The Pat McAfee Show - PMS 2.0 1040 - Trenches Wednesday With Jay Williams, JJ Watt, AQ Shipley and Darius Butler LIVE In The ThunderDome, & AJ Hawk

Episode Date: December 20, 2023

On today’s show, Pat, AQ Shipley, Darius Butler, AJ Hawk, and the boys chat about all the drama coming out of Pittsburgh after the media asked George Pickens about his effort blocking on a particular play against the Colts and that he didn’t want to get injured, and why this goes into a bigger conversation about culture, especially when you look at the culture established by teams like the Lions, 49ers, and others. They also chat about everything else happening around the NFL as we look ahead to week 16. Joining the progrum to chat about Ja Morant’s return, Draymond Green’s indefinite suspension, if LeBron and the Lakers can win a title this year, and which young players are performing well right now is ESPN NBA Analyst, former 2nd overall pick of the 2002 NBA Draft, and Duke Blue Devil legend, Jay Williams (35:05-56:46). Later, future Hall of Famer, 3x DPOY, Walter Payton Man of the Year, Texans Ring of Honor Member, JJ Watt joins the show to chat about the black vs white NFL game that has been circulating around the internet, why TJ Watt is the best defensive player in the NFL and why JJ is sick of debate otherwise, what he’s doing for Christmas, and all his biggest takeaways from week 15 of the NFL season (1:01:54-2:15:56). Make sure you subscribe to youtube.com/thepatmcafeeshow to watch the show. Or watch on ESPN (12-2 EDT), ESPN’s Youtube (12-3 EDT), or ESPN+. We appreciate the hell out of all of you. See you tomorrow, cheers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hello beautiful people! Merry Christmas from the Thunderdome on this Trenches Wednesday, December 20th, 2023. This sports program starts now! It's happening in a beautiful way and obviously Christmas is right around the corner as is the new year. We are celebrating alongside all of you as things in sports continue to pop off. Now, late at night you might turn on a Christmas movie. Last night, watch Santa Claus. Scott Calvin, he did it again. Did he not? When he goes out there, reads

a card, puts on a suit, he's the big guy. Now, think about if that Santa Claus had a little bit better base, a little bit better balance. Didn't get thrown off just by somebody going, hey, yo! You know, like Santa Claus, maybe be a little bit better of an athlete. I fear that Scott Calvin and Charlie Calvin's relationship

would have never been a thing ever. I would have been another fatherless kid. But instead, because of that guy having no balance and falling off the roof, now they're like the bestest of buds. That's a true holiday story. The Grinch, you know, getting a chance to dive into Jim Carrey being an asshole on set for six months

to make one of the greatest movies of all time. It is wonderful this time of year. Football means more than it meant just two, three months ago. And there's storylines developing on good cultures and bad cultures literally every single moment. We have J.J. Watt joining us in the second hour. We have J. Will. Not white joining us in the second hour. We have J. Will. Not white chocolate.

Vanilla chocolate J. Will. Yeah, he was. By the way, I'm not getting into the all white, all black conversation all the time, but J. Will is one of the most historic all white teams of all time. He played football for us as well. We got J. Will from Duke.

Absolute dog. Duke Blue Devils. Now ESPN NBA. Because John Morant was back last night. In the news, no guns. Dominating on a basketball court. First game back after a 25-game suspension. They made up some stats.

First guy to ever have a game-winning shot after missing 25 games straight. First guy ever to go over 30 points after missing 25 games straight. Him and Zion battled it out down in New Orleans. And the Memphis Grizzlies were not a topic of good conversation about a week and a half ago. But now it's like maybe they're able to rattle off some wins with 12 being back. He's obviously talking his shit. His family's talking their shit. Memphis is pumped.

And I'll tell you what, the NBA just got much better whenever John Morant's back flying in the paint on people's heads. We'll talk to J. Will about that and everything else happening in about 27 minutes or so. The Talks Table is here. At Boston Corner and at Ty Schmidt. I like that shirt there.

Yeah, a little moon watching the moon. You know, the NFL never sleeps, but if it did, it would be on Wednesday. Actually, I wore this because something kind of pretty dark came over me last night. I have a very bad feeling that I'm never going to kind of be excited about a Patriots victory for the rest of my life unless they win a Super Bowl. I brought this in on Monday. How about when the moon hits the eyes like a big pizza pie. Think positive.

Sure, sure, yeah. But instead, you have two moons on your chest, and all of a sudden, you're thinking deep. You're thinking down. You're thinking out. You're thinking your best days of being a football fan were certainly behind you. Because you grew up, for all your time, having a memory.

Because you are how old? 28 years old. 28 years old. Your entire life of having a memory has been parades and celebrations the season doesn't start till the playoffs now you're saying no more yeah it was like fully washed over me tv wasn't on wasn't playing video games like it was dead silence oh man thinking in my own darkness retreat bingo yeah essentially and all i could think about was, I don't think the Patriots are ever going to win a Super Bowl. Oh my God.

It was a huge bummer. Congrats to Robert Kraft on the run that you did have. Yeah, it was awesome. Con man doesn't think it's ever going to come back again. That's wild. It seems like more and more people leaning towards Bill Belichick going back to New England. Thank God. That should make you happy, but it's never going to be figured out until Robert Kraft and Bill Belichick get in a room and decide

what the future of the program looks like. But it seems to be pretty doom and gloom over there. Ty Schmidt, guts quarterback for the future at the Packers, obviously. Defense stinks. Joe Barry's your defense coordinator for the rest of the season. How are you feeling at this exact moment in the season? I'm feeling okay. It's your birthday the other day.

It's holidays. Yeah, I'm feeling great with all that kind of stuff. I mean, the Packers, it is what it is. You know, you kind of expect them to do this kind of stuff. I mean, the Packers, it is what it is. You know, you kind of expect them to do this kind of stuff. It's not like, I mean, how many times have I gone into a season hearing, hey, the defense is supposed to be really good this year. That actually might be the strength of the team. I buy it for a couple weeks, and then you watch them play one Sunday,

and it's like, oh, okay, it's the same old defense. They suck. Defensive coordinator sucks. But, hey, playoffs are still on the line. Yeah, absolutely. And you get into the dance. Who knows? Who knows? Who knows?

Bonus football. Exactly. Joe Barry might start seeing the field like he was Queen's Gambit, taking pills the night before games. No, no. You never know. That might happen in the playoffs. He's a big, dumb dipshit, so that's not going to happen.

You don't know. If he wakes up one morning, smokes a certain type of strain, all of a sudden he's seeing the field a little bit differently, and that happens to be a playoff morning. Yeah. Or, for instance, for myself, a nine-year NFL vet, Darius J. Butler, you could wake up playoff morning against the Baltimore Ravens, and your offense coordinator slash guy that was head coach for most of the year

is in a hospital. And he's not going to be calling plays or at the game that particular day, even though he was a massive piece of the puzzle to get you to there. And that happened against the Baltimore Ravens. You remember that? Yeah, we missed you, B.A. We did miss B.A. Love Cly, we missed you, B.A. We did miss you, B.A. Love Clyde.

Love you, B.A. But throwing them last minute, we missed you, B.A. Great offensive mind. Clyde finding out it's 7 a.m. of a 1 o'clock game. Yikes. Yep. You got the reins today. Baltimore.

Going to be Ray's last game at home. In Baltimore, yeah. Ever. They're actually going to have a full celebration beforehand. Good luck out there. It was like Andrew full celebration beforehand. Good luck out there. It was like Andrew Luck, rookie. Good luck out there. Go get them.

But on the flip side, that could happen for the Packers in the opposite way. Yeah, maybe. You can wake up in the morning and Joe Barry reads like NFL defenses for dummies book. Yeah. And he just got it. And he's doing it. And you guys are on. Now let's talk about one half of the hammer.

Cowboys' Tone Diggs, who is showcasing his weight loss today. Oh, yeah. Looks wonderful. Tone, I want to let you know, the other day, this past weekend, you did something that we did not expect ever. But you did it because you love your family. Exactly. You're maturing.

Yep. Then you have this new jawline. Wide. This new body. Wide. This new energy. Wide. This new body. His new energy. His new aura. But your old clothes still.

Today, you've got a 3X hoodie on, and you are a medium-large body right now. You should be proud of yourself this football season, Tony. The discipline has been remarkable, pal. Yeah, discipline mixed with some science and stuff like that. But down 40, so it's a pretty good spot to be in. That's a lot of weight. Hope you're staying hydrated. We appreciate what you've done this year, especially for gambling.

But we're going to get into a conversation here about the Pittsburgh Steelers culture in about 10 minutes. You're going to go earmuffs, I think. You should. That man joining us, fresh out of war games. Yeah. In the hills of North Carolina. He's a man who told us that he was going to go fake war

with the navy seals turned out it was the green berets yeah that's a different special forces group so whenever he said that on the show and then led me to say it the next day aq's out with the navy seals and then aq posts on his instagram stories i'm'm at the Green Beret Special Forces. I sent him a message immediately. You made me look like a dipshit. The hell? You made me say some very dumb things because, you know, two different groups, two very elite groups.

So he didn't even know where the hell he was going into the woods. But that's the type of guy you need. They don't ask questions. They don't wonder what if. They say, what do you need? And that's what this guy has done his entire career in the NFL. 12 years, Super Bowl champion.

Small arms, big heart. Massive head, small gut now. Ladies and gentlemen, A.Q. Shippen. How was the war games, pal? It was unbelievable. You put the blinders on, like you said. We went to North Carolina. Special Forces Charitable Trust put on an unbelievable event,

paired us up with some Green Berets. We went out in the woods. Man, we did so much cool stuff. It was so cool. And those people, their stories are unbelievable. They just want it shared by us. Man, we had a blast. Oh, so you are – because we saw you cut a promo for this.

On the stage. Yeah, we did. We saw you with your helmet on. Oh, yeah. And you had the whole thing on. Can we run that? Tin Trap's for this. On the stage. Yeah, we did. We saw you with your helmet on. Oh, yeah. And you had the whole thing on. Can we run that? Tin Trap's the same, by the way. So we're not allowed to run any of the video because the department of defense.

We can run that one. The promo? The one I sent today, yeah, with me speaking. We can run that one. Do we have that one? Okay, because there's other videos that we've seen. Yeah. Definitely much better than this particular one.

Yeah. But this is AQ going down to north carolina for the special forces charitable trust which is a organization to benefit green berets and life after and kind of give them treatments help them out down the road yeah so obviously we all understand very much about ptsd being something very real especially in this time where we've been in constant war for like the last multiple decades including the special forces people who get dropped into the spots and see a lot of things. And then whenever they come back or they're out of the Green Berets, they're kind of just

dropped back in the world to kind of figure it out. Now, it's not supposed to be that way, but obviously that is the reality of the situation. So these types of foundations look out for them after they're retired pretty much. Exactly. Yep. And as many donations as they can get, it's huge because the, you know, all the money goes to them. So it's huge. Here's a message from your friend A.Q. Shipley about the Green Berets and what they're doing. Oh, yeah.

Hell, yeah. Great song. It's unbelievable. I mean, it's one of the best experiences of my life, just hanging out with all these guys, seeing what an operation and just how disciplined these guys are. Discipline. You and it. Hell yeah.

That is so important to me because, I mean, I'm a patriot at heart. Hell yeah. I believe so much in what this country stands for. Holding the flag, I see. And what these guys stand for and how they put their lives on the line. Big hug. You earned that flag. It's amazing for us to be able to come here and support them

and give back to do what we can to kind of raise awareness to everything they do. Yeah, you're damn right, AQ. Yeah. Oh! Oh! Halter! Oh! Let's go.

Way to go, AQ. Yeah, it was awesome. It was awesome. AQ, we're proud of you, buddy. Thanks, man. Call us out. AQ was the only one there not wearing the right footwear. He was the only one wearing hokas.

Rocking hokas. Smart. I think that's why you were the only one not tagged in an Instagram post. I said, that guy looks like a dipshit. Somebody sent me the Instagram post and were like, is this AQ? And I look at him like, I think so. And there's 10 photos in the post. Every other photo, the person that is in there with the green beret, tagged, tagged, tagged, tagged,

every one of them except for this one photo. So I think, yeah, got to be AQ, obviously. And then you look down and you see the hookers. You're like, yep, there's a calling sign. The feet were comfortable, though. Man, the feet were comfortable. Had to move a lot. We had to move a lot.

Well, I'm happy you survived it. I'm happy you are a part of our special forces yeah back to thunderdome i'm happy those guys are on our side bingo that's what i thought whenever i saw that triple seven howitzer up there in uh at the army navy game that thing was i'm like happy that yep is on our because they're coming but then i asked how many people got these things every nato country all right so that's all okay good that's on the other team as well we don't we have the humans though we appreciate all of them. And, you know, this is a good pivot point here because Special Forces,

I think a big part of it is obviously you've got to be grit. You've got to be gritty. You've got to be tough. You've got to be mentally tough. You've got to be physically tough. You've got to have certain talents and elite. But they're trying to build a culture. That is what they are trying to do. They are trying to build a culture that everybody is all in,

understanding that is much bigger than themselves. And there's a couple different situations happening around the NFL where, you know, the buzzword of culture. And every time somebody says culture, they actually say, you know, the buzzword culture. We always talk about it. But it's very on display in certain situations. For instance, the Pittsburgh Steelers played the Indianapolis Colts this past weekend. Now, there is a situation that involved George Pickens. George Pickens on a Jalen Warren end-around

basically, running right at him. He's really the only person out there to block. On the video, he appears to give up his block, stay out of the way, and then jump over EJ Speed, who flies around to the football. He's an absolute dog. We're very thankful he's there.

That video obviously hit the internet and everybody was critiquing the effort level that was given, especially around the end zone, to a team that could still make a run if they win games, playing against a Colts team that is trying to win the AFC South. This isn't the only situation that's happened like this for the

Pittsburgh Steelers this season. Deontay Johnson had a situation earlier where he didn't hop on a fumble or chase something down. There's another interception situation where George Pickens didn't chase down the pick. He actually was running away from it. So there's a lot of things being called into question in the Pittsburgh Steelers operation right now, including from Ben Roethlisberger. So George Pickens was asked about this particular play, the blocking play by Pittsburgh media. Now, if you're from Pittsburgh, you know exactly who's asking this question, but basically

everybody, there's only a couple people that were over there interviewing George Pickens at this particular time, so they shared the audio with everybody. So we were told to give credit to all of Pittsburgh sports media for this particular audio, but here's George Pickens talking about the blocking play. Did Jalen Warren run

toward the end zone? What'd you see on that? And would you handle that differently if you had to do it over again? No, I was just trying to prevent the Tankdale situation, the same thing that happened to Tankdale. I didn't want to get an injury. You know, when you stay on the block too long, you can get ran up on very easily, so.

So some people are questioning your effort. All the people that's questioning my effort Down play football They do what y'all do Okay so I do appreciate that he has built up quite a hatred for the media He did an interview A press conference at his locker

In another interview portion here The last couple days And he took a couple shots at guys that never played ball before Guys that obviously build up a lot of narratives about me He's heard it all I think And that was uh you know he's using his outside voice you should have kept that one inside yeah yeah i think that's our big takeaway as soon as we hear it because anytime somebody who wants to build a narrative about somebody hears something like that they are definitely gonna be like i ain't want an injury okay is that i ain't want an injury

that's why you're not going to give effort. And that got real loud. Remember, George Pickens can throw people around and has demonstrated that he would throw people around. Here's some clips from last year. Ah, see you later. And he even mentioned this in his press conference. He said like last year, the same. He was down at the bottom there. He said the last year people were telling me how good of a blocker I am. Now the same people telling me I'm not the same blocker and everything like that so George Pickens is certainly a target of conversation in Pittsburgh around the Pittsburgh sports media but whenever you see other teams okay and how their wide receivers operate yeah it's hard not to be like oh this feels like this is a total buy-in culture situation as opposed to just a one-player situation. Now,

these teams that we're about to show are going in a different direction than Pittsburgh Steelers. I think we all agree with that, but all of them still have playoff hopes and aspirations that could be in there. Let's look at the Detroit Lions, for instance. Here's a football team that has their culture, we all assume. They're trending in the right direction. Look at Amon Ross St. Brown in the end zone, pushing him there. Now, obviously, running back is coming up behind him, so he could get run up on. But instead, he's driving guy into end zone, keeping him out of there. Let's go to the San Francisco 49ers now, shall we?

San Francisco 49ers, this is a huge, huge part of their entire run game, and it's a huge part of Christian McCaffrey who comes out and says, like, listen, the reason why we are so good at running is because we have buy-in from everybody, whether it's Brandon Ayuk or Debo Samuel or Jawan Jennings. Wide receivers blocking for the San Francisco 49ers is a massive piece of the puzzle. And this is a similar type situation that happened with George Pickens where his eyes are away. And look at Ayuk Donner, driving, turning, Debo, driving, turning.

This is just what they do. They buy into it all. So if you see George Pickens in that particular play, and you see Amon Ross St. Brown, and you see the highlights from Juwan Jennings, and you see the highlights from Ayuk and Debo and everybody in other teams, to me, it's not just like george pickens not giving effort there like george pickens should at least faked that he was doing that yeah like if he's thinking about the tank dell broken fibula or whatever the hell happened rolled up on which does happen in those things like i we get it you're a human but also you at least got to give fake effort you know publicly

like and also inside voices you don't need to tell everybody that you don't want to block but i think it's more indicative of like the cultures like detroit's culture is like yeah niners culture yeah and right now the steelers culture just seems like you know when you're saying that type of stuff do the coaches know that he's worried about getting hurt because he's the one point block pretty much over there are they just now learning that after hearing that from him that comes back to a culture type thing in my eyes aq and that is the biggest storyline that i think is not being everybody's talking about george pickens it's like okay cool but how about like the overall mindset of like we're all in this together which the teams that are going to go on a run are in and the teams that are going to fall

off and we don't it's a wild scene right now i think you nailed it and the thing that we're not talking about enough is everybody uses these terms right they're so cliche culture culture culture what does that mean it's details and it's in the details we talk about it all the time in the offensive line room when you don't keep your feet moving that's when the injuries happen that's when you get rolled up on when the feet are out of the ground and they're constantly moving when you watch saint brown and he's finishing the play not looking back seeing where the running back is when you watch St. Brown and he's finishing the play not looking back, seeing where the running back is. When you watch Debo Jennings and Kittle and all those guys, right,

and Ayuk, right, downfield, they're constantly moving their feet. And when that happens, you can't get rolled up on. It's crazy because we're literally watching the culture publicly here. That is what we are seeing. You hear the way Fred talks and CMC talks, and then you hear that answer given by George Pickens. We are – I think George Pickens is a dog. I think he's incredibly talented.

Obviously, there's been some situations a quarterback here to start his entire NFL career, and it's not desirable. But I think if he uses his inside voice and just phrases that differently, I think we just move past this. But instead, I ain't want an injury. I don't want to – I think about Tank Dell. Then you you got everybody from like oh that's what you're thinking about when you're about to score a touchdown when you're

still in playoff contention it's just a wild way to handle it which i think does showcase what's going on behind the scenes there yeah it's the biggest thing and and you know obviously a lot of people are talking about tom that we hit the standard of the standard that's his thing right and the pittsburgh still is culture has been a great thing for a long time from the outside looking and you heard big Ben talking about it. And once you start losing, that's when everything gets put under magnifying glass. It's Deontay Johnson one week. It's Pickens one week.

It's somebody else. Minka made the comments kind of about the whole team. Like, just because you put this black and gold on doesn't mean it's just going to happen. I'm sure he's frustrated at the same time. You know, especially we know how dependent this game is regardless of what position you play. But receiver, I think, is probably the most dependent position. You've got to have a good O-line. You've got to have a good play call. You've got to have a good quarterback.

So when you are talented, you get frustrated. You're not getting targets. You run a bunch of five-yard outs, back shoulders, this, that, and third. But to your point, you've got to use your inside voice. And that is the thing. I've been hurt like that my senior year in college. I got hurt blocking for one of my kick returners. You get rolled up.

I don't know how offensive linemen, I don't know how we don't get that injury. I know Lane Johnson, he just got rolled up on this past primetime game. Deebo Sammy, even with that block, he was pushing him. But you kind of feel it. You kind of turn him and try to get out of the way. So there is a concern with that as a receiver. Definitely get that. But to get out of the way. So there is a concern with that as a receiver. Definitely get that. But to your point, outside voice.

And I think if he's going to be bigger and stronger than most cornerbacks he lines up across. So if you just give that full effort and push him and at least get out of the way that way, anybody can look at it and say, hey, he's giving full effort. And you can be concerned about injury. That's not a bad thing. But once you start losing, now everything is going to be, you know, everybody's going to point at, hey, this is the reason. This is the guy.

You don't ever want to be that guy. Yeah, at least give a hand, you know what I mean? And tank toe injury is obviously nasty. He shouldn't have been injured. Yeah, he was a lead blocker. Interesting situation. Goal line situation as well. Kind of much tighter as opposed to out on the outside

where there's less bodies. Inside, a lot of bodies. He's digging out of safety. I mean, he was giving a ton of effort. That's that offensive tree, though, that whole tree. That's Shanahan, McVay, Shanahan, Slowick obviously out there, a bunch of tight splits. You see Puka and Nakua do it all the time, insert blocks.

So that is part of the game. Pittsburgh doesn't do it as much, but that's part of the game as a receiver. That shows that you're fully bought in. But at the same time, protect yourself. Understand. Use that inside voice. Yeah, and just don't tell everybody. Yeah.

Yeah, that is – I think that was the big mistake here. Now, Grinny, you're going to get questioned regardless because a couple weeks ago, he took all his social media stuff. Yeah, he did. Yeah, that's right. He did. Yes, he did. Just went on there and said, you know what?

Mm-mm. Delete. Not anymore. He had to scroll back through. He saw a post of him catching a Pittsburgh Steeler. He ends with a terrible towel. Delete that. Get it out of here.

He was at a charity event with his arm around a guy wearing a Steelers jacket. Delete it. Yep. Delete the guy. He deleted all Steelers stuff. So that potentially also built up the fans to say, hey, team stinks. You don't want beer? Okay. all right.

So then whenever this pops up on film, it's going to get very loud. But I don't think he's the only human in the history of the NFL that has thought this and done this. He just needs to maybe not be so loud and blatant about it, but also maybe George Pickens trying to get the hell out of town. Ooh. Which, you know, a wild play that sucks to have to go through that if you're Mike Tomlin or a Pittsburgh Steeler potentially.

But if he doesn't want to be a Steeler, a good way to do that would just be like not give effort on something. But he did have a long catch, broke a tackle. Remember down the right sideline? Oh, yeah. He did have a couple splash plays in there. And I think this is why, like, I've been frustrated for most of the year and Steelers fans have been frustrated for most of the year

because wins and losses are one thing, but they're losing and they don't look like the Steelers that we grew up. I sent in a graphic last night that they haven't come in last place in the division since 1988. That was the year that I was born, so I've never seen them come in last in the division. 88? You know how many different divisions they've been in too?

NFL has changed so much since then. Winning and losing is going to happen, obviously. I mean, it's the NFL, but it's the way. And you talked about Minka bringing it up. And just like the last couple years, the run defense hasn't. You grow up with the steel curtain and then be able to. They didn't give up a 100-yard rusher for like three seasons. But it's the stuff that happens that hasn't happened in the past

and the culture. And you grew up with Heinz Ward blocking, one of the best blocking wide receivers of all time ever. Yeah, not scared. Take pride. Quarterback. Yeah, goes the wide receiver. Yeah.

Yeah, goes six to midnight whenever he blinds. It's just when everything looks so different than what you grew up on, that's the frustrating part. And then there isn't success. Correct. Yeah, because it's – I mean, if it was like a typical hard-nosed, and they're just not winning games, that's one thing. But if

everything looks completely different than what you've come to know, that's another thing. Connor, you're nodding your head in agreement so hard over there. You were actually, your whole seat was bopping. Because, I mean, selfishly this is something that I can enjoy, but it's not as if losing to the Colts in the lot house, that's one thing. Tough.

Tough barn. Tough barn to play. Gardner's cooking. Steichen can do anything. He might have thought the play was over because it was so loud. True. Yeah, he might have heard a whistle. Hey, we haven't even.

I just thought of that. Someone might have been whistling loud in the lot house. So, Warren got tackled back there. He didn't. But aside from that one, like when you're losing to the Cardinals and Patriots at home, and both those teams, obviously, there really isn't much to play for aside from putting your own tape out there and effort, if you will, or culture.

But that is much more reflective of those two teams going into Pittsburgh and winning with 2-10 records. Both of them, that's actually what their record was, 2-9, 2-10. And winning those games against Pittsburgh, where in the past, Tony just said it, if a 3-10 team went into Heinz Field, not Accresure, Heinz

Field, and won, it would be huge. Sky's falling. Pittsburgh's blowing up if that happens. And it happened in back-to-back weeks. And selfishly for the Patriots, that's something I fall back on with Belichick, is like, hey, everyone's out. Pittsburgh's blowing up if that happens. And it happened in back-to-back weeks. And selfishly for the Patriots, that's something I fall back on with Belichick is like, hey, there's still effort. Players are still trying.

Seven of their losses are one-score games versus the Steelers' picking situation we're talking about. Let's move to another culture that we're getting to watch with Hard Knocks on Tuesday night's in-season. Everybody's watching, right? Oh, yeah. I saw Berrios putting up his Christmas tree. It was sweet.

Okay. All right, so we are watching. How come I haven't done that? Last night I was literally just talking about me watching Scott Calvin burn the turkey, do the whole thing. Yeah. Why didn't I watch? That's a good show.

It is. They don't promote it at all. So it's basically like you got to be on max five minutes before it starts to even know that eight. That's all I got to do. We got to talk about it. minutes before it starts to even know that eight. That's all I'm talking about. That's good NFL content. You know what I mean? It's not on our platform, but it is good NFL content.

And we've been fans of it in the past. And the team that they're following this year, good. Coach that it's following this year, awesome. You want to talk about culture, listen to Mike McDaniel, okay? Be a prophet about what's about to happen. We know Tony Romo took over the play-calling world whenever he was predicting plays and things like that. Listen to what a head coach in the NFL, who's also an offense coordinator,

is saying out loud into a microphone for other people to hear on his staff. So anytime you say something publicly, you're obviously now in an opportunity to potentially get buried. Because now people understand your expectations, they understand what you're thinking. That's why some people believe in speaking something into existence because it puts so much pressure on you that you have to accomplish the task. Whenever you're talking about

something that you're not directly involved with to be this confident, I think identifies not only a skill, not only somebody that's electrifying in the head coach, but an entire team that is bought in completely to the direction of their head ball coach. Listen to McDaniel call this waddle-tud against the New York Jets this past weekend. I'm really visualizing the one-play drive here. I'm having a tough time not visualizing a one-play drive.

Head to more people, not on Henson. We get kick coverage. Waddle's going toizing a one-play drive. Heads on more people, not on heads. We get kick coverage. Waddle's going to have a one-play drive here. Yeah. Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha. Here it comes. Ready. 13.

We're done. Dolphins begin at their own 40. Look off to safety. Going deep. Kick coverage. Right there. What a perfect pass and play. And the touchdown to Jalen Waddle. Yeah. look off the safety get coverage yeah I'm a dog yeah yeah touchdown take a look at this route inside, I think that's a big arm throw right there. Oh, my gosh, that's awesome.

Everybody's doing sign language. That's awesome. Love it. Hard Knocks in season every Tuesday night, obviously presented by NFL Films. Listen to that dude. And then there's some team meeting speeches that have come out, especially after the loss to the Titans since last night,

or since Hard Knocks last night. It's like so many F-bombs,, we don't want to go through and edit it. We'll probably run in the third hour, but it's like, they believe in that guy as they should. Feels like they have it to go on an eight. Hey, is that the team that's going to be representing the AFC in the Superbowl?

They got all the pieces. I believe one of two teams right now, top five in offense and in defense, obviously been a different defense than Jalen Ramsey got there. But when your leader, your coach, and I saw that Ramsey got there. But when you're a leader, you're a coach, and I saw the team meeting film that you're talking about, and I've been on some teams where, you know, star players, they mess up. They mess up in practice.

They mess up in the game. They're not getting called out. Those plays aren't getting brought up on the big plays. You may talk about a rookie. You may talk about a young guy. So I love when coaches, and that was one thing about Tom. You know, he always wanted to be coached just like everybody else. I love how he did it, you it, kind of calling out some guys.

Hey, this is one of our big-time players, our corner. He wants to make a play. Hey, make a better decision. As a coach, I got to call better plays. Let me show you this situation I put two in. So taking accountability, putting the accountability out there for everyone else for the mistakes. That was after the Titans blow out.

I mean, Titans lost on Monday Night Football, and they come out and respond like that. But I'm sure we've all done it on the sideline. I know I've manifested some very, very good things. It doesn't happen all the time. But I'm telling you, that shit works. That shit works. And obviously, I'm sure he's done it a ton of times,

and it didn't work. But as a player, as a person, you know, just manifesting that good stuff, it works the other way, too. If you manifest and speak bad stuff, that'll come up as well. But I love to see that from mike mcdaniel's and his dolphins team i forget who said it some professional athlete said the last thing you think is the first thing you do so like controlling your thoughts is a big deal so controlling your thoughts is a massive ordeal and i think there's been studies and who knows what's real and what isn't these days where you

know if you do put out positive vibes there's a chance that the universe actually scientifically brings positive vibes back to you so like you kind of get you do put out positive vibes, there's a chance that the universe actually scientifically brings positive vibes back to you. So, like, you kind of get what you put into this whole world. McDaniel has been super positive since that entire thing. And you're right. The messaging on how he passed Blaine and pointed out mistakes was all coaching is, right? Yeah.

I think how you message something is a massive piece of whether or not they'll buy in. In a league this year where points have been at a premium, just having the statement one-play drive, that means that's a goal. Hey, this is a play. This is a one-play drive. That is in their lexicon. And then they got the owner.

That guy was getting sued just a couple years ago for allegedly paying people to lose. Now he's got one-play drives popping off right in front of his face with one of the most hilarious and cool coaches in the history. McDaniel's working as a coach. His Dolphins team working. Bringing in OG Vic Fangio on the defensive side is working. Now, it's all around the health, I think.

We saw to his jiu-jitsu training. He did a right shoulder roll whenever he was about to go. Because before this before this jujitsu training he actually face plants right there just full bang that's how people viewed that entire thing instead, tucks the right shoulder

roll, comes up on his left foot I think, and he's off he actually, I think, immediately after I think he did just in case a Gracie came by there you go, yeah. You want? Don't.

And he was going to snag that thing. Mm-hmm. And then leg right. Break. Armbar. Oh, yeah. He was ready to do that. If they stay healthy, Tua stays healthy.

Feels like they have what it takes. Now, they're not the team that you would classify as a team that could potentially out-tough the Niners, right? Because whenever you think about Super Bowl and you think about – and the Ravens even. Ravens, super. They've got a 310-pounder in Patrick Ricard who's playing tackle, tight end, fullback, running back, wide receiver for them. So it's like – can they handle the big – can they handle big whenever they have to do that? If they have to do it on the road as well, do you think, AQ?

Absolutely. I love this group, and the thing that they're doing different than most other years, at least with this Dolphins team, is they've had a ton of injuries up front, too. And they're handling that well. I mean, like even offensive line-wise, they lose their center. Eichenberg stepped up this week. He's playing well. Oh, I thought Jonathan Harrison was playing.

Well, they brought him in as a backup. But he's down there. I mean, he's ready to go if they need him. Hey, do you remember how athletic that dude was? Super athletic. I wanted him on the punt team. Yeah, you should have. He could have been your personal protector.

Well, they wouldn't let it happen. They kept saying, we can't have center as a bomb. Like, wild. Come on. That guy runs 4'5". He's 275 pounds. Sounds like positionalism. It was positionalism, especially against me, too.

He didn't protect me, but he's down there. They have figured it out. And I think McDaniel knows that that's potentially a weakness. And on the other side, right? Here's where they're way different. They're very good on the defensive line. Their defense is playing. Vic Fangio has done a fantastic job.

And when I played with Cliff, he used to come up to us in practice. He'd have these little one-liners, right? Cliff who? Cliff Kingsbury. We would have – he called them fastballs. So we'd have like five plays in a week where it was just like, hey, we're going to rush up to the ball. Here's a code word.

This play is going to work. He'd come up to us on Wednesday. He's like, hey, if we get quarters coverage and we call this play, it's a touchdown. Like the confidence these guru play callers have, they know if they get exactly the look they want with this play call, it's worked. How about his yeah?

Especially at this point in the season because you kind of are who you are at this point. So a lot of offensive coordinators, they got tendencies as far as a P and 10, that first player to drive. Maybe they want to take a shot. Defensively, it was only a couple calls that we were going to call. It was either going to be a split safety or quarters coverage or a cover three, something simple on a first and 10, P and 10.

So soon as that was probably when that little evil laugh came out because, you know, oh, here it goes. Here it is. You have to execute it, though. Tua had to have the time to look off the safety and look back the other way. You talk about all the injuries up front, and you can play call around it, but they still have to block in pass throw for Tua to have for all the timing to work. They figure it out.

Tua drops dimes and waddles dancing without Tyreek Hill on the field. Well, I think that's a big thing. It kind of dispelled the notion because that's what everyone was saying. I kind of said it. Yeah, Tua's not worth a shit without Tyreek Hill. Well, I didn't say that. Well, no, but I'm saying a lot of people were saying that. It's like, hey, the only reason Tua's having any success this year

is because he has Tyreek Hill. He might go for over 2,000 yards. And granted, the Jets aren't, you know, I mean, who we thought they were going to be. Yeah, good defense, though, and they just beat the piss out of them. And it shows, like, hey, even with – and Tyreek's going to be back now. So, like, they can do it without Tyreek if they need to. AFC East, Bills, Dolphins.

I think the AFC, whoever comes out, it's Bills or Dolphins are going to the Super Bowl. Oh, you think that's it? One of the two, yep. Bills are a wagon. Because they might play each other in the first round. People are talking about Joe Brady, you know, since Joe Brady has gotten there, how the team has looked. You know, with McDaniel, since

he's got down there, how the team has looked. Who's calling the plays? The vibe in which it's all happening? Are the players bought in or not? I mean, it's a whole new world. What were you about to say? Scheme matters. I say it all the time. People don't understand how much it matters.

Because, listen, I'll be very honest. The Dolphins' offensive line, they are not great across the board. But they put them in positions to succeed at all times. You say the same thing about San Fran, too. I do. And the Dolphins have one filthy left tackle. Bingo. And that's who you need.ins have one filthy left tackle. And that's who you need.

You need a filthy left tackle. Everybody else can just do your job. These last three weeks, Finns have the Cowboys, Ravens, and Bills. We're going to find out a lot about the Dolphins. Here we go. Same time, reek up for that, by the way. I like the fact that McDaniel, obviously incredibly confident,

he's like, we saw you running warm-ups. He's like, we're not going to. We're going to beat the shit out of these guys. Yeah, Jets defense, really good. We got one-play drives. You know what I mean? We got a bunch of these one-play drives just ready to go. And let's just take the week off.

Let's just get the ankle back. We'll still get to 2,000. But we're going to need you down the stretch. I love the Moxie coming out of Miami. I also appreciate the vibes that are back in Buffalo. The AFC East race is going to be one that is beautiful to watch. Let's pivot away from the National Football League, and let's go to the association.

Now, obviously, we've had the commissioner of the NBA on the program. Yeah, we have. We had Big Perk on the program. We're basically, hashtag, a basketball program at this particular point. We're able to run some highlights now because we're on ESPN. I think there's a chance we're going to be doing some stuff at the All-Star game. That's just getting dropped into the basketball world. Now, we should not be giving our opinions, though.

We should be talking about what's going on, but not giving our opinions. The people that should be talking about it are the people that know it. Ladies and gentlemen, joining us now is a former National Collegiate Player of the Year, a former national champion, obviously a first-round pick to the Bulls, a man who's incredibly handsome and phenomenal on ESPN

talking about the NBA. Ladies and gentlemen, J-Win. Yeah! Clap for yourself. You deserve it. I'm doing great. I'm happy to be on the show, PM. I only watch you guys every day, so I'm saying it's an honor to be here. Hold on. I'm pumped up that you're here

because I want to let you know as somebody who has started to dabble in the NBA conversation, you know, this is going to sound incredibly rude. For one reason or another, when we were like 20 minutes before showtime, we're going to talk about NBA. Last week, your name didn't come up. And I would like to let you know that's messed up. It's on us. That's on us. Hand up.

That's on us. We're big fans. I've been watching you since you were at Duke being a dog. Oh, yeah. Obviously in the NBA. Now hitting half court shots. It's on us, J. Will. We want to let you know that. It's on us.

You know what, though, Pete? I got the text today. I saw the bat signal in the sky. As soon as the bat signal comes in the sky, I'm there. I'm going to be around. So whatever you need me, you just let me know. I'm available. Okay.

J. Will's part of the program. We're very happy about that. We appreciate you. Where are you at right now? You at the house? Yeah, I'm at the house with the dog. The kids are probably coming in soon, so I'm sure you'll be hearing some yelling going on.

We're ages 5, 3, and 1, so just pray for me. Holy hell. I have a 7-and-a-half-month-old. Yeah, it's messed up. The shit is going on over here. That's a lot, Jay, isn't it? Yeah. Is that – are we having – is this – are we –

No, no, no. This is – that's it. Okay. This is the team. All right. Hey, congratulations. Beautiful family. 5-3-1's a lot of zone defense.

All right. We're doing great. Let's talk about the story of the night last night. And obviously, you know, 25-game suspension for John Morant at the time. People thought to themselves, you know, either that was way too much, it wasn't enough. There was a lot of chatter about it all, everywhere. We even heard it in the football world.

It was cracking into our algorithm. I think everybody was just like, hey, come on, just be an adult, was kind of the conversation. He comes back last night against the Pelicans. Obviously, he and Zion, same age, same draft class, and they put on a show. Zion, tricep popping after a big alley-oop. I mean, maybe he's not fat.

Maybe he's just jock. Maybe that's how his body. Look at that tricep tricep right there. Okay? Absolutely popping. What a game. But the story of the game is John Morant, first game back, Look at that tricep tricep right there. Absolutely popping. What a game. But the story of the game is Ja Morant, first game back, going for over 30,

obviously having a game winner. Is this something that we should have seen coming with Ja? How do you think Ja has kind of taken all of this criticism? And what should we look for for Ja for the rest of the year? And what are realistic expectations? A lot there, just kind of whatever the hell you want to say. Yeah, so I got into a whole argument with Stephen A and Mad Dog Russo today, respect to those boys

on first take, because they were very bothered by the fact that after the game, John Morant, you know, was like, oh yeah, I got receipts. We got the video, J. Will, actually. It's on that right now. Back to retirement, baby. I got receipts, dude. I got receipts. love that let them know on the way out yeah so like they were angry about it saying like why would he say i have receipts you know he's the one that got himself in trouble and i'm like look first off let's focus on the performance because the dude had 34 and 8 and by the way

every move he made was jaw-dropping, first off. And then, PM, this is sometimes issues I have as a former player. I don't think people think or understand how we're built, right? So I don't know how it was for you guys, but for me, it didn't matter what positive things people said about me. I only focused on the negative. The negative was the one thing that drove me eating every single day and for jaw if you're out of the game for that amount of time and people are talking about your family people are talking about your game people are talking about how the indiana pacers

are better suited for them he's going to remember that that's my kid crying in fact i'm gonna one second hey john's back it's okay anyway so it's like it just turns into it, man. So I appreciate the fact that John uses that motivation to drive me. I'm glad to let my kid in here, man. Can I let my kid in here? Absolutely. Absolutely. On the show.

It's Christmas. Hell yeah. Love that. Okay, okay. I'm on TV. Hey, fatherhood's awesome. Yeah. Fatherhood is awesome.

Sounds sick. You call it life buds? Yeah, life buds. He's those first three to four weeks after a baby is born. I know his pain. Five, three, and one. Yeah, AQ has the same exact thing. He has a full team.

Phil has a full team. AJ has a full team. Yeah, bud. That is a, yeah. What's up? This is Zane David. Zane David Williams. Say hi.

Zane, you're a cutie, buddy. You're a cutie. That's the three-year-old? He's about to turn three in April. That's a good guess, me. Great guess. It could have been all of them. It could have been all of them.

Basketball player. It could have been all of them. Yeah, absolutely, J. Will. How tall are you, J. Will? I'm 6'2". See, but in basketball, you look like Tiny. But you walk around real life. You're bigger than everybody. Yeah, I look like Muggsy Bowles when I'm

on the court next to KD, who's like... I mean, these guys are giants, PM. I mean, come on. That's what makes John Moran so special, man. I just hate how people are always like, well, you know, he should show more contrition or he needs to be more remorseful. I'm like, he hasn't said anything since he's been suspended.

He's just kept his head down and worked. And I just want to give him a chance on the redemption story. That's all. I would as well. And I guess the first time he spoke, he wasn't as apologetic as some people wanted him to be. There's always going to be people that are upset with everything, especially with how it all ended the last time when he ended up getting suspended. Has there been a conversation with him? You know, because a lot of people said they needed OGs in the locker room to maybe talk to him to let him know, like, hey, you know, in the modern world, you can't get away with the same stuff that maybe the guys in the 90s were doing you know and like whenever you're being streamed to the world there are going to be some

expectations for you versus maybe people that aren't in the NBA that was kind of the big messaging that I think was our takeaway is that a messaging you think that is still being said to him do you think he heard that loud and clear like what do you think about that entire aspect of it all because that was the loudest that we heard as the suspension was happening. I hope so. I mean, there's a reason why they went out and got a guy like Marcus Smart to be on that team, right? Like a veteran who's obviously been chippy for a while, but who understands there's a time and situation. And frankly, I mean, look, it's hard to be, and I'm not making excuses.

I'm not absolving him at all, PM. We agree. We are on your side here. We're on your side. Yeah, you know, it's hard to deal with fame and money. And a lot of kids come from backgrounds where, you know, like these types of behaviors, like it's okay. You know, and it's hard to grow up in front of the camera.

And once again, I'm not condoning what he's done. And it's been a couple of mistakes. But you hope that that got through to somebody like him because i i said it today he has a chance to be the face of the nba he is like a 2024 alan iverson type of talent man and if he could just keep his nose clean the world is going to be there for him to take it and i think he recognizes that i hope he i pray that he recognizes that you know the whole thing is like to whom much is given, much is required or expected. And it's like, it's not fair.

Like, Jaws should be able to live his life. You know what I mean? Like, Jaws worked very hard. You should do your thing. But there's just a couple things that I think everybody's life would be easier if he just waited until he was retired. And I'm speaking just as somebody that has obviously seen a lot and messed up myself. I mean, I have a mugshot.

Let's not, this is, you just got to hope that it clicks sometime and be like, hey, there's a lot of money to get in this particular aspect of the world that can set up my whole family. Maybe I need not to be the one that gets me kicked out of the league. You know, like that is, that is the entire thing. And I hope it happened. And I love that he still has the chips on his shoulder because that's what makes him great.

And he's still not scared of anything. It's like, let's just make sure we don't, let's not waste this. You know, John, that's what makes him great and he's still not scared of anything it's like let's just make sure we don't let's not waste this you know john that's what i think we're all hoping for and on the flip side there on the other side of the court let's talk about zion you know he's got z as well zane obviously gonna be shredded we know that about at a baby zane but Zion, a lot of conversation. I've never heard this before, I don't think, coming out of the NBA. You know, it's obviously happened in the past where guys can't control their weight. It's happened in football.

It's happened in every sport where the diet and everything like that is. But it feels like with him, it's very loud. Why is that, you think, Jay? And do you think he's getting the messaging? Because that tricep, he might just be absolutely jocked and it's being kind of misconstrued. Because if you could still do that right there, I assume it's hard to acknowledge when everybody's saying you're not in shape.

It's like, oh, yeah, meet me at the rim then. So it's like, what do you think is going to happen in that? And do you think Zion can become one of the faces of the NBA as well, like we all expected when he got drafted? You know, Michael Finley, who used to play with the Dallas Mavericks, told me this when I got drafted. He was like, you know, a lot of players worry about the first contract. He's like, I don't worry about the first contract. He's like, the biggest contract you need to worry about is when you get the money.

Zion, right out of the gate, got the money on his extension and got the money on his Jordan deal. And I think for a guy that's always had me, he's always had his body. It's always like the body that can blow up. But you know how it is, Pat. It takes guys a couple years in the league to learn about the lifestyle. And that's, here's the real thing. I'm not, I'm going to say it on your show. I haven't really said it on any other show before.

No way. I'm not worried. say it on your show. I haven't really said it on any other show before. No way. I'm not worried. It's a big deal. Yeah. I'm not worried about the body as much as I'm worried about the body in the party scene outside of hoops, man. Like, certain teams and young teams, man, you start looking at the schedule. Pam, I don't know if you've ever been on teams like this. I'm sure some of your guys have where you start saying okay we're playing

minnesota on the back to back or we got nothing next are we going out are we making it to vegas for the ncc tournament are we out or we're in the clubs we're in the bottles you know we're talking to girls we're well what happens when you're out kicking it late night you end up eating a lot of random food you know it's a lot a lot of that too going on with a young squad. So hopefully that gets out of their system sooner rather than later. That was kind of what was going on with Memphis, right? I think that was kind of being chatted about what was going on with Memphis. It's hard not to do it.

I can imagine the NBA lifestyle because you guys are getting into places late, and then your games are at night. So you're kind of the only people you can really hang out. The only places you could actually that's open at the time yes is you know what i mean so you're almost forced those types of environments yeah you're almost those establishments yeah i've been in a couple nba nights it's uh those are good times you talk about you know pat i don't know if you've been on teams yeah i was out all the time and it caught up to me i mean it definitely it definitely caught up to me but yeah zane you shouldn't do that post it was much better but yeah i liked having a good time as well

nobody knew who i was though but like zion everybody knows who you are too and ja everybody knows who you are so everything you're doing everybody's potentially trying to catch you and everybody is potentially trying to get you and it's just like is it worth it is it not worth it it's almost like the johnny manziel stuff when he came to the nfl it it's just like, is it worth it? Is it not worth it? It's almost like the Johnny Manziel stuff when it came to the NFL. It's like, just party at your house, dude. You know what I mean? Everybody out is looking for you to be out there. I hope they figure it out.

Two stars. Last night was awesome. Two stars. Last night was awesome. The boys have some questions for you. Go ahead, Tash. Yeah, J. Will, it seems like whenever LeBron still wants to go out there and kind of prove a statement, he's still having one of the best years of his career, which kind of seems crazy.

We always talk about whether or not the Lakers can actually make a run for the NBA title this year, especially with how tough the West is. But when you look at their roster, I know names like Zach Levine have been brought up in terms of them trying to go out and get another guy. If LeBron continues to play like this and AD is kind of coming on, is there a realistic shot that the Lakers could win a championship this year? Yeah. Yeah, there's – you know, when you say AD, the one thing I think about,

the two teams that I think about for AD that I can't wait to watch are, you know, when he's doing it against smaller people or people he can bully through, I don't worry about it. But when you start doing it to Jokic, that's what I want to see. Like, that's when it's really going to matter, right? Like, those boys out in Denver, like, they're still that squad, and Jokic ain't being bullied through anybody. So how AD does against Nikola Jokic, how AD does against those twins. Okay.

You all right, Shane? Yeah, it's Jokic. It's a tough name. Tough name. How do you say Jokic? Can you say Jokic, how AD does against those twins. You all right, Shane? Yeah, it's Jokic. It's a tough name. How do you say Jokic? Can you say Jokic? Jokic. Don't get shy now. How he does against the Twin Towers, like Rudy Gobert and those boys in Minnesota. That's the real thing for him.

I do think that Zach Levine just gives it a different swag. D'Lo hasn't been playing the best ball, but if you're able to piece together a couple of those guys and you're able to get a guy like Zach if he can be healthy, I think that turns it into a completely different conversation. I think they'll be on the same even

playing as Denver. And they already won one cup this year. Hang the banner. They already had a banner ceremony for the year. People are pumped about that, Jay. Sweet. People are real excited. I can't. All right. What's that?

Jay, it's the NBA Cup. Yeah, come on. Wait. Got to put it up. I want to believe in it. All right, so wait. I was doing a game. I'm doing USC versus Auburn.

Zane, earmuffs. Earmuffs. Earmuffs. And Chuck, Charles Barkley's at the game. He comes on the broadcast, okay? And Chuck is like, the Lakers can't put up a banner. And I'm like, I'm kind of in agreement. It almost feels like they were pressured by the league to put up a banner

because we want the in-season cup to matter, and it matters to us. We are a great network that hosts it. I get it. I get it. Yes, we are. Of course. It kind of feels like there was a reason why braun didn't really seem too joyful he kind of really did even like i mean during the ceremony like

the banner the banner next to championship banners at the crypt arena yeah they're the lakers they won 16 p.m yeah i said they should have put this in the lobby i think they should put it in the lobby you know what i mean yes easy yeah, I said they should have put this in the lobby. I think they should have put it in the lobby. You know what I mean? Yes. Easy. I think you should have put it in the lobby. That's what I think.

It's a banner. It matters. It's in there, but it's not with the rest of them. So I think the placement was potentially an issue, but I don't know how many cameras they got in the lobby. But if the conspiracy is that Adam Silver was like, banner on Tuesday? Or what are we?

Come on, Jeannie. Jeannie. We need the whole thing. We want the full intro for this thing. We want spotlight. We want it. And I think the Lakers and LeBron want it to matter, though, going forward as well. Because he won the first ever one. So if this last 10

years, 15 years, 20 years, it'll be a part of the discussion. Remember, LeBron hoisted the first ever one. So if this lasts 10 years, 15 years, 20 years, it'll be a part of the discussion. Remember, LeBron hoisted the first NBA Cup. Exactly. Now it's here all the way later. And I'm worried about the Pacers because in the NBA Cup, they were a completely different team. We need them to make the playoffs because in the playoffs,

they play. When it matters more, like the NBA Cup, the Pacers show up and play. When the courts are the basic-ass wood in a basic-ass painting, Tyrese Halliburton can't make space shots. So we need the NBA Cup back. Con wood in a basic ass painting tyree salaburton can't make space shots so we need the nba cup back con man has a question for you jay yeah jay well zane's here so i won't bring up you know a specific someone needing to send a video but uh there has been a pretty massive story going on the last couple weeks uh it's around draymond green now

obviously there's been situations in the past where he gets ejected and everyone kind of looks at it like, yep, that's Draymond Green. That's just what he does. But this one has kind of felt a little different, and he was suspended indefinitely. And they're saying he's going into like a three-week kind of course almost to figure out what's going on. In your opinion, why is Draymond doing this?

Because obviously being an agitator is one thing, but then kicking people in the nuts and punching them in the face is a completely different thing. He's trying to draw a foul. True, but how did that kind of evolve for Draymond, would you say? And are the Warriors kind of done? Are we throwing them to the wayside? Steph Curry's there.

They always have a chance. Dynasties are dead this year. I mean, I'm never counting against 30, man. Did you see him last night? Yeah. He looked different last night. And then he pointed at Reggie Miller's kid, right? That's what I heard. He did that? Yeah. Yeah. That's awesome. That's awesome to think about. That gets me to the next one.

Other side of the court, too. Yeah. I love him, man. Alright, so here's what I would say about Dre. People, you know, start throwing around things like mental health. I'm like, let's calm down with that. Oh, I heard you say that. That was a good take because that was getting loud. That was getting real loud.

I don't know why. Well, you know this. You guys know this. Like, in professional sports, if you can – I was never this guy, but I know guys that if you could punk guys, if you knew they could be punked, you would punk them. And that's how Draymond Green treats a lot of players like think about none of those guys did anything back to him so like what does that say about some of those guys and that's what Draymond instills in the Warriors like Steph or Klay doesn't need to do that because Dre has always done that. And that sets tones.

So the whole three-week program, you know, the same thing that hurt Dre is the same thing that helped them win multiple championships, guys. He just might not have his same fastball and other facets of basketball. So now it's getting spotlighted a little bit more, right? Factual. That's exactly what's happening. And by the way, it's like he just got a four-year, $100 million contract.

Yep. They're on the verge of – Yep. Four-year, $100. And then Clay's contract is up, and Clay wants to get paid max. So I think that's the point that makes it the most intriguing, guys, is when they're at this inflection point where Mike Dunleavy, who was my teammate in college, is now the GM after Bob myers got the hell out of there now he's on the

nba countdown with steven a and michael wilbon could be a smart move far right because he doesn't have to be the one to break it up that's the white on the far right yeah that's who that is i've seen him talking a lot of confidence oh yeah he's like dabbing people up a lot of confidence i'm like i've never seen that human in my life he's pretty good got out right time i never heard him described that as the white on the far right but yes it makes that's who he was i literally was watching the screen like all right there's a white face over there who is who the hell any legs or han yeah or jj what is that that? I didn't know that existed. But he's GM for the Warriors?

Was. Oh, he's good. Yeah, real good. He left when Draymond asked him for money. He was like, God, I can't do this. And then new guy comes in and says, four years, $100 million. You got it. You're Draymond Green.

So Draymond potentially did what he does in the court in the negotiating room. Bingo. Just kind of ponks him out. Yeah, you're going to pay me $100 million. But, Pat, this goes all the way back to, this goes back to Jordan Poole. This goes back to, you know, him stomping on DeMondis Savonis' chest. Like, there's been a lot of things. Like, there have been a series of.

He's a goon on the field. He's a goon on the court. There's goons in hockey. They come out. They're roughhousing. They're setting a tone. Hey, you're not going to mess with our guys. Like, our guy would be Steph Curry.

All the greats in hockey kind of have a guy on the team that is here to let people know, if Steph's going for a layup, you ain't hitting him. Because if you do, on the way back, there's going to be a guy at Michigan State who maybe doesn't have the greatest jumper, maybe doesn't have the greatest anything, but he is going to forearm you in the back of the neck if that happens. That's not a bad enforcer to have. You know, hockey has it. Other sports have it.

He just so happens to be that guy. It's pivotal in those championship runs. Oh, yeah. Pivotal. With Bron. Oh, yeah. Needed him. Last question here for J.

Hey, we'll talk about some young guys. Wimby, Chet. I haven't been locked in on the NBA season yet. Still football season for me. But how's that rookie of the year chase going? It's going, man. I think Wimby is a super intriguing talent to me because, first off, it's at this time where people are trying to – some people, not me,

kind of want Pop's run to be over. They're kind of ready for the Spurs to move on to what's next. And frankly, I think he is the perfect style of coach for a guy like Wimby. You guys all know this stuff. When you come into the league, what situation are you coming to the league in? Is it stability or is it instability? And I'd much rather know how to work out, be taught how to train, be taught how to focus.

And that's why that foundation, I think, is going to be great for Wemby moving forward in his career. Going to need a couple new players is what everybody's saying on that roster that maybe enhance Wemby's style of play. We can't wait to watch it. We can't wait to talk to you next. Zane, good meeting you, buddy. Merry Christmas to the Williams.

Say goodbye. All right, Jay Williams, ladies and gentlemen. We appreciate you. Jay Williams, ladies and gentlemen. We're eating white grilled chicken. What? No flavor. No. And white rice.

Yes. Every meal, all day, every day. I'll eat pizza. I like pizza. Okay. Won't do it, but would if potentially forced to be incredibly high maybe or drunk, we'll let it slip. One of the most consistent humans of all time,

which led to him being the all-time leading tackler for the Green Bay Packers. Remember, he drank his urine. What do we do this holiday season? We shall see, ladies and gentlemen, A.J. Hawker. Hey, A.J. Hawker. Hawker, how you doing? Is that a turtleneck or a hoodie? Are you Steve Jobs all of a sudden?

I love it. No, I think this is kind of like a hoodie situation. But for the record, did not drink my own piss. You know that. We all know that. And I'm not like – you talk about – you act like I eat like Dan Orlovsky. situation, but for the record, did not drink my own piss. You know that. We all know that. You talk about, you act like I eat like Dan Orlovsky. I am not as disappointed as Dan

when it comes to food. But you are. Yeah, because you actually put on muscle. He does not. So you actually have to be more disciplined. Well, he only does the shoulder rehab thing. He's probably not jacking up heavy weight. That thing got 35 million views this year. Yep, at least. I'm Dan Orlovsky, former NFL quarterback,

throwing touchdowns all the time to wear on your shirt. That was brilliant, Mark. It was. It was unbelievable. I loved everything about it. AJ, speaking of loving everything about it, we ran a McDaniel clip from earlier, and it's almost like our big news of the day is the fact that this guy's culture

is seemingly all the way in down in Miami. Did you get to see him predicting the one play drive and the fact that he not only said it to everybody on the headset he also lifted up was like Tyreek listen I'm really feeling a one-play drive here and he wanted everybody to know what was happening and then it takes place against the Jets this Dolphins team don't look now AJ I love where they are and we need to start paying attention to hard knocks maybe so we can learn a little bit more about the whole situation. Yeah, I think I'm with you.

I was watching. It's true. This unbelievable show with all this access is going on, and we just don't seem to know to go there and watch it. So I'm glad we're getting the word out. But, yes, I've seen the clips. I love McDaniel on the sideline calling his shot pretty much, and AQ mentioned it. These offensive gurus, they know if I get this one or two certain looks especially like they know the exact look where this is going to work

if you just put it out there we're going to score and luckily it's all caught on film and everyone's mic'd up and it's a great clip now forever but i think the other clip of him handling the loss in front of the whole team tells you even more about how to handle a team like yeah we're going to be accountable he just handled it beautifully like he just did it the right way i feel like or his way it really seems like yeah his message his authenticity and his ability to stare down the negative in front of everybody in putting blame on himself and also star players he seems to have all the pieces of a great great football coach and it's like we're reaping the benefit of it, getting to watch the greatest show on turf, 2.0, down there in Miami. I asked AQ this question, though.

What about cold weather? What about a team that smashed Mott? What do we think about that? AQ said he likes the way the offensive line has been able to play. Defensive line is solid. Front seven's there. They can handle the toughness. Because if you look at the top of these, like, Niners, Ravens, tough.

Tough. You know what I mean? Yeah known for very much so known for tough it's like the speed and the dazzle of the Miami Dolphins offense is the story but I think what AQ was saying D-line also a little gritty hey not scared to get gritty out there will they be able to handle that you think to make a run to the Super Bowl maybe are we talking about Dolphins maybe winning the Super Bowl this year I mean every hour we change on on who's the king and who is in the basement. We know that much. We don't do that. Don't throw stunts.

You live in a glass house. And if you've got a glass jaw, you better watch your mouth. You know what I mean? Because we'll break your face. Curtis Jackson said that. But also, I think it's in the Bible as well about glass houses and everything. What are you doing? I'm putting myself in that category.

I am in that same category where I will crown a team one week and then three hours later I think that they're not going to make the playoffs. So, yes, I am one of those teams. But why are you just going off of teams in the past that have played in Miami and Southida having an issue winning like when cold weather games on the road i don't know i just like you see a titans game titans are like uh you know for able kind of the way it is so there's always going to be doubters and retractors that's what we literally have to do for the next three weeks about who is

going to win a super bowl who's not going to win a super bowl but it's awesome to think that this miami dolphins team is potentially still hey hey, Dumpy, good for you. This is great news. We're absolutely in it. You don't fear anybody in the AFC. In the NFC, you fear the Niners. Everybody has to fear the Niners. Who do you fear in the AFC?

Ravens make it look very easy normally. Yeah, but think about Jacksonville. Two missed kicks. Lawrence fumbles that ball. That game was a lot closer than the score says. Yeah, that fumble. You think that was just because Trevor Lawrence just lost the grip on it? No.

The Baltimore Ravens scared. Ha, ha, ha. That's what they do. Joining us now is a man who has thoughts on everything. And we just introduced Gumpy. That's normally what the conversation starts with with this guy. Yeah. Has so much that's going right,

so much that's going great. One loud investment that's not going as well. Maybe because it is Christmas week, we don't need to bring it up, but who would we be as sports journalists if we didn't? Ladies and gentlemen, a first ballot Hall of Famer, a Houston Texans Ring of Honor member, an icon

in the NFL world, and an owner of a soccer team. Ladies and gentlemen, J.J. Wong. Hi, guys. Glad to be here. Thank you for having me today. I am very excited. So when you went over to Burnley, did you say that lunch was canceled due to a lack of effort? Very nice. Very nice. Is that what you said after this weekend's loss when you were there drinking a pine afterwards? It wasn't pretty. It wasn't pretty.

I'm not even going to try and sugarcoat it. I'm not going to make any excuses for it. It just didn't look good. The first half was just a brutal, brutal first half. I was really excited going into the game. I was just very excited, happy to be there, ready to roll. Fans were jacked. It was a night game. It just very excited, happy to be there, ready to roll. Fans were jacked. It was a night game.

It was perfect. Pints were drunk. And just poor performance. Do you want to know what happened, though, really, for all of us? That game was at 1230, right? Yeah. And then there was NFL football, and it won. So a lot of us only saw his first 30 minutes.

And it was tough. That was a bad 30 minutes to watch. Also on the prime network NBC broadcast of the whole country. Not what you want out there being sent out. But, hey, that's sports. That's how shit goes. That's competition. That's competition.

You're playing in the best league in the world. Sometimes you're going to get your teeth kicked in. Sometimes it's going to happen more often than you want. Who won the Balloon Door? Uh-huh. We got a lot of time left. We got a lot, a lot, a lot of time left, and I choose to stay optimistic. Who won the Balloon Door?

Lionel Messi. Lionel, Lionel, I don't know. What league is he playing? Just so I know. Best League in America. America. MLS. All right.

So you're playing in the second best league. This guy's celebrating Boxing Day, too. I got to say this. In England, obviously spent the last five days in England. That's fun. People love the McAfee Show. People love the McAfee Show. Landing back in America.

It's coming. Guy brought the car around massive fan of the mcafee show uh right now watching my brother i'm going to stay with him for christmas there's two kids logan and brayden massive fans of mcafee show worldwide success for the mcafee show really england yeah big fans big fans in england you're lying where's derrick live at where are you going is it Where are you going? Is it because of our soccer coverage? Is it because of our soccer coverage? No idea. No, it's definitely not that because you guys just absolutely rail on it.

So, no, it's definitely not that. It's our sport. It's our sport. We've been covering it well for years. We got the blue and door in the United States of America. Show them respect. So, it's our game now. Columbus Crew won the championship, too, also, in the greatest league.

Ask, Greg. Oh, no. Yeah, because Messi wasn't allowed in the playoffs. All the games that he won didn't count towards the league, which makes in the greatest leagues. Asterix. Messi wasn't allowed in the playoffs. All the games that he won didn't count towards the league, which makes no sense. Makes no sense at all. We drop him in there. He plays in a couple NBA in-season cups. Wins

them all. Beat the hell out of everybody. And they're still in last place. Can't make the playoffs. Make it make sense, MLS. Nonetheless, Gumpch, unlike most of us who just watched 30 minutes of that Burnley game, is there things in that game that maybe give us hope for what the future of Burnley can be, Gumpch? Is that what you saw when you were watching that entire game? Yeah, there's points to be had.

I mean, I wouldn't fear this Fulham squad this weekend, JJ. I wouldn't fear them at all. Is that Boxing Day? No, not yet. Not yet. Boxing Day is the day after Christmas. I mean, you're going to have trouble against Liverpool after that, but

you should be alright against Fulham. Yeah, but you never walk alone, JJ. We're always on your side. You need to know that. And let's go, Burnley. Let's up to Charlotte. That's that home, too. I saw a Liverpool hoodie in here. Can we get the name right? Can we at least get the name right? Yeah, Burnley. It's Liverpool, right? Can we at least get the name right? Yeah, definitely.

It's Liverpool, right? Clarence. Clarence. He keeps saying Charlotte. Oh, yeah, Clarence. I've never heard of that. I'm sick of it. I understand.

I've never heard of that. I'm sick of it. That has never been in my brain before. You know, when I speak, my brain sees pictures of things from my past that remind me of what the thing is. You know what I mean? Like, that's how I remember stuff. I've never heard this word. Charlottes? I don't even know the thing is. That's how I remember stuff. I've never heard this word. Charlottes?

I don't even know what that is. What is the name? This is how I remember. Claretts. Golf. Got it. England. Claretts. Up the Claretts. You got to earn that, though. You might want to keep the Charlottes until they win a couple games.

How about you shut them off? Just saying. How about you earn speaking how about burnley being called the tommy charlotte's you know what i mean tommy charlotte's over there doing their thing it was not a great day because we had uh that and then two hours post burnley match i was watching the loud house be loud. Hold on. I'm sending a video to the back room right now. I don't know if you know this. Before the game,

before the Indianapolis Colts ran on the field, the Loud House won dark. Now it's time for a light show. Welcome to the show. Lights start going everywhere. Cell phone lights are all on the same app so it's a showcase. The boys

are about to take the field. They run the video from our show of you saying. No, they didn't. Yes, they did. Yes, they did. Swear to God. I was literally, whenever I got there, social media director for the Colts. Her name's Amber. She comes up. She goes,

hey, I just sent you a video that's going to run or whatever. And I looked at it, and it was the Loud House conversation. I was like, okay, they're going to run that or whatever. I didn't know it was going to start the entire game. Like, they literally, yeah, and it's J.J. Watt, full screen on his Jumbotron, kind of, mini, bigger TV than your house would have

in the corner of the thing. And it goes, I love the people of Indianapolis. I love it. But who has ever said that that stadium is the Loud House? Nobody's ever said it. Big boos! And at that exact time, Steelers were jogging on the field. I think TJ was actually jogging on the field.

So more boos came down. You got your ass booed out of the Loud House? Here's the video that they ran. The first time. The first time. Here it is. I love Indianapolis. I's the video that they ran. Ain't the first time. Ain't the first time. Here it is. I love Indianapolis. I love the people of Indianapolis.

I love playing in Lucas Oil Stadium. Who has ever in their lives called that place the Loud House? I've never heard it called the Loud House. I've never experienced the Loud House. Well, you haven't been there in quite some time, brother, so why don't you pipe down? Do you know how new everything is in that building? We got traditions that started six games ago.

That's right. Do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do. They found their stadium song, and it is glorious. That's right. They're already taking off. And then boys come running on the field at that exact time. A motorcycle comes out there. So you were a part of the motivation of that Loud House putting on the show that they put on.

Watching your brother play is obviously phenomenal. We appreciate the salute that he gave to the boys and I in the suite. But that Steelers team is in some trouble right now, J.J. Do you hear all the stories coming out of there? It is not a good place. They're still in the playoff conversation. They could still win the they're still in the playoff conversation oh yeah they could still win the super bowl pittsburgh steelers could still win the super bowl this year it doesn't feel like that at all though jj especially after what the loud house did to him no that's something

that i try and bring from an outside perspective you know in my conversations because i mean i there's no question that like you look at it and everybody's kind of down and it's doomsday over there and everybody's talking about all the nightmare scenarios. And I'm like, it's 7-7. You guys are 7-7 with three games left, obviously, and an opportunity. You win those games. You finish out 10-7. You could do something there.

So it's that time of the year right now, and especially this year more than others, there's a lot of teams in that 7-7 range where it may seem dark, it may seem bad, but one win, all of a sudden you get a little momentum, you start rolling, and now you finish 10-7, or you go the complete opposite way and one more loss, and now you're rolling downhill and you finish 7-10. I mean, we are at an inflection point for so many teams, but that's what makes this league so great

is that there's some 7-7 teams that are jacked right now. They're like, yes, we got this. And then there are some 7-7 teams that literally feels like they're getting the first draft pick. Yeah, the Bills feel vastly different than the Pittsburgh Steelers. You know what I mean? And the Bills out, Steelers still potentially in. It's a wild vibes race towards the end of this

year. And I want to let you know, TJ leading the NFL in sacks for another, I think it's like his fourth in five years. He's a specimen, bro. Watching him do his thing live. This was in the first quarter, so we saw Myles Garrett do this against the Colts just a few weeks back.

But they ended up starting like triple teaming TJ, which is smart. But with the visor, he looks so cool. He's going to lead the NFL in tackle or in sacks yet again. Now, did you do this? Has anybody else ever done and been as dominant at the top of the sacks race

like TJ has been over the last five years, seemingly? I mean, it's... I'm so sick of the conversation. He's the best defensive player in's like I'm so sick of the conversation. He's the best defensive player in football. I'm so sick of the conversation. Like he's literally right now on pace to lead the league in sacks in three of the last four years.

The only year he didn't was when he missed games with injury. I mean, he does it every single week. Teams double-team him, teams triple-team him. He gets held. He does all these different things. Like I don't know what more you want from an argument standpoint i don't know what more proof you want um some people want to say don't look at the statistics i'm like well hey dumbass that's how you judge stuff in football like guess what wins is a statistic like that's how we judge champions so our players you judge

teams by wins you judge players by stats that's how this shit works like like why do we keep track of anything oh i don't know maybe because that's how you decide who's good so guy's got the most sacks he's the best what do you want pretty basic here huh hey what do we even yeah oh don't judge the stats judge everything else it's like well okay when they go in the hall of fame what's the first thing they bring up okay stats is that how we're judging them forever absolutely you know i've heard them talk about the walter payton man of the year being the most prestigious award you know we're in that time of year of course it is certainly awesome yeah i've never heard it used one time for a hall of fame vote have you ever no no every time i hear like

somebody say the most prestigious one of them all is the walter payton man of the year and i've been nominated okay i think everybody probably on this call has been nominated JJ won it Yeah, raised $50 million or something Insane, he won Walt's Payment of the Year, but every time I hear them say that and you're talking about these stats and how people are judged it's like, I have never once heard this guy won a Walt's Payment of the Year three times when you're going into the Hall of Fame

So maybe we need to start actually living up to the words in which we say every time this Walt's Payment of the Year thing happens, JJ, legitimately. I mean, it is the most prestigious, yeah, no, I mean, it is the most, like, it is a great honor because it's being a person, because it's

a person, not a football player, yeah. But I mean, in terms of a football player, yeah, I mean, I don't think it should make the NFL Hall of Fame for being a great guy. It's the NFL Hall of Fame. What's the most prestigious of Fame. Whoa! What's the most prestigious award? I've been told.

You know, what are we? This thing's fragile. Yeah, don't want the best people in the NFL. But is it awesome? No, best players. Okay. Okay. Deebutt said, we ain't there.

No, no. I think it should definitely be a part of it. But, I mean, if you finish your career with, let's say you're a linebacker and you finish your career with 10 tackles, but you've got to walk the big man to your work, I don't think you belong in the hall. I'm just telling you what I'm being told. Better than defense player here.

Anyways, I do like – oh, yikes. Yeah, but you've got them both. That's when it starts stacking up. That's when it starts really getting going there. But you talk about those stats and how people say, well, don't look at those. It's like, well, my entire legacy of my life's work is going to be judged off of these. So maybe let's not do that whole thing. And then the Walter Payton Man of the Year conversation, I had that this weekend when I heard it 14 times.

It's the most prestigious, most prestigious. It's like, when? I've never heard. Ever. We get one clip from the speech of a great display of a great human in the NFL, which there are many, obviously. And it's nice to get it highlighted, but I don't think I've ever heard it any other time. You know, this guy's got the world.

So do you think it should not be an award? I think it should be, but we should accurately describe what it is. It is like representing the best of the NFL. It's not the most prestigious award. Like it is, it is the best word to win. Cause you're a human as opposed to a football player, but I've never heard like Chris Collins,

where he going, well, it's paid man. You're here on the edge. So, you know, the boys are going to be in, I guess that comes down to the definition of prestige.

What is, what is the definition of prestige? Anybody, anybody got that off the top of their dome? AJ, you pull a book off the shelf and grab the answer to that. Like a high honor? What is it?

Like a high honor? Basically, this is the highest. Because I would say it is a high honor. It is football-related, but it's not. It is football-related. You've got to be a football player. You've got to be a good player, too, to win this. Yeah, you do.

Widespread respect and admiration. And we can be honest with ourselves. We can all be honest with ourselves here. You have to be a very good player to be in consideration for. I mean, just look at the list. We're not giving it to – I'm on board with it. But you've got to be a good player and be a good guy. It's not just one or the other.

I don't know. Who? Who are you going to say? We appreciate the Walter Payne Man of the Year, but I would like it to be added into Hall of Fames and Pro Bowl, like when people are listed off. Yes. Like this guy made six Pro Bowls also,

Walter Payne Man of the Year. Like we should actually start. Well, you want to talk about an award, Pro Bowl? I mean, come on. Doesn't matter. I hate to be that guy. Come matter. I hate to be that guy. Come on. I hate to be that guy.

It does now. Let's go with all Pro. It does now. Now the Mendenhall changed the rules. Yeah, it's no longer a Pro Bowl. That's three whites that played in the NFL. Let's break this down. I think in 2023, our team is much better than it was in 2013, I'll say,

especially with the way football is now. Well, in 2013, we would have Brady at quarterback, so that's a plus. And Gronk. Who's our starter this year? Joey Burrow. Who's our starter this year? He's healthy. Josh.

Josh Allen. Mahomes. Purdy. Patrick Mahomes. No, no. What? Talked about this. That's up to him.

I don't think we get that. No. No. We don't play by those rules. We're not playing in the league. What are we even talking about? Going to my home. We got my home.

This. What? That tweet that I tweeted caused, like, people got so, like, some people. A lot of, a massive majority of people understood that, A, it's ridiculous to start with. But, B, I was having fun with them making a joke. But there was also a nice chunk of people who got very, very in their feelings about it. And if you look at that statement,

I don't know what you could have any possible disagreement with it. I mean, are we going to be successful at corner? And is anybody covering Tyreek? Because I don't see anybody in the league, period, covering Tyreek, much less any white guys stepping out there and lining up across from him. So, JJ. Nobody's covering. JJ, we've already kind of tried to figure this whole thing out

with our depth at defensive line pass rusher, especially because Polynesia Samoan on our team. So, shout out to the Hoosiers playing for the whites. We appreciate you guys. We don't want. How'd we swing that? Well, I just made Whites. We appreciate you guys. We the ones. The man just took it. No! No conversation.

Oh no. That's not true. We made a deal. We made a deal. Not good enough. Oh, okay. We negotiated the Asian players and with our roster house constructed, that'll probably be the only spot where we'll need them.

Long snapper. What? Yeah, long snapper. Well said. Anyways, we got the defensive end pass rushers, okay, jamming. Tyree. Everybody. Oh, we're playing like man-to-man out there. We got the defensive end pass rushers, okay, jamming. Tyree, everybody. Oh, we're playing like man-to-man out there.

Yeah, that's not a bad idea. And then we're going shell, you know what I mean, to keep everything in front of us because we got a couple safeties. You know what I mean? We got a lot of linebackers. So we got to bank on getting to the quarterback. But have you seen the offensive line? Holy hell.

Great group. It goes like Tristan Wirfs, who is phenomenal, to who would be – He might not crack it. We may put Laramie Tunstall on the right. Oh, you're switching sides here? We might just put Laramie on the right, put Trent on the left. Can't do that. Can't do that.

Can't do that. We'll go Wirfs. We'll go Wirfs. Anyways, we got to get to the quarterback quick. Yes. That is – All the problem is they moved Wirfs to left. You know what I mean, jj that's going to be

the big that's going to be the deciding factor of this game it's definitely going to happen yeah no we we need to get to the quarterback unbelievably fast yeah we need to be we need to get those hands up we need we need to knock the ball down and not let it in the air because anything behind us toast how about this mr wal Walter Payton Man of the Year before? Why don't you call it out for what it is? Rashard Menahole is a racist. Why don't you do that, JJ? Is it because Bob Iger told you not to?

Oh, yeah. Is that why? Oh, sucking up to the man. Wow. Because he said he's better than your goat. And I'm like, well, there's a lot of players who are not better than. So, like, I don't know're not better than so like i don't know like what like just sometimes you just don't respond to ridiculous stuff and you just have fun

with it you see oh wow that's an interesting concept i actually kind of want to have a fun with that because we would struggle at corner pretty confident in some other areas but i do think we would really really struggle at corner so we do probably lose no and then people were like wow wow you have no confidence. You're such a beta. I'm like, what are you talking about? I'm not saying I shouldn't win. I'm saying we're getting close.

Don't lie to anybody. We are getting roasted down the field on a fly route. It is gone. Not even remotely close. You're a moron beta if you can't figure that out. Yeah, we're trying to cure problems. I was trying to help us because Iowa put out a white corner last year, and they're going to put out a white corner this year. Yeah, we're still worried we're going to get smoked there, though.

I don't know. Yeah, we understand we got people to field the team. We can put them out there. We were full game planning this morning. We were coming up with a game plan. It's been a great conversation, but I think the big story of it is if you listen to any of the guys that have played sports before,

and I am not a believer that you have to play sports to talk about sports. There's a lot of different perspectives that are needed in the sports world. But if you listen to anybody that's ever been in a locker room, as soon as they read that, instead of getting offended, you're like, oh, this guy's talking shit against our entire race right now.

We got to talk shit back to this guy. like that is how we handle it i think but there was people that got very very very upset if this was the other way around would you be joking about it's like i assume probably perfect locker room conversation yeah like i don't think anybody's yes like i don't think anybody understands what goes on in locker rooms like like when you have like a like this these types of conversations happen in locker room literally every single every day and every aspect in the locker room in the cafeteria in a team meeting room in practice in the workout every single one of them that's actual friendships that are taking place there yes like that's like the real friendship where you can like

some people would get mad at this outside, but you're like, no, we know that this is, we're going to have a fun little conversation. We're going to, we're going to line up who would line up against who, and we're just going to have fun with it. Like, you don't, that's why I'm, that's why I said, like, we don't have to get offended by everything in the entire world. Like that is, it is so, everybody just wants to get pissed. Let me get pissed about this.

I want to feel like I'm mad. And you're like, all right, this, you just would get mad no matter what anybody says. That's why the locker room is such a beautiful place. I agree. Absolutely beautiful place. And when Bosa says this in a couple weeks, I want to feel that same energy out of you, JJ. Go ahead, AJ.

Go ahead, AJ. JJ, quick pivot away from all this racial talk. We showed that clip of your brother, and he gets a sack early on in that game. How dangerous is it when a team does give up a sack? Especially, I know edge rusher is like, you want to get to the quarterback. And if you haven't got there in the first quarter, second quarter, third quarter, you start itching. You start itching wanting to get there. When a guy like TJ gets a sack this early, what does it do to free you up, I think, for the rest of that game?

Yeah, I would say it does one of two things. A, it for sure gives the pass rusher a massive amount of confidence, and it also gets you the juices flowing. It gets you all lathered up, gets you ready to roll, gets you into the game. You get that first hit, you get that first sack, and you feel like, okay, I'm warmed up now, let's go and eat. And it also takes some of that mental stress off you, like you said. You're not thinking about, okay, am I going to get there or am I not?

But on the flip side of that that it also might trigger the other team to now pour everybody your way they might have in their game planning all week said we're going to try and leave them one-on-one we believe in our right tackle we're going to let him step go out there and block tj and then he gets a sack on you know the first drive of the game and they're like all right throw it out the window everybody Everybody over to the right side. We need a tight end. We need a fullback. And so it could bounce back the other way on you.

But as a pass rusher, there is nothing better. I mean, on Thanksgiving Day, I got a pass rush, or I got a sack on the very first play of the game. And you just go back to the bench, and you're like, all right, let's have some fun. This is going to be great. Who was that against? That was against the Lions. Oh, same old Lions. Oh, that's right. Sort. This is going to be great. Who was that against? That was against the Lions.

Oh, that was the same old Lions. Oh, that's right. Sort of touched down that game, too. Of course. First play of the game, turned down for Watt, is already blaring. Oh, yeah. That's just going to be probably a fumble recovery, probably going to be a reception, going to be a couple dances,

maybe a busted nose, maybe a soccer team bought at halftime. That's a J.J. Watt experience. I've seen it down in Houston. I remember thinking the Lions were going to win that game too. What an asshole. I bet that was fun. I bet that was a fun couple minutes. Oh!

Swing. Conman has a question for you, J.J. Yeah, J.J., something that happened in the trenches this week. Jason Kelsey on a 31 tush push. He got called for an offsides. Now, as a defensive lineman, I'm assuming you wouldn't have a problem with Kelsey doing it because he's a white guy and you're racist.

But if you were on the defensive line, if you see that happen, how often does it happen? And also, Pat kind of mentioned this was probably something that Pete Carroll brought up. Yeah, here's the player. You can kind of mentioned this was probably something that pete carroll brought up yeah here's the player you can kind of see it behind the referee's leg but definitely moves up a little bit but what is your technicality yep what's your reaction that that happens every single play in the nfl uh that literally happens every play so like no i don't have a problem with it because i've seen it every single play and And, I mean, the reality of the situation is you still got to stop that play for the yard or the inch.

And against them, you're most likely not going to. But there's little things in football like that where it's like vet tricks. Like, there's little vet tricks that sometimes you get mad about and you're like, that's a bullshit vet trick. And there's some vet tricks where you're like, yeah, that's just part of the game. And to me, that one is just a little part of the game. I mean, that one doesn't bother me. I don't think you should call it, but I 100% agree. That's something that Pete Carroll went over to the ref and said,

watch what he's about to do. And that ref, he'd been building it up, and then that ref had to throw it right there because Pete was telling him about it the whole game. Look, is that fair? What are the rules? What are the rules? It was the same thing with the long snapper, Christian Kuntz,

against the New England Patriots. Yeah. Where, like, they called it at the very end. That's like Bill Belichick just being like, hey, hey, he moves, right? That's a thing. That's the little technicalities. Are they going to remove the tush-push now because every coach is going to be looking for that?

Hey, Cush. That was the first time. He's cheating. Jason Kelsey's cheating. No, no, no, no, no. That was the first time I've ever seen that called in the field of play. It's typically only called down on like the half-foot line, and they extend it over the goal line. That's the only time that's ever called because you do it every single play, like JJ said.

Literally, you stand up, you make the mic point, and you do it on purpose. You straddle the ball. So then when you go down to bend it, you have to move it forward a yard. That's literally what you do. Happens on field goals too. For instance, whenever the ball is in the middle, okay, long snapper, either going to say I'm going up or I'm going back because we're an exact

yardage away from where the ball is being snapped because he's rotating it a certain amount of times so that we can have the laces where it is. And it's just a classic plant your feet. All of a sudden, we're moving up a half yard so then we have the spot in the back. Happens literally every single play. Offenses do it. We do it. This is them trying to kill the play

without technically banning the play, it feels like. Yeah, long snappers do some of the wildest stuff with the ball. I mean, long snappers are very, very good at it, and they've gotten away with it for a long time. And we talked about the Steelers one the other day that I don't think there was anything wrong, and you know better than I do. There's some tricks that are way worse than what happened there. I mean, they'll snap their head up really fast,

or they'll move the ball like this on the finger move. Yeah, there's a lot of guys moving their fingers. A lot of old linemen will do, when they're down their stance and their hand's down, when the quarterback does his hard count, they just do that. They just pop their hand. Let me get in the screen. Pop their hand open. That's gotten me once or twice in my career.

I mean, because you're looking for anything. You're like a very high-twitch individual while you're trying to get off the ball. Quick trigger. You get offensive linemen, yeah. He pops his hand open, you can be gone. But I think it's a vet move. I also think it's a vet move on Pete Curl's part. Like that's part of the fun little tit-for-tat in this game

where Pete was smart enough to get down there to tell the referee to look for it, and not all coaches are doing that. Some young coaches got too much on their plate. They don't know the little things about the game, and they don't know how to use the refs and things like that. So I love it. I love those little intricacies. That's why Pete's wearing a backwards hat after the game.

Yep. You know what I mean? In his little intricacies. That's why Pete's wearing a backwards hat after the game. You know what I mean? In his bag. Yeah, he's completely in his bag. That thing was halfway up his head. Feeling it. Just let a little hair out in the front. Back there, yeah. It was awesome. I love Pete Carroll. He seems like he has a never-ending energy. You know, we talk about, how old's Bill Belichick? 71 going on 72. How old's Pete Carroll?

This guy's still slinging. He's like 70 years old. 71 going on 72. And he wears those Monarchs and he's still slinging. He's like 70 years old. Also 71 going on 72. And he wears those Monarchs, and he just flies around. And it's like there has never been a question on, is Pete Carroll going to hang it up? Like, never. No. Right?

I don't think we've ever. Nope. Not once. He's been around a long time. But that little game right there on the brotherly shove, it's like that's a coach beating the play that nobody's really been able to beat. Now, will every team do that, or will there be a memorandum sent out like, hey, we're not calling a center doing what center does every single play anymore.

Good get by Pete Carroll. Worked a guy there. We ain't doing that the rest of the way. But that's the game inside the game. I like the Seahawks team too. What a win for Drew Locke, JJ. Did you see all the shit afterwards where he was talking, how emotional he was?

That was beautiful. I did. The game was on at 1.20 a he was? That was beautiful. I did. The game was on at 1.20 a.m. in England, so I did not catch the game. And I woke up in the morning, and I saw the score, and I was like, oh, I need to look into this and see what happened. And I did see it. I mean, that's awesome.

Like, that's the type of stuff that is really, really cool. And Gino being so happy for him and helping him out. And just obviously having been there before, he knows what it's like. It's pretty cool. I mean, I think it's hard to argue that Drew might have the most swag of a quarterback when he's rolling. Now, when things go the wrong way, that's not very cool. But when things go as well as they did on Monday, that looks pretty badass. Yeah, former Seahawks quarterback, whenever he was winning, everything was good.

And then he started losing, and everybody thought it was terrible. Like, with the way Drew Locke is, you know, it seems like Drew Locke has got the moxie, he's got the confidence. You remember draft night, what happened, right? I mean, that was literally the whole thing had started. Then he gets traded in the Russell Wilson thing, and we say, yeah, that's my bodyguard from the sideline in Denver whenever he was going.

And then he was down, then he was up. And it was like two years in, three years in, they're like, is this the guy of the future? Like, we don't know yet. He gets traded away, thinks he's going to play, doesn't play, handles it with humility, and then still got the, you know? Yeah, you know next game when somebody sacks him, somebody's just putting that shit on him. Yeah, we will put that shit on him.

How about it, Drew? Let's put that on. I did enjoy Gino doing a celebration with him, and then the head nod on the sideline with the mask on. He was all bundled up. Yeah, that was really – I'm happy for Drew Locke. Good for you, Drew. I think his boys, too, good people.

We ran into them down at the draft down there. Ty has a question for you, JJ. Yeah, JJ, a lot of people talking about Miles Garrett getting held a bunch, and I think in the NBA, there's always kind of that. The superstars, guys like LeBron and KD, they're always getting calls from the refs and kind of getting the benefit of the doubt. And I know we always talk about, hey, there's holding on every single play in the NFL, if you want to call it.

But those truly elite guys like Miles, TJ, Max Crosby, and when you were playing, are you getting held on every single play like where it's just super egregious and why aren't guys like Miles and like maybe you when you were playing like why aren't those guys getting the benefit of the doubt? Yeah because like an NBA star players like they just let it go. No but they're like

getting calls it feels like we don't you don't get star pass rushers in my personal opinion and experience don't get calls for holding it actually goes the opposite but you do get a little bit of help on like a roughing the passer like hitting like a quarter second late like i do think that they'll give you a little warning for that they'll come talk to you but when it comes to holding it's almost the opposite effect like you're beating guys so bad so quickly that they're not calling it. I mean, that one right there, that's a legitimate, real, absolute hold.

Like how you don't call that, he literally could force a fumble right here. Looks clean as can be. Yeah, to you it does, no doubt. It's exactly what you used to do. That's probably what you were taught. No doubt. At all costs, don't let him get a hit. Like the fact that that is not called, that literally could have been a forced fumble,

could have been picked up and gone for a touchdown right there. It's crazy. And that's not like a 50-50. I know now, having played long enough, I know what they're going to call and what they're not. So I know when to get mad and when not to. I mean, if you're locked up in a rip and you're turning the corner, they're never calling that. They just have accepted the fact that they could call that every play if they want they're not going to i still think it's ridiculous but that's how it goes but one like that where it's completely outside of your body he's grabbing

your collar and you have a chance to go get a sap a strip sack it's insane but it not only happens to miles it happens to micah it happens to bosa it happens to tj and i think these refs know and i also think it's part of it being a 10-yard penalty. It's a huge, huge penalty, and I think that they don't want to throw that, because they know it throws the entire drive off. They should make it five, don't you think? I think if it was five, it would be called more often, because it's not as bad.

I also think that they, I do think that there is something where they don't want so many penalties, and they know that they could call it very often, and they don't want to slow the game down that much. the time i mean they throw a flag every other every play true yeah like i watched the game i think i wrote to you like that i was like i was watching the game i think they threw a flag like seven straight plays there's a couple of these what are we doing and at the beginning of the game too yeah so like never gets can't ever get a rhythm roll like the

game never gets wrong like in the third quarter or fourth quarter if things start happening i think you have to do it in the third quarter can't just drop it in the fourth quarter but you can see like if it's getting a little like a ref having to be like all right we got to kind of slow this thing down a little bit but whenever it's in the first quarter it's like the first drive it's like hey at least let a style of play kind of starting it all but you offensive linemen are cheating all the time. If you stopped doing that, maybe they wouldn't call everything. Well, they've got to stop making defensive linemen the way they are right now. I mean, this is impossible.

We've got to do something. We've got to change these roles up. These guys are too big, too strong, too fast, too smart. Yeah, we can't let this keep going on. It's unbelievable. Tony Diggs has a question for you, JJ. JJ, first and foremost, part of the question, congratulations. The Houston Texans now own the Oilers jersey for the next season.

Congratulations on that. That was a big deal. We heard about it. And then how big is it? Because you had to deal with it a lot in your career. When you are a potential playoff team like the Texans are this year, right on the bubble, and you get a huge win this late in the season with a backup quarterback in Case Keenum.

What does that do for the rest of the team? It's huge. Case is just the ultimate professional. He's an incredible guy. He's obviously been around, done some great things in this league, and for him to be able to step in in that situation is the perfect guy to step in. He led the team. He did exactly what he needed to do.

It's huge. And in this playoff push, that's massive. And maybe they need him again this week. So he's a guy that you trust and he's ready to do it. Way to go, Case. Yeah, way to go, Case. In terms of this game, I absolutely love everything that surrounded it

from a rivalry standpoint, from everything from the Oilers and the Texans, from Houston, all the history. and the Texans from Houston all the history I think it's something that we kind of miss in today's world a little bit is those old school like hate each other rivalries where it's like we absolutely cannot stand you and we hate this we hate that like this is a real thing with the uniforms and again for the 10,000th time so Tennessee fans can stop coming at me I understand who owns it I know the rules I know the laws I understand how it all works that doesn't mean I can't wish it was different so you lost you're out of the playoffs that sucks

for you we won you guys get to keep the uniforms yes I know technically you get to keep them I wish that we could put them on the line because that would make it the coolest rivalry in the history of sports. But I just love the feeling of how much hatred there was for this game and how much you could tell even the Texans owners after the game and their reactions and the way that they lived it up and how much it meant and hopefully how much it

hurt on the other side. It feels good to be on the winning side. I was watching that one very closely. I would assume, yeah, and it's a good result. Another game you were watching very closely. Obviously, Burnley wasn't the same, so it is good that the Texans did that against the Titans. I thought it took a lot of shmay to wear the Oilers jerseys against Houston.

Football gods, I think, saw that one very quickly. They were like, hey, this is how this one's going to go. In the storyline, you know, knock them down, they're down, they're down. We're wearing your jerseys in your face. Vrabel shows up like, I mean, it's just like a full-on, or bum, I'm sorry. It's like a full-on, you know. And then here come the lowly Texans fighting back. That's our uniform.

This is our time. This is our division our division yeah it was a good storyline and then emmy comes back kaimi fairbairn buries it and texans have had kicking issues that was that was all that was cinema that was real it was it was cinema it was real cinema and i think they i mean i think they honored billy white shoes um who awesome incredible player just just a question when they put all of his highlights up on the jumbotron where were all those highlights from what city were they in i just didn't know i i didn't know if anybody knew the answer that nashville right it was nashville yeah sweet celebrations yeah was he in nashville i thought it was all from the astrodome maybe you know like pastorini and earl campbell like if we put up all of sample's highlights in the war and they honored him, where are all those highlights going to be from?

As a guy who grew up in an NFL town of Pittsburgh, I hear Oilers. I think every human. Houston. Well, when you think about, well, I guess there's another side of Oilers and everything like that. But when you talk about football, you know, you're talking Houston oilers. And you think about those jerseys, you think like greatest jerseys of all time. By far. So for them.

I mean, they are. They are. They are incredible. And they look spectacular in the stadium, like wrapped in the light. I don't think the NFL was super in the wrong telling Houston, the college, that they're not allowed to wear those colors either. That was. Okay. Yeah, That was... Yes.

We got colleges all over looking like Georgia has the Packers logo. What are we doing? All of a sudden, the one college decides one throwback on an individual day and we're telling them they can't do it. They're rubbing it in Houston's face, aren't they? They're rubbing it in their face.

They are. They got all January to do it now. Oh! Deebutt has a question for you, judges. Hey, speaking of that game, on that defense, you know, held King Henry in complete check. Who on that defense isn't getting enough credit? What, 20 carries?

15 yards. 15. Wow. First time ever. Yeah, so who on that defense do we need to be uh talking about and they were missing a bunch of guys too i mean will was out i believe cashman was out they had a bunch of guys out um john grenard's playing incredibly well uh it's going to be very interesting to see what happens with him this offseason because he's racking up sacks at a great rate

in a contract year where he's going to be a free agent he's earned a good contract and he's going to get it whether it's in houston or somewhere, he deserves that. Matt Burke is a D coordinator, deserves a lot of credit, obviously, and D'Amico, it all starts with the head coach and everything that he knows from a defensive standpoint. But that stat where Derrick Henry was the only player in NFL history to have like 20 carries and be held under 15 yards is mind-boggling. And you just think about that. If you told somebody before the game, we're going to give the ball to Derrick Henry 20 times,

and you said he's going to have less than 15 yards, they'd be like, okay, so that's on the first carry? What do you mean? Like the whole game? That is mind-boggling. It is. It's a great defensive stand, a great defensive performance. It's like D'Amico, Ryans, and after the win, after the make,

D'Amico and Nick Cesario hugging each other on the sideline. Cesario had a headset on, obviously. Of course. He said, we're kicking a field goal. Mm-hmm. D'Amico said, I agree. I mean, geez, you're going to let me do my job? But is he down there every week?

I don't know. Remember, he was on the headset for the last two coaches that were on there, and that was a big storyline because the GM is sending down ideas to the coach. That's not good. It's like Cesario was like, I was on the headset in New England. It was a A storyline because the GM is sending down ideas to the coach. That's not good. It's like Cesario was like, I was on the headset in New England. It was a A-OK. So we've won a lot of games up there. And now with what he's built and how they've gone through there,

what a turnaround. What a massively fast, huge turnaround for one team. That's like why a lot of crop teams, terrible teams, hold on hope. You go back to the Bengals a couple years back, they won four games and they go to the Super Bowl next year. Houston Texans were a dumpster fire. Now it's like, got a quarterback, got our coach. That's beautiful. That's a beautiful thing, but now everybody else is going

to try to duplicate that. Houston's trying to do this for a long time, JJ. Why do you think it's D'Amico's team that is doing this in Houston right now? I think it 100% comes down to D'Amico, who he is as a person, what he has done. I mean, C.J. Stroud obviously deserves a massive amount of credit. You need a quarterback in this league. He's in the discussion protocol still, right?

Yeah, still. Doesn't look good is what you're saying for Sunday. Not likely. Right? I think is what I heard. Yeah. But D'Amico brings a belief, brings a buy-in, brings a knowledge, brings a confidence, brings just an energy to the building that literally can change it all around. And then you put the pieces around and you have the guys that can do it on the field.

And like I've said this whole time, now you go into this next offseason where your starting quarterback is a superstar and he's on a rookie deal. And you've got a lot of cap space to play with. He's on a rookie deal, and you've got a lot of cap space to play with, and now you've got a team and an organization that free agents want to come to, want to play for in a state with no income taxes. You are doing something, and you've got a chance to build something really, really special down there. And it's certainly, I've said it many times, it's a very exciting time to be Houston, Texas.

Yeah, Houston, Atlanta, Vegas, obviously. Houston's part of that conversation. H-Town's good time. Love that place. Gets real hot. Very real hot. It is a beautiful city. You know, the stands for Texans games weren't filling up there for a while.

Yeah, that's right. They didn't fully believe in this young quarterback and this rookie head coach. But now they're packed. You know what I mean? Now the Houston Texans fill it up. So many people. There's some NFL teams that can't even get one section filled for an entire season. No.

Tickets were 46 cents a pop. Did you see Carolina? And I was going to bring up Houston. Oh, that's better than I saw. Yeah, that's the most that I've seen as well. This must have been very early in the game before people were fed up with it. But this looks like a high school game. This looks like a high school state championship game,

maybe for single-A ball whenever it's happening in the NFL stadium in town. That's what it looks like. Tepper's earned this? Is that what we're all thinking at the same time or what? It's interesting, man. I mean, the team is obviously struggling this year, and the irony of it is obviously that they won. So maybe if you're a fan, do you think, like, all right,

I'm not going to show up next week because maybe I'll also win again? I've been going to all these games. They stink. I don't go. They win. Keep me out of that stadium. It's me. That is a funny problem.

That's my favorite fan. The fan that I love those fans. Those are the best fans because they are bought in. They love it. They're like, I drank my coffee at the wrong time this morning. That's why we lost. I got to drink it at 747, John. That man right there, not coffee at 747.

He wore the same T-shirt. You remember this? Oh, yeah. He had the same T-shirt he wore for like how many years? Two. Two straight years. We got to size down on it now. We got to size down on it.

Thank you. But, yeah, I mean, we take responsibility. We don't point fingers at others. We look ourselves in the mirror and we say we blame ourselves. We're not going to blame the team. They didn't do anything wrong. It was on us. Those good fans.

Yeah. Best fans. Speaking of blaming yourself, have you seen any of this McDaniel stuff on Hard Knocks down in Miami Dolphins? He's awesome. It sounds like Florida, another place that doesn't have income tax. Obviously, they have a team and a quarterback down there. Miami is another place that is obviously a place that is a destination for a lot of human

beings. The more I learn about this McDaniel guy, the more I like him. Did you hear this vision he had of a one-play drive? Here, let's find this video for those that haven't seen it. Here's McDaniel mic'd up against the Jets. Exactly what – remember, people aren't scoring points this year. People are not scoring a lot of points this year. It is the complete opposite.

This is without Tyreek Hill, their best weapon. Stay hydrated. Here's McDaniel down in Miami. I'm really visualizing the one-play drive here. I'm having a tough time not visualizing a one-play drive here. We get kick coverage. Waddle's going to have a

one-play drive here. Yeah. Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha. Here he comes. Waddle's going to have a one-play drive here. Yeah. Here he comes. Ready? Ready, team? Let's go. Let's begin.

Let's go. You know it. Go on, team. I love my second. Right there. What a perfect pass. So he literally obviously has this moxie, and then there's other videos coming out of Hard Knocks of him talking to the team.

He takes accountability, places blame on others as well. He kind of puts everything in front of it. Feels like he's the next generation of coaching. It is working perfectly down there too, seemingly. It is awesome. I mean, and I think any of us here obviously know how insanely difficult that is to not only execute that play because of everything that needs to happen, but to call it ahead of time, know what's going to happen, and then everybody execute it. I mean, that's a pretty unbelievable clip right there, but that's when things are clicking on all cylinders. And yeah, I would say he certainly has things humming down there and he's got that

offense rolling. Tyreek wasn't even out there. And I think that, like you said, it's a destination. Guys are going to want to play there. You've got a head coach that the players seem to love to play for, that's young, that's smart, that's got the energy, but also has a team performing very well. That's a place that guys want to go to and play. I think I heard AQ talking about it a little bit earlier. Do you want to go?

Because right through the pass rusher? That'd be pretty cool. No state income tax. It's warm. Fangio, love you. It's a wild year in the NFL. There's so much. It's warm. Fangio, love you. It's a wild year in the NFL. There's so much. You don't know who's going to win. If you're one of those guys that's hopping on a championship team, you don't know who's going to win. Flacco's doing it.

Flacco's straight off the couch. Ballin'. For the Cleveland Browns. I froze because I heard the ESPN music. I froze. I just froze. Once the music starts, how long do we got to take? Normally 30. We have eight seconds right now.

Five right now. Three. ESPN, have a great day. Thanks for joining us. See you tomorrow. Nailed it. All right, you did great. Boom.

You did good. That extra second there, that's like some people don't utilize every second. We normally have to squeeze it all in. We normally have to squeeze it all in. You know, we normally have to squeeze it all in. The ESPN. But I heard AQ talking about. Sorry, sorry. No, go ahead.

No, no, no. I heard AQ talking about Cliff and some of these young play callers who have these, like, visionary thoughts and things. Cliff, I've told this story before. I might have on the show where my last game of my career, I went up to him in breakfast the day of the game, and I said, hey, what's the first play of the game? And he said, just have your helmet ready because it's either going to be a touchdown or you're going to be going out on defense. And so we went out to the game. It was against the 49ers, and it was also A.J. Green's last game. Nobody knew that but a few of us. And I believe it was a flea flicker or a double pass

or something to A.J. Green. It was a 75-yard touchdown, first play of the game. I just looked at Cliff and he looked at me. It was a badass moment. That is a cool... Feels so good, Jim. Told you exactly what was going to happen. What are your thoughts on Cliff? I love him. He's a great

guy, man. I love Cliff. We'll be friends for life. He's a great guy. Obviously, tough situation down here. Didn't pan out exactly. Yeah, here it is. Thanks a shot. AJ Green. And this was so cool, too, because like I said, only a couple of us knew that AJ was retiring. Let me get one more he said.

AJ and I at halftime, we were both using the restroom facilities at the same time. We just at each other because I had gotten a sack in the first half he got a touchdown in the first half and we just kind of both looked at each other because we knew it was our last games and we were like it was pretty cool like at least we got at least we got to do something cool in our last game you always take dumps at halftime? it wasn't I mean it wasn't a dump I don't know how we would look at each other while we were

taking dumps that would be pretty difficult to do I don't know what kind of bathrooms you think they got. Some of them don't have stalls. Yeah, San Francisco. Remember San Francisco? Old stadium. Yeah, that stadium. You got to stare at people.

They just face each other too, right? They have their own prison. There's some people that get stage fright. If you were staring straight across from each other, could you go to the bathroom? Could I dump? Hell yeah. Yeah. Absolutely.

Who is it? Who's that person? That's a good question. No, I couldn't do it then. They never break eye contact. That's what I'm saying. You would expect them not to look at each other. Some of those stadiums just didn't have enough money to add doors, which is wild to think about professional sports.

If you don't have your phone while you're dumping too in that situation, you really are just – No, you've got to look eye to eye. What's more awkward, the going or the wiping? I mean, which part's more awkward? Wiping. Oh, wiping is the whole thing because now you're displaying almost because you've got to look at it, what's going on.

Alpha move, though, is the turnaround. And you've got to see their strategy. I mean, there's some strategy there. We once had a conversation on the bus, speaking of locker room talk. We once had a conversation on a bus, and a guy brought up the fact that he wiped front to back, or he went down the front side to wipe. What?

Blew the bus apart. Hold on, hold on. This was the internet, I think, a couple years ago. There's people that stay seated while they wipe. And I'm like, how do you get in there? You know what I mean? How do you even? And I think they just, tiny legs.

I think these people have very small legs. So it's just like easy. I assume the guy you're talking about did not have small legs. He had to fight through there. You know what I mean? Every time he's dumping. It's dangerous. Yeah.

Why are you doing that? He's fighting his ball back. Every single time. I mean, there's a lot of obstacles, man. You could get caught up on any number of obstacles. So much. I mean, and now that I'm changing diapers and things. Oh, yeah.

And there's dumps and different forms of dumps. And they end up in a lot of places. She'll have poop on her stomach somehow. I'm like, what? This explosive shit, girl. All right. I like what we're doing here. Get this out of you.

But it's all the maneuver of when you wipe, where you wipe, how you wipe. It is game. But I didn't know professional athletes sat and wiped. Your legs would be too big. Maybe if you were like a – Break the toilet. There's nothing worse than during a game if you have to go all through. Like you're sweaty.

Like at halftime if you do have to go dump. Need wet wipes. You're sweaty. Need wet wipes. It's the worst. Always need the wet wipes. No matter what. If you do have to go dump, you're sweaty. Need wet wipes. It's the worst. Always need the wet wipes. No matter what. If you can.

I'm not going to say it was a team that I played for, but I've heard a story of the first game in the stadium in which the home team had it, and they had single-ply teepee in the home locker room. And it's like, hey, who are you? This is what you do to the away team. You got a lot of dumping going on. You see the guys on this.

Yeah. We got fucking 315 pounders dumps that are happening in here. Big ones. You don't even have wet wipes available. You only get a single ply. I mean, what are we? That's the worst bathroom, though. If you walk into an away locker room, you show up.

If I took the second bus and I walk in and there's like three stalls and there's 18 D and O linemen waiting in line. I'm like, why? I even walk in through the hallway by the bathroom is just not fun. It's the worst. And then single-ply TV. I mean, then you're potentially getting poop in your fingernails. Poop in your fingernails.

Exactly. It's catchy. Ass is bleeding. Don't like it, JJ. No, they used to put my locker by, like, because they wanted to give me a big locker with an open locker next to it. So they put me right by the bathroom because that was where there was always an extra space to get ready.

I eventually said, I'll take a small locker. Don't put me anywhere near those toilets, man. I got to get away. OG gets the nice corner locker. Very sweet. You know what I mean? That's the way it goes. Kansas City Chiefs away locker room. Small. Really? Very small.

That's an old stadium? Bad numbers. It's been around a long time. Are they up there yet? Yeah, that one's been around. How are the new ones? Like Vegas? The new ones are good, man.

Dallas has a great one. Dallas is huge. SoFi's got a pretty good one. It's a little more of a straight line, but SoFi's got a good one. Vegas, I believe, was good. Denver. I love Denver. You guys like Denver's locker room?

Denver's away locker room is great Yeah Denver's is huge I don't think I remember I don't think I remember I only remember the sign Saying there's 5,200 Yeah They make sure you know that

What's that? Big win Yeah Playoff right? Yeah Indies isn't bad I like Indies I like Indies

You talking about the Loud House? They got the blue Loud House Yeah the Loud House They got the blue Like old school lockers With the holes in the side I'm giving it to Loud House now.

It performed. Boom! Shut me up real fast. We will make the video here. Well, let's make this week's video. I'm sure they're not going to run it, but... Yeah, time to give a lot of credit to the Loud House. The people of Indianapolis stepped up big time.

They put the atmosphere where it needed to be, and now the Loud House has earned its name. It's earned its reputation. Congratulations, Indianapolis. and now the Loud House has earned its name. It's earned its reputation. Congratulations, Indianapolis. You are the Loud House. Hell yeah. Horsepower! That's what's happening. Holy shit!

They've got to face the Texans in a couple weeks. They've got to face the Texans. That's going to be for the AFC South. That's going to be for it. That's great. I just gave them that video to play before they play the Texans in a couple weeks. They've got to face the Texans. That's going to be for the AFC South. That's going to be for it. That's great. I just gave them that video to play before they played the Texans. What a moron. What a moron. I didn't think that one through at all.

Appreciate it, JJ. That's probably going to be in it as well. That was stupid. I mean, this weekend. Don't worry. CJ will take care of it. CJ and Miko will take care of it. I'll call them.

I'll say, hey, guys, I gave them a video. It was a joke. It was a joke. Oh, see, now Shane's going to run that for the boys. Boom. Just in the team meeting room. Listen to what this guy said. The coaches do that. It was a joke. It was a joke. Oh, see, now Shane's going to run that for the boys. Just in the team meeting room. Listen to what this guy said.

The coaches do that? It's a joke. So there was a chance, I think, that maybe some people in the Pittsburgh Steelers organization had heard what our show had said about the Pittsburgh Steelers. Felt like that during the game. A couple times. Felt like that during the game. Yeah.

What do you mean? How? How did it feel that way? We were getting some eyes, dude. You know, there's a lot of people in that. From players and coaches and stuff? JJ, did you hear this? Yeah. Uh-huh. JJ, are they? What'd you mean, how? How did it feel that way? We were getting some eyes, dude. There was a lot of people in that. From players and coaches and stuff? JJ, did you hear this? Yeah.

JJ, are they? What'd you tell your brother? But TJ was a salute that night. Yeah, there was a salute, which was really nice. That's the utmost respect. It is. But is it disrespect by doing the utmost respect? Because then he's thinking that we are respecting it,

but really he's disrespecting fake salute. And by the way, has TJ served his country? Kind of disrespectful to the troops. No, no, no. We're going back to Denver. Mile high salute. I salute a lot of people. Every day, actually, I salute people. You know what I mean?

Let's not necessarily throw that one under the bus there. No, Villanueva, when he was on the Steelers with TJ, gave TJ the Purple Heart. Oh. I remember. And the Purple Heart. Oh. I remember. And the Presidential Medal of Honor. Is he still playing?

Villanueva? I don't think so. No, he's very skinny now. Very lean. Looks great. Damn it! It's like AQ. Did you hear about AQ?

AQ got almost too thin for war games, right? You know what they said? Close. He's running around. I got a video from AQ. And I said, good. This is all going to be extremely useful in our affluent neighborhood in downtown Phoenix. We're going to be very protected down here. Thank you. That's what he wrote.

It was hilarious. He was like, hey, this particular street is going to feel very safe now. Can you put the picture? We don't have to run the whole video. The picture of AQ with that helmet on and then holding the gun. Say, I'm a patriot at heart. You know what I mean?

That's what he was doing, wearing hokas the entire time. Oh yeah, when he said, I'm a patriot at heart. What a line. And just slow-mo shots of just pulling out the hook. That guy's in your neighborhood. You're A-okay.

Yeah. Go to his house. Don't worry. Depending on what he's wearing. You know, like, if they put the neighborhood watch. What if I just start walking around like that? Instead of the neighborhood watch. I mean, I got a pickleball court.

The house a couple streets down has got a pickleball court, and I hear that going every morning. I hear a pick the aq don't worry uh don't worry guys hey that was a uh yeah there's only four shots in this pickleball game and then quickly the uh the pickleball noise thing made the news. Really? Yeah, like a couple different times. I guess that's a loud, loud fucking game. And people that live in the area where it used to be. Are we talking Indianapolis news?

Are we talking Indianapolis news? I think it was national news, genuinely. It was when they were talking about the surgeries that are needed. It was kind of an attack on pickleball. Wait, wait, wait. Surgeries needed because of the sound? No. Well, that was during the attack of pickleball. Wait, wait, wait. Surgeries needed because of the sound? No, well, that was during the attack of pickleball. The surgeries were because

I'm just going to say it. Mm-hmm. Fats were playing. Fat people. Overweight people. That's what they were saying. Not me. They were getting cardio. I pulled my hamstring last week, so I am one of the fats

that they were talking about that was playing pickleball. But people that hadn't done sports in like 30 to 40 years were playing pickleball because it was like something that was relatively easy to do, and it was good workouts. They felt like they were bettering themselves and enjoying it. And I guess people were blowing ACLs. And boom, their ankles were giving out. And there was other stuff.

So a lot of surgery took place from pickleball. So the national news felt like they were very big Tennessee kind of attack in pickleball. And one of the other stories was these tennis courts have become the situations of hell for the neighbors who are trying

to sleep in on a Saturday morning. And then they just played the sound. All morning. This is what you played the sound. All morning. This is what you signed up for. And they were like a very affluent neighborhood. I didn't buy this house thinking this was, they were pissed off about it. So I appreciate the fact that you're living in the same world,

but now you got a gut shattered nerves, sleepless nights, pickleball noise is driving everyone nuts. That's New York Times. I'm telling you dude of course i'm gonna make some hard hard hit some sound racket or something aren't there a new ball that makes it quieter no i think pickleballers said deal with it yeah sorry this is how we do suck it i can see it in arizona last year if a neighbor of one of those houses we were playing

for like 11 hours straight for almost an entire week like that would drive me nuts you got to establish dominance man whoever's more dominant if the guy that owns the court is more dominant easily you gotta decide are you going to that front door and knocking and making the complaint or are you just living with it and taking it i mean we're figuring out who the alpha on the street is real quick in this situation so jj what did we knock on the door, or what are we doing? AQ. AQ is the alpha. AQ's knocking on the door. He's waiting. I'm sending a G.I.Q. over there. We're going to have a conversation.

He's going to go with a chin strap over his mouth. I'm going to be honest with you. I'm going to be 100% honest. You've got a very deer-in-the-headlights look right here. No, he's a patriot at heart. He's been sentenced. That's how he's a patriot at heart. He's been sentenced. That's how he's introducing himself

to at that neighbor's house. Cop knock, obviously. He's in full regalia. Hi, I'm AQ, patriot and neighbor of yours. We have decided. We have decided. What size helmet is that? That's how they all look, alright guys?

That's how they look. Same exact chin straps. Hey, you look like a G.I.Q. right there. That's how they all look, alright guys? That's how they fit. Same exact chin straps we wear. You look like a G.I.Q. right there. Pete Carroll. Hi. You guys have a lot of noise coming from your pickleball court. I'd like you to keep it down. What a life.

We should get back into it. Off season. We should get back into it. I feel like that's one that's coming and going, man. I don't know we should get back into it. Off season. Yeah. We should get back into it. We kept in line. I feel like that's one that's coming and going, man. I don't know. It's tough to watch. People love hearing about it.

I think. People do love hearing about pickleball. They had a run there. It's like. I thought that's what the noise complaint was. I thought the noise complaint for me was hearing people continue to talk about pickleball. Honestly. I really do.

All right. Vegans causing quite an issue. Okay, it's getting a little too loud. Every time we got to hear about it, pickleball. Everybody got to tell us that they're playing. These noise complaints aren't just about sounds. It's about what we have to deal with from the humans afterwards playing. You going out to the Super Bowl, JJ?

Yes, I am. I wonder what we'll do this year. I don't know. I'm on CBS there. It's a CBS Super Bowl, so I'm doing it. You're doing a Super Bowl? Congratulations. Holy cow.

Thank you. Very excited. That's a big deal. That's a lot of... Do we got a live set? What do we do? Wednesday, what do we got? Live set from there?

Yeah, sure. You coming in? Yeah, and I'm live with the boys. Hell yeah. Hell yeah. I think that'll be our first day live out there. In years past, we've gone out on Tuesday. Bad decision.

I mean, nobody... Kind of in an empty... Especially in Vegas. Hell yeah. I think that'll be our first day live out there. In years past, we've gone out on Tuesday. Bad decision. Nobody was there. Especially in Vegas. Way too long in Las Vegas. Agreed. True. We do have a couple things planned that everyone is very, very excited about. Oh my God. I forgot about those. Two, back to back.

There's a couple other things happening that are being pitched right now. Yes. We need to remember that we got a moment happening. Yeah. We're going to the Sphere. We're doing a Sphere thing. Sorry, what?

Yeah. What about it? Wait, wait, wait. Like the show from the Sphere? No. Or just attending the U2 concert? No, not just U2. Listen, we're experiencing the Sphere.

I'm going to be on cloud 75 walking into that place, and I'm going to have a night. You know what I mean? I'm very excited to get in there. Planet Earth is the one night where it's like a Planet Earth documentary, and then the other night is Bono. Yeah, and this is what we fuck up. That's not a name.

Bono. What's wrong? That's the name. Yeah, I don't know what I said. Bono. You're right. I think I met him. Yeah, clearly.

You met Bono? Yeah. You remember if you met Bono. Did he post it to Kraft? Probably. Ooh, I think so. That was Bon Jovi. You're thinking of Bon Jovi.

Yeah, you're thinking of Bon Jovi. His voice is on every iPhone in the entire world. Bono? I think I met this guy. Wow. He's close with Kraft. Bon Bono? I mean. guy. Wow. He's close with Kraft. He's close. That is music.

You guys got tickets for two nights? What do you mean, you guys? This is the first time I'm hearing about this. I've been looking at that sphere since it came up, man. This is why we do it wrong, though. That's what we're doing. There's so many events.

You've got to go. You've got to go to the studio. Agreed, agreed. But last year was pickleballing for 10 hours. No events attended. None. No business. None.

This year. It was a lot of fun. It was a lot of fun. It was. It was a great time. This year, the tables are going to be whispering my name. Oh, yeah. You forgot we're going to be at this.

Hey, Dana. Thursday, Friday. You do that after fucking to be able to... Hey, Dana. Thursday, Friday. You do that after fucking you hear Bono bring the script down. I'm much more excited about Animal Planet than Bono. Yeah, I'm pumped for Animal Planet as well. Bono got forced into my phone, right? That was...

Yeah, yeah. Every bacon wave. What do they say? Hello! Hello! Hello! Hello! Uno, dos, tres, catorce.

Hello, hello. Yes, I've never heard that. And then maybe like a happy birthday, Johnny Drama. Remember that entourage episode? Okay, yes. Yeah. All right. Now I know.

Yeah. Get jacked. He has his sweet glasses. Uh-huh. Always. Yes. He dominates raising money for AIDS. Sure. That's a big one. He's got the money for AIDS. Sure.

He's got the edge playing guitar. Right in our superstore? No, no, no. I think he's a knight. I think he's a sir. The edge, too. Everyone calls him the edge. Even his mother, they say. The edge is Max Crosby's podcast.

That's the rush. Yes. Edge is Micah.by's podcast. That's The Rush. Yes. The Edge is Micah. Micah, there it is. The Edge is also Bono? The Edge is Bono's right-hand man. The guitar player. Yeah, he's been there with him forever.

Crush is The Axe. I've seen videos of their car. That's him. There's Bonoo There's Bono That's sweet He looks super sweet He's American? Irish

Hell yeah Bono Can't wait to see you do your thing in Sphere I fucking can't wait for that Yeah we're going to have a good time at the Super Bowl We're live at Radio Row Wednesday, Thursday, Friday Let's do it I'm in that. Yeah, we're going to have a good time at the Super Bowl. You're definitely coming. We're live at Radio Row. Wednesday, Thursday, Friday. And then... Yeah, let's do it. Let's do it. I'm in.

Let's bring some pizzazz. Yeah, good lord. You know what I mean when we're there? You didn't sound that... You know what I mean? You're doing the Super Bowl on Sunday. We got to see Chris Angel one night, too. We need that. This guy's calling Super Bowl. First year he's fucking on TV. Sounds like he's doing...

You know, three-man booth with Tony? Yeah, what are you up in there? You telling Tony? No, they ain't doing that. No, no. I'm doing my normal job. I'm a CBS pregame, halftime, postgame show. You and Bill Carr.

You guys. Yeah. That'd be great. I'm going to bring it. But first, before I do that, I'm going to do my every week job of the Pat McAfee show. Is everybody going to be there? AJ, will you be there? Oh, yeah.

Super Bowl's a big deal for us. It's like our business conference summit almost. It's awesome. Everybody's there. Everybody. I thought you were about to say the Super Bowl's like our Super Bowl. I don't know why. I thought that's true.

It was sitting there. It was sitting right there. Yeah. Should have said that. So that means Kyle is going to be out there? Bill Cowher's going to be in. Yeah. Should have said that. So that means Cowher's going to be out there? Bill Cowher's going to be in town? Oh, yeah. Gene Starator's going to be out there?

Yeah, I'd imagine Gene will be out there. Starator's in town? I guess. Yeah. I think everybody's named him. Get a lot of rule clarifications. Get a lot of clarifications. Gene, your favorite ref of all time?

Too long. Took too long. I have a very specific reason why I like the ref. I like John Perry. There's a singular moment in my career that I'm very thankful for. I think I've told before, but the final game of the 2014 season, I was the only player ever to have 20 and a half sacks twice and my final sack of the final game of the season was a safety and it was also i only needed a safety

to complete every single line on the defensive stat sheet uh fumble forced fumble recovery touchdown all that stuff and for my final sack i s sacked the Jaguars quarterback. Geez, I don't even know who it was. That's terrible. I don't know who it was. I swear I don't know. Might have been Blake. Bruno?

I don't know. It was the last game of the season, so it very well could have been anybody. And it was on the goal line. And so it could have been a safety. It could have been not. And John, they had to go to the camera to look at it. And as he was going over there i was like hey man come on come on and uh he went over there he looked at it and as he was walking away from

it he looked at me on the sideline and just goes and i was like yes and then he went out there and he wasn't the one to make the decision obviously there was others but the fact that he gives you a heads up before i was excited yeah he gave me a little. That's a cool moment. It was a cool moment. He's on ESPN, I think, right? He's Monday Night Football. John Perry. I always appreciated that moment, and then we did the thing where we stayed on the field to watch the next game

on the Jumbotron, or the previous game finish, because we needed the Ravens to lose for us to make it into the playoffs, and we didn't. And so we all were disappointed and went home damn cool story kind of john perry's fault you know kind of was because if you didn't get your new year yeah i mean if we make the playoffs maybe i got a better chance at the mvp you know but aaron aaron with the mvp fourth third fourth one's gonna win another one you know comeback

player of the year what if you got comeback player of the year this year? Well. For coming back from an Achilles so fast. Well, I've seen on the internet a lot of people reporting that he just made that up for the good of this program. Uh-oh. Yeah, for the good of content. Yep, keep him in the limelight.

Yeah, that's what people say. That's what people are saying on the internet. By the way. This is all for the game. I mean, until we see him on the field. Hey, listen, maybe he never tore his Achilles. I haven't seen him. Whoa.

I haven't seen a damn skin. Joe Flacco's on our side, by the way. They asked him today about Comeback Player of the Year and when he's like, what am I coming back from driving the kids to the bus stop and stuff? I was like, exactly. He shaved his face, right? Well, that's a bad omen. Flacco's driving his kids to the bus stop?

Why isn't he just driving them himself? What, to the school? Does he want some experience left? I don't know if I – What's wrong with that? I thought the bus stops were your house. Oh, you got to figure out where you're sitting on that bus.

You learn a lot about life whenever you're deciding where to sit, where not to sit, who's sitting, where, how they're looking at you. A bus stop for the neighborhood. Actually, now that you say that,

I agree with you. If you're driving him to the bus stop, that means the bus stops pretty far, which means you might as well just drive him to school. Either walk to the end of your street and get on the bus. He wants him to experience a fucking bus, okay? His dad's a millionaire. We get it.

He just wants him to experience the whole bus politics. But where is the bus? Why has the bus stopped so far? Well, he lives on the corner side. The very fucking end. Get a community line together. This is Joe Flacco. You should walk there.

What do you think? Get a community. Make his boys walk. Come back from not going to training camp and bussing kids around? Oh, bussing kids. Oh, okay. Does bussing only have one S? Yeah.

Really? Yeah, like buses, there's only one S, too. But the only reason why I know that is because our new high school, so when I was in school, every year, construction. So, like, junior high, construction, whole place. Didn't get to really see it done as soon as we get freshman year high school sweet here we go construction whole entire school literally throughout our entire high school year but the last like year it was kind of close

to being finished and they had this big sign that said buses this way b-u-s-s-e-s and i was like that looks weird that looks weird and it's weird. And it's 1S or 2. I think you can use both of them. 2S is American. 1S is English. So I think you could use both of them. So you can use two. Fascinating.

It is fascinating. Color or color. Yeah. Yeah, or three or tree. Right? That's how they say it in England? Yep. What about people saying, like, that's bussin'. Now, you know, that's two S b-u-s-s-i-n that's american yep like i'm gonna bus his ass yeah

bussing baby yeah yeah that's songs food's bussing you're gonna do what now bussing with the boys two s's true shout out shout out crushing tay Taylor LeJuan in Vegas a lot. All the time. Winning a lot of money. Blackjack. Yeah. I'm following along. I'm like, this motherfucker's a professional blackjack player.

How much are you talking? A lot, I think. From what I'm seeing, on a very regular basis, he's winning a lot. You guys ever go against him? And then Will is crushing everything. How much is a lot? A few hundred thousand. What are you seeing?

If it's public, is it public? A few hundred thousand, I'm thinking. Yeah. Wow. You got to bet a lot to win a lot? A few hundred thousand. What are you seeing? If it's public, is it public? A few hundred thousand, I'm thinking. Yeah. Wow, you got to bet a lot to win a lot. I respect that. That's awesome. He's with Dana, and Dana's like a professional blackjack player. Oh, well, yeah, yeah.

I think they've been down like 70,000, 80,000 before, and then they've come back up in one night. That's a lot. Yeah, he's in there. I'm like, that's a great job. That is a great job. Especially if you have a place that's going to let Dana, no knower of cards coming, gamble with you. It's awesome.

But Boston's crushing it. Two S's, I think. Yes. Yep. All right. JJ, thanks for hanging out, bud. What are you doing for Christmas? Are you staying in America or are you going to another country because you don't like us or what?

I am staying in America. are you going to another country because you don't like us or what? I am staying in America. I'll be in Wisconsin staying with my brother Derek and his wife Gabriella and their boys, Logan and Braden. Me and my son and my wife will all be up there. It's going to be a great fun. I'm hoping for some snow. That would be fantastic, although not looking great. Is it anybody else? I feel like it doesn't snow as much at Christmas anymore.

Yep, we agree with that. That's certainly a conversation that's much broader than just sports. I think people are having everywhere. But it snowed over here just a couple days ago. It's supposed to be like 50 and rain on Monday here. It's not good. Just gloomy. What do you guys got?

Christmas. Christmas. Yeah, well, thanks. What are we doing for Christmas? Pittsburgh. You're going to Pittsburgh? Safe travels back to Pittsburgh. Thank you.

Are you going to talk about Steelers the whole time over there? I don't know if that's a good call. They're actually going to be playing during my parents' Christmas party Saturday at 4 o'clock. It'll be a heavy conversation. A lot of Christmas. I think family. A lot of everybody traveling. It's good. Three-day weekend there.

You know what I mean? Where'd you get your daughter? Buddy, so I've been Amazon-ing everything I possibly can the uh the thing that i am gonna get for mckenzie she'll find out is the one that zippers from the bottom you know i need every single one needs to be a bottom zipper you know what i mean and the top zipper those things because when you're trying to change a diaper like having to go from top all the way down to the bottom, take her all the way out of the thing, much more difficult.

Magnetic. Magnetic me. Lifesaver. Magnetic buttons. Just pop them on, pop them off. They're phenomenal. Better than zippers and buttons. The zipper, I don't know.

Really? Just personal experience. I don't know. Maybe I'm wrong. But if you haven't tried them, I'll send you some. And then you tell me which is better. Oh, look at Uncle JJ. Wow.

Christmas gift. Is he going to be able to get here in time? I've been ordering on Amazon. They're like, yep, this ain't going to make it. This ain't going to make it. Probably not. Probably not. But I'll give it a shot. You text me that address.

I'll send some out right now. The boys also, Santa Butch got Q3, Quest 3s for everybody. Yeah. You're going to be able to get for all the boys? I'll – What do you guys want, new iPhones? You want me to get them a magnetic me? No, AJ and I are going to send everybody some athletic brewing.

We're going to send them some athletic beers, which is going to be great. We'll send some kickstands, a little non-alcoholic with athletic, a little alcoholic with kickstand. It will be fantastic. Some Burnley merch? Get a little bit of everything. Yeah, some Burnley merch. Just give us Cole. These gifts suck.

Jeez. Look at Taylor. We're sitting in the back. Your season is struggling. You don't know if your coach is going to be here next year or not. You don't know if your GM is going to be here next year. Yes, I do. Your shirt kind of got roasted at the beginning of this show a little bit. You're't know if your coach is going to be here next year or not. You don't know if your GM is going to be here next year. Yes, I do. Your shirt kind of got roasted at the beginning of this show a little bit.

You're having a rough day. I understand. Tone is getting a lot of hype for being skinnier, for looking so good. I get it, Connor. You're going through a rough time right now, but it will get better. You will come out of this. AQ just went and did a green beret show. For Christ's sake, I mean, life is good for a lot of guys.

Hell, yeah. It's going to turn around for you. Yes. Thanks. Don't send me those gifts still. Yeah, you're saying he was lashing out irrationally. That's what you're saying there. Connor, do you not need a non-alcoholic beer in your life? Mix it in every now and then. He's an espresso martini boy.

Strictly. I'm a Tito's boy. I went out with him in Gumpch, the DTB, the downtown boys, and we had a little dinner with a couple drinks at a bar. Connor's sitting to my left. He orders espresso martini. I hear it.

I go, okay, didn't know we were doing this. I say, Jack and Diet, please. Thank you. And then Gumpsh shows up at the exact same time. Espresso martini, please. Thank you so much. It sits down. I'm like, I had no idea.

That's his drink? That's how you get one to jumpstart the night. That's what you do. Sometimes two. That's the way to do it. Two if you're a little hungover. Any more than two, you're doing too much. The espresso martini is the pickleball of the drinking world right now.

It is. It is. It's sweet. Easy on the teeny. I love that. It is. And plus, you just go two the teeny. I love that. It is. And plus, you just go two espresso martinis right into Tito's Red Bull,

and you are flying. Sounds like you're having a long night. You got to check your blood pressure. We got to check your blood pressure. I'm good. I got this thing. It does it for me. Yeah, you're right.

I've heard it saves lives. All right, have a great Christmas. Tell the family we said hello. We appreciate you, JJ. We'll see you next week, and then also live. Yeah. Radio Row. Mm-hmm. We appreciate you, JJ. We'll see you next week and then also live. Ray or Ro. Super Bowl. You know what I mean,

JJ? Are we wearing anything cool? Should we wear the same outfits? We all dress up together? Yeah, tuxedos. Sounds good. Merry Christmas, guys. I appreciate you very much. This show is a blessing and I'm very grateful for it and very, very thankful for it. I appreciate it all. You guys are the best. Thank you to the viewers. Thank you to all you guys. Thank you to everybody

who worked so hard to make it happen. Appreciate it. Merry Christmas. We all appreciate you. Good day, too, to those watching over the pond. Good day. Ladies and gentlemen, J.J. Wilde. Good boy, J.J. It's going to be happening from tomorrow night all the way through. Hell yeah.

Bowl season is obviously spectacular. There's absurd outcomes happening every other hour in the bowl season. Tomorrow, we got Rams and Saints. That has NFC playoff implications on the line. Friday, there's bowl game. Saturday, there's NFL Sunday. There's NFL Monday night. There's NFL football. All day Monday.

Oh yeah, a couple Monday. Because it's Christmas Day. One all the way through. There's also NBA games. It used to be their day. Hello. Sorry. We have the day now. Whoops. All these games matter. Who's going to get home field advantage? Whose season is over after week 18? Who's going to sneak into field advantage? Whose season is over after week 18?

Who's going to sneak into the wild card spot and maybe become the New York football giants? What if they toppled the New England Patriots here in Indianapolis, Indiana? As a team that was written off and dead, and then they got hot. Coughlin was almost fired. Then they get hot.

Then they win a Super Bowl. Eli Manning. Guaranteed Hall of Famer now. Anybody can do that. That's A.J. Hawk. This man did win a Super Bowl. The Talks at the Table is here. At Boss of Connor and Eli Manning. Guaranteed Hall of Famer now. Anybody can do that. That's A.J. Hawk. This man did win the Super Bowl. The Talks at the Table is here. At Boss of Connor and at Ty Schmidt. One half of the hammer. Cowboys turn. Digs is here.

Nine-year NFL vet. Host of the Man to Man podcast. Everything DB and that good D, bad D. Ladies and gentlemen, Darius J. Butler. Also in studio with us is a Super Bowl champion. A man that just got done with his war games out in the middle of North Carolina. Twelve years in the NFL and a Super Bowl champion, a man that just got done with his war games out in the middle of North Carolina. 12 years in the NFL

and a Super Bowl champion. Thank you, Rittenhouse. Thank you, Shipley. Someone beat me. They're saying that on the internet? That's what they're saying on Twitter. With his little G.I.Q. costume whenever he was out in the woods playing war.

It was right there, too. Yep. Yeah, I mean, that's certainly in your world. And every once in a while, the algo will slide old Rittenhouse in. Yep, sure. Just did, actually. He's just bawling his eyes out. Mm-hmm.

And the whole thing. Obviously, very serious situation. But, yes, you were a white that was wearing a lot of war regalia. I see the resemblance. I don't know why we posited this exact spot for the photo because you do look like you're lost, confused, maybe a little bit dazed by it all. I think that was mid-sentence.

We just took a screenshot. But we do appreciate the fact that you're out there doing it. See, I know it was mid-sentence. Are those your mechanics wear? Did They give you the mechanics wear? My green beret gave me that. Do they give you a belt? Is this like Big Brothers Big Sisters? My green beret gave me that? Well, I'm not allowed to mention his name, but yeah,

we were all paired with a active green beret. God, how much cooler than you was he? I assume he was the coolest guy of all time. I mean, I could have listened to him talk for hours. Did you guys booze a little bit and tell stories? We did. We had a great time. Did you tell any stories? No, I just

listened. You told stories? No, I just listened. What? Come on. What stories am I going to tell? What? We were actually trying to predict how the evening was going. I was like, well, I think it's pretty boozed up and gets a little slipped over there. Some of the old, yeah. I got some good stories. Yeah, I yeah so i got some good stories rookie

yeah i'd say you got some great stories and i assume they come out whenever you're drinking with your navy seal friends we thought at the time right now it's green beret friend uh green beret in the army yep they uh horse soldiers the 12 strong is about them that's the green beret obviously navy seal is known for all the tactical things that they have done throughout a lot of stories throughout military history in the United States. The Green Beret, they live with people and build their military. That's kind of their MO. They're all in full. What was the message from the Green Beret folks?

I think it's still very. They're the elite. Yes, special forces for the Army. Special forces Army. Also, Delta Force, too, with the Army Rangers. That's the top Army Ranger squad or battalion. So that's like SEAL Team 6. Yeah, Delta Force exactly is the Army's Navy SEALs.

Like the top SEAL Team, excuse me. Green Berets are the Navy SEALs, right? Yeah, SEAL Team 6 is the top of the Navy SEALs. Delta Force is the top of the Army Rangers. Okay, got it. And you were just hanging out with these people? Just hanging out. On a pretty legendary range, too.

If you look up, it's called Range 37. Whoa, whoa, whoa. No, you can look it up. Oh, my God. This guy's going to get the government after this. No, no, no, no. I think we're allowed to say that. No, if you say it three times,

they pop up out of the ground and shoot you in the head. It's Christmas. I hope you're happy. Now we're all in trouble. Pretty cool, though. All right. Well, we're proud of you, buddy. Way to go.

And shout out to the special forces. The charity. The charity. Charitable trust, you buffoon. He was finding it. Well, I did. I thought you were going. I was like, okay, I knew what he wanted.

I knew what he wanted. Took me a second. There we go. Finishing each other's sentence. Yeah, look at us. That's an incredible thing. This morning on X, I put out a tweet saying, hey, you know what? Let's bring back a nice throwback segment, especially because we're in the holiday spirit.

We'd like to get more people to watch the show, involve the show. How do you do that? Well, you just say, hey, why don't you send some questions? So I said, why don't you use hashtag ask the sport stooges? Now, could have used sports stooges, obviously. Sure. Had the S in there. Thought back-to-back S's was maybe not a good look.

But it should have been sports stooges because that is exactly what we are. But we're also the sports stooges, which is... Anyways, a lot of questions were asked. I scanned through some, grabbed a few. Let's dive in, shall we? This is from Andrew G. At A. Andrew, good name, by the way. Clever.

Very. Clever. Is there some unwritten requirement somewhere that you have to have an IQ below 50 to be a Boston or Philly sports fan? That's a great question from Andrew. Yeah. Con man, how do you feel about these particular opinions about all of New England fans? Well, funny enough, my mother's from Philly,

so one side of my family is Philadelphia Eagles fans. The other side are huge Patriots fans. And, yes, there is a required amount of people that need to be part of the fan base that have to have terrible, terrible ideas and things. And as someone who is part of that collective, you need those people in your fandom.

You need the idiots that are going to go up and yell even when your team looks terrible and are still going to have their back. You need those stooges who are going to say, sure, we're winning, we're 10-3, but this team stinks. You need to have those people as fans to, one, keep it realistic and optimistic at the same time,

and then you have the level-headed ones that will tell it to you straight. But you need those outliers, if you will, on both ends of the IQ spectrum. Yeah, bad teams aren't having those. Bingo. I think that's what we're learning about. We appreciate all passionate fan bases. Yeah, some people are dumb out there. Absolutely.

Some people are dumb. We're some of them, to be honest with you. And whenever you said you need some of those fans who are griping at 10-3, Tony Diggs was like, yeah, you're right. Because remember, just a few weeks ago, there was a great winning record happening for the Pittsburgh Steelers. 7-4. They were great.

They were in a good spot. Leaving the AFC North. And Tony was just, this team sucks. That was what he was saying the entire time. Was tone wrong. That's why he didn't come to the game, though. You know what I mean? You didn't get to experience the highs that we were getting.

For what you said. Let's go to the next question here from hashtag ask the sports teachers from Michael G. Darius J. Butler, Travis Kelsey has put up good but not great numbers this year. What have defenses been doing differently this year to cover him? Yeah, we've been talking about this, Michael. That's a good question because everybody's saying like, hey, you know, Travis Kelsey is not as productive and they're taking him away.

What does that mean, D? But I think we have a play. Well, yeah, we do have a play. Before we get to that play, let's get some stats. Michael, this is a great question. Right now, Travis Kelsey sitting at 85 catches, 924 yards. Only five touchdowns last year, 110 catches, 1,300 with 12 TDs. So last year, nine games over 80 yards.

Only one game less than 30. This year already, three games less than 30 yards. Only three TDs in the first four games this year only two in the last nine plays so you know if you're a gambler especially was almost a guarantee anytime TD with Travis Kelsey not the case so much if we get to the clip we can see one example from last week I think you only had 28 yards this game yep this is the second and nine so not even third down but look it's a man-to-man coverage you got a corner on him at first that's Travis Kelsey if you run it back that's Travis Kelsey in motion coming in motion so i'll say jaylen mills number

two and then you got that safety coming down and a linebacker kind of in that short hook so you're always aware where 87 is regardless of what you call a man zone red area in the field regardless of what you're calling the defense we got to take care of 87 somebody else got to beat us so normally on that route where he turns left and the linebacker picks him up, he could – that's an option route, I think, for him normally. So if he goes right, DB stays with him. If he goes left, linebacker goes. We got four eyes on him literally for even choice routes.

And a low hole defender. And it was another play in his game that third and eight, I believe, that Patrick Mahomes hit Justin Watson in the deep seven route. Same thing. It's got all guys, cornerback Kelsey and a DB in the safety as well. So, whenever he motions, right, we're just trying to see who's on him. You can press play here. You can press play.

Yep, here we go. He motions. We know he's with him, right? Jalen knows he's with him. Jalen knows he's on him pretty much all day. Boom. Pause it. Pause it.

Pause it. He's covering one because if he was to come back, he got him. If he goes this way, he's got him. He turns in, so he's gone. Yep. So you got three people. So that's a corner, a safety, and then you got a linebacker on the short window, the quick throw to take away that two guys on him.

Because this move here is how he's feeling. And he also knows this guy's here. So he's allowed to go whichever way he wants, and he can even go back. All of it's being covered. All of it. So that means eight people, though, for everything else. It is. So down at the bottom, for instance, he gets open.

His receiver wins down at the bottom, but Mahomes doesn't have time to get the ball to him. The D-line got to him. But that Justin Watson play on third and eight was a big play. But once again, you're taking away 87. And as a defense, especially Belichick, that's what he's been known for forever, you're going to beat me, you've got to beat me left-handed.

Somebody else has got to step up. Rasheed Rice has been coming along. Can he be that guy that can be consistent down the stretch? Will it be Watson? I think Scott Moore with the IR. Will Tony get back in good grace and make some plays? So we'll see if they can figure it out. Hey, Travis, you've earned this though, Bubba. Sucks.

Still has 900 yards or whatever. I was going to say. 924. Only five TDs though. Yeah, 12 last year through this time to say. Yeah, 924. Only five TDs, though. Yeah, 12 last year through this time of year. No, sorry, 12 on the entire season. Got it. Okay. Anyways, he is a weapon.

Everybody knows he's a weapon. But they don't do that to bums, AJ. They don't do that to bums. No. I mean, it's got to be frustrating for Trav. He knows, like, they're always leaning to him. They're always looking to cut him. If you saw that play, too, like, they're coming down to cut him right at the sticks as well. They know where he's trying to get to most likely.

So, yeah, there's a lot of attention. But it does, like D-Bud said, it opens up everyone else on that field. Yeah, it's, you know, can Andy Reid draw something up, too, to get him open? Yeah, that'd be nice. I see some plays that they're drawing up for people. You know, like, hey, we're going to do this motion, this motion, and then all of a sudden you're going to leak out and be wide open. We see it with Christian McCaffrey

the other day, literally. Another part of it, too, which AQ can touch on is their front, their tackles. I don't know how good or bad their tackles are, but I see a lot. Watching them on film, you see 87 chipping and staying in a lot to help in that rush. And Donovan Smith's been down. That's been a big key, because now they're having to keep him in. They've got to help

the left tackle quite a bit now. That's a big issue right now. Okay. Can they figure that out? They've got to get their guys back healthy. But they will. He's not season ending or anything. He'll be back.

All good teams, though, at the top have a great D-line. So having a soft offensive line is an inevitable Achilles heel that's going to show itself whenever football comes to matter. Hopefully Andy Reid and the boys' big brains are able to figure it out. But that's why Travis Kelsey's down a little bit. It's just a sign of respect. Six eyes potentially on Travis Kelsey just on that one play. They'll make it happen, especially

when he's just getting fired and they're not throwing a flag. Taylor Swift saw it. She said flag. She said that a lot and she didn't say that on that play. We can admit now as grown-ups. Lip readers told me. I said flag. She said that a lot, and she didn't say that on the play. Okay, we can admit now, as grown-up. Lip readers told me. I said flag.

Flag. Flag, like a penalty. Flag. With a flag. Sure. She said fuck. And she swears, actually, and a lot of people said this. She sweared a lot in her latest album, Midnight.

Really? Yeah, a lot of fucks. Hey, if it is fuck, I'm pumped. It is. But I just think her football IQ is at a level now where she knows that that should have been a penalty. Absolutely. You know, that's how I feel. Let's go to the next question here from the Twitter X World. This is

Lamar Jackson and Joy of the Ball Network. Hashtag ask the sports studios, why is nobody talking about the Ravens? That's a great point. Yeah, it is. We talk about them a lot. Darius has been talking about them a long time, obviously. And the story of the offseason was lamar you know he gets the deal done negotiates it himself huge congrats to him doing that whole thing and then in training camp we see some videos it's like oh the boys are tight down there seems like the boys are tight new offense quarter uh offense coordinator

might be able to get better and better they have they've been great but it is a lack of a conversation piece why is that every time we talk about it, Baltimore fans get super pumped, and it's like, hey, I appreciate the fact that you guys are noticing that we talk about it, but also, yeah, they're the number one team in the AFC right now. Have to talk about the Baltimore team. Kind of weird. I mentioned it earlier. Only one of two teams, Miami being the other one,

were top five in defense and offense. Then you got, we always talk about it's a quarterback-driven league. You got a guy who's in the MVP conversation somewhat, you know, top three or four. Dynamic player, you saw him on Sunday Night Football. Chris Collinsworth couldn't stop talking about it. So it is weird that we don't talk about the Ravens enough, but I'm sure they probably prefer it that way.

Yeah, Harbaugh probably pulls from it. But, like, the NFL would be better if we, you know, got to see them more. I think that would be good for the NFL. I think that's the big thing. I mean, and I'm sure they have had, but it feels like they're not on primetime that often. It seems like every time I look at them, I'm always watching

1 o'clock games and it's never the main CBS game or the main Fox game for whatever reason. I'm sure they have been one of those teams that's right up near the top in terms of most primetime games played, but it just feels like every week I'm watching on Sundays, it's like, oh, they're like the third CPS game.

You don't really get to see them. Yeah. Like that Rams game was unbelievable. That was nuts. Yeah, and we all saw the tail end of it because it lasted longer. Right. So it's like when the other games end, they'll carry over on it. But it is hard to find those games if you don't live in Baltimore,

the city that you're playing against, which I think is bullshit. Well, one more thing, too, is I think Lamar is really the only bona fide superstar. Like when you look at their running backs. Right, but again, he's still – it's him. It's Bateman. They lose Mark Andrews, and they're winning with Likely, right? It's like they just lose Keaton Mitchell. And on defense, they don't have a bunch of guys that are household name pass rushers,

but they're all getting it done. It's just win by committee. Look at that. That's a team. That's a football team. And the quarterback, in terrible weather a couple weeks, putting it. He heard a lot of the chatter. He's only getting better.

And that offense coordinator is just only learning about him. That's a fun team. That's a good team to be a fan of. The coordinator might be a head coach next year. Shit, the OC might be a head coach. Mike McDonald, sorry. Yeah, Monken might get him. That's a fun team. That's a good team to be a fan of. The coordinator might be a head coach next year. Mike McDonald. Yeah, Monk and Mike. Hey, I was with Georgia two years ago, then Baltimore. Yeah, now I'm a head coach

of a team all of a sudden. Makes sense. They look so good. So dominant over there. Special teams always going to be good. They play a tough brand of football, which carries and travels into playoffs. If the hardball was more bombastic and loud, would people pay more attention i wonder what it is because you're right lamar is one of the most fun and exciting

guys to watch in the nfl so it doesn't really make sense yeah four primetime games is i believe two were scheduled at one point because i saw a couple ravens fans whenever i said like let's put them in primetime more and then a Ravens fans said, thank you for bringing this up, but also, where were you when the schedule was released? We saw this coming down the pipe. I understand the Colts have zero primetime games. They have zero primetime game schedule. First time

ever, I think, because normally every team had to have a Thursday night game. This year, first year, not everybody has to. Bezos ain't doing it. He's got deep pockets. He's not doing it. Everybody just gets a free primetime game. Coltsts had none it's like the ravens aren't talked about in the primetime conversations anywhere near where they need to be well and i think part of it too was because a lot of those primetime games that they scheduled ended up being teams like the jets where it's like it the product was just so bad and then we were seeing the ravens and we were talking about

like why can't we flex these games in so it's like you have that where you have a team that's clearly unbelievable and they're playing at 1 o'clock and then we're watching the Jets again on Sunday night or Monday night and they don't have a quarterback and they're, you know, playing like shit. And it's like this just doesn't make sense here. They'll figure it out. The NFL will figure it out. Yeah.

They'll figure it out. Let's go to the next question from X, shall we? This is Luke Quinn at Muff Daddy. 52. Hashtag X, shall we? This is Luke Quinn at Muff Daddy. 52. Hashtag X, the sports students. What are going to be the men's New Year's resolutions? F-bombs or to be no more? Boston shaves his hair?

Yeah, right. I like that that's just your first name now. You tell Boston I said hello. That's what people say to me. I'm like, oh, it's the city? Just the whole? Yeah, everybody. Oh, you're talking about Connor.

Yeah, BC. Tell them. Let's start with you, Con, man. What is the New Year's resolution you're thinking about? I did actually put some thought into this. I'm thinking my New Year's resolution is going to be cleaning my apartment every other week. There we go. Nice.

Bi-weekly. Yeah, bi-weekly. It gets pretty dusty. Wash your sheets. I'm very good with laundry. This is strictly dusting and vacuuming. That's really good for you. I'm just trying to get better. Ty, do you have any resolutions?

Yeah, I think just being healthier overall. No dumping the pants anymore? Well, that's inevitable. I have stomach issues. I kind of always have, so that kind of just comes with the territory, but cleaning up the diet a little bit, trying not to drink as much. Really? Yeah. Drinking on the weekends only is kind of where you start.

Don't need to be having a cocktail on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, just kind of for the hell of it because, oh, there's a, you know, this random-ass college basketball game. You've got to have a drink while fucking, you know, Southern A&M. And the game's long, drinks short. Exactly. Say you're going to have one, you know, and my one is really about four, and then you're having four of those.

So it's like, well, did I just drink a half a bottle of Jack on a Tuesday night? Don't need to be doing that. So, yeah, just that, you know, trying to try to be around for my daughter. Yeah, we're thankful for that, too. We like that a lot. Love that. Get my asthma in check, too. I haven't checked that in a long time. It's kind of starting to creep up on me again. So, you know, I need to get to the doctor. All right. We like that. A i like that he's cleaning his place you're cleaning up your diet never heard this from you before but we are very excited you know for yeah but i haven't i haven't like in when you see your daughter start to get older like

that changes things big time it's like okay this isn't just like lip service anymore it's like i actually want to like see her grow up and be around for that so maybe it's time to actually love that hell yeah it's hot go ton digs obviously you're down 40 already yeah that's going to continue in the new year um for this is a great year to start a resolution because for the first time since 2018 the first is on a monday yeah that yeah so you start the year on the, the year and the week on a Monday. You can start a resolution. That's great. I think I want to focus more on the organization of the non-obvious.

First and foremost. And then, you know, when I'm on this stage and just in general, just being more optimistic. We like that. There you go, Tony. Or a vibe resolution. And maybe more cigars, I think, too. More studs.

Like that. More vibes. Look at you living. Vibes. 2024 is the year of the vibe. Hell yeah. That's not a bad thing. No.

2024 the vibe. Yep. Wow. Yeah. That's sweet. Print the shirt. TM, TM, TM, TM. There's 45 Twitter accounts underneath every single thing that you wear

you say this is where i got the shirt right here like where did that company come how did you you got quicker workers than anybody in the history so that's gone but it is for the vibes it seems like same with you yeah same with you yeah d butch how about you new year's resolution new year new me you do any of that uh pretty basic uh okay consistent consistent in a work in a weight room okay you know i bullshit where i do other shit i golf i play basketball so i'm pretty active i stay in shape but in the weight room since i stopped playing football it is so hard to be consistent you don't push yourself you get through three sets you say you're gonna do five it's like ah fuck it i don't have to guard antonio brown anymore. I'm good. So stop slacking in the weight room and be more consistent.

We like that. Stop watching F1, maybe. No, no, no. I'm all in. I can't wait to see who competes with Mac next year. He's still on TV. Nobody. He hasn't posted a thirst trap in a while.

Remember when he used to post that? What year was that? That was COVID. Yeah, your girl don't want to see this shit. Yeah, and he was with a water bottle, actually. With an actual water bottle. It's like a thirsty thirst trap. Yeah, your girl don't want to see this shit. Yeah, and he was with a water bottle, actually. With an actual water bottle. It's like a thirsty... Legitimate news.

Yeah. Yeah, something like that. When was that? That was COVID. Fake news. 2021. I think it was. I was COVID.

COVID, you were... I was encouraging working out and being healthy. Shredding. You were shredding. Yeah. Fucking shredding. Yeah. That was the last time you were committed to the weight room.

I was, yeah. It was. You were fucking huge. It was. Yeah. Well, you're right. It was my whole family. We committed to the weight room. You were fucking huge. It was my whole family. We started something and we all fucking fell off. That's the whole Butler family. The whole family got to get right.

Butler fit fam. Let's get back in there. You were fucking... Yeah, I got to get back. That's why this year when he walked in, everybody was like... He's eating French toast and milkshakes for breakfast. Every day.

That's how we get here. He became a golfer, like, real quick. He was just, you know, I'm golfing now. And now he's back in there a little bit. Muscles are starting to remember. Played basketball one-on-one against Pac-Man's guy Sano yesterday. They were really banging out here. Legit.

I was just sitting down, rubbing a hammy, end of a hamstring pull, and all of a sudden D-Buck comes walking out. He goes, one play to five? Well, he was standing over here holding the ball. Yeah, but he does that every week. He hucks up shots. It's awesome to watch him. He's a baseball player.

I think he is athletic. Yeah, there it is right there with a drink. He's taking a drink. That's all. If I give you a girl this look. Just focus on yourself, King. Boom. Boom. That's taking a drink. That's all. If I give your girl this look. Just focus on yourself, King. Boom. Boom.

That's a great pick. What was the date? Great. Great pick. That's so bad. That was OTA. He picked the right one. He picked the right one.

Your girl, bitch. No, this was like a teamwork. I have my shirt on. Did he ever post that one from New York? I got to go scrub. I got to go scrub the knit. No, no. Don't do the George Pickens. I got to shirt on. Did he ever post that one from New York? I got to go scrub. I got to go scrub the net. No, no. Don't do George Pickens.

I got to scrub that. Did you post the one from New York? Lakota Murray. No, I got to get a deep cap. You know it. You took it. Oh, the one with you looking in the city? Pat posted it.

I got to get it. I already posted it. That was a pretty good thing. You were really taking it in. LA, it was an unbelievable view. Oh, yeah. It was a great view. Yeah.

That's like out of the movies. Didn't that chopper ride out of there? Oh, my God. That was a joke. Oh, yeah. It was a great view. Yeah. That's like out of the movies. Isn't that chopper right out of there? Oh, my God. That was a joke. That was sick. Appreciate that, man. That was a cool moment.

New York was awesome. Yeah. Yeah, you get a chance to do that. You got to fucking do it. Choppers. You know what I mean? Completely flipped on them. I love them. Yeah, I'm a big fan.

I'm in on. Much more sturdy than I could have imagined. Absolutely. We could have done without some comments the guys made right before we took off. But outside of that, it was great. About the weight? No, no, no. So you guys had already taken off, both choppers.

Me, Bruce, and Zito were left. And D-Butt, I don't think initially was on the manifest. And he was like, I didn't get his name. What is Darius? He was like, yeah, need his name in case one of these things goes down, obviously. And it was literally two seconds before we walked out to fucking get in the thing. I was like, are you fucking kidding me? It's the last thing i want to hear that wasn't it right didn't someone else was it the guy who was flying the helicopter said something to you guys or well ty's the complete wrong guy oh yeah and that's like i knew it was gonna be fine but just you

know you just immediately start thinking like kobe and all that kind of shit so i just had anxiety to begin with and i was like it's it's gonna be fine like it's a five five minute ride you know he said like it's only seven minutes oh yeah no so after he said that i was like yeah that's not what i want to fucking hear getting out of these things he's like listen no matter what anyone says to you it's safer than everyone says safer than ice skating in a bathtub. I was like, what? Shut up. Zeke snapped the photo of Ty on the tarmac still.

Literally, I'm not kidding. We're getting ready to walk out there. Need the names in case one of these things goes down, obviously. What a nonchalant line. If it means anything, we're all thinking the same thing you were thinking the entire time. You guys just didn't have to hear it right before you got onto the chopper. Thank God. I would have hopped right into it.

I was fucking white knuckling. Then we'd bank real quick. I was like you know what i might just fucking open this thing just air roll out of here the doors are crazy yeah that landed was i mean the view of the city was crazy but the landing was the sickest part money yeah yeah coming in between planes yeah good military folks out there. We appreciate that. Probably former Secret Service. So bored flying us. They see you scared to death. They're like, I've done this

15,000 times. Yeah, and the pilot was great. It had nothing to do with him. It was the guy who was getting a little too chatty before we took off. A. Kusch, New Year's resolution? More war games? I don't know. If they invite me back, I'm there. Had a blast.

Heck, I might be going to some – I might be finding some tactical ranches around the country. Okay, yeah, GIQs for you. Yeah, I think we're all in. All right. But sticking on the health, I got to keep dropping. You sure? What?

I'm trying to get six back. Did you plateau? Have you plateaued or are you still losing? It's not – I'm like to get six back. Did you plateau? Have you plateaued or are you still losing? It's not. I'm like, I've plateaued. But it's not because. Momentum. No, no, no.

I just haven't been as strict. And I'm going to get back on that. Oh, this season's tough. You know? But I haven't gained. So that's the plus. Hell yeah. So you're just not doing the four days of prep work to eat for three days?

50 pills. Every single day of your life. I'm not starving myself from a pint of ice cream every once in a while. Let's be very clear. Ice cream's so good. We had some ice cream delivered here. What was that, last week? Yeah. Handles? Handles, yeah. Top notch. It was very good.

That's Ohio? I think that's Ohio. I think so. Yeah, they have it here. Annabelle Handle? Oh, that's... Our name is so good. Our sweet queen? She has a great name. We, they have it here. Yeah. Annabelle Handel. Oh, that's – Her name is so good. Our sweet queen. She has a great name. We learned the Handel story pretty much.

There she is. Alice Handel. Alice Handel. Youngstown, Ohio. Youngstown, Ohio. Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh.

Their CFO, I believe, is from Pittsburgh. Oh, cool. Yeah. So he's a Yenzer Weapon fan of program. Got us hooked up with some of the local franchises of it. Same as us. So good. 1945 was a year.

Everybody was fucking getting home from the war and eating Handel's ice cream. So much. And boinking. Alice was like, you know what? You know what these people deserve? Ice cream. Some good old ice cream. That's right.

And it's fantastic. She mastered it probably pretty quick. Who at Mission Barbecue delivered us so much meat? So good. Oh, my goodness. So good. That was awesome. Reheated delicious.

That's a big deal. Usually it's not. Hey, that Mission Barbecue is a real deal, AJ. Oh, yeah. Bill Krause. He's not messing around. Bill Krause was not here, which, you know. Shame.

We were bummed out on. Very bummed out. I wanted him to speak to the team because I heard him speak one time, and I'm like, this guy will rally troops wherever. But that Mission Barbecue, they got like 130 stores across the country, I think, and their meat is super fresh and cooked perfectly. Yep. They traveled like an hour and a half with this meat to get here.

Yeah. So good. Those ribs just falling off the bone. Legit. And then they had six different sauces we could to get here. Yeah. So good. Those ribs just falling off the bone. Legit. And then they had six different sauces we could use. Chicken. Yeah, the pulled chickens.

Sausage. There was like a little. Yeah, a little andouille. Jalapeno, cheddar. And there was like a breaded, like with syrup. What was that? What is that called? It was all bread pudding. Bread pudding.

Still don't know what that is. What is bread pudding? That's pudding with breads? Yeah, pretty much. I took a bite of it. It tasted pretty good. Yeah, it was good. It was like a crouton.

It's like sweet stuffing. Yeah, that is what it tasted like. It is like sweet. And there was a little crunch in it. Do you ever eat at a Mission Barbecue? None of the stuff we're talking about right now, obviously, because you're just eating. Yeah, Mission Barbecue.

I told you I had it with Bill Krause. He fed us at the Ryder Cup a whole squad that we were with. He's the guy on the right right there, by the way. He was with Under Armour back when Click Clack. That's the guy on the right side. He's been coming for years. He's like, I want to feed you guys. He's wanted to come to game day.

He's got three kids going off this next year, I think, to serve. Is this AQ's Green Beret? I'll tell you what. He runs his company pretty. I haven't been to a bad one. 12 o'clock, right? 12 o'clock every day. They shut it down, play the national

anthem in every single store at noon every single day at Mission Barbecue. Does he have an accent? I think he did if I do recall. He walked in. We didn't even get this guy's fucking name. He just walked in the room. They're like, Mission Barbecue? And this is the first time this has ever happened.

And I've never seen somebody just command a room. I remember Kirk's coming off like two hours of sleep after Thursday Night Football. Ben's in there. I'm in there in a meeting setting. So that, you know, I mean, just probably fathom how that goes. Pete Thamel's in there on two phones. The whole crew's in there on two phones yep the entire time the whole crew is in there and this guy just walks in and goes if i could have your touch for a minute just want to

kind of thank you guys for the opportunity to feed you guys tomorrow during college game day it is honor of a lifetime for me as a man who started and boom right into it started with under armor years back and i got into mission barbecue whenever uh um september 11th 2011 is when we launch and that is on purpose for a reason uh that is a symbol of what our country can be and will be every single day actually and it goes into full story of it he goes i got three kids that are all gonna deploy uh this upcoming year they're all obviously reasons and inspirations for everything we do every single i was like he's gonna talk for like five minutes it was at the end i was like do i stand up and fucking yeah are we uh are we clapping for this guy and normally if somebody would come into that meeting i'm pretty

comfortable in there with everybody like middle of talking i would have said something at some point like whatever he said at noon every single day we shut everything down we play the national anthem and then you know people cry in that moment people stay in it's like a real moment that we really bring everybody together and i was like oh yeah midnight like in morgantown we play country roads you know every bar i mean i was that was in my head immediately be like oh kind of like but it was not now wow not now yeah i even real command yeah i swallowed it back in there it's like that's much different than what i'm about to say.

No reason to step on what this guy's got going right now. It was great to meet him. And then the meat came during the show. Then it came on game day. And it tastes good. So good. Every time. One of the best barbecues I've ever had.

Good businessman, too. He's really diligent on it. He's not messing around. One of his kids, last time I saw him a couple years ago, was about to go, you know, for some serious, like, high intense training, special forces type stuff. So, yeah, his kids are all, they're serious. He wasn't with me.

AQ probably knows him. Probably does. AQ may have trained him. Did you have headphones in there so you could talk to the other plebes or whatever? No headphone. Okay. I wish I had a microphone. How'd Jack Osborne do?

Pretty good? Really good. We knew. Really good. He's a dog, huh? When you put up that picture and I saw he was a survivalist, I knew it was it. I knew he was. Yeah, but didn't you say you guys got boozed up and you want to play Russian roulette?

And you were like, hey, we can't do that. What? They were trying to come up with some ideas, like moving forward. Like, hey, we can't do that. They were trying to come up with some ideas moving forward. Like, hey, how can we make this better? Jack said something along the lines of, we should make this battles. And I was like, wait. What if you guys do squid games? You guys are standing in the – that was the worst one.

Which one? I didn't like whenever they were standing in the actual ships on there and they were eliminated. Oh, the battleship? Even if their team won. Yeah. You know what I mean? I didn't, you know what I mean? Did you watch the split games?

Oh, yeah. Didn't get that. By the way, old buddy at the end, how do you not know their strategy in fucking rock, paper, scissors? Yeah. I was just throwing it random. And Maya's like. I wasn't. This guy had tendencies.

Yeah, that was the worst part of the show, though. Maya was cutthroat. She was dominating and she still could have lost. Yeah, I tendencies. That was the worst part of the show, though. I was cutthroat. She was dominating, and she still could have lost. Yeah, I agree. But she won, like, what, like 30 straight, it seems like. Yeah, yeah. And she was like, yeah, there was definitely a rhythm and tendencies he had, and then you go to him.

I was just kind of whatever. Just guessing. That was the first time, though, where it was like, okay, yeah, this isn't as cool because no one's dying here. Yeah. That was the only game. Yeah, but we wish there would have been a... Yes.

Exactly. A couple of them had some good sales. Great sales. Let's do it with people. I love the sales. Let's do it with people on death row next year. Jesus. Like real deaths.

Yeah. They still get their last meal. That's a movie. The Condemned starring Stone Cold Steve Austin. Or Death Raid. Happy birthday, Stone Cold. Or Death Raid starring Jason Statham. All right.

Well, AJ's got to go, too. AJ, what's your New Year's resolution? That's a good question. I've been trying to come up with something over this whole time when you've been asking everybody else. Have you ever done any legit New Year's resolutions? No. whole time when you've been asking everybody else they i didn't have you ever done any like legit new year's resolution uh no i have uh i've certainly said you know next year is going to be a year that i remember for something like uh something i would like to do or something i'd like to see or something like that so i guess that would be a resolution but the humans that do the

full new year new me i'm incredibly envious of i don't know if i have that much commitment you know in my life to be able to do it, but there are people that completely change their lives on a new year. And then the stats say, because I did a New Year's Eve show, I had to look this up. I think like 78%

of them or something like that, 13 days is the max last for people. But I want to let you know, in 2024, everything you guys said, we're going to do it. Hold each other accountable. 2020 for the vibes is also 2020 for the resolution sticking. Hell yeah. The human that we want to be next year, we're going to actually be.

Yeah. Hell yeah. Hear, hear. Hey, good for everybody with their resolution. Well, no, you guys still didn't go. Yeah. Mine's just going to be health, you know, because much like what Ty was saying,

it is cool watching his baby grow, you know? It is cool seeing that. And it's like I've already envisioned, like, future practices that I have to go to because my daughter is there and then me not necessarily agreeing with what the coach. Like, there's so many, so many moments that I've already, like, thought about with my daughter is there and then me not necessarily agreeing with what the coach, like there's so many so many moments that I've already thought about with my daughter. I'm like,

I can't wait to experience that. I am so pumped for it. I like to be able to move because I pulled my hamstring last week. That can't be happening. That can't be real life that I can't run without pulling a hamstring. So I want to get healthier. I want to live longer and I want to continue to enjoy the hell out of the ride with you guys. Very,

very lucky to do this. AJ, I assume you're thinking the same thing. So that's just what we're rolling. No, you spurred. Yeah. It made me think, I tell you that a lot, like my daughter just turned 13, man. Like that's blows my mind that she's that old. So yeah, I want to be, I've said it jokingly, but it's become a real thing. Like I'm going to be present in the moment. That's what I want to do. I don't want to sit there and think about or worry about what may be coming because my kids are growing up too fast.

The show's going fast. Like I want to do this forever. I love it. It's already December 20th. Hey, crazy man. Here, here to a great 2024. Great question. Let's go to the next one here.

Thank you for that. Here's JB at Rhythm JB, not Coach JB. Oh, okay. This is Rhythm JB. Same one? Appears to be a golf coach as opposed to a football coach. A couple of his motivational speeches have hit the internet in my algorithm. That guy could fucking rally

a crew. Couldn't he? He'll run that shit back too. You bet. My lady is due any day with her son and I have done little to no research because I was inspired to take the Pat McAfee show route and wing it. I should be all right, right? Hashtag ask the sports studios. Now, I did not get a chance to do all the research that I was going to do. Baby girl came two weeks early.

Right. Yes. So that research was going to be done, you know, at a later time. Yeah, of course. So that was my plan. You know,

obviously I was going to do that, but I think the big key here is rhythm JB. My wife read all the books. She was overly prepared. Absolutely loved everything about the process. So if you have somebody who at least understands something, you should have that around. Other than that, you're going to

learn as you go. Those first three weeks after the baby is born, that is a welcome to real life situation. Life buds is what I like to compare it to because there's going to be moments where you're questioning everything. There's going to be moments where you wonder if like, how have people been parents for so long?

How has this been a thing? So if you just wing it i think it's a right play uh but also you need to have somebody that knows something aj you have a lot of kids how what would you say to mr rhythm jb man yeah my first so i have four my my oldest she came two weeks early so i was kind of in the same situation as you during the season everything came the day before a game all of that i mean after i had my first kid though i realized like it doesn't matter what you do before the kid comes you cannot prepare for it you cannot what like you just figure it out and i i started thinking of all the turd people on the planet that

have kids and those kids are fine kids are very resilient they can figure it out and it might be good sometimes to let them figure it out and i just feel like as as a parent, that's what you do. Okay, kids crying. Oh, what's going on? They got to take a dump. They need to stop taking dumps. What is it? That's always the question. It's always like, how do we figure this out?

And then boom, we just move on to the next issue and handle that. Food, also a question. You know, food and dumps, certainly two of them. But in nap, sleep there for the first three weeks. But you said you think about all the turds. I did a lot of that. It was like 2.30, 3 a.m., hadn't slept in like 27 hours. And I got to change her diaper, you know.

And wife was obviously kicking ass alongside of me. And it's like, how do people do it? I can see how people are like, I'm not going to make it. And you start thinking like all the Dr. Phil episodes. And then you think of Jerry Springer that people sign up for that. And then Maury Povich. And you're like

people do this. Let's fucking go here. And it is a nice little motivator. Whenever you think you're at the end of your realm and then all of a sudden you're off and running. AQ's got three of them. Young babies. There we go. And the funny thing is and the biggest thing is and then all of a sudden you're off and running. AQ's got three of them. Young babies. There we go. He's in the thick of it.

And the funny thing is, and the biggest thing is, what works for your kid doesn't work for my kid. What works for my first kid doesn't work for my second and doesn't work for my third. So it's like, any advice you get, throw it out the fucking window. Everybody was like, hey, your kid's going to cry. Hey, give him a pacifier.

None of my kids took a fucking pacifier. So it's like, okay, what do I do when they don't take a pacifier figure it the fuck out so you don't punch them i don't think it's 2023 that's what they did to me yeah well that was back in the day that was a cure for some things they thought but yeah mckenzie first five months no pacifier yeah no binky no way nothing just crying not that's it trust your gut as long as they're eating and sleeping especially especially eating. Bingo. That's the biggest thing.

I had a red flag when my second oldest stopped eating. Something was wrong. Had to rush to the hospital. We had some shit we had to deal with. So that's the big thing. As long as they're eating, sleeping, and obviously hitting certain landmarks, two months, one month, six months, different things, just trust your gut. Yeah, that's fun.

You guys obviously been dad longer than me. You've been in it. Just trust your gut. Yeah, that's fun. You guys obviously have been dad longer than me. You've been in it. Old daddy digs. Yeah, I mean, mine loves a pacifier. Ate it up. So, like, yeah, everyone's different. That's a game changer. Yeah, it is.

It's nice. Self-soothing. But, yeah, I mean, mine was three weeks earlier, so I wasn't prepared either. And my wife wasn't prepared either. Just figure it out. Google. I Googled a lot. Hey, you're doing great.

In a moment. Can't Google too much, though, because some of the shit they do is Ty. You know what I mean? Oh, yeah. Ty, you're a good dad right now, man. It's a lot of fun. My daughter's awesome. She's always happy all the time, no matter what.

She was in a wedding. Yeah, she was. She was. But like AQ said, even the milestones, that comes differently. Like you worry, oh, why isn't my baby like you worry oh why isn't my baby crawling yet or why isn't my baby walking yet and then you wait two days and then they start doing it it's like okay well why the fuck did i spend the last two days worrying about this and not thinking about anything else like it just as long as you keep them alive that's really all that matters and try to enjoy that because like

even you know like changing diapers and stuff like that, you think, oh, this shit sucks. It doesn't. It doesn't suck at all. Just a lot of those, and especially for us, we have to travel a lot. Trying to be present while you're actually at home is very important. Yeah, that's cool, man. It's been a fun thing watching you grow and watching everybody, obviously, as parents grow.

And Phil has had kids for a long time. And obviously, he's back in plumb, so I'm not there on the day-to-day. But I often think back to when he had his first child. It's like, bro, how'd you handle that? That ain't, you know what I mean? It is not easy, but it's fulfilling as hell, you know? Hell yeah. And there's an anxiety that comes alongside of it that I,

I don't think I was a very anxious person. You know what I mean? That's just kind of my natural, like, ah, it's going to happen. So that's gonna happen so whatever like we gotta there's nothing if it's not in my control there's no reason to waste a single negative thought about it but i understand anxiety is not something you could just control people have it i get it i was never one to have as soon as that baby came you know every sound she makes i think she's dead you know what i mean like she caught her okay she just coughed she's got. You know what I mean? Like she coughs. Okay. She just coughed. She's got something in her lungs.

That's a whole thing. And I've been told that that worry just continues forever. It's just different things you're worrying about. So that's a thing that I've had to realize a little bit. Tough to deal with. Also, I think the same thing. I've heard about similar anxiety situations. Yeah, you're always worried about each kid is so different from one another.

Like how are they going to handle a certain situation? But I think about myself. I'm like, what if I, like, do something stupid and I just kill – I just die selfishly because I want to do something fun or whatever, and then my kids don't have a dad. I've thought about that too. Nice. I thought about that on the helicopter.

Me too. When we were flying on a helicopter. Oh, yeah. I was like, oh, it feels like it's pretty sturdy. You know, I did a little push on the ground. It feels like we're flying pretty good.

But if this was good, then I don't get to experience anything with Mackenzie. That's a whole new thought, which is a good one, though, by the way. I thought about it before I went skydiving.

It's like, should I be doing this? It's going to be a bad way to go out. You got to live as an example, though. You check the... Yeah, and also,

when it comes to working and stuff, I've thought to myself, like, you know what? I'm going to get to a point where she's going to be as an example, though. You check the – yeah, and also, like, when it comes to, like, working and stuff, I've thought to myself, like, you know what? I'm going to get to a point where she's going to be of an age, you know, like 6, 7 or whatever, and I'm not going to work. I'm just going to be, you know, stay-at-home dad pretty much. I'm going to do this whole thing. But then I was like, what type of example am I showing my daughter, though? She's got to have a fucking work –

That's when she'll be going to school during the day, too, and then you're like, okay, here we go. What do I do for seven hours? Yeah. Golf. But also, like, work ethic, I you're like, okay, here we go. What do I do for seven hours? But also, like, work ethic, I think, like, that's a good thing to see. My kids called me a bum during COVID when I was just home, you know, doing everything from home, not really leaving, always picking them up,

dropping them off. They were like, what are you doing? Get a job. That's all they saw. You again, huh? All right. Well, well, well. Yeah, well, well. Back again.

Hey, look at our bum-ass dad. Playing video games again, dad. Is there any more questions? I do not recall if we picked any more. If we didn't, we'll go to any. Yes, we did. Keith Spreckles Jr. Who's that coming down the track?

Who's that coming down the track? It's the Mean Machine in the red and black. It's the Mean Machine in the red and black. It's the Mean Machine in the red and black. I love that they have that, man. So sick. And then for it to go, ain't nothing finer in the land than a drunk, obnoxious Georgia fan. And they got like little 10-year-old kids screaming at you. It's like, yeah, that's who we are.

Billionaires. That is who we are. I'm sorry, Alabama. Beat them. I am bummed out about it. I am bummed out about it I like that Georgia football team Carson Beck coming back too What a year it was for them

Florida State What's that line against Florida State I guess Florida State's not playing a lot of players 2013 Just read they flipped a commit from Florida State Today number one player in the country To Florida State From Florida State to Georgia

Suck it State today, number one player in the country. To Florida State? From Florida State to Georgia. Oh! Suck it. What's your problem? For Georgia to Florida State, not for me. 14 slides. Yeah, you were pretty there for a while. Not as much as a committee and everything like that. About Florida State? Yeah.

It's just because if they made it to the college football playoff, it would be the worst decision in the history of the college football playoff. See, there's no need. That's just my opinion. That is just my opinion. It's Christmas. That's because you're ESPN. That's because you work for ESPN.

That's true. Which you don't, by the way, which is a funny thing to think about. True. That is a whole other wrinkle in this entire thing. Every time that gets thrown at me, I'm like, that's not real. I guess for game day, it would potentially. I'm like, that's not real. I guess for game day would potentially, but this one is a license. Are we being told what to

say? That's what people tell us? Yeah, okay. Have you listened to our fucking show? Yeah, yesterday we started off with four minutes about Dog the Bounty Hunter. People talk about the ratings and linear TV and stuff like that. Those first few minutes, I guess, are the most important of the hour. That's why we were packing it up.

That's why you come out with the heat. Yeah. Honestly, dude. You're riled up. Could you imagine some of these people watching on linear TV and then our fucking show shows up and it's zoomed in on Dog to Bounty Hunter with Taylor Swift. They're saying, what is this crap? I'm trying to watch sports.

It's so dumb. It is so dumb. We're so thankful for it this crap? I'm trying to watch sports. It's so dumb. It is so dumb. We're so thankful for it. Going to only try to make it better. Hey, Q, you want to do a giveaway for Christmas? We'll do it 25, you know, because obviously 25 days of Christmas with 25 winners of $500. What are you going to attempt?

Let's go football. Okay. All right. Yeah, we got to try and make this shit. You remember what happened last time. I'll get this one for you next time. Did he make? I don't know if you're going to need one.

Basketball. Oh, yeah, you're right. Hey, Cush, that was great in the trenches. Fantastic. One of his best. It was one of his best. Which hoop are you going on? Let's call that one again.

I got to write this shit. All right. Okay. Hey, let me say something. I love how positive everybody is. I can feel the holidays. Hell, yeah. We got decorations.

The Grinch is right here, but the Grinch ain't stealing anybody's Christmas today. The sign says Merry Christmas. The Grinch is on our side. This is at the end after Mary Lou Who. Bingo. Cindy Lou Who got him on the right side of the whole thing. That's a happy Grinch. That's not a negative Grinch.

Since the place is so jolly, why don't we make 25 people's Christmas a little bit better? Perfect. 25 winners of $500. All you got to do is put that football into that hoop right over there. Merry Christmas, everyone. Thank you, Shipley. Say 25 people for the holiday.

Go on in a new year. Here's 500 bucks. Oh. Nice throw. Just a little more. Thank you, Shipley. Just got out of war games. Did.

In North Carolina with the Green Berets. Obviously, he's down 40 pounds, and we're all incredibly proud. Way to go, AQ. And for this Christmas, all AQ wants to do is win 25 people $500. Connor, what does he have to do? He just has to put that football? Yeah, just put that football on that hoop. He was right there below the box, a little short of the hoop itself.

He's just got to put a little more under it in that top right corner of the box behind the hoop and we got 25 people with $500. People have made it before, right? A lot of people. All the time. The universe wants people to win 25 or more. Bingo. AQ's the guy for it. Very good. He's a Super Bowl champion.

War Games participant. Oh, baby. Right there. Right there. Stay all over it. Stay all over it. Don't lose your moxie. Don't lose your moxie.

Stay right there. I feel good about it. Don't lose your moxie. Laying scunion on this guy. The last couple times, I've been soaring him over. So now I feel good about at least the distance. Yeah, just like you were with the snipers. Bingo.

You know, with the green berets. Bingo. A little more. Yeah, just like you were with the snipers. You know, it's Green Berets. AJ, how does he need to focus to make sure that 25 people win $500 here on this glorious, cheerful Wednesday? Well, he's volunteered to be the community, what, the safety patrol for that nice, affluent community you live in right there in Scottsdale, correct?

Yeah, that's right. Somewhere in Arizona. So, yeah, of course. He's probably a little excited, though, because he wants to get back and get his gear back on, get the rifle back in his hand. He probably has a pistol in his ankle right now. We don't know what kind of holsters they gave him over there.

You're right. The pants aren't tight, but there is room for maybe a little cricket gun like they had in Men in Black. AQ, 25 people, $500. If you and that goatee on this jolly Wednesday can put that football in a hoop over there like many have done in the past. Here we go.

For the good of Santa Claus. Bonus ball? You need a little more. It's Christmas. Yeah, it is. Come on. Top right corner. Top right corner.

Come on, A.K. Top right corner. I'm right on it. Top right corner. We are Penn State. We are not, but you are. Here we go. So for the good of you and for the good of Penn State, for 25 people to win $500, A.K.

Kush, Penn State All-American. Super Bowl champion. Why don't you be a hero today? Come on. To 25 people. I got to put that ball in that. Oh, no. That was your worst one. That was the worst one. Oh, my God.

Follow through. I tried to guide it. Hey, just throw that sumbitch. I tried to guide it. I got a little baby ball with that little baby arm for that last one. Yeah, think about chucking a basketball after this like last time. I think I am. Darius J. Butler.

You know, some people perform better when their name's Darius instead of Shaq. It's true. Sure. Okay? We found that out. We have found that out. We have. But with a name like Darius, especially with how accomplished you are,

you might be the only man that can get Alan Quay Shipley to produce at his highest level, which we need him to do right now. D. Butch, can you please inform AQ with a mindset he needs to make 25 people $500 on this super jolly Christmas edition from the North Pole of the show, of the program? I mean, I'm sure you heard some great stories, Some stories of people that have been in that foxhole. Those great men that laid it on the line for us. I'm staring at this bald eagle with the American flags in his wings.

Do it for them, man. Do it for us. Straight on war games with the Green Berets. For the troops. That was a great speech, too. That was really good. You did your part. Everybody's done their part except for me. I'm sick of it. Whoa, whoa, too. Yeah, that was great. That was really good. Hey, you did your part. Everybody's done their part except for me.

I'm sick of it. Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Don't be angry. All right, we're back. We're back. We're back. 20-20 for the vibes. We're not there yet, but we need the positive vibes.

You're right. Positive. I feel good. This one's going in. Ty Schmidt, the healthy version of you, the one that's super optimistic and positive and eats healthy every single day, that's the guy that needs to give a speech to A.K. Kusch to make sure that this Duke that he's about to throw, that I kicked myself in Houston one time,

goes into that hoop and 25 people win $500. Take all those negative thoughts that you got right now and you throw them son's bitches out the window, okay? You were meant to put this Duke in that hoop. That's why you were put on this earth, okay? All right, Ty. Duke to hoop. Duke in that hoop. That's why you were put on this earth, okay? All right, Ty. Duke to hoop. Duke to hoop.

Duke to hoop. Here we go. 25 people, $500. That's all you got to do? Oh, my God. Ooh. Hey, he gave it a good run. A lot of gas behind that one.

Hey, you weren't scared of it. Where's the dorsal? Where's the dorsal, sir? Hold on one second. There's a college football right there. Oh, we got a college football? Yeah. Can I throw this?

Yeah. I mean, you already did. Look at the top. You threw that off a brick wall. Oh, yeah. It's scuffed. Remember this ball we love that you fucked up? You remember that?

You threw it right off that wall. This was me. Definitely. That spot was me. One million percent? It was. Absolutely. It was.

You throw it through the wall sometimes. Yeah, sometimes. It's what you did that last time. These ones are a lot. Like, you feel like you've got to throw them a lot harder. You don't. See, you don't. But you don't.

You're mentally tougher now. You're hanging out with Green Berets. That's right. Come on. It's the holiday season. 25 people, $500. Yeah. Oh, yeah, just put that ball into that.

Oh, no. Oh, I thought that was it. Me too. A little softer, man. You threw it too hard. You said you were going to do that. I thought that was it. Dorsal. Dorsal being calibrated. It might be a basketball. Here we go. Me too. A little softer, man. You threw it too hard. You said you were going to do that. Dorsal.

Dorsal being calibrated. It might be a basketball. Here we go. Turn around. Dorsal first. There you go. Think about people in their holiday spirit. Yeah.

Come on. Have a holly, jolly Christmas. They could, maybe. 25 of them have a little bit more hollier and jollier Christmas. Don't be a screw. Thank you. You know whose ball that is? Russell Wilson. Russell Wilson. You know whose ball that is? Russell Wilson.

Russell Wilson. What did he do this year? Just like that eagle on the back that kind of resembles a phoenix. Well, he started off with one win, and then he's just out-resiliented the rest of the world. He rose from the ashes, AQ. That's right, like a phoenix where I'm from. Exactly. Wow.

Holy hell. That's where you live. Yeah. Here we go. Put that in that hoop over there here we go 25 people 500 hell yeah universe says no way yeah all right of course it says no he's not from fucking phoenix what are we doing yeah what are we doing you're from moon township yeah you're just pissed trying to play a year play a year in the state weren't you all the fame right

yeah there he is ship shape fuck ship shape look that boy in his eye added in high school. Look at that boy in the eye Hmm. Let me know what you're gonna do here in 23. It's going out some big 2006 2007 Think about that guys playing against high school kids. I think it says No, that's college Oh, I bet you're in college Yeah, he was both the exact same Since he's 14 years old Look that boy in the eyes

And say, hey, in 2023, boy I'm going to do you right We're doing it I'm going to make a basketball shot Like you used to do in high school And 25 people are going to win $500 going into Christmas, going into the new year. What? What a fantastic time of year that AQ Shipley, that sweet boy.

That's right. Did for people. Do it for Donardo. Come on, AQ. Here we go. Donardo. Hell yeah. And Ed Becktold.

Oh, no. That's so bad. See, that's not what you did last time. You just flicked it last time. Don't do the steps. Just catch ball, flick. That's what happened last time, and it was a swish. There's no more balls.

There's a couple more. Everybody's disappointed, though. Just want to let you know that. I don't like it. Back on the range. They're all out there on the range. Don't, Don. Oh.

Baseball, baseball, baseball, baseball, baseball, baseball. Don't step in the lava. Don't step in the lava. Oh. Baseball. Baseball. Baseball. Baseball. Don't step in the lava. Don't step in the lava. No. Lava. Thanks to Shane.

Gotta cut that leg off now. Cool Santa. Yeah. One-legged. Fixed it. All right, AQ. Last one? This is it.

This is it. Come on. Come on. Come on, Q. Hold up. Hold up. Visualize the child that is having a better time.

I'm overthinking it. We just got to go. Think about the family that is going to be a little bit better off whenever $500 goes into their account. A new PS5? Everyone, I promise, I'm trying it. Well, A.Q. Shipley buried a three.

Wow. From the stage. I love that guy. Merry Christmas is what they'll say. Is that Santa Claus? That is Santa Claus. It's not Santa Butch, but it is close. Come on, Q.

All right, here we go. 25 people, $500. All you got to do is put the ball in the hoop. This man is a high school Hall of Fame basketball player. Also a Super Bowl champion. Think about all the divorced dads trying to one-up their ex-wife. Listen, I'm trying here. I'm trying here, boys.

It's a big deal. Here we go. It's a big deal. Oh, shit. What was that? What was that? I love the effort. What was that?

I appreciate that effort. Both your heels just hit your ass. Hey, AJ. Hey, what's up? I just gave myself a stinger in my left arm, dude. I don't know what happened. That was... Oh, Jesus Christ. Yeah, I found another ball. Can we replay a stinger in my left arm, dude. I don't know what happened. Oh, Jesus.

Can we replay that? Hold on. Before you shoot. We all need to witness what you just did. His feet. You know, Mikey and Big Bob, they did a segment the other day about kicking their own asses. Do you think you could kick your own ass? Did I just try it?

It did appear as if you were trying to kick your own ass and uh here we go here we go it's back here and we did not expect this technique feels like you acted differently on this one than all the ones in the past leg because it hurt my shoulder oh yeah that right leg go up oh yeah don't let that happen again this one's gonna be do you remember last time you were grounded it was just yeah i went i went this way last week no you know you didn't you just Run it back from last week. I think I did. You just flicked it. It just looked so effortless.

You're trying too hard right now. So effortless. Yeah, you're doing too much. The ball wants to go into that fucking hoop. Yeah. The ball wants to go into that hoop. All right, here we go. For 25 families.

Here we go. To have a much better Christmas than maybe they would have before you buried this basketball. Okay, here we go. A brand new gift maybe under the tree. Yep. Dad, make you Shipley jersey. Oh, my God. Is it autographed?

No, because he's a war game still. 25 people can have that happen. Here we go. All you got to do is make this shot. Oh, my God. This is getting worse. Who's not three miles away? Why are you fucking talking?

You were strong enough. You lost it. Give me that. Right here, right here. Bonus ball, bonus ball. Strange it every time. Watch the lava, watch the lava, watch the lava. No consistency right there.

Java isn't lava. No touch at all. Just launch. You're strong enough. There it is. Good reach, good reach. Bonus ball, bonus ball. Way to go.

Way to keep the integrity. That was another inch longer. Way to keep the integrity of the bonus ball. This is a fucking joke. That was another inch longer. Way to keep the integrity of the bonus ball. This is a fucking joke. How to make it a mockery, the whole thing. What about that one? We're not dude perfect.

We're going that way. We don't have power. Ready? No, we are not. Your headphone thing is about to break too. You busted it. Probably when you jumped. Yeah, thing's open.

You should probably close it. Get the mirror on this one. Get the mirror on this one. When you did the McTwist in that last shot. Why did you do a holly? That was so weird. Why did you do that? I'm working on my kickflip. First shot ever in the history of basketball that looked like that.

All right, here we go. Thank you and your sweet shoes. Thanks. Designer jeans. All right, here we go. Thank you and your sweet shoes. Thanks. Designer jeans. All right. Thanks. And your Patriot heart, so you're wearing a Patriot t-shirt. We learned that at war games last week.

Why don't you make 25 people's Christmas and holidays a little bit better? How about that? All you got to do is make the shot. 25 people win $500. Come on, A. Hey, Ty, real quick. What do you think AQ should be thinking here as he fires this one up? You gotta

flush everything else. You are so inside your own head right now. It's a big one, too. Shoot the goddamn basketball like you know how. Gumpy, any thoughts for this guy who's overthinking everything seemingly at this point? Yeah, just stop thinking and let it rip. Less thinking,

more athlete takeover. Here we go. Can I pass it to him? 25 people. $500. Buzz, buzz, buzz, buzz, buzz, buzz, buzz. Keep an eye out. Keep an eye out.

Yeah. Oh, my God. This is so insane. That was close. I was trying to not let Santa go again. That was the best one yet. Thank you for saving. I think what we've learned here.

AJ. Did you see that? I saw behind the back. It's clean. That's not what we're trying to do here. We're trying to put in the fucking hoop. I get it. I get it.

Hey, listen, hot sauce. Love what you're doing. Exactly. Okay? Love what you're doing. Less dribbly, more shooty takeover-y. Please. AJ, that's the thing.

It's not about thinking. It's about doing, especially in the holiday spirit. Ain't that right, AJ? That's so correct. Now, what I'm seeing through the screen here, AQ looks just like Cyrus the Virus from Con Air, in case anyone has seen that movie, John Malkovich, which is one of my favorite characters in a movie in a long time.

So, AQ, I think you can make this one. The movie's 30 years old. So, I do appreciate that it still holds up, says AJ. Yeah. It does. 25 people, $500. I don't know the tie to Con Air, but I do know that what you're seeing through the TV, we can certainly feel either live and in person.

Put the ball in the basket. There it is. Here it goes. No thinking. Don't think about it. Just do it. You got it. All right.

Just not meant to be. We're going to be here until next Christmas with this fucking guy. Have a holy jolly next Christmas. Don't think about it. God damn it. Stop thinking. I'm 25 people. $500 to celebrate the lovely Christmas spirit.

We can't thank you enough for allowing us to do this. Great first shot there, AQ. All you got to do is retweet this post. Say something nice to somebody in the name of the holiday spirit. And also, let us know the easiest way to pay you digitally and 25 people will have

a better holiday because AQ is such a freak athlete. Way to go, AQ. He scooped the ball. He saw the hoop. He hucked that thing. And he banked it home. Now he stood right in the way of the replay, but just know that it was absolutely beautiful.

AQ, we're proud of you, pal. Thank you. Thank you all so much for allowing us to do this for a living. We'll be back tomorrow. We'll be live Friday. We'll be off Monday for Christmas, but we're trying to hope that this Christmas will be the best of all time. Remember, mindset controls everything. When you wake up in the morning on your birthday, you feel better. Why? Well, it's your mindset. It's a special day. Well, guess what? We're in a fucking special time. Let's remember that. Let's enjoy the hell out of this while covering the sport that the world loves.

We are eternally grateful. We appreciate you. Be a friend. Tell a friend something nice. It Let's remember that. Let's enjoy the hell out of this while covering the sport that the world loves. We are eternally grateful. We appreciate you. Be a friend. Tell a friend something nice. It might change their life. We'll see you tomorrow. Goodbye!