The Kevin Sheehan Show - Thom's Commute

Episode Date: September 13, 2018

Thom Loverro is back in studio with Kevin, and the two of them start the show reading some emails, and they talk about the Nationals. ESPN's Scott Van Pelt calls in to talk about the Redskins and about Lefty Driesell's Hall of Fame induction speech. They also talk to Fox Five Meteorologist Sue Palka about what to expect from hurricane Florence, then they have their first NFL Power Poll, and they talk about the Redskins and their ticket sales, and they close out with some thoughts on the Bengals / Ravens game. <p> </p><p>Learn more about your ad choices. Visit <a href="https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices">podcastchoices.com/adchoices</a></p> Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

You want it. You need it. It's what everyone's talking about. The Kevin Sheehan Show. Now here's Kevin. Is that our open on Tuesdays and Thursdays? Or do we have the other open? Oh, hold on.

You're listening to The Sports Fix. That's... Sports Fix with Kevin Sheehan and Tom Laverro. Yeah, that's the one for Tuesdays and Thursdays. You know, are we borrowing that from the Museum of Broadcasting? We are. Yes. Okay.

Where is the Museum of Broadcasting located? It's in New York. It is. Yeah. I've been there too. It's very cool. It is pretty cool to go there. It's worth a day trip, actually.

It's that cool. And you'll find lots of sports fix episodes up there as well. What's the museum downtown next, the one that opened up about 10 years ago, the medium museum. Why am I blanking on the name? The museum. The museum. The museum is a great day to spend, especially for people that love that stuff. And you love it and I love it.

Mark loves it. That is a great day. Now, it is one of the museums downtown that you actually have to pay to get into. Yeah, it's not like. part of a Smithsonian network or anything like that. You and I did an appearance at the museum once. That's right. We did.

I remember that. That was a long... They're still talking about that down there. Well, they put it into the broadcasting museum up in New York. Yes. The appearance. Tommy's here. You can hear that.

And he'll be here every Tuesday and Thursday with his new knees and his new eyes. You know, Kevin, I got to tell you. You know, I live in Frederick. Yes, I do. And making this trip down here... Uh-oh. Already. It's date due of Tommy.

It's like crossing two time zones to get here. I needed to show my passport in order to get into town. That was because of the new look. Nobody recognized you without the glasses. I mean, it's a hole to get here, baby. Well, I'm going to make that easier on you soon. Okay. I'm going to make that easier on you.

There are a couple of ways we can work on that because we're not losing you after one week because of the commute. Right. This tweet, Tommy, and you read a bunch of them as well. This one from Chuck Fuqua, no relation I don't believe, to Frenchie. One of my favorite football players, the guy who wore high-heeled shoes with fish floating inside the heel. Also famous for being part of the Immaculate Reception play. It was him that the ball deflected off of into Franco Harris's hands. He ran in for a touchdown.

And remember, the rule back then is if it touched an offensive play, player, it was not a complete pass, and the referees let it stand anyway. I think that was, who was the safety? Was it Tatum? I think Tatum hit him. Might have been Tatum. That's a good as guess as any. Yeah.

So this is the tweet from Chuck Fuqua, and you can tweet Tommy at Tom Levero, and you can tweet me at Kevin Sheehan, D.C. You can tweet the show now at Sheehan podcast. So Kevin and Tom are back together for SportsFix 2.0. it was terrific. I listened to it twice. The rhythm of you two together is the best since Oscar and Felix, complimented by at Mark Stern. By the way, he asks, is Christopher Walken making picks this year on the show? Well, as you remember, Christopher Walken never made picks on the show. No, he did fantasy tips. Yes, yes, he did. Now, neither one of you know this, but I actually reached out to Chris. I reached out to Chris and asked if he would come on the show once a week, and he said,

I'm thinking about it, but he said, I need a commitment from you and Tommy to spend Thanksgiving Day with me down in Dallas for the Skins Cowboys game. I don't know if you'll make that commitment or not. I have family in town, but it would be great to go down there and spend Thanksgiving with Walkin

for a football Thursday in Dallas. Well, is he going to send a plane for us? He might. He'll send the Winnebago. He had the Walk in Winnebago, didn't he? Okay, you know, you and I get in Winnebago and drive to Dallas. We'll never make it to Dallas.

We'd kill each other. We'll never make it to Dallas. Kill each other by Fredericksburg. Oh, my gosh. Anyway, we'll think about it. And I'd love to have Chris come back on the show. Many of you don't know that Chris Walken is a huge Redskins fan. And when Tommy and I did our show together, he came on every Thursday, I think, during

football season and made fantasy, gave us fantasy football tips. Big Redskins fan. Huge Redskins fan. Scott Van Pelt's going to be on the show in a little bit. Sue Palka is going to be on the show with us today with an up. update on the hurricane. Of course, Tommy is here, Mark is here, the band's back together, Tuesdays and Thursdays on this podcast. By the way, we're not going to spend all day reading the nice notes that we've gotten and all the memories of the show. Because we could. We could spend hours doing it.

But I'm going to read this tweet from Slippery Pete who said, Kevin, post some audio of Tom and Brooklyn Decker. That has to be one of the funniest moments in your show ever. I don't have access to that audio anymore. Mark, you don't have access to that audio anymore because it's at the former station. But for those that don't know what happened, it was one of the Super Bowls. Don't interrupt me while I'm telling you this story. Do not interrupt me. I'm going to interrupt me. I'm going to tell it accurately and then you can put your spin on it. No, you're going to tell it the way it's been twisted. We were at a Super Bowl one year. I can't even remember which Super Bowl it was. It was in Miami. Was it the one in South Beach? We spent a lot of time in South Beach. And Brooklyn,

Decker, this was the year that she was the S-I swimsuit cover, which meant she was making rounds on Radio Row and guest appearances. She was in a movie. Oh, it was the movie? It was a movie she was promoting. That's the real story that, but you go ahead. Can you stop interrupting

the story? Yes, I will. Just trying to make it accurate. She was also a swimsuit cover. Yes, she was. That's why she was in the movie. That's why she was in the movie. So she was making her rounds on Radio Row, and it was her turn to come on with the sports fix. PM 980 in DC, and she sits down at the table during the break, and Tom looked up from his

glasses and whatever he was reading and looked at her. And the stunning beauty of Brooklyn Decker, three feet away from him, put him into full panic attack. Hamana, howma, howma, howma, howma, howma, howma. The forehead was sweating. He couldn't speak. This is true. The heartbeat was racing at about 200 beats per minute. And we used to do this thing where I would usually bring the guest on, introduce the guest, ask a question or two, and then point to Tommy and say, you go and tell me when you're done. And after a question or two, I pointed to Tommy and he waved me off. He couldn't speak. That is the true story of what happened. Okay. You were completely and utterly flummoxed by her beauty in front of you. I'm not going to,

in this town, particularly these days, it really doesn't matter if the truth gets in the way of, of, fiction, but I'm going to try to correct the record on this. First of all, her beauty did not mesmerize me. I'm surrounded by beauty on a regular basis, okay? Yes, you are. So it's not that big of deal. Thank you, by the way. It's a nice compliment.

Not the first babe I've ever sat three feet away. At least maybe the first one I didn't have to slip 20 bucks to, but not the first babe. Or at least a couple of dollar bills. She was promoting a movie. I don't remember the name of the movie. but the director was Dennis Dugan. And I was trying to remember the character

that Dennis Dugan played in the Rockford Files, a couple of episodes of the Rockford Files, and I couldn't get it out. That is what was going on. He played Richie Brockleman, which wind up becoming a series briefly. And that's what I was trying to tell her that, but I couldn't remember the name.

I mean, beauty, you know, hey, you know, Brooklyn Decker, she's okay. Yeah. If we go back and we did one of these, it was maybe a year later because I wanted to prove you wrong in this. You never asked her a question. You stumbled something out of your mouth about Dennis Dugan, and that was it. It's for people that want like a visual reference, if you've seen a vacation, the holiday, the Christmas vacation, when Chevy Chase is browsing through the store and there's the very attractive woman behind the counter, and Chevy Chase is completely flowing.

That's sort of what I envision. Again, you know what? She was no Carly Simon. That was for sure. Well, that's true. That is true. You know, we'll have to tell the- She wasn't on the cover of secrets. We'll have to tell the Carly Simon story someday.

We will tell that story one day. By the way, the movie was called. Just go with it. Just go with it. But let's just... It was not a memorable film. Let's tease the Carly Simon story. You wooed her one day on an airplane.

No. No, that's not true. That was your dream, though. That was my dream. It was an Amtrak train was my dream. Are the Nats at... Five wins in a row and playing as well as they've played recently. Do they have any chance to make this interesting this weekend in Atlanta?

Well, of course they do. If they do the same thing to Atlanta that they do to the Phillies, they'll be pulling their hair out down at Atlanta, and people will be talking about the Nats again. Of course they do, but I don't think they're going to sweep Atlanta. They don't have, I mean, last night, one of the reasons they won, I mean, besides their offense, was they got a Stephen Strassburg-like performance from him.

He struck out nine with no walks, held them in one run, the Phillies to one run in seven innings. This, look, the starting pitching has always been the Natch safety net. I've been saying that for years. If their offense isn't hitting or something else is going wrong, they rely on their starting pitching to save them, a starter who will give them, who will hold the other team to maybe two runs over seven innings.

It's become their new. this year. It's literally hung them up because the only guy they've been able to count on is Max Scherzer. So that, I mean, if they can manage to get three starters, if Eric Fetty, who pitched great the other night, managed to put together a string of good starts and Strasberg is back to form, then you've got a slim possibility. But unless they can put three starters out there on a regular basis, who they know will keep them in the game for seven innings at least before they have to go to their bowl. bullpen? No, they're not going to make it interesting. So you're going to have to see another cycle of their starting rotation go through, and there's not that many cycles left. I just would

love to get to Monday or Tuesday show with you and have them be four or five back. That would be great. And even without that, I mean, let's stop in Marvel at Juan Soto. Juan Soto has 19 home runs as a 19-year-old, and eight of those home runs have come with two strikes. This is a amazing for a 19-year-old kid to have that kind of plate discipline. I looked at a spray chart of his... What chart? A spray chart. I know. I get hurt when I... I didn't know what it was. One of your analytics things. Where, you know, shows where the home runs have been going. They're all over the place. Right. He's hitting it everywhere. I mean, so, I mean, we're looking at, we're looking at potentially maybe the best player in the National League in the next three or four

years in Juan Soda. Which is why they'll move on from Bryce Harper in your view. Yes, I do, but again, like I pointed out in Tuesday show, they need starting pitching. There's not a lot of free agents available, and they don't have a lot to trade.

I mean, I could see a scenario even if it's remote, of signing Bryce Harper and then trading Victor Robways in a package to get another starter. I don't think that's going to happen, but that's a reasonable scenario. Scott Van Pelt's going to join us next. That's good.

Sue Palka after that, and then we're going to get to the Redskins and their season ticket situation, because the game Sunday is not a sellout for the first time, at least admittedly, in 50 years. It is the Sports Fix 2.0 Thursday with Sheehan and Laverro. I want to tell you about Window Nation. Fact to school time is right now, and to help you get educated about Window Nation, they're offering instruction on supply and demand. Beat the fall rush. Wind donation has extra capacity now, so lock in the lowest pricing before the demand goes up. With window nations back to school sale,

you get one free window for every window you buy, wood or vinyl styles, buy four, get four free, buy eight, get eight free, there's no limit. Get an A plus in savings and receive zero percent interest for five full years. That's like a free ride until 20, 23. Use it towards your kids' books, clothes, backpack, shoes, or even treat yourself. It's smart to go with Window Nation. When it comes to Windows, they're first in class. Now it's your turn to go to the head of the class. Call 86690 Nation or visit WindowNation.com.

Get one free window for every window you buy four. Get four free. There's no limit. Plus 0% interest until 2023. That's five full years. Do a little homework today. Get your windows installed before the cold arrives. and save big during Wind Donations back to school sale.

Call today 86690 Nation or visit Windonation.com. That's 86690 Nation or Windonation.com. Tell them Kevin Sheehan sent you. So Scott Van Pelt's going to join us every Thursday on this podcast or when he's available because I never like to be pushy and having him on the show. But you're always welcome and it's great to have you. Guess who's here with me every Tuesday and Thursday on the Kevin Sheehan Show podcast?

As we live and breathe, Tommy Laverro. Tommy's here with me. Yes, Tom Leverro is here doing the show with Kevin. He's already complaining that the commutes too long. This is his second day. He lives in Frederick, and he's complaining that the commutes too long. So we'll see how long this lasts. It may not last that long.

And Tommy, is your tooth okay? You know, I got to get a root canal. You know what? I'm going to go public with something right now. Uh-oh. I'm going to go public with something right now. That little imitation of yours has ruined my life. You realize that.

Why? You were like, you know, I have two sons, and they can't go anywhere in public anymore without one of them, once they find out that their dad is Tom Levero doing the Scott Van Pelt tooth imitation, my wife had to quit her job, had to quit her job, because she was so embarrassed. and being ridiculed on a regular basis, and it's played havoc with my life. And you owe me, buddy. You owe me.

Well, you know what? I'm horribly, horribly assumed to hear that that's happened. But thankfully, now that you're driving from Frederick to work for free for she and two days a week, remember, it was like three consecutive weeks he was out with a root canal when you were on. And finally, that third week, you just said, still a root canal. Does this count as a root canal? Well, some days it might. Okay.

So Scott, I'm not doing it anymore. That was it. I hope people got, I hope people got their money's worth it. I will never do that again now knowing the pain and suffering of caution. Oh, the damage is done, buddy. Because we only needed it once. You know what? It doesn't make any damn difference now.

I might as well keep doing it. All right. Scott's with us. It is football season, but I want to start with Marilyn. Is DJ Durkin going to be the coach? at Maryland? I have no earthly idea. I'll say this.

I think that my understanding is that, you know, the toxic culture label became that just, it was said, and then it was repeated so often that it was just, you know, it was accepted as fact. And I don't believe that they are going to find that that's the case at all. In fact, I think they'll find quite the opposite among the rank and file players that are there that, I believe are supportive of Durkin. Having said that, we all know that there was a tragic situation,

a young man died, and I don't know if they are going to find, even if they do this, they do this internal review, and then people find out, well, this was a tragic accident, but actually within the program, he's got a lot of support, and the culture wasn't as described. Can he be brought back, given the public relations, uh, percent? that already exists. You know, I don't know. I don't know what will happen moving forward. I do know that I'm just thrilled for the kids that they've had to start that they had.

They beat Texas again, and they got a game against Temple. And, you know, I think that the fact that they focused on that and managed to start as well as they have is a tribute to everybody within the program. So I have, I don't know what they'll ultimately decide. You've got the Board of Regents involved. I mean, there's so many moving pieces and so many other decisions that have to be made, Kevin, beyond just a football coach. So I don't know. Tommy's really good at sort of the whole public relations communications and he's more experienced in these situations than I. Do you think he can survive, Tommy?

Well, to me, I mean, if what Scott said, and that is the investigation uncovers no, no evidence of a toxic culture, why wouldn't he be able to come back? other word you need to concern yourself with is negligence. And people can be fired for negligence all the time, whether it's intentional or not. And that's the more disturbing thing that may come up. And I got to tell you, my opinion is once the family, and I'm not criticizing them, I'm just pointing out, once the family hired Billy Murphy, I think the futures of everybody in that Maryland program was sealed. and Billy Murphy is the very embodiment of a high-powered lawyer in this area.

And I just don't see how they survive, where they're right or wrong. Sky Van Pelt joining us on the show. Let's get to the football. I mean, how shocked are you that they looked as good as they did against Texas and then really destroyed Bowling Green after a bunch of penalties in the first half? What's their upside this year right now through two weeks? Well, I mean, I think everyone understood what happened last year's. They ended up down to their fifth quarterback again,

that amazing and bizarre cloud that's hovered over their quarterbacking situation through the years. And would seem ill healthy? I mean, they've got as many weapons at running back as really any team in the country. I think five different guys scored last week. One of them got called back by a penalty. But they've got talent. and they've got talent because DJ Durkin and his staff came in here and they recruited talent. And it exists within the program.

It didn't shock me that they played the way they did against Texas because my understanding was from within was that there was a real, how do you put it? I mean, first of all, they're playing for a fallen teammate, and I don't think you can discount that. But I believe that they also wanted to display what they believe their culture was. the culture of this team and that they were a group that was together. And they played that way when they played against Texas. And then the Bowling Green game, they just couldn't get out of their own way. They kept making mistakes and penalties and this and the other thing. And they just, you know, they were demonstrably better.

And they ran it down downhill all afternoon or all night, I should say. So, I mean, I don't know what you learned there. I don't know what you're going to learn against Temple either. Here's the thing, Kevin. And you know this. They live in the wrong side of the block. Ohio State, Penn State, Michigan, maybe Michigan State. I don't know.

We'll find out about them. But you're not as good as the first three teams, I said. If you can steal one at home against Michigan State, I mean, you could, Maryland could win, you know, could they win seven, eight games? I don't think that's out of the question at all. If they won more than that, then you'd really be talking about a remarkable story where they, you know, they would have had to upset someone that they were considerable underdogs against, you know, Ohio State or Michigan or Penn State

on the road, something like that. But I mean, this is a team that'll, you know, it's certainly good enough to play in a bowl game. How good a bowl game I don't know. Through two weeks of the season, do you have a sense of who's really good other than Bama? Yeah, I think Ohio State is. I think Georgia absolutely is.

Georgia's one on the road last week was awfully impressive. I think Clems probably was, too. I think we're going to find out that A&M is a good football team. win there at night. That was an impressive one. I mean, it's all the usual suspects. The teams I don't know about are the teams right behind those usual suspects.

I don't know what Wisconsin is yet. I don't know what Notre Dame is yet. I think we'll find out LSU Auburn sort of what's what there. But I mean, it feels like exactly what we've seen in the past. I mean, it's these powerhouse programs that have recruited at an astonishingly

high level. And it doesn't matter when guys move on because they just, the next guy slide up and there's very little drop-off. Are you going to give out Rutgers again this weekend and your winners? No, I broke up with them on television the other night. Tell everybody what we're talking about. So Kevin does a smell tell us, and I have a segment called Winners where we pick games. The last three times, the last three times I have picked Rutgers against a ranked team.

They have been outscored 170 to 10. and last week I gave them out against Ohio State. They got beat 52 to 3. And so on the show the other night, I just, I said, you know, I have to see other people. We can't, we can't keep doing this. You should be happy. I'm telling you I'm never going to pick you again, but I'm never going to pick you again. So they're playing Kansas and they're getting points from Kansas, which is pretty astonishing.

But I will not, I disavowed myself of them. I will not ever take Rutgers on the show again, never again. I told you about Clinton Portis, who I do this Channel 4 show with every week. And when I walk in Tommy to the Channel 4 studios and see Clinton, Clinton will look at me and he'll say, who's fishy? Besides me, he'll say. It's the smell test theory. And he always wants to know, like, who's fishy or who fishy? And that made you laugh.

It makes me laugh every week. But have you, I have not yet really looked at the board. yet except for tonight's games. Who looks fishy this weekend? Give me a couple guys. You don't have to give up your whole winner's segment. San Diego State at home, getting less than a touchdown from Arizona State who just beat Michigan State.

San Diego State will absolutely be on the winners list. I mean, I think Arizona State, like, look, Herm is, we're all thrilled for him. Herm Edwards, who we worked with at ESPN. And people, we all, we adore the man. And it's great that they've started the way they did. Because when Arizona State hired him, it was mocked, you know, what the hell are they doing, hiring Herm Edwards? Herm connects with people. And it's not surprising to me that these kids have responded to him.

But it's a lot to ask to go from being the home underdog one week taking on the ranked team to now being the ranked team on the road against a team that's pretty capable. So San Diego State's definitely going to be on the list. The Illinois line absolutely wreaks. They're playing South Florida. South Florida just beat Georgia Tech last week at home was pretty impressive. And they're given a small number to an Illinois team who's not thought to be particularly good. So we'll definitely have Illinois on the list.

My problem is that I've dug myself a gigantic early season hole. Me too. So now's where I just go wild and just start just like machine-gunning picks all up into the air like an idiot. So I'm trying to pair the list down to make it somewhat manageable. I think TCU looks right. I guessed before that game got posted on Sunday, I thought they'd be a 17-18-point underdog. And it opened at 10. It's at like 12, 12, and a half, 13 right now.

But I think they've got a chance to keep it close. I would agree with that. I mean, I definitely agree with that. And it's just, it's a little, it's a step-class for Ohio State. I mean, they played against, you know, Rutgers, who as we know, not so much. and whoever the hell they play. Oregon State week one. I mean, TCU at least during the same sort of food group. You know, you're talking about a legitimate,

a legitimate, talented, well-coached team. And so that's certainly a possibility. I mean, I have them on a list, but they're on a list with like 15 games. You can't get out 15 games. Well, you can if you want to. It would be a long segment. I've done it before. Yeah, exactly.

You know, it's so enlightening to hear degenerate share information like this. It's like standing outside a 12-step program meeting. It really is. It really is. Yeah, we're getting ready to walk into the basement of the church. We're going to sit in a circle and we're going to bear our souls to each other. I don't know if we're ever walking into that rehab center. It's too much fun.

Do you have any thoughts about the Redskins after a week? I have no idea if the result is more of a reflection of Arizona or if it's more of a reflection of Washington. I know that, I mean, I was at work. I do this show on Sundays, and it was one of how many TVs that were on, and it was not the one of the big TV that didn't have the sound up. So it was the kind of thing where I didn't watch intently on every play. I just kept looking up, and they kept having the ball, and they kind of kept driving. So I think Thompson is a real weapon, particularly with the way Smith plays offense.

And what I really want to know are the Bama boys they've got up front on this line. I mean, if they're healthy, that's a legitimate front, isn't it? Yes. Yeah, Payne and Allen and actually this guy Matt Ionitis, who Tommy made the call on in training camp five years ago. They actually are really good in their front seven if they're healthy. They weren't healthy last year. They lost everybody last year. And I think, listen, I mean, and I don't know if we find out much more about them this week

because I don't think Indianapolis is particularly great either. But, I mean, look, it's one game that they looked awfully good. And as I say, you know what, in a month we'll have a better sense of if it was more indicative of who Washington is or what Arizona is not. I don't know that right now. Lefty went into the Hall of Fame last Friday night. The speech was incredible Tommy. Did you see it? Or have you seen it?

Oh, yeah. It was what you would expect, though, from left. Yeah, he stole the show. You did something really nice on your show, but I wanted you just to give everybody your thoughts. I'm just so happy for him. Kevin, you, more so than I, being there and hosting that lunch with the legend

and getting a no lefty, you know how much this meant to him. And he said as much. He called the happiest day of his wife. life. I'm so thrilled for him. And I have some very close friends who are no longer with us that I grew up going to games with in Colfield House. A guy named Mark Perry, guy named John Reimer, who were as loyal as any turp fans or ever were, who were doing all they could to try to help kind of elevate lefties cause. And what I talked about on the show is that in some ways, lefties framed for what he did not do. He didn't make Maryland to UCLA to East. he did not get them to a Final Four, but to frame him for what he didn't do as opposed to what he did for college basketball is the wrong way to view it.

And I actually, I actually, I wrote a note that I'm going to send to Mike Shoshiewski to thank him because Coach K. was very, very instrumental and being vocal about Lefty, whether he was doing it on purpose or whether he was just, you know, he truly felt about Lefty. I believe that someone like Shoshchewski, repping, was helpful in ultimately getting him in there. And you, me, and folks of our age and older and make somebody younger, but you'd have not much younger. You know, your memories are of lefty. It's a connection to my youth, his basketball camp, the whole bit, you know. And I was just so, so happy to see him that happy. I'm so glad that he knows that he's in there and that he belongs in there for who he's been to the sport. You know who else was a big advocate for him and was one of his presenters was John Thompson?

That's a great point. Because it's interesting that you focused on Shoshchewski. And when I talked about Lefty last week or earlier this week, I thought it was really a remarkable story for some to see John Thompson is one of Lefty's present. centers to the Hall of Fame. But Tommy and I and everybody that got a chance to work with Coach Thompson over the years knew what he felt about Lefty and how much he respected Lefty. And one of the things he would say so often was there would have been no Georgetown without Lefty. And I thought just seeing John Thompson and Lefty on the same stage and Big John being an advocate for Lefty to get into the Hall of Fame was really, it was ironic.

when you think about what, how much, or at least the perception of how much they disliked each other back in the 70s and the 80s. You know what? I'm really, I'm glad that you said that. And I mean, I should focus just as much praise to Big John because you're right. I mean, look, we know the history. We know that Maryland didn't want to play them because they, Georgetown got to the point where it's like there was no benefit to plan. they got too good. And then that sort of created this rift in life for years. They didn't play yet, et cetera. So just to see our guy on stage, and obviously Coach Ravling being there makes total sense,

but to have him sandwiched by the Georgetown coach and the Duke coach presenting lefty. I mean, that's a beautiful thing, and it speaks to the fraternity that is that coaching profession. And it speaks to the respect that our guy. Charles Grice-Jazel has within that coaching circle. So, you know, he got in. I just loved the fact that he looked up at one point like, everybody else went over.

I'm going to talk until I'm done. Yeah. And nobody wanted him to stop either. No, that was the beauty of it. They just, like, keep going. Are you kidding me? The rest of the system put it in a state, man. He was so, so good.

God, it was awesome. All right. You know, you mentioned the word respect. Just my one last thing. I mean, that's ultimately, that's what people could. They couldn't ignore. They couldn't ignore the level respect that other coaches had for lefty. You're right. You're right. And that ultimately, I think, you know, that that wins the day because maybe the people that didn't get it looked around at those from within the circle and thought, well, if it's good enough for you, it ought to be good enough for us. And Tommy, I have immense respect for you. I want to make that clear before I say so long.

Well, that's good. Can you keep a sound bite of that so my kids can carry it around? on the phone. Carve that one out, and Tommy can send it out to his kids. Thanks. Appreciate it. I'll talk to you. Good luck with your picks this week. I'm behind, too. I need to get hot here quickly. It's going to happen. There's no worse. There's no worse thing than being in chase mode. That's when you got to go to rehab. In week two of the NFL season, I'll probably get the shovel out. Yeah. Right. All right. I'll talk to you later. Thanks. All right, boys. Have a great day. Sue Palka is going to join us next. This podcast. is presented by Wind Donation. Sue Palca is with us on the podcast today.

The podcast on Tuesdays and Thursdays includes Tom Leverro. And so, yeah, we just call it the sports fix. And guess where we are, Sue? We're right down the street from you. I just found out. And if I'd known that, I just would have driven down to work and walked over to chat or to check you guys out live. That's fantastic. And Kevin, I just want to congratulate you.

This is the next great move for you. and so many people are so happy that you and Tom are reunited. So congratulations, and I look forward to any more weather chats with you in a new format. I look forward to that. You know that, and I was just telling the guys that really my first job at Maryland was at Channel 5 where you were working at the time, and this was the place that we would hang out all of us after every 10 o'clock news right here at Chatter, formerly Chadwick. For those of us who are still, you know, lifers at Channel 5, Fox 5, we still prefer chatter.

Everybody else goes down the road a little bit, the younger ones. But those of us that still have the fond memories always prefer to go to what we call Chad. Yeah. And we still do. Kevin, I got to share with you. I don't know if you realize this, but I had a chance to talk to Sue recently at length at Steve Bucanxes, you know, the social event of the fall. was out. Steve Bucan's fall party. And, you know, she's such a nice woman. And you know, you know how I know that? Because she shared all the stories about what a pain in the ass you were

when you used to bug her about this weather front or that weather front or these models or that model. And she was so patient with you. You know, it's just, it really is a testament to her. I think Tom knows as much about the models now as you do, Kevin. I mean, he could tell me everything that the Euro was doing and the MAM and the American model. Well, he was forced to learn it or he would have to sit out our conversations and he didn't want to do that. Right. It's so funny.

But Tom, I think that was the first time I'd seen you in person. We've been talking for years. And so when you said, I'm Tom Leverro. I gave him a huge bear hug. It was so nice to finally see the face behind the voice. First, she shuddered. Then she gave me a huge haircut. No, I did not.

All right. I will say this. None of us got in the pool, did we, Tom? No. Well, that was a lot. good thing, especially as it relates to my partner here. All right. So are we safe from Florence here in D.C.? You know, from anything that would be very damaging? Absolutely, Kevin. Are we going to get some rain out of it? I was just looking at some of the new models coming in and, you know, the new

update on Florence is in, too, which I can tell you about. But I know people want to know locally what's going to happen. I wouldn't cancel any plans here. I do think we're going to see some downpours tomorrow, and just like all summer long, a few of those could have some pretty heavy rain in them. So Friday is probably our wettest day going forward, followed closely by next Monday or Tuesday, because that's when the remnants may come through our area on what I'm seeing today on the latest guidance. Now, the weekend, not a washout either. Could we have a couple of showers around Saturday? Yep.

Sunday looks better, and I think most of the activity will still be maybe Fredericksburg on South, and a little bit breezy. And you're still going to hear about kind of high tides, minor to moderate flooding in Annapolis as well as in the Potomac because we still have this east wind, which is piling up the water. And that is partly a result of Florence, but partly a result of high pressure that's been sitting over us

and protecting us from Florence coming north. So I want to understand something. So the weather that we're going to get tomorrow, where you said there could be some heavy downpours, that is from Florence as it makes, it's landfall somewhere in the Carolinas, but then because it's going to move south, the weather will get better, but then when it wraps around and comes back north early next week, we could get rain then again.

Exactly. And in fact, if you look outside right now, there are clouds out there, and those are outer bands from Florence. So it's, you know, it's enormous. It's got a nice big wind field. It's not historically large, but it is big enough that we see some of those outer bands. and since we'll be a little bit in the tropical envelope tomorrow, the downpours, and it's so humid out anyway, the downpours could be, you know, like last night, traveling up 270 could pick up an inch of rain. But I think Friday, hit or miss with the downpours, and then less wet on Saturday and Sunday, and maybe not wet at all on Sunday, if it keeps sinking southward into Charleston area. You know, can I just talk a little bit weather here, Kevin? Go for it, Tom. You know, if Florence is not going to be a dire situation, what I keep reading about is everyone in the business is kind of surprised at the amount of weather systems waiting to come to hit land, like something that they've never seen before.

Like they're stacking up like planes at national airport. You're right about that. I think there are four named systems right now, and we're watching a fifth one. So you've got Joyce and Isaac and Helene out there, and none of those, I think, are going to affect us. Joyce is too far north. Helene is going through the Caribbean and probably over toward Mexico or maybe into the Gulf of Mexico somewhere. But, yeah, you're right. It was like we went from nothing to, oh, my gosh, you know, we've gone from famine to feast.

But there is a lot of warm water out there, and these systems always peak in September, and it's a way to distribute the heat out of the ocean water and get it dispersed a little bit. So it's a real necessary function for the planet, but it's not fun when you're at Myrtle Beach and the top of your hotel comes off. So it's definitely going to be bad in North Carolina. And I was down there in 1996 when a similar-sized storm, Bertha, came right to the Wilmington area. That's where we were. We were at Ritesville Beach. It had winds of 105 miles an hour, which this one has right now.

And it blew the pier out of the water. It completely ripped off hotel roofs and the doors and walls. It was shocking, and that was a category two. So I think people saw this thing go from a four to a two, and they're like, oh, no big deal. Nothing, Berger. But, oh, boy, this thing is crawling through the Carolinas, and they're going to have a lot of epic flooding and rain and long-term wind and, you know, power outages like we had here with Isabel for, you know, 10 days or so. It's still rough down there. We're just very fortunate that it's not going to be very punishing for us.

That is the voice, of course, of Fox 5's Sue Palka, the best weather forecaster in town for years, and a friend to both Tom and me for many years. So, you know, the last couple of days, and I want you to get to the update, and I think you just sort of, you know, mentioned the current wind speeds of Hurricane Florence. But the last 24 hours, you know,

there's been this reaction publicly to, oh, it was a four, and now it's a two. And you know how that goes. People all of a sudden think it was hyped. It was overhyped. Yeah. I'm already getting that. So what will this do to the Carolinas? Oh, my gosh. Well, for starters, because it's cut its forward motion in half, it's going to take a long time to get through there and to approach the coast. So you know, that hardest hit is before and to the right of the eye. And they're starting to feel those outer bands now. And now it's only moving at 10 miles an hour, Kevin and Tom.

Yesterday was 17. So that was well forecast. In fact, this whole thing has been really well forecast by the models. And then you have the Hurricane Hunters flying into it and giving you some real-time data now. And we're picking it up on radar on land. So you're really getting some good information. But this is such a long duration.

People have to realize usually these cross. Like when I was in Wilmington with Bertha, it was intense for about an hour and a half before and after. And it was bad before that, tropical storm, but the hurricane force only lasted about an hour and a half. For these guys, this is going to be really prolonged with, you know, the tropical storm force winds go out 200 miles now from the center. And you're going to get that kind of battering for maybe 48 hours down there

or longer until it weakens. So it's still hanging out. The latest, let's see if I have the, let me pull the track. up here. They still have it. It comes ashore, probably about two in the morning, you know, near the Wilmington area, maybe a little bit south of there. I mean, South Carolina still has the possibility of really getting hit hard, but right now they still bring it into Cape Fear about two in the morning. And it's still drifting along the coast, potentially as a week category one, at 8 o'clock on Friday. It's not too far from the Myrtle Beach area. And Saturday,

it's in South Carolina, the tropical storm, and Sunday it's still in. That Florence, she's a tease. She is a tease. She's a tease. She's a flojo now, wow. Redskins game, though, Sunday at home, probably decent weather. I mean, it was looking like a washout two days ago, and now it should be okay, right? Yes, absolutely.

I think that maybe a random shower, but maybe it's sunny, too. So it's definitely playable, no reason to cancel. All right. So we'll call you soon because we'll be in winter weather mode before we know it. And I won't ask you for what kind of winter we're going to have. You can only call 15 times a week, Kevin. You've got to limit it. Sue knows that I'm much more interested in a winter snowstorm than I am in a hurricane.

And we do communicate during these winter storms. It's true. And I bother her. I do. I'm sure you do. But it doesn't, you know, it doesn't stop me. because she hasn't, you know what, she has not said no yet. That's right.

She hasn't said no. I never will. But you know, Kevin, speaking of the winter, the buzz is already starting because if we see El Nino, which has not started yet, and in fact, I wish it would have started because then maybe we wouldn't be dealing with four named storms right now. But because El Nino hasn't cooked up yet, the storms are still prolific in the Atlantic basin. But if we get a moderate El Nino, we might have some decent snow this year. and they're also kind of keeping an eye on sunspot activity. And the early checks are that maybe just maybe we will get average to above average snow for a change. I can't see it's getting three years of like two inches.

Sue, do you remember who it was who relied completely on sunspots for his forecast? It was Gordon Barnes at Channel 9. Exactly. It was the whole sunspot theory. He was on it in 1978. Oh, my God. You know, I always thought, that's voodoo. I'm not even paying attention to it.

And honestly, I still don't, but I do perk up a little bit when others talk about it because, you know, I don't get it, but others do. And one of my colleagues, Mike Thomas, is kind of into watching that as well. All right. But hey, just 100% relying on the farmer's almanac. Go for it. Exactly. We love you dearly. We thank you so much when you make time for us, even in this format.

And I'll call you soon. Thank you, Sue. Oh, congratulations again, Tom. Kevin, and I see a lot of people are really, really, really happy. You guys are back being heard. You're not on the air, but you are being delivered, and people are always happy to hear what you have to say. Well, we just hope that Tommy stays happy.

That could be quite the chore. Thanks, Sue, very much. Keep them happy. Appreciate it. Bye-bye. You too. When we come back from this very short break, Tom and I are going to get into the Redskins

and the fact that Sunday's game against Indianapolis is not a sellout. This podcast is presented by Windonation. We're back. How quick was that? Isn't that the best thing about a podcast? Is right now we don't have all these four-minute breaks? I like those breaks. I know you did.

It gives me a chance to breathe out of the oxygen tank. Hold on. How long is it for? All right, let me get some breaths in and go to the bathroom. That was Tommy's break. He's like Earl Campbell over there with that. an oxygen tank. Just, you know, give me a little O2.

I'll be fine. So the Redskins, Tommy, are at home for their home opener on Sunday. And they have admitted for the first time that the game is not a sellout. Now, they have claimed sellouts since the 1960s, 50 years of sellouts they have claimed. And there was a period where it was valid. Oh, not only valid. I mean, when George Allen got here in 1971, from 1971, until probably, I would say, every bit of five years into FedEx, which would have taken us to 2002,

maybe even through the Gibbs years. You know, through 2007, legitimate sellouts every week. Since really 2007, since Gibbs left. You know, this... The beginning of the Jim Zorn era. The beginning of that famed Jim Zorn era. One of my favorite stories you've ever told is you actually heard him talk to his wife on the phone. and tell that story real quickly.

Well, him and his wife arrived at Redskins Park on Sunday morning before their press conference, and I was the only one there. And they're getting out of a limousine. I go outside just to take some notes, and him and his wife get out, and his wife is on the cell phone, and she's saying to somebody, no, no, he's the head coach. Yeah. The head coach.

Yeah, that was stunning, even the Zorns. Yes. Old Jim had to go home and get a suit. before he went over to Mr. Snyders. So it is interesting on a couple of levels. Number one, it's not surprising to any of us that have been paying attention that the game Sunday against the Colts is actually not a sellout. We've been in that stadium many times over the last decade

where it was clearly not sold out. But what makes this different to me anyway is that the Redskins new chief operating officer, Lafamina. When he got hired, he actually made the following comment. He admitted that there was no season ticket waiting list, which was the first time the organization had ever done that. And then he said about the team that he just went to work for, the Redskins are a sleeping giant. And I remember reading that and thinking to myself, sleeping giant, there is nobody in this town that would have ever referred to the Redskins as a sleeping giant. Certainly.

not anybody in the organization. And to me, and I said it that day, this admission was perhaps the beginning of them winding down and dialing back the arrogance that became so off-putting to so many over the last 10 years. And I think admitting that the game is not sold out and being hungry for people to buy tickets and being more consumer-focused

and not being arrogant like they've been in the past is actually, to me, at least in the past, short term a good sign. You say what? Well, I think it is a short term because the other, the other system hasn't worked. The other way that they've seen their franchise slowly been eaten away by all kinds of different forces. I was in, I was in the conference room when Brian Lafamina met with reporters and sat down at a big table and made that statement. And when he made that statement that the Redskins are a sleeping giant, I thought that the doors were going to lock and the floor was going to open up below us and we would just disappear.

I mean, I figured that Bruce Allen had something in mind for us once he heard that. To me, I think this is one of the remarkable stories going on in this town because obviously what he's doing and the whole, they've imported about four or five new business guys. Yes, they have. Into that organization. And this message is a direct conflict. with the way they've done business. The way they've done business

with Dan Snyder the owner and Bruce Allen, the team president and general manager. They've seen fit to do business a different way. You know, Bruce Allen, those two modes of communication, say nothing or lie. And now you have a guy

who can't wait to tell everybody how transparent the organization is. These are two trains head and for, I think, a crash. Well, it could be. Yeah, I think they are, because I think at some point,

look, you have to know, based on what they've done before, that Bruce Allen is sitting there saying, shut up. What are you doing? You're telling everybody our secrets. Nobody should know our secrets. But isn't it interesting that they made the hire that they made?

They made a hire outside of the organization from the league office. A guy who's from Jersey is not from here. A guy who is familiar with the Redskins and the Redskins brand from having worked in the NFL, but hasn't been tied to it in any way, shape, or form. And their marketing guy came from Jacksonville, from the Jaguars. He did. And I have heard, and I've talked to people out there that say that this new group of business people are completely different than the old group, who basically walked around as if the franchise had been winning Super Bowl year after year after year, propping their heads up

and saying, you're lucky that you have a chance to participate. with us and buy tickets from us and watch our games because that's what it's been like. And smart people and reasonable people over the last decade plus, and it's been more than a decade really, have said, look, you guys stink for starters. And secondly, I'm too smart to get fooled by your arrogance and your pretentiousness. And this is what's different. Now, you may be right. You may be right from the standpoint of eventually it's, you know, it's at the top that Dan Snyder says, I don't like doing business this way. I gave it a try and I don't like being hungry for new business.

We've seen him do that on the football side. We've seen him do it before where he said, you know, I don't like this. Well, that was Marty Schott. But we've seen him do it. But we've seen him do it. Well, we've seen him as recently as 2013-14 pick a quarterback over a coach. Yes. And a potential future coach in their offensive coordinator at the time who was Mike's son.

by the way, Mike Shanahan on the show tomorrow. So you'll be able to hear Mike with me tomorrow on the podcast. I just, look, I'm going to give it a chance. Here are two things that, and I've actually talked to Brian a few times, and he is a good guy smart to, and there is a level of self-awareness with one of their executives that's been very rare over the years. And that's just me from just trying to size up the person.

And have you had conversations with him? Look, only with other reporters, I agree with you. I think he's a smart guy and I think he's taking a smart path. I would just tell him to rent, not buy. Well, okay. And that may ultimately be the advice that he should have followed. But there is a humbleness to him and a self-awareness that hasn't existed. But I've said to him, look, two things matter more than anything else right now.

What you're doing day by day, you can control. You can control the way you communicate with this market with your fan base in a different way than it's been done in the past. What you can't control is winning because the first thing that has to happen to get a waiting list once again is that the team has to become a winner. They have to do things in a way that give them a chance for sustained success, which they've never been able to do in a league where it's designed for everybody, even the worst of organizations, to strike. gold and hit paid or at least once every five or six years. The accidental successful season. So you've got to build a sustainable winner. That's got to happen. And then the other thing, and this is my belief, the stadium's got to go in D.C. It cannot be out in the bowels of Virginia. It's not going to be in Virginia. I'm convinced to that. And to me, Tommy, and I know that

you think, I believe you think this is a better location out in, you know, by the National Harbor and and by the MGM, I think it needs to be downtown before it's there. Look, my preference, if I was to just like make the decision based on where I think the best place for it to be, I would put it in the city. I would put it in the district. But what I think is going to happen is I think it's going to wind up in Maryland. I don't think, I don't think Virginia's ever going to really be a serious player in this for a number of reasons. For one thing, Virginia doesn't fund projects like this. They don't do, I mean, on a small scale, we've seen stadiums beat efforts like on a minor league baseball level be shut down one after the year.

They're still looking for a new minor league baseball stadium in Richmond, the capital of the state. They've been waiting for years for that. So, I mean, we saw Jack Kent Cook, what he ran against. He wanted to put the stadium over in Potomac Yards. Virginia doesn't do things like that. Just ask Disney with their Civil War theme park that they were. But they sort of did it with the Redskins training camp. But that was simple.

I mean, nobody even knows it's there. I mean, it's not a big public works project. But it was expensive relative to what the turnout was. Yes, and remember, that was 90. That was that was Cook and 92. No, I'm talking about Richmond recently. Oh, that. Oh, that works against them.

That's been such a financial debacle. I mean, state legislators are going to look at that and say, we're going to do business with these people. Look at how much money your costs in the state. But yet they're back for a few more years. Well, because they're locked in. I thought they renewed. No, I think they're locked in.

All right, go ahead. Finish your point. And I think we keep talking about the marriage of gambling and the NFL. There's not even casino gambling in the state of Virginia. There's a casino, a very powerful casino, the MGM, right down there at National Harbor with a piece of land right next to it, ready for a football stadium. Yes, you're going to have all kinds of transportation issues like you do where they're at now. I just think that's where it's going to wind up. I just think ultimately that's where it's going to be. And yet, while there is casino gambling in Maryland,

they couldn't even get the sports betting thing on the ballot in November. Oh, I know. Maryland had screwed up their casino gambling, but they eventually got it. They'll be the last one in the neighborhood to have sports betting. But like I said, Virginia doesn't even have casino gambling. I mean, they're way behind on this thing. All right, let's get to our first NFL power pole of the year.

Rangham, one to five. It's time for our weekly NFL Power Poll. All right, this will be fun to do with Tommy every week, because usually the way he used to do it is he would say right before NFL power rankings, we're doing that today? Oh, I'd better come up with something real quickly. That's pretty much what I did with everything, isn't it? Everything.

Everything. Why, yeah. Top five and then a team or two or three that you think we should keep an eye on because those teams could be in the top five at some point this season. I'll let you go first. Unless you want me to go first because you're not ready. Okay. Now listen. What?

Now, in the promotion, it said one through five. Yeah. So are we going one through five or five through one? No, we always did it five through one. We did a countdown. So the fifth, fourth, third, second, and then your number one team. Okay, so we're going backwards. Now, do you want me to go first because I am ready if you're not?

Well, you know what? Why don't you go first? I figured. So I can get ready. Let me sell on this. Kevin, why don't you go first? I'm going to go ahead and go first. My number five team is the defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles.

They are right now a work in progress offensively. They didn't look very good against Atlanta. They need Wentz. Foles is fine. They still don't have a lot of. weapons. I do like some of the backs they have. I like J. J. J. Jaya. But

personally, if you go back and look at Philadelphia with Nick Foles until that Super Bowl game, it was turnovers that sort of created short fields in the NFC championship game, and they only scored 15 points against the Falcons in a game they nearly lost anyway

in that first divisional game. I'm not impressed with Philadelphia offensively. I am impressed with Philadelphia defensively. I still think Fletcher Cox is the best defensive player, certainly one of the top two or three in the division. I've got the Eagles at fifth right now. I've got the Panthers at fourth. Really? I'm telling you, Tommy, that Norv Turner is the offensive coordinator and basically just saying, hey, Cam, guess what you're going to do this year? You're going to run the football.

Because when Carolina's been good, Cam has been a run threat in various ways. Read option, speed option, quarterback sweeps, quarterback draws. Carolina is very good defensively. They've got to stay healthy defensively. They were a playoff team last year. I like the Panthers this year. I think the Carolina Panthers are going to have a good season. I'm impressed with them so far.

Minnesota's three for me. I think they're going to struggle offensively early. They've got major issues along the offensive line. They got some problems. And Kirk made some really good throws in his debut, and Dalvin Cook looked very good. got great receivers and digs and Thielen and a tight end in Rudolph. It's their defense that I still think will carry them early, but they're really good. And to me, I've always thought that the

Redskins got the worst part of the Cincinnati coordinator deal. Mike Zimmer to me is a top five to seven coach in the NFL, somewhere in that neighborhood. I don't know where my rankings are. That's a gut feel. I can do that at some point down the road, but I love Mike Zimmer as a coach. I will say this real quickly because I watched that 49er game on Monday on the All-22, but just the delivery of the Fox broadcast. Di Filippo, the new offensive coordinator who came from Philadelphia, very bland offense, very bland, very traditional, no RPO's, no nothing, and maybe this is a limitation of Kirk.

I don't know, but it was very, very basic. That's the only way I can describe it. I was expecting a lot of what Philadelphia did, a lot of, you know, a lot of Andy Reed and company from Philadelphia and what they did last year on the way to a Super Bowl. You didn't see any of that in Minnesota, none of it. The Rams are the second best team. They have the best combined offensive and defensive talent right now in the NFC.

The Patriots, Tommy, are my number one. team. The Patriots looked impressive. Brady didn't look like he has missed a step. They may not have the weapons. It never seems to matter. The Patriots are my number one. And I'll give you the four teams, three or four teams that I think you should keep an eye on here after I get your top five, which you're now ready for. Okay. My number five team would be the Green Bay Packers. They had a tremendous comeback like we've never seen before against the, Bears and Aaron Rogers may not be as hurt as everyone thought initially. And I just think when you've got him as a quarterback,

you've got to be one of the top five teams in the league on any given Sunday. So I like the Packers at number five. I like the Eagles at number four. So you don't have them up there as the defending champ at number one either. No. Why? No, because I think there's questions about their offense. We don't know what Carts and Wentz is going to look like when he comes back.

I think he's going to look pretty good when he comes back when he finally comes back. He's an elite quarterback. Yes, I know that. But we don't know what, we don't know if his lack of mobility will be a problem. And if it is, if that will affect his quarterback play. Their defense is great. I think potentially if you're looking for, if somebody's looking for a replacement head coach next year, I think you'd be looking at Jim Schwartz.

They're the Eagles defensive coordinator. I think he does a good job. Wait a minute. You're firing the head coach? No, I said if anyone was looking for, I didn't say a specific team. Okay. I said that Jim Schwartz would probably be a candidate. I got the Vikings at number three.

Again, I like Mike Zimmer just like you. I think that the Vikings got the better end of the Cincinnati coordinator Exodus. Their defense is great. Their offensive line is a big problem, but they have great offensive weapons. And, you know, you and I are both on the same page on Kirk Cousins.

I think ultimately, you know, they're going to wind up being one of the top teams in the league to beat every week. Number two, I've got the Patriots. You know, it's hard not to put them number one because, well, because, you know,

because of Bill Belichick is the best coach we've seen in maybe any sport. You know, Tom Brady's still getting it done. They have playmakers like what's his name, Carder L. Patterson. And, you know, they get better as the season goes on. And the Patriots consider the first four regular season games as preseason games. And maybe they'll make the Super Bowl eventually, which I think they will. On the other hand, they'll be facing the best team in the NFL right now, and that's the Los Angeles Rams. And maybe the new best coach.

Don't you love saying the Los Angeles Rams? Oh, absolutely. You need to. Absolutely. That's the team we grew up with. Vince Farragamo just called in and said thanks. Well, Roman Gabriel said the same thing. You know, I met Roman Gabriel once at a minor league baseball team game in Charlotte, North Carolina.

What a massive individual. He was huge. He must have been a big. to have to bring down to tackle. But look, their defense under Wade Phillips with all the hot shots that they imported is if Wade Phillips can keep that Looney Bin sane over the course of the season, the defense is going to be shut down. And Sean McVeigh may be the new Bill Belichick in terms of one of the great head coaches in this league. Yes.

Really? Yes. The new Bill Belichick. Okay. Well, then the Redskins made a big mistake letting the new Bill Belichick leave, didn't they? Yes, they did. They did. Yes, they did. All right, I got a couple of teams to keep an eye on. First of all, I mentioned this in the NFL buyer sell segment yesterday. I actually think the Redskins are a team to keep an eye on. And I'm not, this is not a home replay. I have a feeling, Tommy, and I said this on the show yesterday, that I believe that this is one of those years. We're going to get to the month of December, and they're going to be in it. they're going to be in the hunt, that this is not a, this is a good roster. It's got to stay healthy. Every NFL team has to stay healthy.

But it is a different vibe and it's a good roster. I think it's the best roster. Cooley said this to me last spring. It's the best Redskins roster since 2007. I like the team. I, you know, I'm not saying that the Redskins are going to have a chance to be in my top five at some point during the year. But I think they could be just on the outside of that. I think this is a team that.

They can win nine or ten games. You know how I feel about the Ravens this year. I think the Ravens are going to win 11 games this year, minimum. I think Joe Flacco is going to have a career year. I was saying that before the season started. He's got weapons. They've got a defense, and that is a good organization. They're going back to the playoffs this year.

And I thought the Bears looked impressive in the loss to Green Bay the other night. Defensively, they've got a total havoc wreaker. in Khalil Mack. I think the Raiders will rue the day that they didn't sign him and they traded him. They've got young talent on that team. And Tribisky, to me, in the first game of his second season, looked competent, looked capable. And there have been rave reviews coming out about him in Chicago.

I think the Bears are going to be a much improved team this year. You know who you didn't mention? The Jets. No, not just the Jets. I mean, it was hard not to based on their impressive win. but I was watching in a bar west. I know it's hard to believe. But on one of the TVs, they were replaying the Steelers Browns game.

And I'm sitting there thinking, how did the Steelers wind up getting tied in this game? How did that happen? You know, Steelers are usually among the top five or six teams in the league. I don't think they're going to be this year. I think they're going to struggle. They turned it over six times in the game. Rathlisberger, I think, had five of them,

was responsible for five. of them, but Tommy, you know, this is one of those things that, you know, everybody looks at the NFL and they'll look at Cleveland and they've won one game in their last 32 games, but that's another team that has some talent. Now, it did not show offensively, but where it did show and came up consistently was on defense. They are building under Greg Williams, the coordinator there, a very good defensive football team. First of all, Jabrille Peppers, their first round pick from 2017, looked really good. Miles Garrett, their pick from last year is a monster. Yes. Okay, a monster. They've got corners. The guy that they drafted in the first round this year, Denzel Ward from Ohio State, I think had two picks in his very first NFL game. This is going to be a very good defensive team. They turn the Steelers over a ton. It's not going to surprise me if Cleveland's in that sense. seven or eight win area this year.

That would be a big leap. Tyrod Taylor struggled. Yeah. Now, I agree with you about, I've got one team to watch, and I would say that's the Redskins. I agree with you at this is one. Tommy's on the Redskins. There's one's talented rosters that they've had, but it's very superficial. It's, if one or two guys drop off, they're back to being the same old Redskins.

And one guy in particular, and I think we forgot how valuable he is, and that's Christi. Thompson. Chris Thompson and Jordan Reed are crucial. I'm going to even limit it to Chris Thompson. Well, you can, I mean, look, the season last year, if you want to go back to the season ending last year, came in New Orleans. When Chris Thompson got injured, was lost for the year and the Redskins blew a 15-point lead in the final three minutes of regulation and lost in overtime. That was for all intents and purposes, and I said this yesterday on the show, that ended the competitive portion of the season. I agree. They could not overcome the loss of him with all of the other players. They had also lost. He is

one of the players where the defense on every play is saying, where is Chris Thompson? Where is he? We need to know where he is. Redskins don't have many players like that. We are at Shatter in Friendship Heights.

This is the restaurant that Tony and Gary Williams and Mori Povich and Alan Bubis own. The food is phenomenal. It's a great location. I have no part in a restaurant, nor would I want to have a part in a restaurant. But it's a great podcast studio. It's a great place to come and watch games. Thursday night, NFL football the night,

Ravens, Bengals, football all weekend. It's a great spot to come and check it out. All right, I want to finish up the show today with this. Two things. One, I think I have an early smell test pick. I'll get to that in a moment. But you said to me today that your commute from Frederick to northwest D.C. Was two hours? It was longer yesterday. Well, yesterday you didn't come in to see me. Well, maybe that's why I was long.

Maybe that's why it was longer. No, no, actually. From 106.7, the fan, where Tommy is on with Chad every Wednesday and with Andy every Saturday morning. Yes, I might want to point out, that's a different time and day, so that commute is a little bit easier. My point is, on Tuesday, it took me longer than two hours to get here. I don't believe it took you two hours to get here.

Yes, I left at 7.30? What way did you go? Well, for one thing, I went the way that Ways took me. Did you go 270 to $4.95 to River Road? Yes, I did, but you don't take 270 until Clarksburg, because it's two lanes from Frederick to Clarksburg, and it's a parking lot until then. And I don't know that commute.

You know it better than I because that's where you live. It's literally. Is it really two hours? It's like crossing over time zones, Kevin. It really is. I don't know if this is going to work out. You might have to start sending a car for me. I don't know if this is going to work out.

Actually, there is a way that it can work out very easily. It's technology. You don't have to come in to the studio. You know what's interesting? This is how it starts, Tommy. This is how it starts. But Mark, I'm going to say this because you know this, because you and I had many conversations about this

when Tommy and I did the show together, and you were our producer for seven and a half years. You know, Zabe for years has done a lot of the shows from his home studio. You know, when he was doing it with Andy or when he was doing it with Galdi and Cooley, Cooley and I were very rarely in the same studio. And a lot of shows don't need to be in the same studio

and the listener never knows. Cooley and I Skyped with each other, so we were looking at each other the entire time. You always said to me, and I agreed with this, that Tommy and I were better in studio together, that when we were apart, like when he was at a Super Bowl,

because he got to go to a lot of the big events, and I would stay back in D.C., and I would get kept behind, because Tommy needed the visual stimulation is, I think, the way you would put it. And so I think we can, with technology, put them on some sort of home setup and just, we'll Skype with each other.

Sure. Because I don't want him to have to commute two hours. I don't know if that'll work, because I think this time, I want to make sure I keep you close, just to keep an eye on you. Well, there is that. Yeah, I always think guys, I think people are better in studio together just because there's body language.

And you can see each other. But, yeah, I don't want you drive in 45 hours to get here. He's not, he won't do it. I know him. And there is a way to get it. It's got to be convenient for him. Yeah, there's a way we could set it up. Technology will find a way.

Well, let's just keep it going for a while and see how it goes. On the good side, it does give us content every time, you know? I mean, because you come in. Tommy's commute. Let's make it a segment. I know one thing about him, all right? It's got to be convenient for him, because after him, everybody else comes first.

And so he's not coming two hours, two days a week to see me. Do you use ways? I do sometimes. I've found ways actually to mess things up sometimes. So sometimes I'll just follow normal GPS. It had me turn off Urbana Pike at one point. You're in an area of town. I'm not familiar.

Up near Fred. And it said, turn left here. I turn left and all of a sudden I'm on a gravel road. And there's no room for another car. Does ways say something like, trust me, it's okay? You're on gravel road. No wonder took you two hours. Because it was avoiding the traffic that was ahead on Urbana Pike.

And it was a smart move. But it took me on a road. And at one point, I'm looking ahead and I'm seeing water on the road. And I'm thinking, oh, my gosh. You're heading towards the Potomac or where you live. it would have been the Shenandoah. I'm going to drown doing this podcast on the second day. I liked when you lived in Olney better, or in Howard County.

Actually, that's the fix. Just move. Just move back. Just move back. I mean, seriously, just move. You know, my wife loves it in Frederick. I know Frederick is very cool. It is cool.

And do you know my wife, who's retired now, Liz? Yeah. Do you know she goes to Florida for three months of the winter? With you or without you? Without me? It's called a vacation, Kevin. Oh my God. A vacation.

A vacation for who? Well, for her. Look, if I were married to you, I'd go on vacation for three months out of the year also. And I'd find a place warm and much nicer and far away from you. What do you do by yourself for three months? Oh, I don't even want to know. I know. That's premium content.

Yeah, that's premium content. People are going to have to pay for that. I'll just say there's a lot of Rockford Files and Cojack going on every night. Who loves you, baby? All right. That was the four seasons. Quick early smell test. First of all, last week I was four-four and one on the smell test.

I'll have the full smell test tomorrow. But tonight's NFL game actually offers up one of those Tommy situations where, as Clinton would say, something's fishy. And the Ravens who beat Buffalo last week, 47 to 3 with Nathan Peterman a quarterback, they now get Andy Dalton. I've always been an Andy Dalton fan, and I know a lot of you out there are not. I think Andy Dalton's a starting quarterback in the league, close to a top half of the league's starting quarterback. Cincinnati's favored, and there's sharp money on Cincinnati, and the public, after seeing the Ravens destroy Buffalo,

the public is heavily on the Ravens tonight. So Cincinnati's the play laying a point. I just like the Ravens a lot. Like, I think they're really good. I think, and I don't want Baltimore to be good at anything. as a D.C. guy, but you know this about me. I've always respected that organization, Ozzie Newsom and that whole organization. And I think Harbaugh's are a very good coach. And I'm one of the few that actually believes that Joe Flacco is pretty good, especially in big

spots. So I love the Ravens for the season. But the early smell test pick tonight, God, I don't want to do it. I really don't want to do it. But the public's on Baltimore and their sharp money on Cincinnati. So the Bengals, minus one is a smell test play. I'm going against my better judgment and going with the theory, Tommy, that has always been part and parcel to the smell test, which is, I don't know anything, and Vegas does. Vegas needs the Bengals tonight to cover that number,

and I think they're going to get it. You know what? So does Charlestown, West Virginia. Is that where you're going? No, but they need it too. They need it too. Boy, I heard that sports book is unbelievable. Let's talk to those guys.

We should get them as an advertiser on the show. Tomorrow on the show, Mike Shanahan will be my guest. The smell test, skins beat Colts if, lots of Friday football picks, lots of gambling talk. Tim Murray's going to join me on the show tomorrow. He's my friend when it comes to college gambling and we'll get a preview on the Colts from somebody in Indianapolis as well. Thanks to Mark, thanks to Aaron, thanks to chatter, Tony, Mike, everybody here. have a great day