Francis Ellis | Beating Cancel Culture & Finding Comedic Tone At Barstool + NFL Playoff Review

Summary

Bussin' With The Boys - Episode 311: Francis Ellis | Beating Cancel Culture & Finding Comedic Tone At Barstool + NFL Playoff Review

Hosts: Will Compton, Taylor Lewan, Francis Ellis
Release Date: January 7, 2025
Podcast: Bussin' With The Boys by Barstool Sports

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1. Introduction

The episode kicks off with Will Compton and Taylor Lewan welcoming listeners to Episode 311, featuring special guest Francis Ellis. The hosts set the stage for a deep dive into Francis's tumultuous journey with Barstool Sports, his battle against cancel culture, and an insightful review of the NFL playoffs.

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2. Francis Ellis’s Journey: Surviving Cancel Culture at Barstool Sports

Francis Ellis shares his candid and harrowing experience working at Barstool Sports, detailing his rise, fall, and eventual redemption within the company.

• Initial Success and Pressure:

  • [01:20] Will Compton introduces Francis as a comedian whose role at Barstool involved high-energy content creation.
  • [06:42] Taylor Lewan reflects on Michigan’s season, segueing into Francis’s experiences with team dynamics and high-stakes environments.

• Faking Cancer and the Fallout:

  • [07:15] Francis recounts how a medical mishap led him to believe he had cancer, which he later discovered was a lab error resulting from sample swapping.
  • [15:43] The incident spirals into public controversy as Barstool’s media outlets paint Francis as someone who faked his illness to secure his position.
  • [55:28] Francis discusses the immense backlash, including negative media coverage from outlets like The Washington Post and People Magazine, labeling him as insensitive and manipulative.

• Firing and Rehiring:

  • [61:07] After addressing the false accusations publicly, Francis is fired from Barstool. He describes the emotional turmoil and the subsequent support he received from colleagues and friends.
  • [69:58] The narrative shifts to his rehiring, emphasizing Barstool’s unique corporate culture where authenticity and personal struggles are both celebrated and scrutinized.

• Lessons Learned and Moving Forward:

  • [85:02] Francis emphasizes the importance of honesty and transparency, both in personal life and professional settings.
  • [165:24] He discusses his coping mechanisms, including therapy, medication, and mindfulness practices, which helped him navigate his mental health challenges.

Notable Quotes:

• "Do you think the government is in on it?" – Francis Ellis on conspiracies and personal beliefs. [201:02]
• "You're in a great standing. We have full intention to renew you." – Dave Portnoy reassuring Francis during his crisis. [161:18]
• "Having the trilogy would be sick." – Taylor Lewan during a light-hearted segment on actors’ career choices. [237:27]

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3. NFL Playoff Review

The hosts transition into a comprehensive review of the ongoing NFL playoffs, analyzing team performances, key players, and potential outcomes.

• AFC Playoff Insights:

  • [07:24] Discussion on the Tennessee Titans’ strategies with the first overall pick, addressing potential team management issues.
  • [10:28] Review of Oregon Ducks' elimination and Michigan's offensive struggles throughout the season.
  • [16:13] Insights into the Big 12 conference, defending Arizona State’s gritty performance against traditional powerhouse teams.

• Game Strategies and Predictions:

  • [19:41] Francis Ellis predicts Penn State and Notre Dame’s performances, highlighting Texas’s competitive edge against Ohio State.
  • [27:01] Analysis of Arizona State’s defense and their ability to control the game despite offensive inconsistencies.
  • [39:58] Will Compton breaks down AFC West teams, praising the Denver Broncos and Los Angeles Chargers for their defensive prowess and coaching strategies.

Notable Quotes:

• "I see the Puma's grind, but we're gonna get it done." – Will Compton on Broncos’ playoff prospects. [60:31]
• "Derrick Henry is a beast." – Taylor Lewan admiring the running back's performance. [41:17]

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4. Conspiracy Theories and Personal Reflections

The conversation takes a turn towards discussing conspiracy theories and their impact on personal and professional lives.

• Las Vegas Bombing Theories:

  • [193:48] Francis Ellis expresses skepticism about delving deep into conspiracy theories, choosing to maintain willful ignorance to preserve his mental well-being.
  • [199:57] Discussion on the Las Vegas bombing, questioning official narratives and exploring alternative explanations, while acknowledging the lack of concrete evidence.

• Balancing Authenticity and Public Perception:

  • [192:22] Francis debates the feasibility of uncovering hidden truths versus maintaining a balanced outlook on life’s uncertainties.
  • [201:48] Emphasis on the importance of not letting negative narratives define personal identity and career trajectory.

Notable Quotes:

• "Life can be tough, but don't give up." – Francis Ellis on resilience. [86:29]
• "We're just gonna do it." – Hosts encouraging listeners to engage with conspiracy discussions cautiously. [192:55]

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5. Challenges, Personal Stories, and Humorous Anecdotes

The hosts and Francis share various personal stories and humorous moments, highlighting the blend of sports analysis and personal growth.

• Surviving Reality Shows and Corporate Hurdles:

  • [143:35] Francis recounts his time on Barstool’s reality segment, detailing manipulative corporate practices and personal struggles.
  • [147:15] Anecdotes about interacting with colleagues and handling workplace conflicts with humor and resilience.

• Comedic Interludes and Audience Engagement:

  • [206:47] A segment mimicking improvised comedic scenarios, showcasing the hosts' chemistry and quick wit.
  • [223:44] Humorous exchanges about personal antics and maintaining professionalism in absurd situations.

Notable Quotes:

• "I've been through hell." – Francis Ellis reflecting on his professional and personal battles. [171:55]
• "Just put your phone out loud." – Will Compton joking about recording mishaps. [214:41]

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6. Conclusion

The episode wraps up with the hosts expressing gratitude to Francis Ellis for sharing his profound and transformative experiences. They highlight the importance of authenticity, resilience, and maintaining a balanced perspective amidst adversity. The final moments blend light-hearted banter with sincere reflections, leaving listeners with a sense of hope and determination.

Notable Quotes:

• "Life can be tough, but don't give up." – Francis Ellis concluding his motivational segment. [86:29]
• "Stay twisted with the boys and grab a refreshing Twisted Tea today." – Promotional closing with a humorous twist. [252:10]

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Key Takeaways:

• Resilience Against Cancel Culture: Francis Ellis’s story underscores the importance of integrity and transparency in overcoming professional setbacks and personal crises.

• Strategic Sports Analysis: The hosts provide in-depth insights into the NFL playoffs, emphasizing team strategies, player performances, and potential playoff outcomes.

• Balance of Humor and Seriousness: The episode masterfully balances light-hearted humor with serious discussions on mental health, conspiracy theories, and personal growth.

• Authenticity in Content Creation: Emphasizing genuine storytelling, the podcast highlights how personal experiences can shape and enhance professional content, fostering a deeper connection with the audience.

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Notable Moments:

• [15:43]: Francis reveals the mix-up in his cancer diagnosis, leading to widespread media misrepresentation.
• [61:07]: The emotional recounting of his firing and the support he received showcases the complexities of corporate relationships.
• [86:29]: Motivational insights on overcoming personal struggles, highlighting the significance of mental health awareness.

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Listeners who tune into this episode will gain a multifaceted understanding of Francis Ellis’s personal battles, Barstool Sports’ internal dynamics, and nuanced perspectives on the NFL playoffs. The blend of humor, honesty, and strategic analysis makes this episode both entertaining and enlightening.

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Note: All timestamps correspond to the podcast transcript and serve to highlight key discussions and memorable quotes.

Transcript

[Taylor Lewan]

What's up boys? I hope you are having an incredible day. Just a reminder that we drop every Tuesday on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Play and if you're an Amazon prime member you can listen to our podcast ad free on Amazon Music.

[Francis Ellis]

It's tailgate time at Raising Cane's. Whether you're rooting for your squad or.

[Will Compton]

That other team, Kane's craveable combos rally.

[Francis Ellis]

Every fan for the greatest game day ever.

[Will Compton]

Make some epic memories with cook to.

[Francis Ellis]

Order chicken fingers, crispy crinkle cut fries, buttery Texas toast and the reigning mvp.

[Sherman]

That signature Cane sauce.

[Francis Ellis]

So grab your crew and make your next tailgate a touchdown.

[Will Compton]

Game days are better together.

[Francis Ellis]

Game days are better with Cane's Raising Cane's chicken fingers. One love. Alright, we're good.

[Will Compton]

Be like bussin with the boys Hangin.

[Francis Ellis]

With the fellas.

[Taylor Lewan]

Betting on a game.

[Will Compton]

No woman's gonna tell us what to do and I've been over here just.

[Francis Ellis]

Drinking beer and making that noise baby.

[Will Compton]

I'm hanging with the fellas Bussin with the boys bro. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to another episode of Busting with the boys. Episode 311.

[Taylor Lewan]

310. 310.

[Will Compton]

310, dude. 310. We have a lot to look forward to today on this show. We have Francis Ellis with us. Very long episode and then who knows how long the intro is going to go. As we're speaking right now, Black Monday is going on. Some coaches have already been fired. Obviously we live in Nashville, Tennessee so there'll be some conversation around the Tennessee Titans. What are they going to do with the first pick? Will Levis. Who's the issue? Who's the problem? Is the GM is the head coach? We don't know. Maybe Amy Adams trunk who still lives in Houston. She's the problem. We'll find out after I tell you about our favorite vehicle in the entire world. That's the Chevy Silverado. It's that time of the season. Teams are in the playoff hunt and every game counts. We know when it counts. You can count on the Chevy Silverado. A dependable partner with strength, capability and true grit. Whether you're looking for a spacious interior to comfortably get get to the game. The functionality of the multiflex tailgate to get the most out of tailgating technology to make driving, towing and parking all easier. Chevy Silverado has your back. Now is the perfect time to get into a Silverado or Silverado hd. Our favorite truck and the official truck of busting with the boys. Go to chevy.com to check out all the great offers and even build your own Silverado. Do us a favor. If you're a little more interested in what kind of awards they've won, you can visit JD power.comawards for more award details. Gentlemen, we have another round of the playoffs going on. The wild card. Playoffs are going to start. Teams are disappointed. We're going to run A plus. I'm going to go right to JV.

[Sherman]

Huffy JP before we get into that, if you are a barstool surviving fan, there is spoilers of tonight's episode. So just wanted to put that out there.

[Will Compton]

Fair. Fair point.

[Taylor Lewan]

As you're listening, there are spoilers of Monday night's episode. So just be cautious in this Francis Ellis episode.

[Will Compton]

Spoilers. Maybe we can do that too in the edit please. We have like some alarm sounding off. Just put spoilers around our face before.

[Taylor Lewan]

We get into the NFL. Is that what we were going to JP for?

[Will Compton]

Yeah. So I was. Well, I saw JP trying to talk and I was trying to bring up my thought and I was. I'm going to bring JP in after.

[Taylor Lewan]

Should we go college football?

[Will Compton]

Let's go college first. Yeah, let's go college.

[Taylor Lewan]

And for everybody curious that follows along and watches the locker room as well. We will be. We will be dropping the college Football playoff preview final four yesterday, tonight, on Tuesday that drops at 6pm and then our NFL playoffs, our wildcard weekend, that will drop tomorrow morning on Wednesday at 6am so that is how we're separating the locker room this week. A lot of awesome games. We got all the best teams. We get to talk about all the best teams now. Playoff picture in the NFL sorted out.

[Will Compton]

The national championships on Monday.

[Taylor Lewan]

Are we going to include that or how are we going to do that? No national championships on like January 20th 11th. Yeah. The next weekend.

[Francis Ellis]

You're right.

[Will Compton]

There's still room around. I know. It's so many teams out there.

[Taylor Lewan]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, that's true.

[Francis Ellis]

All right.

[Will Compton]

Yeah, good talk. Do we want to talk about. We did we touch on Michigan, Alabama G. We have not touched on.

[Taylor Lewan]

We have not touched on the bowling about it.

[Will Compton]

Yeah, yeah. Wild series of against Reliaques Bowl. I'm sure if you tuned in, you probably did. Unless you're an Alabama or Michigan fan. The first half of that quarter was just fucking crazy.

[Francis Ellis]

Drunk.

[Will Compton]

Drunk. Raining down. God. Just raining down missiles of rain and well you said four plays. Three turnovers in four plays.

[Taylor Lewan]

Yeah. They put a stat on the screen that was like Alabama starting drive starts on their own 25 Michigan starting drives, opponents 21st yard line.

[Will Compton]

Yeah, just crazy. And it shows how bad Michigan's offense is the entire year because we got the ball in the red zone on three separate occasions based on turnovers and we came away with nine points. So game could have got away in a hurry. Alabama, a lot of guys sat out. Michigan, a lot of guys sat out. A lot of transfers from Alabama, a lot of transfers from Michigan. So we said we thought that Jalen Millere was going to be the deciding factor in this game. And he was. Yeah, he was a deciding factor in this game. He just didn't play well. It was tough for him. My heart goes out to him because you want him to have a great long career. He hurt himself more than helped himself in that situation.

[Taylor Lewan]

Now the positive, the positive is bad of a season as Michigan had. You guys ended on the best note of any team in college football.

[Will Compton]

People, people, I will made the best three win team in college football history a couple years ago. And there was, there was an argument to that. So that.

[Taylor Lewan]

An argument.

[Will Compton]

That's okay, right? And so now here I go. Because I've thought about it a little bit too and I've actually dug a little deep on.

[Taylor Lewan]

I was gonna say. Do you have team facts?

[Will Compton]

Five lost teams. Michigan is the only team since 1991 to be unranked and defeat two top 15 teams consecutive weeks. Them and the University of Arizona. So there's a little smidget right there. I'll dive a little deeper in. But you look at our points per game, our points, it's just bad all around. But just find a way to win. Find a way to win those last two, three weeks. And dude, I don't want to be that guy. But they started clicking when I spoke to the team. I don't know What I said, they're 3,0. They're 3,0. They've covered the spread every single time since I've spoke to that team. What'd you say to him, dog? So obviously public speaking is not an issue of mine.

[Taylor Lewan]

Ain't number babies and memories after this one, boys.

[Will Compton]

Yeah, but I literally got up there and I basically just told them like, thank you, thank you for re putting back the culture of Michigan that people look at the team, teams I played for, we were terrible. So I never got to see what like the culture of Michigan, the maize and blue, like the Michigan men type of mentality you guys are that regardless of what your record reflects and just told him be present, be present. And those boys been present, been present. So anyway, whatever Shout out Michigan. Dude. Rip to the sec.

[Taylor Lewan]

Yeah. Tough loss for Bama. Tough loss for South Carolina. It was. It was a. Not the original showing that the SEC usually does in bowl games. They don't matter now.

[Will Compton]

It's not. It's not about not mattering. What matter. What's happening now is there's an equalizer between all the other conferences and the sec. SEC used to pay their players. Now everybody else can also pay their players. Everyone's getting figured out.

[Taylor Lewan]

You watch the way them Huskers celebrated the Pinstripe bowl and you tell me that that game doesn't matter. Yeah, it matters.

[Will Compton]

Big boy mowers, homes.

[Taylor Lewan]

Wannabe just prancing around. You don't think it mattered to Illinois beating a South Carolina Gamecock scene? No matter how many guys sat out, you're gonna. You're gonna actually in your brain think that that uniform didn't show up excited to play. You saw Shane Beamer ready to fucking throw bows, which I absolutely love.

[Will Compton]

Love.

[Taylor Lewan]

I little taunt thing. I love Shane Beamer just getting chaos. Like I love that bowl game. I love watching that bowl game for South Carolina.

[Will Compton]

Yeah, Beamer taking him down, no question. But Beamer better be careful because a couple years from now, he might look like B.

[Taylor Lewan]

Hold him back.

[Will Compton]

They look a little too similar. You can put a little that weight on that coaching weight. Now he's fit now he can lose it.

[Sherman]

How do you look at Shane Beamer's body and think he could turn into.

[Will Compton]

Brett B. I saw happen with Mike V is 2018. He came in a little stack.

[Taylor Lewan]

Brett.

[Will Compton]

He was an ooey gooey body after, you know, I'm just saying. Word of caution, Coach Beamer. Keep it tight, brother, because those calories get away from you fast when coaching gets stressful. You see Belema, he will see what he's dealing with.

[Sherman]

He will never have to walk back across the field at the pace that Brett Bielema was walking back. My boy was out of breath just from hitting this one on him. And it took a slow walk back. Ref could have given him a delay a game and Beamer would never.

[Will Compton]

It's just a word of caution. It's just a word of caution. That being said, though, all these other schools being able to pay, now you see a changing of the tide. You see it kind of happening. Go ahead, Sherm.

[JP]

Can I ask one question?

[Will Compton]

Go ahead.

[JP]

And this one's to jp. Why was Ole Miss clowning Shane Beamer? I didn't understand that.

[Taylor Lewan]

That was Juice Wells, wasn't it? So Juice Wells came from South Carolina, but I thought he had a solid relationship.

[Will Compton]

Yeah, Juice is a good kid. Afraid of the show.

[Sherman]

I don't know what's going on with him, bro.

[Taylor Lewan]

I mean, he went villain mode with that one. Yeah.

[Sherman]

Like, Shane Beamer said something mid year after we beat somebody and was like, you know, we had some guys, they said that they didn't believe we had a quarterback and they didn't want to play with them. And so we're seeing how that's going right now. So that was like the dig, and then Juice Wells catches, like, his sixth pass of the year in the bowl game. We would have made Juice well as a top two round pick. Now he might go undrafted.

[Will Compton]

Oof.

[Sherman]

Which is tough for him.

[Will Compton]

Sounds like somebody's getting a sleeper in the draft then.

[Sherman]

They could be. It depends. He dropped a lot of balls this year, and I want him to do well. Like, a lot of South Carolina fans hate him, like, to the death, but, I mean, I want him to do well.

[Will Compton]

Dude, we will get to the draft in a little bit. Obviously, our beloved Tennessee Titans have the first overall pick, and we live in Nashville, Tennessee. We'll give them a round applause for that. Shout out the Patriots. Shout out the Patriots. Taking care of business against the Bills yesterday. But, dude, these last playoffs were nuts. I mean, quickly, man. Let's get a moment of silence for the Oregon Ducks.

[Taylor Lewan]

We love you, Dan.

[Will Compton]

Love you, Dan. That was crazy. That's Michigan's fault. I mean, they woke up a giant.

[Taylor Lewan]

Yeah.

[Will Compton]

That is wild. They are incredible. Incredible. That bankroll did show up.

[Taylor Lewan]

Now that freshman bro, Jeremiah Smith, bro. But listen, he's an alien.

[Will Compton]

How many times have you seen guys that are freshman phenoms lose draft status because they get into this? Like when we watch a LeBron James or a Patrick Mahomes or Tom Brady and we see them play so well for so long, we get like this. We kind of get callous to the idea of how great these guys are. And I feel like that window is so much shorter in college. Like, this kid's having an insane freshman season. This is a. Might be a hot take. If you're so good at a freshman, where you're like, this kid is the top receiver in this draft class. He's a top 10 pick right now. Why not sit out the next two years and just say it?

[Sherman]

Two years is a long time.

[Will Compton]

So Chase, was it? Jamar Chase did it for one year. One year. But Johnny Manziel, good, good example. He goes in, he wins the Heisman as A freshman. Those last couple of years have been. Hurts him a little bit. Ends up the 31st pick in the draft. Maybe he's not.

[Sherman]

I think the way Jeremiah Smith is built is like, he's built to last. And that dude, I mean he's, he does not look like an 18 year old at all.

[Will Compton]

He's a man.

[Sherman]

And the balls he's catching is like, it's not going to be like a lack of. Of. Yeah, like, it's not gonna be a.

[Taylor Lewan]

Lack of power hitting after this.

[Will Compton]

He's finding that ball. He's a heat taking missile for that ball. He's incredible.

[Taylor Lewan]

You're saying sit out the next two years just to protect himself.

[Will Compton]

So he goes, no, it's more, it's more of like a haha take. But like, yeah, he, he could probably, he could probably set up the next two years. He'll still be a first round draft pick is basically what I'm saying. Yeah, like I, you, I mean, you play next year, you think about that the following year. If you, if you do the same thing as you did and you look at the team maybe coming back and be like, this ain't it. But I mean, he is NFL ready. Wide receiver one right now.

[Taylor Lewan]

Yeah.

[Will Compton]

On an NFL team. Yeah.

[Taylor Lewan]

He's a stud.

[Will Compton]

Incredible.

[Taylor Lewan]

And they just beat the brakes off the Ducks, man, like before it even started. I felt for him. 38, 34, nothing.

[Will Compton]

That game was over. At the coin flip, they just said they got that look in their eye, man.

[Taylor Lewan]

I'm telling you, all those teams that got to play the week before, I think helped them out. As clear as day, you don't want the ball now. Obviously Ohio State had to. I think I was talking with Tate, he's like, I mean, Ohio State had to sit out like however many weeks.

[Will Compton]

Before you and I were talking about that.

[Taylor Lewan]

But I'm sitting there thinking, I'm like, that, that is true. You guys had to sit out that long. But losing to Michigan and as loud and as crazy as that moment was for them, like, they were just, they were so pissed off. They were so dialed in and focused. I'm not saying Oregon wasn't, but they're just salivating. They're salivating to right that wrong because they've had to wait for weeks and they're preparing like. And again, I, I say that and you almost have to assume that Oregon wasn't. I'm not saying that. I'm just, I feel like the type of motivation that Ohio State had and to get whatever rust they might have had against an Indiana football team or not. Indiana, Tennessee beating Tennessee, like kind of stirring the pot. Right, right.

[Will Compton]

You get Tennessee fans were you get.

[Taylor Lewan]

A game in against Tennessee before you go and play Oregon. The closest one was Arizona State. Texas.

[Will Compton]

Arizona State.

[Taylor Lewan]

That's a great game.

[Will Compton]

Should be playing this week now.

[Taylor Lewan]

You don't know. I. That should have been a targeting penalty. They should have gotten into the opponent territory. Who knows if they would have moved the ball anymore. And that kicker probably would have missed a field.

[Will Compton]

Probably would have missed a field. You're right.

[Taylor Lewan]

Yeah.

[Will Compton]

There's a lot of what ifs. There.

[Taylor Lewan]

There are, there are what ifs. But that should have definitely without any doubt, should have been a targeting penalty.

[Will Compton]

Without. Yeah. In the world we live in now, that is 1,000% like a textbook targeting penalty. Helmet. The helmet. And he's, you know, can't protect.

[Taylor Lewan]

And it's a textbook no call with a team like Texas Stallions kind of take on it. Like there should be a tiered system of targeting. Like basically. Yeah, I like that. Like a five, five yard line penalty. I didn't mean to. We did make contact in the head like kind of like running into the kicker versus roughing the kicker.

[Will Compton]

Right.

[Taylor Lewan]

Yeah, no, I, I did. I like that.

[Will Compton]

I like that. It makes me a little nervous when you start to add these gray areas in these, in these rules because there is already so much of a human element to, for them to make a judgment call. Right. Right then and there.

[Taylor Lewan]

But by doing that, does that remove a ref's judgment? Like you at least have three chances.

[Will Compton]

So you know it's, you know it's targeting. But then you get into the world of like, okay, is it tier one or tier two or is it tier two or tier three? And now you go back and forth and those extra five yards or whatever it is the, you know, kick him out of the game. That's such a big deal at that point. So what are we talking about this. Because that's. What tier is that?

[Francis Ellis]

Tier 1.

[Will Compton]

Whatever the highest tier is, he would.

[Taylor Lewan]

Give it like make it a 5 yard penalty. Guy stays in the game and the kid doesn't get kicked out. That's the thing. If it's targeting, the kid also gets kicked out. Like the, the penalties are so extreme. It's like NBA, you got flagrant one, flagrant two. And the, the example of Arizona State the week before that, number seven who put that lick on the quarterback. That could have just been a five yard penalty. Where to where you don't give him 15 yards and kick him out of the game or kick him out of the first, first half of the night.

[Will Compton]

Because that was, that was under the chin.

[Taylor Lewan]

Safety, his first. Did you see that? His number seven. If you're watching, it was number seven who got the safety on Texas. That was his first play back in the game.

[Will Compton]

No.

[Taylor Lewan]

Yeah.

[Mitch]

Shamari.

[Will Compton]

Shamari Simmons.

[JP]

And he was the only one that could lock down Golden. Is that his name?

[Will Compton]

Yeah.

[JP]

Yeah.

[Will Compton]

I mean, dude, that game was awesome to watch. And we'll brought up a good point in Chicago when we were talking about his. Texas didn't move the ball at all other than the couple explosive plays they had one on special teams.

[Taylor Lewan]

Yes.

[Will Compton]

And then that run. Other than that, ASU's defense handled business the entire game. And ASU's offense, although they weren't coming away with points on the board because if they had an adequate kicker, they actually run away with that game in a sense because they're in their red zone in the territory to kick so many times. They are moving the ball 25 to 25 on a consistent basis. The top in that game was wild.

[JP]

Can I, can I get on soapbox for the Big 12 for like 10 seconds?

[Will Compton]

Yeah.

[JP]

I just want to say everybody's saying, oh, Arizona State's defense is only good because they blitz every play. They blitz every play. They're not that physical. They don't have grit like, you know, Big ten or sec. ASU came to play and I was. State came to play against Miami too. I mean the Big 12 has good, gritty, strong defenses. It's not just the high flying offenses of old of the Big 12. It's a lot of programs that really have good running games like asu. Like a Texas Tech. They had trouble later in the season, but I just wanted to get that out there. Baylor played great against lsu. I was happy with that performance.

[Taylor Lewan]

They lost, but they came back a little bit. Yeah.

[Will Compton]

What's your, what do you say?

[Francis Ellis]

Like asu.

[Taylor Lewan]

What was the point of the.

[Francis Ellis]

They're gritty.

[Taylor Lewan]

Where did Texas come from?

[Will Compton]

Where did Texas come from?

[Taylor Lewan]

The Big 12 even matchup.

[JP]

Yeah, but Texas played in the SEC championship this year.

[Will Compton]

I think what you're getting is this Big 12, the conference of Big 12 needs to be looked at a little more higher regard. Okay, that's. We'll take that more so than the ACC.

[JP]

I'm not saying we're SEC or Big Ten.

[Taylor Lewan]

Yeah, I agree with the ACC.

[Will Compton]

What were they, 2 and 11 in bowl games?

[Taylor Lewan]

Yeah. Not good.

[Will Compton]

Brutal. I mean, yeah, if you were. Let's actually quickly go through and just tear the conferences real quick. I think it'll be pretty consistent aboard. Top three tiers would be Bay 10, then the SEC, then B12.

[Taylor Lewan]

Yeah, 100%. I don't think.

[Will Compton]

I mean that. Is that. Do we even. Anybody arguing that at all?

[Taylor Lewan]

No, I don't think anybody's arguing that.

[Sherman]

Yeah, the ACC's record something. I do think that could happen for the bowl games to incentivize it more since everybody is getting paid. It should be. If you win this game, that bowl pays your team. So, like every kid gets five bonuses.

[Will Compton]

Like a playoff bonus.

[Sherman]

Yeah, exactly.

[Taylor Lewan]

Yeah.

[Sherman]

I think that could make it electric even in these other bowl games.

[Will Compton]

Like. Yeah, but listen, if you had a kid that's going to go to the NFL, you need a little more of incentive than $5,000.

[Sherman]

I mean, I get it.

[Will Compton]

Starters get 50.

[Francis Ellis]

Yeah.

[Taylor Lewan]

It gets muddy. You don't have to put 50 across the board for everybody.

[Francis Ellis]

Yeah.

[Will Compton]

Which would be a lot for 105 guys on a football team.

[Taylor Lewan]

Yeah.

[Will Compton]

Yeah. Interesting.

[Taylor Lewan]

Or that's a good thought.

[Sherman]

I think it could be fun.

[Will Compton]

Or do like. Like a. What does basketball do? They have like the March Madness actual bracket to win it all. And they have another bracket too.

[Sherman]

They have the nit. That would be interesting.

[Will Compton]

I think it would. Because if then you would have Nebraska moving forward, a Michigan moving forward, there'd be Will and I's dialogue. You'd have these other. Other teams being able to do a bunch of stuff. It'd be fun.

[Sherman]

Unfortunately, I don't think Will Compton and Terry Lawan's dialogue could carry.

[Will Compton]

Not yet, but give it time, bro. Give it time. Because it would be love.

[Taylor Lewan]

I love how you threw that in there. Like we gonna move the needle.

[Will Compton]

Yeah. Yeah. Come on now. I'm telling you. Let's do a quick prediction. We'll go to the NFL. Yeah. Or do you want to wait for locker room?

[Francis Ellis]

Oh, definitely.

[Sherman]

Pretty. Oh, yeah. Yes.

[Will Compton]

Penn State look good. I mean, Notre Dame look good.

[Taylor Lewan]

I think Texas will put up a better. I think Texas will put up a better fight than people are anticipating with Ohio State. They have the. They have like the best pass defense like in the country. And their defense that Ben don't bring mentality. Offense has got to figure it out and move the ball a little bit more because Ohio State can get up on them. But I think that they're going to compete a lot more than people are anticipating because Ohio State's now had two blowouts. So there's no reason to think Ohio State's not just going to walk through this game.

[Sherman]

Queen Ewers too. Like, I mean, I know, yeah, people want to say what they want to say about him, but that was ice cold at the end of Arizona.

[Taylor Lewan]

Did you see that the dude, the ball kind of hit the ground on that touchdown pass? Yeah, I did.

[Sherman]

I was seeing that.

[Taylor Lewan]

Yeah. That the play? Yeah, the 413 that Texas caught. He catches it in the back half of the ball, like in one of the frames, like goes down and touches the ground as he gathers it back in his body. They didn't even look at it. I was going to say. And they don't even. They didn't even look at it.

[Will Compton]

I know you talking about this crazy bias going on right now against asu.

[Sherman]

That field goal bounce.

[Will Compton]

Yeah.

[Francis Ellis]

What's the rule on that?

[Sherman]

I think you saw the field goal bounced in after it got two points, right? So, I mean, obviously they counted it as nothing, but. And they're trying to figure out what does the rule mean.

[Francis Ellis]

I don't.

[Sherman]

What do y'all think it should be? I personally think if it bounces in, that'll be awesome. If it counted.

[Taylor Lewan]

But if it bounces in like it.

[Sherman]

Hit the ground, it gets tipped like in the game. Texas tipped it, it bounced and it went in through the goalposts.

[Will Compton]

Isn't that what ASU's trying to argue right now?

[Sherman]

Yeah, they appealed it.

[Will Compton]

They appealed it.

[Taylor Lewan]

And look, I know shout out Dilly for taking full accountability and kind of breaking this play down, but, bro, I just. What do you do? Cover zero.

[Will Compton]

Like, you can't let anybody get in front of you. You play the sticks. You play the sticks. You don't let anybody. Anything behind you and the dude.

[Taylor Lewan]

Hey, yeah. If you thinking of going to the inside, you see. Hey, you saw it hit the ground.

[Sherman]

Yeah.

[Taylor Lewan]

Yeah. Holy Sher. Sitting there watching it.

[Will Compton]

That is crazy. Cuz. I would love to see ASU playing right now. I love to see asu. Yeah. I love that you got dudes like.

[Sherman]

Brandon Walker out there talking about Cam Scabo. Isn't that good?

[Will Compton]

Just.

[Sherman]

It's just crazy between that mid game, bro.

[Will Compton]

99 yards receiving. We got lot 46 yard pass, 140 yards rushing. The kid came to play. And the thing that's sick is I. I want to pull up if we can find this a compare and contrast of Quinn, your stats in that game and Sam Levitt's. Because Sam Levitt was talking crazy pre game. I'm the best quarterback. I'm gonna show why I'M the best quarterback, and Scatterbo is essentially like, I should have been on the best running back in all of college football. And they're gonna find out. And he. You walk away, you look at Scatterbo's stats, and you're like, God damn. I mean, he might be.

[Taylor Lewan]

Because you see, and they just. I mean, that old line just could not protect.

[Will Compton]

Could not protect. It was tough to watch.

[Taylor Lewan]

But to.

[Will Compton]

I mean. Yeah, yeah. I mean, Quinn played better having that.

[Taylor Lewan]

Having that.

[Will Compton]

But those are inflated. Those TDs are inflated because of overtime.

[Taylor Lewan]

It's crazy.

[Will Compton]

Who's it. Who you talking about?

[Francis Ellis]

G ewers?

[Sherman]

Because that nobody in Texas wants him to be the quarterback. And, you know, he knows that, which is wild. I know. And then to make that throw, I know in his head, he's probably thinking, screw all of y'all and watch. What I do against Ohio State is probably what's going through his head, hopefully.

[Taylor Lewan]

I hope on that last play defensively, just talking about that, to me, if you want to go04, yeah, you need to go. You need to go true zero. Or in my opinion, you play coverage, but you can't do the whole simulation. Cover zero play into a cover four. Like, you either got to go all out, have one extra guy get into the quarterback so he has to throw it right now, or you have to stay back and play coverage. Because right here you go to that back view of that last play.

[Will Compton]

I mean, yeah, you got seven up.

[Taylor Lewan]

Stop. They send six, and they have six guys to block. You know what I mean? Like, you're not running true cover zero right there. You got to bring one extra guy because he honestly could even hit the deep out route on this 4th and 13. 2. Because a dude beat his leverage to the outside. Look at this nickel down here. Boop. Keep going. Even he gets open.

[Will Compton]

Yeah. Yeah. I've never been a huge fan of. Of send the house in a critical game situation.

[Taylor Lewan]

Not 4th and 13. You're thinking like, 4th, like, and 6, 7.

[Will Compton]

Keep everything in front of you getting.

[Taylor Lewan]

Tackle so you guys can have blitz feet.

[Will Compton]

Yeah.

[Taylor Lewan]

Like, he can't really have blitz feet when they got enough to pick up everybody.

[Will Compton]

Because you're bailing. Yeah, yeah. You got to bail and play catch up versus all these guys running their routes. You feel bad for that safety. I love the fact that Dillingham came and, you know, owned it not once but twice. But I don't. I'm personally not a fan of that.

[Taylor Lewan]

Play because I think Dilly said the safety has to pick up Anything intermediate. So he ends up trying to dive down and chase that out route versus staying deep in a true cover four. Because that out, that out that corner post that he gets, he gets hit on the safety in the middle of the field. Basically vacates the middle of the field to go try to dive on that deep out.

[Will Compton]

Right. And you're right too if you're gonna. You have to bring more than six. Like you've got to get home in the situations. Have him throw off his back foot.

[Taylor Lewan]

And obviously your quarterback is easy to play, but that's just. You go to the back play coverage.

[Will Compton]

Beginning right before the snap hits. I hate this little line. What's his line doing right now?

[Taylor Lewan]

They're showing.

[Will Compton]

I mean, yeah, you have ammo. Yeah. And then that guy on the far left, he drops out. But the problem is like that three technique.

[Taylor Lewan]

Oh, Arizona State sending six right here. Texas has got seven in. They're in Max Pro.

[Will Compton]

Oh yeah. It's like H2, H3. I. I don't like it.

[Taylor Lewan]

Yeah.

[Will Compton]

If I. If you're going to send a max protection, you need to like overemphasize one gap. So I originally thought this was an avalanche blitz. Avalanche is three up the middle and you either get there with a motion and then the guy come, the guy who goes in motion and then comes in, or you just have a guy kind of sitting four yards behind and bring him up. When you have that many up the middle and you have three of the middle, you now you essentially, unless your gap scheme blocking, you're not, you're not able to pick that up because the backs can get there. That's when feet get in the way. That's when people trip over and that's when you get into the quarterback's lap. But if you're doing this type of air ammo blitz which is just two A gaps up the middle and dropping a guy into zone. The left tackle is one of the most important people in this thing. And this is. This kid's a first round pick. As soon as he sees this guy drop, which that end does a bad job of like showing that he's going to come and then drops. He needs to now start screaming to his left guard to bump everything back. Because you have to assume there's more numbers the opposite way than you if there's a blitz going away from you.

[JP]

So if this guy right here.

[Will Compton]

Yeah.

[JP]

You're saying send him through this gap that is going to be produced by the left tackle.

[Will Compton]

No, I mean the, the blitzer. They're in a 7 up. Look, if they brought all of them, you're in like a. A true zero.

[Francis Ellis]

Yeah.

[Will Compton]

This one I would have maybe had like a. I personally, both outside guys, I would have liked.

[Taylor Lewan]

So you have eight.

[Will Compton]

Yeah, yeah, I would have. I would have personally liked to see another guy up the middle if you're only gonna bring six.

[JP]

So this dude right here, this dude right here, and this dude right here. You would send those two on that.

[Will Compton]

And then have like, what would you say, like a bracket type of defense on the back end.

[Francis Ellis]

Yeah.

[Taylor Lewan]

I mean, you're playing cover zero. Yeah, you're playing a true cover zero.

[Will Compton]

You're just. You're basically like, hey, guys, hold up in front of you as much as possible. Keep everything in front of you, and pray to God that Rush gets home. And if you bring it, it's getting home. Yeah, he's got to throw it as fast as possible. Sometimes before these guys can get out of the break, he might have to try to hit this check down, and then it's a gang tackle, vice tackle situation. But I mean, if hands are butts, dude, great game.

[Taylor Lewan]

Phenomenal and hell of an.

[Will Compton]

We're going back and forth on those bets being like, do we. Do we cash out? Like, my bet was sitting at like 16, 000 at one point, but I couldn't do it. I would have been sick to my stomach if I would have. If I would have that. If ASU would have won. And then. You know what I'm saying? You got to write that out. Have to write.

[Taylor Lewan]

Yeah, you have to write that out. We'll talk about. We'll talk about Penn State. Notre Dame here in a second, too. But listen, it's football season. We can't wait to get out some playoff games with the help of GameTime, the official ticketing partner of Barstool Sports. You guys know how much we love game time. And now with their brand new Game Time Picks feature, they're making it even easier to get to a game. Game Time Picks filters out the fluff to show you only incredible deals on great seats so you don't have to waste time searching through thousands of tickets. Go ahead and check out those Notre Dame. Penn State tickets. Uh, you see, Go and check out the amazing deal on Game Time. Hang on, somebody's. Somebody's calling me. Just pull up your chosen event, turn on the gametime Picks, the GT pick setting at the top of the screen, or Browse the local GameTime Picks deals near you on your GameTime app homepage. What are you Waiting for. Go buy those Notre Dame Penn State tickets now with gametime picks. Download the app today and use code bussin to easily score great deals with the new game time picks. What time is it?

[Will Compton]

Game time.

[Taylor Lewan]

Penn State looks salty.

[Will Compton]

Penn State looks salty.

[Taylor Lewan]

Penn State. Notre Dame is going to be a good game.

[Will Compton]

I think so too.

[Taylor Lewan]

You don't think so?

[Will Compton]

You think so. You think Georgia was that bad?

[Sherman]

J.P. yeah, I do. And I Notre Dame, I mean, Riley Leonard, like, I feel like he's got to be one of the easier quarterbacks to game plan for. He had 90 pass yards, 80 rush yards. That's not great. And I don't think you can win a championship with a quarterback that's kind of consistently.

[Taylor Lewan]

They run the ball. They run the ball well. But Penn State, to your point, is a very good defensive run team. Right.

[Sherman]

And then I think they run it better.

[Taylor Lewan]

Yeah, yeah. Like with Singleton and who's the other cater on Allen.

[Sherman]

Yeah, right. Drew Aller.

[Francis Ellis]

Yeah.

[Sherman]

So I think Notre Dame has surprised people, but I think Penn State, I would not be surprised if they wipe them.

[Taylor Lewan]

I mean, they surprise people too because of this coaching ability from the staff with Freeman down, like some of these play calls that go that when they went for it on fourth down, when they had the punt team out there and then they sprinted off the field to bring on the offense.

[Will Compton]

Love that.

[Francis Ellis]

Love Freeman.

[Sherman]

Like I want to see him do well.

[Will Compton]

But did he win coach of the year? I thought they said he won.

[Sherman]

I don't think he won coach of the year.

[Will Compton]

That during the game they were talking about coach of the year. I don't know if he won it or he was just like part of the. The favorite to win it.

[Sherman]

Most handsome man of the year.

[Will Compton]

He a handsome boy? He's a handsome boy for sure.

[Mitch]

Apparently due to subbing. Apparently you're not allowed to sub all 11 at once like that. You should really like, you need to be able to have. Because Kirby Smart was really pissed about it and said something about an oppressor about how that's not allowed and you need to like that's. I think that's when you're supposed to get the cross about being able to give the defense to sub.

[Will Compton]

Yeah, well, yeah, usually they do that in regular offensive plays anyway. Right. When they change personnel, the guy stands there and they have to like let him sub out and you guys are jogging off the field slow.

[Mitch]

I don't know what happened with this one, but I just. I just remember seeing that Kirby was.

[Taylor Lewan]

Super pissed up about it.

[Will Compton]

See, I Like, I like the idea of like it's obviously it hurts the defense, but like when subs are happening, like that is where true coaching comes into play. Like having your guys ready and aware at all times. Like, hey, they're in 11 right now, but if they go 12, we have to go into base. So we're going to throw these guys out. Be on your, like, just be ready. Ultimate communication, ultimate team game type of mentality. That fires me up. The game within the game type stuff. But to go back to Penn State. Oh, who's I think the most competitive national championship is? Penn State. Ohio State.

[Taylor Lewan]

Yeah. Based on how it's played out right now.

[Will Compton]

Based on their. And their last time they played.

[Taylor Lewan]

Yeah. And.

[Will Compton]

And you say like it's hard to beat a team two times a row. It was proved with Oregon and if Penn state on that 4th and 1 or whatever it is, they get that they beat Ohio State.

[Sherman]

Two coaches that were on the hot seat.

[Taylor Lewan]

Yeah, yeah, exactly.

[Will Compton]

I mean, tip of the cap to Ohio State, man. They have taken all that noise and said you that is impressive. Very impressive.

[Taylor Lewan]

And with give me Texas.

[Will Compton]

Hook them.

[Taylor Lewan]

What was disappointing too at the Notre Dame Georgia game, like Georgia defensively, like, they tackled so poorly on the edge, man.

[Will Compton]

Which is insane because you watch them against Texas in the, in the first game against Texas or the SEC champions, like the tackling is there.

[Taylor Lewan]

Yeah. There's like plays are there to be made and they were just not tackling well in the perimeter.

[Will Compton]

Maybe they saw like Stockton wasn't the guy and they just kind of new like we don't have the team to kind of get it done and running.

[Taylor Lewan]

The ball well on the perimeter. While how State did a hell of a job doing it against Oregon, they could not stop that handbag play.

[Will Compton]

No. Which is crazy.

[Taylor Lewan]

Yeah.

[Will Compton]

You were kind of explaining it a little bit how it's difficult for linebackers because to me when we do handbags, it's like this is the same play and no way this is affecting the defense. But you were explaining why that's more.

[Taylor Lewan]

Difficult for it's on the handbag. As a backer, you're stepping with the motion of the, of the running back. When the line and the running backs going the same way, you're getting sucked in to kind of like say, say the handbag, it's starting to go left. You're like sucking in, going to the left at first and when they bend it back around where Ohio State was really successful doing it. A lot of teams you do it with like a tight End or a fullback. So you'll start one way in the lead eye and then bend it back the other way. So the fullback or the, the tight end, that motion or wrap will take you to your run fit. It's a lot harder to see when you're doing it off of a jet sweep. Ohio State was doing a great job of it with the receiver getting to the edge and so the backs like stepping toward the receiver, receivers coming back around or on a jet suite coming back to the edge on the other side. So it was making it really difficult and with the momentum going that way, that like left side of the line of scrimmage was doing a great job of just kind of walling it off. Like there was no disruption by the Oregon Ducks. So I thought they were, they were tortured them on that, that bend back play.

[Will Compton]

Yeah. It seemed like they just really didn't. I mean it's unfortunate because you love Daniel of the pregame speeches all that. Just didn't feel like Oregon really came to play. They were they. Which I don't know how you don't. After you watch a Tennessee film, you put that film on, you're like, boy, this is a different team right now. And with the October and with the.

[Taylor Lewan]

Rap too, when you're playing gapped out, you're, you're, you're in your head like when the back stepping and everything's kind of decided, you're trying to aggressively press your gap versus on a handbag, the only guy who can make the play, whoever is responsible for the edge.

[Will Compton]

Yeah.

[Taylor Lewan]

So when you get that rap happen late and the guys on the edge, you got basically a one on one time.

[Will Compton]

You've already been swallowed up by your.

[Taylor Lewan]

Blocks because you're trying to press the A gap or the B gap hard versus like you almost. You need the second level to feel it and get to the outside.

[Will Compton]

So if you're game planning that hand back, that same look that Ohio State was doing multiple times, what do you do? Do you bring a safety down? Yeah.

[Taylor Lewan]

I mean.

[Will Compton]

Or you tell your linebackers to be a little bit loose and flow with the play.

[Taylor Lewan]

Yeah, yeah. It's such a game plan thing that you're going to have to rep and practice to where if you're trying to cheat it with two shell and having a safety come down late or just backer kind of keeping their depth like hey, don't let this, don't let the run game decide within the first step of the running back.

[Will Compton]

I can't imagine if you're a defense and you're watching Ohio State's through the air offense being like, we're going to bring a safety down in the box now to stop the run game. Like you're, you're. Yeah, I mean, they are operating right now. Yeah, absolutely operating.

[Taylor Lewan]

And it was, hey, fun year for Boise State. But they did get whooped. What they hold Gentry to.

[Mitch]

They didn't get whooped. If you look at the stats of that, Boise State outstated Penn State. They had more total yards, did better, had more first downs like Pence. Boise State had two turnovers and that's what allowed Penn State to score.

[Taylor Lewan]

Yeah, I mean, that's the game, right?

[Mitch]

No, I'm saying Pence or Boise State did a hell of a lot better than the like, than what the score looks like and what, like all the pundits and stuff.

[Will Compton]

You're saying, turn on the film. Don't. Don't look at the score. Turn the film.

[Mitch]

Boise State like, yeah, they gents, he had like 106 yards on like 30 carries. So, I mean, he's the best running back in the country. He's bound to get his. But like, Maddox Madsen played really good. Like Boise State held their own a little bit against no kicking game.

[JP]

Yeah, two fumbles or just one?

[Mitch]

Yeah, one or two fumbles. But again, like, that is the game.

[Taylor Lewan]

But because they got out on them quick.

[Mitch]

Yeah, but they were up like 14 nothing. But then Boise State kind of like they were going back and forth for a drive or two and then obviously the turnovers came and just Boise.

[Taylor Lewan]

Right, because Boise is a team that's built to give gentry the ball 30 times. But he's going to try and get 140 to 160.

[Will Compton]

Right.

[Taylor Lewan]

Like Penn State' defense did a hell of a job shutting him down. And what you can see too is all the glimpses of Genti. Like he's going to be a monster in the league because even like he's getting hit and tackled. Like all 11 hats are getting to the football, but it's taking all 11 to bring this man down, bro.

[Will Compton]

Yeah, bro.

[Francis Ellis]

He.

[Taylor Lewan]

He's an incredible running back, dude.

[Will Compton]

Incredible. Who, who'd you rather have a Genti or Scatter Genti? That's the answer. That's the answer. That's the answer.

[Francis Ellis]

Yeah.

[Will Compton]

I mean, Scatter booze.

[Taylor Lewan]

I mean, everybody knows I love scattered, but I love Scatter put on for the culture.

[Will Compton]

I am so interested to see what that kid runs at the combine. He's got. I mean, if he.

[Taylor Lewan]

I think so too.

[Will Compton]

You talk about scattered maybe 4, 7.

[Taylor Lewan]

Because again I was telling you they clocked him at like 22 miles an hour.

[Will Compton]

I know, but he's a guy that strikes me as like a game speed type guy. Like he's got incredible game speed where it's like, oh, he moves just as well as everybody else but I feel like he's not a guy that's going to. It might be how pale he is. It might be how short his legs are.

[Taylor Lewan]

Yeah.

[Will Compton]

But something about him getting in a three point stance and running a 40, I feel like he's at a disadvantage.

[Mitch]

He's a locomotive.

[Will Compton]

He is a locomotive. I feel like his range, 10 yard split too might be a little tough.

[Taylor Lewan]

Like his range is going to be like 4, 5, 8 to 4, 6, 6.

[Will Compton]

Okay, that's. I feel like that's doable. That's workable.

[Taylor Lewan]

I think he'll put up like a rex Burke at 46 at the combine.

[Will Compton]

Gotta love that.

[Taylor Lewan]

Yeah.

[Will Compton]

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[Taylor Lewan]

Yeah. If you want any of the college football preview again that episode for. For previewing the playoffs for College football this week. On Thursday night and Friday, we'll be on the locker room. That drops tonight at 6:00pm 6:00pm on Tuesday, 6:00pm 6:00pm Central Time. NFL, bro. Playoffs are set.

[Will Compton]

Playoffs are set.

[Taylor Lewan]

We want to start nfc, afc.

[Will Compton]

Let's start afc. We're a couple of AFC boys ourselves. Or at least the most recent. Yeah, a couple AFC Cats. Fun slate. Fun slate of games right here. But I believe I have the answers to all these games. I believe I already have the answers in my head. I've watched the film, brother. I'm telling you, I am seeing the field.

[Taylor Lewan]

Are you gonna say the same stuff Big Cat was saying on the pro football show?

[Will Compton]

What was that?

[Taylor Lewan]

Chief's gotta buy a week. They're gonna take the lesser team that comes into it. Chiefs are gonna win that game. They're gonna get to the Super Bowl.

[Will Compton]

They're gonna win. No, I'm just talking about these first three games. I'm just talking about the first three games. We'll get to the Chiefs.

[Taylor Lewan]

Smart move.

[Will Compton]

And you propelling them into winning again.

[Taylor Lewan]

By the Chiefs to just throw that game against the Broncos to keep Joe Burrow.

[Will Compton]

No doubt. No doubt. I mean, because the Broncos mopped them. But you look at this.

[Taylor Lewan]

How you think Broncos are going to do. Going to Buffalo.

[Will Compton]

Do you want me to actually talk about. Should I wait for the locker room? Because I'll tell you exactly.

[Taylor Lewan]

We can talk about some of these games or how it's chicken up, I guess.

[Will Compton]

Okay. Clearly if I'm looking at the Broncos and the Buffalo Bills and I'll say probably the same thing in the lockdown locker room is Bill, the Broncos have not been a great team. They went needed to win one of their last three games to make it to the playoffs. And their win came from a Chiefs team that sat all of their guys. They're not. I. I think when we get to the playoffs, this is as far as they get when it comes to the Steelers and the Ravens. It truly depends on the offensive game plan. Because we've seen the Ravens time and time again. They have an MVP quarterback yet again who's probably going to win the mvp. Go in. Go in. And they kind of change up what they've done in the past to prove something. I don't know what it is. If they stick to a run game and they're consistent, they beat the Steelers and I think the Chargers clearly, clearly beat the Houston Texans. That's how I feel. If I'm just looking in a nutshell, all those games feel real good to Me, as I'm saying it on a Monday afternoon, I'll dive into the, the numbers a little bit for the locker room. But just from a gut feeling standpoint, usually when I look at numbers is when my bets go wrong. I start to second guess everything.

[Taylor Lewan]

Yeah.

[Will Compton]

But I look at that and that's how I feel.

[Taylor Lewan]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Will Compton]

You saw it again this past weekend on Derrick Henry's birthday. He gave him ball 21 times. Mopping, rolling.

[Taylor Lewan]

He's a beast.

[Will Compton]

He's a beast.

[Taylor Lewan]

He's a beast.

[Will Compton]

Most rushing yards by a running back over the age of 30 in a single season.

[Taylor Lewan]

Still tapping into that ability and potential at the age he's at is just, is incredible. The only. Is he the only. I think I saw a stat. The only running back to have 1900 plus yards. Two years in the NFL you've never seen.

[Will Compton]

I don't know. That'd be. That's a good set though because he had like 1800, then he had the 2000 and then he had 1900 again this year.

[Taylor Lewan]

Derrick Henry, maybe I'm talking out of my, my ass here, but I saw something. It was Derek Henry's the only running back or the first running back to have two 1900 plus yard seasons. Correct.

[Will Compton]

That's.

[Taylor Lewan]

Hey, and again at this age, bro, I think it's, it's, it's, it's awesome. But in the afc, since we have three AFC west teams, let's talk about the AFC West a little bit. I feel like the Broncos, like you could not have had a better year after what has happened over the last kind of decade with them. You got Nathaniel Hackett, Russell Wilson just that gets blown up. Sean Payton comes in. They have a, they have a tough year last year with Russell Wilson. They go after Bo, Nick. Sean Payton talks about how this is his guy. Kind of a rocky start at the beginning of the. But the way that they've their back half of the year, the way that the Broncos have, have attacked this season, I feel like they are in a prime. They should feel so happy with the year that they've had.

[Will Compton]

Yeah.

[Taylor Lewan]

Whether or not they win this game, it's going to be tough to win out in Buffalo. They could do it, but you know, obviously every team could do it, but I feel like Denver should be riding high with the year that they, they've had. Same with the Chargers. It's like Harbaugh comes in, establishes his culture pretty quickly. They're built on defense and run game. You got a lot of guys who are like no names out there on Not. No names. Names. But you're not talking about them like the superstars of the league. Like, you can.

[Will Compton]

With like the Raven, James, Joey Bosa. I mean, Khalil Mack.

[Taylor Lewan]

Yeah. And. Yeah, but Khalil Mack, he's like, older.

[Will Compton]

It's not like, yeah, he's older, but he's still. He's still a name that even the most casual fan will recognize.

[Taylor Lewan]

And then who's my boy? Linebacker? Piss missile. Denzel Perryman.

[Will Compton]

Oh, yeah.

[Taylor Lewan]

Denzel Perryman. Love watching him fly around, but they've had an awesome year. It's. Do we know if Antonio Pierce, if he's getting fired or not? I know. We're doing this podcast right now on Black Monday. The last thing I saw, he's like. As far as I know, nobody said something to me. Nobody has said anything to me.

[Will Compton]

There's interesting. I mean, Schefter. So Schefter had a nice little thing on NFL Live yesterday, kind of going through all the coaches that are on the hot seat. And when his name came up, the. There was either safe or out. And they said safe. He said these things can change at any moment, but it feels like they're gonna hold on. Off on it for the time being.

[Taylor Lewan]

Yeah. Because I know Al. It's Al Davis, right? Yeah. They talk about him being a very impatient owner. This could.

[Will Compton]

Al Davis.

[Taylor Lewan]

Yeah, My fault. Mark Davis. They talk about him being very impatient as an owner when you hear all the rumblings of the fans from Raider Nation. But, yeah, maybe they hang on to him for another year.

[Will Compton]

Yeah, I don't know.

[Taylor Lewan]

Maybe they hang on to him for that for another year. I know a couple Raiders fans were talking like it could be variable because you have the Tom Brady connection.

[Will Compton]

Yeah. I mean, I think wherever variable goes is going to be huge for that franchise. Just depends who. We saw that he interviewed for the head coaching job a couple of days ago. I don't think that's the job. The job you want right now.

[Taylor Lewan]

Yeah.

[Will Compton]

You know, Rogers, people are saying, people that are close to him, they're saying that's his last game in the NFL. Then he does a press conference. But they must not be that close. And so it just feels. The jets, as always, just feel a little uncomfortable if you're dipping your toe back in as a head coach coach. I want to see what happens with the Cowboys. Have they come out and said McCarthy's good or not? Because that seems like if you want a fresh start on a globally known brand and know that you have enough time to establish your Culture. The Cowboys are that team. That's what makes the Cowboys such a. A great feeling as a head coach is because, you know, it's not like the Panthers. It's not like Mark Davis where you get impatient. Jerry Jones is known. That family is known to sit by their head coach long after the rest of the world has thought they should go.

[Taylor Lewan]

Right.

[Will Compton]

Because McCarthy. We were sitting there last year going, we think McCarthy should be gone. At least I was saying that. I thought. I thought it was time for him to go.

[JP]

Jerry Jones is too busy acting in episodes of the Landman right now to be running a football team.

[Taylor Lewan]

Can we get Updates on Mike McCarthy? Can you type in Mike McCarthy? Other than Jerry Jones, Landman, it doesn't matter. He won't fire him.

[Will Compton]

The money's just a show of a show I've never heard of in a still photo of him laying by a hospital bed.

[JP]

That's what he's doing.

[Taylor Lewan]

Can you.

[Will Compton]

Can you type in Mike McCarthy?

[Taylor Lewan]

I just see him start typing in Jerry Jones, the land man. I'm like, all right, this is no Update on Mike McCarthy.

[JP]

They're not firing them.

[Will Compton]

What we got any news?

[Taylor Lewan]

Feels cowboy speculation. What's the latest about him? Yeah, this stuff probably won't come out for another.

[Will Compton]

Should we call Shafter?

[Taylor Lewan]

You have his number?

[Will Compton]

Oh, yeah.

[Taylor Lewan]

Give him a shot.

[Will Compton]

He's a Michigan guy.

[Taylor Lewan]

Give him a shout. Did you say from one Michigan man to another, I need some intel. Mike Carthy, stainer going. Mike McCarthy. Stainer going.44. Of course. So it's what Bears, Jets, Patriots have openings?

[Will Compton]

Jags.

[Taylor Lewan]

Yeah, you know, big cats out there hoping, praying for Ben Johnson, Braves, you got. I don't know if they're actual. Like, it's legit rumors, but people speculated with Jon Gruden. Yeah, I think to me, if you're the Bears, Vrabel's going to be an awesome head coach. But to me, if you're the Bears, you want to get somebody who is very much offensive minded or can speak to the quarterback. Because they got Caleb. They got Caleb Williams. Like, you need to fully invest and buy into that asset, which is Caleb Williams, to see if he has it or doesn't have it. He's obviously got a lot of talent, ability. Then you got the Jets. Jets will always be interesting. I feel like rape. He's kind of the first big name on the wave of getting interviews, but I feel like that's just like raves doing that. You get your name out there. It start. He's starting to get interviews all over the place. It makes the most sense, it seems like, with New England. I mean, New England got that win yesterday. And immediately after the game they did a press release. Robert Kraft did. They're.

[Will Compton]

This is the hardest thing I've had to do in my career. I've known this kid since 2007.

[Taylor Lewan]

Yeah, he was the player. He was a player there and everything. Right.

[Will Compton]

Beautifully said.

[Taylor Lewan]

But now that he's gone, it's like that one makes too much sense that Ray would just go back to New England. So maybe he goes to. Maybe he goes to New England. What's another one still in the afc? That afc. What is that? AFC West, AFC East, AFC East, Miami Dolphins. Yeah, you saw Tyreek Hill.

[Will Compton]

Yeah, that's. I mean, that's crazy. Here's, here's the problem. I like Tyreek a lot. Yeah, but you got, like I'm telling you right now, Tyreek, you are a spoiled boy. For you to say, I have. This is the first time I ever missed the playoffs. And you've been the league for 10 plus years. Yeah, bro, I made the playoffs three times. Some guys never make the playoffs. Yeah, like, you have been lucky to be a part of an amazing Chiefs team and a Dolphin team that was successful. But, bro, bro, you just don't know. I think you don't know about the heartaches.

[Taylor Lewan]

Yeah.

[Will Compton]

Come to the Titans, bro.

[Taylor Lewan]

I think it's hilarious that he, he utilizes that. I gotta do what's best for me and my family. As in, I haven't made the playoffs and I'm out of here because I got to do what's best for one year.

[Will Compton]

Haven't made the playoffs.

[Taylor Lewan]

Your family's not sitting back like dad, what are we doing? We got to get to the playoffs. We got to get out of here.

[Will Compton]

Yeah, Ty, we don't care if you're getting paid that much. We want to see you. We want to see you in the playoffs. We want to see you get that $60,000 game. Chat.

[Taylor Lewan]

I think Tyreek, too. He's represented by Rosenhouse.

[Will Compton]

Is he?

[Taylor Lewan]

Yeah. So if he's wanting out, he just signed a three year deal in 24.

[Will Compton]

Yeah, they'll. I mean, if somebody wants out, a guy like Tyreek, he still got so much juice he can go wherever he wants.

[Taylor Lewan]

Yeah.

[Will Compton]

Every team will be like, yeah, we'll pay for that.

[JP]

Garrett brought up a good point. That's Tyreek's profile picture on Twitter right now.

[Will Compton]

I mean, that's funny. That is funny.

[Taylor Lewan]

That they be loading.

[Will Compton]

I mean, yeah. Tyreek, like, brother, I understand your frustration. This is the first time you've gone through it. This is why losing is the best teacher. But how many times you make the playoffs?

[Taylor Lewan]

Twice. Oh, no. I mean one time. Wait, no. Twice.

[Will Compton]

One time.

[Taylor Lewan]

I was going to say one time.

[Will Compton]

In a 20 year career.

[Taylor Lewan]

Yeah.

[Will Compton]

And I was looking to make it three times. Like, we got 30 years of NFL experience and we've got four playoff runs.

[Taylor Lewan]

Yeah, man. Those on the Chiefs that just get Super Bowls and playoffs and playoffs and buys and playoffs and Super Bowls.

[Will Compton]

You know, the only place Tyree needs to go though is back to the Chiefs.

[Mitch]

That would be incredible.

[Will Compton]

Incredible. He's got to go back. If there's going to be a place to go, it's going to go back.

[Taylor Lewan]

That'd be insane, dude.

[Will Compton]

I might, I might put that on a futures bet. Where would I put that?

[Taylor Lewan]

Will, the NFC is where you need to look at for a futures bet right now. NFL playoffs. We're talking about the NFL playoffs. You bet. We are. And get in on the action. At DraftKings Sportsbook, an official sports betting partner of the NFL. Scoring touchdowns is key to winning in the NFL playoffs. And the key to you scoring big is betting on them at DraftKings, the number one place to bet touchdowns. Ready to make your first bet? Try betting on something simple like a Saquon Barkley anytime. Touchdown. Go to DraftKingsportsbook app and make your pick. And here's another reason to watch your favorite players crush it in the playoffs. New customers that bet $5, they will get $200 in bonus bets instantly. Score big during the NFL playoffs with the DraftKings sportsbook. Download the DraftKings sportsbook app and use code BUS. That's code BUS for new customers to get $200 in bonus bets instantly. When you bet just five bucks only on the Draft King Sportsbook, the crown is yours.

[Will Compton]

Gambling problem. Call 1-800-GAMBLER in New York. Call 877-8-HOPENY or text hopeny467-369 In Connecticut, help is available for problem gambling. Call 888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org Please play responsibly on behalf of Boot Hill Casino and Resort in Kansas, 21 and over. Age and eligibility varies by jurisdiction. Boyd In Ontario, bonus bets expire 100, 168 hours after issuance. For additional terms and responsible gaming resources, see dkng co Audio Shepter called me back.

[JP]

Huge typo.

[Taylor Lewan]

Great. Huge typo. Huge typo.

[Francis Ellis]

Great fit.

[Taylor Lewan]

He called you Chef. He called you Back.

[Will Compton]

He called me back.

[Taylor Lewan]

Hit him up, hit him up.

[Francis Ellis]

Hit him up.

[Will Compton]

I feel kind of bad because what if I'm like, hey, I want to know about Mike McCarthy. You're on bus with the voice like, Taylor, this is so inappropriate.

[Taylor Lewan]

Yeah, just say this can be very inappropriate.

[Will Compton]

Yeah. Oh, hey, that's good. I'll use that. I'll use that.

[Taylor Lewan]

Like, listen, you're gonna be so pissed, and you're gonna think this is so inappropriate. We're trying to call Adam Schefter right now. For those listening and not watching on YouTube, if you are listening on audio, make sure you're.

[Will Compton]

You.

[Taylor Lewan]

Make sure you're subscribed and following our podcast. If you're watching on YouTube, consider subscribing to the boys. Hit that little ring bell. Get notified when the boys drop episodes and drop content.

[Will Compton]

Yeah, I'm putting my phone out loud. I'm putting my phone a lot. He didn't answer. We're playing.

[Taylor Lewan]

We're playing photo tag and making sure you're dropping comments. Drop comments throughout the episode. We have a lot of fun with those. Oh, oh.

[Will Compton]

He goes, taylor, Adam was on tv. Give me a call when you're done.

[Taylor Lewan]

Thank you.

[Will Compton]

So, so professional. He's.

[Taylor Lewan]

Before we go to the nfc, I just want to say I feel terrible for Steelers fans. They've ended on such a bad note in the regular season. They've kind of limped into the playoffs. They've been in such a dilemma because they're always in this spot to where, like, the fifth through seventh seed, they're in the middle of the pack and drafting. They can't get themselves a quarterback. There was a little bit of glimmer of hope with Russell Wilson early in the year. They end up going with Russell over Justin Fields, and that just to be in this exact same spot where their defense is good enough. They kind of came alive last week, but they just have no offensive firepower. So I just want to say before we go to the nfc, my heart goes out to Steelers nation because it's.

[Francis Ellis]

It's.

[Taylor Lewan]

It. It sucks. Yeah, it sucks, man. I hope they can somehow pull it off you. We know we love our boy Artie Smith out there.

[Will Compton]

No doubt.

[Taylor Lewan]

And we love the videos that come through on my timeline of Mike Tomlin giving some juice in a team.

[Will Compton]

Yes, the intensity of those eyes is second to none. A guy who's been there for so long.

[Taylor Lewan]

But it's just every year, they're in this exact same spot. This year, it seems worse than the others because they're on like a what a four game losing streak. Oh, tough man.

[Will Compton]

Onward nfc.

[Taylor Lewan]

Dude, Lions just beat the brakes off the Vikings. Beat the breaks off the Vikings.

[Will Compton]

I mean, played phenomenal.

[Taylor Lewan]

I know.

[Will Compton]

Four touchdowns.

[Taylor Lewan]

There's a couple things that I'll, I'll say I'll save it for the locker room. But just. The Lions beat the brakes off the Vikings, they.

[Will Compton]

The weakness, the only weakness they have is having this by which we are finding out is such a dangerous place to be. Unless you, unless you've been there before.

[Taylor Lewan]

Like the Chiefs like that.

[Will Compton]

Well, no, they've been there before.

[Taylor Lewan]

Yeah, I know. Unless you've been. They've been there before. The Chiefs have been there before. So they'll be ready.

[Will Compton]

Yeah, yeah. They'll be ready to roll these games. Not as clear cut to me as the AFC games.

[Taylor Lewan]

NFC has much more depth than the afc.

[Will Compton]

Yeah. Sneaky team, dude. The Rams. Sneaky.

[Taylor Lewan]

Sneaky could have an upset over the Vikings. Sneaky commanders could. Sneaky have an upset over the Bucks. Packers have an upset over the Eagles.

[Will Compton]

They could. Dude, we could be looking at, I mean besides the Rams, every lower seed winning, which I'm, I'm going to assume that the Rams are an underdog in this game. I haven't looked at the, the lines right now.

[Taylor Lewan]

I think the draft, draft kings app has the vikings favored by 2 1/2 over the Rams. So yeah, they are going to have a underdog.

[Francis Ellis]

Dogs.

[Will Compton]

We're going to have a game. It'll be in la.

[Taylor Lewan]

I mean ultimately the Vikings and the Lions were battling for the number one spot in the nfc. You know, obviously Eagles have two, but these are, those are the Vikings. Eagles and the Lions are the top three teams in the NFC record wise.

[Will Compton]

I know record wise, but don't get, don't throw the packers in there too because I feel like.

[Taylor Lewan]

Don't be a prisoner in the moment, bro. Vikings, yeah, they got their ass. But just think of what the Vikings have been doing all year long.

[Will Compton]

No doubt. Bro. Bro, I'm telling you, Vikings are great. I'm not. Rams are plus 2.

[Taylor Lewan]

Plus 102 for money line got you lines moved a little bit.

[Will Compton]

So listen, I'm worried about your commanders in this game. I'm worried. Baked for sure. Spicy. And dude, playing in Florida is a. In the winter time because your body's kind of used to the cold. Your like lungs have gotten kind of used to it. And then you walk into that humidity a little bit. You know what it's like. You remember going to Jacksonville in December and being like, what the Is this? Yeah, you're still dealing with this down here. It's different. Yeah, that's tough.

[Taylor Lewan]

No, I'm with you. It just to me, like, in the nfc, NFC has all the games, dude, to where it's like.

[Will Compton]

I mean, 61 is not bad. That's a 61.

[Francis Ellis]

Yeah.

[JP]

61. High of 61. Low 49.

[Will Compton]

Yeah. I mean, never mind.

[Taylor Lewan]

Are the commanders just.

[Will Compton]

I take back everything I just said.

[Taylor Lewan]

Commanders having this kind of momentum going into a playoffs for the first time in forever. I mean, not since, like, long before my generation was there. Like, anytime we got in the playoffs, it was just. We just sneak in and we were always coined the nfc. Or least we'd be saying. We'd be. We'd be saying NFC beast, though.

[Will Compton]

Hell yeah.

[Taylor Lewan]

I bet your ass was. Run, Adam, Run at them.

[Will Compton]

Yeah, those will be fun games with their numbers. And the Rams, they had themselves a little bye week. They said all their starters. Vikings limping into the playoffs after a bad B for the number one.

[Taylor Lewan]

The fun part about the Vikings Rams, too, is you got OConnell versus McVeigh.

[Will Compton]

Yeah.

[Taylor Lewan]

They've been on the same staff for so long. And again, like Stafford in the playoffs.

[Will Compton]

I know.

[Taylor Lewan]

Sicko mode.

[Will Compton]

How's the health of his team right now? Yeah, I think Coop's playing. Pook. He's playing.

[Taylor Lewan]

I think they're pretty healthy for the most part.

[Will Compton]

Yeah.

[Taylor Lewan]

And the. They're young unit on defenses really came along in the back half of the year. It'd be an awesome match.

[Will Compton]

Braden Fisk is doing good, too. Braden Fisk.

[Taylor Lewan]

He's a beast, bro.

[Will Compton]

Fsu.

[Taylor Lewan]

Yeah.

[Will Compton]

Really?

[Taylor Lewan]

That's awesome. It's tough to crack that Pro bowl lineup your first year. Brock Bowers.

[Will Compton]

Oh, my.

[Taylor Lewan]

Brock Bowers. He got it unanimous. Raiders have the best tight end situation, right? Mike Mayer. Yeah.

[Francis Ellis]

And Brock.

[Taylor Lewan]

Yeah.

[Will Compton]

Like massive dudes.

[Taylor Lewan]

You had something.

[JP]

Well, correct me if I'm wrong. Fun fact. First time, I think in over 20 years that same city teams could play in the super bowl of Chargers and Rams.

[Will Compton]

Well, that's.

[JP]

Fun fact.

[Taylor Lewan]

That would be fun. That. That'd be fun. That's something that I'll. I'll probably start betting right now.

[Mitch]

I saw something. This is like a. It's a. Like a pretty good point. Obviously, the Chargers are in the afc, Rams are in the nfc. What if they were both number one seeds and they both made it to the nat. Like the division championship?

[Will Compton]

Yeah.

[Mitch]

How would that work with it being like.

[Will Compton]

Like this one on Saturday, one on Sunday?

[Mitch]

But normally they're both on Sunday, are they? I'm pretty sure.

[Taylor Lewan]

I think that you're talking about championship week.

[Mitch]

Like NFC championship champions.

[Taylor Lewan]

The championship, not division. The championship games are both on Sunday.

[Will Compton]

Yeah, they are.

[Mitch]

Yeah. So like, how would that work with like filing fans in and out?

[Will Compton]

You know, they haven't thought about that at all.

[Mitch]

I know, but that's like a. It's a cool thing to think about.

[Taylor Lewan]

Yeah, that's a good point.

[Mitch]

That'd be awesome just to see happen.

[Will Compton]

Flip a coin.

[Taylor Lewan]

You know, they just flex one game or they have to break them up.

[Mitch]

But like it is cool. But then if you think about it, the team that played Saturday has that one extra rest day going into the Super Bowl. So I was like, kind of. How do you make that even.

[Taylor Lewan]

It still could happen. They don't need to be 1 seeds. Like if the Broncos made it on their side and the packers made it on their side, both in la and the Chargers, they both. That situation could come up this year. An insane final four.

[Mitch]

I saw that on Twitter. I'm like, that's an interesting. Like, how would that even work?

[Will Compton]

Going nuts right now. Yeah. Somebody's figuring that out.

[Taylor Lewan]

It's gonna be fun. I'm glad.

[Will Compton]

Think about like the super bowl halftime show show. How quickly they break that down all the time. They really just got to change some turf paint for them. I feel like that would be an easy. Yeah, you do, you do a noon game and you do a 7pm game.

[JP]

Or I bet they would do one of them at the Coliseum.

[Will Compton]

No, no, no. Maybe you're gonna tell a team, hey, we're gonna do a neutral site.

[JP]

USC's home field. Coliseum.

[Will Compton]

USC is Compton. Yeah. In the Coliseum. The Rose Bowls in Pasadena. What if you just make them both?

[Taylor Lewan]

No one gets so fun.

[Will Compton]

What if they just played the staples?

[Taylor Lewan]

Yeah, right.

[Will Compton]

What if they all just play a pickup game of basketball? Right.

[Taylor Lewan]

Hey, before we get into the Francis Ellis interview, thoughts on Titans having a number one overall pick? Are they going to blow it? I know. It's like the worst year. Especially when you're a team that, you know, everybody talking Titans need a quarterback, bro.

[Will Compton]

And it's. Yeah. And everyone is kind of saying this is the worst draft class. Like this draft class is not that great. It's not that strong. The quarterbacks, Shadur Sanders, people have been saying first overall pick all year long. Now all of a sudden there's reports come out saying he's not like some teams say he's not a first round grade.

[Taylor Lewan]

There's some yeah, but did somebody just like start that and now people are running.

[Will Compton]

That's how works though. There's all this is when we're going to start to get the worlds of smoke and mirrors.

[Taylor Lewan]

You could have those teams, the teams that are slotted like 20 through 32 in the draft, like a couple of those scouts could be. Yeah. I don't even have first round grade, you know what I mean? And that right there can just be a headline or a rumor on X. Yeah, true.

[Will Compton]

Yeah.

[Taylor Lewan]

I don't know.

[Will Compton]

We start rumors all the time.

[Taylor Lewan]

Interesting first overall pick. We got a lot of picks later in the draft that you can move around with, don't we? Think the number one QB in the draft is Cam Ward, though.

[Will Compton]

I don't know, dude, he quit.

[Taylor Lewan]

Halftime, bro.

[Francis Ellis]

Quit.

[Will Compton]

It's right. Good point.

[Taylor Lewan]

What you got, jp?

[Sherman]

I feel like they. The city of Nashville needs some buzz and I think they should take Shader.

[Taylor Lewan]

Right?

[Sherman]

Or Travis Hunter. Either one of them.

[Will Compton]

Honestly, that thing is cool. Like not right. As quick as possible, but when the.

[Sherman]

Time'S right, I think the move is to trade it. But if you were to pick, I do think you take Shader or Travis Hunter solely for the buzz of like, we gotta get this. The city energized again.

[Taylor Lewan]

Yeah.

[Sherman]

And those two could do it. And I feel good about Shadur because the end of the day, like, he knows how to prepare like a pro and he's been held to a high standard his whole life. Cam Ward, like, I mean, I think he'll be really good, but Shadura, like, I don't know, I. I think he's gonna be a really good NFL player.

[Taylor Lewan]

I think he'd be good too. Got good poise.

[Will Compton]

Adam, it's Taylor. This is so inappropriate. How are you? Because right now I'm filming an episode of Busting with the Boys and we were talking, we're like, what do we. What's going on with Mike McCarthy? And I was like, well, I can call Adam. And Will's like, yeah, call Adam. Do you know anything about. Do you care about if I just put you on speakerphone and busting with the boys right now? This is also being recorded, so we can cut it. Okay. Okay. All right. All right, bye. All right.

[Taylor Lewan]

He just dog walked you, bro.

[Will Compton]

He said, you got to call me afterwards.

[Taylor Lewan]

What, you want to lease that thing?

[Will Compton]

Yes, Mr. Scheffer. Yep, absolutely.

[Taylor Lewan]

He said, yeah, yeah, you got to call me after.

[Will Compton]

I think you trade that pick or. Dude, hey, what about Kirk Cousins?

[Francis Ellis]

No, it's a lot of money.

[Taylor Lewan]

You talk about Titans. Yeah, that's a. Definitely a possibility because they. They're definitely. It seems like they could. This whole thing, I would take. I would take Justin Fields over Kirk Cousins. Neither one's gonna. Yeah, but that's my point. One can at least run around. But no, I think you. I think you move around with it. I would love to see us get that pin. Go after, like, Sam Darnold. Abdul Carter would be nice to pick up.

[Will Compton]

Who?

[Taylor Lewan]

Abdul Carter, the Penn State edge rusher would be sick in a wide receiver. Is that number 11 for Penn State? Bro, he's like a Parsons out there running around, bro. His motor and his speed. Sideline to sideline. What are you gonna do? So what's gonna happen with Jeff? Like, you have sweat in the middle. Yeah. Get you an edge. Because what's Harold gonna do? Like.

[Will Compton]

Yeah.

[Taylor Lewan]

Is he still going to be around?

[Will Compton]

Sucks that.

[Taylor Lewan]

I'm talking about defensive players and offense. Put up 30 points twice. But, yeah, I bet they go. I bet they go get a veteran quarterback in the market. I think you have to. I think Cali would work better with a vet that. This could sound weird, but a vet that would maybe have some pushback to be like, no, this is what I think would work.

[Will Compton]

Yeah.

[Taylor Lewan]

Aaron Rodgers, he does have Landon. He does have Jungle Nash with him.

[Will Compton]

Let's go.

[Taylor Lewan]

He's got land in Nashville. Got a couple of his boys that live here. Randall Cobb, David Bakhtiari.

[Will Compton]

Yeah.

[Francis Ellis]

Lean.

[Will Compton]

Will Compton.

[Taylor Lewan]

Yeah, true. He's got the bus. The bus.

[Will Compton]

Friend of the show who was the guy that was with Aaron Rogers. The other foot, Poyer, the safety. He DM me. He said, I saw a locker room. He's like, if you're actually interested in doing ayahuasca, we're setting up this whole entire thing in March. If you'd like to go, you gotta go, dog. I. I talked to Taylon about it. She's like, do not go do ayahuasca. Why not? Because she's like that. Like, mentally alters you forever.

[Taylor Lewan]

You come out a new man.

[Will Compton]

Yeah, maybe. Maybe. But maybe I'm so enlightened, something else happens for content.

[Taylor Lewan]

Come on.

[Will Compton]

Could I be bullied into it? I got bullied into calling Schefter. Yeah, I could be. I got bullied into sharing my mustache. Shut up, jp. Anybody want to hear that? Shut up.

[Taylor Lewan]

Then do it.

[Will Compton]

I'm thinking about it. See, this is exactly. This is it. I literally just clicked in my head, you're doing it 20, 25.

[Taylor Lewan]

2025. You said you Want to get spiritual?

[Will Compton]

Let's get the Francis you did say.

[Taylor Lewan]

That is a resident 2025.

[Will Compton]

Get spiritual. Yeah, you're right. You're absolutely talking to you. Right? I'll think about it. Okay. If the Titans draft shoulders for me to tell you guys what's going on in my life and here I am fighting for it.

[JP]

Just change your genetic makeup for the.

[Taylor Lewan]

Rest of your life.

[Will Compton]

Come on.

[Mitch]

I don't think it changes your genius, but.

[JP]

No, it could.

[Taylor Lewan]

Okay, I'm teasing.

[Francis Ellis]

I'm teasing.

[Taylor Lewan]

I'm teasing. I'm teasing. Francis Ellis. Francis Ellis. Hey. This was an awesome episode for everybody that tuned in and listen to Stu Finder. This one has those vibes because Francis had a lot of big moments throughout his barstool career. He's a comedian. He's been, he was a character entire season one. He will be in season two. But this one, what are we laughing at? You know, it's just Sherman. But this is a, this is an awesome episode. I feel like he doesn't have any long form podcasts where he sat down and kind of talked about his entire career. Barstool, having his high moments, having his very low moments, getting fired. Coming back from that, his last year as a whole, he shedded a lot of. A lot of good light on what he's been dealing with in the last year. This is an incredible episode. I think you guys are really going to like this. If you're watching along, consider make sure you are subscribed to this podcast and leave comments along the way. But big hugs, tiny kisses. Enjoy this episode with Francis Ellis. Before we get to this interview, we gotta shout out our sponsor, Kevin's Natural Foods. You know that you feel your best when you eat well, but life is hectic and it's hard to find a healthy option that's quick and easy. That's where Kevin's Natural Foods comes in. Made with clean, quality ingredients, Kevin's Heat n Serve entrees and new stir fry kits are packed with protein and ready to eat in just minutes. No prep, no mess. Kevin's entrees are shockingly delicious and available in tons of tasty flavors like the Korean barbecue and cilantro lime chicken. And their stir fry kits even include fresh veggies. Listen, I'm gonna go off script here. We're supposed to do a. We're supposed to do like a custom ad sponsor with Kevin's Natural Foods, but I got the Kevin's Natural Foods delivered to my house before I knew that we were gonna have to do a custom Ad sponsor. So I ate all of the Kevin's Natural foods and I. I swear to you, this shit is awesome. It's also in Whole Foods. I'm not joking right now. I just ate their Thai. They're like this Thai curry chicken for lunch. It's. It's awesome. You throw in a pan, you see, you can use microwave. You can also cook it on the stovetop. But it comes in this like packaging to where the ingredients are clean. The ingredients list is very minimal. The meat comes in like a chicken bone broth. So already like the sous vide method. Sous vide. Sous vide. Sous vide. Sous vide. It comes in the sous vide method. So it's already kind of like pre cooked and in quality chicken bone broth. The veggies come in vegetable broth and all you do. It's easy. You'll have a meal ready within five to seven minutes. It is amazing. General Tso's chicken. They mentioned it on this ad. Read the Korean barbecue beef, fellas. I'm telling you, hey, JFJP was on this bus. He would know what I'm talking about.

[JP]

I know what you're talking about because I smelled that green chicken curry you're eating, bro.

[Taylor Lewan]

So good. So good. Kick off 2025 with Kevin's and make it your healthiest and tastiest year yet. Find Kevin's Natural Foods in the refrigerated section of your local grocer. So like I already told you, they are in Whole Foods. They're. All of their stuff is certified paleo and keto description link. That's for product for producers only. I won't say that part. But hey, enjoy this episode with Francis Ellis and go buy some Kevin's Natural.

[Will Compton]

Foods just to be safe. We won't talk about. All right. Welcome to bus with the boys. We were talking before about Surviving Barstool and tonight's episode and whether or not something happens. And so we're not going to talk about it. We'll leave it alone, just in case.

[Francis Ellis]

My boy.

[Will Compton]

Yeah, I'm.

[Francis Ellis]

Thank you.

[Taylor Lewan]

You know that movie scene where he's like holding his son? He's like, my boy.

[Francis Ellis]

No, no, no. What happens there is that Goblet of Fire. He's talking about Dead Poets Society.

[Will Compton]

Are you talking about Deadpool Society?

[Taylor Lewan]

I don't even know what I'm talking about. I've just seen the movie scene.

[Francis Ellis]

It happens in both of those movies.

[Taylor Lewan]

One of my, like me in my Meme video album.

[Francis Ellis]

My boy, my main video album. It could be When. Yeah, he dies in Goblet of Fire as well. But it's possibly dead poets.

[Will Compton]

You think Will is watching Deadpool Society? Do you think Will's ever. Anyone's ever said to Will, oh, Captain, my captain, Will's gone. Yeah. Was captain in Nebraska. That's what he's did. I guess they knew I was a captain at Nebraska Redskins for a year.

[Francis Ellis]

I love it, man. Those are good references. Good. Very good.

[Taylor Lewan]

Welcome to the. Welcome to bus with the boys. Francis.

[Francis Ellis]

I'm thrilled to be. Truly thrilled to be here. I was saying to Will, there are very few podcasts for which I would actually fly to do them, and this is one of them. And others would be like Rogan, Theo, you know.

[Will Compton]

Okay.

[Francis Ellis]

Tim Dillon, by the way, I'm not. I'm not saying I'm getting invited on those. I'm saying, you know, I put you guys in that tier when you.

[Will Compton]

When you go and do, like, tires and you see, I mean, obviously we're all have a relationship with Shane, but you're a comedian. You're in tires with Shane. Is there a piece of you. It's like, I'm getting close to the.

[Francis Ellis]

To the experience to, like, getting on Rogan.

[Will Compton]

Yeah. I don't want to say that out loud.

[Francis Ellis]

If we consider Rogan sort of the black belt, the mountaintop, I think you have to, right?

[Will Compton]

He's the number one podcast in, like, 90 countries.

[Francis Ellis]

Absolutely.

[Will Compton]

So he is the black belt, the mountaintop.

[Francis Ellis]

Yeah. It is one of those things where I don't. I don't want to speak about it. It's. It's. It's like there's a line from Gladiator where he. Where I think it's the original emperor before he gets killed by his son. And he's like, there was a time when Rome was, you know, so delicate that you could just whisper about it and it would disappear or something.

[Taylor Lewan]

Yeah.

[Francis Ellis]

Like, I don't want. I don't even want to whisper about Rome.

[Will Compton]

Such a delicate.

[Francis Ellis]

Yeah.

[Will Compton]

You know, it's in the distance somewhere. You know, it might be around there for you.

[Francis Ellis]

Yeah, I've, I've. You know, I don't really know what the road is there, but I'm not gonna force it, that's for sure. I'm not gonna ask for favors. I just know that that is one of those things that needs to happen naturally, and it'll happen if it happens.

[Will Compton]

Being around Bert and Shane, that's always been their thing because every. Obviously anybody. A pedestrian on the street, if they had a call and Say, hey, go on Joe Rogan experience. They would go on Joe Rogan experience. But the guys that have been on, when they see you, whether you talk about wanting to go on the show or not, they're like, if you ever see them, don't bring up the show. Don't talk about it at all. Because that is when you essentially get annexed for life.

[Francis Ellis]

Sure.

[Will Compton]

You get sent to the.

[Taylor Lewan]

The gulag.

[Francis Ellis]

Yeah. Ironically, I mean, I've also heard stories of people who, you know, dropped in, did a set at the Mothership, just, like, impromptu or whatever. Rogan had never met them before, saw their set, and then was like, want to do the show tomorrow?

[Taylor Lewan]

Right.

[Will Compton]

Crazy.

[Francis Ellis]

And it was just that quick and out of the blue.

[Will Compton]

Yeah.

[Taylor Lewan]

So I think that's how it kind of went down with Jelly Roll, too. Right. Like, he. He met him maybe out at the Mothership and hung out with him for one night and then literally the next day.

[Francis Ellis]

Yeah. But Jelly at that point was like, yeah, Jelly Rolls.

[Will Compton]

Yeah. Just got a donkey. Just got a pet donkey. You see that clip?

[Taylor Lewan]

No. Yeah.

[Will Compton]

His wife bought him a donkey yesterday.

[Taylor Lewan]

For what?

[Will Compton]

Just life. Just when you have everything, what else do you want? You want a donkey?

[Francis Ellis]

Do you know what donkeys are supposedly amazing for is keeping, like, coyotes and predators away from the rest of your livestock.

[Will Compton]

Yes.

[Taylor Lewan]

You should get a donkey.

[Will Compton]

I got a great Pyrenees. I don't need a donkey. I want. That was a conversation, though, when we were going through what do we want to protect our goats? My first thought with donkeys. The thing with donkeys, though, is they're a little more aggressive. They're stronger, too. Like, they'll pick up goats by their neck and just walk around with them for a little bit. You have to walk outside, like, hey, hey, hey. Put them down.

[Francis Ellis]

Wow.

[Will Compton]

Like, they have, like, lockjaw or something like that. Donkeys are wild.

[Francis Ellis]

They are. I have a terrible donkey story, actually.

[Will Compton]

Go ahead.

[Francis Ellis]

I have a small place in the Hudson Valley in New York, and I'll go up there, and it's sort of farm country, and a friend of mine from up there had asked if I would go to their house to feed their cat while they were traveling. And I went to the house to feed the cat, and I had a small dog with me, our French bulldog who just passed away. But he came. They have two donkeys, and I let him out of the car and went and fed the cat, and he was barking at the donkeys. And there was a fence, just a wood fence that was easily. You know, you could go under it. He's barking at them from the edge. They were out in the middle of the field. And then he went under and started chasing them. And they were running away from him, running away from him. And he was running them in laps. Small, tiny French bulldog. And then they all of a sudden just were like, wait a minute, we're not bothered by this fucking rat. And they stopped and they turned and they started trying to stamp on him.

[Will Compton]

Yeah.

[Francis Ellis]

And I watched this and I was like, this is it, it's over. They're going to cave his head in with their gigantic donkey hooves.

[Taylor Lewan]

Are you jumping over the fence to go in?

[Francis Ellis]

Oh, yeah. At that point I did. And he quickly was like, ooh, I bit off more than I could chew. And I ran over and he came to me because one of the blows glanced off of his fur such that you could actually see the hoof print coming down the side of his coat.

[Will Compton]

No shit.

[Francis Ellis]

Yeah.

[Will Compton]

War scars. So you saw two donkeys chasing your French bulldog?

[Francis Ellis]

Well, they turned the tables.

[Will Compton]

Yeah. Turn the tables. You see this happen? And you actually went in there to fight the donkeys?

[Francis Ellis]

Yes, because my wife at the time, who is now my ex wife, had. I told her, unfortunately, Kojai has passed away. He was curb stomped by a donkey.

[Will Compton]

Right.

[Francis Ellis]

That's just the type of thing that, you know, leads to little intimacy for quite some time. A long dry spot.

[Will Compton]

Two questions came from that.

[Francis Ellis]

Yeah.

[Will Compton]

So you.

[Taylor Lewan]

You made it out of that dust up without a concussion?

[Francis Ellis]

I did, yeah. The donkeys knew not to with me.

[Taylor Lewan]

They do have helmets.

[Francis Ellis]

Yeah.

[Taylor Lewan]

In case.

[Francis Ellis]

Good, good.

[Will Compton]

Would you say you brought the concussion?

[Taylor Lewan]

Yeah, yeah. I said, so you made it out of there without getting a concussion.

[Will Compton]

Yeah, that was going to be my. One of my questions.

[Francis Ellis]

Great.

[Will Compton]

Is what's up with your head?

[Francis Ellis]

Yeah, it's not great. It's hanging on by a string.

[Will Compton]

It's so smart, so quick witted.

[Francis Ellis]

Yeah.

[Will Compton]

Yet a pillow, essentially. A pillow.

[Taylor Lewan]

What'd you say in that clip? Is this brain made of paper?

[Francis Ellis]

Yes. Are ginger's brains made paper?

[Will Compton]

And which while looking at back if people like these dumb bubble verse, I'm like, I guess they're right.

[Francis Ellis]

Yeah.

[Will Compton]

The way I was. The way I was explaining them.

[Francis Ellis]

Oh, I. You didn't know that? I. I've had a bunch. I mean, have I ever. I don't know if I've told you guys the story about the time that I got beaten up by the lobster man in Maine, which was really bad. I got really, really hurt.

[Taylor Lewan]

Is this the.

[Francis Ellis]

I told that on Matt and Chains okay. Have you heard that story?

[Taylor Lewan]

Do you say it in your set?

[Francis Ellis]

Yes.

[Taylor Lewan]

Yes. Yeah, well, you and all the boys, you guys were getting after it.

[Francis Ellis]

Yeah, well, I was trying to stop a fight, and then they just thought I was part of the thing and they beat me up.

[Taylor Lewan]

Yeah.

[Francis Ellis]

So that was one. I mean, that was a really bad one. That broke my nose so badly that even when it healed, I couldn't breathe out of my left nostril. And I didn't know that until years later when I started doing cocaine and I couldn't get any up the left nostril.

[Will Compton]

That's always a problem.

[Francis Ellis]

And it was embarrassing because people were like, dude, you need to alternate nostrils or you're going to deviate your septum. And I was like, well, that would give me an excuse to get a rhinoplasty without making it seem like it's for aesthetic purposes, which is exactly what I was looking for. Because nobody wants a guy to get a nose job, you know, from cocaine without excuse. Yeah. So anyway, the point is, that was one. Then lacrosse, I had like two or three. One of which resulted in me being taken off the field in an ambulance. And that was the worst one. That was the worst.

[Will Compton]

It's funny laughing at that.

[Francis Ellis]

It's fine.

[Will Compton]

Like, that's a real sport.

[Taylor Lewan]

No, I know. I don't know why it's not really.

[Francis Ellis]

Real sport, but it is.

[Will Compton]

It's a real sport.

[Francis Ellis]

Let me say this.

[Will Compton]

Fellowship for it.

[Francis Ellis]

No, they don't do that at Ivy League school.

[Will Compton]

Oh, really?

[Francis Ellis]

There's no athletic scholarships. Only need based.

[Will Compton]

But hold on. Isn't there like a loophole? Like, if you're a good lacrosse player, you're a good football player, basketball player.

[Francis Ellis]

Whatever it is, you'll get in. You'll get in, but you won't get money.

[Will Compton]

You don't need the grades at the.

[Francis Ellis]

Yeah, there's a little more.

[Will Compton]

There's a little more lean switch of Muggles and wizards. Like, essentially, the athletes are really the Muggles.

[Francis Ellis]

They would let a mud blood in.

[Will Compton]

Yes.

[Francis Ellis]

Yes.

[Will Compton]

Okay.

[Francis Ellis]

Not to get racial.

[Will Compton]

No. Yeah, fair enough.

[Francis Ellis]

Not to get racial, but yeah, they'll. They'll. They'll kind of give you a little more wiggle room on academics. But, you know, I wasn't far off academically.

[Will Compton]

Okay. A little bit. So you got. You got ambulance carted off?

[Francis Ellis]

Yeah, that one. Yep.

[Will Compton]

What happened? Stick to the head?

[Francis Ellis]

No, I was hit and then I was hit. I took a shot. Like, I shot on goal. I think I jumped and shot. And then a defender while I Was in the air, hit me. And I like, imagine a receiver going up for a pass and I came down and my. The back of my head hit the turf as hard as, you know, just whiplash. Bang. And I had a seizure from it.

[Will Compton]

No shit.

[Francis Ellis]

And that's why they called the ambulance.

[Will Compton]

Damn.

[Taylor Lewan]

Apologies.

[Francis Ellis]

No, dude, I don't. I don't.

[Taylor Lewan]

I'm not like, I'm just thinking of all.

[Francis Ellis]

Dare you laugh at my head trauma. I don't give a fuck, you know? Yes, exactly. Exactly. So at that. The point is, is that I avoid. Now I avoid activities that might induce head trauma. I don't play, like, men's league lacrosse. I don't do any of that stuff. I don't even really play. Like, I won't even play men's league basketball anymore. And so heading into that challenge, I saw what it was gonna be and I thought it was a joke. I was like, surely there must be some catch, especially the way the teams were divvied up. My God, you know, you put the fucking Monstars on one team and then a bunch of, you know, fucking muggle brained morons.

[Taylor Lewan]

I can't wait to tell this story and just the. The context with biz and everything else, because in my mind, like, you're an athlete. In my mind. So I'm thinking, like, all right, if we can just get Francis, he's probably. He's going to be their force. But then when we were banged up, talking out later that night, it was. I was laughing as hard as I've. As I've ever laughed listening to him tell this entire story about going up against biz.

[Francis Ellis]

Yeah, yeah. So, you know, yeah, you.

[Will Compton]

You and wit were the two people. You're like, I really got to worry about that. Then you guys watch.

[Taylor Lewan]

I mean, Wit, it's like, okay, yeah.

[Will Compton]

But wit, to me, hockey player, they have great center of balance. I've had a little scuffle with. Who's the guy you hate? James Neal. I've wrestled him and he's. He's got it. And so I just thought to myself, like, hockey players really are like that when it comes to balance.

[Taylor Lewan]

Yeah, we could be sneaky.

[Francis Ellis]

Well, that was what I said immediately. You know, if you asked yourself, is there some body of work that would lend itself to preparing for this jousting challenge, which is physical combat on poor footing? My God, you know, hockey enforcers right at the top of the list. I don't know what could be better. So maybe one of those, like, Japanese game show guys that, like, Stands over water and, like, runs and I don't know. And so, sure enough, my first. My first opponent is Kelly Keegs. And I'm like, oh, thank goodness. You know, because you're thinking too, like.

[Taylor Lewan]

I'm, like, the strongest guy, where they're gonna put me up against all these enforcers.

[Will Compton]

Yeah, because before the show, you were talking about how you've been really on your health. You've been moving around. You've been doing your cold tubs. You're essentially being your character from time.

[Taylor Lewan]

These cabs are incredible and beautiful.

[Francis Ellis]

Yes.

[Will Compton]

Hey, well sculpted body. Yeah, that's a great frame.

[Francis Ellis]

I got that from my dad.

[Will Compton]

You don't say these from my dad.

[Francis Ellis]

Look at us.

[Will Compton]

You should see Dave. Like little pencils.

[Francis Ellis]

Thanks to our fathers.

[Will Compton]

Yeah.

[Francis Ellis]

Yeah. What happened to your dad? Well.

[Taylor Lewan]

Well, he's. He's actually lost a lot of weight. He used to be a bodybuilder. Used to fight a lot. Was an alcoholic for an extended period of time, but that is now. He's now sober. So, yeah, he's doing all right. He's doing better.

[Will Compton]

He's doing way better.

[Francis Ellis]

Good heavens.

[Taylor Lewan]

He's doing way better.

[Will Compton]

Yeah.

[Francis Ellis]

That was quite a can of worms. The moment I asked it, I knew.

[Will Compton]

I just thought, yeah, what if his dad was dead?

[Francis Ellis]

Would have been easier than that. Whatever that thing was that he just.

[Taylor Lewan]

Yeah, we'd have to wake up. We'd have to wake up in the morning.

[Will Compton]

Used to fight a lot alcoholics.

[Francis Ellis]

Yeah.

[Taylor Lewan]

We'd have to go to a local motel in the middle of the night. But, yeah, he's doing a lot better now.

[Francis Ellis]

I'm so thrilled for both of you.

[Will Compton]

So thrilled.

[Francis Ellis]

Yeah. So thrilled for both of you. So. Yeah. So then I. My second one I get is biz.

[Will Compton]

And before with Keegs, was there a piece of you? It's like, I have to win this. If I don't.

[Francis Ellis]

Yeah, for sure.

[Will Compton]

So there's. There's some nerves there.

[Francis Ellis]

But I also. I'm. I would. I love Kelly. She's a friend of mine. And I was like, you know, there's a way to do this that's not barbaric. And I. So I just. She. She kind of mentioned. She said something under her breath like, please don't hurt me. And I was like.

[Taylor Lewan]

Like, we can make. You can make this easy.

[Francis Ellis]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I was like, what's in it for you? You know? So I just. I just nudged her, and that was fine. And. And, you know, that was totally fine. And then. And then next up, I Get bizarre. And I'm standing up there and there you guys started this macho fucking mating call thing of who's gonna be the bitch that wears the headgear and the mouth guard.

[Will Compton]

No, bro.

[Francis Ellis]

And you guys were like, fuck that. I'm having unprotected jousting sex. No condom on my head. Let's raw dog each other to death. And I get up there, I put the helmet on like a fucking pussy. I've got the mouth guard in, being like, ready. And then there's biz, just clear eyed, just fucking vulnerable scar tissue around the face, a halo of wrath protecting him from whatever meaningless blows I might deliver with my PVC pipe wrapped in foam. You guys keep saying it was a pillow. That thing had real structural integrity under the casing. It looks worse for me, but it is. It had.

[Taylor Lewan]

It had firmness.

[Francis Ellis]

Yeah. Yeah, it did.

[Will Compton]

So dumb brain, we are. He's using funny words.

[Taylor Lewan]

He's explaining in such detail.

[Will Compton]

Yeah, just the way he's talking about, we're just like, oh, we're having fun. Go ahead, keep talking.

[Francis Ellis]

For the record, before I went up, I turned to people on my team and I was like, this is a bad idea if this is what we think it is. I have a history of concussions. I don't think I should do this. And then they were like, huh, uh huh. And you could almost just hear them being like, you're out, right? Like if we lose and you don't participate by. So I was like, all right, I mean, I'll take it. And then I get up there, there's biz. No mouth guard, no headgear, just veins popping out of his forehead somehow. He's flexing his face. Never seen someone do that before. And I said in the moment, I was like, I felt like I was staring down Ms. Peach's alcoholic stepfather. Just a pit bull that abused its daughter in human form, you know? And there he is. And I'm just like, this is a disaster. This is my nightmare. We're so close. Yeah, we were so close. And they blow the whistle or whatever. And I mean, he'd hit me twice from both sides before I had swung. And I get off the thing, I'm like, yep, can't hear, can't hear anything.

[Taylor Lewan]

Just do.

[Francis Ellis]

And people are like, good try, good try. And I'm like, did I, did I? Yeah. And then I started feeling sick and I was like, oh, man, if I throw up, that sucks and that'll be embarrassing. So I immediately knew I had a concussion. I know the symptoms Luckily, I've had a range of them. And this one, I, to me, felt like it wasn't. I wasn't so discombobulated, but I knew I was concussed. And I didn't want to bring the fucking production to a screeching hall. I didn't want it. But I also was like, I need. I need to get some. I need to get looked at.

[Will Compton]

Yeah.

[Francis Ellis]

You know, get a peek.

[Will Compton]

Yeah, just have it checked out.

[Francis Ellis]

And they brought in an emt. We did a bunch of concussion testing, and then they, like. They filmed that, which I was like, this feels. Where's my blue tent?

[Taylor Lewan]

You know, where's my privacy?

[Francis Ellis]

Yeah. What's going on here? And then they were like, well, we couldn't release any of the footage because of hipaa. And I was like, well, then why did you film it?

[Will Compton]

Just to make you feel uncomfortable in your time.

[Francis Ellis]

Yeah.

[Will Compton]

They're doing tests on you. Follow my finger.

[Francis Ellis]

Yeah, give me the.

[Will Compton]

Give me the months of the year backwards.

[Francis Ellis]

Exactly. And she. She was like, yes, you have a concussion. It is my advice that you go to the hospital to get a CAT scan to rule out a brain bleed. And I was.

[Will Compton]

Could you imagine if you had a brain bleed from that?

[Francis Ellis]

I mean, that would have been bad. That would have been for everybody. And I didn't want. I didn't want that. I didn't want. I didn't want it to come back poorly on the show. We were so in the middle of it. You know what I mean? At that point, there was so much momentum. Everyone was so bought in, and my. My team had lost. So I knew, you know, you immediately had that thought of, like, if I miss a single secretive conversation, I'm toast.

[Taylor Lewan]

Right?

[Francis Ellis]

And even while I was being evaluated for, like, 45 minutes, I was like, they're conspiring. I'm out of here. Yeah, this is bad. And I. She wanted me to go to the hospital. I was like, I don't want to do that. And it's not because I'm trying to be a martyr or something like that. I just. I hate going to the fucking hospital. I hate it. When I was in seventh grade, I had a really bad staph infection in my ankle joint, which led to sepsis. Got some scars. Well, whatever. I'm not gonna show you.

[Will Compton]

And, yeah, where's the camera?

[Francis Ellis]

And I had to spend a month in a hospital for that. And I was a little kid, and it just fucking left me with. I hate hospitals. So I didn't want to go. And then she was like, all right, well, then you have to sign a thing that makes me say that I gave you the advice to go, and you're not going on your own, you know, volition. So I signed that, and then we continued. I think I got voted out the next day. And then. I don't really want to give away too much, but I think this story is worth telling quickly. I'm in the house, right? The sequestered house. They had a basketball hoop. So, I mean, I'm sequestered in the house. They had a basketball hoop in the backyard. I'm standing there talking to somebody, and a ball. Someone's just playing horse or something. Ball bounces off the rim, hits me in the head. And it was like someone just unplugged a laptop. I was having a conversation, and I do not remember what I was saying. I stopped talking, and I think I was talking to. I won't say who I was talking to, but, oh, no, I can say it was Roan, because Roan was also. It's known that he's out of the game. And we were talking, and he was like, wait, you were saying? And I was like, what? And I had no idea what we'd been talking about. And that was when they were like, all right. And then my face turned green. So then they called an actual doctor, and he was like, I'm taking you to the er and I go to the Chicago er. We're in the middle of Chicago. And in the emergency room in Chicago. I'm not making this up. A prison brawl had just taken place nearby. There were 15 to 20 prisoners shackled to their gurneys, screaming at each other but needing medical attention. And I'm sitting among them. This isn't even in the waiting room. This is in that area in the emergency room where there's, like, sort of rooms that have curtains that are pulled. So there's, like, a lot of elderly people slowly dying, but also, for some reason, a prison outbreak of enraged people. And I'm sitting there waiting for my CAT scan, and each prisoner has a police officer assigned to stand over them. And the prisoners are shaking. They're like, once I get out of here, you know? And I'm like, you're not. And they're yelling at the cops, who are just, like, laughing about it. And it was the most upsetting wait for medical treatment I've ever had.

[Will Compton]

It was so 7 years old with staff.

[Francis Ellis]

It was. It was so unpleasant. And I. Luckily, I had brought my headphones, so I'm just sitting there playing chess on my phone and listening to Chopin and because I was trying to find, like, peace. And it was because it was so violent in this area. And after their CAT scan machine, they were so delayed because someone had kept telling them if you move in a CAT scan at all, you have to start over.

[Taylor Lewan]

Right.

[Francis Ellis]

And this woman apparently was freezing cold and kept asking for more blankets and she'd get like five minutes in and then they'd have to restart. That's what they told me. And so I was like, it took me an hour just sitting among this, you know, prison riot to finally get to the CAT scan. I did no brain bleed.

[Will Compton]

And then back at the house.

[Francis Ellis]

Back at the, the house, which was really fun, by the way. So that's the whole story.

[Taylor Lewan]

We're going to take a quick break from the episode to shout out. Amazon Prime's exclusive wildcard playoff game is coming Saturday. T.J. watt and the Steelers take on Lamar Jackson and the Ravens in a playoff showdown between AFC north rivals. And it's only on Prime Video. Not a Prime member. Sign up for a 30 day free trial to stream the game. Again, sign up for a 30 day free trial to stream the game, the Steelers and the Ravens and Prime's exclusive wild card playoff game. Powered by Verizon. Saturday at 7:30 Eastern, only on Prime Video. My heart goes out to the Steelers fans. I think that they're just in the same spot that they're in every year. They're in the same spot that they're in every year. However, they do seem to be Lamar Jackson's kryptonite against the Ravens. So maybe they'll squeak one out. But you can tune in Amazon prime this Saturday at 7:30 Eastern, only on Prime Video.

[Will Compton]

Do you, do you think you enjoyed your time more in the competition or at the house?

[Francis Ellis]

House by a mile.

[Will Compton]

Yeah.

[Francis Ellis]

I don't know. The house was fun and it's tough. I don't want to, like, say why, because I think that will indicate who ends up being in the house. But the house was really, really fun.

[Will Compton]

Vibes were high.

[Francis Ellis]

Vibes got really high. Yeah. It was just one of those things where like, as soon as people were kind of out of the game, you did the debrief and then everyone was like, like kind of able to relax again and just be like. That was fun.

[Will Compton]

Yeah.

[Taylor Lewan]

Because you're in it. Trapped in those walls, dude.

[Francis Ellis]

Yeah.

[Will Compton]

Yeah. It was a concept of time when you're in there.

[Taylor Lewan]

Yeah.

[Will Compton]

Truly, like you could have your phone, you can see what's going on in the world, but like, you are solely focused on what's going on, and you're.

[Taylor Lewan]

You're paranoid the entire time.

[Will Compton]

The entire time.

[Francis Ellis]

Yeah.

[Will Compton]

And the thing that's crazy, like, watching the show now, where we're at at this point, before this next episode comes out or anything, like, I am under the understanding that our entire team is so locked up and I'm watching these episodes and they're like, we got to get out the big three, starting with Taylor. And I'm like, bouncing around like, bro, we just keep winning. We might make it to the end of this whole thing.

[Francis Ellis]

I mean, I had the. I lived under the exact same delusion, which was that winning challenges was the key to everything. And if you perform well in the challenges, you will make yourself valuable. Clearly, you know, the social aspect. This is not a game that is won by, like, the biggest, strongest athlete.

[Will Compton]

The thing that bugs me about where the game's at now is how completely worthless Dave Portnoy is.

[Francis Ellis]

Yeah.

[Will Compton]

Like, not, like, is no help in the strategic, mental part of it. Like, puzzles. Can't even figure out a child's, like, blocking blocks and pulling them through. Like, lost them the game. Because when Ria gets the puzzle, she almost catches up to our team.

[Francis Ellis]

Right.

[Will Compton]

And he. He literally can do nothing. He can't throw. He can't let the shoulder or his arm over his head.

[Francis Ellis]

Right.

[Will Compton]

Truly worthless to be there.

[Francis Ellis]

Yeah.

[Taylor Lewan]

He's a worse off asset than Mincy was the only.

[Will Compton]

Yes. I think if you put Mincey and Dave in an athletic competition, Mincey wins that competition.

[Francis Ellis]

Well, was the puzzle aspect to Dave. Dave. That drove me so nuts when he was. He kept. It was this. We put him so early in the shape because we knew he wouldn't be great at it. So we figured give him the easy part because as you guys know, the shape got more and more complicated.

[Will Compton]

However, not really.

[Francis Ellis]

Not really.

[Will Compton]

Yeah.

[Francis Ellis]

It's just. How do I recreate that space?

[Will Compton]

Right. And then get it close? Yeah, get it and just wiggle it in.

[Francis Ellis]

Yeah.

[Will Compton]

And he had a. That's when we were operating on our finest flow state.

[Francis Ellis]

He did it. He kept doing it backwards. It was as if he was reading it in, like, the Arabic Alphabet. I think they read it right to left anyway. And I had to kind of be like, nope. Other. I was yelling like, no other way, you know, and it would knock over and then he'd go and he would rearrange it the wrong way again. And I'm like, did somebody. I don't know.

[Will Compton]

His biggest asset is overcome.

[Taylor Lewan]

Did his parents Play with him as a child.

[Francis Ellis]

And after that challenge, we lost so specifically because of Dave that I started being like, look, there's real reason that we should get him out. It's not even mean he's a liability. We have more team challenges coming. Everybody. Right, Right. And everyone was like, no, you're wrong, and now you're fucked. And I was like, I didn't even. I didn't even compute for me that mentioning that we should take him out would then put a gigantic target on my back. I was like, he lost us, that we'd all be safe if not for him. And so let's.

[Taylor Lewan]

Because you were in the room talking to Ria about it, and then when you brought it up, and then it goes, your confessional, you're like, I think I'm fucked.

[Francis Ellis]

Yeah.

[Taylor Lewan]

By leaking.

[Will Compton]

Good awareness.

[Francis Ellis]

Yeah.

[Will Compton]

Good awareness to know that you're fucked.

[Francis Ellis]

Yeah.

[Will Compton]

It's crazy. It's crazy. Also, watching him back and seeing how, like, one little thing would cause a, like, snowball effect.

[Francis Ellis]

Correct.

[Will Compton]

I went up to Rico and I just, like, as a joke in my own head for nobody else but myself, was like, hey, hearing your name. And then he sees, who'd you go in the room with? The other football player, Aaron comes up.

[Taylor Lewan]

And taps me on the shoulders. I can't get your ear for a second. First time talking area in the entire game. So I kind of just go under the stairs because I'm like, I don't want anybody to see us because I'm trying to keep the lowest. I'm just trying to stay low and not say, right. And Rico sees me and he's like, hey. He go runs the. Dave, hey. Will and Arian, like, they started to talk. He's like, you know, somebody's like, I. I don't know.

[Will Compton]

Taylor mentioned my name in the whole thing.

[Taylor Lewan]

Taylor goes. And just randomly.

[Will Compton]

And I just randomly said it. And so that caused Rico to spiral. Tell Dave. And Arian's out.

[Taylor Lewan]

He's like, I think all the athletes are getting together.

[Will Compton]

It's like, no, I think I spoke to Ariana at the beginning. Like, I'd be sick if we're on a team. And that was basically it.

[Francis Ellis]

Yeah.

[Will Compton]

Also the amount of politicking that took place before the show.

[Francis Ellis]

Yeah.

[Will Compton]

Jersey Jerry calling. He call you?

[Francis Ellis]

Yes, he did.

[Will Compton]

And he called you.

[Taylor Lewan]

Oh, yeah.

[Will Compton]

He didn't call me. He did not call me. I got him. Got.

[Taylor Lewan]

I got him. God, he was wrong. He's in the wrong tribe, dude.

[Will Compton]

He. Before the. Before the first challenge, he looks at me and goes, you do well, you're in, I'm thinking, the dawn. It's the craziest thing in the world. Like, Jay, what makes you think you're calling the shots in this group? Yeah, like, why? Like, because you went far in the last one. All of a sudden, like, that's a target on your back.

[Francis Ellis]

Right? I think so, too. I think. I think previous seasons and your performance in them can only really hurt you.

[Will Compton]

Right.

[Francis Ellis]

Unless you were just like, a nothing in the first. First one.

[Taylor Lewan]

Did you find, like, what was the differences for you? Because you also did what the Most Dangerous game. Yeah, I had the diabolical speech.

[Francis Ellis]

Yes. Yes. That game was my first experience doing any of these reality game shows at barstool. And I went in very naive. I didn't know anything about it. I kind of was just like, I thought I was probably running the show every time. That game was interesting. I don't know if you guys watched any of it, but if you want a challenge, you got to go sleep in a comfortable house for the night.

[Taylor Lewan]

Yeah.

[Francis Ellis]

And then the rest of us would sleep in this horrible tent. And it was 34 degrees. We were in the mountains of Colorado, so it was freezing. You didn't sleep at all. You were just miserable. You didn't get to shower, and. But it was all. And then the person who was in the house got to select one other person to bring with them. But it became the case that.

[Taylor Lewan]

And then those two were immune.

[Francis Ellis]

They were immune for that night. But everybody that was down at the campsite would be like, yeah, tomorrow we're voting one of them out just automatically because they weren't there. They weren't there to, like, defend themselves. And so you kind of started getting to a point where you're like, I don't really want to be in the house if I want to go long in the game. And each night at the. At the campfire, I would just very clearly say to the four, five, four, three people there, I'd be like, listen, if everyone wants to remain in the game another day, then this group right here can ensure that tomorrow, provided that one of these people in the house doesn't win the challenge. Do you guys. Do you see how simple that is? And they were like, oh, yeah. And so that just. That just carried for, like, four eliminations until the people wisened up and were like, francis has been playing well. We need to get him out. And I didn't see that coming. And I was. I was pretty banged up over it. It really affected me. And people watching it's so easy to say, like, wow. I mean, why don't. It's a game. How could you not get the game? Well, you know, it's not really a game. It's a game, I think, on actual Survivor because they're just random people thrown together.

[Taylor Lewan]

People that don't know each other. They get scrubbed to where they. They know that they've had all had zero communication with each other before. They're all put together.

[Francis Ellis]

Right. Our game is affected by interpersonal relationships that have been determined for years of working together. It's affected by things like contract status, standing at the company, longevity, power structures. Like, all of that is a huge. And it's what makes, I think, Surviving Barstool so compelling. It's because, you know, people be like, why wouldn't you get Dave out? And it's like, well, because I don't want him to dislike me since I have two months left on my employment here. And, like, health care matters.

[Will Compton]

Yeah. You know, which is why he should not be in the game.

[Francis Ellis]

I like it, though.

[Will Compton]

I like it. You like I'm afraid of somebody not keeping your job because you kicked them out of a game.

[Francis Ellis]

Well, I think that it. It makes. It really. It makes getting him out that much more explosive. If you do it, you know, the previous season, Big Cat first guy out, Dave out a couple later. Like, these are huge pieces to fall. And they created ripple effects that lasted for a while. You know what I mean?

[Taylor Lewan]

And they hated Jerry for a minute.

[Will Compton]

He did for a while, actually. Still hated him and even wanted to get him out in the game. Yeah.

[Taylor Lewan]

He's like, I wanted. He was mad that Jerry got out. He's like, I wanted that blood.

[Will Compton]

But Jerry's still a part of the company.

[Francis Ellis]

And that's because, you know, I think Dave has the business sense to say, like, well, this is still a very good employee who's created great work in spite of what he did to me in this bubble.

[Taylor Lewan]

Right.

[Francis Ellis]

But other people are not that quick to forgive. And those grudges that carry from one season to the next are a major. I mean, look at. Look at how they did the, like, Marty mush, Ria, Hank.

[Will Compton]

I had no idea about that.

[Francis Ellis]

Like, that's a major piece. You don't see that on regular Survivor.

[Taylor Lewan]

Yeah.

[Will Compton]

Yeah. That's something that I was gathering the pieces throughout.

[Francis Ellis]

Yeah.

[Will Compton]

But I didn't have no idea. I knew that people were pissed at Marty. I knew something or something. Hank. Something happened. There was a team Hank thing for a while, and I just saw on The Internet. I was like, all right, cool. It seems like they're going through something.

[Francis Ellis]

Yeah.

[Will Compton]

And then they get there and find out the things.

[Francis Ellis]

Right.

[Will Compton]

That we're going through that will inevitably be told to everybody. I was blown the fuck away. Like, this shit actually happened. And she is crazy. I'm like, my face, you'll see is like, oh, my God, that is crazy. And everybody else is probably sitting there like, yeah, this is. We've known this for four years or however long it's been going on.

[Francis Ellis]

Yeah.

[Will Compton]

But my head's been in the sand like an ostrich, so I have no idea.

[Francis Ellis]

So that is a disadvantage.

[Will Compton]

Yeah.

[Francis Ellis]

Not knowing that type of stuff. And you. I think you and I went into the game, I have a better awareness of it. But, you know, going into the game, you were like, I'm going to dominate this game through winning challenges. I'm just going to exert. That's my guess is like, you were like, I'm going to create alliances with people that I know and trust. And you bought. Banded with, you know, Will and the athletes and stuff like that. And you guys, that worked. You guys won so many challenges in a row. But while that was happening, these people who are, like, survivor enthusiasts and are really good at the, like, cloak and dagger aspect of the game were just fully like, we're going to get Taylor and then we're going to get this person, and then we're going to get this person. And in a way, winning all those challenges actually might have hurt you guys because it just didn't make you create. You know, you didn't have to be as nimble. You didn't have to reform new alliances based on who was getting out the. Right.

[Will Compton]

Yeah. The whole. The winning a bunch. Well, I think it's kept me in the game so far because you might.

[Francis Ellis]

Need to cut that. Although, again, if you are out, all this is fair game.

[Will Compton]

All of its fair game.

[Francis Ellis]

So we'll just see tonight. Also, text Rob right after we're done and see what episode it is.

[Will Compton]

The. My strategy going into the game, not having a bunch of alliances. Like, I knew there were some people that I was cool with. I wanted to get Dave and Dan out. That's what I wanted. I wanted their blood on my sword.

[Francis Ellis]

Nice.

[Will Compton]

And I thought to myself, okay, Barcelona is essentially high school. There's so many clicks. There's the cool kid club. There's that. I was like, if I try to, like, associate myself with the cool kid club, I'm at the bottom of that totem pole. Where I get stuck night pretty quickly. So I thought if I can get like the band of misfits of barstool that are in the group that are kind of like on the outskirts of like the cool kid club and get everybody together, like we could run the entire thing and, you know, it works out the way it does. I think that the way it does.

[Francis Ellis]

I think if there's a subsequent season in a year or whatever, my guess would be that the band of misfits will actually have a leg up that.

[Will Compton]

People will say stop being afraid though.

[Francis Ellis]

Like, you know, I know they wouldn't.

[Taylor Lewan]

Be because to your point, there's a resume that has now been built.

[Francis Ellis]

Yeah.

[Taylor Lewan]

Which helps create that target for though for everybody else now.

[Francis Ellis]

Right. Right.

[Taylor Lewan]

We interrupt this episode to talk to you about something very serious. We're going to say a couple words. Taylor, you say the two words and I'll explain what's going down.

[Will Compton]

Erectile dysfunction.

[Taylor Lewan]

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[Will Compton]

Back to the episode.

[Taylor Lewan]

Are you and Rudy good?

[Francis Ellis]

Yeah, totally. And. And that was one of those things where when I got out of the game, I was just so upset and felt so shocked that because Rudy, like, we truly bonded over these nights of sleeping in the cold campfires. Just like there was so much bonding. I won him a challenge by like hacking the challenge. I saw something where I was like, well, Rudy, I can actually help him win. And I'm going to tell him right before that I'm going to have him win and I'm going to contribute to his thing and then he'll win and he'll choose me to sleep in the house with him and we'll both be safe, which is exactly what he did. And so we were like just really vibing and having a great time and then he voted for me and I was astounded, astounded that some boy of mine could do that and I get voted out of the game also. We had to like, we just sleep in. I'm not kidding you, the worst hotel that I have slept in in my life. I mean, there were times when my parents weren't doing as well as they are now. And as kids we would, we would stay in shit places like, you know, fucking rundown motels on road. 24 hour road trips up to our lake house in northern Canada. And it sounds we're doing that well.

[Will Compton]

As we're on road trips to our lake house in Northern.

[Francis Ellis]

We drove 22 hours.

[Will Compton]

What were your struggles like our camp had. You got a small place outside of New York City.

[Francis Ellis]

You know, I think, I think it's worth like 60 grand. That. That place.

[Will Compton]

Yeah.

[Francis Ellis]

Not even kidding you.

[Taylor Lewan]

Yeah.

[Francis Ellis]

So my point being, I've stayed in shit hotels. This place we had to stay after we got voted out of that game was the worst. There were so many hairs on the bed, women's long hairs, and they look like they'd been pulled out by force. Like these were not shed hairs. These were like, yeah, hairs like that. You could see the follicle.

[Will Compton]

Yeah.

[Francis Ellis]

There was intent at the base, clumps, clusters, chemo. Patient hairs. So anyway, it was terrible. It smelled bad and. But then like within 24 hours you're kind of like, oh, okay, I'm back to normal. But I spent that morning writing this speech and then as we were like heading to the thing, I was like, yeah, I wrote something, but it feels a little over the top now. And Pat from out and about was like, you have to do it. You have to do it for the show. And I was like, ah, I just don't know if I feel it that much anymore. And he was like, find it. Find it within yourself. Summon that feeling. So I did this speech and it was pretty brutal. And then we ended the show and I just went up to Rudy and I was like, I just, I'm sorry. Like, I hope you know, we're good. And he was like, oh, thank God. But I think it was, it was a lot of.

[Taylor Lewan]

It created a diabolical moment. The barstool universe.

[Francis Ellis]

Yeah.

[Taylor Lewan]

How'd you get in, how'd you get in the barstool? Didn't you do like the, the American Idol style?

[Francis Ellis]

The first season of Barstool Idol, I had been doing stand up and tutoring for like six years. I was just doing, you know, open mics and then check spots and then that Harvard degree.

[Taylor Lewan]

We probably made a good living with the.

[Francis Ellis]

I'm not even kidding. You people are like, imagine, imagine graduating from Harvard only to be a comedian or only be a, you know, personality. Barstool. It's like nothing could have been more valuable to my career trajectory because I got out of school, didn't really know what I wanted to do. I'd done some stand up my senior year, loved it. And I was like, alright, fuck it, I'll move to New York and give this a shot for two years and if it doesn't work out, I'll, you know, take myself more seriously or whatever. And I quickly got a job tutoring and you know, I was tutoring like this standardized test that like seventh and eighth graders would take to apply to boarding schools called the ssat. There's a lot of schools in New York that go K to 8 and so kids have to apply out and there's just this huge like private school community on the Upper east side where everyone takes that test and the parents take it as seriously as the SAT for college so they'll pay anything. And I was getting referred from one client to the next being like, we have a tutor. He's this Harvard lacrosse bro who like our kid is obsessed with and is tutoring the test. Like every other tutor was like some artsy fartsy old woman, you know, like, who was like a poet on the side and trying to support their poetry, but like poetry. Yeah. And meanwhile like, you know, I'd come over and like bro it up. We'd hit the pantry after school, eat a bunch of grapes, Capri Suns. And then we'd get to the vocab list and it was awesome. It was like the best job in the world, you know, Dunkaroos. Just being a kid again. And I got to a point where I was charging 300 bucks an hour for that.

[Will Compton]

Oh my goodness, you have I. Dude.

[Francis Ellis]

I had a wait list. So at my. I had a wait list so long that I actually had to hire friends of mine who were like trying to be actors or musicians or comedians or whatever and teach them how to tutor the test. And then I would assign them to students and I would take a cut of what they were making. And then I actually just started my own company. Tutoring.

[Will Compton]

You just kept doing this.

[Francis Ellis]

Well, that was a kind of a hard call. But it was always in my mind, like, I'm gonna do this as a means to an end until I can theoretically support myself in comedy.

[Taylor Lewan]

Right.

[Francis Ellis]

But it was a great job. I made like 145 grand a year and I didn't have to work in the summer. Like the whole summer didn't work like the teacher's dream. Yeah, it was fucking awesome. And you know, just worked like four after school, four to like 8:00. And then I would hit like, you know, three kids in a short radius. I would schedule them if they like lived within a block of each other. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday. And then I would go do stand up after that and do like, you know, shitty open mics. Or then I got.

[Taylor Lewan]

And you get to sleep in because the work day doesn't start till 4.

[Francis Ellis]

Yeah, I tried to, like, I tried to keep my shit together and take myself seriously. Like, it was hard. I mean, and you know, in the absence of like, yeah, I could have slept till noon, but that would have driven me crazy. So I did that. And then I finally found. I saw a thing for the barstool idol. They were like, we're looking for talent. And this was still kind of like in a young phase of the company.

[Taylor Lewan]

Now. Did you know about him before you?

[Francis Ellis]

Yeah, I'd been a fan. I loved, I loved the writing. I liked reading Kevin and Big Cat Dave. I loved reading those blogs.

[Will Compton]

And what year was this?

[Francis Ellis]

This would have been like end of 2017 is when I saw the thing, I think. And then maybe it was end of 2016. And then in like January of 2017, I had sent in a stand up tape replying to the email and they were like, yep, you can come audition. So. Because apparently there were like 2,000 emails that, that they got and 95% of them were like, listen, you know, I don't have any experience, but I'm a huge barstool fan. I'll do whatever it takes. I'll learn what I have to do. And then like a handful were like, here's some relatively related work that I've done that might lend itself to this job. So because I sent a stand up tape, they were. I don't even know if they watched it, but they were like, oh, he's an actual comedian, sure. And I went in and did stand up, which was like, probably a mistake because Dave hates stand up. But I was Very lucky that this guy who went before me did also did stand up and bombed so hard that just by contrast I looked a lot better. And so then I went up and they were like, yeah, you were better. So. Okay. And then they passed me into the like the hell week thing where they chose I think 10 people to come compete. Like it was the Apprentice and we had to come to the office every day, Monday to Friday, and at the end do a bunch of challenges type shit job, you know, write a blog, go sell merch, whatever, and make a video. And then on the final day, Dave would fire someone at the end of every day on Facebook Live.

[Will Compton]

Facebook Live.

[Francis Ellis]

And there'd be like, you know, 10 some people watching, which doesn't sound like a lot now, but at that time that's a big. I'd never had anybody watching me do anything. Nobody knew who I was. And so like all of a sudden my friends are tuning in like family members and I'm just inching forward and you know, as the, as the tasks became more like talent oriented instead of just like stupid shit, I was able to actually show that I could write and that I could make funny videos and this and that. And I, I ended up winning that whole thing. Got like a trial contract for six months. Within two months they had bumped me up to full time. And then I was there for two and a half years and then I got fired and then I was away for three years and then I got hired back and now here we are. It's quite a saga.

[Will Compton]

I, I, yeah, yeah. I want to ask why you got fired, but I feel like that's, do.

[Francis Ellis]

You not know that story?

[Will Compton]

No, I do. I told you, my head in the sand guy. I'm ahead.

[Francis Ellis]

There's another piece that I did.

[Will Compton]

I go to Barstow, I'm like, hey, how's everybody doing? And I leave.

[Francis Ellis]

There's another piece of this that I.

[Taylor Lewan]

There's a, there's like a doctor thing in there.

[Francis Ellis]

Yeah, that was.

[Taylor Lewan]

Yeah, okay.

[Francis Ellis]

Do you know about that?

[Taylor Lewan]

Yeah, you've told me about it. You have to tell us.

[Francis Ellis]

I mean, this is, talk to me.

[Will Compton]

Like you're meeting me for the first time.

[Francis Ellis]

I feel bad because I want to shoot the with you guys, but these stories are a little long.

[Taylor Lewan]

That's okay. That's why we're here.

[Will Compton]

This is the show.

[Francis Ellis]

Okay.

[Will Compton]

You're the guest. We're so we're highlighting you.

[Francis Ellis]

Fair enough. But you know, I watch your guys show and I love it and I love the way you guys just, you know, Shoot the shit with people. So I feel. I'll tell you. I'll tell you as quickly as I can, okay? I'm not great at telling stories quickly. I'm pretty long winded, so I apologize for that.

[Taylor Lewan]

We can talk Fox Sports drama in a little bit, but tell the story.

[Francis Ellis]

Perfect. Yes. Yes. So. So on day three of the barstool Hell week thing, I had had a surgery. I mentioned the getting beaten up by the guy.

[Will Compton]

Yeah. The lobster man, which you kind of really brushed over because Will knew what it was. And you're like, yeah, that sucked. Then you talk about cocaine in your nose.

[Francis Ellis]

Yes. So the short story of that is that I was in Portland, Maine, when I was a sophomore in college. Home for Christmas. Went out with some buddies. Bars closed. We were pretty banged up. Went to the pizza place in the Old Port, filed into a booth. I saw some guys that I used to play sports against at a rival school, but who I was friendly with. We'd, like, played travel sports together. And I went over to say hi to them and was sitting with them for, like, five minutes. One of them saw these two girls come in. They were, like, screaming at each other, almost fighting. And he chirped them. And then one of their boyfriends came over and was like, that's my girlfriend. And he said something like, you know, keep your dogs on a leash or something insane. Something insane. And then the big guy punched him in the face and broke his nose, and his nose exploded all over the pizza. I swear to God, he was pooling blood all over the pie, which we wanted. And. And then they all started getting out of the booth to, like, fight. And I was like, am I part of this? Like, what the fuck? And then I was, like, trying to settle it down, but then we got pushed outside. And then one of the guys from his team just, like, knew what he was doing.

[Taylor Lewan]

He knew what he was doing.

[Francis Ellis]

He kicked me in the face with, like, Timberland boots on and knocked me to the ground. And he got over my back and just grabbed my coat collar. And he's like, he's. I'm not even kidding. He's. He's saddled me. Like, he's. I'm facing that way and he's behind me facing the same way with my coat collar, bringing me to the right height. Like it's T ball and just swinging around my face. And I'm just on all fours being like, oh, no, I can't do anything. This is terrible.

[Taylor Lewan]

Bring me to the right height.

[Francis Ellis]

Like 15. Probably hit me nine times. I broke my orbital bone. I had hairline fractures in my gums, my nose was broken, as I said, and obviously a concussion. And dude, he finally, he like, he was so one sided that he just got off and like helped me up and was like, are you okay? And I was like, I swear to God.

[Will Compton]

He asked you if you're okay?

[Francis Ellis]

Yeah, yeah, he asked me if I was okay. And I had this idea for, for a couple of years that like, at some point as a man you needed to get into a fist fight and that you had to earn your stripes and like prove yourself as a man. And I was stoked that I had found one, had taken my punches and, you know, lived to like keep moving forward. So I actually dapped the guy up, I swear to God. And by the way, I've told this story before. I told it on Matt and Shane's and I'm telling it here and, and I, if I ever did Rogan, I'd want to tell it on there because I have been looking for this guy for fucking years. And I'm hopeful that at some point he'll hear me tell this story. We were at Joe, was it Bill's Pizza and the Old Port. I think it's on Commercial or Exchange street now. It's out of business. It was December 23rd, two nights before Christmas. There was a ton of snow coming down and I feel like he would have to remember this and if you were that guy, we should reconnect. I. Not to fight, just to tell the story because I feel like I have the story right, but I'm like, it was obviously, it's a little hazy, but he helped me up. We dapped it up. They got into a cab. They left because someone had pulled the fire alarm to summon the police. And I actually remember it was the guy who owned the place or like one of the pizza people pulled the fire alarm and yelled, the police are on their way. And I was like, doesn't that summon the firemen? And nobody laughed. Just foreshadowing of the weak comedian I would be for years of the long road ahead. And so anyway, so then we had to take, we took that guy who'd had his nose broken to the hospital and then we went back to my buddy's place and I was, I was hurt, but I was very drunk. So like, I didn't, I just was like spitting out a lot of blood. But like, I didn't think, for some reason I didn't think I needed to go to the hospital. I went to bed and I woke up and I had swallowed so much blood through my own septum that I was very nauseous. And I got up at like 6am, raced to the toilet and threw up all this blood. Oh, because your body cannot digest blood. Did you know that?

[Taylor Lewan]

No.

[Francis Ellis]

It's an interesting, like, scientific trigger for your stomach where if it senses that there's blood pooling, it thinks that you have internal bleeding or some kind of really bad problem and it will alert you of this by making you nauseous. This is what I was told. So I threw up all that blood and then I went home, walked in the door on Christmas Eve at 7am Greeted by our two, you know, yellow labs and then my mom who's making Christmas cookies and my face looks like beef carpaccio and she had to take me to get emergency dental surgery on Christmas, Christmas Eve. And so, yeah, so that was like. And then obviously going to take a.

[Taylor Lewan]

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[Will Compton]

Back to the episode.

[Francis Ellis]

Okay, so years later.

[Will Compton]

So that's how you got fired?

[Taylor Lewan]

Well, no, no, no.

[Francis Ellis]

Years later, I finally have the surgery to get my nose corrected from that moment. And that moment happened in 2009, the winter of 2009. And it wasn't until 2016 that I finally was like, I need to get this fixed. And I went in to get the cert, like the. I saw an ear, nose, throat person. And he was like, well, we also see that you have polyps on your vocal cords because they had done a, you know, X ray or whatever because I was very hoarse from performing all the time.

[Taylor Lewan]

Is this the visit on day three of that.

[Francis Ellis]

No, that visit happened weeks, weeks before. Okay. I had, I had done this. I ended up doing that surgery in like I think early December. And then the audition for barstool Idol was in January, I'm pretty sure. And, but, but even before the surgery, I went in and had. They told me they were like we can fix the polyps. We can scrape those off the vocal cords with a throat surgeon, and then under the same anesthesia, do the nose. So you can kind of just kill two birds with one stone if you want. And I was like, yeah, absolutely. I get the surgery. I recover from that. I go into Barstool Idol. All is well. On that Wednesday of Barstool Idol, I get a call from the actual doctor, a voicemail, not even, like, his assistant. And he's like, Hi, Francis, it's Dr. Wu Peak Wu at Mount Sinai. And he was like, I need to see you immediately. This is really important. Like, please come to the office when you can.

[Will Compton]

Oh, you know the story. Yeah, okay.

[Taylor Lewan]

It's juicy.

[Francis Ellis]

Yeah. And he's like, you know, he didn't tell me why. And I was like, what the. Okay. So I called his assistant, and she was like, yeah, come. I was like, do I need to make an appointment? She was like, just come. Now. Now. So I'm in the bar office. It's day three. I'm down to, like, one of five or six remaining people. So I just sneak out, and I take the subway up to Mount Sinai, which is all the way uptown, almost in Harlem. I go in, I see them, and they were like, okay. Unfortunately, when you take something out of your body, as you guys probably know, I think they automatically biopsy it just to, like, test whatever it is. And they were like, we thought we had removed polyps from your vocal cords, but they are showing signs of cancerous malignancies. And we think that up they are cancerous tumors.

[Will Compton]

No shit.

[Francis Ellis]

And we need to start doing some testing now to see if it's, like, metastasized and spread. And that is our diagnosis. We're really sorry. I was like, holy fuck. What? And then I had to get in a cab to go back to Barstool, at which point I called my parents and told them I had just been told I have cancer. Yeah, I'm crying. I'm freaked out. The fucking Barstool Idol was already, like, a huge pressure cooker. Crazy thing. And I get to the office, I'm very shaken from this news, and I have to go in. I go up the stairs, and Kevin Clancy is like, where have you been? You're supposed to be doing this test segment on KFC radio right now. And I'm like, ah, okay. So I go in, they hustle me in, they sit me down, and they're like, crazy week, right? Like, how's your week been? And I'm like, not great to be Honest with you. And I'm like, I don't really know what to say. Like, I'm kind of freaking out right now. And I swear to God, you can watch this. Kevin goes, you're not about to tell me you have cancer, are you? Word for word. He says that. And I was like, yeah, kinda. And he's like, what? And then I told him what had just happened. I didn't have time to, like, prepare. I didn't have time to be like, should I bring this forward?

[Taylor Lewan]

Doctor visit?

[Francis Ellis]

No, I didn't. I told him. I think I told him in the. In the show. I didn't have, like, I didn't know what to do about it.

[Will Compton]

Yeah, it's got to be terrifying.

[Francis Ellis]

And, you know, I'm 26, 27. And then that, that comes out and becomes part of the show and I end up winning the show. And at this point, like, I do what any comedian does and I start making, like, jokes about it. And, like, my final video on the final day was like, this song I wrote and performed in the subway to raise money for cancer treatment, which was called, like, Hold Me Closer, I've got cancer. I did like a mashup of, like, famous songs with riffing on this.

[Taylor Lewan]

Yeah.

[Francis Ellis]

And it was funny. And I ended up winning the show and I got the. I got the job. And then I was. I was working there for like, whatever, two or three weeks. And at this time, all this time, they had sent the. The biopsied samples out to California to get, like, further testing done. We had called a radiologist in Maine who was like, friends with my family to get him involved and be like, what the fuck is going on here? Start figuring out options, things like that. And I think it was like two or two weeks in, I get a call on a Friday in the afternoon, you know, office is like, chilling out, and it's the assistant. And she goes, okay, we have great news. We just did DNA test. The DNA testing came back from the autopsy, the biopsy that we did, and the samples that we had taken out that showed cancerous malignancies turned out to be female. And then we found the samples that we had swapped in the lab with yours, retested yours and yours were fine. This poor woman, they switched my tests in the lab.

[Will Compton]

Yeah. Could you imagine the woman think of.

[Francis Ellis]

Think of this. She either had cancer, got my test results, and was like, miraculously, you're cured, or didn't know she had cancer and found out like three or four weeks later than she should have because of this. Because People were like, francis, you should sue the hospital. I'm like, I don't want. I'm not going to sue a hospital for telling me I don't have cancer. That woman has a case.

[Will Compton]

Yeah, right. She should probably do something. That is fucking nuts.

[Francis Ellis]

So I know.

[Taylor Lewan]

How crazy is that story, bro?

[Francis Ellis]

I know.

[Will Compton]

Insane.

[Francis Ellis]

I know immediately because I'm a fan of Barstool, how this is going to go. Oh, yeah, the narrative is going to be this ginger bitch fake cancer to get a job at Barstool, Which, I'm not kidding you. Nate had written the blog before I was off the phone with the medical assistant. Ginger Francis faked cancer to get a job at Barstool. And that becomes the narrative. And I then had to write a counter blog where I, like, show. I had them fax me the biopsy results that show the, like, medical language and all the stuff proving, like, cancerous malignancies. All this being, like, telling my side of the story. Nobody cares. Nobody cares. It's far funnier to think that I would have faked cancer like a fucking psycho to get a job at Barstool. Dave has me on Barstool radio. We only had one Barstool radio show back then on Sirius xm. And Big Cat comes in, and it's like, all the heavy hitters and they are just skewering me for faking cancer. Like, get a job at Barstool. And I'm so terrified. I'm like, two weeks into the job. I don't have any confidence. I'm just, like, walking on eggshells. I don't have.

[Taylor Lewan]

Have.

[Francis Ellis]

I don't have any understanding of, like, the exposure and the reach of Barstool. And all of a sudden, I am the main storyline of the week.

[Will Compton]

God damn.

[Francis Ellis]

And freaking out. The more I try to be like, no, I didn't fake cancer. I see everyone's like, yeah, that's what a psycho would say. The number one like, for, like, this.

[Will Compton]

Is the worst company ever to fake cancer with.

[Francis Ellis]

For the year. For. For, like, two years after that. If you would Google my name, put Francis Ellis into the search bar at Google, the next words that would populate were Francis Ellis fakes. Cancer wasn't like, Francis Ellis, Barstool sports. Francis Ellis, Harvard lacrosse graduate, which it had been. And then I would ask all my friends to re Google that to try to bump fake cancer down off the list. But it turns out a lot more people are interested in reading about freaking cancer than my Go Crimson stats.

[Taylor Lewan]

Go Crimson.

[Francis Ellis]

Six ground balls against Kenesha in 2007. So anyway, so that was just like the narrative. And then like two weeks later, I ended up asking out a Sports Illustrated swimsuit model after we did a segment. And that got out and got to Dave. And he fucking made a mess of that. Made a whole scene of that. Which now it's like, okay, faked cancer. He's asking out girls that are 10, 10 leagues out of his league. This guy really is a psycho. And then, then it just became that I was an actual psychopath. And that was when it took me like a year to be. Stop fighting that and actually be like.

[Will Compton]

Yes, I'm a psychopath.

[Francis Ellis]

I'm a psycho.

[Will Compton]

Yeah, you want this guy bullied into having psychotic tendencies.

[Francis Ellis]

It was more like I did. I. Something clicked where taking the reins of the narrative myself, you know, b. Rabbiting it a little bit. All of a sudden launched. Launched my tone. I found like tone at Barstool, which was what led me to start writing longer blogs that were more personal. Because up to that point everyone was just kind of like, here's a story from the Internet. Here's my two paragraph take on it. That's blogging at Barstool. And then I was. It was a year in and I. Over Christmas break, we had, you know, a week and a half off and I stayed in the city to do stand up. And randomly, three days in a row, I ran into Dave. One day we were sitting next to each other at a barber shop getting our hair cut, just randomly. The next day was at a sports bar. We were like adjacent tables. And then the next day, like at a bar at night. So I wrote a blog titled I Spent my Christmas Break becoming Best Friends with Dave Portnoy. And our exchanges in those moments were no more than 10 words. Hey, Dave, how are you? Good. Good to see you. Happy holidays. That was it. And then I wrote 2000 words extrapolating this into a friendship completely imagined from my side, but indicating how little we'd actually corresponding. But what I thought Dave's words meant, even though he said so few you. And this was a light bulb moment for me at Barstool. And I started following that, just writing like personal blogs kind of where I would imaginatively and very neurotically extend small exchanges or like interactions with co workers into a long piece. And that is kind of what I do to this day.

[Will Compton]

Beautiful.

[Francis Ellis]

So that's.

[Taylor Lewan]

Did you have a shot at the swimsuit model?

[Will Compton]

Did she ever respond to anything?

[Francis Ellis]

Here's what happened. Okay. There were three of them that came in to promote the launch of the new Sports Illustrated magazine that was coming out. They were Daniel Harrington, who got the COVID the next year. Fuck, I can't remember the other two, but they're. They were also. And I'm sorry, I can't remember them. But anyway, I did a show with them. I sat down. I was doing some dumb show I did called the Saturday Sit down, where I just played this, like, awkward, bumbling.

[Will Compton]

Character, like, Chris Farley bit.

[Francis Ellis]

Yes, yes. And I had the three of them on, and they're, like, the most stunning women alive. And there I am, just fumbling around and being embarrassed and whatever. But during that, I remember, like, Danielle Harrington was sitting on the couch with me, and she, like, was laughing more than the other two. And at one point, like, she laughed and, like, touched my knee, and I was like, it's over.

[Taylor Lewan]

Rocked up quick.

[Francis Ellis]

Ah, the mother of my children. We finally meet.

[Will Compton]

Yeah.

[Francis Ellis]

The search is over. Um, and we. So afterwards, I went up to one of her friends who was stuck sticking around, and I was like, hey, is. Is Dan. Do you happen to know if Daniel's, like, single? And she was like, I don't know. Why? I want me to ask for you. And I was like, I don't know. I thought she was really cute, like, you know, and she's like, here, take. She goes, take my number and I'll find out for you. And I was like, okay. And we exchanged numbers, but I think she was in her. That girl was in a relationship. So then the next day, they fly to Houston to do the, like, pre super bowl party for Maxim maybe. And Dave goes with them. He's on the plane with them. They all go down. They go to this party. At the party, one of the girls goes up to Dave and is like, keep in mind, this is like, four weeks into me working at Barstool now.

[Will Compton]

Your first four weeks.

[Taylor Lewan]

The fake cancer headline is still there.

[Francis Ellis]

Oh, it's. It is.

[Will Compton]

Fake cancer psychopath.

[Francis Ellis]

Yeah. So Dave, one of them goes up to Dave at the party and is like, do you know your employee Francis? And he's like, barely. Why? And he. She was like, well, I think he's got a crush on my friend Danielle or something. He. He asked me to find out if she was single or something like that. And Dave is like, get the fuck out of here. And. And. And. And then she. And then she's like. They're laughing about it, and she ends up up dming me and going, the girl whose number? Or maybe she texts me and she goes, hey, I asked Danielle. She Says she's interested. Shoot her a DM and, like, tell her all about yourself.

[Will Compton]

Oh.

[Francis Ellis]

And I'm like, but. But I. Like, luckily, I smelled. I smell the rat. And I was like, they're trolling me. And I was like, no, I don't. I don't think that's a good idea. And she's like, trust me, girls love that. And I'm like, meanwhile, Dave is, like, over their shoulder trying to, like, lay this trap. Then he calls Frankie Borelli, who at the time was his cameraman for all the pizza reviews, and is down there with him, and he's like, frankie, come over here. We have to do this. And Dave goes on his camera, and he's like, get this world. Ginger Francis, who's only been here for a cup of coffee, faked cancer to get a job at Barstool, is now asking out Sports Illustrated swimsuit models, the hottest women in the world who are so out of his league. Who does he think he is? Like, this fucking psychopath. He's telling that to the girls and, like. And then he posts that on Twitter. This is. This is. I remember it was like a Saturday night or something, and I'm down in Philly hanging out with some very dear friends. We're out to dinner, and all of a sudden, my phone is exploding for the fifth time in a month. Thing is going everywhere. And then. And then the editor in chief at the time, or I think. I think he was K. Marco, he's like, dude, you need to get to a laptop and blog. Blog this immediately. So I had to leave the dinner. I had my bag, my backpack with my laptop in it. I had to leave the dinner to go to, like, a fucking Starbucks at, like, 9:00pm Log on. Write. This blog being like, okay, yeah, I thought we hit it off. Maybe I was wrong.

[Taylor Lewan]

She touched my knee.

[Francis Ellis]

But, like, you know, you never know. You don't ask, you don't dance. Like, you know, I'd rather. I'd rather have the rejection than spend a lifetime wondering, you know, what could have been. And, like, shooters shoot, blah, blah, blah. And, like, the fucking audience kind of rallied around that a little bit. They were like, yeah, yeah, why is Dave cock blocking Francis? Which was the worst thing that could have happened. Because when you. When you turn the tide against Dave a little bit, then he really starts to bring out the tools. And then he started, like, deconstructing the whole thing. He revealed that I had also DMed this other girl who was like, how.

[Will Compton]

Do you know you DM this other girl?

[Francis Ellis]

Because I think, I think that I don't know the answer to that.

[Taylor Lewan]

So when the Internet starts to take it, oh, maybe they were corresponding.

[Will Compton]

How'd they know?

[Francis Ellis]

Maybe they I. That you. I know, but I'm not going to say it.

[Taylor Lewan]

You dirty dog.

[Francis Ellis]

You're a dirty. I think they were hooking up and I didn't know it. Wait, Dave and that girl?

[Will Compton]

Dave and the girl. And so you DM the girl without knowing that she's probably laying in bed with Dave going, look at this.

[Francis Ellis]

Yes.

[Will Compton]

Oh, my God.

[Francis Ellis]

I think that's what happened.

[Will Compton]

People think New York is such a big place. It's really not.

[Francis Ellis]

Well, it was my mistake. She had appeared on Barstool stuff, but as a guest. And I, by the way, I, I.

[Will Compton]

That is so funny. Your face.

[Francis Ellis]

My dm, I think was, hey, I have a show at Barstool called the Saturday. Sit down. Do you want to do it? I don't know that it was like, I don't. I don't know if I have the dm. This was like eight years ago. I could try to find it, but I probably deleted it for my own sanity. Do any of you know all this? Do you remember any of this?

[Taylor Lewan]

Jared has never sat in on a bus an episode, but he could not wait because you are his favorite.

[Francis Ellis]

I appreciate that, Jared. That's very kind.

[Will Compton]

We'll get Jared on the mic in a little bit.

[Taylor Lewan]

He's like, do you guys notice? You just see Jared in the back?

[Will Compton]

Yeah. Just shaking. Yes. Yes, I do.

[Francis Ellis]

Yes.

[Will Compton]

So.

[Francis Ellis]

So.

[Will Compton]

So how do you find out that Dave knows about this? Dm, does this, calls me on the.

[Francis Ellis]

In on the radio show, and he's like, you guys are getting behind Francis and saying, shooter, shoot. But he has a tendency to do this with girls. He DMs people that are, like, loosely affiliated with Barstool. And it's really unprofessional. Here are. Here he is asking out this girl.

[Will Compton]

So do you know.

[Francis Ellis]

Do you know which I didn't know. I didn't know that you didn't know.

[Will Compton]

That Dave knew that before you went on the radio show. He brings you on. You sit there.

[Francis Ellis]

Yes.

[Will Compton]

Waiting on the phone. And by the way, you could hear him saying these things.

[Francis Ellis]

He's not on the phone. He's there. This was when we all. All worked together.

[Will Compton]

That's right. This is when Dave.

[Francis Ellis]

And not only that, Big Cat's in there, and Big Cat is waiting for his turn to fucking knock me a new one because he was mad at me for he Big Cat is incredible at networking, you know, And I think that's like, his biggest quiet strength. And he will work a long game to get amazing guests on Pardon My Take. And he's so good at, like, finessing it. It over a long period of time. Because this was. This was. I was the 39th employee at Barstool, and this was at a time when, yeah, Pardon My Take was getting big. But they couldn't just, like, put. I don't know if they were at a point yet where they could just put in a call to, like, J.J. watt and be like, come do the show. You know, at that time, it was like, J.J. watt is six months off.

[Taylor Lewan]

Yeah.

[Francis Ellis]

From us being. We're starting to kind of get the ball rolling.

[Will Compton]

They're putting seeds out there. They're tweeting at him, whatever.

[Francis Ellis]

So they had just had Ryan locked on Pardon My Take, and he was a big deal at the time. He had just had. He just come off the Olympics. He'd had this crazy, like, scandal come out about him.

[Taylor Lewan]

Yeah.

[Francis Ellis]

Swimmer about him, like, saying he got robbed at a gas station. Do you guys remember that?

[Will Compton]

Yes.

[Francis Ellis]

But it, like, turned out that that hadn't been what happened. But anyway, so he was, like, a big personality. And Ryan Lochte came into the office, did Pardon My Take. And I had asked Big Cat, is there any chance I can shoot something that I have funny sketch. I had started doing this thing called this is Barstool that were like, this is Sports center commercials. And I had a funny idea to shoot with Ryan Lochte, and Big Cat was like, look, I don't want to step on your toes, but, like, this is a very kind of delicate guess that we worked really hard to get. And all he has time for is this. There it is. And. And, like, I'd appreciate it if you. If you didn't do that. And I was at a point where I was like, I need to do everything I possibly can. And I just was, like, really hungry to make content. And I kind of just didn't listen to. To Big Cat. So I then grabbed Ryan Lochte as he came out of the elevator. He didn't. I think I told his producer or whatever, like, I have this idea. And she was like, okay, sure. And I had printed out my own headshot, and I said, hey, Ryan, can you sign this? And he was like, sure, but this is a picture of you. And I was like, yeah, I know. And then he was. And he signs it, and then he hands it back to me. And I'm like, no, that's for you. And he goes, but I just signed it. And I go, yeah, now everyone knows it's yours. And then he's, like, completely confused and walks out. And that was the whole thing. He didn't know what we were gonna do. Oh, yeah. There was the original DM that I sent to the swimsuit model. It was great working with you yesterday. I know you're off to Houston, but when do you get back? Want to go boxing? Because she had said she goes to box. She does, like, boxing as, like, a workout.

[Will Compton]

Yeah, yeah.

[Francis Ellis]

Not like, hey, want to fight each other? I have a history of concussions, so go easy.

[Will Compton]

So she responded that dm.

[Francis Ellis]

No, she didn't, because I was all. Then. Then it was all going through her friend.

[Will Compton]

At some point, she might be done the joke or.

[Taylor Lewan]

Yeah, maybe.

[Francis Ellis]

Dude, she got the. She got the. She got the COVID the next day.

[Will Compton]

Who's this girl?

[Francis Ellis]

Daniel Harrington? She got the COVID That's her? Yeah.

[Will Compton]

That's who you asked out?

[Francis Ellis]

Mm.

[Will Compton]

Shoot or Shoot, brother?

[Francis Ellis]

Shoot or shoot?

[Will Compton]

Hey, I'm mad at you.

[Francis Ellis]

I made T shirts in the merch store called Shoot or Shoot.

[Will Compton]

Really?

[Francis Ellis]

Yeah.

[Will Compton]

How'd they do?

[Francis Ellis]

I think okay. Yeah, yeah, not great. But we had to print it in the Sports Illustrated font, so that was the subtle hat tip to it.

[Taylor Lewan]

So Big Cat found out.

[Francis Ellis]

Big Cat found out about that. So into his credit, like, he. He was not thrilled, and totally understandably so. And so he was in the radio room once Dave was done berating me for, like, I can't ask out girls that are, like, coming into barstool to shoot stuff because it's really unprofessional, which is true. Then Dave. Yeah, there it is. Then Dave, or, excuse me, Big Cat then I think weighed in maybe about the Ryan Lochte thing or was also just, like, piling on. You know, I'm sitting next to Glenny Balls, and it's like, what is he doing in here? And they're all just, like, taking their pound of flesh, and I'm fucking terrified. And, you know, but they're. But this was, like, an important learning moment for me, and it was a total trial. Trial by fire. You could call it like a hazing ritual of barstool. And once I got through this, I leveled out. Like, I started to settle into the job, and as I said, like, like eight or nine months later, I found that long form tone thing that, you know, started to see my job, meet me actually do better at the work until. Until I got fired.

[Will Compton]

So you're working there for two Weeks. For four weeks. In that time, you say you have cancer. You come back and say, oh, no, the DNA test got switched. I don't have cancer. Some poor woman has cancer. Then a swimsuit model comes in.

[Francis Ellis]

Yeah.

[Will Compton]

And you ask her out, which is wildly inappropriate for any corporation. And you keep your job.

[Francis Ellis]

There you go.

[Will Compton]

And so I'm excited to hear how you got fired.

[Francis Ellis]

It's a great point, because I did go. I did go into Dave's office at one point to apologize for all of this. And his first response was like, hey, it gave me great content. 10. Like, that was his. For the first words he said. And that. That it would take me a long time to realize that, like, Dave is willing to court conflict and controversy if it's entertaining. If it's not, and it's. It starts causing advertisers to pull back and costing the company money or paints the company in a bad light, that's a problem. So, okay, that was. That was. That was the first whole run. And then I'm there for, whatever, two and a half years. I'm starting to get a little too big for my britches, probably. You know, I was writing well, and I had a lot of things that were going well. I got tapped to host the. The Breakfast show on Sirius with Willie Colon. We did that for, like a year, year and a half. That was going well, and it was interesting. I'm writing well. I have good video series. I have a sketch show called the Barstool Variety Hour. I'm touring for Stand up, like, whatever. My star is theoretically rising. And I only say that because days. Steve at one point was like, yeah, Francis is a star. You know, they gave. They're giving me raises. Like, it's just going well.

[Will Compton]

Right. And I feel confident.

[Francis Ellis]

Yeah. And the commentary is starting to be like. You read a few of the comments, and people are being like, how long is it until Francis leaves Barstool for something better? And. Or, like, you know, he's gonna go to SNL or some. And you start to. You start to drink your own Kool Aid and feel yourself a little bit again. I'm young. I'm like, 28, 29. And I'm thinking, like, yeah, I'm gonna. I'm gonna use this as a stepping stone to my, you know, stardom. And Dave. Dave knows when you start to feel that way because you're not committing as much. You're not, like, wearing the shield. You're not showing up on time to, like, you know, some of the sponsored stuff, whatever it is, It's. It's clear. And this came to a head when we had a. We had a sponsored thing at a Dunkin Donuts called the Dunkin Awards. We had done it the year before. It was all the way out in Queens. And the year before, it was like our Oscars ceremony where they handed out Blog of the Year, video of the Year, Song of the Awards, and everyone got dressed up. We were all wearing, like, suits and stuff. The second year, they were like, we're doing it again. But there wasn't as much fanfare. And they sent out, like, one email. Being like, the Duncan Awards are at this place at this time. There's gonna be a bus that takes us out there. And then the last line was like, dress to impress. And a handful of us just kind of disregarded it or didn't really know. I don't know. Didn't take it seriously enough that we needed to dress up. Up. We drive out there on the bus. I take edibles with a few people, and I'm wearing a black T shirt. A bunch of people are wearing, like, T shirts and jeans. We walk in, and Dave is on a fucking rampage, just crushing everybody who's not dressed up. I'm. I'm not dressed up. And meanwhile, the edibles are kicking in. I'm like. And I'm getting torn apart by Dave for being high and wearing a T shirt and all of this. And I just. This is, like, me falling out of favor. Like, this is me kind of a come to Jesus moment. Like, look at how fucking stupid I look there, banged up in the second, and he just tortures me, like, you know, torches me the whole time. That was on, like, Monday. The next day. Real Sports with Bryant Gumball, I think, on HBO releases an expose that they'd been, you know, researching for weeks on Barstool. It's kind of a hit piece. Things aren't good at this time. Lots of. Whenever a hit piece would come out, it was implicitly understood that we needed to, like, yo, lower our heads. Shut up. Don't raise any flags. Or, like, don't rock the boat. Let's let this pass and we'll get back to our work. That was on Tuesday. Friday is the Friday before the 4th of July. We have a week off. I write a blog. At this time, I had the ability to just publish my own blogs. And there was no one to oversee it. And I saw a story that morning about a girl in Utah who had gone missing. It was in the New York Post. It was in, you know, fucking us Weekly, whatever. It was kind of tabloidy salacious. She was a big fan of Call Her Daddy, which was our exploding podcast at the time.

[Will Compton]

This is like the height of it, right?

[Francis Ellis]

Yep. She was a outspoken sugar daddy dating website advocate and was like, on seeking arrangements and like, being like, you should, you know, have a guy, pay for your life, whatever. So. And she was a sorority sister and she'd gone missing. She'd been missing for two weeks. Her sorority sisters had alerted the FBI that she was missing, but they saw that her Instagram account had been liking photos. So it was like, it was kind of a perfect storm of details that I thought, the Barstool audience will want to read about this. And it almost was so down the lane that I was like, why has nobody written this yet? Which should have been a red flag. Why is nobody. Because we had like 13 bloggers at that time and we were all just like constantly fighting for the. To be the first to an Internet story. Yeah, I write the blog. It's not funny. It was just like a throwaway blog. And I'm kind of like, yeah, you know this girl. Here's the story. Like, let's hope she's okay. But, you know, she's big fan of sugar daddy website. So like, hopefully she's on a yacht somewhere with some older guy, like, and that she comes back in a week or so and wearing Call her daddy merch and promotes the pot. Whatever. It's a bunch of bullshit. Two hours after I write the blog, she is found brutally murdered. This story starts turning into Barstool. Sports writer Francis Ellis has written like the most tone deaf, heartless, cruel blog about a murdered girl. I get hit up. I get like four email emails in my inbox in a row from like the Daily Beast, Deadspin, all the. All the usual suspects of the companies that were would attack Barstool for any reason at that time. They're like, we're writing a story about the fact that you wrote about this girl. We have three questions. One, why would you have written it? Two, did anyone else see this blog before it went up? Like three, like, what do you have to say for yourself? I. I'm like, oh, fuck. I get a text from Dave, all caps. What the fuck is your problem, you fucking idiot? Like, why would you have done this? Then he texts our editor. Huh?

[Will Compton]

We've had those texts.

[Francis Ellis]

Then it's like, you know, just a daily text to Mincey. I got.

[Will Compton]

Yeah, yeah.

[Francis Ellis]

I get. I get put in like a. He texts the. Our editor in chief and he's like, from now on, Francis has no editorial approval. Anything he writes needs to be run by you. This guy, that guy at the time was this guy Keith. And he like tweets out that I have been silenced or something like that. My editorial approval. So even at that point it felt like, oh, people were kind of making a joke of this. And then I like responded with like just a. A gif of me, like putting myself in a cone of shame or something. But then as the day progressed, I was on my. I was leaving that afternoon to go meet my girlfriend's parents for the first time. And that woman became my wife, who is now my ex wife. And I was on a train down to her family's house in Pennsylvania when I got a call from Dave and I picked it up and he was like, I hate to do this, but I don't feel like we have a choice. We're. We're firing you. And I was like, okay, I get it.

[Will Compton]

Did he explain? Yeah, the gift that broke the like.

[Francis Ellis]

No, it was that. It was that. Yeah. And then they cut together a stool scenes to make it look like I didn't give a fuck. Just like goofing around. This was like a completely. This was before. Long before I wrote the blog. Probably before the Duncan Awards, you know.

[Will Compton]

No shit.

[Taylor Lewan]

Yeah, it's just the way that week unfolded.

[Francis Ellis]

Good times, like, different me. So anyway. Oh, yeah. And this guy was like really mad at me for.

[Will Compton]

Who's this guy?

[Francis Ellis]

He's one of Pat McAfee's guys that we hired and he was mad that I had like, they produced a stand up special for me and put it behind a paywall and not many people watched it. And then they were. Dave was mad at me at the Duncan Awards. They had spent money on the special and nobody watched it. And I wrote a blog apologizing for that. And then that guy got mad at me for apologizing.

[Will Compton]

What a mental no sense pretzel dude.

[Francis Ellis]

Anyway, is this in fire you? No, I think he actually addressed it on Twitter in a little bit more of like a sincere way where he was like. He kind of seemed more conflicted about it, where he was like, you know, had to do it. The fact that he wrote that blog was bananas. But he's a talented kid. I think he'll be fine, like, whatever. And then Dave wrote me a text later that day after firing me and was like, for what it's worth, I wish it hadn't gone down the way it did. I actually think you might be able to. To like, use this to your advantage. You're in a good spot. Like, which meant a lot because when that happened, then the Washington Post wrote an article about it. I think People magazine, the Daily Mail, it was everywhere. And I was just being painted as this, like, you know, the Daily Beast headline was barstool sportswriter Frances Ellis slut shames a murdered girl. Which is just so out of bounds. Like, I didn't say anything negative about that. Just the fact that I mentioned she was on Seeking Arrangements was why they took that angle. Plus, if you read the blog, you know, you read it and you're like, he didn't know he. She was dead. Obviously, there it is. And so I thought at this time that my career was over toast. And I was really scared. I didn't eat for like three days and I was just holed up at my girlfriend's parents house, like, trying to figure out what to do, what to do next.

[Will Compton]

How was that first impression you get up?

[Francis Ellis]

Just been fired to their credit. Like, they're just the coolest people and were really like, oh, you know, that's tough, but you'll be okay. Like, they were really cool and embracing and supportive. And I got all these texts from people, the company being like, I'm really sorry that that had this happened. Like, I love, you know, you're a good guy. Like, hold your head up. A lot of people reaching out. It wasn't like I left in a body bag from Barstool, as a lot of people do, but not with maybe like the same, this guy's dead to us.

[Taylor Lewan]

Right?

[Francis Ellis]

It was like after a couple days, people were like, he made a mistake. You know, he just read it wrong. It was a dumb mistake, but I wasn't trying to like, hurt anybody. And this was also like the height of cancel culture. This was 2019, so MeToo movement, right before Black Lives Matter. Just like Shane gets fired off SNL a couple months, I think after this happens. And then he and I became friends through that.

[Will Compton]

Oh, for real.

[Francis Ellis]

That the two of us had been. Were stand up comics who like, loosely knew each other and had both just been destroyed in the public eye very close to each other. And that was kind of where we bonded because when he got canceled off snl, I went on Twitter and defended him. And he. And there were a lot of people at that time who were like, afraid to do that kind of stuff. It was like, if we throw our lot in but behind somebody that's been canceled, that's gonna come back on us. I didn't really have anything to lose.

[Will Compton]

Anyone who got canceled at that time, all their friends kind of dipped on them. Yeah, everyone kind of like let them die on the island. Yeah, that we got to preserve and protect what we have going on.

[Francis Ellis]

I get it. It was a witch hunt in that moment. And the people who were looking to, you know, correct the world had all the power. Right. There had not been the fatigue around Cancel culture that has now developed. So, you know, that was what happened to me. I got fired and then I like kind of just took a few days, said, okay, you know what, Like, I'm gonna keep trying here. Started. Oh, I also got some like, I had a few job offers pretty quickly from like a couple blogging sites. Pro Bible reached out. They had been around early, like with barstool, and then they kind of like, I think they got sold and then they faded away. But then they were starting to come back a little and I was like, I don't really know what my next move is. So I just took some time and then I was like, okay, I need to. I need to not lose whatever. People are still with me and I need to give them a place to follow me, you know, know if they want to. So I started a podcast with a comedian friend of mine that was originally based around moments of failure and fuck ups and then like the redemption stories behind them.

[Will Compton]

What was the guy's name?

[Francis Ellis]

Julio Galler.

[Will Compton]

Gallarotti.

[Francis Ellis]

He's been on a lot of barstool stuff. He's great comic. We called it Oops. And it was just about like fucking upwards and like finding ways to come back after you've made a Bill Clinton.

[Will Compton]

The first thing on there.

[Francis Ellis]

Yeah, after you've made mistakes.

[Will Compton]

Yeah.

[Francis Ellis]

And this kind of just started to gather like a nice cult following. We were able to like, you know, generate revenue and. And I was doing that and redoubling my efforts, touring as a stand up and like just sort of piecing it together income and like making it, making a way of it. And I did that for three years. I was out in the wild just like hunting for whatever I could eat.

[Taylor Lewan]

And how are you guys acquiring revenue? Is that you guys both just going out and selling on your own?

[Francis Ellis]

Yeah, just really like grassroots, reaching out to brands. And then we got a. An ad agency that got behind us and took a split and that was good, but we were. Yeah, we did okay. And then Pandemic hits and then I started making some videos in my car where I was like documenting alternate side parking, this crazy phenomenon in New York. And that started Going viral. Parking street sweeping in New York happens on two days of the week, but in the pandemic, they limited it to one day a week. And there's this crazy thing where parking spots were so coveted in New York on the street, because garages are so expensive that people would sit in their cars for the one and a half hour window that people were. That the street sweeper might come by so that they wouldn't get a ticket. And then when the cleaner came by, everyone would pull out into the street. The street sweeper would clean the curb, like that area where we were all parked, and then we would refile back in. But people would come up from the back, swoop in, and steal the spots, which would bump everyone down the line and knock the person in the front off. And then that person would get out of their car, go back, and try to fight the person in the front. And I would be on the street documenting this crazy shit and, like, laughing when people would get tickets because they weren't in their car. I became friends with the guy who drove the street sweeper. He gave me a personally monogrammed Department of Sanitation New York shirt. He came up with a name. He was Pete the Sweep. And, like, I had all these repeat characters, and it just was this crazy little world. And then I made the traffic video where I stopped traffic on the shoulder.

[Taylor Lewan]

So funny.

[Francis Ellis]

Which went mega viral then. Son of a boy. Dad, Roan and Sass had me on the pod, and they were like, enough time. We're just gonna.

[Will Compton]

Had you in the past. You came. Hey, we want you to.

[Francis Ellis]

They didn't clear it, really. It was three years that I was away from the company, and I think it was just thought, this dude is still too toxic. We're not gonna. But, like, people would comment on the stuff and see these videos. And I think Dave was, like, vaguely aware I should have one more thing. Probably six months before this, I was pitching a show to producer in Hollywood, loosely based on my time working at a upstart digital media company. And he was like, yeah, we can make. Let's make that. And he brought it to Happy Madison, Adam Sandler's production company. And they were like, yeah, we love this, but you need to get Dave and Erica on board. So then I had the unenviable task of reaching out to Dave, to whom I had not spoken in two years and whose last messages to me were the day he fired me, and be like, hey, Dave, I've pitched a show based on your company to. And now Happy Madison wants to make it any interest. And he was like. And he called me, and he was like, what? They were pretty suspicious at first, but then they liked it. And then they came on as, like, silent producing partners. We sold it to Village Roadshow, and we were, like, adding writers and, like, developing this show. So maybe that also played a part in why Dave was like, oh, he's potentially somebody who we want back. And son of a boy dad Roan, who remained my friend throughout, he's like, dude, come do the pod. We're not gonna ask for anyone's permission. Just come do it. They, like, snuck me in on a Friday. Super weird. Being back in the office. I was like, am I even allowed here?

[Will Compton]

What year is this?

[Francis Ellis]

This would have been probably 20. 21. 20. Probably 22. Probably 22.

[Will Compton]

Okay.

[Francis Ellis]

And I. Come on. I do the pod. Tell a lot of these. We'll tell the story of the firing again. Dave sees it at that time. He's doing the Dave Portnoy show with Eddie.

[Taylor Lewan]

Yeah.

[Francis Ellis]

The next day, they do an episode where. No, not the next day. Eddie or somebody. Austin, Dave's producer says, hey, do you want to come on the Dave Portnoy Show? And I'm like, holy shit. But okay. And I come on the show, you know, talking to Dave, who I think was in Miami, but we're through the thing and just like, kind of going over everything, and three years have passed, and he's like, how long has it been? I'm like, I've been. Yeah, I've been away for three years. He's like, wow. I mean, would you ever have an interest in coming back to work here? And I'm like, yeah, definitely. And then the show ends, and he texts me and he's like, all right, you know, what do you want? And I told him what I was making, and he gave me that number. And then I came back to work at Barstool.

[Will Compton]

No shit.

[Taylor Lewan]

The return of Francis Ellis.

[Francis Ellis]

That's. That's my whole.

[Will Compton]

How quickly were you back in the building?

[Francis Ellis]

I think that. I think that I did the Dave Portnoy show in August. He was like, let's start you September 1st. And I was getting married the last weekend of August and then going on my honeymoon. And he was like, oh. And I told him that. He was like, okay, just come in. So I started September 15th.

[Will Compton]

No shit.

[Francis Ellis]

Two year contract. Yeah.

[Will Compton]

Was like, like, what were the biggest differences you saw being removed three years? Well, because the move to Chicago hasn't happened. Had it? Hasn't.

[Francis Ellis]

Hadn't happened yet.

[Will Compton]

But it was talking about that?

[Francis Ellis]

I think so, yeah. So mainly Dave not being in the office. Was the big difference better or worse? I think good and bad. I think that when he was there, it galvanized a lot of people coming to work. You were like, I need to fucking do shit. But you also felt like, I might end up on the radio answering for DMs to a swimsuit model.

[Will Compton]

So make sure you do shit, but not too much.

[Francis Ellis]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. And at this point, when I came back, I would say it was just, like, way more relaxed, but the pace had slowed. And this was also when they were really gearing the company to be purchased by a gambling company. So the gambling content had become king, and it just kind of was like. I don't know. It felt more corporate to me in a way, because, by and large, my tenure at Barstool the previous time had been in that smaller office, which was just a pressure cooker. You know, we were all.

[Taylor Lewan]

You were the 39th employee at this point now.

[Francis Ellis]

Exactly. So now, no, now there were, like, 400, and there were all these people upstairs who were doing, like, gambling liaison and production and marketing and all this. And it was just like a real. It felt like a tech company at that point. And, yeah, just people weren't, like. People weren't looking for a way to, like, make a comp. Make content by, like, fucking ringing someone else's neck. And that was definitely like, oh, you could. You can. We can relax. It's not as mean anymore. But that had been an interesting element that a lot of people utilized, and I didn't see that come back until I would say, Ohio State started doing his thing.

[Taylor Lewan]

Yeah, yeah. People talk about, oh, this is the old Barstool. This is the style.

[Francis Ellis]

Yeah.

[Will Compton]

What was the deal with him and Kelly? Why'd they get into it so hard?

[Taylor Lewan]

I think Tate brought up something with her only fans.

[Francis Ellis]

No one, no, please tell the story then. I don't want to. Kelly and I.

[Taylor Lewan]

He said, oh, no, no, Kelly.

[Francis Ellis]

That might have been a small part of it. Kelly and I had been given the barstool radio, which Kevin had been doing but didn't want to do anymore because it was cannibalized.

[Taylor Lewan]

That's right.

[Francis Ellis]

His listenership of KFC Radio.

[Taylor Lewan]

Dave canned you guys.

[Francis Ellis]

He handed it off to us. We were just kind of doing it. And then. And then Ohio State writes. Kelly said something offhand as a joke on the show about how, like, people were talking about, like, why does. Why don't they come in on Fridays? And Kelly made some Joke about, like, I don't want to do my makeup on Fridays, but it was a total joke. And I like working from home on Fridays, she said. And Tate seized on that and, like, was like, oh, Kelly doesn't want to work on Fridays because she doesn't want to put makeup on.

[Taylor Lewan]

And this is the part where he's just contracted out to write blogs. Yeah, yeah.

[Francis Ellis]

He was still a teacher at, like.

[Taylor Lewan]

High school, high school, women's high school, basketball, basketball coach.

[Will Compton]

Kid is a lunatic. Yeah, I like him.

[Francis Ellis]

Yeah.

[Will Compton]

Yeah, I like Kelly, too. But, yeah, like. And he's a wild man.

[Francis Ellis]

And so. And both of them are, I would say, are good at being able to, like, just go for each other's jugular. Kelly's, you know, she's pretty Teflon. He, like, short. She'll take it, but she can also really give it. So anyway, they. They get into it because of this, and then everyone's expecting Kelly and me to talk about the fact that he attacked her on the show. But I turned. I told her. I was like, I don't. I don't really want to get into this. I don't think this dude matters. He was a teacher. He was blogging, like, one blog about the Browns a week. I didn't know. I didn't even know he was a real person. Do you know, kind of. I'm exaggerating.

[Taylor Lewan]

Right?

[Francis Ellis]

But he was like. He wasn't full time. He blogged under a pseudonym. And I don't. I didn't know where this blog about Kelly had come from. I didn't know why, out of nowhere, he was, like, writing an attack blog. So I was like, let's just let this go. And we did. And then they were mad at us for not doing.

[Taylor Lewan]

Because in the barstool world, confrontation with.

[Will Compton]

They were mad at us for not content.

[Francis Ellis]

Yeah, that's making it a thing. And then. Then it turned into a whole thing. And then Dave fired me and Kelly from the show. And that was what spawned the unnamed show.

[Taylor Lewan]

The unnamed show.

[Francis Ellis]

Because they were like, we need real attack dogs.

[Taylor Lewan]

Because Nate was trying to.

[Francis Ellis]

I mean, Kirk David couldn't be better.

[Will Compton]

Phenomenal.

[Francis Ellis]

And then. Yeah, exactly. And so that was like a. I guess a tough week because people were just making fun of us. But I didn't. At that point, I, Like, I just didn't care.

[Will Compton]

You've been through hell.

[Francis Ellis]

Yeah. Fired. I've had. I'm in a unique position at barstool. Well, it's me and Mincy, where a lot of people at the company Fear losing the job because it's a great job and it's one of one. There is no other company, not one where we can do what we do, where we can write about a haircut we got or. And have this gigantic pre baked audience that Dave and Big Cat and Kevin built and you know, who have these like stars like you guys who are willing to have us on and just, you know, it's incredible. With literally no job expectations. The job is make stuff and if it works, we'll keep you. If it doesn't, you're gone. But there's no.

[Will Compton]

That is so wild.

[Francis Ellis]

It's no, it's. It's a guardrail. It's the most vague, vacuum oriented job I've ever had in my life. There's no. I don't have a daily checklist of things to do. I don't have, you know, hours. I don't have a fucking outfit that I have to wear to work. I don't, I don't even have a desk. It's a, it's, it's as nebulous as it could possibly be. And there's so much freedom, which can make it hard. It can make it. For some people, it can make it like. I don't know what to do. I wish I. Someone was overseeing this a little bit more and like pushing me. But for me it's like, you know, I don't know really know when inspiration is going to strike and you know, I got to ask as a bubble person to fill in for Stu Finer on Surviving Barstool. Ended up, you know, creating huge controversy there and then was able to write blogs about it for a week, which were just like so easy to me for me to write. And I had so much fun writing those and writing about you guys and like people I know can fucking take it and are gonna like.

[Will Compton]

The blog you did on us was incredible.

[Taylor Lewan]

I told my last night, I was like, I don't think I've ever heard the analogy of like having a snowman face with my eyes being so small.

[Francis Ellis]

I said a snowman made entirely of buttons.

[Taylor Lewan]

Yeah.

[Francis Ellis]

Because most snowmen will have coal.

[Will Compton]

Yeah.

[Francis Ellis]

And this kid had run out, so.

[Will Compton]

This kid had run out.

[Francis Ellis]

Just use buttons to make everything.

[Will Compton]

Dude, I was in Canada reading that.

[Francis Ellis]

Yeah.

[Taylor Lewan]

I was like, oh God. Cuz what was funny is you posted that blog and we were just on the phone for probably a good. I had you on the phone for 40 minutes just talking Strat. Just talking Surviving Strat.

[Francis Ellis]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Taylor Lewan]

To the point where Francis is like, I Gotta bounce. All right, Will.

[Francis Ellis]

Will thought I had access to a fucking time machine. To go back and do it all over.

[Will Compton]

Knowing the right moves, you catch Will at the right time. He loves talking strategy. It's phenomenal.

[Taylor Lewan]

I love it so much. Yeah, I'm consumed by this show.

[Francis Ellis]

Yeah, it's awesome. And I guess my point being people who know that this is a great job and feel very fortunate as we are, don't. Their. Their biggest fear is losing the job. Right? Understandably, that happened to me. I lost the job. I got fired. I got humiliated on both my own doing on a national scale. I never would have thought the Washington Post would deem my mistake worth publishing in their fucking newspaper.

[Will Compton]

That is crazy.

[Francis Ellis]

You know, and so I. I had the worst thing happen. Not the worst, but, like, the catastrophe happened, right? And it took me three years, but I came back from it. So now a lot of the fears that I used to have, a lot of the things that used to piss me off, the little comments, the feedback, the Reddit, it just doesn't make as much noise. It doesn't move the needle for me.

[Will Compton]

Makes it kind of nice, right?

[Francis Ellis]

It's. That is nice. Yeah, it is nice. And I. And I feel safer. I mean, Dave, you know, joked on the unnamed show about we, you know, to close the loop on the con, the new contract hanging over my head. As I entered Surviving Barstool, Dave joked about on the unnamed show because they were giving him shit for it. How I got the email right after I got eliminated. The show gave Dave the idol, and I had a new contract in my inbox, which I'd been waiting for. And he revealed that some months ago, I had texted Dave and said, hey, can I call you? I have something important to talk to you about. And I called him and I said, look, here's the deal. I'm getting divorced. I have to move out of my apartment. I don't know if I should. Should stay in New York City at this point. I had, like, two months left on my contract. I was like, I don't know if I should stay in New York. I don't know if I should move to Chicago. I don't know if you want to keep me on here. And I know that this is way ahead, but I just need your help. I need some clarity in my life because I need to know where to sign a lease. And I'm kind of like, I just. My life is in free fall right now. And in that moment, he was like. Like, I'm really sorry to hear it. But you're in great standing. We have full intention to renew you. You're doing good stuff. And that meant the fucking world to me. Just as it did when he fired me and sent that text to, like, just give me a little nudge of like. And this is why, like, a lot of the time, I know Dave is a very controversial figure to a lot of people, but off the camera, off mic, people will ask me, like, what's he really like? What do you think of him? And my answer is so resolute. He. He means a lot to me and he's done a lot for me. And I get like, a little emotional thinking about it. But in my worst moments, yeah. Of all people, Dave has lifted me.

[Will Compton]

So he's got a unique way of being supportive, huh?

[Francis Ellis]

Yeah, yeah, he's got a, you know, he's got a heart.

[Taylor Lewan]

So you bubbling up. Almost got a little tear in my.

[Francis Ellis]

Yeah, yeah.

[Taylor Lewan]

How. How have you been doing? You're obviously a very funny cat. You're a comedian. Like, you laugh a lot. You do all the things. You're traveling everywhere. But to go off that. You mentioned getting divorced being in your lowest moments. And I also saw you on New Year's post on your story. I don't know if you were trying to be funny as well, but I knew that there was some serious behind it where you're like, sitting on the stairs and you're holding your drink and you're like, everybody's out there. I don't feel like I have any type of conversation to offer. Yeah, how have you been doing?

[Francis Ellis]

Look, you know, I don't think it's any secret that for however I present on paper, I would say my brain is both my, like, my great tool and my most malfunctioning piece of equipment. I'm emotional, I'm sensitive, I'm prone to real bouts of depression. And I've been pretty open about this. And obviously, you know, going through divorce sucked. My ex wife is. Remains my favorite person in the world. We are great friends to this day. Which is a weird and unique parallel, I think, between me and Dave, because he says the same about his ex wife. But it still made it very hard. You know, I lost my infrastructure, I lost my world. I had to move out. And I was just kind of of like totally lost. And the past year, the last half of this year was just a nightmare. It sucked. And it wasn't until I, like, really took some serious steps to writing the ship that I finally felt like some hope again and whatever. And that post that I posted on New Year's. I was texting with Sass and I was like, dude, New Year's Eve is the worst fucking holiday ever. I don't remember a time that I didn't feel shitty on New Year's Eve. And he was like, he responded the same. And I took a picture. I was sitting in a stairwell to get away from the party, just sipping a tequila soda. And I was like, I'm literally sitting in a stairwell by myself to avoid all these people who are like, happily reflecting. And my entire Instagram timeline was filled with carousels of people being like, what a great year 2024 was. Here's what I did. I traveled to Venice. I got engaged. We got pregnant. I did this. I had leaps forward in my life. And I was like, I bet you there is a lot of people out there that do not look fondly on the last year of their life. And I wrote this caption. I started just writing it and it was like a little bit sad and kind of self pitying. And initially I was just trying to make it funny. And then I ended it with this sort of optimistic look forward of like, here's to all the people for whom 2024 sucked, but who continue to believe that somehow next year may be our year. And I wasn't gonna post it because I was drunk and I was like, don't post drunk on New Year's Eve. Don't, like, write something that is, like, whiny and petulant and, you know, sad. But the thought that people might relate and feel like, you know, there's another person out there whose content I consume, whose life has sucked too, and who hates this holiday, is not feeling great right now, but is looking forward, maybe that'll resonate. And I posted it. It is the most viewed Instagram story I've ever had. I have 260,000 followers. 140,000 people saw that story. I got thousands of DMS from people being like, dude, this was the worst year of my life. Wife of 20 years hit me with divorce papers out of nowhere, took the two kids. Like, I didn't see it coming. Lost my job, like, got relapsed on a drug, whatever. It's been hell. This means a lot to me. I'm there for you, you're there for me. And like, those are messages you don't think about. You just think you're a fuck. I think I'm a clown in the wind, you know, writing my dumb blogs, doing my. I don't think my job is important. I don't think I'm doing a lot. I'm not saying some motivational speaker, some leader of men, but to get DMs like that, it makes me think that being honest online can be helpful.

[Will Compton]

It's a different level of vulnerability though when you have the following you do and you decide to be that kind of vulnerable. Because then there's always the fear of what if it isn't received the way you wish it was received?

[Francis Ellis]

Totally. And yeah, I, by the way, I approach it with humility. I don't, I don't think I'm on a pedestal rehabilitating the frayed nerves of some lost army of poor souls. I, I know that I'm just like all these people. I'm flawed and broken, but you know, know it, man. Life can be tough, but like, don't, don't give up.

[Taylor Lewan]

Yeah, that's it.

[Francis Ellis]

Yeah, it's that simple. Just keep trying.

[Taylor Lewan]

I think that authentic authenticity is awesome because also in the end, interesting too. It's like the season of tires comes out. Like you're doing well in comedy. Like you would assume looking at Francis on the outside that everything is ascending more than it is.

[Will Compton]

Even the way you talk about divorce, it's like you almost talk about it. At least when I saw you at surviving, you'd be like, yeah, divorce. But you just kind of let it roll off to where I walk away from that conversation. I'm like, damn, like I would not be feeling that way if I was getting divorced right now. But it seems like Francis is really just taking everything on the shoe light.

[Taylor Lewan]

Hearted joke about it just to get a laugh, to be like, all right.

[Will Compton]

Let'S not get too, we gotta go play gladiator.

[Francis Ellis]

It's a coping mechanism. I think a lot of us do that, especially comedians want to assign humor to tragedy as a way of not, not, you know, showing themselves. But I'm very lucky in that my ex wife is a great person and we were able to navigate it without fangs and claws and somehow remain great friends throughout. So, you know, all credit to her. And I am now to a point where I can speak more positively about the experience and. But you know, for a while I was just like, yeah, yeah, it's, it's.

[Will Compton]

Interesting when you kind of just going through life and seeing a bunch of people and you think, oh, this person's doing great, this person's not doing great. And you can kind of like feel it in that moment and you kind of realize that like everyone truly is going through something. Like my 2024, I had a lot of that. I could. I think it's like, how you feel it, how. What lens you decide to look through it is because there's a lot of good things that happen in 2024 for me, but at the same time, there's like, five or six things I could probably look at and be like, God dang, damn. I could easily frame 2024 as a bad year.

[Francis Ellis]

Absolutely.

[Will Compton]

It's all, like a how you view it type of thing. And, I mean, there's some things you can't come back from. There's. There's some things, like the DMS you're getting that are like, holy, 20 years married, someone just slaps your divorce papers, relapsing on a drug. Those types of things are. Are massive. Nothing like I had, but it's just sometimes you have to, like, try and do your best to look at something in a positive light, regardless of how bleak it might seem.

[Francis Ellis]

Totally, Totally. Totally. And what choice do we have?

[Will Compton]

Right?

[Francis Ellis]

Do you know what I mean? Like, we are creators. We have. You guys have two podcast episodes a week that need to be on time. I have. You know, as. As much as I know Dave would give me the leash to take a couple weeks to fucking lick my wounds, I don't. I don't want to disappear from the conversation. I know that this fucking river keeps flowing with or without you. So in the face of, you know, real shit, you gotta bear up and make stuff.

[Taylor Lewan]

Yeah. It's like the sun's gonna rise.

[Francis Ellis]

Yeah.

[Taylor Lewan]

No matter what's gonna move.

[Francis Ellis]

So, you know, I just hit my marks and tried to keep doing the job. And I would say more than anything, almost the job was what, like, gave me purpose and continuity and structure and.

[Taylor Lewan]

Just a break from the hell you're in outside of those walls.

[Francis Ellis]

Yeah. Yeah, exactly.

[Taylor Lewan]

I appreciate you sharing that with us.

[Francis Ellis]

Yeah, absolutely. I don't really have any reason anymore to hide much. I don't know why. I've kind of reached this, like, terminal velocity of transparency, and I'm not. I don't know why I did that. I mean, I know that there are some things that I should probably keep private, but honestly, when you. When you get the messages, I almost feel like I. I owe it to people to, like, you know.

[Taylor Lewan]

Right. Like, while people are watching, people are following along pretty closely and resonate with the words you're saying.

[Francis Ellis]

Yeah.

[Taylor Lewan]

They don't just see you as, you know, the clown show that you fantasize in your head. Like, people expect me just to be funny. All the time.

[Francis Ellis]

Yeah. Yeah. And I think it also just lends depth. Depth to sort of the character that I've developed. And as funny as it is to paint me as a sociopath and a psychopath, like reminding people that I have empathy and be sad as like always good that people know if people actually thought I was a real legitimate sociopath, it's not a funny.

[Taylor Lewan]

Yeah.

[Will Compton]

If it's put out there, people believe it. People still think I dated Jeffree star to this moment.

[Francis Ellis]

Great.

[Will Compton]

I mean, this moment. I mean, we had a night, you.

[Taylor Lewan]

Had a couple entanglements.

[Francis Ellis]

But dude, living. Living in that gray area is the sweet spot kind of fun. I gotta tell you one thing I've learned and keep sucking Dave's dick is something he taught me. He's like the greatest compliment I've been. Ever been given is when someone was like, I don't know where Dave Portnoy the person ends and Dave and el Presidente starts. He's blended his character with who he is so seamlessly that you kind of just take it all as one. And that gives you so much license and like playground to work with because nothing's off limits. And people will laugh when they're nervous, when they're unsure if you're kidding or not. And I love. I love that. Like, my favorite content I've ever made is stuff that like, draws a line and causes people to like, argue both sides. And neither side really knows if I'm kidding. That's the traffic video. Yeah, it's me stopping traffic and being like, I'm a hero. You can't cut. And half the world is like, like, thank you. You are a hero. Finally someone stood up. I've always been too scared to do that. And then the other half are like, you, I'll kill you if you ever do this in Detroit. And like, who. How dare you? You, you know, hall monitor guy. And you just step back. You step back and you let them to me, like, decipher what they've seen through their own lens. It's like looking at a very confusing painting.

[Taylor Lewan]

Yeah.

[Francis Ellis]

This is what I see.

[Taylor Lewan]

And your close fans are laughing because they understand the madness.

[Francis Ellis]

Well, they do. And they don't. Like, it doesn't really matter. They as long as it just like moves something.

[Taylor Lewan]

Yeah.

[Francis Ellis]

Makes them feel the need to like, weigh in.

[Taylor Lewan]

Yeah.

[Francis Ellis]

You've. You've provoked something. You've stirred something. That's my favorite dude.

[Will Compton]

One of my favorite things about Dave is his ability. When is like hitting the face fan, like the sex tape thing. During 2020, the whole, like, me too cancel culture thing, like, Dave is the perfect person to cancel. And anything that, like, came up at any point, it would be like, he. Instead of, like, having a, like, statement put out, like every other celebrity did, he would just get in front of a camera and be like, this happened. This is what actually happened. I can show receipts for this and basically just fight against the resistance of whatever people were trying to bring him down for.

[Francis Ellis]

Yeah.

[Will Compton]

And that. I think that stirred up a lot of things. You see Shannon Sharp, the way he had with his little Instagram Live.

[Taylor Lewan]

Yeah.

[Will Compton]

He ends up going to talk about it right away, as opposed to getting behind lawyers or whatever might have possibly happened. And Dave's a big reason why people are now just getting in front of things when they know they've done nothing wrong.

[Francis Ellis]

I agree. I think he's earned that. That's a. That's a tough thing to build.

[Will Compton]

Yeah.

[Francis Ellis]

Where it's like, we expect you to address everything head on. You know, he said on the unnamed show, who was he talking about? I think he's talking about Grace leaving. And someone was like, no, NDA. You can talk about this. And he goes, I'm not an NDA guy. Everything's on the table for Dave.

[Will Compton]

Yeah.

[Francis Ellis]

You know, and I think that has infused in me as I say, I have no. I'm. Complete transparency. That's just like being groomed in the school of barstool. But, like, it would be so antithetical to who we know Dave to be if something came out about him or another person and he was like, can't talk about that.

[Will Compton]

Yeah.

[Francis Ellis]

Right. You know what I mean?

[Will Compton]

Yeah.

[Taylor Lewan]

Yeah. I don't even know what antithetical means.

[Will Compton]

But I think I picked it up through the sentence he was saying.

[Taylor Lewan]

It sounded real, like, smooth against who.

[Francis Ellis]

We know him to be. Yeah.

[Will Compton]

Yeah. Antithetical is a great word.

[Francis Ellis]

Thank you.

[Will Compton]

Phenomenal. The whole vocabulary is awesome. Awesome. But, yeah. Dave is just enough of an but. He's like. He stands on everything he says.

[Francis Ellis]

Totally.

[Will Compton]

He doesn't do anything behind closed doors.

[Francis Ellis]

Right.

[Will Compton]

So with the no NDA thing, it's like, y'all go ahead. Antithetical. Got that popped up for you.

[Francis Ellis]

Appreciate that.

[Will Compton]

With him, like. Yeah. The no NDA thing, it's like, yeah. Dave has nothing to hide behind because he. He's the same person everywhere.

[Francis Ellis]

Yeah.

[Will Compton]

So there's no. There's no reason to be like, you gotta hide this, that, and the other.

[Francis Ellis]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Taylor Lewan]

All right. Should we put. Should we pivot?

[Francis Ellis]

Let's Pivot.

[Taylor Lewan]

I kind of want to ask you about the. The Las Vegas bombing.

[Francis Ellis]

Oh, God. Okay.

[Will Compton]

Have you looked in the Sean Ryan podcast at all?

[Francis Ellis]

No.

[Will Compton]

Have you dove into this world at all?

[Francis Ellis]

Conspiracies, theories? Not really. I. I don't. What is it? A conspiracy theory, however, what would you. What would you call that world? I don't know. So I'm not. I'm not calling him a conspiracy theory. I assumed that that's what you meant. Like, let's say, alternative explanations for phenomena. That is. Can I be honest with you?

[Will Compton]

I had no idea Will was gonna do that. I kind of jumped in. In like an improv sense of being, like, let's just keep this going so we'll go on.

[Taylor Lewan]

No, I just felt like. I feel like it was. We were coming to a point where we could pivot the conversation.

[Francis Ellis]

Totally.

[Taylor Lewan]

I feel like the talk. The talk of the Internet has been that Vegas bombing. Was it like an inside job? A reverse psyop? The car blowing up the frame by frame? Was the guy dead? Is he really dead?

[Will Compton]

Have you looked. Have you looked into this stuff at all?

[Francis Ellis]

Can I be honest with you?

[Will Compton]

Go ahead.

[Francis Ellis]

I do not like watching videos of people dying.

[Taylor Lewan]

So there's a rumor that he was potentially already dead. And they. This. The smart car drove itself up there real quick.

[Will Compton]

And you never went through, like, the gore.com with the boys in college?

[Francis Ellis]

That shit and that? By the way, every one guy, one.

[Will Compton]

Jar, two girls, one copy.

[Francis Ellis]

I hate that shit. People would prank me with it. They'd be like, dude, check out this video of my kick flip. And then it's a girl shitting in another girl's mouth.

[Will Compton]

Every kid.

[Francis Ellis]

Every kid got like, what, the black salad right now?

[Taylor Lewan]

Yeah.

[Will Compton]

Paying Olympics.

[Francis Ellis]

No, no. All of that.

[Will Compton]

There was all. I feel like every. Did you went through that too? Yeah. Maybe in Nebraska, you and the boys get together and it's like, for whatever reason, somebody pulls a. Pulls a laptop and there's fucked up videos.

[Taylor Lewan]

Oh, yeah, yeah. Somebody shooting a Nerf. A Nerf football out of their pussy. Hey, you guys have seen that, right?

[Will Compton]

I love how you whispered pussy. Dude, that is so funny. Okay, so here's a quick breakdown from what I've gathered on the New Orleans thing. This guy who was in this, like, was in the army. It was in, like, a Green Beret, one of those branches.

[Francis Ellis]

Oh, wait, this is New Orleans.

[Taylor Lewan]

Vegas, you mean.

[Will Compton]

What did I say?

[Taylor Lewan]

You said New Orleans.

[Will Compton]

Okay, well, he was also in the same branch, however I am. I was talking about Las Vegas.

[Francis Ellis]

Yeah.

[Will Compton]

This guy was apparently based on the Sean Ryan podcast that we watched. Somebody sent his guest an email. I'm assuming it's this guy Alex, who is like, I'm. I know all this information. I'm going to do X, Y and Z. Do not release any of this stuff till January, January 1, or until after December 31. So January 1 happens. And I guess what people are trying to say now is that this was not a terrorist or terrorist attack. The Las Vegas thing, it was actually like a. A reminder or like a. There was not like ill intent of like blowing something up because you're going to take a Tesla, that Elon Musk is like a warning shot, essentially brags saying, this is bulletproof. Joe Rogan shoots an arrow, doesn't even barely dent the whole entire thing, and sets off fireworks. And then this guy gets charred inside of it. So the guy they say that did do this, they took the charred body of the Tesla and pulled the DNA from him and tested the DNA against the. The alleged guy who did it. Son those. The DNA did not match at all. So they're thinking there's this whole little something about October 7th, like, if anybody wants to chime in the gun as well. Sherm, you had a great point about. Go and grab that mic. What was the point about the Desert Eagle?

[JP]

So in forensics, they said in every case that there was a suicide attempt with a Desert Eagle upon the person losing their life. A Desert Eagle is such a high caliber pistol, it would launch out of the hand. It was like 20ft almost. The pistol was found in his lap in the car. So they were saying that's pretty much impossible unless it hit off a bunch of different surfaces and then just landed in his lap.

[Taylor Lewan]

Which, I mean.

[Will Compton]

I mean, jfk, right, Is what I read.

[Taylor Lewan]

Feels like the gun.

[Will Compton]

Allegedly. Yeah, allegedly.

[Taylor Lewan]

But either way, like, the best part of this. I know I brought up the Sean Ryan thing. I didn't. I haven't gotten to listen to everybody's like, go listen to the first 30 to 45 minutes. So I've just seen the clip, the Cliff Notes on X. And in my mind, I'm thinking Francis. I'm sure Francis has a little. Has a little angle or a thought on the conspiracy stuff, because everybody's playing. There's so many different conversations going on around it on if Sean Ryan's kind of. He's got fake stuff going out there. If it's real, like, all the sides are coming out. All the sides are coming out to where I have no clue what's real.

[Will Compton]

No idea what's real. But that's the fun part about podcast. You can kind of just say things and hope that somebody who's in the comments knows more than you do.

[Francis Ellis]

Sure.

[Will Compton]

And you see a fun comment on YouTube in a little bit that I can now digest and say next week.

[Taylor Lewan]

And you hope the guest talks more than we do so we don't sound like we're like, oh, cuz we don't.

[Will Compton]

Want to be those guys right now. Also, New Orleans, Bourbon street, they have barricades where cars can't get there.

[Taylor Lewan]

The dudes who just drove through the street, usually those barricades are up and protectant of that for some reason. They were down that night getting reinforced.

[Will Compton]

For the Super Bowl. But why would they get reinforced the night before. Yeah, the bowl game.

[Taylor Lewan]

Do you think that's a coincidence?

[Will Compton]

What do you think?

[Francis Ellis]

Golly. Golly.

[Will Compton]

Do you think we're safe in America right now? What do you think of the drones off the coast?

[Francis Ellis]

This is taking a real twist. Speaking of Twisted tea, phenomenal beverage.

[Will Compton]

Yeah, phenomenal stuff. Twisted Question this week is brought to you by Twisted Tea. Is the government fucking us? Francis?

[Francis Ellis]

You know, look, I think. I think I sort of process a lot of this stuff the same way that I feel about, you know, alien lives and UFOs and stuff like that. I bet that some of the conspiracy stuff or alternative explanations from what the media tells us are true or there's a kernel of truth to them. Do I want to find out the truth? No. I want. I live such a short amount of time on this earth choosing. I have enough problems in my own brain choosing willful ignorance as opposed to finding and hunting for the absolute correct truth is a more blissful way for me to live. Because if I did learn through hunting through files and fucking the local library and whatever, that the government had removed the barriers on Bourbon street so that some lunatic could mow down bunch of people like, what am I gonna do? What? What then?

[Taylor Lewan]

Right? And then if you're too. If. Yeah, then you're the one who gets killed.

[Francis Ellis]

Or do I become too close? Do I become a soapbox guy? Do I. Do I stop what I'm doing and devote my life to pulling back the curtain? Do I join Alexander Secret and live with this sickening truth that I know about the. My government in America that I do? I don't. I'm not thrilled with the American government and our leaders and all of that, but like, if I believe that they're killing our own citizens intentionally, my God, then What. What do I do? Do I apply for citizenship somewhere else? Do I try to muster some, like, sect to foment insurrection to stage a coup? What am I supposed to do? What do I do? Does anyone give a fuck, Right, That I know this?

[Taylor Lewan]

Right?

[Francis Ellis]

Am I the guy?

[Will Compton]

Yeah. So do you think the government is in on it? Flip a coin, yes or no?

[Taylor Lewan]

That's what he's saying. He doesn't want to get.

[Will Compton]

He doesn't want to know. He doesn't want to know.

[Taylor Lewan]

We all love to flirt and try to find out just enough to where you almost get to that point. You're like, let me fall back. Back a little bit. This is getting a little too. Yeah, I'm getting a little too loony about.

[Will Compton]

To me, it's like, I am the ultimate optimist when it comes to, like, bat. Like, kind of like Bert. When Bert's like, people die, but maybe I don't die. I'm not that dramatic. But I'm like, these things are happening. It's like, okay. But, like, nothing really has ever happened to me. I think I'm gonna be okay.

[Francis Ellis]

Yeah.

[Will Compton]

Like, kind of 33 years in this earth. I'm kind of moving through, and I'm unscathed a little bit. All right. Doesn't mean somebody should go do something. But it's super interesting. Yeah. All this is. And I'm not taking away from anybody. Like, obviously, people. Tragic people lost their lives. It's. I'm not. I know we're trying to, like, joke about. It's not funny, so don't laugh.

[Francis Ellis]

But no, I don't think we're joking about that.

[Taylor Lewan]

I'm laughing. It's just crazy stream optimist. Because my life's worked out really damn good.

[Francis Ellis]

Yeah.

[Will Compton]

And it's like, people are like, hey, Taylor, this bad thing can happen. I'm like, maybe, but I think I'm gonna be all right. And it kind of sometimes, for the most part, works out right.

[Francis Ellis]

Whoever they are killing is a person we're not having to compete with anymore.

[Will Compton]

So, like, you said that Francis Ella said that government, whoever they're killing.

[Francis Ellis]

And I'm not saying it's the Bourbon street people, but, like, whoever they deem. If that's giving me, you know, more job opportunities, by all means.

[Will Compton]

I don't think I said the thing I wanted to say.

[Francis Ellis]

Is that what you're saying? No, your words.

[Will Compton]

No, those are. That's your words. Idea of what I said. I, however, did not say that.

[Francis Ellis]

Ah, okay.

[Will Compton]

I'm just saying sometimes I Look at these crazy things. And I'm like, that's nuts. But then I think to myself, it's gonna be all right.

[Taylor Lewan]

Francis is. Francis's like, style and blogs on us are in real time. Right now you're explaining yours in, like, the fourth grade level. He's. He's explaining Harvard level. Yeah, yeah.

[Will Compton]

So I'm putting all.

[Francis Ellis]

I'm just putting all the smoke on him.

[Will Compton]

All. All that to be said. Said. I think conspiracy theories are fun to look into. Yeah, they're fun. They're exciting. Could they be true? Yes. I. Your colonel analogy. That was real nice. And there's a small little piece in there that's like, okay, there's probably some truth that turned into something, but to know everything I feel like would cause you to go mad.

[Francis Ellis]

Yes.

[Will Compton]

So basically what I said is, we're on the same page.

[Taylor Lewan]

How about the Fox Sports one?

[Will Compton]

I don't know if we should even talk about that.

[Francis Ellis]

Wow. We just fucking poked holes in the truth of a 15 person terrorist attack. But you know, Joy having sex with her co worker, it's too hot to handle.

[Will Compton]

So you're with me.

[Francis Ellis]

I don't know, like, moving ahead.

[Will Compton]

As long as we say a legend, I just feel like they could get us, with us saying the things we just said about that stuff, it's like, oh, we're probably being insensitive in a lot of ways, but we're also aware that we're being insensitive. If we start going at Joy or whoever, they could sue us.

[Taylor Lewan]

I'm just saying, how about it?

[Will Compton]

It's crazy.

[Taylor Lewan]

I'm just saying, how about.

[Francis Ellis]

Wait, wait, hold on a second. If you posit things under a hypothetical or like, I think this might have happened, they can't sue you.

[Will Compton]

Right?

[Francis Ellis]

They can't sue you for libel or slander or whatever. By the way, the laws have become incredibly difficult to prove libel. And now it's. It's the case that if. If you. If you sue someone for libel, you have to prove that they knowingly and willingly presented a mistruth when they knew it was a lie. So, like, if a paper wrote like, Taylor Lawan is a terrorist and you sued that paper, you'd have to find some email from the guy who wrote the article to his editor being like, I'm gonna publish this even though I'm making the whole thing up so we're.

[Will Compton]

Safe is what you're saying.

[Francis Ellis]

Yeah. Us being like, allegedly. Us being, like, having a hot shit at Fox Sports is crazy. Like, according to what I've Read Joy and Acho, and all these people were in some weird sexual kind of power tug of war struggle that some other poor young woman got caught up in and, you know, was silenced and offered crazy money for. And like, you know, even if we offered some takes on that, the other part of it is like, you guys are a humorous podcast. You're probably protected under parody law, which is to say, we were kidding. We're kidding.

[Will Compton]

Oh, we can do so. We can say whatever we want then.

[Francis Ellis]

We're kidding. We're just kidding. Yeah, that's. You're safe.

[Will Compton]

All right, we'll go first.

[Francis Ellis]

That's my understanding.

[Taylor Lewan]

I think it's wild. Number one. It's like, you know, something big comes out on a big corporation. We all feed on drama and all this chaos. I think it's funny that all this stuff is coming out with Acho involved, because he hasn't tweeted, like, the last day. So it's like you're sitting back with your popcorn, ready to see how all these defendants, the. The white exec, Joy Taylor, how they're all going to respond to it.

[Will Compton]

It.

[Taylor Lewan]

But it. It makes me think about. You ever seen the.

[Francis Ellis]

Did I.

[Taylor Lewan]

Did I ask you this last night? The morning show? Yes, on Apple Plus.

[Francis Ellis]

Yeah.

[Taylor Lewan]

I feel like that right there is the show that gives you a look inside.

[Will Compton]

What is the morning show?

[Taylor Lewan]

Corporate media. These. These corporate media companies. It's basically like, Steve, it's all the power structure, people sleeping with other people, blackmail. Just all the stuff that we all gravitate towards in. In.

[Will Compton]

In.

[Taylor Lewan]

In like, next Netflix series. It's happening right now with Fox Sports 1, and everybody's kind of like waiting to see how they're going to respond to all this, because clearly all the legal documentation has come out from this. From this woman who's came out about everything on Skip Bayless trip, paying her $1.5 million. That's all out there now. Everyone's speculating. Videos are getting deleted from profiles. People are trying to use old videos to show all the different things the Internet's doing, what the Internet's doing. And I'm like, sitting back, kind of like waiting, like, damn, what? How are these people going to respond in amidst all this chaos?

[Will Compton]

Right.

[Francis Ellis]

Look, there's a piece of this that makes this so unique, which is that there was a woman who was involved and knowingly involved and was using all of it for her own benefit.

[Taylor Lewan]

Correct.

[Francis Ellis]

This is the first time I can remember that there has been a corporate sexual harassment story that's broken, which wasn't almost entirely man does bad to woman dominated. Yeah. I think what. That's what makes this riper for discussion for humor. See, Joy was, you know, running the show.

[Taylor Lewan]

Yeah, she was. She was. She was moving the pieces.

[Francis Ellis]

She was playing chess.

[Will Compton]

Yeah, yeah. I mean that is a very unique alternative to what's been usually goes on. On.

[Francis Ellis]

Yes.

[Will Compton]

It's just gonna be crazy to see, like you said, how it all unfolds and then the obvious Netflix documentary that's eventually going to come out.

[Taylor Lewan]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Will Compton]

Dude, no. What AB say grab the mic.

[Sherman]

AB said nobody wanted to Jamel.

[Will Compton]

Huh?

[Taylor Lewan]

People are so funny. Who. Hey, who here in the. On the busing squad would sweet would sleep with somebody to climb the ladder?

[Will Compton]

Yeah. But dude, it has to be.

[Francis Ellis]

There is so little sexually that I would not do to some of the most unbelievably unattractive people on earth to move forward professionally. You give me a Cincinnati bangle and you say I have to suck this dude's toe and I'll get a hundred grand more a year. Yeah, I'll fucking do it. Where does this pride ethics all get out of here, man? I'll do anything. I don't care.

[Taylor Lewan]

Would you suck dick?

[Will Compton]

You know I'm sick a question.

[Taylor Lewan]

Would you suck dick?

[Francis Ellis]

Well, there you go. I mean there. There is a line, I guess, but I'm with you.

[Taylor Lewan]

I'm following you. But you know, you got sucked suck it.

[Francis Ellis]

Makes completion. Yeah, see, that's tough. Now do I have to take it down the gullet?

[Will Compton]

I'm sure you could spit. I'm sure you could spit.

[Taylor Lewan]

He gets to choke you a little bit. Grab your red hair.

[Francis Ellis]

Wow.

[Taylor Lewan]

But you get a million dollar raise for tax free time, boy.

[Francis Ellis]

You know, Look, I mean, fuck, man. Am I crazy for like entertaining the idea? Is that hyper gay?

[Taylor Lewan]

No.

[Francis Ellis]

Or hyper motivated?

[Taylor Lewan]

Yeah.

[Francis Ellis]

Am I just that ambitious or really tired of inching forward by posting a post three days a week? Fucking, you know.

[Will Compton]

Also gag me out, dude.

[Francis Ellis]

Yeah, yeah. You could shit on my forehead tonight if it meant I could skip seven rungs on the ladder. I'm tired of going the scenic route on my career. Fucking jump me ahead if you're telling me I get to headline Radio City Music hall tomorrow in exchange for one, you know, post dinner dump on my forehead. Hell yeah.

[Taylor Lewan]

Yeah.

[Francis Ellis]

Okay. I'll get down there. Yeah. I don't have that much integrity. Yeah, whatever. You heard it here first.

[Will Compton]

Yeah, whatever. Yeah, man, I don't think I'd.

[Taylor Lewan]

Those are my couple topics. Hot, hot topics.

[Francis Ellis]

Pretty good.

[Will Compton]

The dump on the forehead, though, for money. That doesn't seem like a bad deal.

[Francis Ellis]

No, that's somehow less bad than. Than sucking a dick, somehow.

[Will Compton]

That's obviously. Yeah, obvious.

[Francis Ellis]

Is that obvious?

[Will Compton]

Yeah, you take a shower, you're done.

[Taylor Lewan]

Think about it, man.

[Francis Ellis]

Same with blowing a guy.

[Will Compton]

Action, dude.

[Taylor Lewan]

To completion.

[Will Compton]

What's the old phrase? Dude, you can paint a thousand paintings. Never be called a painter. You suck one piece, you're a cocksucker.

[Francis Ellis]

I thought you were gonna say you can paint a thousand paintings and you've still sucked a dick.

[Will Compton]

There's that too.

[Francis Ellis]

Yeah, right.

[Will Compton]

And nothing. If that's your thing, if you want to suck dick, good for you. That's not my bag.

[Francis Ellis]

Well, think of this. How many men out there have sucked a dick for no money?

[Will Compton]

Great point.

[Francis Ellis]

I'm getting paid a million dollars. I'm the richest blow jobber there ever was.

[Will Compton]

Right.

[Francis Ellis]

You know, kudos to me.

[Will Compton]

There is that point. That's a great point.

[Francis Ellis]

I set my price. I did it on my terms.

[Will Compton]

That mouth's not for free. Let me ask you this about fellatio. Isn't it kind of obvious that men would be the best at it anyway?

[Taylor Lewan]

Yes.

[Francis Ellis]

I think that's like. That's what we all used to say.

[Will Compton]

Used to say? What do you mean?

[Francis Ellis]

Well, it's like the idea that I know what I want.

[Will Compton]

Exactly.

[Francis Ellis]

Right. I know how I would do it to myself.

[Will Compton]

Since you hit puberty and you realize that this thing's not just for peeing and you could mess with it yourself and, you know, you can go through a long goon session or however you're crunched for time on an elevator or something like that. I got to get this out quick. I'm thinking two differently. I need to be clear in the head, you know, how to get that done quickly. Now, it's probably similar to the same thing that you probably go through if you want to get things firing.

[Francis Ellis]

Look, I. Cooning is so funny. Joking. All these terms. Have you heard of these fucking things?

[Will Compton]

Oh, yeah, yeah.

[Francis Ellis]

We're so.

[Will Compton]

We're very advanced in the world.

[Francis Ellis]

I love it. I love these fucking terms.

[Will Compton]

This is such a. This podcast. This one specifically.

[Francis Ellis]

Yeah, it always is.

[Will Compton]

Every podcast we do. It might have been our best one.

[Francis Ellis]

Contrary. Contrary to what I may have just hinted at, I actually have no. I don't know if men, by and large, categorically are better at giving blowjobs than women. What I would say. Just saying I know what I want, so clearly I would be able to blow myself better than A woman. Women have done things with me that I wouldn't have ever imagined of. And I'm like, wow, that's new.

[Taylor Lewan]

I didn't know I liked that.

[Francis Ellis]

That's deranged. That stems from a poor relationship with her father. I have a great relationship with my dad. Maybe that would hold me back from.

[Will Compton]

Maybe that's a good point too.

[Francis Ellis]

Making my mascara run from blowing myself.

[Taylor Lewan]

You know what I mean?

[Francis Ellis]

Treating my mouth like a vagina. Like, I don't know. I don't. I don't know what to say about that. That would be my take. So this person made a pretty good.

[JP]

Point on the Internet about whether men or women are better.

[Taylor Lewan]

Go ahead and read it, Sherm.

[JP]

On the whole, this comes from Dylan said, on the whole, I'd say men give the better blowjob because not only do they know what they. They'd like, any man sucking a dick is doing it because they genuinely enjoy it, whether it's just for the act or to make you come. I've enjoyed blowjobs off women over the years, but never had a toe curling experience like I do when a man sucks my dick.

[Taylor Lewan]

We're gonna have to edit that part out of the episode.

[Will Compton]

That's the part you edit out of the episode.

[Taylor Lewan]

Welcome to Boston, Prince.

[Francis Ellis]

I mean, I. I can find a flaw in this. I have a flaw in this. Right, so we presume this. This guy is bisexual. I think it's probably safe. Ish. To say that he doesn't have a 5050 indifference to being blown by a woman or a man. So his toe curling. Does that come because men are better at it or because he's more turned on by the fact that a guy is blowing him than a woman?

[Taylor Lewan]

Fair point. Fair point.

[Francis Ellis]

Thank you. Thank you.

[Will Compton]

That was beautiful.

[Francis Ellis]

Yeah.

[Will Compton]

Well said.

[Francis Ellis]

Yeah.

[Will Compton]

Where do we go from here? How about Sass just taking a shot at me a couple of weeks ago?

[Francis Ellis]

I love that. And I love that I escaped scot free because I actually deserve. You kind of did too.

[Will Compton]

But I was so focused on Sass's body frame and how he was talking like that, and I was like, this is nice.

[Francis Ellis]

Yeah, Sass is. You have to remember he's 24 and has no fear of offering some theories and opinions that are.

[Will Compton]

I love that. What I need to do. What I need to do in the next six to eight weeks is I need to go to New York without telling anybody. Maybe just tell you and strip down to just like a Speedo or something like that and go into a dark room and Then you bring Sass in there. But, hey, we're doing some content here. And you close the door behind him, and I put my hands on him for a little bit. So he knows. Just so he knows. Not. I'm not. No ill intent. But I want him to see it.

[Francis Ellis]

Just embrace him.

[Will Compton]

I want to. Just want to pick him up.

[Francis Ellis]

Yeah.

[Will Compton]

In the air a little bit.

[Francis Ellis]

Yeah.

[Taylor Lewan]

Hold them down.

[Will Compton]

Hold him down. Say, try to get out. I know. With one hand. I'll hold him down, and I'll start a timer on my phone. I'm like, you have one minute.

[Francis Ellis]

I love this.

[Will Compton]

And just see how long it takes him to squirm his way out of there.

[Francis Ellis]

Yes. Yes.

[Will Compton]

All that while just wearing as minimal clothing as possible.

[Francis Ellis]

I'm trying.

[Will Compton]

I think that just is a better way of going.

[Taylor Lewan]

Needs to happen.

[Will Compton]

I think it needs to happen.

[Francis Ellis]

That's great.

[Will Compton]

My toes might. This is Sass.

[Francis Ellis]

Yes.

[Taylor Lewan]

That dense.

[Will Compton]

Those nipples are insane. I think those are edited.

[Francis Ellis]

A little bit of.

[Taylor Lewan]

Would you. What'd you say. What'd you say about Taylor in the. In the.

[Francis Ellis]

We call. We call that the National Geographic filter. What'd you say?

[Taylor Lewan]

No, you.

[Will Compton]

You came to my defense a little bit.

[Francis Ellis]

Well, then I. Yeah. Because then I realized how stupid what I'd said was. So Fights has been quietly, like, working out as if he's, you know, training for Bud's training or something. Like, he's. And he. And he sent me a workout that he had done, and I tried to go through it top to bottom. First of all, it took me like, an hour and a half. And I'm not, like, screwing around on my phone, taking long water breaks. Nothing. I'm going as kind of as quickly as I can. And it was all, like, super sets, you know, different body parts. And he was like, yeah. And he kind of just said it wasn't that hard for him. And I. That was. It was on the heels of that that I made the comment of. I was like, I think Fights might be the strongest guy at the company at this point. And I think I said maybe. Maybe even stronger than Taylor. And then Sass was like, oh, he's definitely stronger than. And I was like. Then I was. Then I was like, I don't. I don't know about that.

[Taylor Lewan]

Yeah.

[Francis Ellis]

And then I realized, I don't think. I don't think fights. I don't think anyone's stronger than Taylor.

[Taylor Lewan]

No, I don't think anybody is.

[Will Compton]

It's a low bar.

[Francis Ellis]

What do you mean?

[Will Compton]

At the company. Yeah, Bar stool. It's it's like, I'm not.

[Taylor Lewan]

But, but, but you're also strong.

[Francis Ellis]

I think you're just like.

[Will Compton]

But to their point, I am not as strong as I used to be. Not even close to as strong as I used to be.

[Francis Ellis]

Fair. But let me ask you this. Like, let's say that you, you know, you didn't have any injury reasons for preventing you, and the fucking, you know, Ravens called you tomorrow and said, like, we need you for wild card weekend or whatever. Like week, you know, divisional playoffs. How quickly can you be game ready?

[Will Compton]

Well, that's a. A difficult question because I'm 50, 60 pounds less than I usually am. Yeah, but if it was like, look at that. Yeah, that's a unit right there. Hit the backside on them. Show them the backside. I mean, dude, if there was no injury issues, yeah, I'd be able. I'd be next year, dude. Pull up a photo of Richie incognito. You want to see?

[Francis Ellis]

I've said I've met him.

[Will Compton]

You have? He's a terrifying bottle body, but there's no injury issues. Go and play. Yeah, I mean, that would be. That's just a unit of a man. That's a guy that you hand him 150 pound dumbbells. Don't tell him what the weight is and say do 20. He'll do 20 of curls. Yeah. Bench press, whatever.

[Francis Ellis]

Yeah, he is.

[Taylor Lewan]

I don't know if he's curling.

[Will Compton]

No, he ain't curling, but he is just. And that's a bad photo. That's a fat. That's a fat Richie photo. That's got to be. I don't know, but he is maybe the strongest human being I've ever been around in my entire life.

[Francis Ellis]

Yeah. Try Richie Incognito. Shirtless, oil, very little clothing. That'll give us a better idea. I was kidding. But that's good.

[Will Compton]

I mean, he's a tank. Yeah, he is a. Yeah, he's a tank. That's a tough photo. We're gonna do a TMZ photo, so.

[Francis Ellis]

Okay. You wouldn't. Weight wise, it would be an issue.

[Will Compton]

But it wasn't be an issue. But yeah, I'd be able to go play. I mean, if there was any injuries, I'd still be playing.

[Francis Ellis]

What would be your prep over two weeks to get game ready from this day? No. No injury issues at all. Like, what would you do over two weeks? Would you start eating a ton? Would you do.

[Will Compton]

Yeah, my playing left tackle.

[Francis Ellis]

Yeah.

[Will Compton]

Then I'd have to eat an exorbitant amount of food. I would have to have three to four shots of olive oil a day, because that's just calories. I would have three heavy, calorie, dense meals along with three shakes as well. And I bet you I can gain. I probably can gain £30 in two weeks. £40, maybe.

[Francis Ellis]

And you're doing that while you're also doing, like, footwork drills and. And lifting.

[Will Compton]

Yeah, that's gonna be a hard balance when you're taking in that many calories.

[Francis Ellis]

Yeah.

[Will Compton]

But, yeah, I would have to do probably of running. I think running I would do the most of. Because, like, I'm not as strong as I was. But if I had to compete for 60 minutes, conditioning would be a huge issue right now. So I would probably do as much conditioning as possible. I'd be, obviously super rusty, too, pass blocking, but I think I'd pick that up halfway through the second.

[Francis Ellis]

We did a thing with Justin Pugh, me and Dana Beers had him, and he told me that, you know, he retired. And then the next year in the playoffs, the 49ers called him, I think, and we're like, hey, we've had some injuries. Can you. Can you come? And he was, you know, 25, 30 pounds under the weight that he was playing at, but he. He was never that big at his position and was just, you know, kind of quick. And so he was, like. He was able to get there and felt like he could have gone in and wasn't, like, that far off.

[Will Compton]

No shit.

[Francis Ellis]

Yeah.

[Will Compton]

So he actually went.

[Francis Ellis]

Yeah, he was on the team.

[Will Compton]

That's crazy. Yeah. That's an interesting question.

[Francis Ellis]

These types of shirts don't flatter me. I look like I have man boobs. I don't have man boobs.

[Will Compton]

It's all right. I think you look great.

[Taylor Lewan]

It looks like.

[Will Compton]

I think you look good there.

[Taylor Lewan]

You obviously have tho going on, but I don't. I feel like, like, Diddy hard on.

[Will Compton]

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Francis Ellis]

These gyms are chilly.

[Will Compton]

These gyms are. How small is that gym? Is that the smallest gym ever?

[Francis Ellis]

One of those places in New York that's for, like, personal training exclusively.

[Will Compton]

Got you.

[Francis Ellis]

It was all we could kind of get.

[Will Compton]

Well, what's it like trying to exercise in a place like New York? Because I. I walk around there and I'm just thinking to myself, there's so much stuff going on.

[Francis Ellis]

Yeah.

[Will Compton]

And they'll just see, like, a big planet fitness in the corner.

[Francis Ellis]

Yeah.

[Will Compton]

It's just like, do you go there or do you, like, do the personal things? There's no room.

[Francis Ellis]

I don't go to Planet.

[Taylor Lewan]

Where's your gym membership at?

[Francis Ellis]

I go to Lifetime. It's like in my building, luckily. And I try to just go at like off hours.

[Will Compton]

Lifetime is a nice spot.

[Francis Ellis]

Lifetime is nice. Yeah.

[Will Compton]

It's a well put together.

[Francis Ellis]

Yeah, I like their. I like their situation. Luckily it's actually included in my rent, so I don't even have to pay for it.

[Will Compton]

You were saying while we were at Surviving Barstool that you've like taking your health super seriously. What are the things you've changed?

[Francis Ellis]

Well, you know, one of the big things that I really taken up that I enjoy is cooking and I like cooking. Really clean, really simple. And I find it like makes me in the same way that doing laundry. I find that these types of like household chores make me feel regimented, productive, structured, and like I'm taking care of myself. So I like that a lot. Being outside being like getting, getting out of the city and going up to my place upstate and just walking in the woods would not. I leave my phone in the car. If anyone passes away, I won't be there. But that's a risk I'm willing to take for a two hour walk through the woods. Yeah, just like listening to the fucking wind leaves, all that shit and thinking, you know, and then, yeah, a lot of it is like, you know, when I. Catching myself now, when spiraling thoughts start and realizing like, okay, this thought pattern is not productive. And typically before I would just like follow it all the way to the bottom. And now I'm like, let's, let's hit the pause. Let's like go in another direction. Let's recognize what's happening here and make a change.

[Will Compton]

How did you. Like, obviously you said you followed it all the way down the bottom. At what point did you realize you would do that? And then how did you. How do you. Essentially, somebody who's listening this, this podcast right now, they're thinking to themselves, oh, I have the same issue. How did you construct a way to where you could see yourself heading towards the cliff and being able to divert to go a different direction?

[Francis Ellis]

There were, I mean, there's a couple things. You know, first of all, therapy. Two, I finally decided to go on medication. I went on Wellbutrin, which is like a pretty common antidepressant. And then I haven't been able to really stick with the meditation stuff, but I've done a few things and one of the things I remember taking with me from some of it was that negative thoughts and distracted thoughts are gonna come through your Brain. Don't try to stop them. Don't say like, ah, fuck, I've lost focus. I've lost my positive energy or whatever. Just let them flow and then flow out. Look at it. The analogy they used was like, think of the brain waves, or your brain is like a road where there's traffic and there's cars driving by. And instead of trying to, like, kick those cars off the road, just watch them go by and then reset your focus and it's totally fine. Being able to, like, recognize the negative thoughts that I was having and not be, like, not giving them so much weight and not succumbing to them, but rather just being like, eh, that's not right. That's a. That's, you know, just something I need to, like, process and move on from. And sometimes I'll even do it out loud if I'm alone, which sounds crazy, but if I'm like, really kind of churning the wheels and just in a negative place, I'll just, like, find myself being like, stop. This is bullshit. You know, let's. Let's go in another direction. Let's move forward, whatever. Like, think of something positive, you know, and just finding that ability to, like, make quick adjustments and, like, you know, patch up. As I say, like, engine malfunctions is a major step in the right direction for me.

[Will Compton]

I love it.

[Francis Ellis]

Yeah. Yeah, I like that. Yeah. I have to go to the bathroom. I had to piss so bad.

[Will Compton]

Take a piss.

[Taylor Lewan]

Go pee.

[Will Compton]

We ended up this episode to bring you something very near and dear to our hearts, and that is Lucy. Lucy is the obvious choice always for the true nicotine pouch connoisseur. That's why they are the official nicotine pouch partner of Barstool Sports. Lucy pouches go up to 12 milligrams in strength and have a unique shape that feels fantastic. Lucy breakers are the only pouches with a hydration capsule inside. They're totally new kind of pouch only available at Lucy. Each breaker contains a hydration capsule that you crack open with your teeth before tossing it in your lip.

[Francis Ellis]

Ooh.

[Will Compton]

The capsule releases a burst of flavor and helps release nicotine faster. For an experience that you can't find at any other place. Pouch. Listen, gas station pouches get the job done. But once you've tried Lucy, you won't want any. Anything else in your pocket get Lucy shipped straight to your door. Visit Lucy Co Buson and use promo code busin to get 20% off your first order. Subscribe for another 15% off and shipping is always free. Lucy products are for adults of legal age. Every order is very age verified. Warning. This product contains nicotine. Nicotine is an addictive chemical. Back to the episode. They call him One Take Taylor. That's what they do, man. That's what they do.

[Francis Ellis]

Or game.

[Mitch]

We did game time and Chevy.

[JP]

Game time and Chevy.

[Will Compton]

We're good, right?

[Francis Ellis]

Yeah.

[Taylor Lewan]

Dude, I wonder if. I wonder if Rabe's gonna go to the Patriots.

[Will Compton]

You saw the Jets?

[Taylor Lewan]

I saw the Jets. Interviewed him, but I don't think he's.

[Will Compton]

I don't want to go. I want to go to the jets at all.

[Taylor Lewan]

I don't think he will. I think he just. He hits the interview to. To let everybody know he's in the circuit.

[Will Compton]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Taylor Lewan]

Are you. Are you a ball guy at all? You guys talk ball?

[Francis Ellis]

Yeah, I just. Let me just. I. I'm gonna miss my flight, so I'm just gonna tell them to rebook me.

[Taylor Lewan]

Oh, do you need a roll?

[Francis Ellis]

I've missed it, so. I don't care. It was worth it. It was worth it. Who gives a.

[Taylor Lewan]

All right, dude.

[Will Compton]

Sorry about that.

[Taylor Lewan]

Yeah.

[Francis Ellis]

I don't care. It's the company.

[Will Compton]

We're so sorry. We are so sorry, man.

[Francis Ellis]

I'm going to miss.

[Taylor Lewan]

What time was the flight?

[Francis Ellis]

1:40. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Will Compton]

What time is it?

[Taylor Lewan]

It's 1.

[Will Compton]

He can make that at 1:40.

[Francis Ellis]

I don't. I don't even want to.

[Will Compton]

Yeah, you make that.

[Francis Ellis]

I'm sure it'll be fine. I don't care.

[Taylor Lewan]

Because he's like, how long are they usually? I was like, probably like 90 minutes. But little did we know we were gonna have an absolute banger of an episode.

[Francis Ellis]

Yeah. I'm glad to hear it.

[Will Compton]

A bunch of different twists and turns too.

[Francis Ellis]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Will Compton]

It was honestly awesome hearing all the stories.

[Francis Ellis]

Yeah, it's fun to. I mean, it's so weird to tell it all that quickly because it makes me realize that my time in the. At barstool especially has been fucking insane. Yeah, it's been utterly insane. But I wonder how many people at this company have a similar story.

[Taylor Lewan]

Right?

[Will Compton]

Yeah. Or they're fearing the things that you've been through. They probably watch this and be like, holy fuck.

[Francis Ellis]

True. But I just feel like, you know, mine, my, you know, Rhea could. Could write a book about her journey. Obviously. Big Cat, Kevin. My God. I mean, there's so many like, people for whom the last seven odd years of working at this place has been a thousand pages saga. It's an odyssey.

[Will Compton]

Whenever Dave, if Big Cat and Kevin decide to hang it up for real. Like, not just sell it to another company for a couple years and take it all back, but if Dave. Dave, Big Cat, and Kevin, and then someone to facilitate the conversation and then just tell the story of Barstool and their ins and outs and their things because it'd be interesting to hear that dynamic.

[Francis Ellis]

You want to hear something really funny?

[Will Compton]

Yeah.

[Francis Ellis]

So before the episode, you called Dave to ask him a question, and I said, what it would take for me to call Dave on the phone is so bad that, like, even seeing you do that casually is just baffling to me. It's like you have a direct line to the emperor. And my correspondence with Dave historically has either been because he's about to fire me, I have to tell him something horrible has happened and we need to get ahead of it, or, like, you know, it's not. It's like using break in case of emergency is how I get on the phone to call Dave. Yeah, with one exception lately, which was during the show. You know, they. They showed me giving. Telling Dave that I had the idol, and they omitted a lot of information, which was that I did so because I saw that someone had gone through my back, and I was consulting with him to ask him about it, and I blogged about this, and then Dave agreed and was very kind of vocal about it, and he was like, yeah, I don't know why they didn't include that. And he started texting me about it, and he was, like, texting me a lot, and he sent more texts to me about this and being like. He was texting me as if he was like, my. My buddy, and being like, yeah, I don't know why they didn't include that. I thought that was a pretty good end. I mean, the fact that you, you know, gave me the idol is, like, an important piece of the show. And obviously, this made you look kind of stupid, which I didn't agree with. And then he's like, what do you think of this? Like, that, that. That. And I'm like, what's happening right now? Like, are you. Are you about to fire me? And. And, you know, I was, like, trying to just hold it together and text him back. And it was. He sent me more texts in that exchange than we have ever texted each other, rather total in the seven years that I've known him.

[Will Compton]

Let's do a twisted question. Go ahead and pull that up, Sherm. Pull a little piece up there real quick. Yeah.

[Taylor Lewan]

You want to pull up the ad read?

[Will Compton]

Yeah, absolutely. You got. You want me to do It.

[Taylor Lewan]

I can rip it.

[Will Compton]

All right, go ahead and rip that thing.

[Taylor Lewan]

This Twisted Question is brought to us by Twisted Tea. Twisted Tea is a refreshing, hard iced tea made with real brewed tea and 5%. 5% alcohol, full of flavor and very refreshing. Crushing. Twisted Tea goes down smooth and there is absolutely no carbonation, which makes it easy to drink all day long. Twisted Tea feels fun and celebrates extreme fandom on game day. And it is the perfect alcohol and beverage for game day. Whether you're tailgating in the parking lot, watching at a bar, watching with friends at home, Twisted Tea is at a term of your game day. Keep it twisted with the boys and grab a refreshing twisted Tea today. Mitch Sherm. The Twisted question.

[Mitch]

Do you have which. You know which one you want?

[Taylor Lewan]

Do the second one. Do the second one.

[Francis Ellis]

Well, his voice is awesome. I hadn't heard it.

[Taylor Lewan]

Do you want me to do the second, though?

[Will Compton]

Which one?

[Mitch]

Would you rather play a villain that dies and win an Oscar for the performance or a hero and never win an Oscar but have a trilogy as that character?

[Francis Ellis]

Is this to me.

[Taylor Lewan]

Yeah. I mean, it's for all of us. For all of us. The trilogy really throws us off because it was super easy until you got to the trilogy.

[Will Compton]

See, I don't think it. I don't think so. Not for me. That's a villain. Win an Oscar all the way. The amount of opportunity that comes from that, the ability to do things. Then after that, maybe you become a hero, do something else. But to have an Oscar in your hand, on your shelf, and to achieve a 1% of 1% thing in the acting world is. That's it. That's the answer.

[Taylor Lewan]

Yeah, but a trilogy.

[Will Compton]

Yeah, but you.

[Francis Ellis]

Yeah, I think the implication here is that if you. If you do have a trilogy as a superhero, you're making oodles of money. And that I guess we'd have to assume playing one role as a villain, winning an Oscar, maybe it's like more of an indie film. I think. I think we should take license to, like, divide the two and say that the villain role does not come with the lifetime fuck you money that the trilogy does. Right.

[Will Compton]

All right. Yeah, that's a great pivot because I'm gonna go with the trilogy. Hero.

[Francis Ellis]

Yes. Clear. There you go.

[Will Compton]

It's never been more clear.

[Francis Ellis]

There you go.

[Will Compton]

Even before you said that. Yeah.

[Taylor Lewan]

No, I don't think so. I think this is super easy. Villain, Oscar performance.

[Will Compton]

Oscar performance would be nuts because. Yeah, I wasn't aware of the indie thing.

[Taylor Lewan]

Yeah, I did not think. I didn't think this one through.

[Francis Ellis]

I mean, it doesn't necessarily have to be an indie, but like, that, to me, more, more interestingly, kind of bifurcates the question. So.

[Will Compton]

Come on, man.

[Taylor Lewan]

What's bifurcating you? Dude, we had fun for a little.

[Will Compton]

Bit with those words.

[Francis Ellis]

Bifurcate is like, I think divides it into like two more different options. Yeah.

[Taylor Lewan]

Divide into two branches or forks. You almost nailed that.

[Francis Ellis]

Yeah. Hey, that's because I. I want to, like, I want to. I want to make this harder. Do you know what I mean? Because if you're saying, like, you win an Oscar as a villain, but the movie grosses a billion dollars and you make 40 million bucks from that versus playing a trilogy, no Oscar, but you make, I don't know, 100 million more money, I guess.

[Will Compton]

Yeah.

[Taylor Lewan]

Like, if you're considered Captain America forever.

[Francis Ellis]

It'S like, I think the answer is obviously the villain because you get the money and you get the respect.

[Taylor Lewan]

Yeah.

[Francis Ellis]

But if it's an indie film, you make 500 grand, but you get an Oscar versus, you know, John Wick or Captain America or whatever, Jason Bourne. I don't know that winning an Oscar necessarily lends or leads to gigantic film options and success the way that maybe it once did, because there's people winning Oscars now who you never even fucking heard of, you know?

[Will Compton]

Okay, so the Oscar. Are you seeing the watered down market for the Oscar?

[Francis Ellis]

Well, not so much. I still, I think it still carries the same cachet and is very well respected. And is Baller. Having it on your shelf is sick. But is it sick if it's on a shelf of a split level ranch house duplex in a shitty neighborhood?

[Will Compton]

Yeah. Yeah, that would be wild.

[Taylor Lewan]

You give me the trilogy regardless. Honestly.

[Will Compton]

What are you taking, Francis?

[Francis Ellis]

It's hard.

[Taylor Lewan]

Yeah. I think in just the sake of making movies like taking out the. The fame and the money with it. I just feel like having a trilogy would be sick.

[Will Compton]

I think you got to think about the career too. Like the, okay, take the money part out. Let's say you win an Oscar. The. That's the pinnacle, right? Winning that best Actor Oscar. If you have the trilogy and you want to continue your acting career, there's that worry that you might forever be just seen as Batman, if that's what you care about.

[Taylor Lewan]

But if I'm seen as Batman, and.

[Will Compton]

I love it, when I kind of said it, I was thinking to myself, it's not a bad thing to be thought of as Batman. As soon as Batman came out of my mouth, I was like, imagine everywhere you go, be like Batman.

[Taylor Lewan]

Yeah. They just say, oh, will come the. Can you say that line, why do you want to kill me? Oh, my God.

[Will Compton]

He doesn't. That's how good of an actor he is. I can't believe you didn't win an Oscar.

[Francis Ellis]

Yeah. Would you rather be Vin Diesel or, you know, Adrian Brody?

[Taylor Lewan]

Who's Adrian?

[Will Compton]

Who's Adrian Brody?

[Francis Ellis]

He won for the Pianist. He's okay, this guy. He's always kind of like this sad sort of.

[Will Compton]

I'd rather be him.

[Francis Ellis]

Interesting. You'd have to know that Vin Diesel, thanks to making fast 400.

[Taylor Lewan]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Francis Ellis]

Is just barely. Has to work and like, has to.

[Will Compton]

It doesn't have to. He doesn't.

[Francis Ellis]

Doesn't have to work. But like, he doesn't even need to read scripts. He knows his next job is the next fast movie.

[Taylor Lewan]

Yeah.

[Francis Ellis]

And then after that, another fast.

[Will Compton]

Yeah. I think your example of the two actors, one, I've seen the Pianist. I think it's a great movie.

[Francis Ellis]

It is. Yeah.

[Will Compton]

Didn't know who that guy was. And I kind of like the.

[Taylor Lewan]

He's also the multiple.

[Will Compton]

The multiple dimensions of an actor of like, having, like, range. I think that's so cool.

[Francis Ellis]

Yeah.

[Will Compton]

Vin Diesel. I don't like fast nothing, but I think the Fast and Furious movies are terrible.

[Francis Ellis]

Terrible.

[Will Compton]

Every single one. When I saw.

[Taylor Lewan]

You didn't like one through five.

[Will Compton]

When I saw. When I saw somebody, I don't remember which one it was going to head on, head collision, fly through the air, across a whole entire highway, land on another car, and then go like this. Talking about Letty and Kevin. Sure. I was like, this shit's not for me. I never sparked my interest. I was never about it.

[Francis Ellis]

Right.

[Will Compton]

So based on those two actors, I'd rather. The guy. I can't remember his name already.

[Francis Ellis]

Adrian Brody. I don't even think.

[Taylor Lewan]

Well, Heath Ledger, I don't think.

[Francis Ellis]

I don't think you can add Heath Ledger to the other side because Heath Ledger has had, you know, indie Oscar success, but he's also had major blockbuster success. And to that same thought, I don't think you can add Christian Bale, who you could argue is. Is incredibly versatile, role changing, shifting actor who's able to dive into completely different roles and be nominated for an Oscar every year. However, he had the trilogy as Batman, which grossed him tons of money.

[Will Compton]

True, true.

[Taylor Lewan]

Let me ask you this for our simple brains. If you just. If we're just talking Batman, would you want to be Christian Bale or would you want to be Heath Ledger.

[Will Compton]

I'd rather be Heath Ledger. Well, without dying.

[Francis Ellis]

He's dead. Yes.

[Will Compton]

Yeah. Do I have to die?

[Taylor Lewan]

Yeah, but this is the only movies we make. You're in one if you're Heath Ledger. I would rather be Christian.

[Will Compton]

Yeah. But my. But the one I'm in, everyone's like, that's the best one because of the villain.

[Francis Ellis]

Yeah. But the others are still pretty good.

[Will Compton]

Pretty good. No doubt. No doubt. Hardy was that.

[Francis Ellis]

Is that. I think this is a great distillation of the question.

[Will Compton]

God damn it.

[Francis Ellis]

I think this is an unbelievable. We're just boiling it down. We've boiled it down to a perfect example, kind of.

[Will Compton]

I'll let you know what the definition.

[Taylor Lewan]

So who would you rather be?

[Francis Ellis]

I. Yeah. Yeah, you've.

[Will Compton]

You nailed it.

[Francis Ellis]

Boiled it down, I said. Yeah. So, by the way, I'm never going to get one of these words wrong. So we don't have to do this. You're just gonna have to trust that I have it right.

[Will Compton]

I literally. A confidence thing like that. I actually just trust you now.

[Francis Ellis]

If you want.

[Will Compton]

I'll never question you again.

[Francis Ellis]

I'll tell you. And we don't need to double check.

[Will Compton]

Fair enough. That was so fucking stupid of me. I will never do that again. By the way. I'll never get one of these wrong. Would you rather have this?

[Francis Ellis]

This is hard. This is hard.

[Will Compton]

Great. Twisted question, Mitch.

[Francis Ellis]

I would say with a bang, I would say that I'm going to go Heath Ledger. And I think it's because nobody really says the Batman movies were great because of how well Christian Bale played Batman. The Batman movies were great because of how well Christian Bale acted in that role. That's not really what people say.

[Will Compton]

The movies are great and he does well in.

[Francis Ellis]

He does great. But. But there may have been other actors who would have serviced that role. Well, no, not him. But there's a reason they also keep rebooting Batman and like Robert Pattinson did a different take of it, but was great.

[Taylor Lewan]

I think that was a good movie.

[Francis Ellis]

I think the reason that the. That trilogy of, you know, the. The Dark Knight, Dark Knight Rises and Batman Begins, the credit often goes to the director and the villains and then like, you know, Michael Caine and the. Yeah, the music. It's like Christopher Nolan that it tends to be the people around Christian Bale more than. Than him.

[Will Compton]

True leader, loves everybody up around him.

[Francis Ellis]

Yeah.

[Will Compton]

Let me ask you, of all the actors careers you see right now, whose career would you want?

[Francis Ellis]

It's hard not to say Christian Bale because he's had the blockbuster success while also being an incredibly respected actor for his nuance and craft.

[Will Compton]

You know, I think is going to be like one of those actors. You're like, I wish I had his career. If I could pick a career to have eventually. Timothy Chalame.

[Francis Ellis]

Yeah, dude, Great.

[Will Compton]

He is a stud. I mean, he was. It was in Dune. Didn't really watch it, but I loved Wonka. You didn't watch, Dude, I loved Wonka.

[Francis Ellis]

You didn't watch Dune.

[Will Compton]

And I saw him on college. I saw him on college Game day, and I was like, this kid's crushing it. And then I saw him on Theo's pod and I was like, bro, no, his approach. Bro, his approach is insane.

[Francis Ellis]

If you like him now, you're. You're adulation of him after seeing.

[Taylor Lewan]

Dude, that one up. Sherm.

[Will Compton]

No, no, don't do that. Just have. Just have him tell us.

[Francis Ellis]

Adulation is reverence. It's, you know, praise and deep. Yeah, there you go.

[Taylor Lewan]

Excessive admiration.

[Francis Ellis]

Praise. There it is.

[Taylor Lewan]

There it is.

[Will Compton]

No, he got one of the words right that time. He's actually kind of gotten worse each time.

[Francis Ellis]

I'm taking full credit for that.

[Will Compton]

Okay. My fault.

[Francis Ellis]

Reverence is like, respect, praise, all that. I mean, the word that I use.

[Will Compton]

In the definition, I said Charlemagne. And I've seen one and a half of his movies, and, yeah, I. With him, dude. I. Him on College Game day was so impressive to me.

[Taylor Lewan]

He's talking about College Game Day, like.

[Will Compton]

And then him on Theo's. Have you seen. On Theo's podcast?

[Francis Ellis]

Yeah.

[Will Compton]

The way he just talks about his process and how he's going to do everything the best he can.

[Francis Ellis]

He has a very weird cadence of talking that I find compelling.

[Will Compton]

Yeah, you don't.

[Francis Ellis]

You don't even feel. You have no idea what he's gonna say next. And I'm. I was gonna say, if you have not seen Dune and you like him now, you. You're gonna 10x that after dune.

[Will Compton]

Okay.

[Francis Ellis]

Both of them. I think both dunes are the same guy. Best movies I've seen.

[JP]

He was blessed by Lil B, the base God. He attributed his success to it.

[Will Compton]

Nice.

[Francis Ellis]

I love Tom Holland. Oh, yeah, I do love Tom Holland.

[Will Compton]

There's.

[Francis Ellis]

There's something about when he. When he does interviews and you hear his British accent where you're like, what? He's. That's awesome. I know. I like their relationship. He's shorter than she is. He doesn't care.

[Taylor Lewan]

Beautiful short king.

[Francis Ellis]

It works.

[Will Compton]

Also, I love, like, the little clips of him just, like, kind of Giving away spoilers on, like, Instagram lives and stuff like that. Like, his innocence about him is beautiful.

[Francis Ellis]

Yeah.

[Will Compton]

I do love that.

[Francis Ellis]

He also walked away from the game for, like two years. Just was like, I'm not in a place where I want to do this right now. And he plays a ton of golf. He's really good at it. Charming. Boyish.

[Will Compton]

Boyish.

[Francis Ellis]

Love him.

[Will Compton]

Who's that guy?

[Francis Ellis]

Jake Gyllenhaal.

[Will Compton]

He is incredible.

[Francis Ellis]

He's amazing.

[Will Compton]

I like him.

[Francis Ellis]

He's a great career. Prisoner.

[Will Compton]

Phenomenal movie.

[Francis Ellis]

Unbelievable.

[Will Compton]

Yes.

[Francis Ellis]

Haunting. Almost tough to get through.

[Will Compton]

Yeah. Have kids.

[Francis Ellis]

Yeah.

[Will Compton]

You will not ever want to watch that movie again. But he is so like, that kid's good too.

[Francis Ellis]

He did that one and then he did the one. I can't remember the name of it, but where he was like the. The murder detective who would show up to film. Oh, Nightcrawler.

[Taylor Lewan]

Nightcrawler.

[Francis Ellis]

Yeah.

[Will Compton]

No, I did. I got thrown off by the name. I didn't like that name.

[Taylor Lewan]

That's a good one too. Where they're like.

[Will Compton]

The way you're explaining to me made me think of Seven, though. Yeah.

[Taylor Lewan]

I mean, Seven's a good movie.

[Francis Ellis]

Yeah, Seven's amazing. Nightcrawler is him being a little bit more like succumbing to ticks. He's got. There's more of like a off putting acting in it, but it is him as driven and as like, possessed as he is in what was the series on?

[Taylor Lewan]

Apple plus he just did Presumed Innocent.

[Francis Ellis]

Yeah. Pretty good. I would give that a B plus. I didn't love it.

[Will Compton]

Oh, I don't like that.

[Taylor Lewan]

Because of the ending.

[Francis Ellis]

No, I actually thought the ending I didn't see coming was good. I just thought, you know, would she really fucking stand by him through all this? Right. Are you kidding me? You know, he's being like, I haven't seen it. Oh, yeah.

[Taylor Lewan]

Good show. There was.

[Will Compton]

Plus there was seems like the way in, the way he speaks. It's like, you know, he's got high standards. Yeah, yeah, yeah. What's your Titanic?

[Francis Ellis]

What's my take on it? Yeah, love it.

[Will Compton]

Okay, good. Just making sure.

[Francis Ellis]

Yeah. Haven't seen it in a while, but yeah, love it.

[Will Compton]

I didn't want you to be the guy that has like, there's like wildly loved movies, but you're like, it's actually garbage.

[Francis Ellis]

No, no, I thought. I mean, I mean, iconic, genre changing, you know, beautiful movie. Yeah.

[Will Compton]

To have that kind of love.

[Francis Ellis]

It's also the last movie where Leo has that kind of like innocent, youthful look. Where his, like, his bangs are feathered and he's got this wispy hair. And then he goes and starts doing all the dark shit like the Departed, Gangs of New York. And all of a sudden he seems to, like, age 10 years overnight.

[Will Compton]

Look up Leonardo DiCaprio. The quick and the Dead. I think this is a movie he did either right before or right after Titanic.

[Francis Ellis]

I don't mind the newer Leo, the more like grizzled. Yeah, there you go.

[Will Compton]

Yeah.

[Francis Ellis]

He looks like a sweet, sweet boy.

[Will Compton]

Sweet, sweet boy with a six shooter in his hand.

[Francis Ellis]

Delivers papers on the side.

[Will Compton]

It's Billy the Kid right there.

[Taylor Lewan]

Young kid with a dream.

[Francis Ellis]

Yeah.

[Will Compton]

This is great. Have you seen this movie?

[Francis Ellis]

No.

[Will Compton]

Phenomenal movie.

[Taylor Lewan]

What's it called?

[Will Compton]

Called the Quick and the Dead. October. October. I'd never seen October. Never heard of October.

[Francis Ellis]

Did you see the Basketball Diaries?

[Will Compton]

No.

[Francis Ellis]

Oh, my God. That's Leo. That's a up movie. This is Gyllenhaal as a boy, they launch rockets in a mining town. His father wants him to come down into the mines, get his head on straight. But he says, I have dreams. Dreams of launching model rockets.

[Will Compton]

How's it work out for him?

[Francis Ellis]

Well, finally his father says, I in. In the similar way to Billy Elliot's father, seeing the light. He says, okay, I get it now.

[Will Compton]

I get it now.

[Francis Ellis]

I see that this is who you truly are. Was that actor's name Gary Something Busey? The guy on the left.

[Will Compton]

So we did this thing called Bus Scenes. Right, right.

[Taylor Lewan]

Yeah.

[Will Compton]

And yeah, hey, BR's not functioning 100%. JP JP will do this thing where he, like, shows us athletes of different sports besides football players. And then last week, he did actors on us and we did horribly.

[Sherman]

They missed Russell Crow.

[Francis Ellis]

O, yeah.

[Will Compton]

Yeah. It was a tough showing.

[Taylor Lewan]

I got Russell Crowe. Eventually we had to play some Wheel of Fortune.

[Will Compton]

Play some Wheel of Fortune Sweeney.

[Francis Ellis]

Nice.

[Will Compton]

Yeah, yeah, we got them.

[Francis Ellis]

Makes sense.

[Will Compton]

We definitely got them. All right, well, how we feel.

[Taylor Lewan]

It's been a great, great show. Thank you.

[Will Compton]

Phenomenal. Thank you for missing your flight for us.

[Francis Ellis]

Nothing could make me happier. This is a blast. I was really excited to do this show.

[Will Compton]

That's awesome. Thank you.

[Francis Ellis]

And it lived up to my hopes and dreams.

[Taylor Lewan]

So we had a nice dinner last night.

[Francis Ellis]

We did.

[Taylor Lewan]

We tried hanging out, but Ru just. No, Rue just stole Francis the entire time. She was being very selfish.

[Francis Ellis]

That's what we want, Charles.

[Taylor Lewan]

Like, I was like, hey, Francis is going to come over for dinner. Dinner. And I've gotten Charo on, like, some of his blogs. And Charles thinks he's funny.

[Francis Ellis]

And she was like, that is generous and wrong. She was like, I don't care about anything.

[Taylor Lewan]

She was talking about the barstool world.

[Francis Ellis]

Yeah, but you said.

[Taylor Lewan]

She mentioned reading your blogs.

[Francis Ellis]

I think you were like, she read the blog and liked it more. And she was like, eh, no, no, no.

[Taylor Lewan]

But she was like, maybe Francis will play Scrabble with me because I never play with her, because it's like, I'll never gonna win in Scrabble against Charo. But we can't play Scrabble because Roo wants to play pretty little princess. So we're just playing pretty little princess before he leaves.

[Francis Ellis]

It was really fun. I got really close to winning, and then the game got away from me. I kept. I had to give the ring, the mystery ring back. She took the crown from me.

[Taylor Lewan]

Yeah.

[Francis Ellis]

It was kind of bullshit. It felt like somehow she had rigged it. Like she knew how to spin the wheel to actually have it land on exactly what she needed. Needed. But that takes a lot away from her. I mean, she. She played well. She played well.

[Taylor Lewan]

She played a good ball game.

[Francis Ellis]

She played well. Yeah.

[Will Compton]

Away from me. That's awesome. I'm glad you guys had a great dinner together that I didn't hear about till this afternoon. I'm glad you guys had fun, man. That's sick. A beautiful time, huh? Good time. Yeah.

[Taylor Lewan]

For some reason, I just knew that was coming. Did you just do that?

[Francis Ellis]

Yeah.

[Will Compton]

You still do it every time.

[Taylor Lewan]

Time.

[Francis Ellis]

What are you talking about?

[Will Compton]

Just relax, man.

[Francis Ellis]

You're good.

[Will Compton]

Yeah. You're good.

[Francis Ellis]

This is great. Yeah. Thank you, guys. Watch Surviving Barstool. This week is going to be unbelievable.

[Will Compton]

Oh, I got a text from Jeff. I do die today.

[Francis Ellis]

Oh, great.

[Will Compton]

Yeah. So we talked about all that.

[Francis Ellis]

So then what I would say is, you should put a spoiler alert at the beginning of this episode. Be like, we're going to talk about. About Surviving Barstool. And if you have not watched today's episode, you should wait to listen to this episode until you've watched it. If you care.

[Taylor Lewan]

Smart move.

[Will Compton]

Smart move.

[Taylor Lewan]

Smart move.

[Mitch]

We're not a fan of that.

[Will Compton]

We would have got a.

[Taylor Lewan]

We've just been editing, overthinking it. Should we do this? Should we do that?

[Will Compton]

Right? Yeah, we'll just do it in the intro. Well, we're probably not going to put in this in. So big hugs, tiny kisses. We'll see you guys next time. Appreciate y'all fricks.

[Francis Ellis]

Thank you, guys. That was a blast.