The Josh Innes Show - Notre Dame Fans Are Dopes

Episode Date: January 21, 2025

I'm glad Notre Dame lost. Their fans are insufferable. At the end of the day, Marcus Freeman advanced far as Brian Kelly did at Notre Dame. They don't live in reality. Ohio State winning shows that even with the transfer portal and more schools spending money, the big boys will always be above the little guys. I randomly start watching the MLB Hall Of Fame selection show. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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All right, everybody. So National Championship game last night. Final score ended up being closer than the game actually was. I mean, for the most part, it's clear that Ohio State was exponentially better. It's clear that Ohio State was far more talented. It's clear that they have more far more talented. It's clear that they have more money invested in the players there and there's more NFL talent on the roster. It's all pretty clear. I know the game ended up somewhat closer than it looked like it was going

to be, but at the end of it, Ohio State was the better team and Ohio State should have won that championship and Ohio State did win the championship and that's kind of what it comes down to, and I've been talking about Notre Dame more than usual here in the last couple weeks because I've seen a lot more of the Notre Dame fans on social media, and that's because I'm an LSU guy, and a lot of things pop up involving Brian Kelly, and they hate Brian Kelly, of course, and they feel like he was a failure there, even though Brian Kelly is the most successful coach they've had at Notre Dame in the last 30 some odd years and won a lot of football games and went to multiple national championship games, but ran into giant buzz saws like Alabama loaded with NFL talent. Yet these Notre Dame doofs

don't really like Brian Kelly, mostly because of the way he left. He left and said he wanted to go win championships at LSU and didn't have the resources to do there at Notre Dame, what he could do in Baton Rouge. And of course, they've just hung on to that. It's funny that Notre Dame people try to paint themselves as some sort of underdog when you've been like this high elite program forever in the eras prior to all the big money being in college football. You used to rule the roost. Now you don't rule the roost and you play the role of, oh, poor pitiful us. If you're Notre Dame, you're a sad sack bunch that wears really tacky, gaudy helmets that look straight out of Mar-a-Lago. But anyway, so I see a lot of these people because I'm an LSU guy and there's like this back and forth

about Brian Kelly. It's one of the main reasons I want Brian Kelly to be super successful, other than the fact that he coaches LSU and I want LSU to win championships because that's my squad, but also because these people at Notre Dame are absolute fuckheads. And the thing that stands out about them is that they have been of this belief that Marcus Freeman is somehow proving that he is an exponentially better coach than Brian Kelly and has already accomplished way more than Brian Kelly because of the fact that Notre Dame was in this championship game. When the reality is Marcus Freeman has accomplished exactly as much as Brian Kelly did.

He went to the championship game and lost. And not only lost, if they don't force the fumble, which they did, so give them credit, Ohio State was going in to regain a three-touchdown lead in the game. The fumble happened at like the 30-yard line. They were on their way in. They were going to score again. So really, you made the fumble. You made the game more interesting. Made a couple of big throws. You can going to score again. So really, you made the fumble. You made the game more

interesting. Made a couple of big throws. You can't take that away. But it's hysterical to me that these Notre Dame people now, like in their minds, the fact that they only lost by eight points or whatever the final ended up being, the fact that it was a one-score game was better than anything Brian Kelly could have ever done. Brian Kelly would have gotten his ass kicked. That's our argument. Not the fact that their savior, that this Marcus Freeman, who they think is the greatest coach ever, that Marcus Freeman lost the game, the exact same thing that Brian Kelly did

and the opportunities he had in the national championship game. It was, oh, at least it was close, despite the fact that you were down three scores. Then, of course, it became, well, yeah, but did you see the way that they battled back? Did you see the way that Brian Kelly teams would have rolled over and died in that situation and Marcus Freeman, Marcus Freeman was the guy.

Let us not forget that Marcus Freeman kicked a field goal with nine minutes to go down by 16 points, which was stupid, and they missed the field goal, which they deserve to miss. You deserve to miss a field goal when you're at the 10-yard line down 16 points with nine minutes to go, and you kick a field goal. You deserve to miss it. That's the result that should have happened, and it did good, but they hate Brian Kelly, and that's why I've never really hated Notre Dame people because Notre Dame, for most of my existence,

has been out of sight, out of mind. I was born in 1986. Notre Dame's last championship was in 1988. They've been to a handful of championship games since then. Not even a handful. They've been to a couple of championship games, and they've gotten their asses kicked in each one of them. I was in the Superdome when they played LSU in the Sugar Bowl in 2006, and LSU beat the shit out of them.

That's where I saw, I learned that Brady Quinn, a gigantic man. I was in the locker room, and I see Brady Quinn walk by. Dude's like 11 feet tall. He's like Barron Trump. But I digress. But all that said, Notre Dame has been a largely mediocre to bad to pointless program. And they still are. But it's just funny how because of their disdain for Brian Kelly, they look at Marcus Freeman losing the championship game as some sort of greater

accomplishment. End of the day, Brian Kelly went to multiple national championship games and lost. End of the day, Marcus Freeman went to a championship game and lost. Now, the argument is, well, Marcus Freeman has now won multiple New Year's Six Bowls. Yeah, well, Brian Kelly didn't coach in an era where there were 12 teams. And by the way, he also didn't coach in an era where you're essentially guaranteed a spot in the college football playoff. Brian Kelly had to do that in an era where you had to be really fucking good in the regular season. And by that, I mean, couldn't lose to Northern Illinois and still get in and then face Indiana who was proven to suck and then face Georgia's backup quarterback and face the no passing game offensive Penn state. And look, I'm not trying to shit on you for getting there. Look, you got there.

Credit to you. You did it. But let's not act like, like Brian Kelly having to go through a regular season and get a spot in the BCS championship, and I think he was also in one of the four-team ones, to get there and face Alabama and face those Alabama teams that were loaded with talent, of course they're going to

get their ass kicked. Like I'm not telling you that Brian Kelly is a great coach, but Brian Kelly did a lot of good shit at Notre Dame where there are limitations. That's the reality of Notre Dame. There are limitations. Marcus Freeman was fine, but what did Marcus Freeman do this year that Brian Kelly couldn't do? Beat up on a schedule that has no conference, cool. Lose to Northern Illinois at home, cool. Beat Indiana. Notre Dame should never even be in a competition with Indiana. So the idea that that was an impressive win because you beat Indiana in the playoffs,

up your nose with a rubber hose. Notre Dame, as far as Notre Dame may be down from where Notre Dame was in its glory days, Notre Dame should never be at a point where Indiana is a true threat to them. But they should also never be at a point where they lose to Northern Illinois at home, but they did. But congrats on beating Indiana, and congrats on beating the backup quarterback at Georgia. Now, the argument might be that the Georgia backup may have been better than the starter. Maybe so, but he was the backup quarterback and you really didn't do dick. They

gave you the game. So just the argument is preposterous. Like these people are the most, like I can't imagine growing up rooting for Notre Dame. Like I could imagine growing up rooting for Notre Dame if it's like 1945 and you're like, yeah, Notre Dame. I can't imagine growing up in the 2000s and being like, rooting for the Irish. That's my squad. I can't imagine that because everything about Notre Dame is antiquated, outdated, and tired. But congrats to Marcus Freeman for advancing as far as Brian Kelly ever did. God, I want Brian Kelly to win

the championship at LSU so bad. I never had anything against Notre Dame or cared about Notre Dame because Notre Dame was so obsolete in my life. Because as a dude that's 38 years old, I never grew up in a world where Notre Dame was anything special. For the most part, Notre Dame was just mid. And they've mostly been mid that entire time. Unless they have one of those years where they went 11 games and they're just grandfathered into this shit, which congratulations, you're grandfathered into the college football playoff. What an existence you lead. But like, I don't hate Ohio State as much as a lot of people do. I watched LSU beat Ohio State in the national championship game in the dome. It's on the field for that. So like, I don't hate them. I don't hate Ryan Day as much as a lot of people do, although his beard has clearly died and it's clearly ridiculous. But I just liked that team. I like the players on it.

I like Smith. I like Ibuka. I like that team. I like Quinn Sean Judkins. I like that team. And maybe they're a symbol of what's bad about college football with all the money they've spent. I do think, and I saw a pro football talk had a story about this, but we're going to get to this point where, like, the idea of things being balanced is there because everybody can spend money. But at the end of it, there's going to be the teams that have more money to spend, and most of those are going to be the usual suspects, the Bamas, the Ohio States, the big schools, the Georgias.

They're still going to spend more money than the little guys. So while the little guys might have an outside shot of landing some dudes and they're still going to spend some money, when it all boils down, it's still going to be the haves and the have-nots. Your Ohio States are still going to be the haves. The Indianas are going to be the have-nots. It's cute that an Indiana can bring in a transfer quarterback or a Vanderbilt can bring in a transfer quarterback like Pavia and win six games and feel good about themselves. Vanderbilt, no

matter how much money they think they can spend, they're never going to outspend Georgia or LSU or Florida or Bama, and they will continue to be Vandy except with slightly better players. And that's a different topic for a different day, but that's the reality of it. Like we watch the transfer portal and watch all the money that people spend in the transfer portal. Well, schools that care more about football are going to find ways to find that money. Whereas schools that don't care as much about it are not going to. There. That's that. All right, let's see here. Let's play a couple commercials. All right, if you're ready to win some real cash during the basketball playoffs, you got to check out Pick 6 from DraftKings. When it comes to basketball payouts, DraftKings Pick 6 posterizes the competition, including prize picks. It's a very simple concept.

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Limited time offer. See terms at picksix.draftkings.com slash promos. See, and when does this start? I guess they're announcing the Hall of Fame. Let me see. Let me turn on. Ross, what channel is the MLB Network? Let's see who makes the MLB Hall of Fame.

I was reading about Billy Wagner. And this is the 10th try that Billy Wagner has on the ballot. And if Billy Wagner doesn't get in this time, he doesn't get in. Again, I know I ask this all the time when we talk about Hall of Fame. What makes somebody a Hall of Famer in their 10th year that didn't have them in the Hall of Fame well before then? If Billy Wagner isn't a Hall of Famer in his first year, second year, then why is Billy Wagner a Hall of Famer today?

What did Billy Wagner do? Who did he strike out? How many more strikeouts did he out? How many more strikeouts did he get? How many more walks did he deliver? How many home runs did another guy hit? How many things have changed? What has been different? What has changed about Billy Wagner from 10 years ago? And the answer is absolutely nothing. It's just people making the decision to put the guy in, which is preposterous. Let me see here. MLB Network. Now, is this damn Hall of Fame show going to be like the selection shows where they just stretch this shit out? Tell me who's in and then break them down.

Do not make me wait. I don't need to sit here and wait through you doing a whole talk about each of them. Just tell me who is in the Hall of Fame. Tell me who made it. Tell me who is in there, and then we can go from there. Too many people get in Hall hall of fame tell me who made it tell me who is in there and then we can go from there too many people get in halls of fame too like you like it should be a very special thing kind of like how the celtics retire everyone's number like there should be a cutoff there should be a limit there should be like a high that you have to hit to have a number retired by a team and it's the same with the hall of fame like we put too many hall of very good dudes and i think a lot of dudes of this generation benefit from it because we're in that generation the first

real generation of every game on tv social media mlb extra innings package people watch every game people breaking it down so like you get to see these guys and you know their name and you know how famous they are that doesn't necessarily mean that they're any better or worse than guys that played 35 years ago. But, like, you didn't get to watch every game that Burt Blylevin played. People that were in Minnesota might have watched him or listened to Burt Blylevin. You didn't get to watch every one of those games. And since you didn't get to watch all of those and it wasn't talked about on sports radio and social media you don't hear as much about those guys so what's going to happen is we're in an era where a lot of guys who are kind of mid like not even mid they're good players but they're going to be dudes that

you're going to look back on and go yeah I don't really think that guy was a hall of famer but they're going to put him in anyway and I guess it's fine like I see Ichiro Ichiro is a hall of famer Ichiro has like a thousand how many hits does Ichiro have between Japan and uh and the in the majors like 7,000 hits or something like the dude's a hall of famer put him in the hall of fame dude had 3,000 hits in major league baseball and he didn't come into baseball until he was what in his 30s or something like that so um like I'm looking at the guys like CeCe Sabathia. CeCe's fine. Is he a Hall of Famer?

Put him at like, go ahead. But I'm seeing some of these guys. I see Andrew Jones. If Andrew Jones, if Jim Edmonds isn't a Hall of Famer, I don't believe Andrew Jones is a Hall of Famer because I believe that Jim Edmonds was a better center fielder than Andrew Jones. I don't have like how many different awards each of them won, but Jim Edmonds hit over 300 career home runs. Jim Edmonds played a better center field.

He's the best defensive center fielder maybe in the history of baseball. So if Jim Edmonds isn't in the Hall of Fame, then I don't think Andrew Jones is. Now, I'm sure off the top of my head, I don't know all of the silver sluggers and gold gloves that each of them won. But to me, Jim Edmonds, and maybe call me biased because of my Cardinals fandom, Jim Edmonds, to me, is a Hall of Famer. You want to put them both in, fine, but they were kind of in that competition together. To me, I would have taken Edmonds over Andrew Jones. Now, again, I'm just watching this with no sound on. I also saw Carlos Beltran. I don't believe that Carlos Beltran's a with no sound on. I also saw Carlos Beltran.

I don't believe that Carlos Beltran's a Hall of Famer. I believe if Carlos Beltran would have stayed in a city like Houston, I think he would have played his way into the Hall of Fame. And I know that sounds weird because usually playing in the bigger city makes you more of a Hall of Famer. Carlos Beltran never lived up to being Carlos Beltran while playing for the Mets. Carlos Beltran, Kansas City, and for that small period of time in Houston,

Carlos Beltran was a beast. That playoff run that he had with the Astros was ridiculous. But I don't feel like Carlos Beltran, Carlos Beltran will benefit by the fact that he played in New York. That might make him a Hall of Famer. And also, this whole damn thing's a sham anyway because Mark McGuire's not in the Hall of Fame, Sammy Sosa's not in the Hall of Fame,

Barry Bonds isn't in the Hall of Fame. Boy, you know it's a special day because they've pulled Bob Costas out of mothballs here and tied his face back to do some television here breaking this down. So 435 career home runs for Beltran in 20 seasons. Like, that's fine. And it's not that Carlos Beltran's not good.

But, like, my first instinct when thinking of Carlos Beltran is not a Hall of Famer. Like, Andrew Jones. Andrew Jones, considerably more home runs and gold gloves than Jim Edmonds. But I think Jim Edmonds is a Hall of Famer. So put Andrew Jones in if you want, but I also think Jim Edmonds is. Sue me. Guy was a beast. He didn't have 10 gold gloves like Andrew Jones. Let me see. I don't know. Let me see what Jim Edmonds did. Jim Edmonds was a beast. Let me see how many home runs Jim Edmonds

ended up with for his career. So four, what did I say? 434 for Andrew Jones. Jimmy Edmonds, how many home runs did you end up hitting, pal? Now I'm doing stats podcast. Boy, this is some riveting shit. Stat-driven podcast discussion here, baby. This is why you tune in. Fucking Ichiro, 3,000 hits, just an MLB. He's like, the dude's a Hall of Famer. Like, this isn't difficult.

Put the man in. Jimmy Edmonds, how many homers did you hit? 393. There's not a huge difference between Jim Edmonds, how many homers did you get? 393. There's not a huge difference between Jim Edmonds and Andrew Jones when it comes to, when it comes to, they got Chase Utley. I don't believe Chase Utley is a Hall of Famer. I think Chase Utley is very good. I do not believe Chase Utley is a Hall of Famer. I believe Billy Wagner is a Hall of Famer. But the fact the guy sat around and waited for 10 years, why is he more of a Hall of Famer today than he was before?

This is stupid. But let's see, how many gold gloves did Jim Edmonds end up with? Eight. Okay, so Jim Edmonds had two fewer gold gloves and about 30 fewer home runs. By the way, dude had the most epic, the home run he hit against the Astros in game six in 2004 still makes me hard. God, that was a sweet, that left-handed stroke.

Let's see Tom Verducci's ballot. All right, he's got Carlos Beltran in. All right, let's see. Carlos, oh, damn, I screwed up the TV. This is stupid. Beltran, Ichiro, Wagner, and Sabathia. Like, I just, I don't, I don't feel like Beltran's a hall of famer like I think he had a stretch where he was really good and then a lot of his statistics were just

kind of longevity statistics if that makes sense although the two years he played with the Cardinals particularly the the year that they brought his bat in to replace Albert Pujols, which was in 2012 and 2013. 2013, Beltran was raking for the Cardinals. They went to the World Series in 2013 and lost to the Red Sox. He raked. So I don't know. I think he gets too much credit for being a guy who played where he played. But again, I'm kind of a hypocrite on this because on the other side of things, if he would have stayed in Houston, I feel like it would have benefited him more because I don't know why, but I feel like staying in a place like that or one of these smaller markets would have done him good. If he played his whole career in a place like St. Louis or

something, I think it would have been beneficial to him. Let me see. I don't think so. And again, I'd like to hear, and I'm not going to turn this, but like I'd like to know Tom Verducci's reason. Now, if he's had Billy Wagner in the Hall of Fame, like for the last 10 years, fine. But I want to know what's changed somebody's opinion of Billy Wagner when Billy Wagner has not played baseball. And over 10 years, you're just like, yeah, seems like a Hall of Famer to me now. I think he's earned it like what are we doing let me see here um let me look somebody up here remember when lance berkman was on the ballot and got like four percent was off the ballot after one year and by the way i don't think lance berkman's a hall of famer but to be run off the ballot as fast as he was i thought was pretty preposterous because he's a fucking damn good baseball player just Just dealt with a lot of injuries. But, like, Lance Berkman hit 393 career home runs. He didn't steal as many bases as Carlos Beltran because he wasn't a base stealer. But he was an eight-time gold glover. Like, help me understand.

Actually, wait. Sorry, I'm still looking at Jim Edmonds' stats. Take that back. I thought it was Lance Berkman's stats. I was thinking, holy shit, Lance Berkman's stats are better than I thought they were. And holy shit, he's as good as fucking,'s eerily similar to jim edmonds let me see what berkman's final numbers for his career ended up being dude at 366 home runs and dealt with a lot of injuries towards the end drove in 1200 runs batted 293 was a switch hitter, six-time All-Star.

Think about that. Lance Berkman was on and off the ballot in like 30 seconds. And there isn't a huge difference between a guy like him, other than the gold gloves. I get the defense plays a part in that. Lance is a good defender, too. Anyway, I don't know why I'm getting into a defend Lance Berkman argument here, but that's how I feel.

So screw it. Now we're just watching an Ichiro highlight package here. Like here's Ichiro beating out a bunch of infield ground balls. This is exciting. Anyway. Um, I don't, I'm not going to sit here and bitch about, um, these things that much longer. Uh, but anyway, so there you go. I may be something we can bitch about tomorrow. Onward friends.