job for Chip Kelly at UCLA and Lincoln Riley, to his credit, stolen. And they assemble. It's the first time since Pete Carroll. And this is not a shot at Clay Hilton, Lane Kiffin, or Steve Sarkisian. The latter to Sark and Kiffin are excellent offensive minds and very high-end coaches. But this is the first time since Pete Carroll. I feel like we have a staff with multiple all-stars where we got a defensive coordinator who could be a head coach. We have a top head coach. We have sharp coordinators, position coaches. This is a real staff and you saw it on display. Special teams were good. Defensive alignments. You know, that's not a small thing. I thought I was kind of watching social media after USC won. And it was remarkable how many

people mentioned how good the tackling was, you know, basic in football. Think about that. If you, if you were building a house and you asked somebody, do you know any construction people? And you said, yeah, I got these guys. They are so good. hammering nails. They are the best guys at hammering nails. And you'd be like, well, that's, that's just the basics. Can they, can they? USC hasn't tackled well for a decade. I'm not joking. Social media, and they were right, was all over this. The tackling was exceptional. Secondary linebackers, exceptional. The alignment, the pre-snap stuff, the adjustments. They didn't get any cheap stuff. LSU didn't with Nussmeyer, who's a very good quarterback, by the way.

They didn't get cheap stuff over the top. LSU had to earn everything. Now, USC did not generate a great pass rush, but that was pretty predictable because USC's D-line is, you know, Bear Alexander has a pro body, but I think he's been a big disappointment. I thought last year he played well, but there's real concerns in the program. NFL scouts are really looking at him in games like the LSU game or the Michigan game, those will be huge games because the Trojans don't play USC in Oregon. So these Penn State games, Notre Dame games, Michigan games, LSU games are huge for Bear Alexander because he's going up against NFL bodies and NFL players.

And he didn't do anything. He had one tackle in this game. Big concern for him. Thankfully, Brandon Shelby, who was a top recruit last year at Offensive End, played a lot of snaps and played very well. He's an ascending player on that defensive front. Nate Clifton, Gavin Meyer, a transfer from Wyoming, played pretty well and had a very good fall camp. But so, you know, LSU has more NFL players, and I thought USC looked like an extraordinarily well-coached team. Pre-snaps, they didn't have a ton of motion offensively.

They kept it fairly simple. Again, you have limitations on how much you can practice, but they kept it fairly simple. They did not run the ball terribly well, but they ran it situationally well in the red zone. There were a couple big third downs in the game. They ran well, and they ran well near both end zones. Of course, sealing it with that touchdown at the very end with eight seconds left. But you don't have to run for 120 yards to have an effective run game. It comes down to third downs or fourth downs or red zone rushes for touchdowns.

And I thought USC had a couple of moments that shine very bright for their offensive line, which, again, is going to be much better in six weeks than it is. now. The other thing that I should be shocked by it, but I'm not because this is what I've seen Lincoln Riley do now four or five times. So Miller Moss has played two games. What's remarkable in both the games, he threw in the holiday for six touchdowns and 372 yards. He threw for 378 yards against LSU. So a bowl team and a top 10 college football program. And in none of those games. Neither one did he have a hundred-yard receiver. Well, that is really important. That is telling you that Miller Moss is seeing the field. He is not reliant on any one receiver.

That's a big thing. I can remember, and I like Lane Kiffin, but I can remember Robert Woods or Marquise Lee. It felt like they were the offense. There was one receiver getting the looks. They are spreading it around. Lake McCree, the tight end had a really, really, really noticeably good game, and he was very much a part of the early game plan. It was as if USC went into the game a little concerned potentially with their youth on the offensive line in the past rush of LSU. So they got their tight end very involved, very quickly. They got one of the running backs involved very quickly in the past game. Then they started to get their feet under him, feel pretty good about it. Then Miller Moss deeper drops, throwing the ball down the field multiple times. Big

catch by Deuce Robinson, who was a high school tied-in baseball star, but now, you know, he's a whiteout for USC. So my big takeaways are Miller Moss was a, and I met him years ago, not that he was thinking of transferring, but it was really tough. He was a high school star. He's been a great quarterback in Southern California forever. And he knew Caleb Williams was dynamic, but you just sit there and you just wait for your turn. And I think he was really frustrated. And he and I had a brief conversation once. And I'm like, listen, dude, if you're ever going to stay at a program and sit, Lincoln Riley's a really guy, and Caleb Williams really got to sit behind. You're going to learn a lot. And I think you saw it. Same with Nussmeyer,

by the way. He could have transferred, didn't. He sat in his program and said, you know what, I'm going to sit here with this program. Brian Kelly's had some good NFL quarterbacks, or, I mean, certainly made the NFL. Like, I'm going to sit around with Brian Kelly. He knows what he's doing. And Miller Moss did that. I thought his accuracy was excellent. I thought he mixed the ball up all over the field. He's clearly seeing the field. He is not one-dimensional. He's not zoned in on specific receivers. And like a Jordan love with the Packers, he's young and all his receivers are sophomores. Jacoby Lane, Deuce Robinson. I think Hudson may be a redshirt sophomore or sophomore. Lemon, I think's a sophomore. So it's a young offense. It's not a young

defense. It's not. A lot of those guys are gone next year. A lot of these transfers are seniors. Alexander will be gone, Gavin Myers, Nate Clifton. A lot of these guys will be gone. I think overall, if you're a USC fan, it's not just about winning. It's not that. USC scored a lot of points with Lane, Sark, Clay, and Pete. But Pete's teams look different. The staffs were great. You always felt you had an advantage, like Belichick in his prime. You always felt like Andy Reid. You felt with Pete at USC, you had the better staff. They were worth a field goal. They would adjust better at halftime. They would come in, you know, down the stretch, two minute drills. Did you notice the end of the half, you know, two minute drill by USC, end of the game. So many times in that

USC game, they were so intentional on these big drives. They had a complete game plan. They were a little conservative with play calling early. Don't blame them. Again, I think it all goes back to the offensive line and concerns up front about keeping Miller Moss upright. Once they got confident in that, they opened things up. And I thought, you know, second quarter, middle second quarter on, I like their play calling. I thought everything was intentional. Everything was smart. Everything had a purpose. It just wasn't random play calling. They were setting stuff up. And I think you have to be really happy. You can you can crap on LSU, but their next four, LSU is going to roll through the next month beating teams by 30. They face South Carolina, Nichols, UCLA, South Alabama. They don't face

Georgia this year. They get BAM at home. So they have a fairly favorable SEC schedule. And Brian Kelly wins 10 games a year. They're going to win a bunch of games. That's a good football team. They made silly mistakes. They were immature. There was a taunting penalty, a headhunting penalty. They beat themselves at the end of the game. But that's football. USC had the better staff, the better game plan late. They were more efficient situationally. And they hit on a couple of big plays over the top. Boy, do they have good receivers. Hooy, yoy. U.S.C. got dudes. I mean, they're all coming back and they are young.

Going into this game, I didn't even think Hudson was going to start. And he made the two biggest catches of the football game. I thought he was like third or fourth in their rotation. He was the star. So in Branch, special teams needs to be noted. You get to a 12-team playoff. You're going to have attrition. You're not going to have full rock. Some of these games are going to be won by special teams. Block kicks, kick returns. Branches, there's nothing else like branch in college football. It reminds me of when

Dion Sanders played for Florida State and they'd play those big rivalry games with Florida or Miami and all the speed in the country felt like it was in those three programs. It was the gaiters. It was the knolls. It was the hurricanes. And I mean, all the corners receivers felt like four, three guys. And Dion was another level. Like he was another gear of speed. LSU's got world-class athletes. They wanted no part of him in open, an open field situations. That kid is just, it's just different.

It's just, he's different. And his brother's a decent safety, but he doesn't look like anybody else on the field. He just looks, he's got a different gear. So he's going to become, he listened, that kick return was so valuable. He had a couple of big plays underneath

that he turned into big plays. in a 12-team playoff, it's just like the NFL. Once you go to a playoff, attrition becomes part of it. You have to win multiple ways because you're going to be missing starters. You've got to win games by special teams. You've got to win games on, you know, adjustments. There's going to be so, you're not going to get your best game in a playoff system.

It's not one big goal, bowl game where you have three weeks to prepare for it or a month to prepare for it. Week after week after week, you're playing really good teams. You have less prep time. These are young players. You're going to have to find multiple ways to win, and USC could win with special teams. I do think they will generate a better pass rush. LSU's got, I believe, top of my head, three multiple-year starters. I think both their tackles are Sunday players.

So USC's got to feel great about it. And with more on that game, John Middlough, former NFL scout, who's been critical of Lincoln Riley on more than one occasion. Let's bring in John. So one of the things, John, that really jumped out to me, and I said this to start my rant, is that unlike the NFL, these are young kids, practice limitations, no preseason, I would be completely okay to watch a sloppy first half. I thought USC, six penalties, great, situational football in the red zone, very good two-minute drives, handled timeouts well, no turnovers, again, very few penalties, two freshmen on the offensive line, no real break.

downs, alignments were great. I thought USC more than anything. I thought they looked tight, really buttoned up. John, the whole offense is freshman and sophomores. I thought they looked great. Colin, you get to take a victory lap for the next seven days. Loud and clear. Pound that table. To me, two things really stood out. First and foremost, the size of the defenders, I would say over the last decade, they felt small. They've had a guy here. or two here on defense, but for the most part, they've had too many guys that look like me. You know, in the Pete Carroll Hayday and all these SEC teams,

the visual they showed of the transformation of the body types during the game, I mean, guys going from 230 to 260 in an offseason, was evident. Because the LSU team has come. They got a top 15 tackle. They got another guy who's pretty raw, who's going to go in the top 30. The wide receiver, number two, looks like an NFL guy. I mean, they had NFL guys everywhere. USC tackled.

Physically they didn't get shoved around. And I think what really changed is the last two years with Caleb and rightfully so, they wrote him like he was Steph Curry or LeBron James. It was kind of like an individual, not a team. And it worked two years ago. Last year it backfired because the defense was so terrible.

Didn't they feel like a team? Didn't they just feel like a group of guys that there wasn't one necessary? I mean, everyone was making place. They felt like a total unit. And listen, you were hammering this. I didn't believe Miller Moss clearly is pretty good. He's definitely tough. And Lincoln had the boys ready. And they could have folded there in the second half. And it was LSU that folded. That's why Brian Kelly kind of snapped after the game.

Yeah, no, I think one of the things I had heard inside the program, and they really, they really were in awe of Caleb as a guy and as a player. He was their Superman. And as they were rebuilding this program, they didn't have the right defensive staff. They didn't have enough big bodies. they had to write him. But inside the program, I kept hearing this is a really unified team. There is no great individual. It's a very, it's a much more complete roster. For sure. It's a deeper roster with more B2B plus players. In fact, I think their secondary is actually really good. They got they got length and transfers and this is the best secondary they've had in a long time. They have different body types. The Mississippi State Corner 6-3-200. Jalen Smith, who's a The corner is a smaller guy.

He'll be a nickel in the NFL. I know a couple NFL GMs text me. They're big fans of Jalen Smith and Monheim, the center. But I think this feels like it's not as quarterback-centric. And that's not a knock on Miller Moss. But this is something I kept hearing from USC, which is, hey, listen, you get one Caleb Williams, even at USC, you may get one of those in 25 years. The Stanford's had great quarterbacks.

You get one L-Way. Pitt got one Marino. They've had quarterbacks. Miami, as great as Miami was, Michael Irvin, Warren Sapp, you're not getting a lot of those guys at big programs. And so Herschel Walker at Georgia. So I tend to think that they knew they had something special, but they felt the roster was better and the staff was better.

And I think they sold that to the players, that it was a more cohesive group. And it wasn't a knock at Caleb. They really love Caleb Williams. Let's be honest. They won 11 games that first year, and that was a garbage roster. They were good that year because of him. And at Jordan Addison.

You know one thing in football that's so much different than obviously basketball and definitely baseball is when you add, we talk so much about the head coach. I mean, those two guys are making it combined over $200 million. But when you add the right coordinator at a spot where you're struggling and you get it right, it's like adding three or four players, isn't it? I mean, De Anton Lynn, he basically came up. You know, he coached for the Ravens, so there's a toughness culture. What he did last year at UCLA, I know a lot of people around the country aren't locked in on UCLA football. They were really good on defense. And that group, I mean, this guy, if they win 9, 10 games and their defense looks really good all season long, is he not just a lock?

College head coach, and I would imagine a ton of NFL teams would hire him immediately. The lineage, his dad's a really good coach. That was really, really impressive because you and I have watched way too many snaps of USC. they can't tackle Colin forever for years. I mean, this is going back post Pete Carroll. They look like a Mountain West team on defense. And last night, open field tackles, the physical. They were, how many times last night did they hit someone and the guy went backwards?

It's like, is this, when's the last time this happened? Yeah, Ramsey, the safety came up and knocked a running back backwards. Yeah. And so by the way, when they, when they, I was talking to Jen Cohen, the athletic director, when they were trying to get Deanton Lynn. And I called and I said, hey, where, where's your progress on your defensive coordinator? And she says, well, I'm not going to tell you who it is, but she says, we are in a dog fight and he could change the program defensively. They were incredibly high on him. And she had said, who were pursuing? We've been watching for a year. And we've got our fingers crossed here. We're doing everything we can. And I mean, he was a Bruin. He's across town. That's tough. There's a lot of politics. in Los Angeles. So he's terrific and beloved in the program. But no, I think, you know, John, it wasn't that USC won. It was how they won. And it does matter. If you look at the history of USC, you can argue there's more great defensive players. I mean, we remember Bush and

Linerd. But all four linebackers Pete Carroll had, remember it was Malaguga, it was Rivers, it was Clay Matthews. All four of their linebackers went. pro. All of them. I mean, it was linebacker you with Penn State for years. And I just think I was following some people and some people that cover USC. And it was, aesthetically, it mattered. It wasn't just, hey, we, if they don't want 3831 and the defense was a slight upgrade, you wouldn't feel good about this. My take is in the second half, when it looked like they might lose the game, I was like, listen, I was wrong on this team. They're definitely more like an eight-win team. And then they win the game and you look at their schedule and you go,

well, Michigan's quarterback, I was locked into that game because they were playing the Bulldogs. Their quarterback situation, dramatic drop off from JJ McCarthy. Notre Dame, I mean, that kid is a great physical runner, not a passer. The Big Ten, the middle of the Big Ten, I watch way too much of them. Minnesota's not that great. Wisconsin can't score. Michigan State's not great. Penn State's, if that quarterback's better, they're going to be a problem. But USC doesn't play Ohio State this year, right? So it's like, is it crazy to say that if they just, if they have a really good defense, they could be compete to win 10 games. They're a playoff team. And the other thing is, and I said this last night in the reaction, that if, if they both go nine and three, because

LSU is probably not as bad as everyone's overreacting, they have so much talent. Well, if that's between the 11th or 12 spot, like there's only one spot and they're both nine and three, USC beat them. I mean, that's, right? That's a huge swing game, right? If they end up with the same record. Yeah, and LSU does not face Georgia and gets BAM at home in the next four weeks. And LSU schedule is not very good. I mean, they're going to win nine. NFL week one is here, and a new season means new ways to get in on the action at Draft King's Sportsbook, an official sports betting partner in the NFL.

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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. Hey, I'm Jared Adano. You might know me as that loud guy who yells out, help on the internet.

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The World Cup is almost here. Experience it all with us. Listen, Inside American Soccer with Tom Bogart and Tabramos on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, wherever you get your podcast. Yes. So the Big Ten went 17 and one. And this is something I thought about. Texas and Oklahoma joining the SEC, especially Texas and the way they can recruit that state, it makes it a better conference. But adding Washington, Oregon, and USC to the Big Ten is not a slight upgrade. I could argue that after Ohio State, now that Harbaugh's gone, after Ohio State, if I said the next five

years, the second, third, fourth, and fifth best teams in the Big Ten were Oregon, USC, Michigan, Washington. Like, I don't think it's crazy to suggest that adding three of the best four programs in the conference, if Utah, always counts, I think, in that foursome. But with the right coach, USC, Oregon, Washington, those are playoff teams. Every time Washington's had a good coach, Don James, Rick. New Heisel, Chris Peterson, Kaelin DeBore, they vie for a national championship.

So it's like, I don't think people understand. It's Texas, Oklahoma make the SEC thicker. You added three on any given year, top 12 programs to the Big Ten. May it be a better overall conference now? I think over the course of time, I think this year there's going to be a lot of reaction to the SEC.

Their quarterback play, Colin. I mean, I'm going to give Oregon a little bit of a pass. I mean, that game was really weird. It was a mess. They play Boise this week. They better kick their ass and kind of get after it because that was bizarre. The quarterback play, I didn't know that much about him. I'm sure you heard his name, the Nico kid from Los Angeles that's Tennessee's quarterback.

I got news for you. That guy's pretty special. Jackson Dart, Old Miss, they're pretty good. Obviously, the two quarterbacks, the quarterback, Dylan Gabriel's at Oregon, because they told him you're not going to start. Jackson Arnold's going to start. He's pretty good too. Their high-end teams with their quarterbacks are obviously Carson Beck and Georgia.

Over the course of time, I think USC's only going to get better if they keep looking like this over the next two or three years. Oregon's not going anywhere. But I got a lot of question marks about Wisconsin, about Minnesota, like the four, five, six, seven group of their teams. Penn State, you feel pretty good. Penn State could be a major problem. I was texting scouts all weekend long. I mean, their front sevens full of NFL guys. And if that quarterback takes a big step, that game got like delayed for 25 hours.

But they could be a serious factor. I mean, a serious factor this year. So I think the high end of the Big Ten and the SEC, it's pretty clear that though Miami, I would still kind of red flag the quarterback can be up and down, but they're pretty talented. Yeah, Cam Ward, I watched a lot of Cam Ward at Washington State. Cam's a lot of fun. I don't know if he's an NFL guy, but he's a lot of fun. He kind of just slings it.

It's got an almost seven-on-seven feel to it. He's slinging stuff. And they just have been so inconsistent at quarterback. I think he's a playmaker, so I think he makes some interest. I think they can beat almost anybody and lose to a lot of teams. I still don't love Mario. Cristobal is a situational coach. He's got a little Dan Campbell.

I like the physicality. I like the culture. I don't know if I love the game management much. He can recruit. One thing that really jumped out to me, and I'm sure you would agree, is, Did you see the ratings on some of the games on Saturday? Just going to bring it up. And I talked about this last night, the synergy of the NFL, the draft and college football.

It's all under this umbrella now. Right. So you're watching, you're like, wait, who's this quarterback? Yeah, he might be a first rounder. Colorado and North Dakota State doing five million people on Thursday night. And one thing I think, and listen, they've never had a czar or a commissioner. The NCAA is a laughing stock to everyone at every individual program. No, we need to play real games.

I have no problem like Michigan playing Fresno State or Oregon playing Boise State or some of those teams in the South, like the one Dilford's at, like those are Power 5 or non-power 5, whatever they consider it, but they're Division 1. You should not be allowed to play the, and I got a lot of respect for the Montana's and stuff. You should get one of those games and then everyone else in non-conference should be a Power 5 program. because the more and more TV has power because they're cutting the bills, we got to wipe that out because how good. That felt like an NFL light game last night. The physicality in Notre Dame and A&M, A&M's quarterback has got some serious issues, but the hitting in that game, it felt like how many NFL guys are on this field?

And then you go to some of these other games, and I understand like Ole Miss, they've been recruiting or scheduling these games for, they're a joke. I mean, Missouri, Missouri Ole Miss, some of these teams are beating teams 60 to nothing. Like, what are we doing? And then they get mad. Fans don't show up. Play real games. Play real teams. And everyone is zoned in. Well, I'm glad you brought this up because the ratings were spectacular this weekend.

And people could say, well, there's nothing else on. Yeah, there was. WNBA is getting big ratings with Caitlin Clark, majoring baseball races. Don't tell me nothing was on. There was plenty of on. Plus, it's the summer. People aren't watching TV, right? It's Labor Day.

And it's Scotty Schephler's golfing. There was plenty on TV. It got ratings. Because I think, John, it's almost like, have you ever been asked to go to a party? And you're like, well, who's going to the party? And it's like, oh, oh, there's two couples. Yeah, let's go to the party. It'd be a fun party.

Yeah. I think college football got so regional and so southern that big, I saw some research on this about a month ago, that the Northeast and the West didn't feel included. And those are population centers. And they just didn't watch. And now with a 12-team playoff, You're like, it's a party. You're asking, well, who's in the party? And you're like, well, there's going to be 12 teams in the party. I think when USC was rolling, L.A. was getting ratings. The West Coast was getting ratings. They felt represented. And when Notre Dame and Penn State are good, then the Northeast feels represented. But when it's LSU and Georgia, you know, Southern guys like college football is great. It's not. It's regional. It's tribe. I stopped talking about it on my radio show. Well, it was four programs.

It was Bama, Clemson, Georgia, Florida State. Ohio State. Yeah. So the bottom line is it's now a party that everybody like, if you're a Notre Dame fan, you're like, we can lose two games and get into the party. USC's like, if USC beats Michigan, you look at that schedule, they can lose to Penn State or Notre Dame. They're getting into the party.

And I think it's just a part. It feels like finally all these years of this nonsensical scheduling where SEC teams are playing Citadel four times. Yeah. It feels like now I'm going to, I'm willing to emotionally engage on Labor Day weekend because there'll be a payoff at the party later, a more equitable, reasonable payoff with more people included. I've always thought, and my thing was with the SEC is that Nick Savon was almost a Tiger Woods, Steph Curry-like figure. Even if you didn't, you know, you could live in California or live in Washington or live in the Northeast, you kind of paid attention. You might not watch the games, but he was just such a big figure. and his presence forced all these other programs and the money he brought in.

Then it forced the Oregon's, the Ohio states, the Michigan's really Florida State, Clemson to up their game. And it's benefited everybody. And I think you really see that with, I mean, Colin, how many Southern California kids are playing all over the country? When I was in high school in the early 2000s, there were the occasional Tom Brady to Michigan or DJ Williams went to Miami. But for the most part, you went to USC, UCLA, probably Oregon or Washington, right? It was very rare. And now the overlap of the recruiting is like, oh, I can relate to this guy. All these teams are good.

It's just really, and I think I'm more likely to watch the SEC now because they have Southern California guys or C.J. Stroud. It's like, oh, he's L.A. kids starting quarterback for Ohio State. I'm it. And I think the world is so flat now in college football. The other thing is with the transfer portal. I watch this quarterback at my team. If I'm an Oklahoma fan, what's Dylan Gabriel doing in Oklahoma?

It's really added. Think of your Washington State guy. You're keeping an eye on Miami. There have been so many just factors of the streamline. It's so connected now to the NFL. It's just what college basketball used to be in the 70s, 80s, and 90s, right? It felt like 1A and 1B. And now college football is like that.

You feel like you're watching the minor leagues, but it feels big leagues because how cool are these games? because of the ambiance and the vibe of the stadium. How awesome. I think one of the best things to happen in football was the Raiders going to Vegas because it created the stadium and now they have all these huge events there. It was great. It was so good. It was so good.

Okay, let's pivot to the NFL. I had said this, is that we all know this, that there's seven new playoff teams every year, and there's always a good team that pulls back. And I think there's an argument to be made that San Francisco's concerned. Trent Williams said this week, I'm unhappy. They don't win without Trent Williams and McCaffrey playing. So Trent's out. McAfree's coming on back-to-back years where he carried the ball, touch the ball 400 times. You look at his history. When he does that, those heavy use years, the next year Christian gets hurt.

Trent Williams. IEUk just signed. Still not sure he's happy. Ricky Pearsall gets shot. Thank God he's okay. And I think the Rams are a Super Bowl team. I think they're in the Super Bowl bubble. I think Arizona. Arizona played their ass off last year at the end and is competitive. And I also think Seattle's a total wild card. I think my take is, and this is no shot at Pete Carroll, I think they kind of underachieve the last two years. I like their draft picks. I like their players.

I'm sitting there thinking to myself, is New York, are the Jets going to walk in to Santa Clara and kick this team in the head? Are they in trouble? Well, all we ever did was talk about Iyuk, and he wasn't the most important player. are not signed, right? Or having a contract issue. That's Trent Williams. And every day that goes by, if he doesn't play against the Jets, that's a major problem. Who knows what the Jets are going to look like, but we know they got a lot of players up front. And I would imagine Hassan Reddick has 15 million reasons to show up this week so that they got pass rush. The Ricky Piersall thing,

I don't see how that doesn't rattle. I mean, John Lynch is at the hospital two nights ago or whatever. I mean, he easily could have died. How many people have you ever heard of that get shot in the chest and live. Go through their body and their live. It's, it's by the grace of God, he's alive. And I think his mom tweeted out something essentially saying that.

Now, from a playing standpoint, he had been banged up. They weren't depending on him. So getting Brandon I, you, I think people are overcorrecting a little bit on the Niners. McCaffrey said three weeks ago he would have played if they had real games. They really, they're very careful with McCaffrey, Bosa, and Trent when he's around

in these fall games. It comes, if Purdy's playing well, they're going to be a problem because they still got Debo, that kiddles healthy. If McCaffrey comes back, you've got to have Trent in there. Because their offensive line isn't exactly loaded with first rounders. And defensively, Colin, I think they're going to be pretty good. I think their secondary is going to be awesome. Charvarius Ward is a high-end player.

Lenore, this guy they drafted a couple years ago, has become really, really good. Their safety play, John Lynch might miss on some first rounders, but that guy knows safeties. I mean, they go about four deep of guys that will light you up. Fred Warner's still, if not the best, him and Roeke. one of the best middle linebackers in the league. Their defensive line, when that gets rolling, they're always good. I think people are overcorrecting a little bit, but I'm with you.

My thing goes back to Seattle is how often, first year coach, excellent defensive coordinator, it's a big transition, though. We've seen a lot of elite coordinator struggle in that spot. Not saying he will, but until he does it, we don't know. Their quarterback is still a guy that no one would pick in the top 15 if you were getting a draft. That's right. That's right.

If you told me Dak Prescott was their quarterback or cousins healthy, I'd be like, oh, shit. But I still, Gino, and the Niners have beat them like five straight times. So you think McVeigh and Stafford are intimidated by them. Now, their talent, they get Byron. They get one of the best defenders in a draft. They're drafted in the middle of the first round. So they are a huge wild card. Look at the 49ers schedule.

If they beat the Jets, they're probably more likely to start four and one than struggle. So I'm not as down on the Niners, but it is not debatable. they had the craziest training camp of it. I mean, they had a player get shot. They have multiple holdouts of high-end pro bowlers and all pros and health concerns. But I still like him against the Jets, Colin. So I think the Tom Brady situation is fascinating. I had people asking me in the airport about this.

I went golfing and I had a couple people ask me about the story that he's going to be, he's trying to be a Raiders owner. And if you're a Raiders owner, there are limitations on what you can do in the NFL. Had you heard about that before, like in the halls house? No. No. And so, and it's one of those things that that's above my pay grade. That's management. But so for people that don't know, he can't criticize officials, he can't be in certain meetings, production meetings. I don't think the production meetings is a big deal. I think, have you been watching this stuff that Brady is allowing people to see the binders he has from every single season, everybody he ever faced? His preparation is, even compared to people who spend a lot of time preparing is literally next level and he just got off the field. I don't worry about any of that. The only part of it that concerns me, and it only may happen once every two weeks, eight times a

year, that you may have to call to the officials and go, that's a blown call. Now, replay helps reverse a lot of miscall. So again, it's not the 70s, 80s. But when I read all the stuff, I thought, do you view it as credibility dinged if he can't rip officials? And I'm not saying rip, but be question officiating. Listen, I like my announcers. I think once everyone started getting on Romo, Troy Aikman kind of got his swag back and he'll lie into somebody. And I like that. Now, some people maybe like a more rosier glass, but here's the one thing.

There's 20, 30 million people watching this game. When stuff screwed up now in football, you have a pretty good idea. and people don't like to hear rose-colored glasses when stuff's pretty obvious. I thought it's not only officials. This isn't like certain things like with teams. To me, the restrictions that I read feel like, God, part of my big question mark with Tom, because he's heard him on your show, he's awesome. I mean, his ability to speak about complicated stuff.

But I was like, let his true personality come out that he's known as the great teammate. Part of that is being one of the guys, obviously ribbing some people. I think that's pretty difficult. It will not be difficult for him to get the coaches and the players on the phone. They will call him back. That doesn't feel like a deal. That doesn't matter at all. Payton talks about that sometimes on Monday night.

I talk to Sean McVeigh on his drive home. Him and Peyton get anybody on the phone in the NFL in five minutes. Right. I do think him not being able to do that, if that's really serious, couldn't you argue? And listen, I'm as pro-capitalism as anybody. But this feels like it's going to be pretty tough if he one day, actually, he's just never allowed to do that. It is pretty difficult to do your job if there are legit restrictions because it's easy this year.

But what about five years from now when you have some coaches you know nothing about? Those production meetings do hold some value, right? And that's one thing I'm not saying to like divest from the Raiders because that's pretty good investment invested in the NFL. But it feels pretty difficult. Fox is giving them almost $400 million. Yeah. And again, I rent all the restrictions. And listen, I'm I'm a corporate opinionist.

So essentially, I have strong opinions for companies, ESPN and Fox, that have rights with everybody. And my take has always been, I can say pretty much everything and anything, but I don't make it personal. I'm not going to go after Roger Goodell personally or Adam Silver. Even now that we don't have the NBA, I try to be fair with people, even when I'm critical of people. Like for a year, even with Baker Mayfield, I've said he is a top 20 quarterback. I think he's a great guy. He and Emily are wonderful people. I root for the guy.

I thought he was immature when he came into the league. So I try to qualify stuff. I don't want to be a sledgehammer. I don't want to be an anvil because I'm in these relationships too. I see these commissioners. I see these coaches. I don't want to be a jerk. I want to be somewhat respected as a generalist or an opinionist.

But the one that did jump out to me was the officiating because, And again, Tom's such a prep monster. I don't worry about the other stuff. But that one I think, I think what it would be, it wouldn't affect him, but it would mean a lot of bad press for him and Fox. And I think corporations don't like that. My theory was when I read the headline and kind of read, I think Florio wrote a long thing on it, was think how many owners over the last 20 years he's cost money. Playoff victories, knocked them out. Because this feels like pretty innocuous.

What's he doing? Going to your practice and telling Antonio Pierce, who beat him in a Super Bowl to steal some guy of a practice squad? Like what is really going to happen? But I bet some owners, or maybe they're VPs or people that know the true, because this feels pretty deep on the rulebook for someone to dive. And word gets out. And they all kind of, you know, a group of three, four.

And then it just kind of grows as not that they have anything against him personally, but from a competitive business standpoint, because the NFL is kind of unique that they're all independent entities worth billions of dollars, but they benefit as a unit. So sometimes they are, I would say, fractured and sometimes on the, because this doesn't gain steam without a group of several guys coming together and making a stink, right? I don't think Roger's just saying, now you can't do this. Right. I think it's some owners and think about he's beat a lot of people in big games that the difference, how much, what were the Patriots worth 20 years ago before they started rattling off Super Bowls. They're worth a lot more now because

of the history all tied to Tom and think the Colts might have three or four Super Bowls, the Ravens, the Steelers. I mean, there are a lot of teams that the difference of the marketing, the obviously what you make when you're a Super Bowl champion, get into the Super Bowl, that just have an axe to grind and we saw it forever with people going after Bill on some of this stuff. How about Deflate Gate? That was the Colts. I mean, the Deflate Gate, the irony of deflate Gate is, Brady after Deflate Gate was a more efficient quarterback. His numbers went up once we knew. It's almost like Harbaught, Michigan, once the Conner Stallion story came out. And now Harbaugh couldn't coach and they played their toughest games of the year late when all the Conner Stallion stuff

was out. They beat people worse. So it was like Deflate Gate and Harbott. We know Tom's great. We know Michigan was great. But it, let's be honest, deflategate came from the Colts. turn them in. I think you can look at the Colts, you know, the Jets with Mangini, right, with the SpyGate. I think you could just go to their division. I can't imagine the dolphins think that highly of Tom, him kicking their ass forever, the bills, the AFC North teams, the Steelers, the Ravens. And this isn't like, we're going to ruin your life. We have certain rules. This is really deep in the rule book. It doesn't seem necessary, but, you know, screw you. We're going to make this a little more difficult. on you. And it's like, okay, you want to join our country club? We're not just letting you right in because remember, Mark Davis tried to almost let him buy in at a number not equal to

the actual value. And the owner said, no, no, no, no. If your team is valued as X, Tom needs to pay this even for a tiny percentage. So they have made it, I would say, pretty difficult on Tom to get into this. What would you consider the NFL one of the top five country clubs in America? I mean, it's got to be one of the most, might be the most difficult thing to get involved in currently. Yeah, I mean, it's the number one TV show on every network it's on. I mean, I always say this. Every business ever started in America is looking for marketing and has to pay a fortune for it. I mean, think about how much Stephen A. Smith, myself, Scott Van Pelt, Mike and Tony, Nick Wright, all these shows, how much free publicity the NFL gets.

Every day for six months. hundreds of millions of dollars on all of these talking shows, radio TV, free. Every business looking for a free ad. So it's, yeah, it's the best business in America. It's one of the great businesses to tail in the world we're in. We can make a lot of money just talking about football because of the amount of people that want to listen and watch. Obviously, they consume these games. That's back to Tom.

You're right. It can get weird if he has to tiptoe about things that are. pretty obvious. Right. And maybe he won't care, but I think like any human being on a new job, you don't want to start. It's a weird spot to be in.

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the worst advice from the dumbest people you know. Listen to Help from Hypocrite as part of the Mike Pulturra podcast network available on the IHart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, I'm Diana Maria Riva, actress, mother, lover, and a Gen X woman walking through life one hot flash and hormonal crying jag at a time. You ladies know what I mean. I'll bet you a perimenopausal chin here you do.

So let's talk about it. Join me on my new podcast. How hard can it be with the Animani Arriva, where I call on my Gen X squads from Ohio to Hollywood as we navigate midlife's most fantastic BS. All of a sudden, I'd had hanginess happening on my own. I was like, what the hell is that? I was married when I had her,

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I cannot believe I'm about to say this out loud in public. Listen to How Hard Can It Be with Diana Maria Riva as part of my Cultura Podcast Network available on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Give me one team or one situation. I'll give you mine first, so I'll give you a couple seconds to think about it. One team that you don't know what the hell they're going to look like. And so I can't get my arms around Philadelphia. So I'm not in love with a coach.

Take out Nick Seriani, one guy. It's a different football team. Take out Nick Seriani calling plays. Jalen hurts a different quarterback. I think they've upgraded coordinators. Jason Kelsey's gone. They are a bit top-heavy. I will say they've paid both receivers.

I mean, they've got a lot of money at the high ends. I think there's heat on Siriani. I think Philadelphia has proven they'll bail on a Super Bowl winning coach. They'll bail on Carson Went after they pay him. It's always been an intense, somewhat combustible city because of the relentless nature and the aggressive nature of the media and the fans. I love Philadelphia. Yeah, I do too. I don't know what I think, I think because the division is still wonky, I like them.

But if you told me they went seven and ten and Sireani got fired the week after Thanksgiving, I wouldn't argue. What do I make of Philadelphia? you. I have a hard time seeing them not being pretty good because of the talent they have. And I think the coordinator upgrades are massive. I think Fangio's been one of the better defensive coordinators. If he gets the two defensive linemen, they draft from Georgia playing well. They draft multiple corners. They still got Slay. I think the talent they have on offense, Kellyn Moore's proven to be a pretty good offensive play caller. Nussmeyer, LSU's quarterback. His dad's the quarterback coach. He coached Dach forever. I mean, they got real coach. Seriana doesn't really, they just, they kind of want him to

stay away. But he's going to get all the heat of, think about these two games Thursday and Friday. To me, there's a ton of pressure on the Ravens, not because anyone's jobs in jeopardy. Chiefs Ravens Thursday. Yeah. Are you a real team? Can you hang with this team? Because this team win or lose, they don't care. Like they don't see in January, they're not worried about you. You need to prove it. To me, on Friday night, it's like the pressure's all on the Eagles. because you lose a game. The Packers are good. But like you just said, the pressure, all the weird stuff with Siriani,

the relationship with him and the quarterback, they've paid a lot of money to Jalen. And they like Jalen, I think, more than Carson in terms of the guy. He's just an easier guy to deal with. He's focused, his football, the work ethic, the teammates. But part of it, it's a production-based business. They're going to need, you know, 30-plus touchdowns here. and the dynamic there,

their division sucks. I'm not into Washington. I just don't think they're going to be, they don't have the talent. New York's, the quarterback situation is just terrible. I don't think they got the talent either. And the Cowboys,

I don't think are going to be the 12-win team. They're still, but them and the Eagles, basically, it feels like split most years. I think anything less than 10 and being in the playoffs, obviously Siriani would get fired,

but then it just gets weird. like you just stick with Jalen because like you said, that city moves quick. That city moves quick. And that's the thing with young quarterback. We just saw all these guys get drafted a couple years ago. Three years later, they're all on different teams. These guys get huge contracts now because the NFL's making so much money.

It's like, yeah, we already paid him as $70 million to get them out of here. We'll eat $20 million a dead cap. You know, Russell Wilson. But it's not even just quarterbacks. It happens all sorts of players. So the pace in which everything happens has never been faster in the NFL. And you could argue no one operates faster in terms of pressure and urgency than the Eagles. So it's going to be fair.

I don't know either. I wouldn't bet that game Friday night because who knows? Like if you tell me the Eagles come out firing, I'd believe you. If you tell me it's weird, the game's in Brazil. What if you do it? Does that make any sense to you? I'm pro expansion and pro growth. No.

I text a couple people with the Eagles. I'm like, are you going? They're like, oh, thank God. I don't have to go. I'm doing something else. I was like, that is one of your. Roger has been incredible. The league office over the last, the internet age, the money they've made everybody, most of their ideas work.

That to me is pretty idiotic. I mean, that's unnecessary, I would say. Yeah, I feel like, it wasn't that a few years ago, the Yankees opened in Japan or something? And they were complaining about it. It's easy for like maybe the Mariners or the, you know, the giants. But no, I mean, I like the games in Mexico. city, which is an amazing city. I have friends that have been there. They're like, oh, my God, you got to go in your life. Best food city, maybe in our region of the country. And I like European

games. I was just over in London. There are NFL. You'd be amazed. There are not just English premier. There are NFL caps all over London. You'll see them. Should have just gone there. To me, that field. If you are going to go, just go across the pond. Don't go to Brazil, where I saw AJ Brown said, you know, we went over the rules and they say no phones on the street. So he's like, yeah, I think I'm just going to stay in my hotel room. Like if that are the parameters, probably should cancel. My team, I thought about pretty strong picking this team over the summer to win the division. I'm not.

I'm going to pick the Texans, but the Colts, who I think they're pretty good. And like you, I love their coach. Watched Anthony Richardson a couple times in the preseason. Incredible talent. The ball flies all over the map, though. So it's hard. Could they, if he's pretty good and stays healthy, win 10 games, for sure. But if he is just wildly inaccurate against good teams, you're going to lose a lot of those games.

So it's like their margin from being, to me, they could be 7, 8, or they could be 10, 11. It all comes down to him. And obviously he's going to be rocky. But as the season goes, like what Shane did with Jalen, can he just get him under control? Jalen doesn't have, he throws with more touch because he doesn't throw his hard. hard. It's really hard for this guy to not throw like 100 mile an hour fastballs. Oh, it's incredible. When the guy is seven feet away from him. So it's, it's hard to play like that in the NFL if your team is not incredibly loaded. They're good. But I don't know

if they could overcome some games where he's like 50% because the balls are all over the map. John Midlakov, three and out podcast, former NFL scout, the first of about 20-some weeks in a row. We will generally, we will generally do these on Sunday night. You know, that, but I just got back from, for the record, John, I told my wife a couple years ago, I said, we're going to do a European trip at least once a year for the rest, you know, prior next 15 years. So we went to London for four or five days, and I don't care what anybody tells you. My wife is not a foodie, but her family's in the food business. She said, it's almost sacrilegious. She goes, I would take London food over Italy. And I said,

just don't say it out loud. We had, and we were at every single. from pubs, the hole in the walls to high-end lunch places. Don't listen to anybody. London may not have good weather. That is a sensational. Maybe it's not New York, but it is a sensational food city. And if you like architecture and parks, like I love to go on jogs or walks in like overcast days. I'm a Northwest kid. God, London. London is spectacular. And they have their cab system for anybody listening is fascinating. It takes three to four years to get a cab license. They're called black cabs. Their cab system is an complete game changer for anybody that is not from the country and for those who live in the country. So the pound is stronger than the dollar. So 10 pounds is probably

$11.5.00. But if you go to England and you go to London and you just first thing you do is you exchange or you take out, you know, 10 pounds, $300 in tens. There's $10 or 10 pound cab rides all over. And taxi drivers in London make Uber and Lyft look like such ripoffs. There is no surge pricing. They are tour guides and cab drivers. You have to know, it takes four to five years to be a cab driver or a taxi. driver in England. You have to know every street in the city, everyone. The testing is...

They take a test? Oh, it's grueling. It's a multiple year to become qualification. Our taxi drivers in London, my wife and I were laughing. We're like zigzagging backways to find like a weird nightclub at 11 at night that some concierge said, hey, go try this place. It's called Froggies. And And we're thinking, okay, we couldn't find it in a week if it had dropped us off down the street. So if you go there, just know the transportation, you can take their version of a subway. That's fine. The transportation and the food, if you can get over overcast skies, is sensational in London. I love it.

So as a guy that has a large pretty good sizable position in Uber, do they just not? exist there? Do we have no presence and just the taxis? Well, they're going to school like they're going to be doctors. I mean, how do you compete with that? Well, you can't compete with it. So I never used those services. You didn't use Uber or Lyft when you were there. No, no. My concierge at my hotel is, he said, we can get you a driver for 100 pounds an hour, which is probably, again, probably about 120 bucks. I think the pound is stronger than the American dollar right now. So, or you can do a taxi. So my wife and I are, you know, we'll just take taxis.

We love it. And they're fascinating people. I mean, they've just got these British accents. They're just regular people. But these are careers. You know, you buy that taxi. It is yours. These people are incredibly proud.

They're tour guides. So if you're going to go over there, it is so wonderful. It really elevates the experience. They know the city like the back of its hand. You know what it's like? It's like a bigger Chicago. with even greater architecture. So it's a bigger Chicago with roads are tighter,

but the architecture is even more dramatic. And I think Chicago is a remarkable architecture city in North America. So it's... It was cold over there? Like you're wearing pants every day. No, it was... I like, you know, again, I like cold weather. It wasn't, but it's not Spain, Greece.

It's not Paris. You're not going to get the muggyness consistently. No, you get... 70 degree days all the time. What was your best meal? Well, I went to a place called at 22 and had a dinner with Ann that was, it was like a house that had been, that had residences. That was remarkable. I went to a place called 108 brazzery and had a superfood salad with shrimp. And I told my wife, three bites into it, this is the greatest salad I've ever eaten. in my life. Now, the portions in London are not American portions. They joke about it over there.

You know, they joke about, you know, we're not, this is not Houston. You don't get a plate of biscuit. It's not the way it works. But just the quality, they take it serious. Gordon Ramsey has a footprint all over the city. I mean, you can't turn a corner without a Gordon Ramsey restaurant, and he's helped elevate the culinary experience. But I just think if you're, if you and your wife, you know, there's no language barriers, tradition, architecture, It's civility and the pubs are freaking incredible. John, any part of town, any part of town in London, you walk in a pub, you grab a beer, you're standing out in the street, talking to a bloke about your favorite football team, out in the street, in alleys. It's just the best. Is it, you know, it's kind of there in New York City, right? I mean, it's, but it doesn't have that vibe of craziness 24-7.

Well, I would say I like London. Listen, Chicago is my favorite big city in the United States. I like L.A., Chicago, Vancouver, B.C., I love. I don't love a lot of big cities. You know, Boston's okay. I'm not really a Dallas, Atlanta, Houston. Don't do a lot for me. I don't like to be in my car.

I want to walk. Chicago, New York, I can walk. Vancouver, I can walk. London, you can walk everywhere. That's nice. Covenant Garden, by the way, a bit of a tourist trap. too crowded for my taste. A little young. If you're young, go to Covenant Garden, but not my scene. But I would say, compared to New York, New York's bigger. I think London's easier to get around.

Both have great parks. Central parks, you know, terrific. But I'm a London fan. I'm a London fan. Did you hold your own BS and about soccer over some beers with random people and pubs? Or was it pretty intense? Are they talking to like SEC people? If you're in Alabama, you better know your shit. No, you're not going to fool anybody. No 86-mile-hour fastballs get past anybody. No, I can't imagine. All right, bud. Okay.

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