The Pat McAfee Show - PMS 2.0 657 - Happy Cinco De Mayo, JJ Redick, Ross Dellenger, Mike Rupp, & AJ Hawk

Episode Date: May 5, 2022

On today's show, Pat, AJ Hawk, and the boys chat about Deebo Samuel following the 49ers again on Instagram and how that is actually a big deal now in the NFL, and everything else going on around the NFL and the world of sports. Joining the progrum to chat about the NBA Playoffs, his appearances on First Take, what is going to happen next with Zion Williamson, Ja Morant, and ultimately who is going to win the NBA Title is 15 year NBA veteran, host of The Old Man and the Three, ESPN NBA analyst and friend of the show, JJ Redick (18:16-48:59). Next, College Football Insider and writer for Sports Illustrated, Ross Dellenger, joins Pat and AJ to chat about the Pac-12 and SEC Commissioners going to Washington DC to lobby for some NIL guidelines, and what is going to happen next with NIL (1:06:37-1:14:27). Later, Stanley Cup Champion, 14 year NHL veteran, NHL Network Analyst, and co-host of That's Hockey Talk, Mike Rupp joins the show to chat about the NHL Playoffs, if the Penguins have turned the tide against the Rangers, getting into people's heads in the playoffs, and if Louie Domingue can continue to shock the world (1:33:22-2:04:08). Make sure you subscribe to youtube.com/thepatmcafeeshow to watch the show, and listen on Sirius XM Channel 82, Mad Dog Radio. We appreciate the hell out of all you. See you tomorrow, cheers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Aquí estamos, mi amigos. Happy Cinco de Mayo, baby! Yeah! Yeah! Ah, there it is. Woo! Happy Cinco de Mayo. Obviously, a celebration.

Now, if I was to go into a full monologue about what Cinco de Mayo is, it stands for, and how everybody celebrates Cinco de Mayo, I would be an asshole. But I would like to say to everybody out there that's usual utilizing this day to maybe go get some margaritas why with sugar why or salt why or cerveza why more specifically why Wade. Modelo. Wade.

Corona. Wade. Maybe a Yinzerita. Wade. Take an Icy Light, put that thing in a margarita. Hell yeah, Wade. What do you got? Happy Cinco de Mayo. Wade.

Anyways, I hope you guys have an incredible day. Thank you so much for joining us here on this beautiful Thursday. Happy Cinco de Mayo. We will enjoy some Terra Mana. Hell yeah. Neho. Ooh. Love the Neho.

That's some good stuff. You know, I'm going to be honest. I'm not a big tequila guy. stuff. I, you know, I'm be honest. Not a big tequila guy. Last time I drank tequila, 100 shots of them. And then I ended up in jail. Okay. Makes sense. But every once in a while, dabble with a margarita.

Thank you, Terramana. It is incredibly smooth. Oh, my God. So smooth. Thank you, Rock. Happy to go to my. This is not a commercial for Terramana, but everything's a commercial for taramana if it's this damn yeah after work today you go to fucking applebee's get yourself some taramana fucking margarita oh okay yeah

doing it right all right applebee's yeah yeah the bees they have the terramar margs there they do well Applebee's has got a lot of the goods actually I mean that was

those apps they had the half price app that's today it's two for twenty Thursday boys oh my god

Applebee's we should not be promoting Applebee's on Cinco de Mayo Cinco de Mayo is like home but think about it

yeah think about it delicious empty spots in the parking lot this is not a commercial for Applebee's on Cinco de Mayo. Cinco de Mayo is like home, but think about it. Yeah, think about it. Empty spots in the parking lot. This is not a commercial for Applebee's, by the way, but anybody that's ever been to a commercial would say, this should be a commercial for Applebee's. This place is fucking awesome. You had the quesadilla burger? Oh, so good.

Applebee's stopped doing commercials, too, so it would be nice just to promote them a little. Well, they stopped doing commercials because everybody knows at this point because they got sent to break at the worst possible time in the history of television yeah oh my god the panic of the war oh yeah with the the sirens yeah come on down applebees half off half thursdays i forgot about that that was just a few months ago yeah Yeah. Still happening. Oh, yeah, yeah.

Oh, yeah. We'll continue to. But how about like, I was looking at a piece of footage from this particular, anyways, welcome to the show, okay? JJ Reddick's going to be here. That's awesome. 15 minutes. He trended yesterday, obviously, for going on the first take

and doing what JJ Reddick has been doing on ESPN for the last, I guess, couple months now at this point. Everything he says on there is universally beloved by the Internet, it feels like. Yesterday he took a shot at Chris Maddog Russo, and that thing went wild on the Internet. At least 10 million views in the clip that I've seen. Who knows how many on every. That was just on Twitter, let alone other clips on Twitter

and probably on Instagram, TikTok, and everything like that. J.J. Redick is a rocket ship right now in the sports media world. Can't wait to chat with him in about 14 minutes. He also never missed a shot when he played a dude. Pretty cool. That's pretty sweet. Every time he stepped in front of those Cameron Crazies in the town of Krzyzewskiville, he fucking just put the ball through the bucket.

Locked in. Locked and loaded. Great conversation. Can't wait to chat with him. nba great by the way been there ross dellinger sports illustrated is going to join us today now he did a report about how the commissioner of the pac-12 conference and greg sankey the commissioner of the sec it's different down here. They are going to D.C. to meet with senators and lobbyists and things of that nature because the NIL is running wild

with zero guardrails in place, it appears. Ross Dellinger, amid unrest around NIL and college sports, Commissioner George Krivkov. Yep. Nailed it. Nailed it. Just like Igor Shkursky is about to get his fucking ass beat tonight, dude.

Boom. Penn's winning tonight. Hell yeah. Hell yeah. Talk it, dude. Commissioner George Klivkov and Greg Sankey are traveling to Washington, D.C. to meet with key U.S. senators on Thursday in a lobbying effort for federal legislation. And U.S. Senate aide tells Sports Illustrated Now, which is Ross

Dellinger, he'll join us in a second hour to chat about everything that he knows in that. This is a big deal because I was watching a video a little bit over a year ago. It was like April 10th or something like that. I forget, 2021, which is not that long ago in the grand scheme of the world. But so many things have happened since then. We actually chatted with Anthony Gonzalez about this entire thing. He was at the time serving the fine people of Ohio. That's right. In Senate, Congress.

Congress. He was in Congress at the time. And he was pushing one of the first bills for the NIL stuff to kind of take place before, you know, this was even a real thing. He was kind of running with it and pushing it through D it through. He was the perfect fucking guy to do that. And then every single party that is in politics hated him. Every single one of them. I believe he was a Republican, so the Democrats already hated him.

And then, boy, he became the target of Republicans' campaigns. So he was almost hated more by the Republicans than by the Democrats. And then the Green Party, they came in from the top rope. We fucking hate them. We don't like this guy either. We don't like him either. Everybody hated him. And he's now retired from political. And by the way, as former teammate of his

and friend of the show, Anthony Gonzalez being, we're pretty happy he's back to his living. Happy for you, Gonzo. Just living his life now but he would be the perfect human being to be in there to conversate about what this bill should be what it shouldn't be and he was trying to put some guardrails on it and what he said basically in our conversation from april april is exactly what's happening now can't wait for ross to hear that and react to that with the news of today. And also, those commissioners are going right there.

These motherfuckers are making more money than us. Can't have it. You and me both? What's your yearly salary, you senator guy? $1.5 million. No, like $180,000 or something like that. Oh, okay. I thought you were talking about the AD.

No, no, no. Not the AD. Hey, you senator person. $150,000. $150,000? That's not even one deal for our fucking quarterback. Nope. Okay? He's getting $300,000. senator person 150 150 000 that's not even one deal for our fucking quarterback no okay he's getting 300 000 just from the jiffy lube down the down the street down there and we got venture

capitalist money coming in basically every single school and it's turning into just a free agency for some players we can't have that that's that'd be like that can't that's it'll be capitalism we don't want can't do that we don't want can't do that we don't want capital do we want these these players to make and afford themselves an opportunity to garner a shit ton of cash more so than you look how hard we've worked for how long we've worked now these players are just going to be able to to get recruited to play college well these guys might not even play and they're also giving a scholarship to them. I mean, this is insane right now.

We've got to change this. I assume they'll find some guardrails in the middle because Gonzo even does reference like, hey, this can't just become the only recruiting tool that some teams have. But why not? You know, how are they going to stop it? You know, how will they stop it? Not 100% sure. We actually chatted for a couple years about it all.

Like when I went down and called the university of houston game daniel holgerson was the head coach daniel holgerson formerly at west virginia he was at the university of houston or whatever still down there i think by the way uh him and door who's uh former equipment manager who worked his entire way up he's like the chief of staff or something up there uh shout out to both of them when we went down there and we chatted with them they they were talking about the NIL stuff. And they were like, hey, a lot of big companies around here. They didn't say it, but the conversation around the entire program.

It wasn't like conversation with them, but it was with the program. They're like, hey, a lot of big money around here. So we're going to be able to get a lot of recruits with like, hey, if you sign here, we'll be able to get you like two signings at this car dealership a year, and it'll be $30,000 a signing for each one. So that's 60 grand just from this, then this company will have this. So like, I think even from the beginning, it was going to be used as a recruiting tool. And now that it is actually just openly happening, where there isn't like a hey here's a

fake sponsorship that we can definitely provide you that we know will be there instead now it's just like hey we'll give you six hundred thousand dollars you come sign with us yeah you don't do anything to sign your name on the thing or whatever well i got hold on now i got i got georgia tech online they're down there in Atlanta. They got Coke and Turner and Chick-fil-A. They got Waffle House down there. Home Depot. So I'm going to give Georgia Tech a call real quick. Thank you so much for your offer.

Hey, Coach, what's going on, man? Coach Collins or whatever. Yeah, they just offered me $750,000 or whatever, you know, $800,000, $900,000 they offered me. Oh, yeah, we got a million for you down here. No problem. We just have like a – yeah, no problem at all. We got a million. Okay, hold that thought.

I got to call Houston real quick. Hey, Dana and boys down there just got $1.5, $2 million offer from Georgia Tech. What are you guys thinking? Oh, we got this oil guy. Hey, how about $3 million? That's no problem for you? $3 million? That's perfect.

Go back to first school. Hey, I got $3 million. Holy shit. We can't afford you. It sounds like now you're right. Okay, so I'm going to $3 million. That's perfect. Go back to first school. Hey, I got $3 million. Holy shit. We can't afford you. It sounds like. Now you're right. Okay. So I'm going to go to Houston then. That I think is just happening at a much more rapid rate now.

And we're less than a year into this thing. I think it was predicted to be happening with like potential deals that they could definitely lock in. Now it's just signing bonuses as a whole. It's going to get interesting. It's going to get interesting because there's a lot of money in some places. Like USC. USC right now is going to have probably

11 millionaires starting on their offensive side. 11 millionaires. Which, by the way, fucking A, go get it. And if this generation can handle being millionaires in college and be good at football, more power to it. I could not.

I had $40,000 in loans that I got out just to have a good time, and I could barely get through. You know what I mean? I couldn't imagine being a millionaire at this age. But that's what's going to happen, and we're going to start seeing it. And I would assume the SEC isn't exactly happy because they've been paying guys a long time, allegedly. But now that other conferences are getting involved,

I mean, there's going to be a lot of hypocrisy happening, I think, over the next couple weeks, and we all have to remember that. But guys are going to get paid. Can't wait to talk to Russ. And then Ruppert will join us in the third hour to talk about the NHL because it's happening. Here we go, of course. Bruins have the

same amount of playoff wins as the Detroit Red Wings. That's fine. It doesn't matter because we've been a home team all year. We're coming back home to the toughest bar in the league because we know Vegas has been a fraud since they came into the goddamn NHL. So I'm not worried about it. We're going to turn it around. Swayman will be in that tomorrow night.

He will have a shutout tomorrow night. You said this yesterday, so everything that comes out of your mouth is potentially Fugue. Yeah, but then they explained on the broadcast, hey, he can't start Swayman in his first playoff game ever on the road because if he doesn't do well, how's he going to bounce back from that? He can't do it. He's going to do great at home. That's literally what everybody else said whenever you said that Swayman was starting though. That's what we're trying to get back to

is you announced him as the starter publicly to everybody. Coronation. Supposed to be because you look at the guy and it's like, holy shit, we have a fucking brick wall in the net. Speaking of brick wall, Louis Dominguez. Uh-oh. We'll talk to Ruppert about all this.

He predicted the Penguins to lose tonight in New York, which, by the way, I think every Pens fan allegedly would be happy with a split on the road in the playoffs. But we'll talk to Ruppert, former Stanley Cup champion, massive man. Yeah, huge. Lumbering gentleman. Oh, yeah. Very large man. Which maybe

you should watch your tongue when you're talking to him or about him. I have never said one bad word about the man. I love the man. I just hate the city that he fucking comes from. Yeah, he said that every time he hears you talking about it, he feels like you're talking directly to him. So he asks you to stop and then you continue

to do such a thing. He's a big fucking guy hockey guy too used to getting like literally punched in the face like that's just a part of their whole thing oh yeah lads and punches i promise i am not singling out one person in cleveland i am talking to every single human being in that so i guess i'm talking about every individual person yeah yeah he doesn't love me in Cleveland anymore, right? I talked to him this morning. No, because why would you? He had a Cleveland shirt on.

Jeez. Tony. Tony. There you go again. And you wonder why he wants to knock your teeth out. He loves that city. He successfully made money and he got the hell out of there like any sane person would do. Well.

It would be a hell of a story, though, if Robert knocked me out. That would be awesome. Yeah, it would happen quick, I think. Yeah, very quick. I do believe it would be pretty quick. I've been fucking waiting for AJ to do that to me for, I don't know, a goddamn three years. Well, we never see him in person because he's always in there. Oh, that's right.

Can't throw a punch. That is the thing about the modern generation is you can't throw a punch through the screen, which has gotten a lot of people fake tough. And then they're walking around, they're at sporting events. Oh, no, no, no. That would have been a great tweet if this was on the internet. That was awesome. And then the thing about it is, like, instead of replies, ha, ha,

right hawks. See ya. Dudes are eating them. That's the difference. So you and AJ, I think if you were around each other on a more regular basis, would have already happened. Yeah, I'm hoping for it. I'm banking on it.

Did you see the WWE, to your point, tweeted out a video of the man, Becky Lynch, walking in and some guy booing her, and she stops and looks at him, and then he goes from this to, hey. Hey. Hey. Oh, my God. Oh, my God. Oh, my God. I'm so sorry.

I did not think you would hear me. I thought I was at my house in my living room still yelling at somebody. It wasn't me. It wasn't me. I'm sorry. Hey, it's insane, the WWE stuff. I was thinking about that with the Chappelle situation. We are in front of a lot of people every single week and have been for a long time now.

So impressive that they just sell out fucking arenas basically now not everyone is a full sellout but there's thousands and thousands and thousands of people at these live shows every single week and it goes off i think pretty well i mean after like 30 years of doing it kind of a good flow and good show those things are incredible to go to yeah like the thought of that chapelle thing happening i was thinking about being in the audience and just like watching it i'd probably be you know i wouldn't i probably no vitamins would have been consumed before that was in the hollywood bowl in california going to a chapelle show probably didn't smoke at all no probably never smoked going to california probably everybody pretty not high as fuck at that thing.

No chance. No, no, no. Everybody pretty sober. Yeah. They see that happen. Imagine your first thoughts like in real life as opposed to watching from home. Like at home, you see something like that happen on the internet. You see something like that.

But being live, what a wild experience. Like it had to be quite a night for the audience. I mean, we got like 55 different angles. So I guess people were just recording his entire thing, which i'm sure he's not exactly pumped about right but uh what that gun knife thing that shit was crazy fucking insanity yeah talk about that forever i was there when that fucking guy you know what i mean yeah and with the wwe that's why i like when seth rollins that guy tackled him when he was walking you know back up the ramp into the you know back was crazy to see and it's wild that doesn't happen more because of that i wonder if That guy tackled him when he was walking back up the ramp into the back.

It was crazy to see. It's wild that it doesn't happen more because of that. I wonder if the security at that particular building where Seth Rollins got attacked saw what they were allowed to do to somebody. Oh. Because that Chappelle guy, his head. And then he had a glove on, I believe, and it was attached to a wheel or whatever, a hospital bed. He looked exactly how you should look

if you're that big of a jackass. You should get your ass beat out there. What a wild fucking world we're in right now. Well, I think with the WWE stuff, especially because people who've watched it for so long that you kind of get lost in it, and you maybe think, like, hey, I could fucking shoot for his takedown on Seth Rollins.

You never see it coming. But you also see the other side of it when that guy bum-rushed the stage at the Hall of Fame on Bret Hart, and they just beat the shit out of him. Beat the hell out of them. And I think it is that kind of stuff where it's like, okay, well, same deal. It never ends well for the person.

No, never. Public repercussions. Could you imagine if somebody... Publicly the person no never repercussions could you imagine if somebody publicly yes public repercussions yeah then everyone would do it you i i was listening to some comedian do a show i don't i do remember who it is but i don't want to put them on blast because i don't want people to think they're an asshole because nobody else in the theater took it as an asshole thing but there was somebody heckling this one comedian and instead like um the comedian been around a long time heckling the one comedian and instead like, um,

the comedian been around a long time heckling the, not heckling, but like, Hey, I love you. Like saying that like in the middle of stories or whatever. And it's so interesting because it was a super positive thing. I love you.

First couple like, Hey, uh, Hey, I appreciate you. Love you back. I'm kind of in the middle of something, you know,

like, Hey, there's like a, Hey, we're doing this. We're doing this. Then, you know, like another one happened maybe like 15 20 minutes later hey calm down like five minutes later something happened it was a full you need to

shut the fuck up actually we need to get you the fuck out of here nobody paid in this entire theater arena nobody paid to hear your fucking voice people spent a lot of money okay to come to this they probably won't i'm probably never coming back this is probably the first time and last time i'm being a city for a long time an entire generation nobody paid for you so shut up and they kicked the person out and it was almost like a very like oh my god it's a harsh thing 100 right yeah it was like nobody else talked the rest of the time it was just like when i went to that that concert

the other oh the Eagles the Eagles concert and I'd never been to I've never sat front row or anything it was uncomfortable when I'm allowed to stand

and when I'm not allowed to stand because there was somebody right behind me that I was definitely blocking I could barely see shit they couldn't see shit and then the singer lead singer or whatever

who's also the drummer goes hey everybody needs to sit to hell down alright nobody paid to see your back like I think that type of stuff that's also the drummer, goes, hey, everybody needs to sit the hell down. All right? Nobody paid to see your back. I think that type of stuff, that's why the people that went to the Chappelle show, nobody

paid to see a guy with a gun. I just hope that doesn't become a regular thing. I hope that doesn't become a regular thing. Joining us now is a man that we need to see become a regular thing on TV every single day. Hell yeah. And I think he is. I'm not 100% sure. I might have been a little disrespectful,

but it does feel as if he has come into full superstardom over the last couple of months, especially as the NBA has continued to get more and more important. Ladies and gentlemen, Duke legend, NBA stud, host of the Old Man and the Three podcast, and ESPN NBA pundit, J.J. Redding. What's up, dude? What's up, dude?

What's up, guys? Thanks for having me on again. I appreciate it. And just to clarify, you know, I had a very limited number of appearances this year in my one-year contract with ESPN. So typically it was only once a week. But now that the playoffs have started, it's a few times a week. So you'll probably be hearing more from me over the next month or so okay and i wasn't disrespectful all right so my i was accurately reading the

situation okay that's good that's good news uh let's talk about yesterday we have to uh obviously you gave great basketball insight hey the nba insight that you're given i would listen to 10 times out of 10 over anybody else talking about it, other than the other guys that formerly played as well, because you've been there, you've done that. You dunked pretty hard on Chris Mad Dog Russo yesterday. I've seen one particular video on Twitter itself. It had over 10 million views by like 6 or 7 p.m. yesterday. So that's probably at 11 million. There you go. Who knows how many

other cut-ups or clips made on Twitter? Then you factor in Instagram, all the different accounts on Instagram. Then you go TikTok. That thing might have been seen 30 to 50 million times yesterday. You are like this right now. What was it like immediately after the show with Chris Mad Dog

Russo? And did you all know at the time like, did Stephen A say, like, all right, that's going to be loud. That one's going to go. Like, what was the aftermath of that entire thing on set? First of all, what I love about First Take, and I thought I was going to be miserable doing that show, and it's actually my favorite.

Part of the reason is because i have no idea what's going to happen on any given day when i go on the show i have no idea what kind of crazy shit steven a is going to say and i certainly i've done done it with mad dog twice last time he said bob koozie was the uh the best point guard of all time in the nba which i had to push back on on that quite a bit uh only with facts i i debated him with facts and then yesterday of course he made a comment uh in reference to draymond that i really had to push back against and you know the aftermath i walked back into the green room and i there was a moment where i'm like oh shit like this this is probably gonna go viral. That's that's probably it's not my intention.

But again, like what he said in reference to Draymond was, you know, shut up and play. And of course, we've all heard that in reference to athletes before. Oh, yeah. And, you know, I do think there is a certain generation. I think it is a little bit generational that certain people are uncomfortable with athletes being outspoken. But the undertones of that and the connotation of that, that we are meant strictly for your entertainment purposes, that we are to use our bodies strictly for your entertainment, and we are not allowed to be human and show emotion and talk shit like i i just i don't like that at all and so i just you know i gently i think i gently i

could have went a little harder i think i gently pushed back at mad dog seven seven we were fine after the after the segment it was fine yeah yeah were fine. Yeah, yeah, lightly. Lightly, very gently. And you're the guy, right? If I do recall, the last time I talked to you, you went and saw a girlfriend in Montana or something? Minnesota. Minnesota, yeah. And you were just getting some shots up at the local gym.

And I guess some people talk shit, and you beat every single one of them, one-on-one or whatever. You are a uber-competitive human, which you have to be to become a professional athlete, especially as in and I don't want to say OCD but I mean you had perfect form so the amount of competitive stamina you had to have had to be so high to get to where you were so I'd assume you view it the same way whenever you get on there like hey your viewpoint's wrong I am right and you then have to lay it out is that how you feel when go in there? And do you think you've ever had a bad day on there?

Because I don't think you have, right? I don't think there's been a day where you've gone on there and it's been like, J.J. Redick is fucking wrong. J.J. Redick needs to shut up. I don't think I've heard that once. That has to feel pretty good. You're walking in there like literally, okay, I'm undefeated around here. That has to feel pretty good peacocking around.

Literally, okay, I'm undefeated around here. That has to feel pretty good, peacocking around. You know, I'm comfortable admitting when I'm wrong. And I've certainly, in my first year of really being part of the media, and I've obviously had a podcast for years, but being part of the media, I've admitted when I was wrong. The thing about First take that's so different is that it is set up as a debate show and so it really is competitive like you want to put on a good performance um and i get up for it i mean that is that is the show that i look forward

to doing there's a there's like a running joke in a bunch of my my group texts with buddies and and uh some former teammates where it's like if i'm going on first take i'm going viral that day i don't know like again my intention i don't go on the show to go viral it just what i think i've found is there has been a a sort of a paradigm about how athletes are talked about, about how legacies are talked about. And what I brought to that show is a new perspective on that because of my firsthand experience being an athlete. And because, honestly, I'm just such a fan of athletes. I'm a fan first, and I have such amount of respect for my contemporaries and my peers that I have sort of flipped that paradigm of how they are talked about. I, by the way, I have completely agree with everything you say there. And I think first

take has become a perfect like landing spot for you. It's almost perfect for you with the way you've been built, not only because you're uber competitive but your resume is good what you didn't make the playoffs one time or whatever didn't make the playoffs one time and then if you want to talk college ball too it's like one of the greatest players of all time so your resume can't get checked like you're good like in that particular aspect so it's almost a perfect place for JJ Redick with everything you've accomplished and been through friendships what you've seen firsthand successful teams you've seen bad not successful teams you've been at the top you've been at the bottom like that's a perfect that's a perfect recipe for you I think you know that's why every fucking time you go on there you go viral just like all your group

texts have said that you know what's probably most important to me? Well, first of all, there's a credibility that I have because I lived it. Resume, yeah. And by the way, the year I didn't make the playoffs was the bubble year. And had the season not got interrupted, we probably would have made the playoffs that year because we had the easiest schedule going forward. But that's another topic. Kind of got robbed. Kind of got robbed a little but anyways what what i think is most important to me is the feedback that i've gotten from players

and and again i i'm i'm just being myself like i don't like i say i'm pro player but like that's not necessarily an agenda it It's not an agenda. I'm legitimately reacting to something in real time because, look, the format of the show, you know, we talk to the producers. They give you a question and it's like, go from there. And these blocks are 12 to 15 minutes. And the question could be something as simple as, you know, was was the NBA's fine on Kyrie for flipping the bird justified? Now, on the surface, that could be a 60-second conversation. But on that show, it never is. The show goes wherever you want it. So I'm always reacting in real time.

So I can come prepared. I can have notes. But the things I've said and the things that have gone viral, I swear to God, all of them have been completely organic. And that's what I think people are responding to. I think my favorite question is, was it disrespectful for insert situation? It's like, OK, all right. Well, because the level of respect or disrespect is just so vast. And you could and you could talk yourself into being like, well, if that happens, then i think that's why especially with steven a there it has had so much success and we

are thankful that you're on there both as internet humans and people that have it on the screen let's move to some nba chatter shall we i'm not going to debate you i'd like to learn from you but if i think you're wrong i'm gonna say hey jj fuck you all right luca needs to get on a better team, JJ. What is going on? Luka needs to get on a better team. What else is going on around the NBA? Jazz adults. Celtics are dead. Does that mean the Nets are terrible?

Oh, my God. Are the Nets that bad that the Celtics blew them out and then they're getting killed now? What is going on, JJ? Pat, come on, man. Don't get caught up in being a prisoner of the moment. Don't get caught up in being a prisoner. No, no, no.

I will say about Luca, because I've talked about this a bunch over the last couple days, and I talked about it yesterday on ESPN, and I literally just finished doing a very high-level basketball conversation with Tim Legler for the podcast. I absolutely adore him and the work he does at ESPN. And we talked about Luka, and I think one of the challenges about building around Luka is the nature of how Luka plays, because Luka is so in control, and he's able to manipulate and control every single possession offensively,

then he inherently has to have the ball in his hands a lot. So unless it is a strict 1-5 pick and roll where he's going downhill and throwing a lob pass to, let's say, Dwight Powell, on every other possession he's surveying, he's scanning. And so a lot of times for his teammates, you're waiting for him to then make his final move, his chess move. It's like he's playing chess. He's reading the board. And when he makes his move, you may only have five seconds, four seconds to really make something happen.

So I think it's to me, it's not he needs to be on a better team. They need to figure out the right personnel to sort of build around him. Because especially when you get in the playoffs with him, I mean, we've seen the numbers. It's historic what he's done in his playoff runs in terms of points per game. I think he's either tied or ahead now of Jordan as the all-time leading scorer points per game in the playoffs. And, of course, he's given you eight-plus assists, eight-plus rebounds,

all that. So for a guy like Spencer Dinwiddie, who also needs the basketball, or Jalen Brunson, who also needs the basketball, at times it can be a little off late in the possession. Okay, so let's try it. You broke up there at the end, but your point very valid, and I appreciate that. It was high-level basketball.

It was high-level basketball. I felt like I went into a lobby, fucking hit the elevator button, right to the top. Basketball conversation. High level. I'm up there in the penthouse. So I appreciate you doing that and laying it out like chess and everything. So what do you think he needs?

Set shooter and then a big five? Kind of like what they tried to do in Philly with Harden and Joel? Is that what you think would best suit him or is that not necessarily something that's just easily figureoutable? What did he say? I apologize, guys, for this Wi-Fi. I don't know what's going on here. So on the five, man, I like the idea of him with a sort of that now modern five.

Not the multifaceted five like a Jokic or Embiid, but the modern five of a rim-running, rim-protecting five, a la Clint Capella, a la Jared Allen. Like, that to me is the best five that he could play with. Not a five who needs the ball in the post and who needs to be able to, you know, survey the court as well. To me, the best compliment to him on the court would be a big wing who also can score. You know, I think a guy's, again, I'm not saying the Mavs can go get this guy, but when I think about team building and sort of how they view assets and how they view building around Luka for the next decade, like I think of a guy like Brandon Ingram or a guy like Jason Tate.

These guys are all, of course, I'm not saying they can go get them, but to me, those type of guys that can guard multiple positions, they can knock down threes off the ball and can score themselves, those are the guys that to me would be the ultimate compliment to him on the court. Let's talk about John Morant in Memphis. Is this, because I mean

obviously the Golden State team electrifying, they are awesome. Even though they seem to be missing a lot of shots. I mean, ESPN is showing every single Klay Thompson miss. I've seen every single shot that he has missed. Some of them are bad. Did not expect that, especially after his meeting with Jackie Moon. But I've seen every single one.

This Memphis team, though, did everybody know Ja was going to be this guy that he is right now? And how far can they actually go just strictly off of like, yeah, we're bigger dogs than you are? Like, how far can they actually go just strictly off of like yeah we're bigger dogs than you are like how far can you go with that if we look at last if we look at last year's playoffs he was awesome in that first round series against the jazz memphis was the hc jazz with the one c clearly jazz were the better team but he had some huge games and then this year he made this incredible leap he was already a star and now he's a singular force, like a superstar that can

elevate a team into a championship contender. And it's interesting to sort of gauge where they are in real time because I sort of lived this in 2009 with my Magic team when we had Dwight Howard entering his prime and made that run to the finals.

You don't really know how good you are in the finals like you don't really know how good you are in the moment okay because you don't have the historical precedent of something you've done in the past they don't know the one in the first round last year and so as a as a what I would I guess I'm a pundit or an analyst now like it's hard to gauge in real time with the Warriors I I know with the Bucks I know with the Suns I know with the Celtics I know because they that group those core groups have already done it and so that's I think what makes watching the Grizzlies sort of figure this out in real time so exciting and Ja to me I've said

this a number of times this season if you if you me, if you get, you know, NBA tickets are expensive, and I like to be close to the floor. So you gave me a thousand bucks. JJ Reddick's on the wood. I said, you got a thousand bucks to buy an NBA ticket to watch one guy play. Unequivocally, I'm picking Ja Morant. I'm picking Ja Morant. He is the most exciting player in the NBA right now. Yeah, and they're having the same conversation you're having, by the way.

They're like, can you beat this next team? Yeah, yeah, I think we can. It's almost like you don the same conversation you're having, by the way. They're like, can you beat this next team? Yeah, I think we can. It's almost like you don't know what you don't know. It's a gift. It's a complete gift. We had one of their guys on the podcast at the end of January, early February, and they were clearly a great team at

that point. It was Desmond Bain, and he talked about that. He's like, we feel that way. We don't know what we don't know. We have the swagger. We have the confidence. We're a team full of guys that just have this ultimate belief. And those teams, when you get in the playoffs,

and when you have a guy like Jha, who has the ultimate belief in himself, he believes every time he's the greatest player, and he can make the difference in a win or a loss. Those teams are really dangerous. He can float float it's awesome to watch honestly it is i don't know they'll probably have in a i mean nba twitter is awesome i mean there's a beautiful place it's an active place so i don't ever want to say like absolutes and then just get completely roasted in there somebody probably can

jump higher but it feels like it's been a long time since we've just seen somebody float through the fucking sky like he does. I don't understand it at all. It's one of the most incredible feats of athleticism every time I see it. And then the grace with the ball, it's just unbelievable to watch him. You're 100% right. I'd like to see him live. When I was a kid, I had this T-shirt um and it was it was very poorly printed but it wasn't

even name brand because we couldn't afford name brand shit i think i got it at tj maxx but the t-shirt said um something along the lines it was a picture of a basketball player jumping in the air and said like i just elevate and then decide in the air now for me that was probably the most inaccurate t-shirt but I every time every time I watched John Moran for some reason I think of that t-shirt because you know you watch him play and he he's able to blow by that his primary Defender and when he gets to the lane and he and he meets a five man he meets a center he meets a big wing at the paint he just elevates and then he figures it out once he's in the air and that's that's to me that's like there's certain characteristics or certain aspects of a player that make them so attractive and engaging and interesting and to me it's that fearlessness that he has that he's just going to launch himself in the air at any angle,

angle against any player. And he's just going to figure it out. Like I believe in my ability enough that I'm going to suspend myself in the air 44 inches against seven feet. People that are twice the size, twice the mass. And I'm just going to figure it out. I wonder at what age he learned he could do that. That had to be so much fun

if he could do that in high school or college. I think he's had a massive amount of development, but as soon as you find out you can do that, that has to be so much fun.

You can't wait to get in there, basically. It's a guaranteed not sure, it's a block basically every single time because he's finding a way around

and off to the side of somebody. I mean, it's fucking incredible to watch him. Go ahead, Ty. JJ, there's been rumors coming out that it's not like a done deal that Zion's going to get a super max with the Pelicans. And then with all the stuff we've seen this year with them saying he's not ready, him posting, him dunking and doing windmills and through the legs and 360s and all that kind of shit shit do you think at this point it's better for them to just have a clean break and for him to

get out of there and kind of try it somewhere else like what really is going on with zion and pelicans i don't think it's i don't think i actually don't think it's better to have a clean break um so there's there's two aspects of this and this was similar i think to the ben situation in philly you know when you have a guy who is on his rookie contract who's clearly at a all-star all nba level you're not going to get back equal value if you trade his rookie contract and you're certainly not in a position where you would lose an asset of that magnitude for nothing by letting him walk in free agency. My expectation is they'll offer him some sort of max, and that'll be the second part, some sort of max. And if there is a agreement or an understanding that, hey, I want a part,

we want a part, then all of a sudden you can get back sort of equal value for him. Then all of a sudden you can get back sort of equal value for him. On the extension side, I think if you're the Pelicans, you have to sign him to an extension. If you're Zion, given the injury history, you have to sign the extension as well. Brian Winters reported this the other day, and I don't think this is any surprise. I would look for them to structure the Supermax extension in the same way that Joel Embiid's Supermax was structured after his third year.

He'd only played 31 games. He signed that in training camp the year I got to Philly. And there were all sorts of protections in there on the third, fourth, fifth year based on the amount of games played. So that's my expectation. He'll get the Supermax, but it'll be with some sort of protection for the team. What did you say about Zion? You're pissed off at him about something? Hold on.

That became a big story because every time you speak, it goes viral. You said that he was a standoffish teammate or something because he didn't hit up CJ McCollum or something. Didn't you say that? Is that what you said? Yeah, I said that. I said, by the way,

every time this gets brought up, because I've been asked about this after the first take, and I want to be clear because sometimes on social media they cut clips. That's exactly why I asked her, yes. I know you guys won't put me in a vulnerable position because I trust you guys. But I want to be clear. Everything that I said on that clip that went viral in regards to design, I had said to his face.

Like we had had conversations about that. I addressed it in front of the team my first year there. So, yeah, there were moments I would describe him as a standoffish teammate, not a bad teammate. I want to be clear on that, not a bad teammate. Okay, okay, okay. The issue was the guy was away from his team. They traded for C.J. McCollum.

C.J. played in five or six games before the All-Star break, and at All-Star break they asked C.J. on T, they asked CJ on TNT, who's, by the way, he's the president of the union, so that's why he was doing this hit on TNT. They asked him about, you know, what have you and Zion talked about? He said, I actually haven't talked to Zion. And I had an issue with that because I think there's a basic decorum as a teammate, and that's whether you're a guy like me who's the, you know, whatever, at times the fifth most important guy or

the eighth or the twelfth whatever you reach out to new teammates like that's just part of part of being an NBA player um and so that's what I took that's what I sort of took issue with and they obviously they also obviously have spoken at this point yes yeah I would assume is that just because Zion's like an introvert do you think Zion's happy about the way any of this has gone? Because he gave an interview. He was smiling. He gave like, I can't wait to play next year or whatever. How do you think they've gotten to this point?

I mean, because if he goes to Memphis or if he goes to any other team, it would be like Zion would be on TV a lot more, which is crazy to think that Memphis is going to have much more primetime games than New Orleans would with Zion. But that's going to happen next year going forward it's like do you think the Zion camp not happy about potential lack of or how this whole thing is gone and just in your viewpoint because you're part of the team obviously Duke and you're kind of you know you know the NBA much better than anybody else like it how was that ugly at any point do you you think, this last season? Did that get bad? Well, so I actually don't buy the sort of market idea,

as New Orleans being this small market where he's not going to get the national exposure. Because Zion is such an interesting player and such a unique player and came in with so much hype and attention. My first year there, they were not a good team. They had the number one pick in the lottery. We had a ton, ton of nationally televised games. They restructured the bubble. Oh, yeah.

Zion could be in the bubble. They put the non-playoff teams in the bubble so that they could have Zion in the bubble. He is as important in from a marketing standpoint in any market to the NBA so I I just don't buy that argument that he needs to go to a different team and if you look look there are there are certainly the teams the Lakers the Knicks of course the big markets they're going to get their games but if you look at Golden State when I first got in the league they didn't have a

ton of nationally televised games now they're one of the premier teams that gets talked about every day on espn that gets the national televised games so it to me it's yeah you got to be good but you also have to be interesting you have to have a following and a zion and zion has that now you could go play in akron it doesn Zion could play in the big park. It doesn't matter. They're going to show his games. What's the deal with him, though? What is the deal?

He wanted to play. They didn't want him to play? Zion's an introvert. He's a self-confessed introvert. He told this story on the podcast. It was one of the most beautiful moments told this story on the podcast it was like one of the most beautiful moments we've had on the podcast when he was in high school he had to write a poem and he he described the poem on the podcast and basically there were two parts of the poem there was this

there was this guy who was super famous and you know and super agile adulated anywhere he went had to ask for pictures you know got asked for pictures got asked for autographs and then there was this other guy who just kind of wanted to be left alone and and you know liked likes solitude and didn't like the attention and then at the end of the phone he's like what if i told you it's the same guy and that that to me sort of encapsulates zion like zion because he's so good and has such a marketable skill and such a marketable charisma and personality um i think that's a struggle and look he's young like pat like you you were around guys that were now introverted who were really good and at that age i i lived that on a much smaller extent at duke and we talked about

this last time i was on the show that was a really hard uh time in my life to sort of balance all of that and figure that out in real time i feel like when he wrote that poem a lot of people learned a lot about zion too yeah oh damn this guy hates all this right we gotta get you so we gotta get you away from everything uh i love i hope he goes on to have massive success we've been massive supporters from the beginning go ahead yeah jj dylan brooks had the foul on uh gary payton the second and then steve kerr asked or said in the post game that there's kind of a code in the nba what is that code and is steve kerr like a shining example of the code because there's a few tweets floating around that kind of

not lead but don't think that Steve Kerr is an example of the code I'm not gonna I don't even know I don't even know what the tweets are yeah you do hey we're out there so

I agree with what Steve said and I'll add on to it by saying when you get to the playoffs, every team, whether it's the coaches or the players amongst themselves, you pretty much institute a no layup role. way behind Gary Payton II. And when he sort of makes that lunge, that move to try to make a play and foul, I think both of them end up in what I would describe as like a vulnerable position. The problem is when you're the jumper and you've got that forward momentum, you're going to get hurt.

And we saw that earlier this year when Alex Caruso went up for a dunk against the Bucs and Grayson Allen made that dirty follow-through that threw him to the ground and Alex broke his wrist. So that – as a player, like I never thought about – if I couldn't make a play once a guy jumped, I'm out. Like I'm making a business decision for both of us. I don't want to get dunked on and i don't want you to fall on your head so so i like i love so i i we talk about memphis all the time

on the podcast and anytime i get a chance on the is going to do i talk about memphis because i i love their team i love their swagger and dylan brooks as much as jaws swagger is an important part of their identity dylan's is as well and so i'm a big dylan brooks fan um i don't i don't think he's a dirty player but to me that was a dirty play and there is that there's a difference between the two 100 it's whether it's not it's a routine play for him or if it happens every once in a while and the interesting thing about it all is it feels like the nba players look out for each other more than anybody else it feels like the nba players like the union's better than anybody else it feels like those there's a lot am i wrong in thinking that it feels like the NBA players, like the union's better than anybody else. It feels like those, there's a lot of, am I wrong in thinking that? It feels like you guys are the

tightest group of athletes when it comes to sports. Yeah. There's not that many of you guys. There's not that many of you guys. I can't speak to other unions. I can speak to my experience and even my experience in retirement. Like there's such a bond that we share. And a lot of that I think is because all of us grew up playing with each other in high school at AU and against each other in high school at AU. We, you know, we, we lived in dorm rooms all summer. We lived in hotel rooms all summer together. And so, you know, there's a, there's there's an inherent i think respect that we have amongst

each other um once we get to the nba and the competition is fierce and like there were guys that i fucking hated like i hated not just playing against like i legitimately hated certain guys fucking awful you know and and uh but i you know again it goes back to what i was saying earlier about you know now in the media like my my viewpoint is shaped by that experience and so i'm always i'm always going to lean heavy on the side of the player and um and again the feedback that i've gotten from guys i played with or guys that i'm i'm friends with like has been really positive yeah i think that's a i think other sports look at the basketball players and the way business is done and how everybody kind of sticks together.

It's a smaller group than a lot of other sports, but it is a cool one to watch as this, you know, sports business continues to evolve. You know, another tight crew is the Duke alumni. You know what I mean? Duke alumni, real tight. You know what I mean? You guys have high level.

Brotherhood. Brotherhood, absolutely. You guys all wear the same shirts and shit? You guys go to that game? Man, how'd that happen there, JJ? JJ, how did we lose that last game to UNC and Coach K's last home game? How's it going? Hey, guys, we're running tight on time here.

All right. Hey, who's going to win it all this year, JJ? Who's going to win it all? All right. So, you know, it's hard to make predictions, and obviously with the injuries, it feels like every series, some star player is getting hurt.

I've said this for a couple months. I've felt like we're headed for a rematch of last year's finals, where it's Suns-Bucks. Now, the Chris Middleton injury has put a little bit of a damper on that for me. So, I have no prediction.

I'm just a fan now watching Celtics-Bucks. So, my prediction is the winner of that series plays the Suns in the finals. I've got the best team in basketball winning it all this year. I've got the Suns winning it all. Oh, point guard's trending last night He's doing his thing We can't thank you enough JJ Keep killing it, keep crushing it

The podcast is great As is life ladies and gentlemen ESPN NBA pundit, superstar, viral legend JJ Redhead As is the toxic table That is held down by At Boston Connor and at Ty Schmidt. Boys, we were just talking about it. And, Ty, you really don't have a horse in the race because the Las Vegas Golden Knights are currently crumbling.

Yeah, a little bit. Right in front of all of our eyes. So are the Boston Bruins. Yes, they are. Lost last night to the Hurricanes in devastating fashion. Yeah. And Pasternak did not score the first goal. He did.

Pasternak seems to not really care about Boston anymore. Right. And Bruins fans are all of a sudden becoming the loudest Celtics fans of all time. That's not true. That's what's going on in Boston. That's hockey talk, by the way. Boston did try and take out the Carolina goalie. Exactly.

He kicked him. He's throwing fucking haymakers at the goalie because, you know, he's trying to get the boys riled up. You can't knock the guy for, you know, trying to swing the momentum a little bit and all Bruins fans

are Celtics fans. We're a joint group together. Focus turns on social media between whoever's doing better. That's right. And they can feel that. The Bruins boys can feel it. That's why they're kind of...

No, that's why they're pumped because they know their fucking superstar Swayman in the back is going to be coming in and everybody's going to be like, holy shit, the Swayman is in? No, that's why they're pumped because they know their fucking superstar, Swayman, in the back is going to be coming in and everybody's going to be like, holy shit, the Swayman is in? Yeah, let's go to the cup.

Way to go, man. Did Posta score a hat-trick last night or they have not scored three goals against the Caniacs all year long? They've never scored fucking three goals against the Caniacs. You can't win. No, we can win.

The fucking Caniacs steal everything, every cool gimmick that's out there. What do you mean? They're fucking doing the skull after the game. The Caniacs are a bunch of frauds. Terrible sports town. Well, to what you're saying about them stealing everything, they had Bill Cowher giving them motivational speeches before games.

That's a Pittsburgh coach. That can't happen. That was a tough moment. It was actually against the Pens that he. What? Whoa, whoa. Car is a traitor? I don't think that's true.

It was also like 10 years ago. Bill Car from Crafton? Yeah. It was against the Pens, I. Bill Karr from Krafton? Yeah. It was against the Pens, I'm pretty sure. What? Oh, no. Well, Karr. This is when Bill moved down to Carolina and the full court press was on.

The Panthers were trying to get him to coach the team. The Hurricanes brought him in. No, he just. He just wanted a nice lake house? Is that what he wanted? On Lake Normandine? Pumped up the canyon. What the fuck is going on?

I didn't know that was taking place. They are stealing everybody's... I guess kind of savages the cane. Just say, hey, that's cool. We're going to do that. That's awesome. We're going to do that. Welcome home. We'll give you a house. Take it to any time you want. Just motivate us against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

The Steelers fans hate the Penguins. That's why Tony doesn't like the Penguins. That's not true. That's not true. That's not true. That's not true. That's not true what you just said. You hate them.

Joining us now is a man who is a fan of the Colorado Avalanche, I believe. Allegedly, yeah. He's a college football national champion, a Green Bay Packer champion,

a Ryder Cup champion, a COVID survivor. Ladies and gentlemen, Aaron James Hawk. Yeah! Happy Cinco de Mayo, AJ. Oh, yeah. Happy Cinco de Mayo, AJ. Oh, yeah. Happy Cinco de Mayo, guys.

Are you celebrating tonight? Well, we already started. A little terror. Never too early in the morning for terror morning. Has Dwayne been posting? I would imagine it's a big day for him. Well, he was in the Iron Paradise last night, please. Probably right in season three of Young Rock

and also launching his superhero movie. Black Adam. I mean, yes, he's celebrating Cinco de Mayo, though. He's got the best tequila in the game.

How could you not? I believe the XFL also announced today that they're going on a nationwide tour this summer, hitting six cities. Doing what?

I don't know. Just spreading the game. Dewey's fucking committed to it. I think open, like, tryouts. Okay, so they're renting, like, a local stadium. You've got to do it, Connor. Yeah, I was just going to say I'll be there with my fucking helmet on.

I've got to get out of the hockey accent. Sorry. I'm throwing the pigskin around. Hockey accent. Do your football accent now, Connor. No, no, no, no football accents. Football is just cold blood, you know. That's you. Yeah, that's you.

Sure. So they're doing tryouts at six cities, and Dwayne Johnson's going to all of them this summer. We're heading to six cities across the United States for the hashtag XFL showcases. Each event provides prospective football players the opportunity to show our coaches and personnel directors how they unleash the dreams of football makes possible.

Yikes. What was that makes possible. Yikes. What was that sentence there? Yikes. Let's go back. Did I read that wrong? Go back up. Each event provides prospective football players the opportunity to show our coaches and personnel directors how they unleash the dreams football makes possible. Oh, okay.

Yeah. Each event provides prospective football players the opportunity to show our coaches and personnel directors how they unleash the dreams of football makes possible. Boom, yeah. That's an interesting sentence. Open trial. I mean, yeah, it's an open trial, but I guess I don't know what happened. You don't want to say open tryouts or something. Is this scroll thing an Elon thing?

Picture scroll thing? Yeah, I think the new Twitter is changing right in front of our eyes. But it couldn't have been an Elon decision, right? Because Elon couldn't have been in there this quick. He hasn't even taken over yet. Yeah, because they also changed the video thing. So is old Twitter just fucking unloading everything they had? This is what we made, by the way.

This is what we wanted to become over the next 10 years. This is what we wanted to do. Elon's going to come in here, serve as CEO immediately, and fire everybody like Kendall Roy did to the Walter program. That's right. There it is. I've seen this feature before. You nailed it.

Hey, he gutted Walter. Oh, yeah. Oh, my God. Ruthless. If you have like a website and then you have a website, you're able to put photos on there and it shows up like this. Oh, so because we don't have a website, we never get the opportunity. That's interesting.

We're an internet company with literally no website. I mean, there is a website. We have real estate on the internet, but it is not operable we have a store website it is operable but that is it so it does affect us whenever we do stuff like this what are they going to start charging for i wonder how much are you going to charge you said you may charge like uh corporations and companies or politicians i feel like yeah i assume that's us pal i assume my twitter account is going to get a hey how you like what you're doing around here? You like this place?

Here you go. Here you go. But how much could it be, though? What if they're like 15%? What if it's like the corner? Oh, yeah. Jesus. No, I do wonder how they will do the scale system.

They should. I mean, there's a lot of ways to make money off Twitter. That's one of them, by the way. Like, hey, that is definitely one of them. Once you monetize real estate on Twitter, then you're really asking for the conglomerates to continue to take over what was once independent. You know, Twitter was kind of an independent operation thing. The people with the bigger bank behind them

will obviously win if you're able to purchase more real estate, just like in the real real estate world. So they don't have to balance that, especially Elon, who's a champion of entrepreneurs and everything like that. So that will have to get figured out. I'm just, you know, once have to balance that, especially Elon, who's a champion of entrepreneurs and everything like that. So that will have to get figured out. I'm just, you know, once you start changing that, then the algorithm is something again, right? Then the algorithm is something.

It's just more for a paid one. Well, I mean, don't you feel like, though, everything that he has said, he's not going to make Twitter worse. That's what I'm saying. And I think, by the way, he just raised $7 billion too. $7 billion, which is nothing compared to the $46 billion he spent to buy this thing. But I'm saying he raised $7 billion for Twitter, for this whole Twitter deal. Larry Ellison, one dude, gave one bill himself.

Yeah, I saw somebody gave like $500 million and they were touting it as a big deal. And I'm like, $500 million is nothing compared to $46 billion. And it's just so much money that he paid for that platform but the people paying for blue checks is going to happen yeah that's going to happen which by the way if you can get two bucks from somebody to get a blue check each month like they can and they you can act like it's a legitimized uh account and then that gets more like that's an easy way to get done they could charge everybody a buck a month if they wanted to do twitter and just make so much money just very quickly and

it'd become an auto pay thing people wouldn't even remember they were doing it and that's just collecting fees now if that was rolled out everybody would say this fucking guy he's trying to rob from people he's probably steal twitter from people which i guess it would but he said it'll always be a free platform he'll have to figure out how to steal Twitter from people, which I guess it would, but he said it will always be a free platform. He'll have to figure out how to take money from people in other fashions, but the XFL getting to do that is awesome. Yeah, unbelievable. It does not say that Dwayne Johnson will be there, though, does it? No, I don't think.

I think it's just his. He might show up to one or two, though. Well, he's got a press tour for his movie he just mentioned, too. Yeah, but he's got a big bird. Have you seen his play? No, I haven't. He's got a beautiful bird. Really?

Yeah, he's got a big plan. Did John Cena play yeah no i haven't he's got a beautiful bird really yeah he's got a big plan i see some did uh did john cena's show go well that superhero show yeah i did actually yeah i think so i saw it was going all over the place and he obviously i would imagine there's more seasons coming yeah ty said that that type of show on hbo would get picked up regardless for a second season regardless because how much money they put into it right yeah pretty much but i think also if it was just off of the it was a smashing success and it's definitely getting another one and that yeah it'll probably be around for like four or five seasons will they make a movie out of that or we'll just no i think he'll probably be in the movies in that like shared

universe but they'll i they'll make that show until they decide to stop making it hey good for john cena yeah good for all these guys. Steve Austin's got to be selling all the beer. What? Him in a superhero movie? What's that, pal? Can we get Stone Cold as his own superhero? Longest Yard.

Yeah. Well, forget Longest Yard. Just go back and watch the Attitude Era. The Condemned. There's a superhero movie weekly. Condemned, actually, if you haven't seen it. Is that the one on the island? Yeah, him as Jack Conrad.

What about the Miz? Was Miz in Marine 4 or one of them? He was in three of them, I think. I think Miz has claimed ownership over the Marine. I think he is the Marine. I love Miz. Miz better. Cena will always be the Marine, my friend.

No, no, Miz talks about how good he was as the Marine. Yeah, but Cena was a Marine. Correct. And they starred in it. John Triton. I don't know. Yeah, but Cena was a Marine. Correct. And he starred in it. John Triton. What? I don't know. Wait, John Cena was a Marine?

Yeah. 180 confirmed kills for China. Whoa. They don't have Marines, dude. He wasn't a commie spy. He just enjoyed living in China. Listen, I don't know the actual answer to this because it's been taken too seriously, but I don't think he is an actual Marine.

He announced the death of Bin Laden. He did. I do remember that. Ladies and gentlemen. If he was playing a veteran, he would be the right person to do it. But I'm not 100% sure he did make that announcement into place. He said 180 confirmed kills. Is that what Big said?

Yeah. Have you seen Behind Enemy Lines? That's basically what his tour was like. 90 were fucking face-to-face. 90 were from over two miles away with a.50, Kyle. I heard it was with a pistol from two miles away. Either way. They throw a pistol.

I'm not sure any of this happened. I don't think any of this is true. But with that being said, I mean, season two of that show was going to be really good. It's going to be awesome. It's going to be really good. Let's move on. Debo Samuel has followed the 49ers again. We're back.

We're back. Good to see Debo back with the 49ers again. AJ. We're back. We're back. Good to see Debo back with the squad. Exactly, AJ. And you have the mind of, I don't know, like an 85-year-old soul. You know what I mean? You're like, oh, this is so stupid. Motivational speech is so stupid. By the way, I feel similar. But in this particular fashion, the old folks view this as like, oh, he followed him on Instagram. Way to go. This is a big deal, AJ. This is legit. You say I overreact to stuff. He invited the San Francisco 49ers, whose home stadium is in Santa Clara. He invited them back into his every single day scroll.

That's a big deal. That's seeing them every single. Throwback Thursday, too. I mean, he's fucking seeing glory days of him on there. Highlights of them. Them signing rookies. Probably Shanahan throwing throwing footballs into trash cans on the beach he said i get this fucking out of my face whenever he

unfollowed him because he didn't want to do business with him now he says follow they're back in his life they're back in his hand that's a big deal that means relationships are going well we think a notification was sent through the entire fucking practice facility oh my god Debo is back in the building kind of kind of there you go yeah for the year 2022 yeah he is back in the building congratulations to the Niners congratulations to Debo nice job Debo making a big deal out of her saying this is a thing, but it absolutely is a thing. Now, a couple years ago, I may be with the old Stooges saying, what are you talking about? But this has proven time and time again,

look at what has happened over history. This actually is a real thing now. This probably means, much like in the situation with Kyler and Eric Burkhart and the Arizona Cardinals, they agree that they will negotiate at a time. Like, hey, we will negotiate. We will have a conversation at this particular time. Agree? Agree.

Okay, Kyler follows. The Arizona Cardinals back on Instagram. Everything sounds good. Every answer is business is business. We will handle it. And now we're hearing that they're working on a Kyler Murray extension now. So if we're to go off of that blueprint and assume that they're doing the same for Debo, they would have had to have talked to Tori Dondi.

Tori Dondi, the agent for Debo, and Debo, Miss Precious, and the San Francisco 49ers have had to come to an agreement like, all right, we'll talk about this in August or a training camp or something like that. Like right now, this is not the time to be doing this. And because Dandy just did that for A.J. Brown, can't he also say like, hey, if you don't think we can find a suitor, we'll find a suitor immediately. And they'll pay him $100 million over four or five years and he'll get what he wants. Like if you don't want to give it to him either now, August, even during the season maybe. So you think he said that to the Niners and the Niners said like, all right, let's get a deal.

We'll get a deal. Let's figure it out, because now at least they've seen. Because Torrey Dondy said, I will fucking hit the market. Yeah. You see what I did? I'll find somebody for him. You should. We fleeced the Ravens.

Right. We didn't even let the Ravens know that DeAndre Hopkins was suspended six games, and they fucking needed a wide receiver so bad. Got him on the move. Nobody talked about it. Nobody said a single word. Nobody knew that Torrey Dondy was back here working and pulling the strings. Did it with A.J. Brown draft night.

Did you see that? Vrabel got up, walked away. He was all pissed off. Didn't know. Tori Dondi knew. I will do it to you. Is that what Tori Dondi said to the San Francisco 49ers? That's why Deebo's like, all right, I guess we'll play ball

or we'll be on the move just like Tori Dondi did. I would imagine they're closer to the deal than we think. They have to feel pretty good about it. The Niners gave them some numbers and said, okay, we're somewhat in the same ballpark now. That's what I would take from this. If they said, yeah, we'll negotiate in August, I don't know if that would be good enough for

Torrey Dondi and Debo. Well, maybe A.J. Brown's deal, what is it, 25? Yeah. Four years, $100 million with like 57 guaranteed. Yeah, that is it, I believe, right there Four years, $100 million. Like, $57 guaranteed. Yeah, that is it, I believe, right there. Hey, good on you. Let's go, baby. Hey, drafts are tight. I don't remember anything.

But maybe that is just a very easy thing to take to the Niners. Like, hey, this is what the market is. You know, like, literally we just did it. Would you like to do it? Maybe the Niners said, we can work around that. Like, that is something we can deal with. Or maybe Debo, Lynch and shanahan just hung out at the beach one day just kind of had a conversation all right let's keep going what if though pat conspiracy what if he followed them because the niner said hey we will actively shop you but we want to make things

look like it's okay let's keep your value high we have a good relationship you're back oh boom you can go wherever you want somebody tweeted me the other day and said that i'm a conspiracy thinking and theory uh douchebag whoa what the hell is that what do you mean well is that like your flat earth stuff and all of that all right listen i flew over earth a couple times all right i'm not into that camp all right but what we are talking about is we're willing to dive into what could potentially be especially on may 5th 2022 yeah maybe the niners said we need to publicly make this a lot better we need we need to publicly make this look a lot better maybe they dove into it and debo's like cool as long as i'm on the move somewhere because i'm not going back but we i can't help but go back to the miss precious video yeah where debo did not

sound like he was super pissed at the niners it sounded like they didn't even they didn't make him an offer that could have been disrespectful you know like they didn't do any of that like there was nothing like that it felt like it could be mended is how everybody was kind of chatting about it this is the first steps towards that yeah they had to be fairly close because then if they weren't and it was like a massive gap then he looks like the bad like he's you know he he's complaining about all this stuff if it's when he said it wasn't about money from the get-go like that would have just made him look worse in in terms of public perception from like fans and so we could follow even more here what if they only have comments turned on for followers only and he wants to go troll on every one of their pictures?

Have we seen him comment at all on any of the photos? Has he liked any photos that they've posted since Debo coming back? Have they posted that Debo has followed them on their Instagram? That'd be good Instagram. That'd be like, hey, not only Debo

following you, probably other people will follow you too. And there's a chance maybe Debo saw Brandonon bean say hey you know the salary cap's supposed to be at 225 if it was at 225 there wouldn't be a problem next year it'll be at 225 won't have jimmy g's contract we'll give you 30 million dollars next year debo just come home debo we just need you to have a little bit of faith you're gonna have another good year and then we will get you a shit ton of money. A ton. Being talking about them being behind schedule when I was putting over how much money it was already at was wild to me. That was something I did not expect.

And then Jim Hersey. Not enough. Yeah. Need more. It's unbelievable. The league is so large. It shows you why they continue to grow and grow and grow. No, there is never enough.

We are always – there's always more real estate for us to grab. There's always more fans and eyeballs. Imagine the wide receivers going for like $30 million a year, $31 million a year. It's happening. And then that means tackles, by the way, are going to go for like $25, $30, $35, whatever they're already worth. I mean, everybody's going to go up, but quarterbacks are going to go way,

I mean, way, way up. Cornerbacks, too. DBs are going to get paid. They're going to go way, I mean, way, way up. Cornerbacks, too. DBs are going to get paid. They're going to go way up. Edge rushers. Hey, good for everybody. Hey, go get a billion. Go get them.

Go get a billion. All right, so let's dive into a conversation that nobody would expect us to have, but I feel like we're actually kind of in the middle of it all, or we're in the middle of it all at the very beginning. I referenced this video earlier. I watched it. It was on like April 10th, 2021, which seems like 15 years ago, whenever it comes to like internet life, but it definitely feels longer for the person or has felt longer for the person that you're about to hear speak about this. So we all knew that the NIL thing was going to happen, name, image, likeness.

We all knew that college players were going to start making money off of their names, images, and likenesses. That was going to become a thing, but there was only one person, or at least somebody that we knew that was really speaking publicly about it, that was trying to pass a bill in the government to kind of make it a more regulated, more accepted thing so that the NCAA could just say, yep, here it is. It's the rule of the land. It's the rule of us. Here's Anthony Gonzalez talking about why he was presenting a bill for the NIL a little bit over a year ago before this whole thing really blasted off into what it has become now. And so we'll extend the right. We'll put up some guardrails around recruiting,

make sure that you're not literally paying guys to go to whatever school, and then empower the athletes and hopefully get college sports in general, I think it will apply to everybody, back to a place that makes sense. Because if we're in a world where every state has a different set of rules with respect to what you can do marketing-wise, it's chaos. So we're going to get out of that world. That's what he said he was gonna do or try to do and then since that time anthony gonzalez fell out of favor in the political world with every single party yes every single one of them he has since retired hey congrats enjoy it god it's good but he might have been the only human

that really truly understood it all in that particular world and could have got some real things done in some guardrails because what he said there is we don't want it to directly become a recruiting tool it is it is vastly that and a man wrote an article as sports illustrated about two s the sec commissioner and the pac-12 commissioner traveling to DC today to meet with senators to somehow get some guardrails on it. It feels like they at least would have known that this was coming from Gonzo, but who knows how you stop what the NIL has become. It is full free agency. Joining us from Sports Illustrated, ladies and gentlemen, Ross Dellings. What's going on, man?

Good to be on with you guys. Hey, thanks for joining us. I want to learn a little bit more here about what's going on. How likely is it that something happens, and how likely is it that it continues to go the way it is, and just every school is going to have venture capitalists like money to go and spend and recruit on guys in the football world, basketball world, and probably every single sport well it's not likely that something happens uh in congress this year certainly not before the midterm elections i know that greg sankey and george kayakoff are up there in dc trying to trying to lobby for a federal legislation like anthony gonzalez said right uh you know that that

is the thing that's needed. That's the solution. And they just couldn't agree on it. You know, the Republicans and Democrats differed on what a federal NIL bill would look like. I think they got somewhat close last May, but it fell through. Mainly, it fell through for health care reasons. You know, the Democrats basically want a broad bill. The Republicans want a narrow bill that just specializes in NIL. And so the compromises fell through. And so that's left us here, right, which is a predictable position where boosters are using NIL to induce recruits and retain their own players. Were you expecting them to do this where they're trying to get recruits to their campus,

but they're also recruiting college kids? There's a kid from Cincinnati, correct, where is it USC or whoever is putting together all this money to try to bring him? I would imagine stuff like that is what they're going to try to regulate eventually, or is that just going to be common knowledge? What's going to happen with everybody? Yeah, that is a um that's probably the biggest issue right now it's actually not that boosters are inducing high school

prospects it's that boosters are inducing uh athletes on uh active college rosters um that that has been kind of the real the real issue here uh certainly the real issue that coaches have in retaining players. So I think what you're going to see happen next week is the NCAA is going to come out with some guidelines. And basically, they're just reminders, reminding all member schools in these booster collectives and these boosters, hey, boosters for years now have been prohibited from involving themselves in recruiting. Now, we know that they've been involved in an under-the-table way. Everybody kind of knows that.

But now they're doing it over the table and obvious and brazenly. And I think the NCAA is reminding everybody, hey, look, this is illegal. This is prohibited. The problem with that, of course, is you have state laws that are going to be potentially protecting some of these collectives some of these boosters and that means we'll probably all end up in court at some point who's going to represent the players in that thing because i what you're saying about them recruiting other college uh players teams it's like if i end up at a small school in high school i put that work in all right i put that work in then i get better from freshman to sophomore year okay and i put on some good film going into sophomore year. And then I got two years left of eligibility. And maybe the

school that I went to is like not able to do what another school is able to do with like, I don't know, like, Hey, here's $500,000. That changes your entire family's being forever. $500,000 gets everybody out of debt. You've already done it it in before the age of 21 here congratulations this is the transfer portal you go there then you just come sign with us and now everybody's happier like who represents the players in this thing that say like this is cool the way is anybody doing that or do you see that happening yeah well there is there's a pretty big group that's uh actually not not just on the player side with this issue. It's kind of saying like you mentioned, right?

This is okay. You know, it's okay. Our players are finally getting a piece of the cut after years and years of these big TV deals, billion-dollar TV deals. Players are finally getting a cut of it. You know, coaches' salaries through the roof. So, yes, there's a big group that are with the players. And now players can have agents, right?

So they're using agents to facilitate somebody's – That's wild to me. Hey, that's wild to me. Correct. And that's a problem, right? That's starting to be a problem of agents recruiting off of other college teams kind of in a way. They're involved in all this. So this has kind of been part of the issue as well.

But the athletes, you're right, the athletes are benefiting here, like they probably should have for years. But there's got to be, I think college officials would tell you, there's got to be some kind of guidelines and regulations to this thing. It's kind of like pro football, but unregulated pro football, right? Just completely unregulated free agency. And so I think you're going to see some of those guidelines come up next week. Will they be enforced?

I don't know. Will somebody be made an example of? That's the problem right now, Pat, is that the NCAA is not enforcing anything. And there are obvious inducements going on right now. And the NCAA is just not enforcing anything because they are scared, I think, mostly of getting sued. And also because, honestly, they don't have the staff capacity to do all of this at every school because virtually, you know,

I don't want to say every school is doing it, but a lot of schools are doing it. All right. Well, we appreciate you so much for your time. You can find him on SI Now, Sports Illustrated, Ross Dellinger. Thank you, man. Thank you, buddy. your time. You can find him on SI Now, Sports Illustrated, or Ross Dellinger. Thank you, man. Thank you, buddy. How about that, AJ? Look at us diving into the weeds of this thing.

Yeah. I mean, it is a weird world going on right now with all of that. It's capitalism, right? But then if there's no salary cap at all, that's awesome. Yeah, wide open. How do you keep guys anywhere? Like, they're going to have to have tampers. I don't know how you put guardrails up as they say for any of it really

yeah because couldn't somebody have an out you know devil's advocate just very clearly here devil's advocate like pat white should have been able to go somewhere and make millions and millions of dollars as a college football player because of how good he was at college and then his nfl career ended up what it was especially with a hit on the sideline and very cut short so his lifetime earnings much different you know because of what it happened and especially with a hit on the sideline and very cut short. So his lifetime earnings, much different because of what happened and how big he was at college. So it's like I will always view Steve Slayton, same thing. I mean, Steve and Pat and Owen and D.

I mean, I could go through a lot of them. Noel came later. But like Steve and Pat rebuilt West Virginia. That place was rebuilt because of them. And their NFL careers weren't, you know, the super high grossing NFL careers that I think everybody would always say. Like, oh, he'll make his money in the NFL. He'll make his money in the NFL. You know, so there's always going to be that conversation on the other side, too.

It's like fascinating. How do you put the toothpaste back in? How do you? I don't know how you do it now. I mean, all of a sudden, the gates opened up. Everyone could get paid. And then here we are. And I don't know.

It's actually not spoken about as much as I thought it would be when we were looking at, like, back in the day, whenever we were talking about this becoming a real thing. I feel like now it's like, okay, yeah, dude got a million and a half dollars. Cool. Bro, that was a year ago. That conversation with Gonzo was a year ago in ago in like another month or whatever in april that was april a year and a month i see a lot of i see a lot of local commercials here of like ohio state basketball players with car dealerships and football players i'm like man these guys

driving sweet trucks and stuff in college yeah i i saw a couple guys at another school obviously show up with the same exact chargers basically parked next to each other. Everybody's like, what the fuck? Been here a long time. Now, that was somewhere else, obviously. Not in my school that I was at. That was somewhere else. But I think we all assumed that it would be used in recruiting, though.

I think that directly what Ross said over the counter. Did you think college to college, though? Did you think they'd be, okay, USC is going to see some stud for Cincinnati and be like, hey, we can give you two mil. Come on over. I don't know because I think with the growth of the transfer portal I think everybody would kind of just assume that would become the case. So are they paying them and they're on scholarship, right? Yeah.

I think so, yeah. Or is it like, am I netting? No, you don't need to be on scholarship. Maybe they do that. Yeah, what is it? And then they have more scholarships to give out. Oh no. What if that becomes a thing? So then the scholarships are just going to the walk-ons, basically.

Yeah. So the walk-ons are like the kids who can't get any NIL deals. Everybody that can get NIL deals, hey, you're just getting paid, and you're going to school. It's just a part of the whole thing. Oh, my God. Did we just fix the whole thing? That might be the way to do it.

Like, would they put a ceiling on it? Hey, if your school doesn't have one of these, sorry about it. Sorry about it. Now, we're saying that as, I don't know, I think West Virginia has one. What do you mean has one? What do you mean? What do you mean, like an NIL group? What do you mean?

Yeah, an NIL group, yeah. These groups that come together, though. I know different schools, they have these big groups. You guys have had them for years. They're outside groups that what? They raise money and then they just, they choose, they have a board that chooses who to give the money to or how does it work? No, no.

It's for deals. It's for deals. Yeah. It's for deals. For the team. Yeah, deals. But no, like back in the day, they would just put people's names on like libraries

and stadiums and stuff you know when it like yours for instance oh yeah believe me i've they've when people have asked me to donate oh you know you could get your we could put your name on this archway going into that room like okay no i don't care about that hey that was going right in your pocket right when you're playing there? What was going in my pocket? Those donations that are coming from those big-time – It was going right in all the cranes you see outside building all the facilities every single day. Yeah, yeah.

That's because they're a nonprofit, remember? They were a nonprofit for the week. So was the NFL. Yeah, nobody makes – well, they're classified as that in a – which is a whole other conversation. Interesting. Whole other business conversation. But the colleges, yeah, they always say, always say like yeah we made no money last year only they say only 10 of schools

make money from athletics and it's like look at our brand new 500 million dollar building right here look at our new 750 million dollar uh lab over here it's like oh i wonder why you guys aren't making money does anybody say no to any ideas around here not a single person in schools that have multiple good sports like obviously there are some schools that are good at football good at basketball but like you remember that lsu uh graphic that i think it was the year before they won the national championship their football team gross like 55 million dollars and then every other team below them was in the red and they basically were the one team was paying for every other team's athletics and field time and buses a lot of that shit yeah it's crazy to think about

everything how it's because there's like i think ohio state has like 36 varsity sports or something there's a lot of sports yeah but they're good at a damn like they're good at more than one sport like they have a really good hockey team a really good basketball team like there are some schools that don't have that so there's no way ohio State's one of those teams that is in the red. When we go back to the whole NIL not becoming just recruiting payments that have no roof on them, basically, and you can play and just do your whole thing while you're playing, it's wild to think that they're mature enough to handle it all, in my eyes,

because of how I would have been if this happened. It would have been bad, I think. Also, who knows what happens with their careers? Are they going to a place where it's not going to be hard enough for them to become calloused enough to become an NFL player? Will it have repercussions on getting a little bit more relaxed in your life as opposed to being fully dialed in? We will see, and I'm only saying that strictly off of how I would have been

if I would have been getting paid any money, not that I ever would have been offered that in the modern world i'm just saying how these guys could get in college 18 19 years old millions of dollars yeah i mean there is a chance we all would have made everybody would have made many many mistakes some you would hope you just didn't spend it all and go into debt after you got 1.5 mil when you're 19 years old i would like it if they set up the payment structure somehow where it's like all right i read the schools are do it the schools have to have groups of people like scrambling together to try to educate these guys on how to handle and how to get paid and what to do yeah i don't know how though so many people you need

for that i concur and also how do you tell people about their own personal decisions you know and especially like an 18 19 19-year-old. I know when some old stooge was telling me stuff, like I'm looking right through that dude. Yeah, yeah. You have no idea. You don't get it. You don't get it. You don't get it.

Because they're probably, though, you know how those people are, probably very condescending, put their hand on my shoulder, kid, what you need to do here? And he's trying to get me to funnel his money to his company or something. Well, see, yeah, you can't trust anybody either. But then they're trusting. What if they trust the wrong person? Like the agent game.

Yeah, that's where I feel like it could get. Now you've just got all these guys just gassing these kids up in college, obviously. Like there's really – that could go very, very bad, I feel like. You need to have guys like AJ come back and talk to the students, guys who, like, squandered all their money on celebrity sex tapes and foolish golf bets. Exactly.

Give them a celebrity sex. How could go wrong? Why do you have those? What do I have? I don't know about that. I mean, the golf bets, I will be happy to pay you $20 million.

It's never going to happen. Whenever your golf bet, you're so fucked. Have you heard wrong? Have you seen what this office has transformed into over here? Okay. You don't get it. You'll never get it. here? Okay. You don't get it. You'll never get it.

You're right. I won't get it. I never will. Well, I'm going to get it. And that it is $20 million of your money, man. I got 30 years now. 30. Wow.

Years are ticking away. I had 31. Now I have 30 years. Plenty of time. Plenty of time. I mean, when you're coming into work at a PGA Superstore, essentially, you're going to get better. That's what the Thunderdome is going to have, basically.

It's going to be. I'm looking at some good workout equipment, too, to put in the gym that is going to help your golf swing, too. It will create some more torque for you. Oh, how's the Hawk House going? Have you already started? I've made a few calls, man. Yeah.

I've actually, you know, I don't talk on the phone. I've made a few calls and actually talked to people on the phone. Wow. We appreciate that. I don't talk on the phone. I've made a few calls and actually talk to people on the phone. Wow. We appreciate that. You know what you want. Bro, you better rise up the rankings of gym designers in the world. It's going to be expensive, though. You know that, right? No, this is your house. Yeah, it's out of your money.

Oh, okay. It's going to be a different weight room now. Hey, you better call C&J, dude. Yeah. The Hawk House presented by C&J Basement. Let me know if that church does have a basement down there. We could try to help them with any kind of mustiness. Well, thank you, C&J. They'll save us thousands and thousands of dollars.

Thousands and thousands and thousands of dollars. I don't know if that was a talking point or not. Maybe I just free-balled that one. Freestyle, yeah. Let's get out of here. Let's get to a break. We'll be back in four with some phone calls on the Five Iron G phone line. Big thanks to Ross Dowlinger. Yeah, he also said in there they don't have anyone to make an example out of. Whoever the first kid they're going to basically be like, all right, you know what?

You're the one that we're going to start with and make sure you don't get this. Yeah, but remember they're for the student athletes. Oh, yes. They'll be against the school, right? They'll sanction like a school or a group of boosters or NIL. Yeah, and they'll somehow only sanction a school that has no boosters. Yeah, that really gets killed. The schools that have actual boosters will be like, all right, yeah, they're

really cracking down. Thank you for doing that. Imagine being 18 years old. You have 150, 200, 000 followers on instagram tiktok and everything very very well liked amongst your peers your life you just wake up you dunk on people on seven on sevens all the time and then you're walking into like recruiting visits and you're walking in offices they're like we think you fall between like $200,000 and $275,000, we think, a year. So that's what we're willing to offer.

And we would gladly love to have you. And this guy's going to take you out. You're going to have the nicest meal in town. You're probably going to go to the best bar, best club. You're going to have VIP everywhere. Everything's going to happen. And also, here's a car for you to drive home in. So, all right, hope you choose this school.

It's like, okay, now tomorrow, I guess, I'm going to have to wake up, be loved by everybody, dunk on some motherfuckers, then walk into another office, $300,000, $350,000. Like, that's what, could you imagine that? No. Someone better be checking a lot of these parents, too, because there are some parents that will take advantage of the money their kids are getting.

I promise you that. I would have loved to heard Tim andally in these conversations at 18 years old if i was one of these guys how much are you saying did you say 750 000 yeah yeah yeah we're going to this school yes this is where we're congratulations i'd start zillow and right there i'd be like i'm gonna rent a suite i'm gonna rent a 14 000 square foot house somewhere with a pool and i'm gonna be a college kid doing that yeah well tim and sal too be like i think i think a house be over there moving in with you we also like this one is this yeah i mean

how do you not do that right i mean how do you Because I think, and I don't want to out anybody as anything, but I believe the old move was you actually give parents jobs at companies in the area. So you pay them a salary to do a job at a company that is a booster in the area. Then they get to be there. They have a job. It's their bank accounts that are earning the income, not the player. And it's just like a natural thing. I think that is what a lot of people have done.

I think. Oh, yeah. I mean, that's happened in the past people have gotten busted doing that but i think i've snooped around and that is like the blueprint i think that's the move like what they do with high school they recruit high school kids that way kid who lives an hour and a half away they have to have like residencies so they get them an apartment and they get their parents a gig in that city so they can live there and go to that school and dominate and win the state state tournament that's what we need to do all right i'm building here we go we got it i thought that's what all that money was for to recruit kids over there well i was i was hoping it would be but

i guess next step is we have to put in an apartment nice one i watched that that video of you going back like plum is very nice yeah it's a lot of farm got a lot of open area i mean like the high school the facilities look very nice yeah that was That was built, I forget what year. It got paintballed fucking first day and then it's been stained with paintballs all over. You remember that?

Uh-huh. They got a big fucking Mustang put in. I mean, it was this, one of the plum Mustangs. It was during my entire high school career. So when I was in junior high, they renovated the junior high. Then as soon as I got to high school,

guess what? They renovated the entire high school. So I don't think I saw it. I don't think I had it. Yeah, I didn't experience the night high. Then as soon as I got to high school, guess what? They renovated the entire high school. So I don't think I saw it. I don't think I had it. Yeah, I didn't experience the nice school that it is, but it is very nice. First week, though, they put this big Mustang up. Obviously some fucking asshole from Plum. Classic. I mean, that's just what it is.

Paintball's the entire thing. They try to clean it. You can't. It just welts now on this entire thing. So it's like the outside has been obviously damaged by the, you know, just plum people and probably people from other schools. But yeah, I would like to really

invest in that place. I want there to be some studs over there. Honestly. Our girls' soccer team is fucking really good. We create some Olympians over there. That'd be fucking awesome. I mean, that'd be something I'd really want to be a part of. You know what I mean? A lot of farmland. You just said plenty of room for apartment complexes. Here we go. Yeah. Well, that's how a

neighbor school got a lot of their players. Whoa. Yeah, he's talking about Gateway right now. Really? Yeah, yeah. That's who he's talking about. They got real good real quick. So they were in on it ahead of their time, if you will. Well, yeah. Yeah, they were very good. That's what Plum needs to do. That's what we're going to do. Let's go! Also, I think there's

some eSports arena going in there, in plum yeah at the high school yeah who's putting it in you think you yeah yeah so i heard it's happening it is i think it is going to happen that's something i wouldn't mind us just becoming a funnel into esports as well that'd be cool for the kids hey yeah ps5 a A lot of the Italian body types around Plum too. Probably pretty good gamers. Good shit talkers. Oh, yeah.

We could get the next Optic Scamp coming from Plum. It's Scump, dude. Let's go, dude. It's Scump. Who? Optic Scump.

Is he part of FaZe Clan? He better not be because FaZe Clan is part of Optic. He's Bill's favorite athlete. What's he play? He plays everything. Bill has his jersey.

He plays fucking computer, PC, fucking PS5. But that's the thing, though. Real gamers, they use computers, right? They don't use consoles. Yeah, because it's faster and more. It's a high-level conversation like Danger Red Academy with Tim Legler. That's right. The computer, they actually build their own computers.

Oh, yeah. Oh, I know. There's an electronics store I go to to get stuff for here, and there's always a line out the door that I always ask Bill about. He's like, oh, they released these new servers or internal parts of these computers. Processors. Graphics processors. Yeah, so it's faster.

Any lag, you're dead. Every day, though. Every day, there's a line out the door at this one place. Every day? What store is it? Microsystems or whatever. One of those real sweet technology stores. Really? I didn't know there was any store on earth that had a line at it anymore. 10 a.m. Especially not every day.

By the way, I am in line, not online when I'm at a store. Yes, there it is. Not from New York. But I am on Long Island. Correct. There you go. Okay. I am on Long Island on Friday.

Let's go. Have a little respect for the place. I was told because I guess a few days ago I said, Friday, we're in Long Island. You're on Long Island. We don't go online when you're there. On Long Island. Yeah, well, I will be on Long Island on Friday. And that line, I'm pretty sure, is all the listeners of our show,

Bill and Zeke, new computers, because I feel like that happens. That Zito was getting two, three computers a week there for a bit. People sending them? Yeah, he was finessing people. Oh, by the way, Columbus is a new Silicon Valley. Really? Yeah, that's what they were saying. With all that open land. Hey, here we go! Intel. Joe Biden

mentioned Intel built like an $800 billion facility they're putting in. So you guys are that. We got the warehouses. Yeah. We got a lot of those too. Oh, really? Yeah. Oh, yeah. My daughter where she plays soccer A new building That is like

Four football fields Goes up every week I feel like There's like Eight of them Stacked next to each other That's happening out here I guess that's what

A lot of farmland Is going to become There's a book written Where Columbus They're fucking our farms Yeah Can't have it The heart of the

Next generation Server farms now We got attacked this week For cutting my grass Bill Gates is growing Our meat and fat back What happened? Yeah Did you know that There's a Part of the next generation. Server farms now. Yeah, tax this week for cutting my grass. Bill Gates is growing on me now. What happened? Yeah, did you know that there's a section of human beings on this planet

who, if you cut your grass, you are the worst human being on the earth? What? How? Where? Because it's bad for the planet. You should just let the planet be as is. Fuck off. Damn it.

It's like when you cut dead ends on your hair. You're making it more healthy. Tell me, dude. Bro, my lawn stinks. I do not focus on the cutting of it now. Back whenever I was in the neighborhood that I lived in, I was terrible. I was a terrible neighbor. I did not take care of it.

I let it grow out. It was by far the worst lawn in the entire place. The guy that cut it every single week had the nicest, freshest, purest grass of all time. You care more for the land than those people. Apparently, you kill bees if you cut grass. You can't walk in the grass either. I'm a Team B guy, though. And that's a whole other...

Nick, please. Put your phone away, bud. Nick, are we not all Team Bs? Need the bees. Gotta be Team B. Where are the bees? Fuck wasps. Team B all the way.

Yeah, wasps are just little fucking terrorists of the sky like those Canadian geese. Well, if they're in the backyard while I'm mowing on my fucking deer, I'm going to slice that thing's brains in two. Okay. Sorry, pal. Yeah. It's fucking mowing season. We need these bees.

Is that what they're mad about? Were you slicing bees? Why did you have to describe it? I thought you were talking about geese. I was just thinking. You're talking about the queen or the geese no not the bees no bees whatever comes in my path okay i'm thinking of the rotor head just going around just slicing up any insect really maybe a squirrel or something just slicing their head no no no no no no no no no no no no

all the bees hold on for your deer to run on oh aj's got a question here we go quick i just want to know ty because this has happened to me, and I've never seen anybody do it. I hope you're not doing this, Ty. If you're at a stop sign or whatever, and all the cars are stopped, and you have like 15 geese slowly waddling across the street, Ty, you don't jam the gas. No, no.

Come on. Who does that? Nobody does that. Come on. I haven't seen anybody do it, but Ty made me think he may be. Yeah, well, you did have a little serial killer tendency there, the way you were describing your John Deere taking a tractor another round your lawn there.

That's a B. That's the water. Then you said squirrel. Then you said. Well, hey, if he runs under, what am I going to do? Well, you don't have to celebrate the win. Well, I tell you what, I'm also not fucking up my lines in my backyard. What if your wife runs out there?

Dahmer. Dahmer was in the woods. Yeah, well. Cutting up the squirrel. That'smer was in the woods. Yeah, well, he's... Cutting up the squirrel. That's what you're talking about? No, no, no. I'm not dismembering them with my hands. Water the Iowa.

With your penis, maybe. Whoa. Jesus Christ. There's no reason. That gone. What's so funny? He turned them into zombies. All right.

We have now the incredible opportunity to chat with a Stanley Cup champion, a man that's been there, done that, has played for the Penguins before, and the Rangers. Predicting the downfall of BDD Big Dick Domingue, Louis Domingue, just on his Twitter hours ago. Ladies and gentlemen, host of That's Hockey Talk, and a host on NHL Network, Mike Ross. What is good?

You tell me, dude. Not your predictions. Those aren't good. What happened? What's going on? You don't think Louis Domingue is going to continue to be incredibly hot? Sidney Crosby, after playing six periods, you think he's going to let the boys lose again? This is a clean sweep.

We need a week break. We need to rest up from that overtime game. The boys are trying to win. You think we got no shot tonight, Rupp? What's this all about? Feels like you hate Pittsburgh. Why is that? No, I don't hate Pittsburgh, man.

Listen, it is so difficult in the playoffs to beat a team two games in a row, especially on their home ice. And the way it went down the other night, yeah, certainly they can win this game, man. They can win any game. But I just feel like this Rangers team is going to be a little bit different, a little bit different in this one. Yeah, it's tough to win two in a row against the same squad,

especially this close in a playoff series when you're just consumed. It's not like you two in a row against the same squad, especially this close in a playoff series when you're just consumed. It's not like you play them today and then you play them next week. You have a couple games between. This is fresh on your mind. I think this Rangers team is going to come out flying here in the first. You covered a lot of things on that Talkie Talk last night. An incredible episode with King

Henry on the show. Henry Gladquist, who I forgot that he had a heart thing. I asked him to come back and play for the Pens because we got a little bit of a goaltender. That was an awkward moment, I think, for all of us. But we powered through it. You spoke a lot about the first game, though, between the Pens and the Rangers. And obviously a lot of

khakis in the stands, but you also talked about how there's a lot of blue-collar Rangers fans as well. Okay, I learned. I learned that. But you were also chit-chatting about how when the Rangers were cheating, you liked it. So the five-minute major hit, elbow to the guy's jaw, leaving his feet, and a guy

from Minnesota, you said, who already hits like a train, so he tried to kill this guy. That thing turns it from a five-minute major, which we would have scored four goals probably, into a two-minute just regular basic-ass penalty. You said it shouldn't have even been a penalty. I'm like, whoa, oh my God, Ruppert. What are you even thinking here? Then there's goalie interference. Clearly goalie interference. I mean, I played you the basic ass penalty you said shouldn't even been a penalty i'm like whoa oh my god rupper what are you even thinking here then uh there's a goalie interference clearly goalie interference

i mean i played ball hockey deck hockey sure growing up and i watched it i would know much more than you but and that was clearly goaltender interference and you said no you didn't think so it was just it feels like you would like the rangers to win this series is that because the rangers are supposed to win this series Are they supposed to win it this time? Yeah, they're supposed to. They're supposed to. You know, that Rangers team has owned the Penguins in a pretty substantial way all season. So that's why that game was so huge for Pittsburgh.

No, I'm not rooting for either team in this situation. I'm not saying I want the Rangers to win. I'm just like when I'm watching that game, that hit by Ryan Lingard on Ricard Raquel, that's the problem that I find in hockey. We're trying to, we're learning about the concussions. We're trying to change the game. There's a big push to do it. I understand why we're doing it.

I'm not an idiot, right? But, you know, at the same rate, when you don't know a guy is coming to hit you, when you don't see him, you don't brace yourself. I don't care what it is. You're going to get – your head is going to get some sort of – you're going to get whiplash, you're going to get a conky,

or you're going to get a concussion from getting hit in the face. Like something's going to happen. Ricard Raquel had no idea that Ryan Lindgren was coming. That was a really clean hit. Terrible results. I don't like seeing dudes getting up and falling down and looking like kind of Bambi on ice. So, yeah, it was a nasty one.

Then the play in the crease at the end, it was funny because I was talking on that talk, and I was telling these guys, like, I'm doing Colby Armstrong, and I are doing the Pittsburgh broadcast, the Korean post, with Jay Caulfield, Rob King, and we're in there in the AT&T Sportsnet studio, and this happens at the end of the game. I'm like, that's a goal. They're reviewing it. I'm like, that's a goal. They're reviewing it. I'm like, that's a goal. Army's like, that's no goal.

That's no goal. I'm like, dude, it's a goal. And we started sitting there, and the more time you watched it, I started moving towards his view, and he started moving towards mine. So I think that kind of just shows, man, this was a 50-50 call. It went the Penns way. They got a huge win in that first game. Love that.

Huge. Hey, Rupert, we were talking about the NFL helmets and how they make all these new space-age looking things. I feel like hockey has kind of stuck with what you guys have had for a long time, and I've got my hands and actually put on a hockey helmet. That thing doesn't do anything. Like, that's not protecting anybody, is it? I mean, it's certainly not like a football helmet.

They're so light. Yeah, they're so light. They'll change the technology all the time, you know, and use some. There it is. Hey, is that Phil Borks? What's that? That's Phil Borks, man. It's Ronnie Francis.

It says not intended for use on the back of that thing. That's what Borky used. Yeah, look at that. Yeah, I mean, it is just a basic plastic bucket. That's all you guys are doing. I'm not sure we're wearing those ones anymore. Yeah, but you get it, though. It is much smaller than the NFL ones, and I think

there's always been an interesting thing because Tom Wilson, when he started making his run of being the goon of the league, he was having headshots. It was like he was timing up his shoulder checks for headshots almost and guys were getting knocked out at a very regular basis and i think this is at the same time as concussion information was kind of becoming the forefront of conversation in the

sports world is there any adjustments to the rules that you guys make because i mean i know they try to slow down fighting but fighting makes the game better those big time hits and i didn't like seeing dick rickle get fucking pounded like that, but those big-time hits are like what people in the arena... I mean, there's big pop in the arena whenever a hit like that happens. It's still what hockey is, though, isn't it? Isn't that a score, you think?

It is, and I think that's the part I kind of struggle with, and I guess what I was referring to on the Raquel thing, because we were talking last night, too, during our show, we're watching. I mean, how many huge hits in that Boston Carolina game? A lot of dirty ones too. Nonstop. Boom, boom.

We're seeing guys going everywhere. My big thing though, it's like they're trying to, and not just in the NHL, we're talking every league going down to youth hockey. They're trying, which I agree with. You've got to fix the hitter, the guy hitting.

The player receiving the hit, until there's a responsibility put on them too, we're not going to see it ever go away. Because what we see is, oh, he can't hit me here, so I'm going to do this. You know what I mean? It's a fast game. That's kind of all part of it.

To go off what AJ was saying. Yeah. So the helmet technology changed, uh, or they're changing like different, you know, uh, stuffing or padding,

I should say on the inside. And it's kind of funny. Um, you guys remember the great Mark Messier, right? Um, when I was playing actually for the Rangers messes, um,

you know, he's around the Rangers. He's a hall of famer. And, uh, he came out with a helmet company. It was called the Messier Project. He came down with the helmet

by the locker room. He's like, he wanted some of us to wear them. I don't know. When I played, I was a sucker for I mean, I didn't care. I'll wear a Nike helmet. I'll wear Bauer skates. I'll wear CCM gloves. I'll use a sheer wood stick. It don't matter. I'll use anything.

You want to pay me to use your twig, all I'm doing is flipping it out and flipping it in, dude. That's fine. I'll use a you know sheer wood stick. I don't matter I'll use any all the comp you want to pay me to use your twig all I'm doing is flipping it out and flipping it In dude that guess fine. I'll take anyways mess mess came and he's like wanted me to wear this helmet So yeah, I just try it out. I tried this fucking helmet out It looks like everyone you look like a zoo. You know what I mean? Like it looked like a spaceship Yeah, and guys are like that are you and i kind of felt like mess wanted me to wear it in a game tell me and he's like you can wear it in a game can you wear in a game so i'm like fuck i'm like yeah all right so i wore it in my headshot for the rangers that year and like program everything is that one fucking game where i'm

wearing this spaceship helmet i got the m right on my forehead it's terrible, they've tried different things, but a lot of it doesn't stick. Guys are so like, this is what I do. This is what I wear. And they don't want bulky equipment. It's the same exact thing in the NFL, literally. Same exact conversation. And Messier, Ranger legend, right? Yeah.

There's definitely a reason why that was the shot in the, hey, can you make sure that the photo of Rupp in here is my helmet too? That's good business. Did that helmet never caught on, I assume? No, it never caught on. There's a few players wearing it kind of phased out, but that's what it is. Guys want to wear

the same shit they've worn since they were little kids playing the game. They want those brands. You wear a certain kind of skate, you never switch. It's really hard, I think, for equipment companies to make players switch sticks and switch skates for sure. Well, routine creatures. I mean, that's just kind of creatures of habit. If this is what I use, this is what I use forever.

Hopefully, they'll pay me. Hockey is such an interesting business. I don't really understand. Hockey, there's like no marketing really for the players. Hey, don't be different really for a long time. But now i feel like we're starting to learn more and more which i think is good for hockey but the hockey culture is so like it feels like oh you know i'm just trying hard trying to fucking help my team you know yeah we had a good pass there you know and oh the boys really set me up nicely there it was really good what do you guys got to do in a third

period well hopefully we try our hardest you know and they're fucking we'll be able to win or whatever thank you so much like that is what hockey has always been has it like literally yeah i mean it's uh you know hockey has a really specific i guess upbringing or culture that i think is changing like everything everything nowadays so it's changing in a different direction but you know i think that that's the the big wrestling point and a big point that people get stuck on is the physicality of it and you know not to go back to that but it's like that's the big thing where it's like well hey this isn't the stone age anymore like we okay yeah no i know there's no there's no straight up fighters like you're not on an nhl roster and it hasn't been like that for a number of years if you're you're not on a roster just to fight it

used to be like that you'd have your guy like that so it's moving in that direction but even marketing like you're mentioning pat you're right on with that the the league's starting to get better and and the players and the players association everyone's starting to market the players a little bit more because i think that's what you have to do. You have to. It's like the name of the game. Sidney Crosby's the greatest player of all time? No motherfuckers know him. If he was to walk through Indianapolis, Indiana,

I think he would just be able to get right through. There's no reason for that. I played when I played in New Jersey. The great Lou Lamorello is GM. He's the GMm for the islanders now he's very strict with everything we had to be that's probably why i have a beard now i was in that organization so long no beards cleanly shaven every day you know ty always has to be up he's a professional way like a kind of a military approach to everything it was awesome and it won and i remember at that time though he never wanted guys to get any kind of endorsement deals anything locally like i mean you know you have those funny

those funny ass like uh c and j consultant yeah yeah thousands and thousands of dollars yeah come on down to you know whatever and you see the athletes on there it's fucking hilarious it's great it's a little little thing to do no one ever did that so i played with marty brador who i think is the best goalie to ever play the game. Guys, I never saw this guy on a billboard. I never saw his face on an ad. It was always just the logo. And I'm like, dude, this guy, you're talking the best ever, right?

So I think that we're getting past that now, and that was a long time ago. So things are certainly changing from that regard. It's good for the sport, especially for those of us that grew up in a hockey town to talk to other people that aren't from one. It's like, no, it's a great sport. You should watch it. And then you watch the playoffs. You're like, hey, this is crazy.

But the playoffs are only finite, you know, and then it's kind of move on. It's an interesting thing. I think the game is going to grow, though. It has to. Connor, go ahead. Yeah, Robert, speaking of big hits, the hopper, Hompus Lindholm got absolutely obliterated behind the net. I think Pat was alluding to that in the Bruins-Carolina game last night.

How hard is it going to be to replace, you know, one of your six defensemen? And is he definitely out for the series? Because he got absolutely obliterated. Oh, yeah. That was a tough – that was a big hit. And that guy, that's the other part about it too. It shows how fast the game is. Like, Hampus Lindholm's been around a long time.

He's a vet. He knows the game. Great defenseman, great at it, the trade deadline. I mean, for a team that already is looking a little shaky, that's saying it light in this series. Losing him, that hurts a lot, man. So, you know, I know you and I were... Bruins are dead!

Thought pasta was going to come out with the big night. Me too, Rob. I know you and I were... I thought pasta was going to come out with the big night. Me too, Rob. I fucking told everybody. I think Brad Marchand will get on the score sheet. He's that guy to look to in game three. Alright, this guy's out. Cool. We'll be getting our asses kicked. Cool. I'm going to go out there

and do my thing and he's a difference maker. Look for him to do something. Is Kachetkov playing goalie for the Caniacs next game or not because i actually saw marshan uh baseball bat him after a given take yeah middle of it that was awesome that was a good little jousting yeah no it was cool i mean i wouldn't say cool i just love seeing hatred me too i sit there and i say you know people are talking about the game and the stone age when you say stuff like, like people just want to take you literally like, oh, I love that. Like I want to see fucking 10 guys on the ice baseball swinging each other.

We do not want to see that. No, no. Definitely do not want to see that. But I like when you just play off series and you're never getting everything you can out of your group until you hate the other group. That's why certain matchups are naturally, you know they're going to be good. If you're playing in a series against a team that you really don't have any crazy history against, you need someone to go out there and just try to throw some gasoline on the fire.

You got it. And so Brad Marchand is the king of doing that. He did that. He got $5,000. Bullshit. And Kachekov, yeah, he wasn't hurt or anything. So he'll be back in there for game three. I like that deep hatred, especially when your name's Igor Shchersky

and you're waving at the Pittsburgh Penguins. You know, because you have had a great season against the Penguins or whatever. And then all of a sudden when the playoffs come, you just get dunked on and dunked on and dunked on again. And then all of a sudden when the playoffs come, you just get dunked on and dunked on and dunked on again. And then Gino. Hey, game one, he was. Gave up four goals. Gave up four goals.

I gave up four goals. Second most saves. Second most saves in playoff history. Gave up four goals. I saw it. Not enough saves. Gave up four goals. Yeah, it was unbelievable.

He was fucking outrageous. So was Casey to Smith. That's why I went. Yes, it was insane. That game was awesome. Ratings up too, which is good news. Perfect game outrageous. So was Casey to Smith. That's why I went. Yes, it was insane. That game was awesome. Ratings up, too, which is good news. Perfect game for it. Go ahead, Tony.

Yeah, Rupert, we're talking about throwing gasoline on the fire. After 82 games during the regular season, the way I like to do it is I like to take my CCM after 82 games and fucking face wash a guy. What's your favorite way to get under a guy's skin during the playoffs? Yeah, just doing shit like that man just doing like just anything you can think of just to you know you're taking a face off and you just it's like you invade their space you stand in their personal space they're like you know then you get to you kind of get a gauge when you lean on a guy in a face off like

what he what he has the appetite for if you lean on him and it's a wet noodle you're like oh i'm gonna have my way with this guy if you lean on him and he's got a little pushback or he gets you let you know like little fuck you gives you a little shot and you're like all right here we go so um i i think the big thing in the playoffs i don't know it's kind of funny when you watch it it feels like just part of it when you're out there playing it's kind of silly like when you watch because now that I'm not playing, there's a whistle in front of the net. And if you just stand there, that's what I always used to say to guys too. You don't have to fight.

You don't have to go in there if you don't know how to be that or that's not your personality. Just stand there a little bit longer than you're supposed to. Whistle. Stand in front of the goalie and just look at him. You don't have to say anything. It's like you fucking did the worst thing of the worst, and everyone's going to come right in the face.

You know what I mean? So it's like that's all you got to do. I don't know why. It's kind of funny when we look at it like that. Every whistle, just loiter around a little bit longer. Drag your feet getting out of the crease. Just stand there. Guys lose their mind for some reason.

All it takes is one little dumb penalty to go against the other team because they're pissed off at you. You get a power play goal, it could change the series. Hey, that's part of the game. That's part of the strategy, huh? Yeah, yeah, it is part of it, man. It's, you know, that's what the playoffs, even in game one in that Toronto and Tampa

series, Kyle Clifford, big physical guy. People were surprised he was in the lineup for Jason Spezza, who is more of a skilled guy right but uh they wanted to have some pushback well you got to handle that emotion right this is like first or second shift of the game he comes in he gets a five minute major tossed from the game he's uh you know he got four goals but like yeah they that could have lost them the game thankfully for the toronto maple leafs uhs, they killed that five-minute major off and they ended up winning the game.

But that's kind of part of it. You have to bring your emotion to here. You've got to funnel it the right way. You do one stupid thing, it literally could change the entire series. So, yeah, you push everyone's buttons, but you've got to be smart about it. Ruppert, I know this guy is hurt, but he likes to push people's buttons and dominate people. But Tom Wilson, what are your thoughts on him?

And what does he bring to a team? Bro, the Capitals were not supposed to do what they were supposed to do. How come everybody just loved this brand new Panthers team over the fucking Capitals? They're champions. That was surprising to me whenever I was watching that game and you see Ovechkin celebrating everything, you know? And they were like, well, the Panthers are heavily favored. And I'm like, over that?

Fuck it. I guess it's because Tom's hurt. But that team is always good. And Tom is like somebody I wish was a penguin. I fucking wish that guy was a penguin. Yeah. So, I mean, I think that's part of it, too. It's like Tom Wilson is that nuclear weapon in the NHL right now.

Yeah. Different. He can fight anybody and most likely beat everybody up. But the bigger thing is he plays with Ovi. Like, he's good. Like, he's a really good player. And he's huge. He hits like a truck.

He's jacked. He can skate like the wind. He's attractive. He's smart. Yeah. He's funny. He's funny. He's charming. You look at this guy and it's like. He's smart. He's funny. He's charming.

You look at this guy and it's like, he's a unicorn. There's no one like him in the league. And so I remember this guy, after they won the cup, I think it was after they won the cup, he signed a big deal for a guy that plays with those kind of elements. Signed a massive deal deal you know how the internet works everyone just starts destroying this guy and it's like come on guys like can you be happy like can't you just be happy everyone everyone make money go do your thing you know like what are we what are we shitting on people for like good for him and i did a i did a shoot in uh washington i saw him and i started talking to him and like you know it's just it's he was

he was feeling that but at the same time it's like hold on a second you got to look at yourself and I'll tell you this if you are playing on a Sidney Crosby's line um Connor McDavid Alex Ovechkin if you're playing on that line and they don't want to play on your line she say stoner on stoner's line uh if you're playing on the on their line and they don't want to play on your line, you say stoner, on stoner's line, if you're playing on their line and they don't really want to play with you, guess what? You're not fucking playing with them. They're going to go in there and tell the coach, like,

nah, get this guy out of here, you know? So Tom Wilson gets to play with Ove. I'm like, you have the endorsement of playing with a guy who might be the all-time greatest goal scorer. Your team paid you a shit ton of money. Every other team out there would trade anything for you. The Washington Capitals have you as an untouchable. I mean, this guy can do everything.

So, yeah, man, this is his time to shine. You saw, like you mentioned, AJ got banged up the other night. I don't know what's going on with him, but if he's out, that's a huge loss because that was a huge win for them in game one because I didn't think they had a chance. Yeah, that's what everybody thought. I don't understand. Are they still the same because that's off huge win for them in game one because I didn't think they had a chance. Yeah, that's what everybody thought. I don't understand. Are they still the same?

Is Kuznetsov on that fucking team? Is he? These guys just get old? Is Ovechkin not just sniping dimes in the net? What happened? Is the Florida Panthers just that good? The Florida Panthers I think had the most goals

in the league this year. Their offense is silly. But the problem is that they've won games a lot this year. They call them the comeback cats, right? Because they're falling behind the games, and they're scoring six goals in the third period, and they're doing some crazy shit. They've been a really fun team to watch. A casual fan, you might want to root for those guys.

They're hilarious to watch because they're never, ever out of a game. They can blow up and put five, six up in a period. But they haven't really had to deal with – we haven't seen how they navigate through games of adversity. I mean, they've been so good. They can play a shitty game and still win 4-1 because they score four goals. You know what I mean? So they're starting to maybe see it a little bit here.

But as far as like Ovi and the Caps, their big thing was their goaltending. They didn't have great goaltending. They didn't really have a true starter. So I thought that's what made them vulnerable. Best offense versus a team who doesn't know who their goalie is, that seems like it's a pretty easy recipe there. But

the Caps proved everybody wrong in game one. Penn's got three goalies. Maybe four. Who knows? I don't even know this next guy that's potential. DeOrio. Yeah, that's DeOrio. Yeah, DeOrio's a player, that guy.

Oh, yeah. Gumpy, your question for Stanley Cup champion Mike Ruppert. Yeah, Ruppert. Is Texas hockey going to absolutely steal one in Calgary tonight or what? I almost couldn't even listen to the question. Can you put Gumps back on again? That was incredible. Is Texas hockey going to win or not, Ruffer?

Answer the question, Ruff. Plus 200 tonight, for Christ's sake. Calgary's a tough barn. Calgary's a tough, tough, tough barn. They lost game one, won nothing. That leaves me to think. Calgary won, won nothing. Calgary is a much

better team all year than Dallas. That makes me think, did Texas hockey miss their chance? You know what I mean? It's won nothing. Your goaltender put an unbelievable Jake Ottens. You're putting a crazy performance. I wish I could tell you the otherwise, Gums.

I think they go down 0-2. I think they go back to Dallas. No, they're dead. Texas Hockey's dead. Boston's dead. 0-2 is a good place to be. All right. Anyways. Bruins are dead.

No. Texas Hockey's dead. See you. See you later. Pens are going to be the only team that's going to survive because we're beating the khakis tonight. Whether you like it or not, Rob. Hey, hold on.

No. You're taking what I'm saying for other teams being dead as gospel, but then you're saying that the Penguins are going to win. So what is it? Do you believe in me? I know more about the Pens than any of these other teams. To be honest, when he says Texas hockey, it takes me a moment to remember who the fuck –

is that the name of the actual team? Like is this Washington football team situation? And then it's like, no, this is Dallas Stars. Okay, of course that's who he's talking about. So, obviously, I'm going to listen to you on that team. No, it makes sense. Total sense. But the pens I know inside out.

Are you kidding me? Me, Ron Francis, Tommy Barasso. We used to just hit the ball around on the street there. You know what I mean? We'd do that whole thing. Speaking of ball hockey, world champion Nick Morado, your question for Ruppe? Ruppe, you talked earlier

about having the mental edge in the playoffs and getting in a guy's face and kind of throwing off his game. Can you tell us about the time you took your big bear paw, your big mitt, and took a swipe at your best friend,

Marty Brodeur, punched him right in the mouth? What? Why are you doing that? Yeah, so I was disowned as a New Jersey Devils alumni for a little while. Why are you doing that? Ah, yeah. So, yeah, that was that. So I was disowned as a New Jersey Devils alumni for a little while. But I was able to get back in good graces. But so, yeah, so I'm playing biggest rival for the Devils, New Jersey Devils, New York Rangers.

I grew up playing in the Devils organization, won a cup there. Marty was the big reason. Marty basically door-to-door delivered us a Stanley Cup. And now I'm playing for the Rangers. Fast forward probably nine years later, I'm playing for the Rangers in the Eastern Conference Finals. Winner goes to the Stanley Cup. And we're in the series.

We got zero emotion. Like, we're burnt. We played two series of seven games each prior to that one. The Devils were like a buzzsaw, man. They were taking it to us. So, I think we're losing the game like 3-0. Torch puts me out there for a face-off and I go out there and I know in this situation

he's put me out there after this goal by the Devils like, we've got to try to change some momentum. He didn't tell me anything. He didn't say what to do. I didn't even know what I was going to do. I was like, I've got to start. I've got to piss someone off here. I've got to get some emotion back into our group. And so, yeah. Send in the good.

What's that? Send in the disruptor. We need a police gentleman. Yeah, I go in there. The game's like 3-0 or whatever it is. I go in there and I finish a hit. I hit a guy really, really, I thought it was fine. I hit him good.

And the referees, I think just they understood what my demeanor was there, so they just gave me a penalty just to get me off the ice, you know. And so I was pissed. I, like, pulled my mouth guard. I'm, like, yelling at the ref. And then as I'm skating by, I see my boy Marty, Marty Berdour standing right there. And I just reached across and just, it wasn't, it was an open fist,

shoved right, like, in the chin and chest, and he threw back into the crossbar. And it just started this melee, and guys are flying and jumping and trying to hit me in the head. Yeah, and I got tossed from the game. But it ended up not working. We ended up losing, I think, that series in five games. But, hey, it did stir up the boys, though.

The boys that came in the room, we just got our asses handed to us, and they came in, they're like, that was fucking awesome but uh it took a little bit of time uh marty and i made up over beers a couple years back so uh you know i can show my face again back in new jersey he was probably so pissed yeah guy i know i'm also goat status at this point a little respect please for me and you just blindslide him You motherfucker. He probably had to be so angry about that thing. Honestly. I don't know. I don't know.

He didn't talk to me. So I don't know how mad he was. But, yeah, we're good now. We're good now. That's all that matters. But that's the thing. You know I had to do it for his team. Come on, man.

No free passes. We're talking about going to the cup finals. Yeah, right. You benefited from this, Marty. Yeah. The same exact shit. I used to just blind side goalies all the time. We're talking about going to the Cup Finals. Yeah, right. You benefited from this, Marty. Same exact shit. I used to just blindside goalies all the time. Good, Foxy. Yeah, Roper, who are the Red Wings going to hire to save the franchise

and ultimately save the NHL at the end of the day? The Red Wings are dead! So dead! Hey, you know what? The answer might be right under their noses there, Foxy. You know why? Because whoever runs their social media team put a three-and-a-half-minute video today of Detroit Red Wings season highlights. If you could find three-and-a-half minutes worthy of highlights on this show, like, fucking hire that person.

Like, that person would know a lot about you. I agree. Because it was three-and-a-half minutes. three and a half minutes. A lot of scenics. A lot of shots of the city. But that's maybe... The Wings are a tough one.

I've been telling you this all year. I actually really, really, really believe they have a bright future. No way. No way. 40 or 50 games this year where I'm like, hey, they're fine, man. They way. No way. No way. Let's go. 40 or 50 games this year where I'm like, hey, they're fine, man. They took a step forward. This is a different team. They got some weapons.

They got some young guns in that group. And then, like, the last 25 games, 30 games, they just went right back to what they were over the last number of years. Oh, no. They are who we thought they were. This next year has got to be different. Like, they need to go. They don't have to make the playoffs,

but they have to play meaningful hockey. Like, Vancouver, they were a very long shot of making the playoffs at the end of the year, but they at least played meaningful hockey all the way to game 79-80. Okay? That's what the Wings need to do next year. If they don't do that, I think you come in. They already fired the coach, right?

Yeah, they got a new coach. They got a new culture. Iserman's sitting up there just collecting a paycheck, letting the boys run right into the mud. Who's it going to be? Who's going to be the coach? Scotty Bowman. He said the fucking social media manager. Yeah, I don't know. There's a lot of good candidates out there. Bring Tortorello over.

Dotsuk. I think they're going to wait until the playoffs are over to probably name someone because you know how these playoffs go. One of these coaches, if it doesn't go, some of these teams have a lot of pressure.

There might be some more coaches available if teams get swept or knocked out early. Hey, congrats. You just lost in the playoffs. Now you get a death sentence. Come on up to Detroit. Yeah, maybe Sidney Crosby loses, retires, and then coaches the Red Wings. Sidney Crosby still the best player in hockey? Yeah.

Yeah, he's the best on both sides. Like the best complete player, yes. The game of hockey. Yes, the best complete player. Like. The game of hockey. Yes, the best complete player, like give me a guy that can do everything. He is the guy. If you're just going to say, give me offense, he's

very good still, but he's not the best in that department. But all-around player, yeah, 100%. Not the best still. What are you talking about? Gensel was about to get every fucking hat from every khaki in New York the other night. Why? Because he plays on Sid's line. Yeah, unless Bill Cowher's ringing the bell tonight. Hey, I can't believe that.

I am. All right, who's winning it all? I would like you to make a prediction right now. Who wins it all? I got Tampa right now. I mean, these things are ever-changing, man. Listen, I can't, man, and just to go off what we talked in the top, I picked the Rangers to win this round after game one.

I thought it was going to be a short series for the Rangers. After game one, the way the Penguins dominated periods two through the third overtime, I'm like, this is going to be a series, man. It's going to go a long time. I'm not there yet to say the Penguins are going to win, but it's a good series. Now, after game one, I picked Tampa.

Tampa looked like shit in game one. But they came back last night in a big way. So I think Tampa, Tampa looked like shit in game one. But they came back last night in a big way. So I think Tampa, three-piece, man. Three in a row. All right. Well, we appreciate you joining us. Thank you so much for all the great stories and insight.

But you need to stop with this anti-Penguin favoritism because you were a journalist who made a prediction of the Rangers and it wasn't working out that way. It is what it is. Reality is it depends. What if the Pens win? You're going to want me to pick Rangers every game the rest of the way, no? No, I don't

believe in it. I'm not a child. But you are putting that out in the universe that the Rangers are going to beat the Pens, so let's fucking stop that. Ladies and gentlemen, Stanley Cup champion, host of That's Hockey Talk and on NHL Network, Mike Rupp. Thank you, buddy. I love that, man. Yeah, he's the best. He's awesome. He's just a

hockey you. Now, hockey guys are the best. Hockey guys have the best stories. They're fun. Yeah, they're big booze bags too. Somehow, none of their stories ever get out. That's almost like they're so good at keeping bad stories out but they're also really good at keeping good stories out too you know the hockey

is really good at just letting any information out this is a lockdown situation no bad stories are getting out guess what no good stories getting out either ain't nobody gonna know about us except for the cities we're in that feels like that that may be changing. Let's go, hockey. I hope so, because every time you hear one of these stories, they are absolutely hilarious, and you're right. It's like, oh, okay, well,

I never knew this guy even existed, but here he is. Fucking how about him just face-washing Marty Brodeur? Unbelievable. Did you see AJ grind his teeth into dust when the rapper mentioned a mouthpiece? Yeah.

By the way, I was going to stop him talking. You need to in hockey. Hockey, you need not for concussions, just for the puck. You will lose some chokers. Oh, wow. You've already been presented with this case before. Yes. That was an answer quick.

It makes complete sense. You don't have a face mask on. Of course you should wear a mask. I agree, but you have thought about this before. You have given an answer. You have been tried by the hockey community in the mouth guard conversation, and you have said, no, no, it's for the puck. That was an incredible answer.

Yeah, quick. That was very good. Good job, AJ. Hey, did you know that Tampa Bay won the last two Stanley Cups? Yeah, they were cheating, too, with salary cap. And we were actually down there the last time they won it. Go Boats. Go Boats.

Go Boats. They are now, I believe, 15-0 after a loss. So pretty good gambling opportunity if they lose a game. They're big. They're fast. They're powerful. They've won before. It's like they're an easy team to pick, and the community is behind them.

Oh, yeah, big time. Down in Tampa, they do love the Lightning, we will say. Rupert described their goalie last night, Andre Vasilevsky, as basically Gronk in hockey pads playing goalie. He's like 6'6". Most goalies are built like Foxy and myself, kind of skinny stooges. Vasileski, they call him the big cat. He's a monster.

Big cat on the Lightning, not to be confused with the other cats, the Florida Panthers, the comeback cats. Big cats playing goalie for Tampa Bay, which is a Lightning, which is a Storm reference, which wasn't made there. No. But the comeback cats are the Florida Panthers. They can be down. They'll come back.

That is right. Many vastly different cats there. What's going on? He also said the Capitals goalie, not the one that started last game. You could find it any arena at any game, any night of the week. No, it was the one that started last game. Oh, the one that started last game, yeah. It's a bit of a shot.

And he won. So he said he's a bad goalie. Bad goalie. He was a bit of a shot. And he won. So he said he's a bad goalie. Bad goalie. He was referencing more so his gear. He doesn't have like, you know, goalies usually look pretty sharp. Yeah, it's a part of the costume. As a soccer goalie, same thing, right?

The costume's a big deal. This one necessarily does not give a fuck. He'll just wear whatever and do whatever. Kind of like that guy. Kind of like that guy. Kind of like that guy. All right, we got to get to a break. Nah, we might as well just run this out.

Three minutes. Yeah. Hey, the Florida Panthers GM's name I believe is Bill Zito. Any relation? Zito? Zito. No relations. Cleared that up. Thanks. Put it on the ticker. Let's go to the phones. Not like anybody knows Zito's name anyway.

True. That's why we're kind of excited to know if Z was the last name potentially. Let's go to the phones. Let's go to Aaron in Mississippi. M-I. S-S-I. S-S-I. P-P-I.

What's going on, Aaron? Hey, happy Cinco de Mayo, Panda Boy. Hey, happy Cinco de Mayo. A little tequila here, a little Cavasi. What? What? Ladies, man. Hey, we're the listener of the pod, and I just had a quick question for the boys.

It is Thursday, so I was wondering if y'all were going to attend the Titty Sucking Thursday event tonight. Jesus. Yeah, they're going. Aaron, great call. Great call. That was good. You guys heading to the Titty Sucking Thursday? What the hell is he talking about? It's Cinco de going. Aaron, great call. Great call. That was good. You guys heading to the Titty Sucking Thursday?

What the hell is he talking about? It's Cinco de Mayo. I didn't know. You guys heading to... The staple of Cinco de Mayo. The journey's in town. I've had Donner. What he was going to ask about was going to be a great conversation, too.

I'm happy we went to Titty Sucking Thursday. What was he going to ask about? Jerry Jones, I think. Oh. So, what he gave us, us like a minute and a half shot clock to talk about that. That would have been a perfect Is Jerry okay? He's alright. Listen, it feels like

he was about to be better than ever. Is that where Jerry was going? Feels like Jerry was better than ever and then ended up in a goddamn hospital. Unfortunately. Why is he driving? Yes. Why is Jerry driving? Good question. Why is Jerry driving?

He needs a limo. He should just take that bus everywhere he goes. Even if he's in the part of town that they're saying he was headed to. Right. Take the goddamn bus down there. Probably get a better deal. Yeah. Gotta do what you gotta do.

Couple more. Allegedly, Jerry was living is what the internet said, but the internet is going to let their jokes fly regardless. Jerry's okay, they said. And very alert. His draft card was deciphered by a internet sleuth, though. We'll continue that conversation on the other side of YouTube. Chris Maddog Russo is next. Cheers.

Nailed it. Nice. What's cool, huh? Fucking nailed it. Even like announced like a post show. You know what I mean? Like, hey, we have a post show. It's gonna happen. That's big time. Yeah, so the draft card that Jerry showed whenever he was questioned about his pick because he picked a guy from Tulsa and everybody had questions.

And he started saying, well, you want to see where we fucking had him? We had him. He did his whole thing. He held it up. And then Steven Jones goes, don't show him that. Jesus. And Mike McCarthy goes, oh. And that was kind of the entire interaction.

And we thought at first that it wasn't able to be picked up because of how far away the cameras were. And I think how startled everybody was that it was happening. And with the way, you know, cameras record things and how it's felt, whatever the case, people figured it out on the internet because of how long the names were, how long the schools were, how long, like every, all the information, the height and the variables were. They were able to figure it out. And both the top two on the Cowboys draft board were taken by that New York football giant. Thibodeau, Evan Neal, number one.

And two for the Dallas Cowboys. And they both end up at the New York Giants within a division. But I wonder how many others had the draft board the exact same way, and how many others in the future will give away their entire rating of the entire draft directly after the first round. That would be awesome if that would continue that way. Yeah, I don't think it's that big of a deal. Me neither.

I mean, who gives a shit? People are making it out to be a big deal. I think we even said, like, oh, this would be tough. This is a tough look to come back from kind of a logan roy move kind of logan roy move here you know kind of uh maybe is he um what a vote of confidence here if you're showing your entire draft card to the cameras or whatever but i don't think it's that big of a deal i don't think it's that big of a deal isn't it cares what they ranked all these players as now the player they took in the first round, they had him graded as a second-rounder, right?

Yeah. I'm sure, I mean, I don't know. They may have heard that over the course of his career. Do you think someone may have told him that? Hey, like, say he becomes an absolute monster. Like, hey, you know, we actually had you at a second-round grade. You know, the tackle at Tulsa might become a guy, and we're very, you know, hopeful of every guy becoming a guy.

But every passing day, it's feeling like Bill Belichick with Cole Strange. What? It's trending. The internet's questioning it. Doctor Strange is trending every day. What about it? Like conspiracy theories or just what?

It's normally one-on-ones from Senior Bowl. Yeah. Oh, I haven't seen any of that. Oh, somebody put together an entire cut-up. So there was like... This poor kid. Dude, this poor there was like – This poor kid. Dude, this poor kid. Yeah.

This poor kid with McVay and Steve and then, you know, Shanahan's even talking about it. Belichick's rambling about it. You know, he can go on to do whatever, but at the Senior Bowl, he had a couple rough one-on-ones, and they were all kind of put together in packages by the people that were beating this guy in one-on-ones because the teams around the defensive nose tackles and d tackles that were beating cole strange obviously they would all

like the world to see that their guy beat the hell out of bill belichick's guy at the senior bowl when they got an opportunity this might be a second round or a third round or a fourth rounder so they're leaking this onto the internet this footage and then somebody compiled all of them into one video and there is if you were to show everybody's low lights in one consecutive thing i think you would naturally feel bad about the person like clay thompson if you watch espn yesterday you think he couldn't shoot they showed all of his misses he was like this guy worst shooter on the planet that's what's happening with cole strange right now bad play after bad play after bad play after bad plays hitting the internet.

And it's because it's the other guys that had success against Bill Belichick's guys are very happy about it. Yeah, and because he's a Patriot definitely, I think, plays a factor in it too. But Bill's going to get his paws on him. He's going to figure it out. You know, he's going to be playing next to two unbelievable players. And let's keep in mind, this is a one-on-one. We're talking 11-on-11 football.

I don't care what happens on a 1v1 versus D-tackle. I care what happens on a 11-on-11 versus D-tackle. I understand that some drills aren't necessarily set up for everybody to have success, but one-on-ones have been happening for a long time. Long, long time. I thought the rest of their draft was questionable, too. Well, that's because I think— They're wrong.

I don't know if Bill has a scouting department. It's just whichever pro days he makes it to. He went to this one on the road. Before you run, are you going to be able to run? Okay. Yeah, I mean, that drill is not set up for the offense. Yeah, it's an outside run left. Yeah. I mean, why is he... He's not a tackle. Why is he blocking

attacks? Well, there's him in the middle. I mean, we don't know what that guy's jump is, either. Okay, there's... By the way, he got the jump. Yeah, he got pretty good. Good rep. All right, all right, all right. Enough. I feel bad for this. Oh, that guy's jump is either. Like, okay, there's – By the way, he got a good pass. Yeah, he got a pretty good pass. Good rep. Good rep. All right, all right, all right. Enough.

I feel bad for this guy. Oh, that one actually falls right on his face. That one that they're about to say. It's not good. There's some things that you think to yourself like, oh, this has to be wrong because Bill Belichick drafted this guy. But I feel like because Bill Belichick, greatest GM and greatest coach of all time, both same person. It's crazy. Greatest GM and greatest coach of all time, both same person.

It's crazy. Greatest GM, greatest coach of all time, same person. Every decision he makes, we just kind of write off as, yeah, whatever. But also, I think the Patriots fans' expectations of the draft is like, yeah, this is going to be an interesting ride. He had a dog making the picks last year. I mean, this whole thing is just like they just have utmost faith in blind loyalty, right, to the whole process?

I don't know if everyone does. I definitely do. But I think a lot of people in New England, every time this happens, it's almost cyclical every single year. Bill's an absolute madman. He's senile. Then we get to the season and everything that they were saying is wrong and those guys play well. Okay, he's good. Then the season ends.

Then we're going back into the draft. He's senile. He's making these ridiculous picks. His dog's picking. He doesn't know what he's doing. So I season ends, and then we're going back into the draft. He's a senile. He's making these ridiculous picks. His dog's picking. He doesn't know what he's doing. So I don't think everyone feels that way. But, like, that's why it doesn't make sense why these people do it every year because when the season starts and Cole Strange is playing very well.

Cole Strange is fullback. Yeah, he's playing fullback. Because they said he got rid of the fullback position, right? Maybe he did. Maybe it's just offensive linemen that can move because it looks like Strange is yoked up. What if he's running half back for them or whatever and that's what he's thinking about. What is up, Zito? Do you think Bill

put this out himself so when he becomes a very, very good player, he's like, I told you guys. This is like the doctor that did Carson Wentz's foot surgery that said his expected comeback time, 19-20 weeks came back in three. Pretty good. Expectations much lower. You exceed them, you're a stud.

Good coaching. Connor can correct me if I'm wrong. I think the possession of Bill is he's a great GM in the sense of free agency and roster manipulation. I don't think he drafts that well. Is it because he doesn't have enough time? It's not even that he doesn't draft well. He gets good picks, but his top picks are the ones

that never do what they're supposed to do like his first round picks aren't good that's why the joke is always like you guys are always around 32 though yeah always later in the draft but then the other thing is like oh well he loves his fifth and sixth round picks because he always finds like a gem in those later rounds but bill polly and same thing by the way bill playing hit on first rounders obviously when you look at reggie edge payton and many others that he's drafted first round but that fourth fifth six i wonder what it is about some people being able to have success there or is it all just luck yeah i wonder if it all is just luck too i'm not not a little bit that they don't have any skill or talent or anything but if a guy's going to be good or not, I think that's so hard to predict.

And it's very rare that Bill pays his first-round picks. Like Chandler Jones was one of the better first-round picks he's had in the last eight years or so. There was no chance he was going to pay him what he was worth when it comes around because in his mind, well, I'll find a guy in the fourth round or, like Nick said, I'll get a guy in free agency who's probably half the price. Is that going to continue to work in the modern NFL?

I don't know. We'll talk more about it tomorrow, won't we? Yes, we will. Bill Belichick will. Yes, we will. I trust the fucking guy. Yeah, everybody does. A lot of stuff I've seen on the internet, at least about this Baylor wide receiver

they took in the second round, was the quarterbacks at Baylor just couldn't hit him, which I feel good about, at least. Hey, just real quick. You guys going to taste sucking Thursday or not? If someone lets me know where it fucking is, I will. Not tonight. It's Thursday. Where is that?

I don't know. You tell me. I think. I don't know if you guys are going to make it. I don't think so. I don't know what that would go like. Or go to Kenny Chesney. You know what it goes like. don't think so. I don't know what that would go like. Or go to Kennechester. You know what it goes like.

It's in the name. Don't take that lightsaber over there. I think it's a bunch of cows lined up. Yeah. Oh, that'd be awesome. You guys just go down there. Suck whatever udder you want. Free milk.

Titty Suck on Thursday. I mean, in Waterloo, for sure. Yeah, free. Definitely. Easy, dude. Yeah, but they kill the cows in front of you. Let's go to the phones. On the 5RNG phone line.

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Use promo code MACFEE to receive 10% off your order. Let's go to Zeke in Columbia. Is that the country, the city? What's going on, Zeke? Zeke, where's Elias? Hey, what's going on? Hey, Zeke, what's going on? Are you Elias' younger brother. Hey, what's going on? Hey, Zeke, what's going on? Are you Elias' younger brother?

No, no. I'm just some guy in Missouri. You know what it is. Columbia, Missouri. Hey, my birthday is today, so my gift to myself was to sit on the line all day, and I'm glad I did. Hey, happy birthday!

Happy birthday, Zeke! Hey, baby Zeke, another year, man. Happy birthday, dude. Happy for you, dude. Hey, baby, Zeke. Another year, man. Happy birthday, dude. Happy for you, dude. Thanks, Patty. Hey, first, I want to talk about the NIL deal. But first, I usually ride with Tone, Steelers fan. But fuck Kenny Pickett.

Don't care about it. Tired of the bullshit. Wow. Whoa. Zeke, bringing a little negativity out there. Holy shit. I know what that means, though. Yeah, I don't know.

We haven't seen Kenny Pickett attempt in the NFL yet. He's a Mitch guy, I guess. I saw Julian Edelman laugh at him. He was messed up. That was awesome. Did you see that, AJ? No, what happened? He was on the Greenlight Pod.

I think it was the live draft. And he cracked a great show, Good Delivery. Pissed off a lot of people in Pittsburgh. He said, if I'm showing up to a throwing session or whatever and my quarterback's got gloves and long sleeves on, I'm saying, where's the next quarterback? Or something along those lines. Hilarious.

It was awesome. I enjoyed that he said it. He pissed off a lot of people, though, in Pittsburgh. He didn't make it as a fucking quarterback. All right. I'm sure he showed up again. Tom looked over and saw a 5'3 white guy. He said, get him out of here.

All right. So, listen. That's what I'm talking about. That's what Bob looked over and saw a 5'3 white guy. He said, get him out of here. All right, so listen. That's what I'm talking about. That's what happened. I didn't say it. I'm a fan of Jules. Me too. Me as well. Big fan.

Got a chance to hang out with him. The thought, though, that Kenny Pickett could be incredible in the NFL is real. Yeah. The thought that Kenny Pickett could be terrible in the NFL also could be a real thing that's right excited to watch it got the moxie feels like he's got the moxie he's been in the building Mike Tomlin was on with Rich Eisen chatted about how you know they've seen him mature and develop in that building as a leader and what they're expecting and they know that what they're going to get I mean it is that team needs a quarterback obviously obviously. Cut Mason. All right. Well, see. He's a good player,

Nick. Yesterday. Cut him. He's a good player. Let's go to Andy in Texas. Poison in the water hole. What? No boxy. Can't have a beer with the guy. Can't do it. Whoa. Why not? Why can't have a beer with him? That's what I've heard. No boxy. Have you seen him? I mean, it doesn't seem like a guy you have a beer with. Why? He crushes interviews.

Yeah, you can. I think. I can't picture his face without that dumb look on it after he got the helmet bonked off it. And that's just a guy who's impartial. You know? I see that every fucking time I look at his mug. Ty. It's true. Him on Rome, he was unbelievable on that one.

That surely didn't help. Yeah. Romeo is like, oh, shit. Did he say bonked? Yeah, yep. After he got bonked. That's a great way to describe it. Yep.

It's like that whack-a-mole. Yeah, it really was. Anyways, Mason, you know, has not won over a lot of people in Pittsburgh. I don't think that's what you're hearing here. Obviously, the opinions of the others here and the John Deere and the Enzers do not reflect that of their employer. They're not going to keep three quarterbacks, though. They might.

You never know. Wait, what? They might. They normally do. Yeah, I mean, then one's going to not – Mason's just going to be there and not dress? Correct. Yeah, that's why. There's no reason for him.

Get lunch and stuff. No. They did draft another quarterback, too. Mason's got to be great in the film room. Yeah, he is a film room dog. He's got to be. Got to be. Why else would they keep him around? Why else would they like him? Yeah, keep him in there. Like Tomlin and Colbert have stuck by

him, I think, pretty good, right? Well, yeah, because they took a second round pick on him. Oh, so you think it's just them being stubborn at this point? And since Colbert's gone now and they're doing a second round of the next GM's going to be like, okay, well, it's no longer your fault anymore. Get the fuck out of here.

It does feel like Mason's destined for Detroit in some aspect. Let's go! Detroit's turning around. We still got Drew Blau back there and TB12 at the backup. Hey, Drew Blau was a Thanksgiving sensation. He was. He was slinging it.

Alright, let's get to a break. 21 hours or so. Hammer. Done. We'll be in 15, 20 minutes. Can't thank you all enough. I think we're going to Germany. Hell yeah.

When is that game? November 13th. Sweet. Who's playing? Tampa and Seattle. Seattle. Oh, good game, too. Great game.

I think we're going to try to go. We have to. Have to. I've never been to Germany. Come on. You won't come, AJ.'ve never been to Germany. You won't come. Are you able? Are we going to actually set it up? I would assume since this is international, it's one of the things we're actually playing.

What's your fucking deal? Just like the draft. Check the date. Huh? Talk. Absolutely. I would love to go. Okay, cool. We're going to try to set this up and make this a full thing. Yes. Everything I talked about the NFL should be doing yesterday, I think we should love to go. Okay, cool. We're going to try to set this up and make this a full thing. Yes. Everything I talked about the NFL should be doing yesterday, I think we should try to do whenever we go over there.

We're very lucky to be a part of this NFL steward community. That's right. And the analytics tell us that a lot of people watch in Germany and in surrounding areas over there in Europe. So it's like we should at least go over there, especially with Bjorn Werner being there, you know, and like a little bit of – I got some family.

A lot of my family came from there. I want to go. Hawk. Yeah, you can go stop by your place. I don't know how long we're going to be there. I don't know if this is going to be a tourist thing. I don't know, AJ. I don't know if it's going to be that.

I don't – I'm not into the tourist thing. You know, great city though. I've been there before. I'd like to rent a little Vespa, though, and cruise around. Okay, yeah. Small roads. Small roads, be able to bounce around. Should be good.

Should we go for like a week, though? Since we're, I mean, you might as well. Oh, just might as well do like a radio road trip. Yeah, might as well just do. We're going to fly eight hours. Bayern Munich. See the lads. Might as well do like a Monday to Monday.

Do they play then? Will they be playing then? Oh, yeah. Could go to a Champions League game. We could go to a soccer game, really? We should do that. I've never been. I would like to go to one.

PMS, German vacation. Bring the Vuvuzelas. Vuvuzelas. Guten Tag. Whatever it is, I still don't know how to do one of those. I know they're very loud. I have no idea how to do it, though. Oh, you've tried? I've never had one. I grew up in a soccer community. I of those. I know they're very loud. I have no idea how to do it, though. Oh, you've tried?

I've never had one. I grew up in the soccer community. I mean, there was Vuvuzelas everywhere. Yeah, those are good. Isn't that World Cup time? Those guys aren't going to be playing. Oh, it is. Oh, yeah.

Oh, yeah, they ain't going to be jack shit over there. Actually, we're going to beat a lot of the United States. Let's go to Qatar. Well, the NFL is not going there. If the NFL plays a game there, we'll think for sure. World Cup, though, right? Yeah, but that's not really our thing. All right.

Yeah, it's football. I'm a little disappointed. I want to see what that outdoor air conditioning's like. I think we should be the authority on the soccer, but for some reason it just hasn't caught on. We haven't become the authority on the soccer. I'm trying. Once it happens, we'll go to the World Cup.

Maybe the next one. Yeah, in the United States. Yeah, maybe we'll go to the next one. Yeah, we'll certainly go. We'll travel to the next one. Why not? States. Maybe we'll go to the next one. We'll travel to the next one. Look at us, dude. That's the goal. That's the goal for 2026. For us to be the authority on the soccer.

We'll get there. If we go Saturday to Monday too in Munich, we could watch the entire Sunday slate. You're going to stay a week after the game? No. No, no, no, no, no. No, no. We've got to figure this out.

We have to do this, though. It feels like we should do it. Yes. Let's live. Dunkle. Let's live. Let's live. Here we go.

Experience a lot. Go to Doc. It's got to be a soccer game close. Dude, literally, the square there, I was in Munich. The Hofbrauhaus. Hofbrauhaus is there, the original. and then there's like a bunch of bars it's like a square area with uh good food and then right up the road is where uh bayern munchen player or whatever it's like and that's where the game's at right distance yeah yeah i think so oh that'd be incredible gotta do it all right sweet let's go

plan that let's go all right somebody go plan that. Let's go. All right, somebody go plan that. Let's figure out how we're going to do that. We should do that. Call a travel agent. All right. I don't know if those jobs even exist anymore. Oh, really? Yeah, especially with the whole thing.

Shit. Yeah. You're going to call somebody. Hey, can you make me a flight? Hey, well, I'm not going to do that. No. If it involves your travel or your stay, you should be involved. Because whoever's scheduling it for you does not have to go through

whatever you're going to have to go through. That is just a little lesson I've learned through my travels. And I understand it might be a little bit more. But we will definitely have hands-on conversations about the flight, for sure. Yeah.

Hands-on conversations. And where we're staying. And you've already been there, too. So we have a little bit of experience. I mean, listen. Do not bank on my knowledge of that. It was a little gray over there. It was a good time, though. I know the people will be very

nice, and obviously it'll be an NFL celebration. That's cool. Alright, so let's get to playing in that. Let's enjoy that. The NFL season is 125 days away from today. And we'll cover it every Monday through Friday. Up until then, hopefully some more shit happens. We can't thank you enough for joining us. Shout out to JJ Redick, Ross Dellinger, and The Ruppers for joining us. AJ Hawk, you're fantastic. Hopefully some more shit happens. We can't thank you enough for joining us. Shout out to JJ Redick, Ross Dellinger

and The Ruppers for joining us. AJ Hawk, you're fantastic. Boys, great job today. Thank you to all the callers. We'll see you tomorrow. Goodbye. Hammer Don is in about 20 minutes at youtube.com forward slash hammer. See you then. Bye. Thank you. សូវាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្វាប់បានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបាូវាប់ពីបានប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្� Thank you. សូវាប់ពីបានប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់� Субтитры подогнал «Симон»