The Pat McAfee Show - PMS 2.0 215 - This Show Might Change Your Thoughts On EVERYTHING.. Former Marlins President David Samson, Shams Charania, Pierre McGuire, Jett Passan, & Legend, AJ Hawk Stop By. Let's Go.

Episode Date: June 18, 2020

Today’s show is absolutely LOADED. First, NBA Insider for The Athletic and friend of the show, Shams Charania joins the program to discuss the memo sent to NBA teams about returning to play. Pat and Shams discuss what it all means, what the quarantining will look like, who has issues with it, and what repercussions (if any) there will be if some players decide they don’t want to go play in the bubble (:38-17:50). Next is another installment of McAfee & Hawk Sports Talk as Pat and AJ welcome former President of the Florida/Miami Marlins and current podcaster for CBS Sports, David Samson. They discuss everything going on in the MLB currently, and David lets Pat and AJ know how teams used the media to get whatever narrative they wanted into the public and that most of the time it was a complete misdirection in a conversation that you do not want to miss (19:36-35:43). Pat and AJ also discuss everything going on in the sports world currently, and how hopefully things are starting to move along in the process of bringing sports back (19:36-1:28:05). Next, ESPN MLB Insider and friend of the program, Jeff Passan joins the show. Jeff gets Pat caught up on everything going on with the MLB negotiations and why he thinks we are getting closer to having a baseball season, despite it not really being what either side wants. They also discuss how MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred seemingly needs to put his foot in his mouth every time he speaks (1:30:00-1:47:57). Lastly, NBC Sports hockey analyst and former coach and scout in the NHL, Pierre McGuire joins the show. Pat and Pierre chat about the NHL going full steam ahead with their original plan to restart, what roadblocks still stand in the way, and how the NHL seems to be leading the charge for getting back to sports as the league and players association have been on the same page to get the game back (1:47:59-2:02:11). Don’t forget to send in a picture of where you’re listening to the show with the hashtag #ThisIsWhereImAtPat for the chance to win some free march. Come and laugh with us. Cheers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hello, it is Thursday, June 18th. Already, damn. Can't thank you enough for choosing to listen to this show today. It is a packed show. I think you're going to be like, damn, that show is insightful. And if that is how you feel after listening to this, feel free to tell a friend. And if you don't enjoy the show just act like it never ever fucking happened all right hashtag this where i'm at pat tweet me a picture where you're listening to this we're

putting together something special for the end of quarantine i appreciate all of you you're the absolute best let's get to it the nba has given out its 400 pagepage guideline for how the Biodome will be working down in Orlando. And after talking to Tony Miole just last week, American soccer icon, what the MLS players are being tasked with doing whenever they're playing in their Biodome down in Orlando starting July 8th versus what the NBA players are doing, two very different operations which will make people believe, once again, Adam Silver, best commissioner going, is what everybody's saying. Now, there's going to be some drawbacks, obviously, because there's a lot of things going on in our world.

And people have heard Kyrie Irving talk about his drawbacks and concerns and Avery Bradley of the Players Coalition, his drawbacks and his concerns. But then there's also a lot of players and OG players that have come out and said, hey, this is a big time for not only our sport, our culture, our community spotlight. Kendrick Perkins went on a run this morning. Matt Barnes yesterday. Stephen A. Smith. Then you've got Kyrie and Avery Bradley and I assume others. It's going to be interesting. But the NBA has given them a date of June 24th.

The players have to come back and say, hey, we want to do this. We don't want to do this. They're staying in three different hotels down in Orlando based on seating. You know, what are nice hotels? We go for the good teams, the middle of the pack teams. You guys can get an average-ass hotel. And then those that are at the bottom of the pack there, you'll be staying at the Yacht Club.

Okay? And the Yacht Club is one that nobody desires. It has a great name, but it's not that nice. And now they're kind of going through the entire thing. And last night, the man that was ahead of the game and we've been learning about the insider world uh in baseball yesterday we learned a lot from david samson we'll revisit that in the second hour because it's something that people need to hear but in the insider game we learned from our friend who's about to join us that the insider game involves a lot of reading

because whenever memos are sent out or things like that, if you're a fast reader and you can get to the information that people want to hear before anybody else, all of a sudden, you are the fastest insider. Yesterday, all of the NBA media and insiders were given the memo that was handed out to all the players, I'd assume, that they have to vote on. And our guy who's joining us right now from the athletic senior nba insider at the athletic shams charania was beating everybody last night i don't know if he was just reading faster than everybody digesting everything faster tweeting fast twitter fingers were moving very

quick sham your your tweets last night were like an AR-15 just coming out with information. Here it is, here it is, here it is. It actually got to the point where other insiders just went to the end of the thing and started reporting from the last couple of pages because you were getting everything early from everything that you tweeted last night. Congratulations, by the way, you're climbing up the ranks of being the guy to go to for any information and knowledge whenever the NBA drops it. From your information last night, did you get a feeling that this was a lot better set up for the players like I did than initially reported? Or was this kind of on par for what you were expecting whenever the guidelines came out? You know, this has been

something that's been rumored for a while, like, you know, teams, agents, players, the MVPA, the players union, obviously obviously the league they've all been working through this document for weeks and weeks and weeks and everyone has been sitting on pins and needles like when is it coming out when it's coming out and i've gotten a tip earlier yesterday that you know look out for it tonight and so i looked out for it and i i think players from from my knowledge players still sifting through a lot of the material you know players receive pretty much a seven to eight page summary of the the entire packet meanwhile teams got the full 113 pages so you know players aren't going to be going through the hundred and third the full 113 pages but as far as the packet itself it is daunting there's gonna be

some players that sit out because they do not want part of all that Orlando will entail. But when you read through it all, you read all the details, to me, it's the NBA just making sure that it can be as safe as possible, that there is no crack in whatever they end up coming with their return with. They don't want this to go downhill. And so they're going to do whatever it takes to shore that up. They're expecting you to follow all the rules. If you don't, you could be such a subject to suspension, reduction of salary. So the, you know, obviously the anonymous tip hotline that, that we reported last night, this thing, there are a lot of factors that anonymous hotline tip thing

is amazing to me because we know that this was instituted by some states right there like hey if you see somebody eating too close to the place or getting food you should call the cops on them for not practicing social distancing so whenever this came out last night that the nba was doing the same exact thing let me tell you my first thought as a member of the new orleans pelicans okay my first thought was since i'm probably not going to get invited to the dome down there but I'm going to do everything I can for the Pelicans, I'm going to get a helicopter and fly them over those two nice hotels.

And if any Western Conference team thinks that they're going to be doing any hanky-panky with each other outside in the lobby or outside in the pool and they're not going to be social distancing, I'm going to be calling that hotline as much as possible. I would assume that that hotline will not get used by players. It'll become an understanding whenever you go down there. Hey, this is our life. We're going to go through this together.

But that's how serious the NBA wanted people to know that they were to about abiding by all the guidelines so that their players are safe. I'd assume that's why that was added in there. Do you agree? 100%. And the league is trying to go above and beyond. And again again they agreed on this entire 113 page packet with the nvpa so it's not like the players union should have been caught off guard but um you know with the hotline they're clearly providing a service that if a

player does you know michelle roberts said on a call a couple weeks ago i found fascinating you know she's like listen we're not going to be tracking where you guys are going to be going michelle roberts obviously the executive director of the pa she said we're not going to be tracking where you guys are going to be going michelle roberts obviously the executive director of the pa she said we're not going to be tracking you but we'll know if you leave and so some players took that as a like kind of a whoa like a like is that an unintended shot that you're like you like somehow you guys will still monitor us and i guess this is a way to monitor them that you know every player will have to every player coach anyone in the campus will also have to wear you know what they call a magic band which is essentially disney's wristband

that will allow hotel room access and coronavirus checkpoints and security checkpoints uh screening checkpoints and so you know there are some agents some players that fear that that could be a tracking device in some sense that that that that that the league that that disney could use to track where players are and obviously the nba the mbpa will never you know go you know they they say that that is not a thing the mbpa made it clear to its players we are not tracking you guys uh you know at least from from a software standpoint but you know there is that thought and that fear among players that we are being, maybe our privacy is being too invasive.

Shams, that was a real conversation. Like, hey, they're giving us this Mickey Mouse band because that means we showed our ID and we got into the club, right? So they put a wristband on you. They put a stamp on you. You got your ID. You don't have coronavirus. You're allowed in these certain places.

And then now, because the world that we're living in in 2020 with the way technology is some guys were like oh you just think that bands just get in there huh you don't think that they're gonna be because that's really what could happen nowadays i mean you have every your phone is tracking you at all times you got the the the whoop thing that tracks your sleep that you wear on your i mean that is a real fear for some of these players i'd assume let's dive into a little bit more of what the day-to-day is going to be like. Because the MLS, Tony Miola told us that the MLS players, they go to training, they go right back to their hotel room.

Three meals will be served to their hotel room. They'll watch film from their hotel room. They go to a game, they come right back to their hotel room. They were basically locked in their hotel rooms for however long this 54-game tournament will be for the MLS. That's what Tony Miola will be for the MLS. That's what Tony Miola's understanding of the rules was. So whenever we thought the NBA was going to have those same types of rules, I thought that was going to be very difficult to get that done because no matter how much money you have or whatever, if you're being told, especially coming

after off a quarantine and everything that's going on, that you have to be in your room for 35 to 40, you go to your room for 35 to 40 days. You can go to practice, but for 35 to 40 days, that's a tough commitment. I can't believe the MLS did that. I thank them for doing that. I can't wait to watch the tournament. But now that it's come out that the players are allowed to use pools, they're allowed to use the VIP concierge, they're allowed to use the golf courses,

they're really allowed to do, I don't want to say a lot of things, but it does. You can't play doubles ping pong don't don't even think about playing with a teammate it's one-on-one stand on the opposite side of the ping pong table unless you want to go in the pool together then you can stand in there together and if you want to play basketball against each other you can sweat on each other there but only singles ping pong but it feels like this is a much better uh at least living experience than i could have fathomed that they were

going to potentially end up with for the NBA thing. Yeah, I mean, in a lot of ways, it is like summer camp. Like these guys are going away like 10 years ago for some of these guys, 15 years ago, maybe for some of these guys that going back to AAU camp tournaments and, you know, spending the weekend in Orlando, except now instead of the weekend for the NBA champion, this could end up being a four month expedition. So, yeah, I mean, listen, I think that this is the best circumstance the NBA could come up with.

Adam Silver has said it time and time again. We're going to be choosing from a lot of bad options. We just got to make sure we choose the best of the bad options. And so this is the best of that. And they wanted to make sure that the safety was first and foremost. They're blocking everyone off. You can't leave. You can't leave. You can't enter.

And if a player does leave, like it was very, you know, the charges are going to be very serious, 10 to 14 days quarantine, no pay for the games you miss. And players do not, guys do not want the invasive nasal swab. And if you leave the bubble, you're caught, and you have to go through this protocol, you will get that invasive nasal swab and if you leave the bubble you're caught and you have to go through this protocol you will get that invasive nasal swab perhaps daily yeah i wonder if they led off with that by the way you leave gonna have to get that nose checked as soon as you get back maybe twice for however many times you leave the um the kairi irving avery bradley message that it had been

reported i don't know if it was probably by you by the way that i think 80 players were on the call The Kyrie Irving, Avery Bradley message that it had been reported, I don't know if it was probably by you, by the way, that I think 80 players were on the call kind of listening to that about how you go to Orlando, you're potentially away from the mission and message of social justice for everybody. And then there was the alternative point that was like, hey, down there, though, you're going to have a lot of eyes on you. You're going to have a lot of cameras on you.

You can probably boost and spotlight that message even bigger. So there's been two different viewpoints here very polar opposite and there was a lie that Kyrie Irving wanted to start his own league he came out and said that isn't true but how much dissension is there does it feel amongst the players about this concept even though the MBPA was with the NBA while they were putting this entire thing together do you think their June 24th vote, when it comes back, will be like the NFL CBA vote where it was like 51 to 49? Do you think it'll be like that, or will this be a unanimous type thing?

No, I think the majority of players want to play, but the NBA and the PA are making this individual decision. Like, the decision's already made. The NBA's moving forward. They want to resume their season. Now it's about who's coming along for the ride. The NBA and the league approved not only the format but the entire health protocol so the league is moving forward but there are pretty much three or four groups of players that

do not you know that are that that the nba is going to have to see where they go there's this kairi irving group with dwight howard abby brad. There were several other players on that call, Carmelo Anthony, like you said, Avery Bradley, Dwight Howard, guys that are just not feeling that the league going back into playing is what's best for the country and what's best for these athletes. There's that group. There's also the group of players, I'm told, that are just deciding if this is the right fit for them. Do they really want to go through the bubble? There are players that have dealt with losses in their life during this pandemic that are dealing with health issues with family members that have to decide if we're going to return. There are some very notable players, I can tell you, Pat, that are seriously deciding whether this is the right time for them

to make their return. Names. Names. And it has nothing to do with this coalition who who i i don't know right now but you know they're deciding if if and it has nothing to do quote unquote with this coalition some of the same values and morals may apply but it's really it's each individual decision and then there is the majority of players i feel that still do want to return to some extent. You know, Damian Lillard said this week that he doesn't feel 100% risk-free about this whole procedure of going into Orlando and everything that it entails,

but he knows he has a responsibility to provide for his family. He has a responsibility to return to the floor. And that's how I feel like a majority of the players do still feel. Avery Bradley of the Players Coalition came out and said the owners can do a lot more to help our message. You're talking about using black owned vendors for in the arenas, giving back more money because the NBA is a predominantly black league.

Do you think that those things are going to potentially get answered by the NBA? It feels like that's something the NBA owners in the NBA league feels like they are the most fast acting, quick thinking, try to make the right decision league. And I might be completely wrong just as an outsider looking in, but it feels like they are a league that kind of, you know, like, hey, we feel like we got to give back a little bit. Do you think there is a way for the Avery Bradley, Kyrie Irving group or any other group that doesn't want to go to have conversations with the NBA to move forward and ultimately change their mind? I do. You know, the NBA, like you said, it's been the most progressive league. From what I'm told, the league is just sitting back, waiting to listen from the players.

They're trying to do more listening than actually going out and just donating money to random charities. They want to hear a plan, a specific plan from the players for them to execute. That's what I'm told they're doing. The league really views that opportunity going down to Orlando as a platform for them to shed light on the social injustice going on, whether that's through – my idea is like do special commercials, have special shirts, special warm-ups, special court decor. There are so many different things they can do.

And, you know, from what I'm told, it's not like the league would oppose a player kneeling during the national anthem. This isn't per se the NFL where, you know, we saw what happened with Colin Kaepernick. These are the types of acts that the NBA embraces. They want players to go and really use their platform, use their voice, use their brand, use their face to display a message. And if a player chooses to kneel during the anthem, they won't be fined, they won't be suspended. The NBA has always been open to hearing out the ideas. They want the players to drive this conversation.

How about the players that choose not to go down? I know it's been said that there'll be no punishment, but the player will always think, well, there's no punishment, but that'll be something that'll be no punishment but the player will always think well there's no punishment but i mean that'll be something that'll be remembered how does the nba how does how do the players i don't know because if i was ever told there's no it's like the voluntary workouts right like yeah they're voluntary but uh your your playing time is also something that is like there's always like that kind of is there any hint of that from the nba to the nba players like whenever they say there's no like if you choose not to come,

it's not that big of a deal. I would assume, though, at some point there might be some owners in the NBA that will be like, I remember that guy chose not to come down or something. I don't know. Is there any thought of that? I agree with you. I think the guys that sit, there will be a memory of them, and that's not a bad thing per se.

The hope is that they don't get blackballed. Like if some of these guys from this coalition group, like Avery Bradley, et cetera, they decide to sit out, ultimately, they've already talked about it. If they actually do decide to go through with it, the hope is that it doesn't become a situation where they become blackballed. And so the league has made it clear we respect any and all decisions from any players. But let's be honest. If a player from especially a contending team decides not to play,

you know, it'll be remembered not only from the teammates but around the league. It'll be a topic. And so it's tough to think that it won't be a thing. But in the back of everyone's minds, they'll always remember like, hey, so-and-so did not play. He did not join us. And maybe we won the championship. Maybe we didn't go as far as we thought we would because this guy sat out.

Yeah. I just think that is something that the players should definitely think about. Because, like, this will – now, granted, what will be remembered also is them taking a stand for something that they believe in. So I think there's kind of both sides of it. No question. And that's the way I view it. Like, guys, everyone is entitled to their own feeling, their own thought. thought like if a guy decides to sit out for whatever reason that's on him like that's his decision you applaud that and you keep it moving and i think that's the approach a lot of

people on the league that i've talked to have also wanted to take okay july 31st the basketball world is supposed to pop back off they got golf courses they concierges. They got 24-hour room service. They got pools. They got singles, ping pong. But they do have 35 to 40 days at least away from their families after this entire quarantine with the world upside down.

There's a big decision for them to make. Can't wait to hear what it is June 24th. I will be following along with you, sir, as that news breaks because you're the first one

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and a guy that was on Survivor great beard ladies and gentlemen David Samson I may never get to shave this beard I'm growing it until I I keep getting calls excuse me I'm growing this until MLB has opening day. And now, what if they don't open until next April? I'm going to be ZZ Top. Hey, it could look good. You've got a good beard. I'd be proud of that thing if I were you. Let's talk about the MLB opening day. As a man who was a president of an MLB team, I think you understand the ins and outs of this a little bit more than I probably do. Last night, Manfred went on the Return to Sports Sports Center special and by all accounts was the only person to lose the night. Roger Goodell was on

there. Bettman was on there. The WNBA was on there. Everybody was on there. Rob Manfred lost the night somehow. And for the first time in collective bargaining history, it feels like the fans are on the player's side in this entire thing. What has gone wrong for Manfred in your eyes, a person who's had to run an MLB club before? You know, I just talked about this on my Nothing Personal show, which I'm doing every day, and it changes every day. I think you're right. Rob Manfred did lose the day, except he didn't lose it because of yesterday. He lost it five days ago when he said that it was 100% certain

that there would be a season. You can't talk that way. There is no way to say 100% when sports are coming back. Therefore, he had to walk it back because with all of the health issues, with the lack of agreement with the union, with the possibility of a grievance, you cannot start a season if you don't know what you're going to pay the players. It's not going to work, and the owners told them so.

David, how much dialogue do you think is going back and forth between the union and the owners? I know a lot of times in negotiations, people are surprised to find out that they may send a proposal and not hear anything for a week or two, and they don't really talk as much as you think they should. I love where your head's at because to me, that was the biggest moment of the night last night when the commissioner admitted that they had no in-person or in Zoom or FaceTime meetings for nine days. They've only been exchanging mean letters, calling each other names,

and then releasing the letters and using the media to leak, which, by the way, I love using the media to leak. When I was running the team for 18 years, we would do it all the time. But this is not the time. Come on, man. You've got to meet with the other side and get a damn agreement. Okay, so a lot of the players are saying, we talked to Trevor Bauer, power outage. He told us that he hated that this conversation was happening in front of the public eyes, which is basically what you just alluded to.

But you just said for 18 years, you loved utilizing the media to get your narrative across. What is something that would get leaked out there? For instance, I've been told that the MLB will float out a proposal that they haven't officially made yet to the media, see how the people respond, and then they're like, okay, good, this one's fucking good, let's write it down, we'll send this over as an actual proposal.

Is that something that the MLB has done for a long, long time now? Is that kind of the move? So what we would do is we would float, when we wanted to sign a player, we would float it out there to see what sort of reaction we get to a certain player, whether it may move the revenue needle. If we were going to trade a player, we would start floating out. Listen, this may not be the best teammate. We may have a clubhouse issue. So we could try to ease the pain when we're making a trade because of money. When we're doing some sort of promotion,

we would float out there an idea that we had. From a labor standpoint, what you are using the media for is not that you're trying to see what the public, I hate to say this, but by the way, Tony Clark and Rob Manford, the owners and the players, it doesn't matter to them whether or not the public is on their side. What the leaks are for actually is so that the other side gets wind of what's coming in advance so they can start working their own constituencies as they try to gain momentum toward an agreement. Because having the public, as Trevor Bauer said said it should all be done in private i wish that he would stop tweeting and everybody would stop tweeting about it and being so angry with one another why can't we all just get along for christ's sake well because you were a scumbag

leaking information that was a lie about a guy because you wanted to cut him because he was worth money and you wanted to be a bad clubhouse guy. That's why we can't all get along. Listen, let me explain and I'm not going to defend myself other than to tell you, if you think that I invented this, then I've got a bridge to show you. This happens everywhere, in every sport, all the time. We would leak that we're interested in a certain player just so that player would not sign with a different team or so the agent would call so we could drive the prices down. We would leak that we weren't interested in a player when agents would leak that we were, even if we were to try to keep the prices down. Agents leak the fact that every team is interested in a player so the price goes up.

that every team is interested in a player so the price goes up do you know how many goddamn times can I say that on this show yeah how many times I had a deal with our owner because he would read an article saying oh my god the Mets are gonna sign Reyes we've got to pay him his seventh year we've got to give it to him what no we don't he's not gonna sign with them but we overpaid so many times because agents would leak and owners would fall for it every time so how does that process work when you want to leak something out there do you have a few trusted media members and do they are they in on the leak or do they truly think it's it's legit Are they in on the leak or do they truly think it's legit?

Oh, you are the first person to ever ask that. Atta boy, AJ! Atta boy, AJ! So that's it. That is awesome. Here's how that works. There are certain media members who we would give, be a source for. We would give information to. And what we would ask for in return is information back.

We would give information to and what we would ask for in return is information back if they're hearing about player movements or about a trade We're about any sort of information that could help us as we're either drafting players or signing players or trying to trade players and What we would get from that media member by leaking information to them and having them be a source is by leaking information to them and having them be a source, is every time you see a list when a manager is being hired or a GM is being hired or a president is being hired, and you read a list of, well, there are these five individuals who are being considered for this job. That is payback for when they got information from that executive throughout the course of their career. So when

you see an assistant GM who is on a list of names being considered for a GM job, that is mostly in part to the fact that that assistant GM is in touch with that member of the media, giving him or her information that's going on within an organization. So we can find out who the rats are for every single organization, basically, whenever time comes and time reveals itself. So we had a way of finding that out is we would give different scouts and different people different information about trades that we were doing. And then we would see what would make it out there. And then we would know exactly who was talking. Kim, Kim Kardashian and Kanye West did the same thing with their with their baby names. They told their group of friends different names that they were thinking. And then whichever one made it to the tabloid. See you later. You're never getting any more breast

milk from this. It's not a bad play. The Rob Manfred, you think he's the one leaking the information himself? Or who do you think is doing it from the MLB side? Do you think Manfred is involved in these proposal leaks and this type of stuff? Or is it somebody different than Rob? No, they do it actually much more systematically. It's people at much lower levels than Rob. You've got the deputy commissioner who speaks to members of the media. He's not much lower.

He's one level lower. You've got people within organizations. So the commissioner's office will deal with the teams on the executive council and they will talk about, all right, we're going to get this information out. We're going to get that information out. And then they will choose in different markets where to do it. Do you think that it's a secret or a surprise when Randy Levine meets the media the way he did today, or when Ken Kendrick talks to the media the way he did in Arizona. None of that is a surprise. Do you think that Trevor Bauer, for one minute,

do you think Trevor Bauer does this and his union does not like what he's doing? Because if that were the case, he would stop doing it. David, who's handling it better, you think? The owners or the players? Players. It's got to be the players. The fans are on the players' side for the first time in history. You agree, AJ?

I want the professional's advice, Pat. Yeah. I think they're all tied for last. I think that both sides are incredibly tone deaf right now. I think that with this global pandemic, with everything that's going on, with the social unrest, with the systemic racism that's finally coming to the forefront, that it is unbelievably tone-deaf what the players and what the owners and what the commissioner is doing. Unfortunately there's no other choice because baseball is in a position that the other leagues are not in. They have got to get a labor agreement discussed and agreed to now

because they didn't get their season started. But trust me, the NBA, the NHL, and the NFL are going to have their own problems because team revenues have gone into the crapper. Okay, so the thought of the MLB not having a season, in your eyes, you don't think that's going to... You think at the end of the day, there's going to be a season. Is that accurate? You think at the end of the day, there's going to be a season. Is that accurate? If I have any chance with anyone for the next year, I sure as hell hope so. Okay, because I talked to Jet Passon, Jeff Passon, obviously.

Yeah, with your beard. Yeah, okay. You're talking about sex. That's what I meant. Yeah, you're talking about having sex with someone. Lost in textilation. I do hope there's going to be a season because there needs to be baseball. Jeff Passan said that, and in my eyes, if you watch Manfred speak, it's almost like Rob is trying to delay as much as possible. And the players are now calling him out on it because the prorated salary, less games, more money. It seems like that is where this is all hovering

around. Where do you think they end up falling on? Since you've actually seen the inside of this and how this could potentially play out, where do you think they land at falling on since you've actually seen the inside of this and how this could potentially play out? Where do you think they land at? Yeah, it's not so so many people are calling this a stall technique. And I just want to be clear that it is not. Here's why. I've said from the beginning on CBS and on nothing personal, and even on my Twitter account, that without a health agreement, and health protocols, the league can't start.

The July 4th date was a dream from the beginning. It was never going to happen. And the biggest mistake the commissioner made is having an expectation by the fans that there could be baseball in July where we could pledge allegiance and celebrate Independence Day with opening day. Never going gonna happen. At best it's the end of July or August 1st because that's as soon as it can be. So what I'd like to see happen is a realistic schedule given to the players. What I'm hopeful is that the broadcast networks will allow the playoffs to be

shown in November. Then we can start August 1st and have more than 50 games and come to an agreement. But if they won't show playoff games in November, then the season has to end at the end of September. And then there can only be 50 or 55 games. It's not a stall. Rob Manford's not stupid. Owners are not stupid. Players are not stupid. it is too bad that people are taking the narrative that it's a stall because it's not manfred's dumb he may be a lot of things but dumb is not one of he can't speak publicly and public speaking is a pretty big deal for being a commissioner and he stinks at that i mean that's so when when we were helping him get elected and we went through the process of moving on from bud ceiling do you know what

percentage of importance it was to owners who were voting on a new commissioner the ability to be a public speaker if you had a guess if you were breaking down the job what would you say would be the public would be the percentage of being able to be public facing well after watching roger goodell work for all these years, I would say it should be 95% what we should be looking for as a public speaker. That should have been like number one for us. No, below 5%.

It's obvious too, by the way. It is very obvious that that's made a lot of sense. And here's why, though. His job, do you know that Rob Manfred almost was an elected commissioner because there were owners who thought he was too soft on the players union there were owners who felt like jerry reinsdorf thought that he was too pro the players and too soft and willing to negotiate that's the irony of all this right now david you said he wasn't dumb and you talked about Manfred, but why would you throw out that July 4th date

when you know it wasn't going to happen? He's dumb, David. Hold on. Hold on. When you say he threw out the July 4th date, are you sure that he threw that out? Oh! Absolutely not.

I am not at all. I would like you to go source that question and find out for sure who said that July 4th was the date. That was an aspirational, media-driven concept, hopeful that spring training could start now and that there could be games July 4th. So you're saying that we shouldn't be as hard on Rob Manfred as we have been because he said some things that haven't been fantastic. No, I'd like you to be hard on him because I agree that it's been an issue. But what I do believe is that what's happening between players and owners needs to stop, and it needs to stop now.

They need to get back to the table and start negotiating the settlement. Now! You sound like SVP last night. A lot of people are echoing that sentiment. I know you have to get out of here in like a minute. We can't thank you enough for your time. Final question here. I checked your Wikipedia. You hate Derek Jeter, huh? You and Derek Jeter just do not get along

well. Is that an accurate statement? He absolutely hates me and I don't know why. Maybe it's because he overpaid by $500 million for his team. Maybe because he thought I stunk at my job, and after 18 years, maybe he was right, but let me tell you something. He's no better

than I was. Do you take any credit for helping create Marlins, man? Helping create him or trade him? Marlins, man? Helping create him or trade him? Marlins, man, I think you are a part of building a legendary character, a guy who just goes around in orange and gets the best seats in every single house he could possibly get. Do you feel like you're a part of that?

I am absolutely not a part of that. I know Lawrence Levy well. He is someone who loves attention and loves spending money on tickets and friends. And good for him. I'm happy for him. I always enjoyed seeing the Marlins jersey. But we never paid him. We never asked him to do it.

I ended up having to say no to him more than I said yes because he had a lot of requests over the years of things that he wanted. But he really has a good heart and he loves the game of baseball. He's probably the person most impacted by having games without fans because he's saving so much money right now ladies and gentlemen former marlins president for 18 years now he's a podcaster you see him on cbs sports and on twitter i can't thank you enough for joining us ladies and gentlemen david sampson thank you that guy was a lightning rod, dude. That dude was awesome. Yeah, he came in hot from the jump.

Last night, I was up all night trying to figure this out. Last night was an interesting night for me because I was trying to learn why. Because Rob Manford makes $25 million a year. Okay? So I started looking into Rob. And then I watch that performance on the Back to Sports, Return to Sports sports special and I watch his performance. I'm like, how is this? How is this the motherfucker we landed on now that I'm learning that less than 5% of it revolved around being able to publicly speak, which by the way, that should be the number one thing is hey, this person should be able to talk his way out of a bag if he has to for the good of our league so i think that's a little bit of a fault on theirs but boy baseball i think is going to come back but they are in a bad spot aj it's a big baseball show all of a sudden but they are in a bad spot all of a sudden yeah this has become a big baseball show with everything that's going on i i'd like i'd give samson credit man like he must i didn't we didn't get a chance to to ask him but we'll have him on

again like he definitely is not trying to get back into baseball is he no it didn't we didn't get a chance to to ask him but we'll have him on again like he definitely is not trying to get back into baseball is he no it doesn't sound like it no no he does that's why he's good that's why he's good at what he's doing maybe it's because he paid over 500 million dollars too much money for the team i mean you take i mean he was he was wide open oh yeah i don't know if i believe a word he said but i wouldn't i will i want to talk to him for another hour at least. Big news coming out of the NFL world. There was an off-season carousel for quarterbacks where nobody knew where anybody was going to go.

Legends were finding new homes. Phillip Rivers is now a quarterback for the Indianapolis Colts. Tom Brady, the man who was the staple for the greatest dynasty in the history of professional sports, was a free agent for the first time ever. Was he going to go to another team? Nobody knew. Were him and Bill Belichick going to split up? He ends up going to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, which nobody expected.

And today, just 19 minutes ago, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers rolled out the first photo shoot, the first session, the first time of getting to see handsome TB12 in his Tampa Bay Buccaneer uniform. We do have a picture of that. We're pulling it up. Coming up right now as we speak, because Boston Connor, while we were talking to David Samson back there, I saw his face look down at his phone, see the photo, and react in a very negative fashion. This is the first time Patriots fans, I think, are really going to have

to get smacked in the mouth with reality that Tom Brady is no longer up there in Foxborough, AJ. So I want to ask Connor and other Boston sports fans, when they see Tom Brady in the Tampa Bay Bucs uniform, does it feel like all of a sudden your longtime girlfriend went and got with your best buddy, and all of a sudden you show up and she's at the dance with this dude? She's got your buddy's sweatshirt on walking out of the house in the morning. Excuse me. Just got pounded out here by somebody that we both knew there for a little bit.

Yeah, no, I imagine it's more like I died, and I'm looking down on my ex wife banging my best friend and you know there's nothing i can do about it hey well cool glasses on you let's take a look at old tom brady in the tampa bay uniform oh my god are you kidding me how does handsome get better looking i'll tell you what put him in a Buccaneers jersey that's grayed out. Not only does the, oh, the whites look perfect. The whites look perfect. Look at the color scheme with his skin tone and his big brain. You can already tell he's getting more credit for the success that this team has,

more now than he ever got in New England. Look how thankful he is to be a Buccaneer just by seeing him in this jersey, AJ. It looks good good doesn't you yeah there it is that's the the glamour shot are you kidding me he looks like he's 22 again he's refreshed he's revitalized he's thankful to be in a place that's thankful for him tom brady tb12 looks brand new in a buccaneers uniform. Congratulations to the TB. TB 12. Does he have the zigzag neck hair haircut in that last picture? Because that would be quite a look for Tom.

That could. Oh. Oh. Looks like he might. Jeez. Terrible haircut. I'm not going to say midlife crisis. I'm not going to say it. I'm not going to say it.

Don't say it. Don't say it. That was him taking his helmet off, by the way, it's smudged the hair. Everyone's out because he had his helmet on. Remember, he saw him with the white jersey on calling out plays looking at me look at me. He's already making checks in the Tampa Bay Buccaneers uniform. He's already having workouts where helicopters are hovering over top Tampa Bay Tom Brady is the new rave. Nobody's even going to remember he played for the Patriots. Just like when Peyton went to Denver, the only photo you've seen is him with a fucking Broncos jersey.

Say hello to the new jersey that you see Tom Brady in, probably for the rest of his life. Yeah, the hair might be actually from the immunity pills that he has, Tony. That might be a side effect, actually. Maybe. The snake oil pills? What are you speaking about, Connor? What is that? Oh, you don't know about the TB12 immunity pills?

If you take it, you're basically immune to anything that could harm you? Is that what he claims? I don't know if those are the exact claims, but immunity pills are very telling. So, if I take that, do I win six Super Bowls and get no credit for it? Because that's what it feels like what happened up in New England.

The immunity pills came after that. You take those just in case you win six Super Bowls and you get pissed off if you don't get no credit for it because that's what it feels like what happened up in new england oh no those the immunity pills came after that you take those just in case you win six super bowls and you get pissed off you don't get enough credit then you go and you purchase the immunity pills and you'll feel much better and you'll get a new haircut he he's gonna pass you really feel like that's what's at the bottom of all of this of tom eventually moving on obviously from new england that he oh yeah he would never say it publicly i'm sure yeah but he just feels like hey man like yeah no one's bigger than the team but i'm kind of bigger than this team i am yeah i get that the patriot way is the patriot way but i would like to think that i am literally the patriot way i take less money i play better than everybody i show up to work i'm invested i still have the fire and vigor inside of me to be the best player i could possibly

be yeah the patriot way why don't we just call it the tom brady way at this fucking point i win six invested. I still have the fire and vigor inside of me to be the best player I could possibly be. Yeah, the Patriot way, why don't we just call it the Tom Brady way at this fucking point? I win six Super Bowls and I still can't say, hey, I'd like that wide receiver on my football team like every other quarterback in history. I think that is what it is. Now, Tom's super professional. He's handled this all very well, talking about how he understood the whole thing. But I think deep down, whenever you start talking to Peyton and obviously the control that peyton had and the credit the ping and then i assume he also talks to other other guys that are up there in that legendary status i mean at some point if you've been doing it for 20 years and you're the greatest of all time and everybody says that i would assume at some point you'd be like i would like a little bit of credit here from within my own house you

know what i mean i'd like a little bit of credit here within my own house. But don't you think he also probably has a little bit like, all right, I've done this in New England for 20 years, been super successful. He feels like he should have more rings than he does have, but he's probably thinking like, all right, sometimes a change of scenery is needed, and I just want to see if I can get this done somewhere else. New challenge.

Maybe that is. Maybe he got bored. Same with Belichick. Belichick has obviously a gigantic, huge new challenge that probably invigorated him. Makes him feel like, okay, I have a whole new lease on life of what I'm doing, how I'm going to

attack this thing because I need to find a way to be successful without talk. Are they stinking to get Trevor Lawrence? I mean, the players aren't, but I can't see the front office there doing that either. Belichick might catch, we don't even know. Josh McDaniels and Belichick might be able to flip Jarrett Stidham into what? Another 10 Super Bowls.

Yep. Would that be surprising at all if that was to happen at this – if they went to 10 straight Super Bowls with Jarrett Stidham, it would be very surprising because that means they went through Patrick Mahomes and that Chiefs team 10 straight times. But if they had a lot of success with Jarrett Stidham, I don't – at this point, I don't think anybody would be surprised. And also, if they absolutely stink with Jared Siddham,

I don't think anybody would be surprised. But if Tom Brady goes out there and plays bad football for Tampa Bay, it's going to be loud. It is going to be loud about how without Bill Belichick, just couldn't ever get it right, couldn't ever do it. So it's an interesting time for both of them. But those jerseys look amazing on Tom Brady. I mean, over the shoulder, smiling because he has a new home.

Determination, looking forward at the road that he's about to take with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers team. Look at me pointing at my big-ass fucking brain. I'm stupid. I'm stupid. Look at this brain. This brain right here is going to lead us to the promised land. This brain right here. Look at this brain right here, AJ. Look at this brain. This brain right here is going to lead us to the promised land. This brain right here. Look at this brain right here, AJ.

Look at this brain. Pat, do you think that Howard Stern interview would have happened if he was still on the New England Patriots? No chance in hell. Do you think the Patriots – okay, so if Tom goes, let's say he was still on the Patriots and he went and he did the exact same kind of interview with Howard Stern, which he was very open and honest,

more than we've ever really seen Tom publicly talk about. Would the Patriots, do you think he would legit get a call from Bill Belichick or something like that, Tom? Too much. Way too much. You're telling the story. Have you ever seen the videos from Howard Stern from 20 years ago? Do not go on that show.

I think that's what happened. Is Belichick the one that drummed up all of this stuff for Howard Stern? Because Tom went on to show me. By the way, I shouldn't laugh at those things. The things that were coming out for those videos are absolutely terrible. But I don't think those interviews would ever happen with the Patriots, and they didn't happen. Tom said he'd been a fan of Howard's for a long, long time.

They wanted to make it work, but Tom probably just didn't feel like he could be as open and honest as he wanted to. He said, I wanted to make it good when I finally did come on. He's like, I wanted to be able to speak without being yelled at like I was a fucking child by the coach and the GM of the team that I played for for 20 years and won six Super Bowls. He was pandering, okay? He could have asked him, bill would have let him gone on but he's never asked that's what i'm talking about right there though it's a grown-ass man he has to ask exactly that is what

the problem is that is you by the way boston trying to drum up oh yeah dude's asked for permission dude he's 50 years old at this point he's won six super bowls he shouldn't have to ask anybody it's just like when you're in training camp and I saw Vinatieri's room getting checked at a certain time. I'm like, you guys are checking Vinatieri's bedtime right now? This guy is 75 years old. He's got kids and we're checking it. And that was happening.

It's a very interesting world, the professional sports world, but you either buy in or you don't. The Patriot way has been good for a long, long time. Will it still be able to be good whenever they don't underpay the best quarterback in the league and they now have a whole new... Time will tell, but those new uniforms look damn good, AJ. They look good. What's the over and under

on New England this year for wins? I think they're at 9 or 10. Something in the middle of the past. I don't think they're 10. I think it's 9.5. Probably down to 8 now if I had to guess guessed because of how good tom looks in that uniform yeah exactly terrible i'm gonna bet the over for whatever the patriots are just because i want to be able to say i knew bolechek was gonna be able to do it if i lose money just actually didn't happen just well they need to have their defense needs to really be solid if they want a chance to

be good that's what they did last year though that defense lost some of those guys though oh that's kyle van noy but they still got the sky up roberts they lost a lot of their back next guy up and but they still got gilly lock which will hold it down on the back end but you're 100 right to be able to what kyle van noy and collins and they were able to do for them is but this is why bill belichick's bill belichick you know and we're gonna find out nine and a half for tamp, nine for New England. Yeah. What's the better bet there? Over on Tampa or under on New England?

Under on New England. Under on New England's a smarter bet, I think, just because they have a rookie quarterback. You have no idea. Well, not a rookie quarterback, a first-year quarterback. You have no idea what's going to... That guy could go out and throw 16 interceptions in the first game. That could literally happen.

He could have a game like old buddy from the Buffalo Bills. What was his name, that guy? Peterman. Thanks to Peterman. He had 10 passes and 8 interceptions or something in one run there. That could happen with Stidham. You have no idea. Now, will the running game for the New England Patriots be able to carry them like it has in the past? I assume Josh McDaniels will be able to drop something.

But without that defense that carried them last year with a lot of missing parts, I mean, there's a chance that they could potentially be bad like bad next year but on the flip side there's a chance they could be good I just think there's a better chance that they're bad than the Tampa Bay Buccaneers catch a fire win 10 games that's a tough division down there in the NFC well don't you think though Jared Stidham comes out let's say he throws three interceptions in the first quarter of the first game I think by by the time they break the locker room for halftime cam newton may be suited up in a new england he's still out there they're gonna have to sell some

bag of balls to be able to afford cam newton somehow though they have no salary cap up there i don't think they have any but you're right cam newton is still out there that's why this big conversation is gonna and cam newton posted this morning him working out he said it's better to be prepared for when an opportunity comes than to be not prepared when an opportunity does come, something like that. Smart. No, it's better to be prepared for an opportunity that might not happen

than unprepared for an opportunity when it does come, something of that nature. He said it of that nature. He said it in his language. Yeah, so I was trying to read through it as quick as possible before we get on there, but it is wild me that cam newton's still out there very very very insane to me especially when you look around you see some trash quarterbacks that are potentially going to line up a quarterback this year for people and he's looking better than ever with

a chip on his shoulder he'll end up somewhere it's just where maybe in cleveland let baker go out there and throw a couple picks early and they'll look like he has in advance you don't think they're going to be calling for Cam Newton over there in Cleveland? Stat? I would assume they would be. He's already got this rapport with OBJ, as we can see from this video. How come you and I don't get invited to these workouts, you think? I mean, look at these, what do you call them, smash cuts

and all the herky-jerky camera action. This is highly, this is some high production value. Oh, this is YouTube, bub. This is YouTube, vid. Zoom in high production value. Oh, this is YouTube, bub. This is YouTube, Vic. Zoom in. Zoom out. Zoom in. Zoom out.

Cut. Casey Neistat effect. Odell Beckham looks very good at football still. Yeah. He's coming off a hurt hernia last year. He did not complain about that once publicly, which is insane. He's still doing that, huh? Yeah, but he brings in the second hand there at the end.

Oh, he's locked? Is he losing it? Nah, I don't want to judge. The ball wasn't as tight, though. And those balls, it has to be a good throw. Yeah, but he brings in the second hand there at the end. Oh, he's locked? Is he losing it? Nah, don't want to judge. Ball wasn't as tight, though. And those balls, it has to be a good throw. A lot on the one-handed catch is on the throw, by the way. If that thing's a loose ball, that thing's

tough to snag, but if you get a nice, crisp, tight one, you can just grab that thing, especially with the gloves. OBJ has made a living off of it. He was hurt all last year, didn't have a great year, did not come out and bury Freddie Kitchens or the Cleveland Browns at all. I have no idea how. I have no idea how.

If I'm OBJ, I would assume I would have come out. I think him and Jarvis Landry are going to be quite a team going forward, and I would assume that if Baker doesn't do well, there could be calls for Cam Newton. But I think Baker will do well. Feels like Baker is maybe having an offseason where he's kind of finding himself again, I hope. I think so.

I think it's set up perfectly for the Browns now. Flying under the radar. Don't let people talk about you. Let everyone think, like, okay, here you go. You got another head coach. It's going to be the same old Cleveland Browns, and maybe they surprise a couple people. It's tough in that AFC North, though,

because Ben Roethlisberger is back. Neil Burrow is there now in Cincy. Oh, hey, Lamar was jumping over jet skis in the offseason, just dominating everybody. That AFC North all of a sudden has become very very very interesting now everybody knows when winter comes cincinnati is going to drop off because they can't practice inside that's going to be me too everybody knows that the pittsburgh steelers though we're talking james connor who is an author his book fear is a choice drop today he'll probably be a new york times bestseller here within the next week.

Congrats to him. He's going into a contract year, as is Juju Smith-Schuster. He talked about his workouts with Roethlisberger, and he said it looked like Roethlisberger was all the way back whenever they've been out there working out. That's massive for the Steelers, who almost made the playoffs last year when they legitimately didn't have a quarterback. I mean, Duck went in there and did everything he could, butsburgh steelers team almost made the playoffs last year with no quarterback now you throw in ben rothlisberger if he's anywhere near where he was even better is what some people

are saying i mean that afc north could be a real kick in the dick for everybody in there that could be a cannibalized division there if you really think about it yeah but whoever finds their way out should hopefully make a great run in the playoffs. So they've been battle-tested. Yeah, but then you run into the fucking Ferraris over there in Kansas City, and it's like, well, we got our Ford trucks over here at AFC North. We've been running.

And then all of a sudden, you get to Kansas City, and it's like, vroom, 4-2. Vroom, 4-3. Vroom, 4-4. Vroom, how'd they get this guy on the team and still have enough money on the salary cap? Nope, nobody knows's gone there's another four three and then you got andy reed just drawing things up and then oh he got a quarterback he couldn't throw off his back foot 75 yards that kansas city jeeps team is stupid makes no sense i assume they'll lose a game we'll all be

very confused by it but damn that is going to be tough for the afc for a while so aj impact question um you just said they will be battle tested for the long so aj impact question um you just said they will be battle tested for the playoffs so would you rather have that or would you rather be new england for years and years and years were the only good team in the division and they did quite well i'd rather be battle tested now obviously there's you can go about it any many different ways depending on what your team is like like what the the makeup of your team is is events is it mostly young guys like what is the mixture like but i i think being battle tested and not having to try to figure it out oh how much are our starters going to play in this last regular

season game if we have a bye on the upcoming week like i i like having to fight your way in the colts whenever they won the super bowl in 2006 before i got there i guess there was a game like week 14 or week 13 maybe. They played the Jacksonville. It might have been week 15. I don't know. It was mentioned, though, a couple times throughout my run there. They lost to Jacksonville or somebody like a bad. Like they got blown out.

And they said that that game was a massive game for them because they were kind of feeling themselves, but then they got a chance to kind of see what could happen whenever they don't show up. And then they obviously go on to win the Super Bowl and beat the Chicago Bears in the Super bowl they're going to do that so that 2009 team that i was on when we went undefeated 14 games and then lost whenever we chose to lose and then i i think there was a lot of questions on whether or not like hey we haven't really had that smack in the

mouth situation here we've literally been able to do whatever we do so i remember conversations happening about that type of stuff like oh we're gonna lose our momentum if we rest our players we haven't really run into a a problem yet like our games are pretty much so everybody was kind of worried and then you lo and behold whenever we get to the super bowl whenever the tide turned on us there in the second half it was like we couldn't get back into it i don't think that's because of the battle tested, but maybe it was. Maybe it was because the team was so damn good for so long. We hadn't been like slapped in the mouth out of nowhere.

There's, I mean, there's so many different ways to do it. I think each team is so different, but you're saying battle tested one's the one you want to get. You're the one that's out there every single play. You think being battle tested, knowing that if your huddle has been in a situation before you can rely on that later. Is that what you think? Yeah, and that's just me personally.

I'm sure if you asked every guy that's ever played, they'd all have a different opinion. But that's just how I feel because I think there's not as much, I guess, unknown. When you're trying to rest towards the end of the season and you know you're going to the playoffs, you already start envisioning the run you're going to make. Oh, well, we want home field advantage. It'll be cool.

But if you're just fighting to find a way to already start envisioning the run you're going to make. Oh, well, we want home field advantage. It'll be cool. But if you're just fighting to find a way to get your place at the table so you have a chance to make a run, I think it does something for your team. I think it does something where you know you can count on your buddy behind you, the guy in front of you, and you know there's not a situation you haven't been

in. Sure, we've won guys out. We've been down 21-0 at halftime and come back and won. We've won many different ways. And sometimes when been down 21 nothing a half time and come back in one like we've won many different ways and sometimes when you roll through everybody all of a sudden you may get in a big game the afc nfc championship game or something you're down 17 and you're looking for other people to make plays instead of guys just going out and doing it that's what the interesting thing about that chiefs team is it's like the playoff run they were down 21 they were down 28 at one point so in the super bowl when they were down as a fan, and I assume in their locker room too, in their sideline,

they're like, I've been here before. Hey, we have been here literally two weeks ago. This is not a big deal. That is a very powerful feeling to have as a team. Like, hey, this is nothing to us. We know it. They know it. The fans know it. That is a powerful thing to rely on whenever you fall into one of those situations. I think teams too. Don't you think players and coaches thrive on being the underdog? Feeling like, hey, nobody gives us the respect that we deserve. It's what Bill Belichick's been drumming up in New England forever. Oh, nobody thinks we're good. I'm going to pump up the other team no matter what. And I'm going to create adversity for my team, basically. That's like what Nick Saban has to do in alabama what do you say it's rat poison if you read the the good press

about you something like that the thing that i like is whenever you're down a bunch and they come back and win that celebration afterwards is much larger i couldn't i don't know how the city boys stayed sober enough after those wins down 28 you come back down 21 you come back i don't know how that celebration doesn't carry into next week, and that's why they're pros, and that's why I wouldn't have been able to handle it. Well, sometimes, too. Like, if you haven't been in that situation,

say you're in the playoffs, and you know, hey, we win, we move on, we lose, everything comes to a screeching halt. Like, it's an absolutely horrendous feeling. It's terrible losing a playoff game, let alone, like, NFC Championship, AFC Championship. But I feel like you, I don't know, when you've been through that, and the more times you've been through that, it helps your team as a whole.

And your coach is like, you build confidence doing that. And you're not, it's not just like the unknown. You don't get in the biggest game of your life and be like, okay, whoa, we've never been here before. What do we do now? Should we all just freak out and panic and yell? That's usually what happens to bad teams. So, yeah, not being able to handle adversity is a big deal so whenever we would go into a bowl game in

college i knew that coming out of that game all i was going to think about for the entire offseason was how i kicked the ball in that bowl game right then you know at the end of uh the nfl whenever you're in playoffs however you performed in that last game is what you're going to think about for the entire office. If you're that Green Bay Packers defense that gave up 186 yards rushing before contact, what is the taste in your mouth? The entire office, it had to be, that has to be a motivator. That has to be a driving factor and potentially quite a disappointing taste because it was a hell of a run by that defense too this year. Hell of a thing, but that is something you have to think about, I assume, moving forward. Yeah, and they played well for big chunks of the season.

Their defense really did. They were much improved, I feel like. So to lay an egg on the biggest stage one game away from the Super Bowl, that sticks with you. And it's like, okay, all of this great work that we did throughout the season almost doesn't feel like it means anything. But it does. You've got to find a way to take some positives from that but you're gonna have to watch that nfc

championship game a million times in the offseason i'm sure they've watched it in their zoom meetings with their coach oh it's not only does it feel terrible when you give up that many yards rushing as a defense but then to continue to watch it over and over again to try to correct your mistakes just makes it that much worse well that laser pointer that laser pointer where it's like you know you took an eighth of a step to your left right here if you would have taken an eighth of a step to the right look what happens look that hole's covered then look look what now he doesn't have to make up for you now that there's 75 yards right there if you don't take an eighth that's what film breakdown is for football by the way i was mind blown the first time i sat in like an

actual position meeting and when i sat in and watched because for me it's c ball hit ball we can work on your drop we're talking about like miniscule like drop do this but whatever they're talking about for dbs for d lineman for anything they literally show in like an eighth of a step like hey if you take away that that's just that little inch of a nudge there, boom, now we're perfectly set up. And every single breath you take is basically getting completely broken down. And I would assume that Packers defense watching that 49ers film, if I'm, if I'm potentially the Packers D coordinator or defensive player, I'm asking them just to burn that film and act like it didn't happen. I cannot go through it because there's probably four to five plays where there's probably one to two players that did one thing wrong and boom there's 50

there's 70 there's 80 yards and it's just like if we take back these three that's always the conversation if we take back these three plays which if we dive in deeper if you take back this step right here our team's probably in the super bowl and it's like well thanks all right this this is really good news like that is how film study is though it's a real like accountability session in the nfl film room it's that's tough stuff i i don't know how the confidence stays high in there the chain reaction i think you described it well like so say a db goes off script and wants to do something that he's not really coached to do and he takes one step he takes a little let's say he's on press coverage on it on a guy like one of their stud receivers on a big third down he takes a

little stutter step or something that that's not his technique he hasn't done it all year but he was trying to freelance a little bit or he just lost focus or he's tired coach will show that show how he gets beat just by a split second like okay look then he gets on top of you a little quicker than normal oh hey look at our two edge rushers right here, both applying a ton of pressure. Oh, wait, as the quarterback is releasing the ball, our guy is hitting him, but the ball was still able to get there in the right trajectory and it was completed touchdown or whatever, big third down conversion.

They say, if you don't take that one little three-inch step, none of this happens. We possibly have a sack, grip sack. Touchdown the other way. Touchdown. And we win the game and we're going a sack, grip sack, touchdown the other way. And we win the game and we're going to the Super Bowl where we won the Super Bowl. So, guys, make sure you play your technique. In that corner, you're sitting there like, son of a

fucking dick. I was tired. Look at these guys' steps. What about them? Are they watching film like a week after their game if they lose in the playoffs? How much time do they have off? A year. Next offseason.

You don't come back. Well, the next day possibly you could come in, but you're not going to meet as a whole team and watch it right after the season. The iPads getting loaded up for the plane ride home were the new thing there at the end of my career. And that was kind of fun to watch because you'd kind of listen to everybody watch film together and you'd hear reactions for people and then somebody would get summoned to the back of the plane like what the hell were you doing

here but i don't i think after that game i would assume a lot of guys are just kind of putting their ipads in their bags okay let's go put that away zip that up let's go put the backpack on let's find uh whatever xanax we can possibly find let's get on this plane and let's go right to sleep till we get to wherever the fuck we're headed and not talk about this for six, seven months. And I would assume that is the case. I'm not 100% sure. Yeah, for a lot of people, I think it is.

You got to confront it at some point. You need to watch it and see what you did to try to learn from it. But man, it's not easy. After the Super Bowl, we were flying from Miami back to indianapolis just the next day so you guys had to stay stay the night after you lost the super bowl and get up in the morning and leave that'd be brutal there was a party set up so there was a party

set up right because remember when remember when grock got a bunch of heat because he went to the super bowl party when they lost and he was dancing yeah so there was a super bowl party that still happened in our hotel now ursae was supposed to perform at this thing there was also they had this entire thing set up and obviously every player gets back there they're miserable i was like hey guys we'll be back next year what are we so sad about but still so the party was just completely dead but then you go up in your hotel you kind of bounce around room to room you know you say goodbye to everybody or whatever you know on a flight back it was kind of a i don't want to say a miserable flight back but it was i mean it was kind of a culmination of hey this year was a hell of a year this was a special year i mean this was a very and it's come to an end and

there was a lot of sleeping or whatever and i think this is when robert mathis potentially gained a lot of respect for me i was passed out on a plane okay because i got a little intoxicated in my room and i'm sitting there and i'm just passed out or whatever. And I get like shook, woke up and it's Robert Mathis holding a pillow. And he just, he hits me right in the face with it. Okay. And I just like, I took it, I just took it. And I looked at him and I was like, good morning or whatever. And he was like, oh, so you're not a bitch. I was like, no, he's like, okay, my man. And then I go, he's had a full conversation. I assumed that he thought I was potentially going to get like scared or whatever. But I was literally so hungover.

I, like, just opened my eyes. And he just hit me with a pillow. And I was like, ah, good morning, Mr. Mathis. You know what I mean? And I think that was a moment he potentially gained respect for me. But I remember that plane ride just being a very quiet one. Like, the deadest plane we've been on all year. I mean, granted, we won every single game that we tried to win.

It was just, that's a sad situation, man. I couldn't even fathom those Packers players, dude. That's a long flight home, too, from San Francisco. That's a long way home. Let alone San Francisco, that thing's actually in Santa Clara, so you could probably drive like another hour to get to the thing. Going from warm to cold. Going back out to Green Bay winter.

No thanks. Oh, man. I couldn't even imagine the fans. Obviously, you guys were pumped, but those players just had to be miserable. I think about the year they got beat by the Seahawks in the NFC Championship, and it was like a botched

onside kick that they missed. Packers should have won that game. It went to overtime. They lose then at the flyback from Seattle. That would be... Well, that one guy wasn't supposed to go for it, right? Yeah, Bostic. That was my last game in Green Bay. Oh, that would be. Well, that one guy wasn't supposed to go for it, right? Yeah, Bostic. It wasn't his. That was my last game in Green Bay. Yeah.

Oh, Ty, thanks for bringing it up. Hey, Jay. It was Ty. Hey, Jay. I was going to say something about it. Yeah, I've been there on that plane. It's not a lot of fun. Yeah, I figured you were.

That poor guy, too. Bostic, what did he do? Headphones on, just sit by himself, put a blanket over his head? I'm not sure what he did on the plane. I mean, I remember seeing him in the locker room and guys trying to, console him be like hey man it's not just on you and it's obviously not just on him yeah that that's kind of the misconception in team sports is that you know you can kind of point to one particular thing that maybe lost the game but if you're on a team ever your thought is yeah but that isn't anything if we do this at this situation.

That's why team sports are so beautiful. But, boy, there are those moments where it kind of gets pinned on one person. That person feels it, by the way. It's not just the fans they're saying. That person is also sitting there, oh, my God, this is 100% on me. I feel like a terrible fucking person. And those flights home got to be tough. Let's talk about Brandon Brooks tearing his Achilles for the Philadelphia Eagles guard.

He was rated the top offensive lineman by Pro Football Focus last year. Three-time Pro Bowler superstar offensive lineman next to Kelsey there. He tears his Achilles. He's out indefinitely. The Philadelphia Eagles, known to be the luckiest team in the NFL, strike gold once again with losing the best offensive lineman in football, says Pro Football Focus. What a sad situation here during a quarantine month out from camp.

This is a wild situation for the Eagles to have to deal with. Yeah, terrible, terrible luck for him. I know he tore his other Achilles a couple years ago, too, and came back this past season and had a heck of a year again. But, I mean, offensive linemen, especially guards, unless you're like a diehard Philly fan, most people don't know how valuable he truly is to that team. But, man, he is a stud, absolute stud.

The communication, everything about it, what he does, like how well he works with Kelsey and the other guys. So whoever steps in, obviously it's a big job, big shoes to fill. But, yeah, yeah, I feel for the dude. I feel for Brandon and Philly. I mean, the coaching staff, everybody there. You've got to figure this out now, how to jumble an offensive line together, bring a replacement in there, whoever's going to step in and take that gig.

But you're not going to have the time you normally have to kind of work together and try to build that unit. I think a good move would be put Jalen Hurts there. That's why you bring in Jalen Hurts, right? You just put him at left guard. It's not not a bad idea that's why you draft like that maybe guy can squat 700 pounds 800 pounds run the fumble ruski with him yeah it was a little tuck and go there you know what i mean that is tough for the eagles fans that is i mean that is a kick in i mean it's not as tough as your franchise quarterback retiring eight days before the season

but a month out losing the best offensive lineman in football is definitely difficult. And I would assume if you talk to Eagles fans, you're like, of course, of course, of course that's what's next. Carson Wentz is going to throw out his elbow. I mean, this is just the way it goes, but the name of the game in football is health. It really is. You can guess what team's going to be great. Like the Buccaneers.

We think the Buccaneers are going to be good. Let them lose two offensive linemen all of a sudden, and all of a sudden Tom Brady's getting it. You have no chance. The health factor of football is so real. It's who's healthiest, who's hottest at the end of the season. That's who's going to make a run. And that's why the Patriots dynasty is so impressive because you've seen a lot of great teams get injured at the wrong time,

and they're gone from contention because you lose a couple players with your salary cap the way it's set up that could potentially take out a quarter of your team's investment you're done for phil duff eagles lose a missing a massive piece in this whole thing that's a big deal yeah the the patriots i guess what's even more impressive about their run of dominance is that every year they're doing it, their roster looks drastically different from the year before, I feel like. So many different guys have been plugged in there on offense and defense, and they still seem to always be in contention to win it all. It makes no sense, dude.

And I would assume if I was a football coach, I would coach like Belichick, if I had to guess, where each game you would have your own game plan just because I think I'd get bored I think I'd get bored if I hit if I coach hey this is what we're running every single week we're gonna do this I think I would get bored I think I would have too much ADD but the fact that he figures out and it's not just him obviously it's a staff and Ernie his kid and the big guy upstairs Ernie and probably the bigger guy that's upstairs or a woman. I'm going to be sexist. I don't know who's doing the things.

But whenever they piece together the roster that they have, who they're playing against, and then they change the game plan week in and week out, that is something that I think we should see more teams do, and I'm surprised more teams don't do. But that is why the Belichick team is always potentially going to be good because he says we play to our strengths and then we take advantage of their weaknesses every single week.

It doesn't matter who we have. It doesn't matter what they have going on. That is what we're going to take advantage of. It's art of war. It's art of war. And that is what Bill Belichick has done thoroughly throughout his entire run. It's even as short as quarter to quarter. Like if one guy is having a good game, then he'll just mix it up.

In the second quarter, he'll just, okay, whatever we did in the first completely gone let's do this and that's why you're seeing ghosts if you're sam darnold because you're like okay i figured out this fucking defense finally yeah and then i'm in the second quarter okay i figured it out all in first quarter and then it's like wait a minute this is an entirely different this isn't how do you guys have five game plans for each game how does it happen it doesn't make any sense that's why you can't count out the patriots but boy if stidham if stidham gets a little bit of throw to the other team nathan peterman disease could be tough have you seen this waiver that smu sent out to all their players i was just going to ask you i'd like to see the waiver okay i think we have a picture of it do

we have a picture of it no we do not have a picture of it zoom in on this bad boy right here Okay, I think we have a picture of it. Do we have a picture of it? No, we do not have a picture of it zoom in on this bad boy right here. So this This one right here Zoom in on this This is the waiver that SMU sent to all of their student-athletes. Okay, look at this thing They got to read through all that initial it sign it the whole thing basically stating I understand that I could get COVID-19 if I work out around other people, and I am freeing SMU of any blame if I acquire the COVID-19. It is a two-pager here. This is

like, nope, that's not it. Nope, this is it right here. This is all it is right here. Pretty thorough, pretty in-depth, and I would assume that just like we started seeing on the back of tickets and whenever you purchase tickets online this is going to be the new normal for everybody hey if you want to go in public you want to eat food there's a chance that you are going to end up with covid19 and we don't want you to fucking sue us for it smu is getting in front of it ohio state was doing the waivers. Now ticketing companies are starting to do it. This is what the new normal is going to be. And to be honest, it is pretty thorough. I mean, you got to initial this thing one, two, three, four, five, six, seven times. You got to put your name on there one, two, three times, sign it twice. I mean, it's a pretty

thorough document here, basically saying, hey, I might get COVID-19, but I ain't going to take down SMU for it. Well, I assume this is normal for every school and every NFL team that goes back to work and whatever sport may be, even at whatever job you may go back into the office. If you're not back there yet, you're going to have to do this. I would imagine every corporation is going to protect themselves. It's like some teams that make you sign a waiver about tour at all like if you're going to get a tour at all shot before games or whatever sign this waiver to say you're not going to sue us 20 years down the road i didn't have to sign that but i would have left-handed and right-handed can uh can left-handed me get another tour at all shot

and right-handed me get another can i sign twice for this thing it was i can't believe you think they tell these players like hey, hey, take this, read it over, like, with your parents or someone you trust or a lawyer? Do you think they're telling kids that? Dude, I cannot believe you played an entire career, Super Bowl champion career, and didn't take Toradol. I didn't know that was possible. I had no idea that was possible in the NFL for a guy to become a veteran

and not take Toradol. You play in Green Bay, man. They don't give them. Cincinnati probably didn't have enough money possible. I had no idea that was possible in the NFL for a guy to become a veteran and not take Toradol. You play in Green Bay, man. They don't give them. Cincinnati probably doesn't have enough money to have them, right? I mean, they'll probably. They had them. Did you take it? No, I didn't.

I never got one. Why? Why would you not? I thought about it a few times. I definitely did. I rolled an ankle really bad or bad bone bruise on my knee or something. I wanted to. I just never did.

I don't know. That's so impressive to me. Because as soon as I was offered it, I tried it. And I was like, well, don't think I'm ever going to play a game without this again. And that was early. That was like year three or whatever. I think I tore my meniscus in my knee or something. And it was week 11.

So I had some time left in the season. It wasn't enough to take me down, but it was a nuisance. You know, like a torn meniscus is a nuisance. That's all it is. Your leg will lock up. It'll feel like you're getting stabbed. Obviously, both AJ and I have, he probably has no meniscus left. I'm not sure I have any left either, but it is a pain in the ass when it initially happens. And then they were like, oh, you should try some Toradol. I forget who said it. Somebody said, try some Toradol. I was like, I don't know if I want to get into that, right? Because I saw older guys that just – there was a line like out the door for Toradol.

Coaches were there. Scouts were there. Like the amount of people that were trying to get Toradol was just this line. I was like, I don't know if I want to get into that. And then somebody was like, you should try it. And then I gave it a go. And my whole body just got this warm sensation. And I didn't even know I had a meniscus or if it was torn.

I felt like I was the fastest I've ever been. I felt like I could jump higher than I could ever jump. And the ball was just flying off my foot with no warmup. I'm like, this is cheating. I'm cool with it. Everybody else is doing it. I'm going to take this every single game. The fact that you didn't is insane to me.

Is this going to take me down eventually? You think Toradol is going to be the one that gets me? No, that's definitely not. You've got plenty of other things that are going to come grab and pull you. What the hell does that mean? Listening to you describe it makes me kind of regret that I never did. This is how I described it. If you were a chef, okay, I'm a professional chef. I have restaurants. And somebody showed up at my restaurant and said hey here's an ingredient that you can put on every single meal that'll make it taste better for everybody if you were a chef would you use it yeah bingo that's what tordell is for here's here's an ingredient

that'll make every single part of your body feel better if if you use it do you want to use it yep i do okay that's what that's why whenever the whole thing started happening with the nfl and the nflpa where they're thinking about banning Toradol for the sake of safety, which, by the way, probably accurate. I don't know what the long-term studies are. I'm going to stay ignorant to those because I don't want to know. But that was whenever the NFLPA came out and was like, hey, listen, you guys can do what you need to do with the rules,

and we can change these helmets and all that shit, but do not touch the Toradol. You cannot get rid of the Toradol. And then that's probably when I assume Green Bay instituted the ban even more whenever that whole conversation popped up. No, I think Green Bay stopped a long time ago. I don't know how you guys have any success. The main doc there, Doc McKenzie, told me a long time ago

that he hadn't given a Toradol shot in years. That's why you guys give up 186 yards a rush. In the playoffs, NFC Championship game, bodies are tired, bodies are sore. San Francisco 49ers are out there like, dee-dee-dee-dee-dee, ah, ah, ah, broken shoulder? Not today. Here we go. Bah-bah-bah-bah-bah. And the Packers

players are like, ugh, dragging their legs out there. Alright, let's get a two-hour warm-up out here so my joints can move a little bit. I mean, that's potentially a reason why the Packers lose. Not about enough not talked because how long does it last uh it's like 28 hours or something you feel it the next day like you feel my meniscus the next day whenever that was going on so much like almost buckled like whenever you the net coming off of it is definitely a nightmare but if you need it for a certain activity, boy, it gets –

Is it addictive? Like were there guys who like needed it more than like the team could give it out? No, I don't think guys want to use it on a day-to-day. Like I don't think there was anybody that was like I need this on a day-to-day basis. But like watching the coaches get in line for it was – that was kind of comical. I'm like you guys are going to coach your fucking asses off after today yeah you are yeah don't want to hold you back addictive or not but they're not going to give it out for practice i would imagine but there's definitely guys that once they start getting it they're not going to play a game without it yeah bingo i was one of them because

there was a couple years where i was probably my most healthy i'd ever been like talking about off-season nutrition and working out and feeling good. And then it came to game day and I might've had, you know, maybe something up or whatever. And I was like, I am definitely getting a tour. Like I am 1 million percent going to get a tour door right now. And they're like, well, you don't need it, Pat. I'm like, who says who? Says, well, I'm a medical professional. I'm like, well, I'm a bend over. I just want you to shoot right in my ass. Let's get this thing started.

It was, it was next level. And I don't don't sound like i'm promoting a drug too much but if you get an opportunity to get the tourdoll and you're in a situation where you need it say yes just say yes there's total pills though right the pills don't do action does does it well and i don't think the pill, all the pill stuff, that kills your liver. I'm always scared about the pill stuff. I've always been very scared about the pill stuff because I feel like that, because I drink so much, I feel like my shit's already ruined. So, like, I'm not trying to send in more stuff. So, I would.

You stopped pretty early. Like, you, not that you're sober or anything, but you stopped, like, that heavy binge drinking pretty early in your life i wish i would have stopped about four years earlier to be honest but we're gonna find out in the back end how much that really affected me we're gonna find back end uh i mean just 100 shots a night imagine imagine doing that. I don't know how I did it. I have no idea how I did it. And became a professional athlete. Hey, why does... Jesus.

I know Jeter came in and basically was a part of the group that bought the Marlins, right? Yeah, for $500 million too much. Pushed Samson out, right? Yeah. So why does Jeter dislike him so much? I mean, we just talked to him what for 15 minutes you probably see why well I think a lot of people around the Miami like him what's that dude a lot of people around Miami do not like what he did to the team yeah I saw a lot I saw a lot of tweets

I saw a lot of tweets in response to his tweets which is why I wanted to talk to him even more by the way just because I think he does not care if anybody likes him. And that's probably something, if you're coming in to buy a team, the person that's running it, I'm going to pick somebody that would at least want me to enjoy what they're doing if they're going to run the team that I just bought. I don't think Samson gives a single fuck about anybody's opinion at all. At all.

And I love it. I absolutely love it. But I'm not going to have him be a president of a team that I run because it's like, yo, I would like you to care a little bit about what the public thinks or what I think or maybe not just completely sabotage a guy's career because we don't want to pay him. I mean, the things he was saying to us,

you could see why Jeter potentially doesn't like the guy. I mean, it was, but I want to talk to that guy right now. I want to talk to him again. He's a scumbag and he knows it. It's kind of refreshing. I did call him a scumbag to his face whenever he was talking. I mean, it's not normal. You call somebody a scumbag right to their face.

He laughed. Yeah. Also, his stepdad is Jeffrey Loria, who is one of the most hated owners of all time. Who? His stepdad or father-in-law? Father-in-law, I believe. Not stepdad. Is it stepdad is Jeffrey Loria, who is one of the most hated owners of all time. Who? His stepdad or father-in-law? Father-in-law, I believe. Not stepdad. He's a stepdad?

Yeah. Oh. Yeah, I guess he's got a couple of Rico charges against him. That guy does. Ah. I mean, Samson's our guy for sure, but boy, you could see how people would potentially not like him. Did anything come of that?

I read a little bit about that, like the Rico charges. Did they just charge it or they acquitted? What happened? I think there was a settlement possibly. It was with the Expos when he sold the Expos. And Samson also has that going against him. Nobody likes legacies coming up and trying to run the team and do like when your stepdad has all this cash

and has a bunch of power. Like it's already, you're already fighting an uphill battle if you're his kid or his stepkid yeah well that's because you are you don't have an uphill battle in real life so that's why you have an up public perception in what you're if you have a public job especially very easy to hate somebody that has been given in a lot of people's eyes a head start in life which by the way a lot going on in the world that we're in currently is because of the head start that different people have on life but whenever you're at that level it's like uh you know what and especially if you just own the fact that you're a savage and don't care i mean and that david i love the conversation with the guy i i very much enjoyed. He got a little Jerry Kraus feel there in the photo. I would assume Jeter knows how he is from when he was playing, too.

If he's that open about doing that stuff with players, I'm sure Jeter knew that when he was a player. I would like that guy to talk baseball more, by the way. I would like David Sampson to potentially get a little bit more spotlight, just so I can hear what the fuck comes out of that guy's mouth. I feel like he has stories, and he's ready to tell them. Ready to go. Jet Passon's next book. Maybe he does it on

big Dave Sampson. Should've asked him how he feels about Jet Passon. That has a missed opportunity. Hey, reach back out to him. Let's get him on next week sometime. Call him back, Z. Let's see. I'm going to send him a DM. You had Jet Passing on earlier today, didn't you?

Mm-hmm. Okay, here we go. Eucalyptus just sent me a message and said, why are you talking to David? You want to come on right now? I don't know if I can read this exact message. You can't. Yeah, probably not. Maybe you can FaceTime him and see if he'll say it You want to come on? He seemed

I called him a scumbag I called him a scumbag I called him a scumbag You just asked why we were talking to him. That's all he asked. I thought that guy should be the next baseball commissioner. Whoa. He made a lot of good points.

There's no way. That guy might. He would have some. If he was on that return to sports representing baseball. Yeah, we're scumbags. Tony Clark. Tony Clark. I tried to talk to him nine days ago.

I won't fucking talk to me. Fuck that guy. Fuck that guy. Jared Jeter's paying too much money for Allie. I mean, what do you want me to do? I'm trying to make these deals happen. These players stink. What do you want?

Sampson was wide open. Do you think Jeter, does Jeter regret buying into the Marlins and running the team now? Nah. You don't think? I mean, he went from, he's like the most beloved character ever to play baseball it seemed like to now hey dude catch the lock there's a lot of people talking i just checked twitter for the first time shout out nick posted he's there's a lot of media people tweeting about what he said about how the media is manipulated for these things that david

sanderson just came on our show caused a shit storm and out. And I think that's exactly how he likes it. Oh, yeah. Arrived, let me cause some chaos, and then let me get the hell out of here. A little Sampson shuffle. I didn't see the whole, I didn't see what video. Did you put me calling him a scumbag in this video? I don't know if it's in there or not. Oh, Nick, we have to show that we are on the side against this son of a bitch.

This is probably why I'm getting messages from you. It's a long video, so it might be in there. Might be in there. Whenever he said it, I tried to give a review. So yesterday I was talking to Rick Buecher on the show, and Rick Buecher said some things that I wanted to interrupt and be like, well, that's just not the fucking right way to say what you just said there.

I'm in an interesting spot. Give an example, though. It was just the tone. It was way it was the way things i don't know it just it felt rick buecher gave us a great interview a good conversation i learned a lot about it but there was a couple things he said with tone where i was like it doesn't feel like that's the right way to say what you say and i don't know what the proper move is because i want to be as a host i want to give somebody a chance to say and speak i don't like cutting people off when they're talking giving an answer on the show i like them to do what they got to do. And I like people to

think that they've enjoyed their time on the show and they were giving a fair time. But there's sometimes when people say something where I'm like, well, I got to, I mean, like for instance, when Samson said there were some players that we floated out things that they were bad in the locker room because we didn't want to pay them or whatever did like i my first thing i did was like i just want people to know that me and aj the opinions of guests do not reflect that of the host and i think that can sometimes get a little bit construed on the internet there's just things i'd like to state this good news at a minute 30 you do call them scumbags oh boy check that from the fucking minutes i I like that. AJ, I got good poop to be honest with you. Been a good show though.

Yeah, it has. It kind of revolves around your grumpy schedule. I have an active bladder and I don't know if it's healthy or not. I've seen some commercials on the internet telling me that it's not healthy how active my bladder is, but then I see some scientists that say that it is healthy. So I'm just going to keep

on shitting until I die. If you're not shitting blood, keep on until I die if you're not in blood you're good even if you are it's still all right I do look at my poop I do not poop blood but the other day I do it all the time the other day my entire butthole almost fell out it was a real problem I thought I had to get in the toilet and take it out and honestly I felt that's what I felt like I had to walk like this because it was a bad day are you on a big like new like nutrition kick is that what it was pineapple hey uh i got i got into this fruit kick because i was going to be healthy you know and i was like i'll eat fruit i'll eat fruit

i'll be super early then 3am i get woken up on my stomach just being like why are we healthy and then i just sat on the toilet for probably the next i I don't know, nine of the next 12 hours. Turns out the butthole couldn't hold in anymore. It just kind of gave up. So I had quite a day, quite a 72 hours, but we're back at it. And now just standard poops are happening now. Just standard poops are happening. It's a big poop show.

Big poop. Big poop. I love pooping. I'm sure Samson will be happy that he put his name on this and came on the big poop show. I mean, he looks, I'm watching this video down here. It's just kind of plain. He looks so spectacular with that beard, the suit. He's got a sport coat on. And then the things that he's saying is just stirring the pot right there.

Oh, what a life. I love that he didn't take any butter. You didn't have to butter him up. You didn't have to warm up. He came out from the jump like ready. We should talk to that guy again. People aren't going to be happy. People are not going to be happy that we're talking butter him up. You'd have to warm up. He came out from the jump like ready. We should talk to that guy again. People aren't going to be happy. People are not going to be happy that we're talking to him again.

And I think that's how we're going to lead off. I think I'm going to lead off with David. I'm going to let you know. A lot of people are not happy we're having you on the show again, but I cannot wait to hear what you have to say. Survivor never came up either. Yeah, he was on Survivor. Was it like a celebrity Survivor?

Who else was on the show with him? He was the first one on joanna joanna the tribe spoke quick hit him the i got it you want who's joanna do you want a man hey great good film all, I'm out of here. See ya. Good show, AJ. AJ, good show. Yeah, you too. AJ, you did really good today. AJ, good work today. You're gonna take a dump? Yeah, I'm gonna poop. Because you drink all that weird tea.

Yeah. Yeah. AJ used to tackle quarterbacks, and he's a Rust Belt kind of guy. AJ Hawk! That's the butter of the decade for the 2010s, kicking Pierce Missiles to the sky. It's McAfee and Hawk. AJ Hawk! It's McAfee and Hawk Sports Talk. It's McAfee and Hulk. Awesome.

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Ladies and gentlemen, friend of the show, Jet Pass. Yeah, Jet! Woo! Boy, Jet. Pass. Yeah, Jet! Boy, Jet. 7.57. Jet, big pop from the boys today. This is a big baseball day, big Jeff Passing day. You were on Scott Van Pelt last night.

You were on that SportsCenter special. You had a new column out this morning. Not a lot of sleeping for Jet Pass, and it feels like you're the only person in the MLB or the MLB PA getting anything done and I appreciate you joining us today I am doing my best I clearly am doing a garbage job though because here we are talking about how they're still out playing so we're there's going to be a day coming up at some point soon where we actually get to talk about baseball being back it feels like you last night we were texting and I appreciate you always responding to me you have the biggest brain in this whole thing and I don't

really know much about it but you have always remained optimistic that there's going to be baseball even after last night Rob Manfred put a foot in the mouth caught a disaster so he's not sure if there's going to be a season then the players obviously came and said just tell us when and where because the players want more games and rob obviously just wants to delay and wants less games because he knows he has to pay him prorated salaries where do you see this whole thing landing you think they're going to play a season you think it's got 48 games like the mlb has wanted this whole time no because the problem with the 48 game season 50 game season somewhere in that vicinity is that mlb understands that it would have to delay so long that it would run the risk of a grievance going in the player's favor. Now, the risk isn't all that great, but let's look at what

risk analysis really is here. Let's say that the players were to grieve for a billion dollars and that there's a 25% chance that they win win that's 250 million dollars worth of risk that you as mlb are trying to put out there and at this point when teams are trying to scrimp and save every single dollar that they can 250 million dollars worth of risk simply is not worth it especially when you can take that 250 million give it to the actual players, and get more games played, which is the optimal outcome for everybody involved. So that's a big part of the reason why I think that they're going to be back. And it's not going to be a great season.

It's not going to be 100 games. It's probably not even going to be 81 games. But I think when it's all said and done, it's going to be somewhere in the range of 70. And you know what? I'll take a 70-game season at this point. Kevin Euclid said if it's not 80 games, let's not talk about it. But that was before the entire situation that has arose.

I think a 70-game season would be one that I think the players would even say yes to. But at what point? And is it this week that they have to come to an agreement then for it to be a 70-game season? Or can they delay another week or two to still fit in 70 games? You know, I did the math on this and I looked at five days, six days from now, there being an agreement. Then on top of that, you got three weeks of spring training, got to travel. I mean, we're looking at like a mid-July start. So let's

say we have 10, 12 days in July. We have 31 days in August and we have 30 days in September. I mean, that gives you 70-something days. You got to have a day off every week, but to make up for those days off, you can have double headers. So the idea of them playing somewhere in that 70-game vicinity before going to the postseason is not far-fetched. The problem is every day without an agreement, Pat, you're just burning daylight, and you're losing the chance to play another game, which is why the sense of urgency that should have been there for the last two months really needs to ramp up right now. The MLB and the MLBPA need to sit down, whether it is on a Zoom call or even in a room and say, we're not leaving here until we have an agreement but it's only

getting worse it feels like their relationship last night rob manfred when he was talking to greenberg took like three shots at tony clark in the mlbpa he was like this weekend we could have sat down and talked but instead uh the head of the mlbpa was telling people that as soon as we make a season they're going to have a grievance so that's not it feels like it's only getting uglier from a reality tv drama like situation then you see the players coming in what is the word why are they keep revolving around good faith bad faith i feel like that is a term that is used for breach of contract that is only reason because you have to negotiate in good faith so they're saying well they're in bad faith

they're in bad faith why does each side want there to be a breach of contract so bad it feels like the mlb started this now the players have had to answer why is that such a big deal it's a very good legal analysis by you these letters that are going back and forth are essentially documents that are trying to show uh just the way that this whole thing is evolving. And if there are accusations of bad faith, MLB and the MLBPA want to say early on, we're not just bringing these accusations out here in an arbitration setting. We've been talking about them for weeks now. We're trying to get this on the record to show that this is a pattern. And so it's honestly, it's mostly saber rattling. I mean, to really, truly be negotiating in bad faith, it's a pretty high standard threshold, but this is just legal maneuvering at this point for the possibility of a grievance happening. I just, I don't see

one happening right now. I think there are two outcomes for this. I think one outcome is that there's a season, you know, somewhere between 65 and 75 games. And I think the other is that there's no season at all. And I think that both parties recognize if there is no season, it is an unmitigated disaster for baseball. It is something that will have repercussions and ramifications a decade down the road. It is something that would end up with people losing their jobs, whether it is Rob Manford or Tony Clark. I think people at this point are as much in self-preservation mode

as they are, hey, let's bring baseball back for the fans. Yeah, does Rob even know that, though? Hold on, Jeff. Jeff, does Rob even know that? If it takes self-preservation to get baseball back on the field, fine with me. Go ahead, preserve yourself preserve yourself yeah but that guy talking last night Rob Manfred it looked like he had no idea that if there was no no MLB season that it would be catastrophic

to the sport it looked like he did not care if there was a chance it was just I think the presentation of Rob Manfred was just as bad as the words that he was saying. I think everything was bad by that guy. It was a calculated tire fire. Like it was really, really bad. And I think the, I think the intent was to, to try and show that the players are not coming to the table and that they're not bargaining in good faith. And how can we get back on the show that the players are not coming to the table and that they're not bargaining in good faith and how can we get back on the field if the players aren't willing to talk. What they didn't recognize was the power and simplicity of the statement that the MLBPA has been making

over the last few days. Tell us when, tell us where. It is so beautiful and perfect and simple. And, you know, I think when you say something like that, the people listening tend to forget that the players are fighting for money here. That's what this fight has been about this entire time. And yet, if you're not thinking about the fact that it is something for money, if you're thinking all the players want to do is play, you're going to get on the player side because all you want the players to do is play.

Jeff, there has never been, and I'm 33, I guess I've gone through two of these in my sport, but in other sports you look back, there has never been a time where the fans are on the player's side of collective bargaining. It's unbelievable to see. And it's like, I wonder if it's part of a shift in society. Look, we have all kinds of societal shifts going on right now. And the notion that labor is making a comeback as corporations have been union busting

for decades now is a novel one and not one that I'm going to jump entirely on board with at this point, especially when that organized labor is in the form of people who are making more money than the average person can possibly fathom. And yet it's the ideals for which they're standing that I think really resonate. We want to work. We want to do what we're great at. We want to do what we love. And anytime a person hears that, that is a really strong message that I think, you know, goes across age, goes across race, goes across sex. Everyone has that feeling. If you have something you're passionate about, something that you love doing, and somebody is trying to stop you from

doing that, that person is the one in the wrong, not you. In 2010, when the CBA was agreed to for the NFL, it was alleged that Jeff Saturday and Robert Kraft sat down and basically got to Maury Smith out of the way and all the lawyers out of the way and a player and Robert Kraft sat down at the end of the day and were like, hey, let's get this thing done. Let's knock this out. Is that something that the MLB is going to have to see where maybe some of these players who are all fired up are like, hey, listen, Tony Clark, we appreciate the hell out of you, but it has gotten to a point now where you are just going to war with this Manfred guy.

We are not going anywhere forward. We're only going backwards. Do you see a time where potentially Rob Manfred and maybe Tony Clark kind of get cut out of the situation and it goes players to owners? Or are the owners 100 percent behind everything that Rob Manfred is saying? Because that is the job of a commissioner is to speak for the owners and be the bad guy. I mean, the owners have been driving Rob Manfred's attack this entire time. And the criticism of him, and I think it's fair, is that while a commissioner's duty is to the owners, that's what his job is, it is also to the sport. And you have to be able and

willing to stand up and fight for the integrity of the sport. And right now, baseball's integrity is in the toilet swirling around. It's embarrassing what's happened to the sport. You know when the commissioner, who has a hand in everything that is going on calls it a disaster himself i i wrote this today that is the worst cell phone you can imagine it's a disaster buddy because you brought it there run that it's just a disaster think about that it's just a disaster like i want to know what greenberg was thinking, whatever that guy. Greenberg was probably like, I have to stop you right there. You are half of it.

By the way, they got a good shot of his Louboutin shoes. I don't know if you saw that when he was shooting behind the Red Bottoms. Greeny was in his full suit last night. That return to sports thing was awesome. You had a pretty large role in that whole thing. last night that return to sports thing was awesome you had a pretty large role in that whole thing and by the way in this entire thing jet passing's name is directly linked to all of it so if baseball gets canceled i think there's a lot of people i think there are a lot of people that are potentially going to cancel jet passing as well i don't like it but i'm just saying this is what

people say patrick you're going to make sure that that doesn't happen you got juice you got sway you got power i listen the the greatest thing that has happened in this totally awful year is the budding bromance between us you're great and and it has uh it has been a very fruitful relationship so far and i'm very appreciative of that me too i've enjoyed talking to you i i've started reading your book Arm, which you've been on our show 10 times and a guy in this room didn't even know you were an author. I mean, so that's a little bit of a slap in the face from this guy. I can't see where it says. For sure.

He's just slapping you right in your face. New York Times bestseller though. That's awesome. That's not going to sneeze at you. How many did you buy yourself? How many of those books did you buy yourself? Too damn many. That's why. You got gotta get yourself on the list you don't spend four years working on a book only for it not to make the list like that's you know it's gotta happen um

when do you think like are you getting updates currently from players and from from the mlb do you think these conversations that seem to have come to a complete standstill get back rolling here in the moments and understanding the moment needs to happen now? Do you think that's going to continue to happen here in the next couple of days? Yeah, there are two courses of action that I think could take place. And this is just from talking with people around the game and saying, hey, when do you think this thing's going to get done? One of them is that over the next 72 hours, they're going to recognize that they need to put out this fire. 72 hours, they're going to recognize that they need to put out this fire and that the only way to do it is to get an agreement in place quickly and get things rolling and change the narrative.

I also think that there's the possibility that the players are feeling themselves right now, and they should be because they have handled this extraordinarily well because they are in the position of power at this point. And if they go back to Major League Baseball with an offer and say, you know, we're ready to negotiate and we're going to stick with the 89 games that we suggested last time, that could slow things down a little. But if the Players Association goes back to MLB and says, you know what, we say we want to play and we understand the financial situation that you're in right now because everybody is being affected by this pandemic uh let's go down to 80 games if they're down somewhere in the range of like 80 to 84 games in in a an offer that they send over to the league i think this thing can move quickly and

listen i hope it does because i'm supposed to go to wisconsin and hang out with my in-laws this weekend and drink beer by uh by a lake and go water skiing. And I really don't want to have to haul along my camera and bring it up to the lake house. No need for that. Make sure you have your suit and tie, too, for the big boy ESPN stuff. You always got to be suited and booted. I don't travel anywhere without a suit and tie, Pat.

You know that. The thought of you shotgunning a beer on a lake in Wisconsin and then getting a text from Manfred or something saying it's over and be like, well, here we go. Let's go. Be like Anchorman from back in the day. Diggs, what do you got? Jed, is there any chance that Manfred, like you just said, needs to put out the fire, but is he making this fire bigger because he

doesn't want any focus on the Yankees cheating letter scandal? A lot of people are saying this is all one big cover-up to hide the pinstripes in their cheating allegations. no i would i listen um i am all about the conspiracy theory in sports i love the frozen envelope i love the mj's africa i love all those different things i think this is much ado about nothing i think what the yankees did was cheat i think we know that though i think they cheated like the Red Sox did early on,

before there were mandates in place from the league saying explicitly, do not use technology in this fashion. I think the Yankees used the replay room, and I think they relayed signs to second base. And I think the same thing that happened to the Red Sox, or that the Red Sox did, the Yankees were doing. I don't think this is some sort of grand, giant conspiracy, though, like the Astros banging on a trash can. I don't think it was at that level.

But the idea that the New York Yankees weren't doing something is foolish. And I don't think anybody who knows anything believes that the Yankees are completely innocent here. I think what they did is just the equivalent of a misdemeanor, whereas the Astros were committing felony after felony. Well, I see. And people would say that you because you're on ESPN, you're trying to cover up for the. So if we. I get that. No, trust me, I get that. I get that from you. I'm not trying to cover up anything. The Yankees did stuff like Mark to share in a Joel Sherman column back in February, admitted to everything that they were

doing at that point and and it's it's wrong and uh if if there is a punishment that comes down on the yankees for that i think that it's totally reasonable but man i i think one thing i do think about baseball is that it wants to get the cheating out of the conversation, out of the headlines. I totally agree with that idea. I disagree, Jeff. Did you see that 30 for 30 long gone summer just on Sunday night there on your network? Boy, when those barbarians were eating all of the steroids,

baseball had never been hotter. I mean, I completely forgot how big that was in 1998 i was 11 at the time not nine two years difference but i was 11 at the time and even i remember baseball dude is the dream of the mlb to hopefully one day get back to where they were in 1998 and do you ever see that happening absolutely that's the dream i mean baseball was in the national zeitgeist then, and it has not been there since. And so to have someone or something that thrusts it out front like that would be the dream of every sports league. NBA is as popular as it is because it has characters who are compelling. Because LeBron James is, LeBron James to me is the most incredible athlete of my lifetime. And that includes Michael Jordan.

And here's why. You just started it. Listen, I'm not saying that LeBron James is a better basketball player than Michael Jordan. I don't think he is. What I am saying is that LeBron James was on the cover of Sports Illustrated as a teenager. He had all the pressure that people in Hollywood, when they're, you know, kid actors face. And how many times does a kid actor come up and turn out not just to be like a reasonable human being, but somebody who is trying to actively change society with his platform, somebody who's trying to do good, someone who's a good father,

someone who's a good husband, someone who's all of these things that LeBron James has become. It's incredible to me that that amount of pressure that he felt from a very young age, he has handled it, he has weathered it, and he has taken that little ball of clay that he was and molded it into something absolutely beautiful.

Hey, that was a beautiful sentiment. And aside from Macaulay Culkin, I'm not sure anybody else has done it other than LeBron. Ladies and gentlemen, joining us now, the young phenom, the prodigy of baseball coverage for ESPN, Jeff Passam. Yeah! That was it! And joining us now, a man who knows things about things, one of the voices of hockey very handsome man very

intelligent man last time he was on he agreed with me that sydney crosby is the greatest hockey player on earth ladies and gentlemen pierre mcguire attaboy pat way to go pierre is a true penguin Piarra, I don't want to misquote you. It was what you said, not me. Let's talk about Gary Bettman last night and the NHL. The NHL has been very smart with this. There was a leak of what a format would be if there was a 24 team tournament. Then Gary Bettman got on an NHL network and he said, hey, this is our roadmap to return.

I think we talked after that about the roadmap to return. And last night, Gary Bettman talked to Greenberg, which basically was saying, hey, we are still all systems go. We're trying to figure out the finer details. What is the thought in your eyes in the conversations you've heard about the NHL potentially taking advantage of this couple week period where it might not be any other leagues competing other than the MLS at that time? Well, first of all, we've had an amazing spirit of cooperation

between the Players Association and the league, number one, Pat. Number two, the players in our league really do want to play. What they need to know is what they're actually playing for because they've been paid for the calendar season 2019-2020, so their paychecks are done. So that's one of the things they need to find out. Are they playing for a collective bargaining agreement that's got two years to run?

Or are they playing for bonus structure? What are they actually playing for? Who's going to cover their disability insurance if something happens with coronavirus? So there's still some pending issues. But the thing that I really admire is the problem-solving abilities of Commissioner Bettman, Bill Daly as deputy and donald fear at the nhl players association they've done a great job in terms of having huge communication that's not normal and i would

assume because the paychecks have already been received that conversation is going a lot smoother than in other sports but has the conversation directed in the fashion that, hey, July 28th, NFL teams are reporting. July 31st, the NBA is supposed to happen. July 8th, the MLS is happening. But aside from that, in July, I think WNBA is also playing as well. No offense to WNBA. But I think there's some weeks there where the NHL could potentially captivate and draw some eyes that they don't normally get, especially in the time that we're coming out of this quarantine.

Has that been a conversation or is there no real timeline set? Oh, no, that's definitely been part of the conversation, Pat. You're right on top of it. And here's the one thing. We've got a hard date of July 10th, which we didn't have before. The last time you and I spoke, I said there's got to be a starting date. And finally, they came up with one July 10th. So I think that's really appropriate what you're saying. The other thing that's important for people to understand, we have seven teams in Canada. Six of those seven teams will be in this tournament, the 2014 tournament. Only one will miss, Ottawa. In Canada now, there's a 14-day quarantine period. So if a player, let's say there's an American-born player, I'll use Blake Wheeler as an example, a Minnesota guy who plays for the Winnipeg Jets. Let's just say he crossed the border, went back to Minnesota. Once he comes back to Canada,

he's got to quarantine for 14 days. Now, that could be amended by the Canadian government and the provincial governments, but that's one of the issues, Pat, that they're trying to sort out right now. Okay, so everybody assumed that there's going to be two hub cities for this thing. I didn't even know that there was a chance to go back to Canada once they lock into this 2014 tournament. Las Vegas seems to be a lock. They have the most hotel rooms in America. They're ready to go.

I think it's like 144,000 rooms or something. They are ready to be locked down. They have a good practice facility. They have a good arena. And the Golden Knights are in this thing. So I think that would be a big deal. Now in the Eastern time zone, I think is what you told us last time is what they're looking at pittsburgh was a thought columbus seems to be a very hot spot because their practice facility is right across the street from their arena would

teams now toronto all depending upon that quarantine period that you just talked about would teams be living in these cities full-time in hotels for so if this is in columbus would that 14-day quarantine in canada even matter them because the so if this is in columbus would that 14-day quarantine in canada even matter them because the teams are all locked in columbus no what would matter would be is when teams come back for training camp if they were to have training camps in their own facilities before they could do that pat they'd have to quarantine but you're raising another really interesting issue let's just say it happens to be Toronto, the other pod city. Would the Canadian government force these players that are coming across the border,

and let's just say the Eastern Conference is in Toronto rather than in Vegas, would they have to quarantine before they got on the ice? So this is part of the issue that people are trying to sort out right now. Well, the training camp, they're trying to put in at least two weeks for everybody for training camp i feel like hockey closer to three pat so three week training camp then we get into the 2014 thing in two hubs if the 14 day quarantine happens for those five to six canada teams that's what they need five weeks then to be able to get in shape because they're going to be locked into their rooms at least until they get up there. There's a lot to still be figured out, Pierre.

100%. And that's why there's still – I talked to a couple players this morning. I was at a rink around Boston here where I am right now. I talked to a couple players. They say there's still a lot of things that have to be ironed out. But, again, I have to stress this for our fans. I'm so glad that you have this opinion because it's a strong one and it resonates with the fans.

It's an important one. Our league has really been at the forefront of this. I'm so proud of being in this league. I've been in this league over 30 years, and I'm so proud of the way Gary Bettman's handled things. I'm so proud of the way Donald Pierce handled things. The players have been phenomenal with it, the coaches. It's been great.

There's no perfect system, Pat. There's no perfect way to handle this, but I think we're as close to perfect as you can be. A lot of behind-closed-doors doors conversations the drama isn't getting aired out so the grievances that potentially players might have whether it's health reasons or travel reasons they're going through the the channels that are happening behind closed doors with betman and then whenever it seems like betman comes out it's like hey okay here we go this is what we're going to try to do but there's no foot in mouth situation like rob manfred if that guy was your commissioner i'd assume you'd retire is that what you would do you would stop i would come be your assistant

go ahead thanks pierre what type of teams and what teams have benefited most from this time off as far as injuries and players getting back on the ice that they were originally out for the year? That's a great question. For instance, Columbus gets Seth Jones back. That's a 26-minute-a-game player, so that's going to help them a lot on defense. I look at the Pittsburgh Penguins getting Jake Gensel back. He's a potential 50-goal scorer this year. That helps a lot with their internal chemistry. I look at the Boston Bruins. They're a veteran team, but what I like about the Bruins is on every one of their defense canons, they have a young guy who's an elite puck mover. So Charlie McAvoy was a Dano Char.

Matt Grizzly, you know, you look at him playing with Brandon Carlo and then you look at, or sorry, Torrey Krug, and then you look at Matt Grizzly playing deeper in the lineup with Steve Moore. They've got, they've got unbelievable depth on their defense. And I think the young legs will help them with the veteran presence. I think Boston benefits too because their older guys got a bit of a rest. Pierre, who do you think is going to win the COVID Cup? Pat McAfee's pick.

Penguins. You think the Penguins are going to win? No. I'm not picking Patrick. Pierre, you just said any team could win but the Penguins. That's what you just said. That is what you just said right there, Pierre. I love you.

Hey, there's a lot of hockey talk surrounding the Buffalo Sabres right now. I assumed that the Buffalo Sabres were in this 2014 tournament. I assumed Dominic Kasich was going to have a hell of a show. Turns out he's not on the team. Sabres aren't in a tournament, but they are making big news because one of their young players came out and said like, hey, I'm tired of being a part of a losing organization. This morning, they fire their GM. They move forward. What is it going to be like? What are the next steps for the Sabres to potentially get back into relevancy? Well, they've hired a former Buffalo Sabre,

Kevin Adams, who won the Stanley Cup at the Carolina Hurricanes in 2006. He's going to be their new general manager. He's been around the Buffalo Sabres organization for a while right now. Three of the men at the top of the food chain in Buffalo got released to their duties. Jason Bottrell, former assistant GM of Pittsburgh, Randy Sexton, the former director of player personnel in Pittsburgh, and also Steve Greeley. So they've fired the top of the food chain there. So big, significant changes in Buffalo, Pat. Are you ever thinking about getting back into the scout GM coach world? I told you I'm coming to be your assistant.

Now, that's only if Rob Manford makes his way over to the NHL. But that is something that happens in our world, in the football world. A lot of commentators, a lot of people that call the game, you learn about everybody, right? so you're getting inside information from coaches you're watching so many games you're plugged in you are more plugged into the nhl than most people even people that are in the league don't have to know as much about everybody has the thought ever been like hey i should get back into the scouting world gm world or do you enjoy doing what you do right i really love working for nbc sports. It's been unbelievable. My superiors there, Sam Flood and Mark Lazarus, have been

tremendous people to work with. A lot of major breakthroughs have happened on our network because of the inside glass position that Sam Flood and Dick Ebersole created about 15 years ago. It's been great. I've got young children that are very athletic. One's in college. One's about to go to college. So we'll see what happens down the road. But I kind of like what I do right now, Pat. Oh, yeah. Let's do it. Write down.

June 16th. I'm going to write this down because I keep all my papers right here. June 16th. Pierre hinted at returning to potential general manager team. Hinted at. Go ahead, Diggs. Oh, go ahead, Nick. Go ahead.

Pierre, if you could play the role of Gary Bettman as GM for one day, what's something you would like to see implemented or changed amongst the league? You know, Nick, that's a good question. One of the things I'd like to see probably is that we got another team in Quebec. I think the Quebec market, if I could be the commissioner of the league for one day, that'd be something I'd really like to see happen because it would create unbelievable rivalries in Canada. And the Quebec market, I think, is one of the best markets for hockey. They lost their team to Colorado.

The Colorado Avalanche went on to win two Stanley Cups after they left Quebec. But I'd like to see that happen, a team in Quebec. Oui, oui. So do you think they should have rather gone to Quebec rather than Seattle? No. No, I think So do you think they should have rather gone to Quebec rather than Seattle? No. No. I think going to Seattle is great. I think potentially if there ever had to be a franchise relocation, I'd like to see

that team relocate to the Quebec market. Hey, Pierre, look at you, man. Look at this. He's the commissioner of the league. He's going to be a GM of the league. He's a dad. He's inside the glass. Pierre, you're having a hell of a performance.

I just want to go watch a football game with you, man. Hey, let's do it. Do you live in Boston full time? No, I'm between Boston and Connecticut. So I'm in a lot of places. For me, that might as well just be the same. You're in the same. You're up there.

You're upper right of America. Yeah, I'm on the upper right. Exactly. So July 10th, you said that date. Is that for training camp, for games? What is that for? That's for training camp, Pat. That's for training camp.

So right now they're doing free skate, open ice. Guys can go in and get workouts. Only six people can be on the ice. They have to be socially distanced. But then July 10th is when every team, assuming, is going to do training camp at their own place if they can figure out how Canada gets past the quarantine thing. thing spot on the other thing is no coaches on the ice right now pat so guys are kind of doing it on their own and the other thing is let's just say you played for the indianapolis colts and they had the same thing happening in football and you were living in

pittsburgh you could go train at the pittsburgh facility and not in the indie facility if you didn't want to i know i'm raising up a big issue for you, but that's something you could do. I mean, and that's what's happening in hockey. There are guys that are living in Boston that don't play for the Bruins that would be training in Boston if you follow me. That's incredible. That is really good for the community there of hockey. I would assume that guys fought each other too,

and now they're skating on the same ice. Socially distancing, obviously, but skating on the same ice. Pierre, with the no coaches on the ice, I did hear that Mario may be skating in Cranberry with the boys on the ice. I mean, say nothing if that means that they're guaranteed to win the cup. Bark twice and Mario Lemieux is playing the COVID Cup. You know, the one thing I can say about Mario, his nickname is Ace. And one of the greatest privileges I had in my life was a chance to actually work with him

and spend time with him. I was a coach. He was a player. But in the summer times, when we go back to our home bases in canada uh i skated with him a lot in the summer man oh man as good a player as he is he's a better person marilyn muse an unbelievable guy and he cares so much about the penguins in the city of pittsburgh i can't say enough good things about mario yeah he tried to buy the pittsburgh pirates but that stupid family that owns the parts wouldn't get it wouldn't sell it to him. I mean, Mario's the guy.

I didn't know we call him Ace. What I call him is second greatest hockey player of all time behind Sidney Crosby. Oh, boy, Patrick, you're on it. Pierre, did you see that video of Sidney skating on that ice

the first time back? He looked like he was skating around his living room like Mario Lemieux used to have as a kid growing up with the ice in the house. looked like he was skating around his living room like Mary Lemieux used to have his kid growing up with the ice in the house. You know what was pretty amazing about that whole thing was the reaction of the fans in Pittsburgh

when that actually happened. And Sidney and the guys went back on. Gensel was on there. It just speaks to the marketplace and how it's evolved over time. It's just a phenomenal hockey market. It really is. And I think a lot more places will become a hockey market

whenever they get a chance to watch the NHL for the first time starting here in the next couple weeks. Pierre, I appreciate your service to this show. I appreciate your service to hockey. And I thank you for your time today, sir. Patrick, it's always a pleasure being with you. Thank you very much for having me on.

I look forward to watching a football game with you. We could have some fun. Okay, sounds good to me. And I look forward to watching a hockey game alongside you, sir. Anytime. Well, I'm going to bring my stick. Maybe they put you between the benches with them. Oh.

Hey, Pierre. Shut the damn door. Shut the damn door. Cool. A little less tension on the lower hand. Just relax the lower hand a little bit. No, I'm getting slashed. I know.

Yeah, I understand the game. Ladies and gentlemen, NBC sports legend Pierre Mag bit. No, I'm getting slashed. I know. Yeah, I understand the game. Ladies and gentlemen, NBC sports legend, Pierre Maguire. Yeah, Pierre! Woo! All right, all right. Big thanks to all the guests today,

even the one that I called a scumbag. That's the first time I have ever done that to a guest of the show. But what he was saying was so raw, so real, so true, and so insane to learn about. I hope he didn't take any offense to it. I mean, it was kind of offensive.

You get it. All right, we're back tomorrow with a Feel Good Friday. Bill Polian is on the show. What? Undertaker? What, dude? Big show tomorrow. Bill Polian is on the show. What? Undertaker? What, dude? Big show tomorrow.

Tell a friend to tell a friend. We're in this thing together. Ty Schmidt, please play some independent music. Thank you. Thank you. សូវាប់ពីបានប់ពីបានប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពី Thank you. Thank you. សូវាប់បានប់បានប់បានប់បានប់បានប់បានប់បានប់បានប់បានប់បានប់បានប់បានប់បានប់បានប់បានប់បានប់បានប់បានប់បានប់បានប់បានប់បានប់បានប់បានប់បានប់បានប់បានប់បានប់បានប់បានប់បានប់បានប់បានប់បានប់បានប់បានប់បានប់បានប់បាាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប� Thank you.