The Ryen Russillo Podcast - Troy Aikman Talks Super Bowl LIX, Whether Mahomes Has a Weakness, and Brady Calling the Game. Plus, Recapping all the Major NBA Trade Deadline Moves.

Episode Date: February 7, 2025

Russillo starts the show by recapping the NBA trade deadline and sharing his thoughts on the biggest moves (0:45) before selecting which new duo is the most exciting (17:47). Then, he’s joined by Tr...oy Aikman to preview Super Bowl LIX, share strengths and weaknesses for both quarterbacks, and give his opinion on Tom Brady calling games while being a part-owner of the Raiders (20:45). Next, Ryen reveals his picks for the game and shares his favorite bets (52:34) before Ceruti and Kyle join for Life Advice (57:41)! Is it OK to ask a celebrity for a picture in public? Check us out on YouTube for exclusive clips, livestreams, and more at https://www.youtube.com/@RyenRussilloPodcast. The Ringer is committed to responsible gaming. Please visit www.rg-help.com to learn more about the resources and helplines available. Host: Ryen Russillo Guest: Troy Aikman Producers: Steve Ceruti, Kyle Crichton, and Mike Wargon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript
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Starting point is 00:00:00 Get ready for the Super Bowl with Troy Aikman. We're going to talk about is there anything that actually makes Patrick Mahomes uncomfortable? That the eagle side of things as you would expect for the Super Bowl. Some other cool stuff on just Troy doing his job, talking about somebody else. NBA trade deadline. I did not do anything on Thursday, so here you go. Jimmy Butler to the Warriors, the Butler Dilemma, the Kate Deet Dilemma that's lingering, Mark Williams, Deandre Hunter, a couple of the other big moves.
Starting point is 00:00:39 And I spent the day at a museum and we've got Life Advice. And I spent the day at a museum and we've got Life Advice. What's behind the Blue Cow Quality Milk logo? Proud Canadian dairy farmers. Is Canadian milk produced to high standards? You bet. And farmers who care for their cows? Always. And what about sustainable farming practices? It's our commitment. We're behind the Blue Cow logo and that's what the logo certifies.
Starting point is 00:01:08 Dairy Farmers of Canada. We're going to do a lot of stuff today, but since I had like the normal week this week, even with the trade deadline yesterday, I just want to start with the trade deadline stuff because we still had some news and some overall thoughts here. The funny thing is being down in New Orleans and leading up to the Superbowl, how many nights everybody is talking about the Super deadline yesterday. I just want to start with the trade deadline stuff because we still had some news and some overall thoughts here. The funny thing is being down in New Orleans and leading up to the Superbowl,
Starting point is 00:01:28 how many nights everybody is still talking about. Luka again, I've never experienced anything like this. The Superbowl, maybe it's with the chief's Eagles, people are just waiting for the game. Um, not that this is the best polling of this is what I heard, but every single person I've run into wants to talk about the
Starting point is 00:01:44 Luka Donch's trade. And there's some other pieces, into wants to talk about the Lugadoncha's trade. And there's some other pieces, but let's talk about the news. Jimmy Butler to Golden State. So I always talk about waiting for perfect and how it's probably not the best plan, especially in basketball, when you see these trades and then the trade gets done and you go, well, does it make them a championship contender? And the first thing I would usually ask after that question is, was there a deal the team turned down that was going to make him a championship contender?
Starting point is 00:02:11 And I think the Jimmy Butler acquisition for Golden State is a perfect example of that. Now, granted, maybe there was a better deal out there. I would have rather had Durant with Golden State. There's a Durant part of this conversation that's definitely interesting. And not do the legacy updates here, but, you know, with the rant, a player, I've really liked a personality that I think when he lets it shine through, it feels very authentic in comparison to other high profile athletes. But I was wondering like, when's Durant happy? Where has he been happy?
Starting point is 00:02:38 Maybe in the beginning of the OKC years, certainly not at the end. Golden state, a couple of rings, couldn't wait to get out of there. Goes to Brooklyn, thinks it's going to be happy with Kyrie. Maybe in the beginning of the okay. See years, certainly not at the end. Golden state, a couple of rings. Couldn't wait to get out of there. Goes to Brooklyn, thinks it's going to be happy with Kyrie. That ends pretty quickly. Has a four year extension. Asked for the front office of coaching staff to be fired before the summer. They don't do that.
Starting point is 00:02:56 He comes back and plays. He wants out, goes to Phoenix and here we are all over again. But so unhappy with his golden state experience that he actually didn't want to leave Phoenix. Now I was thinking about Kyrie a little bit because he also has a few, I'm not happy hits on his resume. And you know, when I started thinking about the two players, I was like, is there a possibility that Kyrie's had more, I'm happy basketball
Starting point is 00:03:18 moments than even Durant has had? Which is something that I don't know that anybody would have really been able to argue, but there's also a fact that we're probably going to go through this with the rant again at some point, cause it's not solved. But Golden state had a trade for Kevin Durant and Durant didn't want to go. So then you move on to Jimmy Butler.
Starting point is 00:03:37 I feel like Durant's the better fit basketball wise with Golden state because we've already seen him do it. But at the same time, when I watch Golden State now, and I think about their design of what they're trying to do offensively with really only Steph being a guy you can rely on every single night, I have to admit that that Golden State perfection with everybody moving, everybody being complimentary, not having ball stoppers, it doesn't really exist anymore.
Starting point is 00:04:02 I mean, it does with Steph because he's constantly moving off the ball. It's what makes him so great. But this free flowing thing with him and clay flying off the screens, re-screening for each other, and then having all the shooting all over the place and why Durant was such a great fit for them is that he doesn't necessarily stop the basketball the way a Jimmy Butler would. I'm like, is that really what Durant still is? Is that what Golden State is anymore? And I think the answer is no.
Starting point is 00:04:25 I mean, Durant is still terrific. He's an all NBA caliber player. People voted him as an all star starter. He still puts up massive numbers, but I feel like there are moments with him, with Phoenix, where it's just kind of waiting around to see like what shot is available for him, um, in a, in a way that just doesn't feel as. Now granted he's older, so it's not peak to ramp, but I think you understand what I'm saying. Like moments where he's floating a little bit more
Starting point is 00:04:49 as Booker is trying to figure out how to break down whatever defense they're throwing at. I just think there's a lot of Booker conversation about like, is it that he's declining or is being tasked with, with trying to like solve everything that's happening to Phoenix and then Durant can kind of be off to the side waiting for some sort of release and he's such a great shooter. It doesn't mean you have to run a play for the guy.
Starting point is 00:05:14 So when I started thinking about like Durant's fit with Golden State now, I'm like, you might be talking about ancient history for both the player and the team's concept. So it may be irrelevant that Jimmy Butler is more of a ball-stopping attacking player. Gets it out 15, 17 feet, he's on the wing, he's kind of thinking about what he wants to do. Does that slow them down? I think it's one of the reasons why when Paul George
Starting point is 00:05:35 was available there during peak Golden State years, it was like, is he actually as good of a fit with what they want to do? Well, now it doesn't really matter because I think Butler is a bit more of a ball stopper. But you know what Butler is at his best, a much better second offensive option, a second offensive creator beyond what they've had all season long.
Starting point is 00:05:55 So when you look at Butler's ordeal throughout all of this, the Butler saga here from Miami until now, it's also a good reminder of like what you are willing to do. And I think that applies to kind of everybody. Because you can talk yourself into what you think you're going to do, right? Convince yourself that this is all I'm doing. It's like, you sure about that? And maybe it's more about convincing everybody else to believe that the only
Starting point is 00:06:22 thing you're willing to do is to go to Phoenix. Winnhorst had an awesome report where he said, quote, it was basically, you know, I'm just kind of using the word, the word was admirable. He's like, this is almost admirable what Jimmy Butler is doing, turning down trade scenarios to other teams saying, if you trade for me, I am not going to sign a contract extension because he wanted Phoenix so badly.
Starting point is 00:06:41 But then like almost everybody, you're faced with your options. You're not going to sign a contract extension because he wanted Phoenix so badly. But then, like almost everybody, you're faced with your options and you can be convinced that you would only do one thing, in this case, Butler and Phoenix. And yet when it comes down to it, you're like, or I'll just do this. Because Butler had two options, stay with Miami, continue to be suspended, stay with Miami, continue to be suspended, lose money. He could opt out of the $50 million player option this summer, be a free agent. When you're in your mid thirties and your like abilities and at all time low and be like, who wants to sign me as a free agent? Or you also could have opted in too, if you wanted to try to make it even worse.
Starting point is 00:07:20 Um, or you accept the trade to Golden State where he did opt out of the player option, but he gets a two year extension at $112.5 million. So facing those scenarios, I'm like, Hey, Jimmy, you're not going to get Phoenix, but here's what's on the table. Like, or you can stay in Miami and keep losing money with no clear future. Yeah. You know what? I think I will go to Golden State. I. You know what? I think I will go to golden state.
Starting point is 00:07:46 I, you know what? I've changed my mind. Golden state. I'd probably rather they didn't do this. They didn't give up much. It's probably smart to get the first round pick that they're giving up here. Top 10 protected in 25, just to get that draft debt out of the way now. You know, it's not like, I mean, they're going to have the 11th pick with Butler.
Starting point is 00:08:10 If things kind of work out, nobody's picking them for a title. Uh, I think that'd be a little ridiculous, but if you think about what's going out versus what's coming in, you know, just the asset part of this, it, it makes a lot of sense. And Miami zebras have salvaged something from this and get a first. Uh, the market's not going to be very good when you're trading a player that's disgruntled everywhere he's gone is older, doesn't play a lot. And I was also telling all of these teams, I don't want to go there. Like it's, it's tough to sign off on that, to be the general manager
Starting point is 00:08:44 and go to your owner and say, no, no, no, this will be a good idea. So I think it's a good idea for now because it makes Golden State better. And again, it was probably the only real option, especially once Durant says, I don't want to come back. But I am a little worried about like say 26, 27. Butler has a year left on his deal, whether it's that summer, whether it's going into that trade deadline. Steph will be, depending on when it happens, he turns 37 in March. So say 37, 38 Golden State can't figure out the other pieces around it. It could get really ugly.
Starting point is 00:09:15 And even though you think it's a win for Golden State and Steph today, it could be a really ugly stretch if Butler turns back into Butler and you're like, now Steph is dealing with this towards the very end of his career. today, it could be a really ugly stretch if Butler turns back in a Butler and you're like, now Steph is dealing with this towards the very end of his career or he's still a very viable basketball player. So that scares me a little bit. The history of Jimmy and the math on the numbers would scare the shit out of me. The Phoenix part. Let's go. Like I understand once they did the Beale deal, really once they did the Durant deal, they were all in. So every move since then is we're already all in, like we can't, we can't start
Starting point is 00:09:54 going the other way on all this stuff. Booker was never available. I think it's kind of funny just the scenario of Beale being like, what are you guys doing? You're making phone calls? Oh really? You guys exploring trades? Yeah.
Starting point is 00:10:06 Actually, I don't want to go anywhere. Just like I was content to be in Washington the entire time. Like you think this is bad. You're going to take me off the bench. I hung with the wizards for like a decade, man, to get that five year extension. I'm good. I can just hang here the entire time. But the fear and the entire reason why Durant was even available in all this
Starting point is 00:10:27 stuff is because Phoenix is so all in and they're worried about Durant on an expiring contract next year, the Durant rumblings go back to last summer where you were hearing he wanted to go to Houston. So this stuff is going to start all over again. And they're thinking like, well, if we give Jimmy the extension, is that more certainty than an expiring Kevin Durant? You imagine having that conversation with ownership. That can't be a lot of fun.
Starting point is 00:10:49 But I doubt next year will be a year free of any of the Durant speculation. A couple other trades that I want to touch on. I love the Deandre Hunter deal for Cleveland. Asset wise, it's not a ton that they're giving up. Laverte, which I think they had no issue moving on from. Niang, who is a really serviceable role guy that plays on winning teams. The three seconds and then a swap,
Starting point is 00:11:13 the swap's not gonna happen this year. I don't know if it happens in 28. The key here is the money that Hunter's owed. He's 21 million this year, then 23, then 25 million. The funny thing for Hunter when that deal was done, because I've always kind of liked Hunter going back to the draft, the size, the shooting. I think he's a little bit better on the dribble than we can see, but when you're playing with Trey, you're just stuck in the corner.
Starting point is 00:11:33 When you're playing with Dejante and Trey, you're definitely stuck in the corner. But that's a funny contract in that it went from that's terrible to, hey, that's a pretty good number for a guy that's been as productive as him. Now there's a tax question there with Cleveland long-term. We're going into next year. I think they're going to have 10 players under contract. Um, and they're going to be 20 million projection right now over the tax for the 25, 26 season. But if you're in that win now window, which Cleveland is, it's a credit to the ownership.
Starting point is 00:12:05 Like, Hey, we'll worry about the rest of that stuff later. They have the other extensions that they have to start worrying about. But when you watch Cleveland play Boston, and it's not just because Boston won the other night against them, look at the defensive matchups. They desperately needed some kind of wing option that they felt good about. So if you look at the start of the game and then how it plays out throughout it, like Tatum has Mobley on him, which at times you feel like Mobley is as good as he is defensively, is that a waste of his abilities? Then you got to think about the assignments and how they changed when
Starting point is 00:12:35 Allen and Mobley are split up. Strews is on Jaylen Brown. Garland is on Derek White. Mitchell is on Drew. And then you put Allen on Przingingas for the Celtics, normal starting five. But there are minutes as the rotations, you know, sub in and sub out where you'll see streus on tape. So like they feel like streus is their best wing option and streus may be
Starting point is 00:12:57 their best spacing option, depending on how a playoff game is playing out. But the fact that they have Hunter. The streus I think flies off the screens a little bit more, maybe a little quicker on the catch and shoot and getting into his three. So Hunter's three point shooting numbers are really good, but Hunter at least, you know, look, I'm not telling you he's Lou Dort here,
Starting point is 00:13:18 but it's just a far better wing option. If Cleveland is facing Boston in the playoffs, and I think that's the biggest motivation behind all of this stuff. Kevin Pelton at ESPN had a really good number too, when you look at the efficiency and the true shooting improvement for Hunter, it's really not so much about just becoming a better shooter, it's becoming a better decision maker on which shots he wants to take.
Starting point is 00:13:38 Here's the number, two pointers outside of the paint, 22, 23. He took 212. He took 286 threes this season. Two pointers outside of the paint. 101 going into this week at threes, 247. So that's why the true shooting percentage is up. And that's why you've seen a big improvement for him. And even with that's the kind of transaction where I think a lot of
Starting point is 00:14:01 owners go like, yeah, I know we need it. And I know we're in our window, but man, we can have that tax bill. We're still going to have other roster spots. Credit Cleveland. We're just saying, screw it. Time is right now. The Mark Williams deal. Uh, I cannot believe that Charlotte got the swap in Dallas.
Starting point is 00:14:21 I know the swap is probably not going to relate to Charlotte. It's almost like impossible that it'll actually happen. Um, I know when Horst had reported that the Lakers went to Dallas and said, if you want the other first, like we have to talk to Luca about a possible extension. Dallas again, secrecy being the priority, not maximizing value for the most unlikely trade in NBA history. Like now we just need to keep it. We don't need as much. We just want it to be a secret. maximizing value for the most unlikely trade in NBA history. Like, no, we just need to keep it.
Starting point is 00:14:47 We don't need as much. We just want it to be a secret. I also think it's funny too, and they keep talking about the Kyrie timeline. It's like, well, if Ant were available, is he too young to play with Kyrie? Like, yeah, he's too young. You need somebody north of 30 because Kyrie, like that's how you have to do it. All right. I could still talk about the Luka trade all day. Um, so it's obviously a need because the
Starting point is 00:15:07 Lakers are rolling out a team with Jackson Hayes is starting center and that's just not gonna work for anybody. Even playing teams like we can't upgrade this a little bit. So I like Mark Williams a lot at Duke. I loved how active he was his athleticism. It's probably not entirely fair to look at him right now and say this is the finished product because the guy has missed 105 of 211 career games. He is a really good lob threat, which is exactly what Luca needs. It's why Gafferts field goal percentage and the lively stuff, you know, a lot,
Starting point is 00:15:35 there's more to lively and there's, I've always kind of liked Gafferts, but. You know, trying to defend Luca on those lobs with his size, like good luck. So that makes sense. But the Williams defensive numbers are alarmingly bad. Like at the rim, he's allowing 68% field goal percentage conversion. AD was like 58%. There's numbers that tell you Williams is really low. I think the biggest thing in watching Williams, and I don't know if it's just
Starting point is 00:16:00 a big guy with the health issues and he'll be fine and he'll figure it out. And he'll get back to being what we thought at Duke, this active defensive player. But he, uh, he just doesn't want to move a lot on defense. That's the alarming part. Maybe that's the best part is that it's totally fixable. It's not his instincts. It's not the health thing. It's just, Hey, I'm in Charlotte and I'm just getting back here.
Starting point is 00:16:23 But there's a lot of stuff with him where you just think he's not all that interested in being positioned. So maybe with LA, maybe with guys like LeBron, not that he's going to like, Hey, Luke has been my defensive mentor, but you get the point. The stakes are raised. More eyes are on you. You're worried about that next contract. A team is invested in you here.
Starting point is 00:16:43 They've invested Dalton connect who we can talk about as defense, but even though he's 38 as a rookie, Connect was an incredibly efficient shooter and also like more than just a shooter. So these are like real assets they're moving out for somebody they hope fix their center problems, which are evident, but that defense has to improve dramatically.
Starting point is 00:17:03 The lobs are cool. The defense is probably more important. Super Bowl 59 is your chance to hit the jackpot on FanDuel America's number one sportsbook. Because with FanDuel's $5 million touchdown jackpot, you can win a share of $5 million in bonus bets. All you have to do is place an anytime touchdown score bet before the game kicks off. And if your player scores the first or last touchdown,
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Starting point is 00:18:33 Earn points for paying your credit card bill in full and on time every month. Level up from bill payer to reward slayer. Terms and conditions apply. And now it's time for a new segment, new connections, where we're going to talk about new teammates after the NBA trade deadline brought to you by AT&T, the new AT&T guarantee connectivity you can depend on deals you want and service you deserve, or they'll make it right. I can't wait to see Luke and LeBron play together at this point.
Starting point is 00:19:03 And I've mentioned this in the past, but whenever there was speculation about like who the next guy LeBron could play with, and by the way, some of this negativity about LeBron, like look at all of his teammates, he's played 20 years. Guess what? He's had a lot of teammates. Some of them are awesome. And he's also changed teams in a way that modern stars it's the new normal, but it wasn't normal for decades and decades. So I don't know that there's really any way to compare the two.
Starting point is 00:19:29 It's kind of like when Kawhi potentially win another ring with the Clippers, like he could be the first guy to be the main guy to win three championships with three different teams. No one's ever done that before. It'd be like, also people didn't do this in the past, but back to the headline of Luca and LeBron. As we speculated about different pieces that could go next to LeBron, I never wanted to be somebody that was so ball dominant that it took away from the
Starting point is 00:19:50 brilliance of LeBron having the basketball on his hands. I think we've even seen this year in a way that we just don't ever expect at 40 years old that the Lakers best options are still when he's initiating the offense, but I think it's very clear to ask him to do that over the course of a full season and then into the playoff matchups. It's a lot to ask of him at this point. I don't know that I'd ever discredit LeBron and call it the Karl Malone phase of his career because Karl Malone ran down, stood there and had the top assist guy for his entire career and John Stockton throw him the ball as the first option for like a really long time. LeBron moves more than that.
Starting point is 00:20:26 He is more active than that. But Luca being there is actually the right time of his career to make LeBron's life easier because Luca can handle every single possession. I think some of the Luca Kairi stuff where they took turns, it was good enough in a turn way that it led to wins playing in the NBA finals or other teams where I think, I think they're top two guys. You're like, ah, they just taking turns or they playing basketball or whatever it was with Dallas at work last year.
Starting point is 00:20:54 And this is going to be something. Despite kind of handing the baton as the face of the franchise, the Lakers, which I don't know about any all time superstars in a hurry to do. I think at least from a basketball standpoint here with LeBron and Luca, it makes a lot of sense. So yeah, there'll be some overlap. Yeah, there'll be some uncomfortable stuff, but both players are so brilliant and such brilliant passers.
Starting point is 00:21:15 Uh, I don't know how good the team is going to be, but that fit together. This is the perfect time for some people of LeBron to take on a talent like Luca. That was new connections brought to you by AT&T and the new AT&T guarantee connectivity. You can depend on deals you want and service you deserve, or they'll make it right. Visit att.com slash guarantee to learn more AT&T connecting changes everything. This is cool. We've done this in the past.
Starting point is 00:21:42 It's always a great visit when we get Troy Aikman, Super Bowl winner, and of course with ESPN and eight beer. I wanted some updates on that. He's rocking the hat today. Good to see you, man. Can't wait for you to get here. I'll be leaving. What's that?
Starting point is 00:21:57 I'll be leaving. I don't think I've ever stayed. I think Saturday's like my limit, although it's fine. You know, you get older and you kind of know the moves. Yeah, I don't, uh, I don't, unless I'm calling the game, of course, but I don't, I don't stay for the game either. I'll pop in and pop out. I was thinking about this.
Starting point is 00:22:14 Um, I maybe I'll start here with it. It's kind of reversible. My original plan was, but the NFL honors thing was last night. I have a lot of friends that either, whether they played or work in NFL media or whatever. It's just a huge, huge, you know, it's like the Oscars for the fleek. And you can get kind of day to day when you're playing, right? And thinking about the imports, like the short term stuff of it. But then when I see like the players that win and it's kind of like a celebration or a reminder of how special their career was.
Starting point is 00:22:44 And then I think of like these great players that never and it's kind of like a celebration or a reminder of how special their career was. And then I think like these great players that never had that chance and they're still in a suit there with their wives. Did you ever even like, when you would go to those things, would it ever even dawn on you like, man, this would have sucked to never win one of these things? Uh, not, not at one of those events, but you know, I've thought often that usually it's around this time of
Starting point is 00:23:07 year when the Super Bowl is about to happen that I obviously I feel fortunate, feel blessed to have won a Super Bowl and then win multiple ones. But I feel bad for the guys. The guy who comes to mind is Dan Marino But there's there's others that mean that have that have contributed a ton to the history of the NFL And although Dan played in a Super Bowl, he he didn't win one. So he didn't get to walk off the field and really Feel what it what it meant to be a champion, you know. And there's a lot of others that, you know, obviously aren't as well known as Dan Marino,
Starting point is 00:23:51 but have given a lot to the NFL that haven't experienced that or haven't even gotten to the Super Bowl. And for those players, I hate that. Every team, when you start up in the OTAs and the offseason, you go through training camp, you go through the regular season, it's all for one thing and that's to play in this game and then win this game. And if you're the one who doesn't win, you know, there's no solace in that and it's a big letdown. So one of these teams, regardless of how great their year has been and they've both
Starting point is 00:24:24 been great seasons, to have gotten this far, someone's going to walk away from this game being very disappointed. And I don't want to say we'll feel that the season was a failure, but they'll feel that they didn't quite live up to what their expectations were. So the pageantry and the excitement around this game has only grown over the years.
Starting point is 00:24:45 When you go back to Super Bowl I and II in the early years, and heck, probably even the years when I was playing, and you look at how far it's come and where we are today, it's become quite a spectacle. And I am all in favor of making Monday after the Super Bowl a national holiday. Yeah, no, I don't. I'm not against it.
Starting point is 00:25:06 I mean, who knows? There's a lot of stuff flying around with bills being proposed. So maybe now is the time. Uh, let's, uh, let's talk about the game. Who are you picking? Uh, you know, um, I, if I had to pick, which I typically don't, I would, I would go with Kansas city just because of what, what they've accomplished up to this point, but also the year that they've had and being able to win all these one score games.
Starting point is 00:25:30 I mean, they've just found ways to win and they've found ways to win in games that looked improbable that they just were not going to be able to get it done and yet they have. And we've seen them too many times on this stage find a way to get it done as well. So not taking anything away from Philadelphia. I think on paper they're probably the better team, but you gotta go play it. And nobody's playing it better right now than what Patrick Mahomes is in Kansas City.
Starting point is 00:25:54 And so until proven otherwise, I'll stick with the champions. Yeah, I have a hard time picking against Mahomes. I did it against Buffalo. I was like, hey, let me be different. Let me see if Allen can get this done. And granted it was another really close game, a competitive game, but it's just a different level. When you think about all the games as you point to in Kansas city this season, where you're like, they
Starting point is 00:26:16 won that one. Like, is this a flawed team? Is it going to catch up to them? And then we even last year with the offensive numbers, not being what you'd expect with this offense, I just turned the page and then into the playoffs. It's just, it's a brutal spot. I want to talk about the dynamic of Reed and Mahomes. Um, but let's go back to kind of your playing days. So you would played what two seasons then North Turner came in, I think in 91. Is that accurate? Yeah.
Starting point is 00:26:39 Okay. We can talk about like continuity and if you're an owner and a front office, you'd be like, we want continuity. It's like, well, you don't get that unless you're winning because you want to keep everybody around. If you're not winning, you're just going to keep firing everybody. The chiefs have that kind of continuity. What was it like for you to build on the relationship with Norv and then having
Starting point is 00:26:59 the success where you just understood each other because it wasn't like you were changing systems every two years. Like, seems like it happens to so many quarterbacks. Well I think you know North coming in really changed the trajectory of my career but he also did the same for Emmett Smith and Michael Irvin and Jay Novichak and everyone that was a part of that offense. We were prior to North coming in there were 28 teams in the league and in 1990 we were 28th in the NFL. We were the worst offense in football and if we had continued down the road we had my first two years in 91, we would have been the worst offense in football a third year.
Starting point is 00:27:37 So I think coaching matters. Players certainly matter as well. You've got to have both. And when Norv came in, he brought a system that really allowed us to maximize our abilities. And it was just a natural fit. So the first year we were a top 10 offense, and then we were top five the next two years and won Super Bowls. And then Arnie Zampezi came in who really taught the offense to Norv Turner. So we continue because Norv got the Washington head coaching job. So you know when you are a good team you do lose coaches. So there you talk about continuity. We saw it this year with with the Detroit Lions. You know when you play really well
Starting point is 00:28:18 you're gonna lose coordinators and and we've seen it with the Los Angeles Rams over the year. Sean McVeigh and all of the assistants that they've lost. But being able to replace those guys, it is important. And when you're able, as a quarterback, to stay within the same offense, you take paid manning, for instance, even though he changed teams, he ran the same offense his entire career. Brett Favre ran the same offense his entire career.
Starting point is 00:28:44 That's a real luxury. And then you look at others and seemingly they're playing within a new offensive system or with a new play caller every season. And that's Jalen Hurts. I mean, he hasn't had back-to-back play callers since high school. So that's all a big part of it. And when you find a good one and they're able to stick around for a while, it's a, it's a really positive thing. On the teammate front though, and that was a great answer, but I'm, I'm also wondering, it must be something special to just understand the tendencies of, especially like a Nova check or an urban or even like a Harper, where you just,
Starting point is 00:29:23 like, I know, like he knows where I want to throw this against this coverage. So we, we may not have the call we come out, but like the tendency is that. This is, this is kind of, we're on the same page in these moments because we've repped it so many times because I know exactly like where he wants the ball. It just feels like my homes, even though he's had so many different receivers, we see it with Kelsey all the time. Some of the zone stuff where we're like, they don't even have to really understand the route, like they just don't understand the ball. It just feels like Mahomes, even though he's had so many different receivers, we see it with Kelsey all the time. Some of the zone stuff where like they don't even have to really understand the
Starting point is 00:29:49 route, like they just know what they're going to do with each other. Um, having that kind of understanding, like how big of an advantage is that over a defense? Well, for Kansas city, it's a huge advantage because, uh, you, you could, you could take, Andy Reed could go somewhere else and want to do the same things that Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelsey are doing and more than likely would not be able to pull that off. And I think that that is part of Andy Reid's greatness, that when you look at what Kansas
Starting point is 00:30:21 City is doing with Mahomes, it's different than what he did in Philadelphia with Donovan McNabb or other quarterbacks that he had. I think Andy does as good a job as anyone of really taking advantage of what his players do well and not being so strict within his offensive system that he's not flexible to that. And for Mahomes, I think part of it maybe was his time at Texas Tech in college. But he has an ability to really understand what a defense is doing, where the weaknesses are, and really kind of lay the ball in those spots and expect or hope that a receiver will adjust and be on the same page as him. We see it with Travis Kelsey over and over and over
Starting point is 00:31:10 that Kelsey's running one route and Patrick finds a little bit of time, he waits, and Kelsey finds the soft spot in the defense and they let it go. Or Mahomes, I even saw it with the Andre Hopkins when he just joined the team, he laid one and it was not exactly as it was designed and yet Hopkins was able to adjust and make the play. So when you have players like they do in Kansas City and a quarterback in Mahomes that's able
Starting point is 00:31:36 to adjust like that, it's almost unfair because you can have the perfect defense, but if these players are able to adjust on the fly, there's always a weakness within any defense. So there's holes in it and you can't cover everything. So they do, they just do a great job of exploiting that. And it seems like they do it the best when the game's on the line and they need the plays the most. Is there anything in all the tape or all the games that you've watched with Mahomes, is there anything you think that's actually a defense can look to?
Starting point is 00:32:07 Like, Oh, he's a little uncomfortable with this. No, no, I don't. I, I, I watched them a bunch. I think it's funny because I was just talking to Jason Garrett yesterday, the former head coach of the Cowboys and a close friend of mine, we were talking about this game and talking about my homes. And having watched a lot of film on him, having covered a lot of his games, I don't know if there's anybody better in the league right now as far as seeing the entire defense. It's easy to say Patrick Mahomes, arguably the best quarterback in the NFL,
Starting point is 00:32:43 but this guy, which is far different, that's a different statement than saying this guy sees the field better than anybody. I just, I watch a lot of quarterbacks. I see a lot of them that I don't know that they really understand coverages or they really know what defender could have taken that throw away
Starting point is 00:33:03 or they'll fit a ball in and I'm convinced they never saw this defender and they just got fortunate that that guy didn or they'll fit a ball in and I'm convinced they never saw this defender and they just got fortunate that that guy didn't make play on the ball. But with Mahomes I think he sees it all. I think he understands what the defense is doing. I think he knows where the players are on the field and and he delivers it accordingly and which is a real real compliment to him because I don't know that quarterbacks, the way that they are trained these days, I'm not convinced that many of them really learn defenses.
Starting point is 00:33:36 I think the approach to offensive football and playing the position has changed over the years. And when you find someone like Mahomes, Joe Burrow stands out, there's others that you know, that they know exactly what they're seeing and they're delivering the football where it's supposed to be. Did you know, like over your years, you'd be like, okay, look, I'm good, all fame, whole deal, we've got all these players, but like, this is something I noticed defenses think I'm uncomfortable with. Was there one thing that you felt like this is how defenses want to force me to play? Yeah, not not a lot. I think in general, not not directing it at me.
Starting point is 00:34:18 I think what they wanted to do against us as a team, one, they wanted to stop Emmett, of course. But but within the passing game, so much of what we did in the passing game was timing based. That teams that came up and pressed our receivers, pressed Michael Irvin, Alvin Harper, did not give them free access off the line of scrimmage. That, you know, we could still beat it. But it wasn't as seamless as if they were playing off coverage and we're just running our play action and throwing the skinny post and the comebacks and things like that. They would want to come up and challenge these guys a little bit.
Starting point is 00:34:55 We didn't get blitzed a lot because I didn't hold the ball very long. And teams that did blitz, they likely were not going to get home and then they were going to be exposed on the back end in coverage. So we didn't face a lot of blitzes as a result of that. And then also as we continue to have success, we saw more and more teams wanting to come up and try to be disruptive at the line of scrimmage with our receivers. You also obviously as you point to like the Emmett part of it, especially just the way the game was played, we've talked about this in the past too,
Starting point is 00:35:25 is they may go like, hey, the first thing I need to do is try to find a way to contain this offensive line and contain Emmett. And that's something, you know, I grew up watching going like an NFL team can just rely on the run and go all the way through the playoffs. Saquon adds an element to an offense that we just,
Starting point is 00:35:42 like we can talk about Adrian Peterson getting that team to the playoffs that wasn't very good. Derrick Henry's certainly had some huge years but this Saquon stuff with this offensive line on top of everything else it feels like just an old school offense that you go we don't like what we have up in the passing game if we don't like our matchups it hurts doesn't feel comfortable it hurts isn't all the way healthy like we just turn around and hand it off to Saquon and still have a chance to win the football game. This feels like something we're just not used to seeing anymore, Troy.
Starting point is 00:36:09 We don't see it as much. I think we're kind of, I think the pendulum is swinging back to the middle. I think we are seeing more teams that are more balanced offensively. We went over a decade where the passing game was paramount. More and more teams were going to the spread and throwing the football. We saw, you know, in the last couple years running backs where there wasn't a big market for them. They weren't getting paid. I think that's starting to change because of what happened this year with Derrick Henry in Baltimore and then of
Starting point is 00:36:41 course Saquon with Philadelphia. But yeah, there's no doubt that Philadelphia, they're built a little bit or a lot like we were during our success. The ability to run the football, I think that you know, people say, well we didn't throw the ball that we were a running team. I would say that we were a running team and we threw the ball as well, if not better than anyone in football that we were a running team and we threw the ball as well, if not better than anyone in football. There were a number of years where we were number one in yards per pass. So we didn't throw it as often, but we threw it really well when we did.
Starting point is 00:37:14 And there are other teams that are like that. And I think Philadelphia falls into that category with the weapons that they have and wide receiver and their ability to throw the football if they get those looks. But to be a physical offense and a big offensive line like we had, that's a good formula for winning to go into a game and know that no matter what the defense does, we've got an answer for it. And I also feel that with the offensive line that they have and their ability to run the ball, it permeates throughout the entire organization and within the locker room that it's hard to be regarded as a physical team if you don't run the football.
Starting point is 00:37:53 It's hard. I mean, it's hard to be physical if you're constantly in pass protection. And I think that when you're regarded as a physical offensive front and a physical offense, I think then defense plays into that. And we've seen that in Philadelphia. We've seen that over the years in San Francisco with their ability to run the ball and how physical they play that on the defensive side of the ball also. And we were that way. We were a tough physical defense, but it was all built around a real physical offensive front. I wanted to ask you about the hurts part of this because, you know, two years ago,
Starting point is 00:38:26 when this matchup happened with the super bowl, like you're going to that next year, like, okay, let's rank the quarterbacks. Cause like, I'm obsessed with it too. I do it too much, but it was pretty much understood. It's like hurts number one in the NFC and then everybody else. And whenever that happens, I'm like, all right, are we, are we already there with hurts? Is it definitive?
Starting point is 00:38:43 And whether it was the injuries last year, the great start and then falling apart. Cause I think he was hurt last year. I think these are real excuses. He obviously missed some time this year, but no one's ever saying that now. It's not this undisputed NFC belt for the best quarterback with Jalen hurts. And there's definitely numbers and you just watch and see like there's areas of the field that he's not going to attack. So there may be less of a priority to defend the entire field, specifically
Starting point is 00:39:06 the middle, uh, when you're going up against the passing attack with the Eagles. Is there something that you see, you know, more educated eye on all of this, where as good as Hertz is and the weapons and how they can put up points and they've been rolling here again, that there's, there's a limitation with him that is, is it exploitable or is it does not, you know, maybe, maybe it doesn't even matter, Troy, because here we are in the Superbowl with the Eagles again. Well, it, it, it matters.
Starting point is 00:39:31 I think, but I believe that there are, you know, regardless of whoever the quarterback is that we talk about, all, all quarterbacks have some level of weakness. You know, I mean, whether that that's if you get pressure on a quarterback and they don't have time to set their feet, you're gonna struggle. So there are those elements. I think I go back to,
Starting point is 00:39:55 we had Philadelphia, Tampa Bay during, in the post season after Jaylen's first season as a starter in Philadelphia, and it was not a good game for Philadelphia. It wasn't competitive at all. They were not very good on offense. They didn't take advantage of some of the looks they were getting from Tampa Bay. And then the very next year, they looked like a different group.
Starting point is 00:40:19 And the reason was, it was because of Jaylen Hurts. So he had put in an enormous amount of time. And I can't say that I saw him put in the time. I can't say that he told me he put in the time, but you can't be where he was in January and then the very next year be as good as he was without really putting in the effort. So I always had great respect for the time he put in to get to where he got. And they've been a different offense since. Now this year they started leaning back more on the running game and for obvious reasons, but I like what Jaylen's been able to do. I like the progress that I've seen from him from when he first took over. And
Starting point is 00:41:04 he'll continue as all quarterbacks will continue to improve and work on some of the things that, that he can get better at. I always like asking you guys about the production meetings, the access. I mean, this is something you've been doing a long time. When's the last time that you were really impressed by something a coach said about their approach to that upcoming game? Uh, boy, I'm, I am too impressed over 25 years of broadcasting with that, but I've been impressed
Starting point is 00:41:31 with the number of players. I will tell you, you know, coaches in general, give you a lot of coach speak and there's not a lot of substance you come out with. There are some coaches we talk to that are pretty transparent, at least with me and our group. But the guy who stands out this year, as far as a player goes,
Starting point is 00:41:53 was the most impressive that I spoke with this year, was Jayden Daniels. I mean, he was amazing. And we had him week three. And the first two games, he had played well, but there were a number of things that you said, wow, he's gonna have to be better in these areas. And then we had him, then we visited with him,
Starting point is 00:42:15 and I'd never talked to him. So I didn't watch him much in college, didn't know anything about him, had never heard him interviewed, nothing, and had just watched him on film for two games, his first two games as a pro, and then we talked to him, I was blown away, absolutely blown away.
Starting point is 00:42:35 I said- What was it? Give me a couple examples where you're like, okay. He just was really smart, bright-eyed. You know, you could tell he was really well-raised. As soon as we started talking to him, there was this energy that he exuded and he said, this guy's got it. He has it.
Starting point is 00:42:58 Whatever that it is, this guy has it. I just remember when we got done, I said to Joe, I said, this guy has it. And I just remember when we got done, I said to Joe, I said, this guy's amazing. I mean, this guy's the real deal. Now he'd only played two games. And it was kind of up and down. He had done some good things, did some things that weren't so great. But so it wasn't like, I didn't have him in week 17 where you've got this whole portfolio of a season and you say, yeah, of course he's... But he's an impressive young man and I will be shocked. And we've all seen, you know, a guy comes out of the gate, has a great start, and then
Starting point is 00:43:35 we're wondering what happened. And we could name some of those people, but I'd be shocked if Jaden Daniels is, if we're not talking about him like we did this year, every year of his career, I think he's, I think he's phenomenal. Great answer. I also put you on the spot there a little bit. So I knew that we would get there, but I figure your life in football, like rarely are you listening to a coach where it's like, Oh, we're going to do this. We're going to do all these different things, but you gave us a better
Starting point is 00:44:02 answer there with the player. I didn't, I didn't even mean to do this, but I, I maybe I'll just ask, cause it's been so topical this week. I like as an aside, and I've told you this before, I like when you, maybe this sounds wrong. I like when you're negative on a broadcast. I like, okay. Like I, I think it's kind of gone and as a big NBA guy, I think part of the deal is partner with
Starting point is 00:44:26 the league. You got to be positive about things all the time. And I just appreciate those honest moments with you, whether it's a quarterback that I'm kind of on the fence with, or maybe it's a quarterback that I'm hearing the way you're talking about it. It's like, do I need to take a better look at this? I like those frustrations because I feel they're very human and I feel they're very honest.
Starting point is 00:44:48 And I know probably there's some people, like luckily your resume is long enough and accomplished enough that you can probably get away with it a little bit. But I just think those are important things because so much of it now, because of all the partnerships and the money involved, it just feels like you don't have to tell me something terrible is actually good just because you're on the broadcast. I think it happens too
Starting point is 00:45:07 much in the industry. Yeah, I, uh, well, let me, let me first say that I root for, I root for all these players, you know, I really do, especially quarterbacks, cause I haven't played the position. I just know how hard it is. Uh, and, and I try I try, in my analysis, I try to keep that in mind. And I feel that I do, I feel that I'm mindful of how hard the position is to play. But I'm also aware of when a quarterback in particular maybe isn't doing what he should be doing or playing at the level that he should be.
Starting point is 00:45:48 I've been there. I've done it. So I know what a hard throw is. I know what an easy throw is. I know what is expected of that position. And I hope to be able to carry that into all positions. And really, I've never been a guy who's been able to just kind of say something if I didn't believe.
Starting point is 00:46:08 I just can't do that. Now it doesn't mean I'm brutally honest all the time. No one is, but I'll try to answer a question and do it in a way that doesn't compromise my beliefs. And as an analyst, I do the same. So sometimes I get frustrated and that comes out. I love the officials. I think the officials have a thankless job. There's a lot of people who think that I target the officials, that I'm critical of the officials.
Starting point is 00:46:35 I don't feel that I am at all. But if I disagree with a call, then I'm willing to say that. But I want to do it respectfully because I know how hard it is to do what they do. And I think that even in Journal of Time, when we have Replay Assist and we have instant replay, the games are no less controversial today with all this technology and our ability to get calls right. It's no less controversial today than it was back when I was playing before they came up with instant replay. So I was never in favor of instant replay. I always felt that the officials did a good enough job.
Starting point is 00:47:14 We're all human. We all make mistakes, but that's the road we went. And so now my position is if it's sometime the week after the game, whether that's 20 minutes after a game, an hour after a game, or two days after a game, if we can say, or the league office can say, you know what, that was a bad call, that shouldn't have been made, or yes, that was pass interference, we should have called that. I just think then we've got to be able to do it in real time and get it right. And I know it's television, but... And I said it this last week on a podcast that I was on that the league is partners with a number of gambling services and gambling is being promoted.
Starting point is 00:48:01 Gambling is occurring at record rates from where it was in the past. And we owe it to the fans and for those that, especially for those that are gambling, we owe it to them to get it right, you know, to get the calls right. And the league knows that. I'm not saying anything that they don't know. And by and large, I think the league does an amazing job. So I would never want my opinion, if I disagree with something, to reflect poorly on the league as a whole. Because I do think that the people in charge, starting with Roger Goodell, I think that he and they do everything they possibly can to maintain the integrity of the game and, and make sure that it's being played fairly and, and, uh, the competitiveness, uh, and the,
Starting point is 00:48:50 and the field is balanced. I wasn't going to ask you this, but I think I'll stay on it and then I'll finish here, um, cause I, you know, I think we do, you do just a good job of being honest about it, the Brady conversation about his role with the Raiders and then having the job that you have, um, how do you feel about the criticism of having those two roles? Um, I don't know exactly what the criticisms are. I know what the league has done as far as the, the, the, the Brady rules and what he's able to do and what he's not able to do.
Starting point is 00:49:20 I find it interesting that. You know, he had been restricted had been restricted to go into club facilities all season and now the biggest game of the year, all of that was, you know, taken away. Now he has full access. So I don't know what the logic is in that, but there was a time years ago when I was involved with a group that made a run at an NFL tee. And I reached out to my boss, Eric Schenck, at Fox at the time, and asked him, hey, here's what I'd like to do. I want to be part of this ownership group, but I'm not going to move to that city.
Starting point is 00:49:58 I'm not going to be active day to day, and I want to continue to broadcast. Is that going to be a problem? And he said immediately, he said, absolutely not. Now, obviously, the group I was involved with didn't get the team. But what Shanks told me then, the only real problem would be if that team were to make it to the Super Bowl and we were calling the Super Bowl. So that becomes a bit of an issue. And it would, it would if Tom were calling the Super Bowl and the Raiders were in that game. But beyond that, is there a big conflict?
Starting point is 00:50:31 I don't think so. I don't think there is, but I think that let's just take this hiring cycle for instance. All these GMs, they should anyway know these various coaches. But when you're an analyst, you get a chance to interact and see these coaches a little bit more. So Tom, knowing him, had done his homework. So he had a better idea of what he thought the Raiders should be looking for, what people he thought they should be interviewing based on his years worth of broadcasting and interacting with some of these coaches. I want to talk about 8Beer. I know that you have been investing this in a while.
Starting point is 00:51:13 And I got to tell you, Troy, very vascular today. So the biceps alone, I think you get some Lee Haney veins going. The biceps alone would be marketing enough for this beer. But again, if you want to check it out, again, it's 8beer.com. This is founded by Troy. He's been at it for a while now. Where are you at now? Because I know you have some new stuff going on. We are current, we're in Texas and Oklahoma. We will stay in these two states through 2025. We'll expand in 2026. What market? We're not exactly sure yet.
Starting point is 00:51:52 But we've got a lot of really good things going on. I hired CEO a year and a half ago. He's been phenomenal. We've continued to build our team. Just like in football, it's about the people. I've got a great team. And more importantly, we've got a great product. It's light beer made right.
Starting point is 00:52:09 And what I mean by that is we are totally additive free and we are the only mass produced beer that can say that. And which means we don't add any syrup, sugars, sweeteners. There's no corn, no rice. It is a better for you beer, and yet it's 90 calories, 2.6 carbs, and it tastes amazing. So I couldn't be more excited about it. If you're a light beer drinker and you like the taste of eight, there is no logical reason why you would ever drink anything else because it is the cleanest, best for you beer that's available.
Starting point is 00:52:50 Now if you're not in Texas and you're not in Oklahoma, then you might have to drink a different beer because we're not available in those states, but we will be soon. So I'm really excited and we continue to grow and we'll just keep our foot on the pedal and see where this thing leads. Next Dallas road trip, I'm in and I want one of those hats to go with it. There you go. Hey man, enjoy the game. I know it's always a special reminder as we talked at the top.
Starting point is 00:53:20 So I know the New Orleans run is going to be in and out, which is a vet move. And we'll talk to you again soon, man. Thanks so much. Sounds good. Yeah. Thanks so much. Appreciate you. So we've got Troy picking Kansas City. I'm picking Kansas City. I could have done 15 minutes on the whole thing. Honestly, I could have just run last year's intro to my pick on Kansas City, San Francisco. So yeah, my home's good and scared of them picking against him. We could talk turnover battles, talk that kind of stuff. I'm just excited about this game because I think these teams are awesome. It is a little weird being down in New Orleans and there being this meh kind of attitude towards the game.
Starting point is 00:53:52 And I know that sounds crazy because it's the biggest sporting event of the entire year, the number one sport in this country. But why would you have fatigue about these teams just because they matched up a couple of years ago? These teams are stacked. There's talent everywhere. It was a really close game. And I think another important factor in this whole deal is that if it were a new NFC team being here, maybe it's Detroit, maybe it's Minnesota.
Starting point is 00:54:14 I mean, certainly you could understand Detroit being like, I can't believe we actually got to a Super Bowl and now getting over that, like the collective emotion of the week and all the buildup. The best part, like the angle to play, like, hey, I think Philly wins this game because there's so many dudes that just played this game two years ago. They're not satisfied. I think there's a lot of teams in the NFC that would be satisfied. And they'd be staring at the Chiefs being like, ah, we're not supposed to beat those guys anyway.
Starting point is 00:54:36 I don't think Philly has any of that stuff. They're not satisfied. This is all back to them. They know the deal. They know the buildup. They probably think they're just as good as Kansas City and feel like a player, a play there, they would have won this game two years ago. So I don't know that there's a lot of breakdown. It's just, I'm very surprised the kind of, maybe it's the Lucatrix, but the,
Starting point is 00:54:55 the indifference towards the matchup. And it also might just have to do with why I'm picking my homes. It's like, ah, my home is just going to win again. Like that's a very consistent, like whatever you could talk, hardcore people, people that played in the league, talk casuals, whatever you want to do, whatever label you want to throw on the thing. Um, there just seems to be this inevitable of, well, I'll just figure it out one more time.
Starting point is 00:55:18 And honestly, that's not the worst analysis that you're going to hear. However, let's dig in a little bit deeper with vandal sportsbook.com and some of their options here. Um, one of the bets is a little scary, but it sounds good. It's each team, one touchdown, one field goal, each half plus 1400. It's a little tricky.
Starting point is 00:55:37 I feel like that one never works out. Um, Saquon four plus TDs that's plus 9,000. Uh, something to think about there. You start playing around with that, start looking at the payouts. Pretty massive. I'm going to stay away from the four plus TDs that's plus 9,000. Uh, something to think about there. You start playing around with that, start looking at the payout. It's pretty massive. I'm going to stay away from the four plus touchdowns on any single player in a game. It seems like, uh, it's not worth it. How about the, I guess I'll just drink now parlay Xavier worthy a catch on the first
Starting point is 00:55:59 drive and that first drive for the chiefs ends in a punt. So you get Xavier worthy one catch leads to a punt on that drive. Plus six 19 doesn't happen. Who said egg rolls? Um, there's another Kansas city one here where if you like Kansas city and you are trying to figure out a way to get that number in your favor, cause they're still minus one and a half, it's been minus one and a half pretty steadily here throughout all the books. So flip it to Kansas city. And you are trying to figure out a way to get that number in your favor. Cause they're still minus one and a half. It's been minus one and a half pretty steadily here throughout all the books.
Starting point is 00:56:33 So flip it to Kansas city plus three and a half Kelsey, four more catches down week last week, massive week against Houston. Usually you expect he's going to show up in this game, even if he's the primary thing that they want to shut down, even if you do that, Kelsey is usually good for a couple, can he get to four and now you're playing with a field goal and a half of the chiefs that's minus one 43. Again, we're not talking like a massive payout, but if you do that, Kelsey's usually good for a couple. Can he get to four? And now you're playing with a field goal and a half of the Chiefs. That's minus 143. Again, we're not talking like a massive payout, but if you want to swing the number, that's more about putting the number back in your favor, because now
Starting point is 00:56:52 you're set of land points, you've got a field goal plus field goal and the hook on your side of things, but we're going to do four legs here. So let's get to it. Building on the Kansas city Kelsey thing that I was hinting at. I know that's not as exciting as the payout thing, but Hey, what's wrong with just moving the number in your favor or something you think it's likely? Uh, all right. So Kansas city, let's move it down to plus two and a half.
Starting point is 00:57:15 Let's go Kelsey for more reception. So building on what we had before change that Kansas city line again, the two and a half to three and a half is a massive difference hurts 175 more passing yards. You know, I don't know that this game gets into the thirties because I think the talent on the defense is so good, but you know, games have a weird way of getting away from each other, but it just turns into free for all. It feels like everybody's hitting on everything. Um, well, however, scenarios, however many scenarios you play it out in your
Starting point is 00:57:37 head of like all the possible outcomes of this game, I just have a hard time believing hurts is just not in the ball in the year enough to at least keep pace, even if it's not necessarily a shootout. So I think that 175 number is obviously doable. You would hope it's doable. And then Devontae Smith, maybe being the second priority for the defensive alignment with what they want to do and trying to get AJ Brown shut down first. Maybe it's Goddard thing. So maybe Devontae just finding a way with his exceptional
Starting point is 00:58:03 route running, getting over 70 yards. So Kansas City plus two and a half, Kelsey four more catches, Hertz 175 or more yards, Devontae Smith 70 more receiving yards. That is paying out right now at plus four 53. That is the play. And don't forget the kick of destiny. I can't believe they got the Mannings. They were available to do this. Um, I've met Peyton, I've met Eli, I've worked with Archie.
Starting point is 00:58:28 Eli didn't get into the hall of fame. Let's go with Eli. He is due. You want details? Fine. I drive a Ferrari, 355 Cabriolet. What's up? I have a ridiculous house in the South Fork.
Starting point is 00:58:46 I have every toy you could possibly imagine. And best of all kids, I am liquid. So, now you know what's possible. Let me tell you what's required. Life advice, the email address, lifeadvicerr at gmail.com. Johnny's number one fan, Kyle, hit me up. Big game today.
Starting point is 00:59:07 Well, the Providence one, you were texting me and I was like, I'm in the middle of something. So I don't want you to feel like you were ignored. The Prov, no, that was for Marquette, which they beat. 11 ranked Marquette and we've got UConn today. Big one. I know. Husky, so this time it's personal, right, Sarudy? I'm not, I mean, I'm a Connecticut guy. I'm not really a Yukon fan. My wife did go there. So I guess
Starting point is 00:59:29 I'm room for Kyle's happiness. I love that for me Do you guys like that your wives aren't as into a team as you are? Well, actually My wife is pretty much decided to go all in on Creighton for obvious reasons the the similarities. And she loves the Blue J logo and she's bought probably half as many shirts that I have. And the Jotties last loss was on New Year's Eve against Creighton and that was a really tough time to be in my house. So I wish she would not pick teams like her dad's a Bills fan and her sister's an Eagles fan and she could just Patriots are way down on that list and I don't know. It seems like she's just doing stuff to spite me, but
Starting point is 01:00:10 Does she think the blue jays a rabbit? Yes, how confused on the obvious connection there? Yeah, she's a big bird as a bird gal loves birds Has several pairs of binoculars a couple cameras lots of bird books that I don't know if she's ever Read more than the first time she bought them. She's just, you know, she likes to show her love through purchases for the things that she likes. And I can't say I'm different. It's just, you know, she had to pick a team in the same league, you know, I don't know.
Starting point is 01:00:39 That seems weird. She just picked Creighton as you were on this Johnny's run here last couple of years. Yeah, she's a big cockbrenner fan. Obviously, I mean, what's not to like about that guy? Started the season with 49 points. I mean, pretty impressive, but this is like an episode of one podcast. They get our guy Doug McTermitt back on. Here's some getter, some gear, I guess.
Starting point is 01:01:01 To answer your original question though, Ryan, I think every, every March, it's always funny to me. Cause like, I love my wife. She's great. Uh, but like, it's like, oh, now we're just, we haven't watched the Yukon game all year and now we're just locked in. We've got to watch them all. And it just kind of, you know, as like the diehard fan of me, like, I'm like, all right, like, cool. We really have to watch this Yukon game at four today. Um, that's, I don't know segment that section of America is growing by the year though. You know, it's just like March madness.
Starting point is 01:01:28 Still the best tournament, even though I never pay attention. So true. I think she's totally on par over 10 years. This is how it's been. Oh, okay. And it just, it's like a guy who watches a lot of games
Starting point is 01:01:38 and probably shouldn't let it bother me, but it does sometimes. I love, I love that transparency. That's the Rousselaiscilla rubbing off on me there. Yeah. Like, Oh, so now you're into it. That guy doesn't watch. Right.
Starting point is 01:01:52 And then she's like getting all worked up about it. And I'm like, you didn't know who this guy was three minutes ago, but okay. Yeah. All right. This is not going to be it. Yeah, but sometimes I think that, sorry. Yeah, but, um, you know, as somebody that's dabbled in being like a fair weather baseball person
Starting point is 01:02:08 in a way that I never thought, like I would have beat me up. Like the younger version of me would have told this version of me to be like loser. You know, you don't even remember when Alan Embry, they couldn't bring him in. It's just like loser 20 year old versus older person that maybe has a few more things going on.
Starting point is 01:02:31 Yeah, my buddies and I always joke, in our late teens, early 20s, we could literally do a Madden draft off memory, just like analog style. And now I'm like, I couldn't tell you who offensive line, who offensive like this. I couldn't tell you who the starting offensive line is on, you know, most teams. Well, I think most people are like that.
Starting point is 01:02:49 I mean, I used to know who like, not even the setup guys were. I'd be like, no, they bring this guy in like the seventh. I mean, it was, it was nuts and it was not impressive and it wasn't valuable information unless you were working. Like when you're not working in sports and you know all six guys in another team's bullpen, that's not a good use of data storage. Right? All right.
Starting point is 01:03:11 But that stuff sticks in your brain, man. I'll tell you, you remember that for life. I don't know, anyway. Yeah, right. Now I just remember how mad I used to get about the depth of the Yankees bullpen. I'm like, didn't they have this guy, Graham Lloyd? All right, Ozempic Breath, lot of follow-ups,
Starting point is 01:03:29 lot of follow-ups, but I thought this one was perhaps the most specific, a few points about the life advice about Ozempic Breath as an Ozempic user. The breath is definitely real and trust me, she probably knows. You can taste it, the burps are rancid and trust me, she knows. Dude, I gotta be honest with you can taste it. The burps are rancid and trust me, she knows, dude, I get it.
Starting point is 01:03:45 The honesty is it worth it? Come on girl. Size six, no problem. I don't even know what a size six is. It just kind of felt bigger than a four. 10 would have been, I think ridiculous, but I, again, I'm not a hundred percent sure maybe we get IT on that. Uh, anyway, last sentence'm not 100% sure. Maybe we get IT on that.
Starting point is 01:04:05 Anyway, last sentence here. It's temporary, lasted a couple months for me. Still on it almost a year later, and the bad breath and nasty burps are gone. So this guy is suggesting a dosing window, perhaps, of a few months where then it goes away. Then some guys just started sending in emails about breath in general.
Starting point is 01:04:26 We're like, no, we need to keep this specific. Man, that would be tough though. If you're like, all right, I just got to give it four months and then around that three month mark, you're like, is it going to be today? That's going to be the last month. It's going to be like the home stretch. Cause it might not, it's just the way it happened
Starting point is 01:04:41 for one person, right? He's like, all right, I'm not saying anything. I'm holding my breath for four months, and then the day doesn't come. It's like every day will be like two days. I'm just thinking about the mental behind it all. It's like counting down days to Christmas as a kid. Right, except for you don't know when Christmas is.
Starting point is 01:05:00 Yeah. It's one of those calendars, it's just different things that smell. It's just different things that smells like garbage can, like an advent calendar, like rotting eggs on the 12th. And then when you get to 25, it was just a bunch of mints, crystallized, menthol flames. It's like, we're there. We made it. Okay. Probably not going to make any of those. All right, let's get to, yeah, I feel like I'm hurting our window here. So let's let me pick up the pace.
Starting point is 01:05:29 Hey guys, thanks for considering taking my question. Well, consider it, consider it. Jim stats, six, two, two, oh five squat, three, 25 bench, two, 25 deadlift, 300. All right. What's up? Some numbers here. NBA comp, Ben Wallace, if literally all he could do was rebound and kick it back out. We live in Denver.
Starting point is 01:05:44 Awesome live show, by the way. Next time we need to take Kyle around to some of the local haunts. We try to take Kyle. We did a velvet banjo and we did. Herbs. We, we taking Kyle to a few spots. He's no stranger in those streets. We don't have many celebrities here.
Starting point is 01:05:59 My wife occasionally sees one of the Nugs players, brothers at a gymnastics class where that three year old son. Okay. It's players brothers. Yeah. Well I think I think the email builds a bit. Today was different and that player actually came to class himself. There you go. Play off indeed. I was driving home from work when I heard this news and implored my wife to get a picture of the player with our son. She was hesitant but I told her to start the conversation by complimenting his impressive stat line from the night before and telling him that he dominates the Pelicans. Then say, I don't want to cause a scene or be a nuisance at all, but could I get a pic of you with my son afterwards? I kept pushing and said I'd drive
Starting point is 01:06:37 over to class and do it myself and she felt uncomfortable. She did mention that his daughter was there with him, but I assumed he'd get an opportunity when he was away from her pop the ask. The player was quite gracious for her compliments, but ultimately turned down the picture requests. This left my wife feeling awkward as she sees the brother with relative frequency and she didn't really want to push the request in the first place since she, since he was with his family. I totally get that at a degree, but I thought the phrasing of the question made it reasonable enough. I'm not sure she nailed the delivery, but nitpicking that wouldn't be a fruitful endeavor. Yeah, actually have her write it out for you and then go over it at dinner.
Starting point is 01:07:14 Anyway, my wife is over it. I've done way worse things. She doesn't need to talk to the brother when she sees him. However, I'm curious to learn from you, LA star knowers, was this just an uncool thing to do? Should I have let my wife pass up a pretty sweet opportunity that could have been a cool picture of my memory books? And if I am the asshole here, how big on a scale of one to 10, what would you do differently? Yeah, you kind of fucked up here. And we could talk about like the picture in your memory books or one that ends up in your phone that you never ever look at again. Maybe you print it out. I don't know. You shouldn't have done it. Your wife didn't want to do it and you made her do it.
Starting point is 01:07:51 And there you go. It's glad that she's over it. I don't think it's egregious. I don't even know if it's north of a five, but it sounds like you were a little pushy about it. Sure, it's exciting and all that kind of stuff, but this also means this guy deals with this all the time. And if he's at something like this, a gymnastics class with his daughter,
Starting point is 01:08:13 like it could be quick and he could just say yes to the picture. Some people handle it a lot better than other people do. Uh, but the fact that your wife didn't want to do it, he kept pushing, you rehearsed the line. You're even asking us if perhaps she didn't execute it to perfection the way it was prepared. Tells me you might be, you're giving us some hints that you might be a little pushy or maybe you were just pushing in this instance, but ultimately like, I think you know you're wrong.
Starting point is 01:08:38 Yeah. I think the family's like, it should be like a safe zone, you know? Kid zone should be a safe zone? Yeah, it should be. I was trying to think of a metaphor. I don't really have a good one, but it's like jaywalking. It's usually fine, but if there's a cop there, don't jaywalk, right?
Starting point is 01:08:54 You just don't get what you want. Like it's usually not harmful, but you just don't do it if there's something there. So in this metaphor, the kid would be the cop. Just, you know, I think these people, like famous people, are trying to keep things normal in their family bubble. He probably has enough of it trying to go out to breakfast on Sunday with his family or whatever. I think you should just try. You can look at it as, yeah, what does he have to lose? The other thing is a normal day with his
Starting point is 01:09:20 kid. Maybe he just wanted two hours where he can just be a dad and kid out in public like normal. So you don't think of it that way but you kind of throw the family unit out of that zone when you're a stranger coming up to someone about hey you know I love what you do outside of whatever you're doing right now. And it's not bad it's just you know I think it's just a matter of perspective. Does who the player is matter? Like if it like if so. Yeah. This is Jokic. I mean you you know, maybe your wife's in social circles with Jokic's brothers, that would be hysterical. I doubt it.
Starting point is 01:09:50 Um, like does that matter versus like, you know, the 12th of man on the bench? Yeah. Where you're like, you should be psyched. Anybody's asking. Yeah. So I do think it depends kind of who it is because some of those guys like, Hey, it actually would be cool to be asked to take a picture. Like this is kind of fun.
Starting point is 01:10:05 I'm with you, Kyle. Usually if it's a family thing, I didn't get just a hard no all the time. Just leave him alone. Yeah, I saw Matt Liner at Catalina Island throwing a football with his son. And my buddy used to like work with him through immediate, not with him, but worked at the same company as him.
Starting point is 01:10:20 And he was like, should we go over there? I'm like, he's throwing a football with his kid. Let's not. We could watch, we were at this bar facing out towards the sand and they were just on this. So we were watching them anyway. And I was just like, what's the payoff? Hey, we both worked at this company for a little while.
Starting point is 01:10:34 We never said anything to each other, but I know who you are. Like, what's the payoff there? So, you know, just leave people alone, I think, when in doubt. Some people get high off of it too. Like, I don't know, like we're a little bit desensitized. I think just cause of like the industry we work in, like we do, you know, we, we've met a few people, especially, you know, the ESPN days, it was like, you know,
Starting point is 01:10:53 we've been known to rub elbows. Yeah. It's not, not a big deal. Um, although there were some people at ESPN that certainly did not care. It didn't matter how, what the, what the celebrity status of that person was. They wanted to get that guy still my hero. He was like doing the PA program. And every time we had a celebrity or an athlete person was. They wanted to get a photo of that. That guy's still my hero. He was like in the PA program
Starting point is 01:11:05 and every time we had a celebrity or an athlete. Yeah, he just would show up. We're like, is this guy working radio? What's his deal? And then people kind of were like, is something wrong with the kid? And it was so bold. This is what I actually admired.
Starting point is 01:11:19 It was so bold, nobody even knew what to do about it. And it happened, it happened double digit times, right? Like I, 20 might be an exaggeration. I can't get a read on this guy. But I think eventually he said, he was like, what the fuck is this guy? Who is he? What's he doing?
Starting point is 01:11:34 I'll never forget when, was it Liam Neeson when he was around and there was like an email that was like, it's very important that people do not ask him for pictures and like leave. We got like the extra leave him alone memo which didn't happen very often because again there was always somebody there almost every day that was important and then when he showed up like then managers were running down to the radio studio taking pictures with them which I thought was hilarious. Not as bad as when TV people
Starting point is 01:12:02 stole our cookies but yeah I think I we are, I think Saruti's point, we're probably a little desensitized and maybe more along the lines, but you're right. Like some people love it. Like I'm friends with some people that love when they get asked for the picture. We would bother them if they didn't. Yeah, I'm looking at some of the game log stuff here.
Starting point is 01:12:22 Strother had, he had 15 against New Orleans on Monday and then 10 against him on Wednesday, but I don't know. I'd have to look at the date of the email. So I'm just trying to think like specific to the Pelicans. Strother's a guy I feel like the line is like, yeah, maybe, maybe. I'd also think like 22, but went to Gonzaga. Like if it's Michael Porter Jr.
Starting point is 01:12:46 I would just say, no, it's probably not going to go good. That's right. There's a lot of brothers, interesting brother situations on the nuggets of the Denver scene. Yeah. Cause if I look at the time of the email and then, I don't know, whatever. Um, I think we covered it. I think we're good.
Starting point is 01:13:01 Yeah. Okay. I saw Zach rap coming out of a yoga one day in New York City when I was visiting my sister and we let him pass by and we were talking after like, should we have asked him? Like the guy's just trying to get a sweat in man. Like, like that guy, I think would appreciate it. Zach Braff. I think so. Some of the most famous people are, I don't know. I feel like he gets bombarded all the time. It was that guy from that show, but I mean, now he's doing T-Mobile commercials, right?
Starting point is 01:13:25 And that's show dude. Come on scrubs. The great show. That show. Shout out Bill Callahan. Shut up. The Lawrence. Uh, okay.
Starting point is 01:13:35 Let's just do, uh, one of the, one of the old standards, best friend dating my kind of X long time, first time basketball comp, Earl Boykin stature and game with late career Steve Nash's back issues, wow, small and hurt. I dated, parentheses, nothing, well he said it, I don't know, nothing serious, just consistent random hookups and honest communication of my intentions and level of interest.
Starting point is 01:14:04 Well you sir are a wizard. That always works. Foolproof plan. Yeah. Right. A, do you want to take off your shirt? I'm not that into you long term. A woman who recently returned to my mountain town
Starting point is 01:14:17 from an island life in St. John's, don't care if you mention specifics, if you hear it, it was meant to be, oh, so this guy, we're getting a lot of these lately. I feel like people are like, nothing to lose guys. Yeah. Like they know the other person listens or someone in the crew listens and it's just become some sort of Craigslist shit.
Starting point is 01:14:37 Uh, anyway, a woman who recently really turned, if you hear it, okay. I already read that. Put an end to it. Uh, finally, a few months ago, after a couple of years, mostly due to her warming her way in ways that made me uncomfortable. I lost my mom a couple of years ago and her mom followed a year later. She started using that as an excuse to try to hang out under the pretense and comfort of, uh, and then get sexual, which I found it boring.
Starting point is 01:14:59 Okay. All right. So, you know, your moral compass is aligned with your direction in life. I get it. So the issue of what I need advice on is this around Christmas, my best friend was going through a breakdown bender spent a lot of time loving and helping. And I thought I lifted him during this time of need. That's an interesting sentence, but I think we got it.
Starting point is 01:15:25 She came over after I left a Christmas night with, uh, well, I don't understand this at all and, uh, she came over a Christmas night after I left with the emotional swoop and I guess now they're dating exclamation question. I got to stress. I have no emotional attachment to this woman. And my issue with this is far removed from a jealous X. I miss him more than her LOL. My issue is she swooped in told everyone. Uh, my issue is she swooped in told everyone that would listen that they
Starting point is 01:15:57 were together, didn't leave for a month ever. And my boy is just following along. Even after I told them exactly where I was at, my feelings and. listen that they were together, didn't leave for a month ever. And my boy is just following along. Even after I told him exactly where I was at, my feelings and what I had a problem with, and he pressed back and said, she was overstepping, wasn't like that. And he was effing up. My philosophy is not your girlfriend. It's just your turn.
Starting point is 01:16:20 Wow. Let, let this guy have it. And he adamantly agreed though. All right. Behavior after ain't tracking though. He's closing up the same box. He keeps getting in and I'm concerned about a friend. I love repeating.
Starting point is 01:16:34 Oh, comma. I should have said it. And I'm concerned about a friend. I love repeating the same destructive behaviors and patterns. I see both of them several times a week and become distant with him because of my feelings, not sure how to proceed. literally hung out with him and our good friend tonight. And he went to hug me as I left and I put my arms
Starting point is 01:16:50 around him and was like, nah, dot, dot, dot. Hugged our other friend while he left and felt the diss and we all laughed. I'm a sardonic asshole. They know. Then hugged him on the way out. Ain't the same with us though. Ain't the same. Even though. Ain't the same.
Starting point is 01:17:10 Even though I'm expressing myself honestly at all times, how do I navigate this? I'm prepared to write them off, write them off as I blacklisted others for way less. But the hell if I won't miss them. So glad you're not in my friend group. That was a tough email to get. That was like a drunk voice text email. It just, yeah, I'm just all confused. That was like a drunk voice text email. It just, yeah, I'm just all confused. I don't know what's going on.
Starting point is 01:17:29 All right. Could check the time. Wasn't that late. Oh man. What are you asking us, man? Can we get like a, like a summary, a quick summary just of, so he, he was hooking up with his girl. Right. Really?
Starting point is 01:17:45 Like she became a norm because their mom died. Yeah. Worman. And then his, and then I don't understand worms. His buddy, his buddy, Worman, they met on, they just like hooked up one night or something and got together on the holidays or something. Is that what happened? And then all of a sudden, but he, but he still thinks it's, it's just kind of a
Starting point is 01:18:04 hookup thing, but now he's catching out of date. But he still thinks it's just kind of a hookup thing. But now he's catching feelings. Yeah, I guess he's mad. I think what he's saying is, he's mad his friend keeps going back to the well, even though he's telling us he doesn't care about the woman at all. And then he misses his friend.
Starting point is 01:18:21 And then you fake hugged him. Yeah. I didn't understand. What do you want? There's a lot of extra words in this email. Yeah. that he misses his friend and then you fake hugged him. Um, yeah. What do you want? Extra words in this email? Yeah. I think it sounded like at the end we came to some sort of question where he's like, should I write this guy off? I've done it before. I'll do it again.
Starting point is 01:18:35 Sort of guy. Uh, I don't know. I think that's, if you know, I'll just say, if I'm going to pretend you're a serious person, I would say, if you know, this isn't going to this isn't going to work and this girl is going to go do something else, if you're so sure of and he's going to break this guy's heart, you just wait this out. It's like osemic breath. It's just like give it three, four months and then like- Another calendar.
Starting point is 01:18:58 Yeah. Yeah. Try on the 25th and see if they're still together. You're saying that like, oh, I'm afraid that she's gonna have him spiral down into his, you know, sounds like he was having booze troubles or whatever he was using. You can't put that on being with someone else unless she's, you know, going on benders herself.
Starting point is 01:19:17 It sounds like, it sounds like you're all over the place and you just don't like it. Let him bend. Let her worm, let him bend. Yeah, it all goes. You said some really nice things about your friend. You clearly care about your friend, but maybe just sit this one out. Let him bend.
Starting point is 01:19:32 You don't care about the girl. That's what you're telling us. So we're taking your word here. Cause I think some people are like, oh, that means he actually cares. I actually think this email is so weird. I believe that he doesn't care about this woman at all. Yeah.
Starting point is 01:19:47 And if he thinks his friend shouldn't be with her and he admits to you that he, he shouldn't be, but man, like sometimes dudes just need to bend. And in this case, if you care about him enough as a friend longterm, that you're really going to start giving him this hard of a time about it? He agrees with you, you said your piece, and he can keep doing it. I don't know, I just would not,
Starting point is 01:20:12 if there are people like my buddies, my male friends, some of you guys are just way too hard on your other, what's your goal? Do you get 40 and have zero friends? There's just so many things that get sent to us where I'm thinking, okay, but if I like the dude and he's a good hang, like why would I want to cause friction that damages that relationship
Starting point is 01:20:37 and perhaps even ends it? Well, maybe he just is annoyed because he feels like, I'm just trying to put that was Adam here, because I'm kind of with you guys, but maybe he feels annoyed because like, hey, I'm just trying to put that was advocate because I'm kind of with you guys, but maybe he feels annoyed because like, hey, I'm giving my friend who I've really helped out in some tough times, some needed advice and he's just straight up not listening to me.
Starting point is 01:20:54 And now we're not hanging out and it's pissing me off. And like, if he doesn't want my help, then fuck this guy. I don't think I wouldn't do that, but maybe that's where his head's at. Just look forward to the, I told you so speech. That's it. Like this is, if he says, guess what, we're engaged. Maybe then you then you're like, all right,
Starting point is 01:21:10 I've got this thing prepared. But outside of that, this doesn't sound like it's gonna go the distance, especially if he's just like, dude, you're just up next. You're not even like, so maybe it gets his heart broken. I don't, I don't like, this is how people learn. Like there's no class for this. You're certainly not the teacher of it.
Starting point is 01:21:25 We've had guys in the friend group that have dated, hooked up with people that were like, this is a terrible idea. And you just kind of, yeah, you just let it kind of play its course. I don't, and I was never like, man, like I'm mad at this guy because we're not hanging out enough.
Starting point is 01:21:37 Cause he's, I mean, yeah, let dudes be dudes. I don't know. He's going to, he wants to hook up with this girl. Let him hook up with this girl. And the new girlfriend phrase, usually guys, it's hard to get that one off the runway. I think they're not really, usually a couple months and then they figure out how to get back to doing the stuff
Starting point is 01:21:52 that they wanted to do with their friends. I think that new phase, it's like, some people are just, they sleep over once and they don't leave for two weeks and that guy doesn't know how to deal with that and it's like a learning curve. He'll figure it out. Maybe it's a rocky two, three months and then Friday's there for friends and we do stuff
Starting point is 01:22:08 every Friday now. It sounds like it's kind of new. He might figure out how to give you what you need as well. You just got to give him a little time. These things- I just wouldn't be throwing away good friends because he needs to... He's going through a thing. That's the headline.
Starting point is 01:22:22 He's a little bit of action. Yeah, that's the headline. We talked about multiple times in this pod how hard it is to find dude friends. So I just think get a hold on those if you got a decent one. We could have five emails from guys next week being like, does this guy want to hang out with me? I just want to. Can I get this guy's number?
Starting point is 01:22:35 This dude down. He's going through this stuff, but he's still out about, like there's some people are devastated. You could have Mikey from Swinger situation where he's eating subs on the floor, looking at Polaroids, right? So you don't, you should be happy that you're not going over to console your friend in that situation.
Starting point is 01:22:53 In a way she's kind of doing some of that stuff for you, but I am always kind of, I don't know if I could ever write this out, but like the tier of standards, like the standards that we hold people to depending on their relationship, the irony of like what we the standards that we hold people to, depending on the relationship. The irony of like what we hope people like adhere to standard wise, the people we know the least, we hold are the highest standards.
Starting point is 01:23:12 One tweet, it's like asshole, you know, and you just go. Oh. Yeah, but you don't even like, and then it's like, oh, if you knew the person or whatever, then you like, the more familiar you become with the person, whether it's in a non- It's a will game conversation. No, but seriously, I guess you could do that. But the anonymous post of like, that's everything
Starting point is 01:23:33 about you to the family member where you're just standards are like, I have no choice. Like, I can't pick my family. This is what the deal is going to be. I'm not explaining this in a great way, but I'm kind of endlessly fascinated with the tier of how the X, Y axis of actual intimacy of relationship, not speaking sexually, I'm just talking about how well you know someone and the standards that you hold them to versus the standards. And somewhere in the middle is this guy who's just your buddy, who you're like,
Starting point is 01:24:05 you know what I'm gonna tell you right now as we end this? There's no scenario in three years where if you're still friends, you're hanging around and you're like, remember that three month window when you were hooking up with that girl where that altered the course of the universe? It's actually not going to happen. How much more time do we have, by the way?
Starting point is 01:24:24 We have, we got time. Whatever you need. We have time. All right, I'll do a little, do a little trivia. Well, not a little trivia, because I'm not gonna, I'm not gonna drop this. So yesterday, with the trade deadline thing, I ended up not doing anything. So that's why we did the stuff at the top of the show. And for whatever, well, actually there's a lot of reasons. Cause usually when I'm like in and out of New Orleans, there's not a ton of free time.
Starting point is 01:24:50 So yesterday before the deadline, I was like, well, I guess if I'm not doing anything, I can just re you know, look at everything and then I'll go back and prep later in the day and have it for today and some of the different stuff. So I went over, you know, I saw Chris Long and all the green light guys and I got there for a little bit and they were cooking an alligator. And I was like, you know what? Yeah, it was intense in person. Met Kyle Hamilton, best safety in the NFL.
Starting point is 01:25:17 Your guy. Yeah, love that dude. Grew up a huge LSU fan. Oh. Yeah, I don't know. There's a few other stories, nothing like crazy or anything, but here's what I wanted to share with the audience is that that World War II museum here in New Orleans must see, I know people Superbowl week like to party with drugs, alcohol, maybe meet somebody.
Starting point is 01:25:38 I like to party with history and I couldn't even make it through. I'd spent two and a half hours in there and I didn't even finish half of it. And, you know, there's some stuff I knew. I feel like my Pacific stuff is a little light. I feel like nobody ever talks about Italy. Um, basically a lot of it's Western Europe, you know, what you spend your time looking at. So I definitely have some holes to fill in, some gaps. Some of the stuff was just great. Kurt Vonnegut set up there, the gaps. Some of the stuff was just great.
Starting point is 01:26:05 Kurt Vonnegut set up there a copy of the original log of Hiroshima from the flight log, or I guess this is a copy that the pilot who kept the log gave to his children. So there's like five copies, but the original, I guess, was bought at an auction. Nobody knows, or maybe people do know where it is, but it didn't say where it was in the museum or anything. So as I'm doing that, you know, and again, I'm starting to be concerned a little bit, some self-awareness here. I appreciate Saruti pointing that out with me that I'm not like, if I get through this self-awareness phase of having none, then I'm worried, but I
Starting point is 01:26:41 sometimes don't know if I'm doing a bit or if this is actually who I am. Is that fair Saruti? Yeah. Yeah. Right. Like I wanted to go to the museum, but was like, I was like, do I want to tell people that I'm going to the museum? Is that kind of like the funny add on that guys are sitting around being like,
Starting point is 01:27:02 what do you want to do today? I go, I'm going to that museum. It closes at five. Like I've always wanted to go. I've never had the window. The window is now and I'm going. So to complete. Well, you would do like the Instagram picture
Starting point is 01:27:14 in front of the museum. Don't tag the museum. Nobody knows where you are. And it would just be like a Churchill quote. Well, I haven't done it yet. I almost- If you know, you know. Yeah. Right. That's advanced scouting. I haven't done it yet. I have the picture out. If you know, you know. Yeah. Right. That's advanced scouting.
Starting point is 01:27:25 I haven't done it yet. I have the picture. I've selected the picture to do just that. I knew it. I thought I was going to do it last night. So that's kind of where the story ends, is I go to take a picture while I'm in one of the theaters, the Normandy Theater, right?
Starting point is 01:27:40 And I was like, how can I make this as awkward as possible? And it's already pretty awkward because I was at the gym. I was in a cutoff LSU shirt, which I forgot. I packed the one with no sleeves. So then I was just walking around all day with no sleeves on LSU shirt. Forgot, forgot the sleeves and got a hat on. And I was like, I'll just take a selfie, old guy selfie, bad angle, whatever. And just, you know, cherry on top of this entire experience.
Starting point is 01:28:09 And so the theater screen is behind me and I go to take the selfie. And then I look at the picture because I can't see the screen behind me. And then I look at the picture and let's just say the picture snap at the worst possible time. Not even a good enough joke, huh? I don't want to take any guesses. Yeah. Yeah.
Starting point is 01:28:34 Not even worth a joke post. Not even worth it. No, there was no, yeah, there was no. Just look at the scale of it all. You didn't look at the picture and go, Hey, maybe we do a redo. You just took it. And no, of course that's exactly what I did. I was like, well, I have to do another one. But look at people's skater.
Starting point is 01:28:56 I'm even telling this story. It was a world war II museum folks. Was, you know, it's going to be some unsettling stuff in there. Yeah. So, uh, anyway, battle the bulge though. Good comeback for those guys. Patent to the rescue coming in like Mike Stanton. All right. That'll do it for us on the podcast today, Monday, Wednesday, Friday next week. Right. So we're still a little ways away. Or what are we doing next?
Starting point is 01:29:26 Friday Feedback next Friday. Friday Feedback next Friday. Get your emails in. What is it? Friday Feedback, rr at gmail.com, I believe. That's the address. If you don't like that, okay, good. He's not supposed to know that.
Starting point is 01:29:40 Friday Feedback, rr at gmail.com. You can leave a little Yelp review on what it is we're doing. Everybody enjoy the Super Bowl. Thanks to Oregon, thanks to Kyle, thanks to Saruti. Check out our YouTube page and of course, subscribe to Brian Russo's podcast, Ring Your Spotfire. Must be 21 and older, present in select states for Kansas, in affiliation with Kansas Star Casino or 18 plus and present in DC gambling
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