NFL Aura Rankings, Hydrogen Bombs, and Mariners Fandom | with Mina Kimes

Summary

Casuals with Katie Nolan

NFL Aura Rankings, Hydrogen Bombs, and Mariners Fandom | with Mina Kimes

Date: September 25, 2025
Guests: Mina Kimes
Host & panel: Katie Nolan, Brady, Chris, Isabella

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Episode Overview

In this energetic episode, Katie Nolan welcomes Mina Kimes—acclaimed football analyst and Seahawks superfan—for a whirlwind trip through the latest in NFL storylines, quirky sports moments, and the emotional rollercoaster of fandom. Packed with signature banter, the episode dives into NFL teams’ “aura,” Jeopardy regrets, playoff baseball energy, Mariners love, and plenty of smart, yet playful sports wisdom. Katie, Mina, and the Casuals crew keep things accessible, funny, and weirdly insightful—no yelling old men here.

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Table of Contents

• Sports News & Email Banter (03:38)
• WNBA Coaching Drama, Baseball & Superstitions (07:45)
• Mina Kimes Arrives: Behind-the-Scenes & Jeopardy Review (28:18)
• NFL: Good/Bad Teams, QB Talk, Dolphins & Coaches (39:24)
• NFL Aura Rankings & Player Deep Dives (54:17)
• Mariners Fandom, Baseball MVPs, and Vibes (77:33)
• Isabella’s Fantasy Team—Comedy & Advice (84:15)
• Ryder Cup "Dad Preview" Segment (97:23)
• Notable Quotes

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Sports News & Email Banter (03:38)

Highlights

• Robot Umps in MLB: Casual, tongue-in-cheek discussion about the encroachment of technology in sports; reflections on whether it’s the first “pillar to fall” in the human-robot rivalry.
  • “Is this the first pillar to fall in our war against the robots?” — Katie (02:33)
• Email from Adam, Oregon: Family debate over alternate names for the “tush push” football play: “ass bash” vs. “butt nudge.” The crew riffs on household naming, silly associations, and agrees to pose the question to Mina. (05:06)
• Liberty Coaching Fire: Reaction to New York Liberty’s firing of Sandy Brondello; consensus that the firing was abrupt and signaled a “vibe shift.”
  • “What a great read, Isabella. Exactly right. A lot of times it’s just a vibe shift.” — Katie (09:13)

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WNBA Coaching Drama, Baseball & Superstitions (07:45)

• WMBA & Liberty: More analysis; players supported the outgoing coach (“Stewie came out with Sabrina...all behind Sandy Brondello” — Chris, 08:32).
• Baseball playoffs: Mariners clinch, emotional reactions to Tigers/Guardians, routine updates on standings and clinchers.
• Injury Stories: Emotional reaction to Tarek Skubal beaning a batter in the face; conversation about the Guardians’ surprising run despite adversity. (12:55–14:41)
• Superstitions: Isabella attributes Mets’ win to jersey placement on the couch, linking to broader sports-fan rituals (15:11).

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Mina Kimes Arrives: Behind-the-Scenes & Jeopardy Review (28:18)

Enter Mina Kimes!

• Social Takes & Phone Calls: Warm-up banter about answering unknown numbers and social media etiquette.
• Jeopardy Reflections:
  • Mina shares her emotional aftermath from playing consecutive games on “Celebrity Jeopardy” — “It was the most stressed I’ve ever been on television.” (38:44)
  • Regret over conservative wagering, losing the buzzer battle:
    • “Worse to walk away and feel like you beat yourself.” — Mina (34:52)
    • “I lost it with the buzzer… I actually don’t know how bad it looks on TV… I was losing my mind.” (35:09)

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NFL: Good/Bad Teams, QB Talk, Dolphins & Coaches (39:24)

NFL Aura: Sorting the 3–0 and 0–3 Clubs

• Colts: Daniel Jones legitimizes Indy, great O-line and skill players, coach Shane Steichen gets props.
• Niners: “They’re in trouble… They keep losing people [to injury]” — Mina (41:26)
  • Defensive injuries (Nick Bosa out).
  • Debate on whether Kyle Shanahan is somehow to blame for repeated injuries—conclusion: “Just crazy bad luck.” (41:39)
• Bucs, Chargers, Eagles: Generally positive outlook, sustainable methods, depth discussed.
• Jets, Giants, Texans, Titans, Saints: All 0–3; no denial—most are truly bad, but nuanced optimism for close losses and foundational development (Jets noted for “not getting blown out”).
  • “That’s my optimistic [Jets] take. …They’re losing, but it doesn’t feel bad.” — Mina (43:51)

The Dolphins & Mike McDaniel

• NFL culture & outsider bias: “If you’re perceived as an outsider… people are quicker to turn on you.” — Mina (44:42)
• Mike McDaniel's Job Security:
  • “If I had to criticize him… it would be probably riding for the quarterback.”— Mina, re: Tua (46:22)
  • Dolphins’ defensive woes noted, speculation on future changes at coach and QB.

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NFL Aura Rankings & Player Deep Dives (54:17)

A playful “aura” power ranking for NFL players and teams making waves through three weeks.

• Brandon Aubrey (Cowboys, K):
  Team confidence to let him attempt long game-winners—“That’s aura.” (55:11)
• Puka Nacua (Rams, WR):
  “He’s so good at football… Even when he’s not open, he’s open.” — Mina (55:33)
• Josh Allen (“wife guy”): Light ribbing of the “wife guy” image; healthy play and good vibes.
• Isaiah Rodgers (Vikings, CB):
  Historic defensive feat: “First player in NFL history with two defensive touchdowns and two forced fumbles in the same game.” (57:48)
• Jordan Davis (Eagles, DT):
  “That’s the biggest person I’ve ever seen in my life.” — Mina, recalling Combine.
  “He hit like 19.59 mph… at the end of a football game.” (59:16)
• Caleb Williams (Bears, QB):
  Acknowledges the “weird” ways media treat him, on and off field. (61:36)
• Ongoing playful shade:
  Justin Herbert “doesn’t have aura outside of football”— Mina (59:42); Madison Beer dating fun.

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Mariners Fandom, Baseball MVPs, and Vibes (77:33)

Mariners Clinch Playoffs

• Mina’s pure fandom on display—missed the clinch because she fell asleep: “I woke up to a bunch of texts…” (77:41)
• Mariners as “the most likable team in sports.” Both Katie and Mina in agreement.
  • “Cal [Raleigh] being with just the Mariners his whole career… playing a position like catcher and being productive… so many reasons this is worth remembering.” — Katie (78:27)
• Team Vibes:
  • “Suarez: ultimate vibes guy… Julio… amazing, JP Crawford, maybe the coolest athlete in baseball.” — Mina
• Fan protection:
  • “So many decades of failure allow you to protect your heart… against success.” — Mina (82:27)
• MVP talk gives way to “the year of Big Dumper” (Cal Raleigh), about narrative as much as stats.

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Isabella’s Fantasy Team—Comedy & Advice (84:15)

• Isabella, a self-described casual, runs the podcast’s fantasy football team, up 3–0 despite technical goofs (accidental player drops).
• Mina reviews her lineup, suggests Devonta Smith > T. Higgins, encourages creative team names.
• Hilarious, collaborative naming brainstorm—“You better call Tyrone (Tracy Jr.),” “It’s a hell of a team.” (87:44)
• Katie: “I love providing evidence for Isabella's irrational confidence…” (91:38)
• Encourages listener participation for future fantasy Q&A.

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Ryder Cup "Dad Preview" Segment (97:23)

• Katie cold-calls her father for a Ryder Cup preview. “You sound like an analyst, which is great—really fantastic stuff.” (97:44)
• Dad gives full primer on tournament format, the US team’s rookie factor, and strategies.
• Forecast: US to win, 15–13, depending on rookie performances.
  • “I’m saying we’re not even going to get that close. We’re going to take 15 to 13.” — Katie’s Dad (106:19)
• Wholesome, grounded, somewhat factually wobbly (as the crew later fact-checks), but thorough.

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Notable Quotes

• “Is this the first pillar to fall in our war against the robots?” — Katie (02:33)
• “Worse to walk away and feel like you beat yourself.” — Mina (34:52)
• “That’s aura.” — Mina, on Dallas kicker Brandon Aubrey (55:11)
• “So many decades of failure allow you to protect your heart… against success.” — Mina (82:27)
• “Cal [Raleigh] being with just the Mariners his whole career… there’s so many reasons this is worth remembering.” — Katie (78:27)
• “I love providing evidence for Isabella’s irrational confidence.” — Katie (91:38)
• “Viewer Discretion… But if Football Pod is called Mina Kimes show featuring Lenny.” — Mina (92:59)

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Episode Tone

• Warm, playful, inclusive with plenty of inside jokes
• Lively, analytical but accessible
• Quick-cut, collaborative exchanges punctuated by self-aware humor

Conclusion

A classic Casuals episode—meaty NFL insights, quirky laughter, vulnerable moments about sports heartbreak, and genuine joy for the teams and people who make sports great. Mina Kimes blends deeply approachable expertise with pure fandom; Isabella’s fantasy league exploits provide both comic relief and surprising success; and Katie’s dad lowers the golf-content barrier for everyone. If you love football, baseball, or just the odd cosmic truth about team “aura,” this episode is for you.

Transcript

[A]

ABC Wednesday.

[B]

Shifting Gears is back.

[A]

He has arisen. Tim Allen and Kat Dennings return in television's number one new comedy. What what? With a star studded premiere including Jenna Elfman, Nancy Travis and.

[C]

Hey buddy.

[A]

A big home improvement reunion.

[B]

Welcome.

[D]

Oh, boy, that guy's a tool.

[A]

Shifting Gears season premiere Wednesday, 8, 7 Central on ABC and stream on Hulu. Why does every recipe I try need 18 ingredients, including a jar of something paste I'll never use again but will sit in my fridge for nine months? I just want dinner in the oven fast. That's why I love Blue Apron's new one Pan, assemble and bake meals. They send you fresh ingredients that are already chopped. All you do is put it all together and bake. That's it. No chopping, no weird leftovers. Just delicious, easy to make meals. Get 20% off your first two orders with code apron20 Terms and conditions apply. Visit blueapron.com terms for more. Hey, Isabella, did you see that robot umps are coming next season for the balls and strikes. So there's a system called abs and basically the pitcher, the catcher or the batter at the plate have the ability to appeal. A call that a human ump made.

[D]

Oh, like tennis.

[A]

Yeah. You can challenge it and then they go to the. Yeah. So they get two challenges per game. But if the challenge goes through, like if you were right, if they called it a ball, you tap your helmet and then they go to the review and it was actually a strike, actually. Oh, if it was a review, that we would rub your belly. Yeah. Then they. Then you get to keep your challenge. So every team gets two challenges and if you go into extra innings with no challenges, they give you one. So it's like a little. They used it during the All Star Game and I think it was successful. I think every appealed strike or whatever.

[E]

Was called our most big baseball players okay with it. I mean, fans, I mean.

[A]

Well, I don't know. Fans are always interesting. Yeah.

[E]

To see how to me I'm like, that doesn't sound. That sounds cool.

[A]

I do think it's going to put a weird spotlight on any bad calls in the postseason we're about to get into. I feel like if I were a player that, like, well, I wish I could appeal this and in a few months we'll be able to. So hopefully nothing comes down to like a controversial call. But I also think important to note. Isabella, I'm curious to know if you think this is this the first pillar to fall in our war against the robots?

[E]

Hold on.

[A]

Like in the future, when the robots are our overlords, will we look back and go, yeah, we should have known.

[E]

Shouldn't have done that.

[A]

And then they took over our national pastime, and then it was curtains for us.

[E]

All right, guys, throw away your Apple watches. Throw away all electronics. Let's go back to pigeons. Let's go back to writing letters.

[A]

Go analog, baby. Yeah.

[E]

Actually, let's not stream any games on television.

[D]

You have to.

[A]

Well, chill out. Chill, chill, chill. Let's chill. Start the podcast. Hello and welcome to Casual is a sports podcast. For you. It's for you. It's hyped up about baseball today. It's hyped up about everything we got going on. We're mostly gonna talk about football. So let me shut up about baseball. But I am hyped up about baseball. That's just how it is. I, by the way, am Katie, Katie Nolan, your host for this lovely podcast, joined briefly here by my casualties. Brady's here. Hello, Chris. Hello, Isabella.

[D]

Hi.

[A]

And we're just gonna talk about some stuff real quick before our illustrious guest, the wonderful, the incredible Mina Kimes is here in studio A return guest. Why'd you make that face?

[C]

That was a good face.

[E]

That was like an excited face.

[A]

Oh, that's crazy.

[D]

You mean his hair. Oh, it looked like a. Oh, yikes.

[A]

And I got really worried. I was like, what's up?

[C]

Did we clean the place up?

[A]

Did we sweep and we didn't. We didn't. She's our, I believe, correct me if I'm wrong, second repeat guest.

[E]

Yes.

[A]

This is the second guest we've had that comes back. But in studio, Dan counts. We didn't. No, we still have only had Dan once.

[D]

Yeah.

[A]

What do you mean?

[F]

He made an appearance.

[A]

Made an apple weeks back in. Yeah, technically.

[E]

Oh, that was when I wasn't.

[A]

Well, then technically, Myrtle's our first, like, three time repeat guest. Cause she's been on the show quite a bit. But no, Mina's here. She's here in person. I'm so excited. We're gonna just basically get her to demystify what's going on in football for us. We'll go through the whole thing. Some teams are 6, 0, 6 0, impossible.

[F]

Impressive.

[A]

How did they do it? We'll get to the bottom of it. No, some teams are three. No, some teams are owing three. We're gonna figure out if, like, they're actually. The good ones are actually good and the bad ones are actually bad. We'll talk about her Seahawks. I also want to talk to her about celebrity Jeopardy. We haven't had her on since she went on Celebrity Jeopardy. And I know she's got regrets, lessons she's learned, so we'll talk about that, all that in a little bit, but hectic time of year. Lots to tell you guys about that we have to get into. Before we get into that, let's start with an email. Do we have any emails or voicemails that we want to check in on today?

[F]

We do. We have one email.

[A]

I mean, we got a lot. I'm sure I don't want to sound like nobody. Good point.

[F]

We have one email that we are reading this morning.

[A]

Great.

[F]

Or this afternoon. And it's from Adam from Oregon. And Adam said, hey, casuals, please help. Oh, I'm a sports junkie, but I've been a fan of Ms. Nolan since her podcast during the pandemic, and it's great to have her back. Podcasting my wife is definitely casual, but I was delighted when we got into a football discussion. I was explaining the tush push to her when I told her some announcers can't bring themselves to say it and call it the brotherly shove, which we both hated. So we brainstormed a couple of ideas and would love for you to help us decide which will be used in our household. My idea. This is Adam in Oregon's idea. It's gonna sound maybe not how he intended to sound with my accent, but asbash.

[A]

Okay. The ass bash. The Aw spash. And wait, you don't say bosh. You don't say bosh.

[C]

Did not realize those things did not rhyme.

[A]

The ass bash. C. Bagosh.

[F]

And Adam's wife's idea was butt nudge.

[E]

Love that one.

[A]

Butt nudge.

[F]

Please let me know your decision, which will be binding.

[A]

Okay. Thank you, Adam. Love you. Mean it. The butt nudge sounds too much like a butt nug. It makes me think of a little poop. Sometimes when Myrtle poops, they come out.

[E]

In tiny little we can't escape nugs on this podcast, my first thought was.

[C]

Butt nudge sounds like the worst Ben and Jerry's flavor.

[A]

Yeah. Butt nudge Fudge. A booty scooty.

[D]

A.

[C]

Again, that sounds like Myrtle.

[A]

Oh, yeah, you're right, they do. And she doesn't do that. Okay. Some dogs do. Not my dog. She's a lady.

[E]

Ass bash.

[F]

It's Asbush.

[A]

Yeah, probably. But I hate the way Chris says it, and I feel like we need to consider our international fans. Yeah.

[F]

As it came towards reading that part, I'm like, oh, this isn't this Isn't going to sound the way that we intended.

[A]

Did any of your parents buy you oshkosh b' Gosh when you were kids? That just Ash. Ash. The way you said it. Ash Posh B gosh. That's what it sounded like to me.

[D]

Woo.

[A]

Yeah. We called the ass bass. Let's call it the get it out of here. I'm like, it's. I. This play is whatever. Imagine having to. To talk to your wife about the tush push. I'd be like, I'm so sorry to do this to you. I'm so sorry to have this.

[E]

It does also say maybe ask Mina also. So maybe you have to ask me here.

[A]

Yeah, she'll probably have something to call it. I'm sure she has a strong opinion. We also. Okay. News that happened at the end of last podcast that made it into the pod, right, Chris?

[D]

It was you going.

[F]

It did.

[A]

Whoa.

[F]

Final seven seconds of the pod said, whoa.

[A]

Hold on one second here. This doesn't make a whole lot of sense. And the story, of course, was that Sandy Brondella was fired by the New York Liberty, which is wild. Okay. Even if you're not paying attention to the W like that, Sandy took this team to the. To their first championship. They won their first championship just last season. They were technically back in the postseason. So they lost in the first round. It was. They did not play up to the expectations for the team. I think obviously, with the sort of star power that they have on that roster, you want more coming out of that team. But. But I don't know if it's fire your coach level. Am I wrong on that? Are you. What's the. What's the response you guys been seeing from Liberty fans?

[C]

I mean, no one's happy. No one's happy at all. Because clearly the players had her back in that press conference. I mean, Stewie came out with Sabrina next to her. They were all behind Sandy Brandello. I. I usually in 99% of cases, it feels to me like teams make a change too quick on coaches. Like systems take a while, players take a while to fit in.

[F]

Or you just have down seasons sometimes.

[A]

Yeah, everybody can't win all the time. Somebody has to lose.

[E]

It almost also sounds like. I don't know if sports organizations are mostly are like this, but it almost sounds like they just want to enter like a new era. Like it's like, oh, it's time for a new coach era.

[A]

What a great read, Isabella. Exactly right. A lot of times it's like just a vibe shift.

[D]

Yeah.

[A]

Just like something's clearly wrong and we're not going to get rid of the players that we. So it's like, let's just. And I get it, but sometimes it's just like. I mean, they went to. Did they not go to consecutive finals?

[C]

Yeah, I don't. I don't know how you pin any of it on her. What this does mean, though, is that there is now a New York basketball team in need of a head coach, and they're.

[A]

Oh, my God. I didn't even think of that. Oh, my God, I didn't even think of that. Whoa.

[C]

There have been reports that the Liberty could be interested in outside of the box. Hire.

[E]

Hype me up again. Because I do.

[B]

You guys.

[A]

Listen, Liberty, you want to shoot 90% from the field? What did she say they were gonna do?

[F]

Yeah, 90%.

[A]

You guys want to shoot 90% from the field? Do you want to go on building field trips like you read about?

[D]

Then Ellie can come too.

[A]

Do I have the candidate for you? I would be so curious to see your friendship with Ellie as the head coach. I think as the head coach of the Liberty, you and Ellie would really shine. Oh, my God.

[E]

And this is something. A detail about me that I've never told you guys, but I have a stuffed elephant that is so dear to me. Oh, okay. Like I.

[A]

Does it have a name you're comfortable sharing with us?

[C]

Does it have a Birkin?

[E]

Her name is L. No, she doesn't. So, Ellie, if you want to share.

[A]

Wait, what was the. What's your elephant's name? L. Oh, my God. Did. Which came first, the L or the Ellie?

[F]

Most elephants. Something along the lines of it.

[A]

You know what, Chris? You don't know. How many elephants do you know?

[E]

Yeah, I have three. I actually do.

[D]

Hold on. Wait.

[E]

Can I name all of them? I have L, and then I have Mr. Valentine.

[A]

Oh, my God.

[E]

And then I have Boo Boo.

[A]

Yeah, so shut your. What are you talking about, Chris? How dare you. I think all elephants are named some form of. These are species that can remember. Maybe we should give them memorable names. Stop naming them. Not that anything's wrong with Ellie, you know.

[E]

So hit me up, Liberty.

[A]

Yeah.

[F]

Liberty fans can. Can see the power of the post it notes if. If Isabella's in charge.

[A]

That's right. Power of the post it. You know, also overlooked by us are bad. And I actually can use this as a way of talking about. The Aces beat the fever last night. That was a good bounce back that we needed. That first game was very confusing where people were like, wait, the fever on a real tear, they kind of smoked them. I think it was like 90 to 68. But that's off the top of my head, so please don't trust those numbers. Asia Wilson won the mvp. We. I don't know that that made it. This is where things fall through the cracks for me with having a radio show and this. That's my bad. Asia Wilson won the MVP two years in a row and the first to ever win it four times. So I mean, she's incredible. Just really, really incredible as an athlete, as a person. And so shout out to her and to the Aces for getting that win last night. Remember, five game series this round of the playoffs. So that's now tied 1 1. What's the other? The other series?

[C]

Yeah, Minnesota beat Phoenix badly last night. That game was over by halftime.

[A]

Damn, damn, damn. Brady said he didn't even watch it.

[C]

I watched the first half and then I was like, ah, it's half time.

[A]

It's 20 point game real quick in baseball. Who clinched last night? Seattle clinched a playoff berth. We don't know necessarily. That's still figuring out all the rest. But they're in. The Yankees clinched. The Mets are back in control, I guess of their own destiny or whatever.

[E]

They won from what I understand because I think the Reds lost.

[A]

Yes.

[E]

So that I think gives them a better advantage.

[A]

Something.

[C]

And the biggest one was that the Guardians moved into first place.

[A]

I mean, my God, the Tigers.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

That Tigers game was a tough watch. That Tarek Skubal, who was it that he hit in the face?

[C]

David Fry. Yeah, off the bat, like trying to.

[A]

Was it off the bat? I think it might have gone right into his face. Maybe.

[C]

I thought I was. I guess I was hoping it caught the bat.

[A]

Yeah, I don't think it into his face. I don't even. I don't think it did. I didn't. I didn't watch it too closely because I really wasn't trying to see what happens to a man's orbital bone when a 99 mph fast ball hits it. But my God. And then to keep him in the game. I don't know. Look, I think if your pitcher reacts like that to hitting somebody with a projectile going that fast. The way he dropped his glove. Did you see it, Isabella?

[E]

No.

[A]

He like dropped his glove and turned away and you could tell was shocked. He just like, he squared up to bunt Isabella. So he like turned to face the pitcher and the ball just hit him straight under the visor of his helmet right in his face. And Tarek Skuble clearly was like shaken up by that. Then he. His next pitch was a wild pitch. And then I think he also balked. And then he came out of the game. Not that much longer, but like, dude, the tri. The Tigers are on quite a skid and it's tough to watch. Thank God the Lions are good. It was just a really bad. And the Guardians, incredible. I realized today I had completely forgotten doing all this without cl. They're incredible closer because of that gambling investigation that we talked about earlier in the season. And. And they also. The Guardians sold at the deadline. So it's kind of a crazy little run that they're on right now. But they. There's two games left in that series. We have tonight and tomorrow. Well, this is coming out on Thursday. My bad. I keep forgetting we're a day ahead. So anything I said before about tonight or last night, what I meant was two days ago. Womp, womp. It's Wednesday and we're recording and this will be out on Thursday. I'm sorry. I'm trying. I'm really trying my best to keep up with the Terminator timeline. Isabelle is wearing a Mets jersey today.

[D]

I am.

[A]

And she also wrote on the top of my document, let's go Mets and Red Sox. But not Red Sox if they're playing the Mets. Which I thought was a nice sentence. Yeah. Right at the top of the.

[E]

It's like a healthy, boundaried support, you know?

[A]

Yeah. And you watched that game last night?

[E]

I did, but I.

[D]

Okay.

[E]

So I ended up going to sleep because I always tired.

[A]

That's fine.

[E]

When they were up, like when it was like 66 or something like that.

[A]

Oh. At the most exciting time. I know, I know.

[D]

I was like, guys, they were down 6:1.

[A]

And then they fought back to. And then she was like, you know what?

[E]

And you want to know why? I think they won?

[A]

Why?

[E]

And even the morning after, my boyfriend was like, damn. I think this actually worked. I was like, you know, for the Knicks, I always had my jersey on the couch. So I took this jersey and I laid it across the chair and they won. So that's such a good thing.

[A]

Thank you, everyone. Say, thank you, Isabelle.

[E]

Thank you, Isabelle.

[F]

Jersey, couch and post it notes.

[A]

Yeah, I mean, unstoppable. What are you gonna do? There's nothing you can do.

[E]

Who needs an Etsy witch when you have me?

[A]

I will also say, I don't know if you guys saw this and this is of late now, but it's relevant. Did you see that? Kylie Kelsey and Hannah Einbinder at the Eagles game this weekend, which was a crazy comeback win, and towards the end had their backs turned for that final play to try to change the juju of the game. And it was like, that's. It worked. So it's kind of proof that. Look, fans, I know it's not really about us, but it's kind of really about us. Okay. We can kind of control the energy. It's all about vibes and shifting vibes. But during the Mets game, Isabelle, did you happen to hear Gary Cohen in the booth calling attention to the fact that the Cubs have a rookie third baseman Matt Shaw, who skipped Sunday's game to attend a very famous memorial service.

[E]

And he's important.

[A]

Who, I have to ask.

[D]

Who?

[E]

Matt Shaw.

[A]

Yes, yes. He's their everyday Brady, everyday third baseman. That's their starting third baseman.

[C]

He's been up and down. He's doesn't have a great batting average, but yeah, he's there. They're in the hunt of the team.

[A]

They're in the hunt. They're a rookie. Look, I don't want to get into obviously the other stuff. Please, I beg, let's not. I mean, is coming in. We got a lot of stuff going on, but just the hearing. A rookie, a rookie in during a push into the postseason who starts at third base didn't go. I, I looked into it. I guess they knew each other. They've met. He was invited by her. His wife.

[C]

Yeah. They lived at the same apartment complex like in Arizona, which is where the Cubs have their spring training and where their minor league facilities are.

[B]

It.

[C]

So it's not a nothing. It's not like he only listened to this guy's podcast.

[A]

Right. Which was at first, because I didn't know this until I heard it during the game and I was like, wait, I'm sorry, what? They did know each other, but I just, I don't know. I came up in an era of sports media where people would get mad at you for if you missed a non important game because of the birth of your first child. Like, I remember guys getting, you know, heat from broadcasters about missing a game because of a baby being born. This is. They seem. But I don't know, whatever.

[C]

You talk to a lot of Major League baseball players, they all have stories of like the sacrifices they make and the fact that they can't take days off and they miss friends weddings all the time.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

And that's why when you're a Major League baseball player, like as soon as the season ends Everyone gets married in November and they all just are at each other's weddings rapid fire. Because they can't do anything for eight months out of the year.

[A]

You know, it's funny, did I ever tell you guys that I. Dan and I obviously trying to plan a wedding and obviously I'm dragging my feet about it because I just hate planning anything. But every now and then we'll have these conversations and he'll say like, yeah, well, I assume we're gonna get married in. And he said like peak wedding season. I think he said like June. And I was like, what, you assume we'd get married in June? I figured we would get married like in the fall. And then I went, is this. Cause your friend is the head coach of the Dolphins. Are you trying to plan our wedding around your friend's schedule so he'll make it? And he kind of like looked up for whatever he was doing and went like, maybe.

[D]

I was like, wait, what?

[E]

Compromise September. Because now September is kind of like summer still, unfortunately.

[A]

Yeah, but I think he'd be busy. I think compromise. He might not be.

[C]

Cross your fingers, hopefully.

[A]

And now. And now I'm praying he's so busy. Mike McDaniel that he can't come to the wedding. I don't even know what to. I'm like, I don't know him well enough to plan my whole wedding into the peak season. Is he paying? Is he funding? Cuz maybe then we'll. Then we'll do it. I like Mike.

[E]

What if he's the wedding planner?

[A]

Okay, keep him busy. But again, dolphin, hopefully is busy for the dolphin themed wedding. Is very funny.

[C]

He's going to have Dan in calf length pants.

[A]

Oh, no, no. I don't think Dan would just. What I know of Dan. I don't think his calves will be out at his wedding. I don't think it's his favorite part of his body. We'll just say that from what I know, from what I. I've talked to the guy about it maybe once or twice. Other things, just quick odds and ends. Zion Williamson showing up with a body transformation for the ages. I know in preseason of any sport we always do that. This guy's in the best shape of his life and it's. It's like a hacky thing to say. But he seems to. He says he feels great. He says he did a lot of off season training that he's been doing boxing and stuff. I saw a pict of him pop up on my timeline. I thought it was a photoshop. So just Something to call to your attention if you're a. A Pelicans fan or a basketball fan. That's interesting. I don't know if you guys saw the CEO of that astronomer company and the HR lady who got caught on the camera with Cold at the Coldplay show are now have. Are back in the news cycle because now they're saying actually they aren't dating and they weren't dating and that's not what we saw.

[F]

Kind of worse.

[D]

That looked like a.

[E]

Like a cuddle. Like that.

[A]

Like, listen, I. Maybe if this. I'm gonna give you. If this story were that you guys weren't together, I think what they said is they were already separating their respective spouses and the CEO was actually there on a date with somebody else. If all of that's true, why'd it take you like four weeks to get out here with that story? Where was this when we all were talking about you non stop? I don't think the Guardians even thought they were going to make it into the postseason when that story happened. And now here we are, they're in, they're ahead of the Tigers, and you're telling me that actually you guys weren't dating. And I guess part of it is that the woman's getting harassed. I guess like, as always, the person who's absorbing all of the blowback for this is the woman. And they're like, you know, it's not. She's having to like lay low. So I don't love that aspect of the story and I wish everybody would smarten up about that. But don't come out here and be like, it was actually nothing and you guys are making it into something. What that's.

[C]

You know damn well they're putting their toe in the water and shopping a book deal.

[B]

Know.

[A]

Yeah, I don't know. I don't. I will subscribe to their podcast. Okay. But only for the first few weeks until they have nothing interesting to talk about. Other things to see. John Mulaney announced he's doing his for the first comedy show at Wrigley Field. That's cool.

[E]

He was there.

[A]

Yeah.

[E]

Last night.

[A]

Yeah, that's. I think he. For this. I think he was saying that he was going to do this, which is very cool. They've never done that before. And God, I can't imagine how sick that is. Has Bill Burr done Fenway? I assume it's.

[C]

It's a good.

[A]

Feels like a safe assumption. I assume. I'd like to see Joe Listed Fenway. How about that?

[C]

Bill Burr was the first comedian to perform at America's most beloved ballpark.

[A]

Feels right. It's the right thing to do, but I'd go see Joe listed. Fenway put it out into the ether. Other things I don't know if you guys saw. This was a couple days ago. The Islanders, New York Islanders had their first preseason game after their first power play play. Booze rained down from the crowd. Also Toronto, the Maple Leafs have blown. They blew a two goal lead in the third period. So I just wanted to say those two stories together. Hockey very much back in a big way, folks. Hockey already firing on all cylinders right out the gate. We're getting booze on the power play and the Maple Leafs are absolutely blowing it. Way too late to do so.

[C]

Remember, remember how last year all of our hockey stories were why are weird things happening to the Sharks?

[A]

Yes, I do.

[C]

The San Jose Sharks are correcting a banner recently raised inside SAP center that celebrates an honor the team didn't actually attain.

[A]

Oh, no. What was it? What did they say?

[C]

Fresh the banners in their rafters for the upcoming season. The new ones that have a smaller team logo and a larger font. While the team six division titles were condensed into one banner from six individual ones. But one new banner caught the attention of fans online. It celebrates the 25, 2015, 2016 President's Trophy, which is handed out to the team with the NHL's best regular season record. The Sharks finished 11th.

[A]

Oh, my God. Is it that they meant the 20s? Did they. Did they finish in the season either before or after? They just get the year wrong.

[C]

They won the President's Trophy in 2008. 2009.

[A]

Okay, no.

[C]

And they made the final in 2015.

[A]

2016, and only the Colts put up a banner for that. That's like a. That's crazy. Also consolidating. Feels like you're making room for something. And to that I ask, what?

[C]

More banners or big inflatable shark? One of the two.

[A]

I hope it's an inflatable shark, judging by Isabella's body language. I bet Mina's here. I think that covered everything I wanted to talk about. Did you guys know Jalen Brown is friends with Bill Nye the Science Guy? That's the only other thing I had. I don't think I knew about that friendship. And Bill Nye got a star on the Walk of Fame and Jalen Brown went to it and I was like, well, that's fucking cute. I just think that's so cute.

[C]

So would you rather he miss a team game during the playoff race to go to Bill Nye's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

[A]

Okay. I thought you were gonna say Bill Nye's F word. And I was like, let's not. Please not kill Bill Nye. No. I think he should be at the playoff game. I'm gonna stay consistent on that. I think he should stay with the team, make the push. If rather than go to a star on the Walk of Fame. All right, let's hit a quick break, and then we come back. We're gonna be here with my best, my bestest friend in all the land Mina Kimes. We're talking about football. It's gonna be great. I'll see you then. We'll be right back.

[G]

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[A]

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[D]

Do you ever think about when you see the Subway Takes videos, what you would say as you.

[A]

Yes, all the time. All the time. Of course. Do you have one?

[D]

Do you have a take you've been working on? No, but I saw one of the worst takes I've ever seen on the Internet today.

[A]

You're rolling, right? I want us to. Mina's here. This is Mina. Hi, Mina. Hi. Great.

[D]

Okay. And I was thinking that this would have been a good take for that series because the guy would have like lost his mind. The take was you should always take phone calls even if you don't recognize the number.

[A]

Terrible take. Scams are running rampant.

[D]

There's a million reasons why you should not do that.

[A]

To the point where I feel like the person who said that on Subway takes would have been a scammer. That's a message. A scammer would put out. Always answer if you don't know the number is nuts.

[D]

The reasoning was you might miss an important call. But if it's an important call, they'll leave a voicemail.

[A]

They invented something for that already. It's the voicemail. And they can leave me one.

[D]

I just. If it's really important, you should have texted me.

[A]

Right? What are we doing? Why are we using these old rules?

[D]

I feel like that saying, you should answer honestly. Even for people I do know. I don't answer. Barely answer the phone.

[A]

Okay. And now we're getting into my territory. Cause I feel like I'm always made fun of this. In the universe that we both occupy in, like, the bigger, larger Dan LeBatard unit, everyone's always like, katie doesn't ever get back to anyone. Not true. But I. But I rarely do answer the phone.

[D]

You didn't get back to me about dinner last night, so that is why I was worried.

[A]

But you were. First of all, I'm sorry.

[D]

No, you showed up. It was great.

[A]

Second of all, oh, I guess that's why you were. Because when I walked in, you were like, you were gonna die.

[D]

They kept asking me. They're like, is Katie coming? Right? And I was like, well, I think so. I texted her the location in time. She didn't reply.

[A]

I was. I have. I am working more than I've worked in, like, five years.

[D]

Double tap.

[A]

Thumbs up.

[D]

Double tap her.

[A]

I should have. I think I was like on the radio or something when you texted, and I just was like, I'll get back to her later. And then I forgot. But we did go out to dinner last night.

[D]

It was great, and it was very fun.

[A]

Oh, by the way, on subway takes, Dan came in one day and was like, here's a subway take. I think I would say, okay, no recording yourself directly. Talking to your phone all alone. And I looked at him and I said, that would be. Go directly against activity. Your public wife engaged in entire industry quite a bit. I am constantly filming myself on my phone for my Instagram story, and I'm constantly feeling insecure about it. And now you're coming out here and telling me your subway take would be that people shouldn't be allowed to talk directly into their. Are you mad at me?

[D]

Feels like a personal. Yeah, it felt like he was using.

[A]

Give me a note.

[D]

Using a very abstract conceit. A real workaround to tell you passive aggressively, maybe you shouldn't.

[A]

Yeah. So I haven't. You know what I haven't done since.

[D]

You have not recorded.

[A]

No. And they're like, can you please promote your radio show? And I was like, I can't.

[D]

Wow.

[A]

It's too embarrassing, I guess.

[D]

Are you a big stories person?

[A]

I like stories because they go away, and I like stories because you had to click on it to see it. You can't yell at me that I'm being shoved down your throat.

[D]

It's really the thing.

[A]

I'm the least. I am so sick of people being like, enough of this lady. I'm like, dude, this lady was gone for, like, three years. Who's saying that?

[D]

Nobody's saying that.

[A]

You know, it's just the. It's the times that we live in. I know it has nothing to do with me personally or maybe a little bit, but I know that. It's just that's how people. You know, the Internet.

[D]

I usually don't read, like, replies on most platforms, but when I go to YouTube studio to, like, make edits, it just shows you the things people post in your videos. And I posted a short, I think, reacting to some brutal injury. Oh, no. The news that Jackson Dart was starting at quarterback just, you know, and I went there, and the first comment was like, this is why I don't watch ESPN anymore. And I was like, this is my YouTube. You. Not only is this not ESPN, you saw. You. You came here.

[A]

Yes.

[D]

You came here.

[A]

House going, I don't like the chairs. You don't live here.

[D]

But also, you're not even just saying, I don't like the church. You're just like, I don't like you. I like your house. Yeah, really.

[A]

Like, this is why I don't live in a house anymore.

[D]

If you want to do it, show up and tell me why my take is terrible about Jackson. Dara. Yeah, but, like, you're complaining about my presence, but you chose to be here, bro.

[A]

This is on you, buddy. That's also how I feel when I get off the radio and there's. I get. I have a lot of tweets or whatever about people not liking me, and I'll go. Like I say the phone number 50 times a show. You want to talk about it? You disagree with me? Pick up your phone. All right. I'm not here to check your tweets. Anyway. Sidetrack. The most important thing we need to talk about is we haven't seen you since Celebrity Jeopardy. Which to remind our listeners, she competed in Celebrity Jeopardy. 2025. Won her quarterfinal game, advanced to the semifinals, knew many answers, had a lot of answers that she knew. Smartest gal on earth. But she lost I want to talk about, like, you know, reviewing game tape, what we learned, what we did. You enjoy the experience?

[D]

Yes.

[A]

Good.

[D]

Loved it. Although I did go back to back, which is tough. My competitors didn't.

[A]

I did not have to do that.

[D]

I'm just saying.

[A]

And I said two. Whoever it was that had to go brain. I didn't prepare for this. So I don't know. I. I was like you. It's unfair that you have to go back to back.

[D]

Was like playing on Monday Night Football.

[A]

Then Thursday Night Football, especially because celebrity Jeopardy. They do that extra round Triple Jeopardy.

[D]

Yeah. So it's long already. You are. It is a marathon.

[A]

Yes. And you have to keep that in mind as you play.

[D]

And so I was tired. I haven't watched the second episode because. Haunted me for, like, I. The first thing I texted you afterwards was, when will I get over this pain? And you. I believe you were saying it takes about six months and you're gonna. You're gonna have flashbacks.

[A]

That's what I hadn't prepared for was the. Like, some. Suddenly an answer I didn't get right would pop up a lot. So, like, I had never heard of the color puce in my life. And that was a kind of piece, right?

[D]

No, No.

[A]

A red.

[D]

What?

[A]

It's a red color.

[D]

I thought it was like a purpley.

[A]

It's like, maybe it's purpley, but. But is that a purpley chair? I don't know what we're doing here. Also, I didn't realize how much I matched this chair today. It's a little much. I know. The camo kind of makes it seem like I'm trying to blend in, but I'm not. And then every after I didn't get it right on my daily double, it was everywhere. Everywhere I went, really. Puce, puce, puce, puce. It's like, get it out of my face.

[D]

Clearly, I didn't know puce.

[A]

Yeah. So that part stings. What was shocking to me was the wagering. Mina, I wanted to shake you.

[D]

I know. I was so concerned. That's why it was so hard. I think it would have been. I think about this a lot with football. Emotionally, it's easier to lose and walk away and just be like, they were better.

[A]

Yeah.

[D]

We don't have enough talent. Our personnel's not there. Maybe next year. We're still rebuilding. This was never going to be a competitive game. It's worse to walk away and feel like you beat yourself.

[A]

Yeah.

[D]

And I'm not diminishing my competitors, but I felt Like, I beat. I felt like I beat myself in two ways. The conservative wagering, which was disgraceful. And then I lost it with the buzzer. And I actually don't know how bad it looks on tv because I didn't watch, but I was losing.

[A]

It didn't look as bad. It didn't look as bad as full.

[D]

BJ Novak. Yes. BJ Novak. That was in my brain. I was like, you're looking like BJ Novak right now. I know it was. I just. Because I couldn't buzz in.

[A]

It's so frustrating. It's such a little thing. It's in control of your ability to. It's so frustrating to know the response, the correct response, and you can't get in.

[D]

So that's the problem with the second round. Because in the first round, not everybody knows the second round. Most people know most of the questions. It's Celebrity Jeopardy. They're a lot easier. Right. And you're competing against people like, so. So it really is much more about buzzing in, I think, after the first round than it. And, yeah, I. The whole third round, I couldn't buzz in, and I was losing my mind.

[A]

Did you try different things? Did you, like.

[D]

Yeah, I was, like, trying to hold it. I was like, what if I do?

[A]

I did.

[D]

I had that crazy.

[A]

They say that's the. Statistically, the best is you hold your wrist and you pull your thumb. I don't know. I read a book about it. I literally read a whole book about how to buzz in. It is the most frustrating part. I thought you did fantastic.

[D]

Thank you.

[A]

I was bummed about the. It was very funny because you and Dan have a funny relationship because you are a Seahawks fan and Dan. My dan. Not Dan Lebatar. Dan Soder is a big 49ers and. But he, like, also, you know. Cause we're friends, so he loves and respects you. After that, he goes. He was so, like. His energy was like, she knows better. She knows better. I'm disappointed. And I think she would. I think she would understand me saying that. I was. I'm a little disappointed in that. And I was like, I think she would, too.

[D]

I was disappointed in myself. Nobody is more angry than me at what went down that day.

[A]

But I don't know what it was about that. I thought it was the cute. I just was looking at him being like, that is so cute. He just was like, Mina.

[D]

Cuz he's a big Jeopardy. Guy. He watches it with you, right? He loves watching all the time. Has he ever been on?

[A]

No.

[D]

He would Crush. Why does he do it?

[A]

I think at this point, he's like, oh, it's your thing. No, that's your thing. I'm like, don't be stupid. That's. It's your thing, too. I would love to watch. He's so smart. He knows all the stuff that I don't know. Actually, if we could both compete together, we would be unstoppable. That's kind of what the marriage is all about. I feel like trying to work together.

[D]

That's a partnership.

[A]

So, anyway, congrats on. And who even were you competing against in your. One of those guys just had a podcast.

[D]

The guy who won was this tech bro who does this tech bro podcast. And he was in third place the whole time. And then both me and Sean Gunn got the final question wrong.

[A]

Was he nice?

[D]

Everyone was fine. We barely talked because literally, I went from one to another.

[A]

Oh, yeah. And also, you are very into it.

[D]

Yeah, I'm pretty locked.

[A]

It was the funniest thing about when you did Family Feud is it was like. I'm like, she's taken it so seriously.

[D]

Yeah.

[A]

And you really have to put yourself in the mind of not somebody taking it seriously for Family Feud. Family Feud is like, what is the average person's brain thinking?

[D]

And also your. The goal of the show is not to win the show. It's to be funny and do, like, sex jokes on tv.

[A]

Truly.

[D]

Truly. That's so much.

[A]

Especially so much. It's just trying to get you to say Whoopi or whatever you want Steve.

[D]

Harvey to go, like, in response to something you say. Exactly.

[A]

And you were too.

[D]

Like, I actually. I didn't yell at Michelle Way, but I said, come on at one point. And Dave. Yeah, I was. I got a lot of people giving me a lot of time.

[A]

I also hated you. This has still stuck with me. They gave you guys, like, kitchen gadgets, and some of the responses were, like, utensils.

[D]

It was a horrible category.

[A]

It's not a gadget at all.

[D]

I think. I think I at one point yelled, this is stupid.

[A]

It is. And you were right. You were right. But it, like, is stupid on purpose. And so it's like, you can't point out that it's dumb. But anyway, I thought you did okay on Jeopardy. I was really proud of you. It seemed like you were having fun. And there's something to showing people how smart you are. That's kind of a nice, fun thing to do.

[D]

I really, really enjoyed it. It was the most stressed I've ever been on television. I Was actually not thinking about that. I was on television the whole time.

[A]

Yeah. Kind of like an athlete, I imagine they're not thinking about being on tv. They're thinking about the game they're in. Yeah.

[D]

And I just was not trying to be cute. I had no jokes. You know, I was with Fortune Finds who's really funny, and she was like using like some of the response to jokes and stuff. And I was like, nah, locked in. I have to win this.

[A]

You're also like, great. So I'm ruling you out as somebody I gotta think about in terms of competition. You're clearly. That was like Sherri shepherd for me. I was like, you're having a fun blast. You're making this fun. You're allowing me to go, like, focus on nothing but what's happening in front of me.

[D]

Exactly.

[A]

Okay, football. Three weeks into the season, we're gonna kind of. I want to touch on all, like the big stories with you and get your perspective. Now, keep in mind casual fans, but I think, you know, you saw Isabella's got a jersey on. So like, we have really cooked up some sports fans here. We can handle your hot takes, your in depth analysis. I also want you to say some stuff that we can say to people in conversations that make us sound smart, you know, maybe like a player that everybody else isn't talking about.

[D]

Yeah, no, I like that idea.

[A]

Let's start with. We've got six, three zero, teams and six zero three teams. And I want to discuss the teams that are actually good or actually bad of these teams. So let's start with the 3 and oh teams. The teams that have yet to lose so far this season. We've got the Bills, obviously good. Obviously good. The Chargers, good. The Colts, good.

[D]

I don't view them as like, I don't think they can beat like the Bills, for example. I would pick the Chargers against them, but they're good and they are good in a way that is sustainable, I think.

[A]

So, like, Daniel Jones is for real.

[D]

He is, I think gives them a floor on that offense where that ceiling is. Might change even. Even if some of the things he's doing in terms of pushing the ball downfield in particular, come back to earth a little bit. The infrastructure around him is so good. The offensive line is so good. They have really good skill players. I love the tight end that they drafted in the first round this year, Tyler Warren. He is like a human monster truck out there. Shane Steigen, the coach, is good. So I think. I feel like he is good enough that I think that they can keep.

[A]

This up, which makes a lot of sense. That seems like how you should build a team when you have a quarterback.

[D]

Yeah. I mean, it's no coincidence. We see all these, like, quarterbacks who burned out in other places and they get a little older and they always had talent, and then they land somewhere good and suddenly it looks good.

[A]

Like a Baker Mayfield. Like a Baker Mayfield, Sam Darnold type situation. The Eagles, good, obviously good. The Niners.

[D]

They'Re in trouble.

[A]

Okay. And now is this just because you're a Seahawks fan?

[D]

No.

[A]

Okay.

[D]

Legally, they keep losing people.

[A]

Okay. And now to injury. Does he.

[D]

To be clear, they're not done.

[A]

Does Shanahan do.

[D]

They're just getting hurt yet?

[A]

We don't know. Does Shanahan do something different than other coaches in terms of practice schedule?

[D]

This gets brought up a lot with the Niners because it just seems like that no team can possibly be as snake bitten as they are year. Um, I think offensively, the style of play and the way the skill players are used can lend itself a little bit more to contact. But like something like the Nick Bosa injury is just. There's no. There's nothing. It's not. It's not Kyle Shannon. It's not. It's just crazy bad luck.

[A]

It's crazy bad luck.

[D]

And it happens every. They were the most injured team in football last year. And normally, like nerds, when we see that, that's usually a sign of positive regression. Cause there's no way you can be that injured again.

[A]

Right.

[D]

But then they just.

[A]

And then here we are.

[D]

Yeah, M. Jones is playing. It's.

[A]

It's been awful, but they're winning. So you think they're in trouble. Who do they have coming up? I don't know.

[D]

This weekend they're playing Jacksonville, I believe, which is a Mac Jones revenge game. If he plays.

[A]

Of course. I love a revenge game.

[D]

But yeah, I. They're fine. And if they get py back. But I think Nick losing Nick Bosa is pretty brutal.

[A]

Really brutal. God. And then the Bucks, the last team that's undefeated is.

[D]

They're a good team.

[A]

They're good. They're exciting.

[D]

They're exciting. They're also. They've been good. They've been missing players as well. Chris Godwin's been hurt.

[A]

That's right. He's not back till what, week seven?

[D]

Not for a while. Mike Evans just got hurt. The offensive line, their best, literally their best offensive lineman has been missing the first few weeks of the season. And the Fact they have 30 without him is crazy.

[A]

And so you think they can sustain?

[D]

I think so, yeah.

[A]

Okay. The 03 teams, the jets, they are bad. Really bad.

[D]

But I will say this. Nobody expected them to be good this year. Right. You went in. Don't. You know they pay Justin Fields, like, mid level money. The fact that they're actually losing close games is kind of. With their new head coach, Aaron Glenn, it's kind of like what you want when you're losing, which is okay. We're not getting blown out. We've got some fight. We're getting good individual performances, and next year we'll draft a quarterback. It's kind of like the Lions at the beginning of Dan Campbell's tenure there. Aaron Glenn was the defensive coordinator there. They were losing like this. And so you're watching them and you're like, you know what? They're losing, but it doesn't feel bad.

[A]

Yeah.

[D]

So that's my optimistic.

[A]

That's a good silver lining. Because I can also see it being frustrating as a fan, losing a lot of those you wanna win. It's also just like a close game. You're like, we were right there. We had it.

[D]

Yeah.

[A]

But I guess, yeah, that's in the future.

[D]

Just get back to me when it's April and you're in position to get, you know, Garrett Nuss Meyer, Lenore Sellers.

[A]

Staying in the AFC East. The Dolphins. What's going on with the Dolphins? Mina? Is my friend Mike gonna have a job a lot longer? Do you think maybe he.

[D]

I feel like people are really weird about him.

[A]

Yes.

[D]

In a way that bothers me.

[A]

Yes. Okay. Speak on it. Because I'm hesitant to speak on it because I feel like it's the only conflict of interest I've ever had in my entire career is how close he is to Dan, how much he means to Dan. I've only hung out with him like three times. We're talking about Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel. But I'm also like. I don't know how to talk about this. In a way.

[D]

One of the, like, crazy, like, outlets who cover sports in a specific way we don't have to get into. But one of the very upsetting was like, Minos, like, defending Mike McDaniel, our college buddy. I'm like, I didn't. I didn't ever met the guy. We're not even, like, I don't think we even crossed over in college. I don't know him. And I'm not. This. Not defending. I think this was. They were like, she was like. She Was right. I was like, I barely even. Whatever. Anyways, point is, I have no conflict of interest either, is all I'm saying. But I do think sometimes in the NFL, if you're perceived as an outsider, which you don't like, you know, come across, or you're not part of like an old boys club and it very much is a thing, or you don't project that very like typical coach look sound, whatever. There's like, people are quicker to turn on you and also inflect that criticism in a way. Like they would not if they were speaking about just like a typical former player. If that makes sense.

[A]

No, it makes perfect sense. I also think they love the quirk about you until, yeah, right, you're losing. And then it's like I could not believe when Rex Ryan was like nerd boy. When he called him nerd boy on tv. I was like, excuse me, it's a head coach of a team you wish you had his job.

[D]

He's not even like an analytics guy. He was a. Like he coached like the run game in San Francisco. I don't get I. To answer your question, it's not looking great. I know, but I think it's. If I had to criticize him for something, I would be probably writing for the quarterback. And.

[A]

Yeah, yeah, that's.

[D]

But that's the reality of the NFL. If you get saddled with a quarterback that's flawed. A quarterback who's flawed. Yeah, but I also. That's hard to dig out of that.

[A]

Part of it is like that to me, at least from what I understand of Mike's coaching. I feel like part of his value.

[D]

Is his ability to everybody. When the quarterback was playing really well, everybody was like, wow, he really turned him around. Confidence, having somebody to believe in him. But the defense is really bad too. I mean, the secondary is just.

[A]

So if they fire their coach who has a good relationship with their quarterback, would you assume that they would also then make a change at quarterback position? Or would they keep rolling with TUA and a new coach?

[D]

I think last I look at the contract, they can get out of it. I think maybe after next year it might be sooner. I should probably look at that sooner, but it's pretty limited.

[A]

Interesting. The Texans are 0 and 3.

[D]

They're such a hilarious. Not hilarious, a frustrating team because they're. They're a good team with one very specific glaring hole that has completely derailed their season, which is the offensive line. Yeah, the defense slaps. They have. I think the quarterback can be good and I think The Steel Bears can be good, but they can't do anything because they can't block and they can't pass protect.

[A]

And so they just didn't care. They just forgot that part of the test. They didn't flip the page.

[D]

Their approach was like, what if. Okay, they were bad last year. The offensive line was bad. What if we just replaced them with players? Not necessarily better players, but what if we just completely replaced them with different guys?

[A]

They can't say we did nothing.

[D]

Literally.

[A]

It was the approach crazy.

[D]

And it has completely backfired.

[A]

It's awful. Yeah. As it should.

[D]

The Titans, they are a bad team, but the young quarterback Cam Ward is fun to watch.

[A]

Yeah. But they're not gonna probably turn that around. No. She said no. The Giants. Eek.

[D]

They're a bad team.

[A]

Eek.

[D]

Who are, as we discussed, starting Jackson Dart.

[A]

Okay. How do you feel about that?

[D]

I wish it wasn't against the Chargers this evening. I know.

[A]

Cause don't they play the Saints next week? It's like, do it then.

[D]

I know.

[A]

But no, they're gonna do it now.

[D]

It's tough. I mean, there's never, like. They have no soft stretches. Because right after the Saints, they have the Eagles. The Broncos. The Eagles. So it's a gauntlet. I think just Sunday Night Football. Russell Wilson was so bad, they felt like they didn't have a choice.

[A]

He had a good game the week before.

[D]

I know.

[A]

Except for that last pick, which. Which was fucking brutal. How did you feel? I mean, you're a Seahawks fan. As like watching Russell Wilson in his time so far this year with the Giants and how that went.

[D]

It's a bummer. I think it's funny. Cause I saw some conversation about his hall of Fame case and like, I think the end of his career is gonna really color people's perceptions of him and forget how good he was for like a decade.

[A]

Yeah, like pretty consistently.

[D]

But, yeah, it's tough.

[A]

It's a bummer. Jackson Dart you think is going to be okay?

[D]

I am a little bit skeptical about his situation. The offensive line is not great league. Neighbors is really good, but outside Malik Neighbors, I mean, you know, Robinson's not bad. I. I don't know. I see it both being an upgrade, but also probably there's gonna be some ups and downs.

[A]

It's not necessarily setting him up for success.

[D]

No, it's not. Yeah.

[A]

The way the team is that he'll be.

[D]

Yeah, that's a good way to put it.

[A]

He.

[D]

He's. I also was a little bit apprehensive of him coming in and starting quickly because of in college he played for like a super college offense. So it's going to be quite a transition.

[A]

An adjustment in front of a very rational fan base that usually is patient.

[D]

And sorry to interview Sunday night. The booze were so crisp.

[A]

Yeah. It's like it hurt. They stung me and they weren't for me.

[D]

It wasn't just like, like a vague boo.

[A]

A couple people are upset.

[D]

It was like a coordinated we want dart around the entire stadium. And I was like, I'm at home and I hear this. Like, I'm in there. I know what does it must be like in the actual building. It's crazy.

[A]

I'm kind of grateful that nobody can come to our job. And boo. Granted, they do find ways to get their boos through, but at least they aren't like, like, ah, in my face. Couldn't handle it. Not for me. The last team that's 03 is the Saints.

[D]

They're bad.

[A]

They're bad.

[D]

They're really bad.

[A]

So Most of the 03 teams are bad, but some of the 30 teams aren't good.

[D]

I would say are not great. As good as I have questions about them.

[A]

Who's the best team that isn't one of those teams. Is it Green Bay?

[D]

Green Bay in Baltimore?

[A]

Yeah. Oh, yeah, of course. I mean, what a tough start to the season for Baltimore.

[D]

And they got the Chiefs this week.

[A]

What the hell?

[D]

Yeah, there's.

[A]

And then I think they have one other game and then a bye week. Right. But I feel like they're. Their start of their schedule is like. I know, but they look not bad except for the. We got like a fumble issue.

[D]

Fumble issue. The run defense is really bad.

[A]

Yeah, I noticed. I actually said that to Mina and then Mina was like, I'm gonna say that on the podcast. It was me who brought up the.

[D]

Run defense, specifically their inability to defend duo. You were talking about getting blown off.

[A]

Doubles always talk about them getting blown off. The doubles. Like, God, can't they stop doing that? Yeah. So I feel like they're. They are going to be okay. The. The. The Baltimore, are they like. I would be very frustrated if I were a fan of that team right now.

[D]

I think the offense will be fine, but the defense, I think, runs the risk of not being like, I would say, at best average if they can't figure this out.

[A]

So what's going on with Kansas City?

[D]

I mean, both Baltimore and Kansas City 1 and 2 headed into this game. Right. Their offense is not fine.

[A]

Yeah.

[D]

This is A real, like, coughing baby versus coughing baby situation. Because it can't. You know that meme. The hydrogen bomb versus Am I too online?

[A]

Maybe. Damn it. That one might have eluded me. Is that a blue ski? I don't know.

[D]

No, it's everywhere. It's the coughing baby versus hydrogen bomb.

[A]

Isabella, do you know what this is?

[E]

I'm so sorry, Mina. I don't.

[A]

Then I think the verdict is too online. But surely people listening are screaming at their podcast right now.

[D]

That should not. That would be a great segment. Are you too online?

[A]

Speak to me in meme and we'll decide if you're too online.

[D]

The Ravens can't stop the run, but the Chiefs can't run the ball, so.

[A]

So I choose coughing baby.

[D]

And they. Tyquan Thornton is apparently the answer to their.

[A]

He's had some big plays.

[D]

Yeah.

[A]

Some nice plays.

[D]

They'll be better when Rishi Rice gets back, but which.

[A]

Let's free him. Let's definitely bring him back sooner. He's a real victim in this situation.

[D]

Moratorium on free anything.

[A]

Free anything. It's like, I don't know. Unless, like, they are literally in jail for something they didn't do. What are you freeing him from?

[D]

Terrible.

[A]

Terrible. And the screaming at the coach, I feel like that might be just intensity. Does that feel like intensity being seen through a lens of a newer sports fan? Because a lot of people that are keeping their eyes on Travis Kelce like that.

[D]

Yeah.

[A]

Or maybe newer sports fans are just getting into the. And that that sort of intensity is coming across as anger. That may be more regular or does it come across to you as.

[D]

I actually think it's like a legit thing. I don't think it's like, oh, he's got rage or whatever. It's football. You guys get mad every. I think to me it's just more of a manifestation of how frustrating the offense is right now and how they all feel like it's not up to their standard.

[A]

Yeah, it's not doing what they want it to do.

[D]

Kelsey himself probably is unsatisfied with his own play. He's got. Had some bad drops.

[A]

Yeah. This is a little. This is a little extremely online this bit. But we were talking in the pre show meeting about players that have a lot of shine through these first through three weeks.

[D]

Okay.

[A]

And if their aura is like real or not. We wanted to do like an aura rankings.

[D]

Okay.

[A]

Of these players. And you don't have to like blind rank and we don't have to do like he would be at 6. Then he would. Because you don't know. That doesn't really work for this. But just like, I don't know if there's a. From one coughing baby to six coughing babies. I don't know how you want to measure, like, aura.

[D]

Yeah, Aura is.

[A]

And like if they're. If it's like for real. Brandon Aubrey Cowboys kicker, 64 yarder to tie and then a 46 game winner.

[D]

When the Cowboys in that game on third down didn't even run a play, they ran like a draw. I was like. And he walked out. I got chills. I was like, they, they, they. To answer your question, they think he's so good, they're not even trying to get closer. They just want to set him up on like the left hash or something. That's aura.

[A]

It's crazy for a kicker like baller. It's like through the roof, like, oh, God, through the roof. Pukinakua from the Rams wide receiver.

[D]

A lot of aura.

[A]

A lot of aura. That bloody face.

[D]

He is so good at football.

[A]

Yeah. He's on Isabella's fantasy team.

[D]

I. I have him on a team and I feel good about it. Yeah, he's like some of the. He's just. Even when he's not open, he's open.

[A]

It's crazy.

[D]

The Rams offense is really fun to watch right now.

[A]

Yeah. Bill's quarterback, Josh Allen.

[D]

Aura, I guess because he's so good.

[A]

New wife.

[D]

Yeah, He's a real wife guy.

[A]

Yeah, good. Which I feel like wife guys got a bad rap in past years because in past years we found a bunch of wife guys who ended up being like, really not about their wives lives. I feel like the try guys really hurt the wife guy.

[D]

Oh, the wife guy image.

[A]

Because people who come out here and loudly go like, love my wife. And then like, well, you're cheating on her. So that's really interesting. So what I find interesting about that is the part where you're cheating on her.

[D]

He called her a stud recently in an interview I saw, he's like, she's a stud. Dude.

[A]

Launching a podcast and having your wife who you cheated on, that cost you your other podcast.

[D]

Oh, no. I met Josh Allen. Not this tricast.

[A]

Different, different. Now I'm too online. Who is it now who's too he.

[D]

Well then he was like, she's such a stud. He's like, every script she loves, she reads. I was like, like, don't they read? It's not what actors do.

[A]

No. Because haven't you seen that AI commercial where they sell you On AI by being like, let us read the script. Don't you worry about this career altering decision.

[D]

Every AI commercial, the subtext is you lazy. Don't.

[A]

It's like, you're too busy for this. And like. We're not.

[D]

Or you're too stupid.

[A]

We're not. It's this that we are busy with, but it's not. It's crazy. We're losing the war to the robots. You see, they're bringing the robots into the, into baseball. Next year.

[D]

They're doing next year.

[A]

Yeah.

[D]

That's a good thing though.

[A]

Yeah, I think so too. But I also think, think zooming out. If history goes the way of like the robots take over, we will look back at this and go, we seeded ground way too early. We let them into our national pastime, baseball. Can't have that. Yeah. Can't have robots.

[D]

First they came for the umps and I said nothing.

[A]

Exactly.

[D]

That.

[A]

I was just afraid that that would be a little too bleak to say. But you said it.

[D]

I'm anti ump, so I.

[A]

Aren't we all? Isn't that the point? Vikings cornerback Isaiah Rogers.

[D]

Oh, my God. Crazy game. Crazy. I didn't watch that one in real time. I just kept looking at like up game updates.

[A]

Like what? And yeah, I love that. I love when you get a game update where you go, is this a. This isn't right. This can't be right. Yeah.

[D]

You look at like the play by play and it's like, fumble, pick six. Fumble pixie. Or you're just like, what the hell's going on?

[A]

First player in NFL history with two defensive touchdowns and two forced fumbles in the same game. Wow, that's a lot of action.

[D]

That defense has aura, the whole defense. Brian Flores is.

[A]

Yeah. You know, Eagles defensive tackle Jordan Davis.

[D]

You know, I remember his combine and he. Him walking by me and I, I've been around large dudes.

[A]

Okay.

[D]

As professionally.

[A]

Good flex.

[D]

That is what I do for a living. But it, I think, but I. It's important context.

[A]

Yeah.

[D]

Because there are some players who are so large, even you spend your, your professional life around football. I mean, the two men I work with are 65 and 66 on NFL Live. And then someone that big walks by and everybody's jaw drops. Clayus Campbell is the other one that comes to mind. First time I met him and he's. He's funny because he's like the nice. He's like a teddy bear. You heard him talk, it's like, yeah, super, like sweet. Jordan Davis walked by me in the combine, I was like, that's the biggest person I've ever seen in my life. And then he ran at the combine super fast, and it was just like. It didn't. It was like an optical illusion. So when he finally had. He's been good, but you know, it's like, how many snaps can you play? Whatever. So he has this crazy breakout game and then he has the blocked field goal. He's amazing all game long. And then he's just, he's just moving. And I know we like, joke about, you know, yeah, big guy running. Haha. No, no, no, no. Like, this isn't like he was running. He wouldn't hit overnight.

[A]

He hit like 19.19.59 miles per hour. Do you know how hard that is to do at that size? Yeah.

[D]

Yes.

[A]

Crazy. It is the fastest speed ever recorded by a player over £300 at the.

[D]

End of a football game too.

[A]

Yeah, that's lost in all of this. That is lost in all of the. He's exhausted.

[D]

Exhausted at this point, he's doubled his snaps. Unbelievable.

[A]

I mean, I couldn't run that fast and I.

[D]

So much aura.

[A]

I don't, I didn't. Yeah, no, not me. Justin Herbert, Chargers quarterback, does not have.

[D]

Aura outside of football. But really, doesn't he have like a.

[E]

Little bit of aura?

[D]

No, he's. He is a dork. Yeah, I, I've been around him.

[A]

Wasn't he dating somebody?

[D]

He is a influencer.

[A]

Beer.

[D]

Is that him? I don't know. I'm not online enough to know much about, but he does.

[A]

He's lying. She's a huge beer head. She's a beer bong is what our Madison Beers fans are called, famously. Everybody knows that.

[B]

Okay.

[D]

He's playing out of his mind this year.

[A]

Out of his mind in yards.

[D]

And he's playing in an aura. Ish way, which is to say he's like, kind of swaggy this year. He's like scrambling.

[A]

And here's the thing, Madison Beer's like, very beautiful. I feel like you have to have a little aura to pull in such a way.

[D]

I think it's called being rich and famous.

[A]

Yeah, that will help. And then last one for the aura segment that I think is totally working. Bears quarterback Caleb Williams.

[D]

I will say. Yeah, he's got. I, you know, I walked by him. We were in Chicago for Monday Night Football, and when he walked by me, I was surprised by. He looked a lot bigger in person because he looked small on the field. And then when he came out in his uniform, he was wearing like a weird gray Under Armour shirt. The whole game of money football, which was not.

[A]

Oh, yeah, that's right. That's right. We did talk about that. It was like, what is this?

[D]

Weird? It was weird.

[A]

Yeah.

[D]

Yeah.

[A]

Why is this?

[D]

So then I was like, I don't know. But. But he just had his best game, arguably of his career, admittedly against a Cowboys defense that I'm now calling the Slump Buster.

[A]

Oh, boy.

[D]

On my pod. That's good.

[A]

You should check out that podcast. It's Samina Keim show featuring Lenny.

[D]

But when he. It is really testament to like when they play well, you can feel they have like. It was the confidence. The swagger was back. He was just having fun out there. I'm a fan of his. I think he playing good football this year.

[A]

I think people. The way you said people are weird about McDaniel, I said very weird about Caleb Williams. It's. It bothers me the way they talk about him. Like there was that a couple weeks ago when somebody. Some. Someone from something said some sort of story about like they didn't know he had a learning disability and he hid it from the. And you're like, what are we doing? What is this?

[D]

That's weird.

[A]

What is this?

[D]

That's a lot.

[A]

I don't like it. But did you know he got free hot dogs for everybody in Chicago on Tuesday from the Wieners Circle, which is a hot dog place.

[D]

Everybody in Chicago by throwing four touchdowns against the Cowboys.

[A]

They said if he throws four touchdowns, we'll give away free hot dogs, thinking nobody would. And then he did. Wow.

[D]

That's like when Baker Mayfield. There was like some beer deal in Cleveland where if he threw.

[A]

Oh, yeah.

[D]

Or something.

[A]

Yeah. Or was that if they go completely. That wasn't the year that they went completely defeated. Was. Was it?

[C]

They hadn't won. They went completely defeated the year before. And they were gonna unlock this fridge full of free beer the second they won a game. This beer was chained up in a fridge in a bar.

[D]

Great visual. Why don't more companies do stuff like this?

[A]

I don't know.

[D]

Whatever money you're losing in hot dog overhead gotta be worth it. You just got. You said their name on your podcast.

[A]

That's right. The Wiener Circle.

[D]

How. How many TV shows and podcasts in America's have now mentioned the wiener circles?

[A]

Probably a bunch.

[D]

Free advertising.

[A]

Right. Get in on this. But then don't go the way that we talked about this yesterday. Mattress Mack, you know that guy in Houston who every time they're the Astros do something. When he goes like, I'm gonna gamble on the. It's like, I'm sick of talking about that guy. Here I am saying his name, though. You're right. All right, let's look ahead to the big game this week. Packers at Cowboys on Sunday. Micah Parsons, trip before the season. Right before the season. I think I remember seeing a clip of you going on ESPN and saying it was one of the biggest.

[D]

Now I'm like, I have second guessed whether this was too dramatic of me, but I spoke from the heart.

[A]

I don't think it was too dramatic of you.

[D]

And I said, I think this will go down as one of the biggest mistakes in the history of the NFL.

[A]

He's young. He's incredibly talented.

[D]

Oh, I believed it.

[A]

He's a difference maker.

[D]

No, I mean. And also, the Cowboys defense is garbage without him.

[A]

Garbage so bad they signed Jadavian Clowney, so maybe they're gonna turn it around.

[D]

I wish he waited to sign with a team that was competitive. I think the packers are gonna roll them. Roll on offense, huh?

[A]

Okay.

[D]

Defense, too. I think it's a big bounce back.

[A]

You just think it's not gonna be a close game.

[D]

I'm gonna think about. Yeah.

[A]

At all.

[D]

The Cowboys defense, how good they've made everybody else look. Everybody else look. Yeah.

[A]

Yeah. And now to play against. Well, we'll see, I guess, how that goes. Through three weeks, the packers are 2 and 1. Cannot believe.

[D]

Let me ask you something about the. Before we move on to the Cowboys, did you see the quote where Jerry Jones was asked about because they got these draft picks trading for him. Right. And someone asked him whether he'd be able to moving them, and he'd be like, like, maybe if there's a special player available. Do you think he's doing a bit at all?

[A]

He has to be. I, I. But then I also go, like, he can't be. He. It's like, I never. What pisses me off about Jerry Jones. And there's a lot of things. It's how much he wants us to be talking about him. But, like, there's not ever. There's, like, a lot of bad stuff to say. And I feel like he wants us to be talking about him in a very specific way. I don't know. He really bugs me. And I don't know if he's like, you know, getting older and is just saying things and he means them genuinely, but it's like, it does remind me of when people would say that about, like, Mookie, when we were like moving on from Mookie Betts as the Red Sox. And we're trying to like, calm ourselves down. People. Like, they could get a generational player. Yeah, they had.

[D]

Yeah.

[A]

A generational player. You could. The best you could hope to get is a Micah Parsons type with those. And it's just like, how many times can fans be expected to go like, yeah, we could really turn these picks into something. Especially when you're Jerry Jones and you don't turn much into much.

[D]

What's also doubling frustrating is I still. I think the offense is good.

[A]

Yeah.

[D]

They lost CD Lamb this last week. It's why, you know, kind of. But so you're just wasting like a decent offense. Grace kicker, maybe in the NFL. I it a good quarterback. I think Dak Prescott's still a good quarterback. It's just so dumb. It's not like if there were a really crappy rebuilding team, it would make more sense.

[A]

Does it boil down to you that he wanted to negotiate this contract directly with him and he wasn't interested in doing that and it just. They didn't come to terms on it.

[D]

Yeah. I think he got like, weirdly personal.

[A]

Yeah. Which is annoying because now in every interview leading up to this game, Jerry Jones, like. And it's nothing personal. I love Micah. Nothing personal. It was incredibly personal.

[D]

We have some opportunity. We have the opportunity. Pardon me, in this game for some old time camera cuts.

[A]

Yeah.

[D]

Every sack, every pressure is gonna cut straight to Jerry Jones.

[A]

Something to look forward to. I think.

[D]

Get some good reaction. Memes.

[A]

Seahawks, Cardinals in Arizona, Thursday night game. Yeah, that's tonight. Because this airs tomorrow.

[D]

Tomorrow. Yes.

[A]

What. What to look for in that game? What's. What are we looking at?

[D]

Hopefully the game itself, because I'm on a plane and I'm not sure if I'll be able to stream.

[A]

That sucks.

[D]

Amazon.

[A]

This is silly, but. Oh, yeah, I guess specifically Amazon, you won't be able to stream. I hate that when you book a flight now. All the money they charge you to book a flight that you can't. They can't reliably tell you. Like, you'll have a TV on the back of your.

[D]

Okay, this was my subway take. Yes, I believe that. Why am I acting like I'm on the subway?

[A]

Please do. I'll hold my Metro card. Let me get it out.

[D]

I consider myself.

[A]

Wait, hold on. Actually, for the clip. Hold that and give this take.

[D]

Okay, okay, okay.

[A]

Go ahead. What's your take?

[D]

All right. I think that airplanes are deliberately making it hard for you to tell what the hell is going on in the plane at all times now. It is. It is. I consider myself, Katie, to be a somewhat technologically savvy person. I have all the plane app, that United app, the American app, whatever. I can never figure out whether there's live tv.

[A]

Yeah.

[D]

Half the time I can't tell if there's a meal or they don't even tell you. They're like, find out.

[A]

Or you get on the plane and they go, you didn't say anything about your meal.

[D]

That happened to me.

[A]

Don't say there.

[D]

Yeah, right.

[A]

Yeah, yeah.

[D]

But the TV thing is like that legitimately. The DirecTV will say, like, you can find out 24 hours before. The point is, I wanna book a flight with that knowledge.

[A]

Right. It's important. It's like pivotally important. I know it feels silly cause it's tv, but we're not all watching Bravo.

[D]

Sorry, you have a. My other. I got another plane take, too.

[A]

What is it?

[D]

I don't like. I fly a lot. I don't like watching tv, movies, whatever, on my device.

[A]

No, I don't want to use my own device.

[D]

I want to watch it on a little screen on the back of the seat in front of me and then F. Around on my phone while I'm watching it.

[A]

Yes, obviously.

[D]

Don't make me have singular focus on something. My brain doesn't work that way anymore.

[A]

Exactly. And don't try to sell it to me like it's a good. I need that. It has all my money on it. I don't try to sell it to me like it's a good thing.

[D]

Yeah. Oh, you get to watch all of United on your own device. I don't want to.

[A]

My own device is die.

[D]

Yeah.

[A]

Because my. I plug my headphones into it and I can't also charge it at the same time. I mean, the world is Bring back.

[D]

Bring back the little TVs.

[A]

Yes. They should all have them by now. We reached a point where it seemed like, oh, this is the tech. The direction we're going in. And then they were like, yeah, sometimes we. A lot of these still have ashtrays on them. We're not getting TVs anytime soon.

[D]

If an airline could guarantee to me, direct TV and little TV.

[A]

JetBlue used to be very good for that. But they don't go as many places. And I don't think they have first class. And I imagine you're in first class at this point.

[D]

That's how you're flying when it's on the company dollar.

[A]

Yeah, exactly. Yeah. Nobody's paying for first class themselves. Right. That's. You look at those tickets and you go, it. What?

[D]

Crazy.

[A]

Who's doing that? But on a short flight sometimes. What were we talking about? The Seahawks. Are they gonna win? They're gonna beat the Cardinals.

[D]

Right? Because I was saying I might not know if I would watch it. I think they will. I picked them to win. The CX defense is really good.

[A]

Yeah.

[D]

Truly, Truly good offense. This is an interesting game for the offense because the offense really struggled against San Francisco and then has beaten up two, I think, bad defenses. So this is a good, like, litmus test.

[A]

Yeah. Good. I was gonna say, I feel like I don't know them as a team yet as much as I should.

[D]

I think that's fair. I don't. I feel like we don't have a good feel for it.

[A]

Yeah. The Vikings are playing in Dublin this week and London the next week. Steelers this week and Browns next week. They're the road team, but they seem to think that they've got a lot of Vikings fans over there. So they're basically a home game.

[D]

Sure.

[A]

Is this. It's just an interesting story to me that they're. First of all, the international city trips feel like a bigger lift, but also probably really fun. Are you going to any of these?

[D]

I am not. Did you see the. In the Lions game? So it was Monday Night Football. They played. They had like, Amundsera St. Brown, who's German.

[A]

Oh, yeah.

[D]

Like, hanging out with German kids. I just remember. Cause he scored a touchdown and the camera caught him saying, like, something like, I own this S N word. Like, a lot of cursing. And then it immediately cut to him with a bunch of children being like pom poms for the kinder. And it was like this great cut because he, I guess, grew up in a German or his mom's German. And he speaks German clearly.

[A]

Yeah.

[D]

I'm like, what? They should think the Lions play there because he probably has a huge fan base. But I am always charmed. I know as someone who cares about player wellbeing, there's issues with travel. But I am always charmed by when they're in the cities, the incredible enthusiasm from, like, European and Latin. Like, and when they have games in Brazil and Mexico. And also I just love. You see the most random ass jerseys. I love that, like, they'll be like, look at the rich eyes. Will be like, look at the. Like, you know, around the crowd. And you're like, is that a Mark Sanchez? Why are you.

[A]

What's going on you're like, who bought a Titans jersey in London?

[D]

They're just football fans.

[A]

Their market research and branding efforts, they say, indicates strong local support. Keisha Wyatt, their director of international marketing, estimated 40% of the crowd at Dublin's Croak. Is it Croak Park? Croaky park. And up to 60% at Tottenham Hotspur stadium will be Vikings. What they think, why? I have no idea. But it's interesting because essentially that would, like, kind of neutralize two of their nine road games, if you think about it, that they otherwise would have played. I know technically they're, like, far on the road.

[D]

I'm skeptical of this Viking. This. This feels like fake news.

[A]

Same, you know, 60% a lot.

[D]

You know, in Brazil, I didn't know this until recently. There's a lot of packers fans. Purely because it's the same colors as the Brazilian flag.

[A]

Oh, of course.

[D]

Brazilian president told this to me.

[A]

Yeah.

[D]

They might have been messing with me, but I think they were telling me the truth.

[A]

I mean, look, Isabella, when picking teams in the process of this podcast, we got into, like, a blue and orange theme. She was like, Mets, Knicks. And it did influence the discussions that we had and why she was maybe gonna root for the Bears.

[D]

I. My second team growing up was the Dolphins because I liked the little dolphin because he used to wear a little helmet.

[A]

Yeah.

[D]

And now he's an angry dolphin.

[A]

Yeah. Yeah. I like the cuter little dolphin in the helmet.

[E]

Katie's gonna have a dolphin themed wedding. Did you know that?

[D]

I love that.

[A]

We were joking about letting Mike McDaniel plan my wedding and it being dolphin themed. Dolphin themed was Isabella's idea, and I thought it was cute. You know, a little Lisa. Frank. Frank.

[D]

Oh, like the little. If Mike McDaniel should. If he really wants to make Rex Ryan mad, he should bring back the friendly dolphin.

[A]

Yeah, that's. Yeah.

[D]

Little friendly dolphin.

[A]

Do it. Do it, Mike, while you still can.

[D]

Dolphins love humans.

[A]

Yeah. Sometimes too much.

[D]

Yeah. You read that one article? Vivid, Vivid. Don't read it in public.

[A]

See that coming up today.

[D]

I think about it probably once a year. And the horse one.

[A]

Oh, my God.

[D]

New York Magazine. Google it.

[A]

Or don't. Or don't. If you're at work, definitely don't do any. Get home.

[D]

The horse one's worse.

[A]

Yeah. But also both bad. Both really bad.

[D]

I don't know.

[A]

Why do I want to ask you about the Saudi Arabian Flag Football League? Tom Brady announced the other night? I don't really, but I feel like for a league that's always Talking about, you can't do this in the off season because you'll get hurt. You can't do this in the off season because you get hurt. I saw the names that got announced with this league.

[D]

Yeah.

[A]

And they're like the highest paid, best players in the league.

[D]

Right.

[A]

And then Gronk and Tom Brady, which. Fine, whatever. What is the. What is this? Why is this.

[D]

Well, money. But what. What it is, is a good question because I haven't dug into the. I saw the news and, like, kind of rolled my eyes and kept it moving, but I don't actually understand, like, are they playing just like a single exhibition game? Like, what is the.

[A]

I don't know.

[D]

How is this.

[A]

I do know the league said it's not an NFL initiative.

[D]

Yeah.

[A]

And on Friday, they sent a memo to all teams and said the event is not NFL sanctioned. The league has no role in organization or production of the game. It's not covered by the resolution to permit NFL players to participate in Olympic flag football. Because, you know, they came out and said that they can play an Olympic. And people. There was a big hubbub about that, that if that was going to be a good idea. And also because there's people who play flag football and would want to get to the Olympics, and all of a sudden these NFL players come in and they're like, well, I can't qualify for my team now because of how good you are. But I just haven't heard a lot of hubbub about the. All of these names. Saquon Barkley, CD Lamb. I don't know if that changes now because of the Christian McCaffrey sauce. Gardner, like Tyreek Hill. These are big names going over there to play flag football. You can't not get hurt in flag football. It is possible to maintain, to sustain an injury.

[D]

I have to think whatever they're doing there is not gonna be extremely competitive. Otherwise I think they wouldn't have signed onto it. I wonder. My question is, like, is this gonna be broadcast internationally? Cause this is the thing, like when actors used to do commercial. Like how George Clooney does all these international commercials that we never see in America.

[A]

That's what it used to be used to do.

[D]

Right. Used to sell out in quiet.

[A]

Yeah.

[D]

But now because of the Internet and also, like the, you know, are they. Why are they paying for these guys to do this if not to promote it and, you know, sportswash or whatever. So, like, are we gonna see it? Yeah, it's gonna look weird.

[A]

So I have a feeling that Netflix would Be involved somehow.

[D]

I feel like they're looking for broadcast.

[A]

Rights to buy stuff, but I don't know. Actually, it's. Isn't it with somebody? It's with.

[D]

Oh, they have like a broadcast.

[A]

Somebody. I think. I want to say Fox, but I don't know for sure.

[D]

Feels very dystopian.

[A]

Yeah, it does. I think the league was basically in that memo telling them that it's not. You don't. We're not going to tell you you can't do it.

[D]

Right.

[A]

But you don't have to do it. Wink, wink. I feel like I don't know. Two things. Two more things, and then you. You can leave because I know you're very busy. And thank you for being here. I'm so happy to have you here.

[D]

Stoked to be here.

[A]

The Mariners last night clinched a playoff spot. How are we feeling about your Seattle Mariners?

[D]

I fell asleep.

[A]

What?

[D]

I missed it really late at night. I woke up to a bunch of texts.

[A]

Yeah, including me. I sent a little trident. Trident.

[D]

Trident emoji.

[A]

The comeback win. I got home from dinner and I was like, oh, my God, they're losing. Losing. How are they losing to the Rockies?

[D]

I know of all the team. I saw it leaving dinner. I was like.

[A]

And then they came back. It was exciting, electrifying.

[D]

I feel great. I don't need to do it. This is not a good subway take take because it's too parochial. But am I wrong? I'm very biased, obviously.

[A]

Of course.

[D]

You're a neutral observer.

[A]

Sure.

[D]

Clearly the most likable team in sports.

[A]

Yes, 100%.

[D]

Thank you.

[A]

I don't know who's saying otherwise.

[D]

I'm just Aaron Judge fans.

[A]

Okay. And look who are nothing against that.

[D]

Snooze fest in my mention.

[A]

Here's the deal with Aaron Judge. He has had his seasons. There have been the years where we talk about just Aaron Judge. And yes, he's very good. And yes, you run into the. I feel like it used to be an old Pablo take where he was like, when it comes to mvp, if an alien came down to earth and said, bring me your best basketball player, you would bring them LeBron. Like, I get the mentality of, like, a guy can be so good. Same with Shohei. Like, you got to keep giving it to the same guy. But like, with show, I feel like he's inventing new ways of doing a thing that makes me impressed with the thing he can do. And with Aaron Judge, I'm just like, yeah, you consistently do this really well. And yes, your wins above replacement Are great, but, like, it. It's not as electrifying. We're missing the. Like, Cal the dumper gets the people going. Like, the Mariners as a team are a fun story. They. Cal being with just the Mariners his whole career and then having playing a position like catch and being this productive on the offense, there's so many reasons that this is, like, worth remembering.

[D]

Yeah.

[A]

And I just feel like MVP should be like, oh, yeah, that was c. The year of Big Dumper.

[D]

I love that. That way to put it.

[A]

Instead of going like, oh, yeah, that was the year of Aaron Judge. It. This won't be remembered as the year of Aaron Judge. He's so boring to me.

[D]

Obp.

[A]

I mean, we put out a clip early in this podcast of me saying that Aaron Judge was born boring. And I. It was me going good. I needed to learn not to check comments on the podcast clips because it was just. They were very upset, and it's like, how much do you want me to praise this guy?

[D]

So, like, let me be clear. I am biased here. I'm not even. I'm not trying to pretend. I'm trying to pretend like, this is a neutral, analytically inclined take. And. And that's very different from how I talk about football.

[A]

Ooh, you got me. Ah, caught. Well, that's.

[D]

Maybe this isn't good spirit with this podcast. Like baseball. I'm just a fan. Like baseball. It is a great spirit with this podcast. I am, like, no expert. I never pretend that I am an expert when it comes to baseball.

[A]

Great.

[D]

And I am a fan, and I've been a fan. It was my first. The Mariners were my first team. Because it's baseball when you're a kid. Right. Like, this is what you. I'm looking forward to indoctrinating my own son soon. So my take on Cal being MVP is obviously very biased. However, I love that way you said, like, this is his season. This is. And he means so much to the Mariners in particular because, like, you know, when. First of all, it's kind of in some ways reminiscent of Felix, which those teams were awful, but we always had him and he stayed. Right. That was the thing. Like, Mariners fans love Felix Nanner because he stayed and no one, you know, the teams couldn't support him, whatever. So Cal signs this big contract, which now looks like one of the best bargains.

[A]

Yeah. Amazing.

[D]

And after last year, he called out the team for being he in his own way, which is. He's not like, a super aggressive guy, but he was like, this is unacceptable. Like, we you know, he basically sent a message that was like, the team needs to actually try harder to win. Not the players like the front. We have had ownership who have not been big spenders. They're not big at the movers, at the trade deadline, whatever. So to see them actually be the most active buyers at the Dell. And Naylor Harlan Neer was the guy who won us the game last night, by the way. Awesome. Suarez ultimate vibes guy.

[A]

I love AO Henio Suarez ultimate vibes guy so much. I blue skyed the best. Yeah. He rules that he'd need, like a barehanded play at third base. And then like the next inning, he let off and hit a home run. He is electric, top to bottom.

[D]

The vibe like Julio.

[A]

Yeah. Oh, my God. Yeah.

[D]

Come on. A Rosarena.

[A]

Amazing.

[D]

Electric. Just avenue. He's amazing. I mean, J.B. crawford might be like the coolest athlete in, like, baseball.

[A]

Yeah. They're just.

[D]

Everybody's so likable and so cool.

[A]

Robless in right field, that catch he made the other night, Unreal. It's like the vibes of the team are tremendous. Great.

[D]

From Brian Wu.

[A]

Oh, my God. I mean, you want to talk about aura, I just don't want to jinx it.

[D]

Yeah. You know, the thing about being a Mariners fan is so many decades of failure allow you to protect your heart. I feel like against success.

[A]

Yeah. We were like, it's. But it can go. It's. Let your. I hope that you guys, Mariners fans are letting yourself enjoy it a little bit and really.

[D]

Yeah.

[A]

Getting your hopes a little up.

[D]

It's a little bit more nerve wracking than 2022 because that year it didn't feel like the team was going to go far. And it was like, whoa, they want to see us this year. It feels like they actually have the ability. They're really complete. And so I think that's going to make, you know, everything a little bit more stressful once we'll see how things shake out.

[A]

I'm more excited about the Mariners than my own own team. They're just so good. And people being so mad about MVP takes is like, making me dig my heels in even deeper. Like, how dare you? This is. It's got people into, like, Isabella made friends somewhere because they were talking about Cal Raleigh and she leaned over and said big Dumper. And they were like, yeah. And she like, it's. He brings people together.

[D]

I mean, it's one of the best nicknames.

[A]

Yeah.

[D]

And it so immediately visually scans.

[A]

Yep. Also, I have argued, though, it almost immediately Is one upped? Julio is not.

[D]

He's.

[A]

He also rocking a pancake of any type. He's certainly.

[D]

Similarly.

[A]

He's certainly out here stacked, doing his stair climbing.

[D]

He's been so good.

[A]

So good. Just a really fun team. What an exciting, fun team to root for. Last thing. Usually this day at the end of the podcast, we go through Isabella's fantasy team. We have Isabella running the fantasy team for our podcast. This year, we're in a league with a bunch of listeners, and Isabella is in charge of the. She did the draft.

[D]

Wow.

[A]

She sets the roster.

[D]

Okay.

[A]

On her first week, famously, she was trying to change her roster. She was trying to bench guys and move guys around, and she was just straight up dropping them.

[D]

Oh, no team.

[A]

All the people she had drafted just getting dropped. We fixed. The commissioner stepped in, Brady stepped in and gave her back her team. But I'm gonna tell you and Isabella, feel free to chime in here. I'm gonna tell you about her team. You won again this week, Isabella.

[D]

I did. Wow.

[A]

Third week in a row.

[D]

You're three. Zero.

[A]

Yeah.

[E]

Crazy.

[D]

Let me hear about this roster.

[A]

Okay. She's got Caleb Williams as a quarterback.

[D]

Who are they playing? He's got a decent matchup this week, I believe.

[A]

The Raiders.

[D]

Okay.

[A]

So, yeah, Pukinakua.

[D]

Amazing.

[A]

T. Higgins. Tough, tough now.

[D]

A little tough.

[A]

Maybe we. Maybe we'll circle back on that, and you can advise on who she should put up from her bench into her spot. But I don't know. They're playing Denver. I don't know any Christian McCaffrey.

[D]

Well, miraculously, the only healthy one left.

[A]

I mean, going into the season, I was like, oh, maybe he won't be playing. He's all they have.

[D]

Niners fans were like, we would give anything for Christian McCaffrey to stay healthy. A monkey's paw.

[A]

Exactly. Exactly. And you really hate to put all of the weight of your team on a guy who doesn't have the. But he's doing it, and he's doing it amazingly. Kyron Williams. Other running Hunter, Henry. That was a recent pickup that actually.

[D]

You know, this Drake May loves him.

[A]

Yeah. So, yeah, it worked out for her last week, because who was your tight end before that? You?

[E]

Mark Andrews.

[A]

Yeah. Who?

[D]

Oh, he went crazy this week, though.

[A]

Yeah.

[D]

Did you drop him all together because. Yeah, I did.

[A]

She did. Which we might have told her to do. It's our fault. Yeah.

[E]

But Henry got me a lot of points this week.

[A]

Yeah, he did. It did work out.

[D]

She's good.

[A]

She's flexing right Now George Pickens.

[D]

Yeah, that's good because CD Lamb's hurt. Kicker Brandon Aubrey the goat.

[A]

Amazing defense. Seattle.

[D]

That's a good one. She's good.

[A]

Yeah. Yeah.

[E]

Okay, cool.

[D]

Don't love T. Higgins. Yeah.

[A]

So her bench, she's got Tyrone Tracy Jr.

[D]

He's hurt.

[A]

Zach Charbonnet, J.K. dobbins, Javante Williams, Devonta Smith, and Chris Godwin. Who was that was just a stash for when he comes back.

[D]

I would probably start Devontae Smith over T. Higgins.

[A]

Okay.

[D]

Personally.

[A]

But that's just advice. Isabella, you have free will. It's your team.

[D]

Yeah, let's do it.

[A]

And why don't you tell Mina the great name for your fans.

[D]

Oh, my God.

[E]

It's called Isabella's Team.

[D]

Just Isabella's Team.

[E]

I haven't created a name. It's still the automated yacht.

[A]

Bully her.

[D]

Well, who's your favorite player in the team? We can come up with a name.

[E]

I guess right now of what I know of any of the players is probably Caleb Williams. So coming up, I say Puka.

[D]

That's fine.

[E]

The thing is, is that there's another team in the league that has a Caleb Williams.

[D]

So pick another player.

[A]

I said Marvin Gaye and Charbonnet. Why would that not be the name of your team?

[E]

That actually is pretty good.

[D]

So you have Puka, you have Tea, you have have Devonte. Who was your first back? You have Kyron Williams. That's a good one, Kyron. And who was your other running back? You had a good one.

[A]

McCaffrey.

[D]

Oh, you have CMC.

[E]

CMC. I know. Someone told me to do Music Factory.

[D]

That's a very common fantasy football name then.

[A]

No, we're not common. You can't do that.

[E]

Yeah, then I won't do that.

[A]

Did you come up with any for this week that you wanted to pitch? I believe this was.

[E]

I thought that this was the homework assignment.

[A]

Right.

[E]

And you know, the thing about me with homework is that I'm so good at doing it last minute and submitting it. So here's what I've got got.

[D]

Okay.

[A]

This is a live book report.

[E]

I saw someone suggest. Okay, using is like Isabella, but say it's a hell of a team.

[D]

Okay. It's a hell, hell of a team. It's a bell of a team.

[A]

That's certainly a name.

[E]

The one, the only one that I really came up with, to be honest, and I did tell you guys this in our group chat, was you better call Tyrone Tracy Jr. Because of the song. Tyrone.

[D]

Oh, Ty. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[E]

That was the only other one, unfortunately, he's not playing.

[A]

Yeah.

[E]

Oh, like, at all.

[D]

He's hurt. He's hurt. Yeah.

[E]

You know, no one told me that.

[A]

Yeah, I know.

[D]

That's why I'm here.

[A]

Available on the Internet. Oh, this information is free. It's in the app.

[D]

What's the Caleb name in your league?

[E]

It's Caleb Williams's Nail Salon.

[D]

Okay.

[A]

Yeah. That's also why she really likes him. Yeah. Also why I think people are weird about him. It's all tied back to the.

[D]

You could do a different Caleb name.

[A]

Like.

[D]

Like Calebing out.

[E]

Jk. Living Out.

[D]

You don't like living out.

[A]

Yeah.

[E]

Yeah, But I was combining jk.

[A]

Oh, yeah.

[D]

Yeah. Jk. Oh, my omg. Jk. Kyron. You could do something with that. Kyron Williams. Kyron's call Sirens.

[A]

Like Siren.

[E]

See, even you guys are having a tough time. So, like, it shouldn't be.

[A]

It wasn't our homework. Okay, this is.

[D]

You're giving me a second to think of it. Puka Naku has got to be like, puka shell.

[A]

Puka shell necklace. Yeah.

[D]

Nakua Take a puk at me now.

[E]

Oh, that's what I saw someone do. That was cute. It was like, hapuka matata. That was another one I had.

[D]

I tried to come up with Puka and Ra Valley.

[A]

Okay.

[E]

Oh, that actually is really funny. I've done a few of those.

[A]

This is two days in a row this week. Earlier, on Tuesday's episode, Isabella said, and I know about. What was it? Messy poops.

[E]

Why are you gonna say that in front of me now?

[A]

Just now you're like, I know about puking and rallying.

[E]

No, it was the caller who was like, I had a rough poop or something like that.

[A]

Rough poop. And she said, I know.

[D]

These are the collars you get.

[A]

Yeah, dude. We talk about all of it here. We really break it down. We really talk X's and O's here on this podcast. That's really it. That's all I had.

[D]

I'm gonna think about these names for you, Isabella.

[E]

Also, if there's any. Was there anybody on that list where you were, like, you should drop them?

[A]

Oh, yeah, good question.

[D]

I might drop Tyrone. Tracy, to be honest, because not only is he hurt, but I don't think. I think Camp Scatterbo is gonna be the lead back moving forward.

[A]

Oh, okay.

[D]

So.

[A]

So it's just something to keep in mind. Keep that in mind.

[E]

I'm also, like, number one in the league right now, too.

[A]

This is. It's wild. It's Truly wild hearing her go, like, I forgot to set my lineup, and actually, my team is going off.

[D]

That's why I hate fantasy football.

[A]

I know, but it's also the beauty of it.

[D]

Unless you're me and everyone's like, wow.

[A]

Sucks that you're losing, there's no win for you. Like, you either have to be perfect at it, which is impossible, as all evidence has proven. Being good at it is mostly luck. Or. Yeah, I could see that for you not being as.

[D]

Did you see my friend? My friend who does not watch football?

[A]

I did see this.

[D]

I was a gay guy. He drafted only based on hotness, and he won his entire corporate league. Amazing because he drafted, like, saquon last year. Lad McConkey. He was like, he's cute. Crushed it.

[A]

Yeah.

[D]

So this year, he. He hit me up again, and he did it again. But some of the players, I was.

[A]

Like, oh, I don't know. Meaning they're not hot enough or they're not good.

[D]

They're not good. He went off of hotness again.

[A]

Yeah.

[D]

Well.

[A]

And also, that's subjective. You never really know. Yeah, but it is. I can't tell if I'm rooting more for Isabella to keep winning for the rest of the season and never experience fantasy pain or if I'm, like, really looking forward to the content the first week that she just gets absolutely walloped and her bench puts up more. It should have happened by now. It's crazy that it happened. And I actually think. I like. I like providing evidence for Isabella's irrational confidence. It's one of my favorite things is how when she walks into a room and she just goes like, I own this room. And I. I like that the evidence is like, she does.

[D]

Yeah, she does own the room. You're just really good at fancy football.

[A]

It just is how it is.

[E]

I'm gonna start giving advice, like, next.

[A]

All right. I don't know. Maybe we should. You know what? Yeah, yeah.

[D]

Have viewers call in and ask her for fantasy tips.

[A]

Perfect. Isabella's fantasy corner. Can we come up with a. Maybe we could come up with a fun name for what the segment would be. I know.

[E]

You know, I'll consult Brady after this because he's the. He's the name. God. He's the.

[A]

He's the pun guy.

[D]

Yeah.

[A]

All right, Great. Mina Kimes. Thank you so much for being here in such a busy season. The Mina Kimes show featuring Lenny. But there's other places people can find you. Where are those?

[D]

Well, I also have a side project with my friend David Dennis Jr. It's another podcast where we talk about TV called Viewer Discretion. So if you. We do. We did Alien Earth. We just finished.

[A]

I've heard it's really, really good. Is it done?

[D]

It's done. So we're recapping the whole season Friday and then after that, Love is Blind. So if you watch Love is Blind, we've been doing now for like four seasons.

[A]

Garbage. Pure garbage. In a fun way.

[D]

Viewer discretion. But if Football Pod is called Me and a kind of show featuring Lenny.

[A]

And also NFL Live and I'm on tv, you can find her on NFL Live. She's very good on tv. She's our favorite. She's our little superstar who we love so much. Go follow her on. I don't know, wherever you are now. Mostly Blue sky or.

[D]

Yeah, I post a lot there. Blue Sky. They everybody want more.

[A]

Katie Nolan. Well, I. You got there. I just have to. I. I'm not using anything. It's not like I'm still over on the other.

[D]

What do you do on your phone then when you just are, like, waiting in line?

[A]

Other people's. I'm not. I'm not putting out.

[D]

Well, you're looking at it. Yeah, but you're just not posting both.

[A]

I look at both of them and.

[D]

You just looking at the other one.

[A]

Interesting. I just am going like, I don't need to be a part of this. The discourse has gotten spicy. Everybody's on edge all the time, and I don't need that around me. I'm off my antidepressants. I'm, like, floating.

[D]

The fact that you're not posting is.

[A]

Honestly, I have more places to put stuff now.

[D]

So envious of you.

[A]

Before, I didn't have a. Now I've got a podcast and a radio show I have to find things to say on, so I mostly just post them in my notes app. And then I say, I'm on microphones.

[D]

And you post stories.

[A]

Sometimes, but not after getting bullied by my fiance, who says, hi, by the way.

[D]

Hi, Dan.

[A]

And he said, go Niners.

[D]

Sorry that they're cooked.

[A]

That's just according to one. One lady Babe. Don't listen to that. She doesn't know anything.

[D]

Nick Bosa.

[A]

She doesn't know anything. Haven't you seen what people say? She doesn't know anything.

[G]

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[A]

Okay, so the Ryder cup is coming up this weekend. Starts on Confirm for me. Friday. Yeah, starts on Friday. I've said before, my connection to golf is tenuous at best, and it all hinges on my dad. He is who I get my golf information through through. He is who I talk to golf about. And I'll say I'm listening most of the time, and I'm retaining a lot of the stuff, but it's mostly just the how I maintain my relationship with my dad, whatever. That's normal. And so I figured I would cold call my father here and see if I could get him to help us preview the Ryder Cup. Now, we're going into this all knowing. This could end up being unusable. This could end up being the work piece of content we've made as a podcast. I don't really know. It could also be the greatest. So we're gonna try it and if it doesn't work, we'll just cut the whole thing out and we'll try it again, but with a little bit more direction from the daughter side of things as a recap of what happened for the writer. Cut. But let's cold call my father in the middle of the day. He's retired, so he shouldn't be doing anything. But he could be golfing. You never know. And we'll just see what he has to say about the writer. Her cup. His picture is so funny. Just him and his little golf hat.

[B]

Hello.

[A]

Hi, dad.

[B]

Hi. How you doing?

[A]

I'm good. How are you?

[B]

Good.

[A]

Basically what I need from you. Everybody's talking about this Ryder cup like it's the biggest thing to happen in the world. And I don't really know anything about it. So I was hoping you could give me a little preview of what's to come this weekend.

[B]

Well, it's going to be. I mean, having been to one in Whistling Straits with Kevin a couple years ago, the US Was a dominant out there, and then when they went to Italy, they got their asses handed to them. So I think it's going to be very interesting. The Europeans are coming in with. I think there's just one person different than the team that played, you know, two years ago, and I think it's the Hogart brother. You know, the younger one or the other one was on there before. Now his brother Rasmus is on this time. So it's the same, you know, complement of people. Granted, now they're playing in the US as opposed to playing on foreign solo or their home turf kind of a deal. I think that, that home versus away, you know, it can be a factor. What's going to really. The US typically doesn't do well in the, you know, days one and two where there's a four ball and the foursomes matchup and European, I think have always done better on those two days. So if the US gets off to a really good start, which I think they did at Whistling Straights, you know, it could be spell trouble for the European team. So I think it's important for the US to do well in the first two days of it because I think it sets it up for a better chance for them to win it overall. They've got to win 14.5 points of the 28 that are out there in order for them to be able to take the Ryder Cup.

[A]

You sound like an analyst, which is great. Really fantastic stuff. It sounds like the family business, though. It is not what the format. What. Can you explain this to me? You know, how much I know about golf. It's very low. Explain this format.

[B]

I believe it's foursome is in the morning session and four ball is in the afternoon session. What the foursomes is, is let's say D. Shambo and Justin Thomas are attached to team right. Dechambo will hit the drive, then Justin Thomas hits the second. It's an Alternate shot.

[A]

They're hitting the same ball.

[B]

They hit the same ball.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

They just alternate who hits it. Okay.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

That's. That's what's called foursomes. And then the four ball in the afternoon is they both dechambo and Justin Thomas both play their own ball all the way through the hole. If Justin Thomas gets a birdie and DeChambeau gets a par, the team score is a birdie.

[A]

Oh, that's good. So it's basically like a backup plan for. If your one shot doesn't go well. You always have a backup.

[B]

Yeah. That way, one other guy you could. You could ride the hot hands, so to speak. You know, some. Some of the. Some of the holes that, you know, when you look at the layout of the course, they're saying that, you know, DeChambeau may have an advantage in that he can drive past these bunkers. And the trouble on some of them that, you know, his buff, you know, he could easily clear them where other, you know, some of the people that don't drive as far are going to struggle because they've got to fit this narrow little window because there's bunkers on both sides. And, you know, so how do you know where he's flying over him? These guys are trying to, you know, fit into a narrow area. So there could be. But not everybody hits the ball like dechambo, obviously, so ain't that the truth? But again, he's not the greatest golfer in the world either. We got the number one golfer, Scotty Scheffler, you know, but Rory McIlroy hits the ball a long way, too. So there's, there's, there's puts and takes. I mean, it plays to. Hopefully, the way the course is set up is going to play to the favorites of the Americans. But they, they said that the Europeans do very well on. On par fours within 200 to 250 yards kind of thing. That's their strength kind of a deal. So, again, I'm just listening to what's on the Golf Channel following some of it. So do you think we have.

[A]

Do you think we have a chance to win the United States?

[B]

I think we do. I think a lot of it's going to depend on how well the rookies on the US Team play. I mean, we got some people that won some pretty big tournaments, but they've never been in, you know, a Rider cup matchup. I think we got four or five first timers, and I may be wrong in the number, but there's a. There's a lot more first timers on the the US Side than there was on the European side. And if they're able to pull through and do well, I think we do have a strong chance.

[A]

Fact check says four, not five, but you were close.

[B]

Four. Okay. And I could probably name them too, but you know, what if we tried Sam Burns. Sam Burns, first time. JJ Spawn, it's his first time. Russell Henley, I believe it's his first time. And I want to say Harris English, I'm not sure if he has played before or not. Those are the four that come to mind.

[A]

I'm waiting to see if those are right.

[C]

All right. Sam Burns and Harris English have both played a Ryder cup before.

[A]

Damn, dad. Not a good look.

[C]

I have Cameron Young as a rookie.

[A]

Rookie.

[C]

Russell Henley as a rookie.

[B]

Oh, Ben Griffin's the other one.

[C]

JJ Spawn and Ben Griffin are the.

[A]

Okay, so you were close. You're 50. 50. You get half credit, dad.

[B]

All right, now, in the ones that Sam Burns and Harris English played, they probably. I don't know if they played a lot of matches. So you can only put out eight players of the 12 in each of the different, you know, sessions. So you got a morning session that there's eight plays. That means four people are sitting, and you got an afternoon session, and you got four people sitting. And, you know, certainly sometimes you don't want to have guys going every day. Also, they play all five sessions. You know, you might not want to ride somebody that hard because it could be, you know, critical for them on the third day. They got to have some gas left in the tank, basically. So I think a lot of it will depend on, you know, hopefully, like I say, I mean, I've seen days where, you know, in past Ryder Cups where the US Comes up and they're down, you know, one. One to, you know, one minute or three to one in the first session and three to one in the second. So at the end of the day, you know, it's six points, six to two, you know, Europeans. And it's like we're getting our asses head, you know, it to us. So I, I think if, if we come out, you know, about even on, on day one or, or ahead of the game, I think that's, That's a. A big plus.

[A]

So what are you doing this time? You said you're golfing on Friday, but what are you doing for the rest of the weekend? You're gonna be at home watching it.

[B]

I'm sitting down watching tv.

[A]

Yeah, but you're gonna watch golf, right?

[B]

I'm Watching. Yeah, Watching the golf.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

I might be out on the back patio enjoying a cigar. And, you know, I'm sure Mr. Sweeney will come down and we'll be enjoying some of the. Some of it.

[A]

Yeah. And that lovely outdoor daughter got.

[B]

Yeah. Provided by my daughter.

[A]

Yeah. Oh, yeah. All right.

[B]

Yeah, I'll be.

[A]

Well, that's it.

[B]

And then hopefully the weather will be cooperative and I can enjoy it out sitting out on the patio.

[A]

Yeah, we'll hope that for you. We'll pray for you. For. For no rain to hold off.

[B]

That's it. If I had to predict it, I'm gonna say 15, 13.

[A]

Okay. And I know what that means, and I think that's a good prediction.

[B]

Well, the total. It's a total of 28 is what it has to add up to the. You. In order for the US to win, they have to have 14 and a half. So they could win 14 and a half. 13 and a half, which adds up to 28, and take the Cup. If they end up with 14 in Europe, ends up with 14. Europe retains the Cup.

[A]

Oh, that's how it works. They don't go to, like, a tie break or whatever ever.

[B]

They don't. There is no tiebreaker. There is no playoff.

[A]

That sucks.

[B]

So. Well, that's. That's why you got to win 14 and a half. But that's. So. That's the way. So I'm saying we're not even going to get that close. We're going to take 15 to 13.

[A]

All right, dad, that's really all I needed. One last thing. How about them Red Sox?

[B]

Those Red Sox, I tell you, they're. They're like the nail bites they got. They can't. You know, they. I don't know what it is about them is if I start the roof form, they're gonna, you know, then just take me over the cliff with the lemmings.

[A]

Also, did you notice in that trailer that I sent you the other day about the O4 World Series? I'm in it.

[B]

Yes, I did see that. And you. I still remember you saying all along when we were over there, gotta believe. You gotta believe.

[A]

I send the guy the trailer and he just. Just goes, saw that. Thank you. No excitement at all. I'm in an O4 Red Sox documentary. And he just said, saw that. Thank you. Thank you very much.

[B]

I didn't know if that's what you meant when you said, did I see this? So. But now, is there going to be. It's a documentary that I'm going to be able to See, on tv.

[A]

Yeah, it's. I don't remember when it. When it'll be out, but it'll be out at some point. And I'm in it with Ben Affleck and Matt Damon. Bill Burr. Friday, Kind of. Oh, fry this Friday.

[C]

Yeah, September 26th.

[A]

It's out this Friday. But you. You're busy. You can watch it.

[B]

So is the Ryder Cup. I can't do them both.

[C]

Can we get this man in the trailer?

[A]

I haven't even seen it. All right, Dad, I love you. Thank you for doing this. I appreciate it.

[B]

Hey, no problem. See you guys. Take care.

[A]

Bye. Love you.

[B]

Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Love you, too.

[A]

Okay. Did he get his facts right? Most, yeah.

[C]

You act like I know all the facts. I know by the fact that the Ryder cup could apparently end in a tie.

[A]

It's such a dumb.

[C]

The biannual world golf competition that we.

[A]

All get so hyped for. We just let them retain the cup.

[F]

They're going off. Cricket rules. That's what you do in the Ashes.

[A]

That's wild. I don't like that at all. That's not in the spirit. When it's in America, there should not be a tie. You know, they didn't end the Revolutionary War in a tie, did they? They. What would have happened then?

[C]

Draw.

[A]

But that's it. That's the podcast. Thank you, everybody, for listening. Big thanks to Mina Kimes. This was so much fun having her today and seeing her. She's the greatest and we love her so much. What else?

[C]

Boston Red Sox premieres Friday, September 26th.

[A]

I didn't.

[C]

ESPN app.

[A]

So soon. Yeah.

[C]

The press release says the three part series features appearances and commentary from Affleck, Matt Damon, Katie Nolan, Bill, Brad Burr. You're third billing.

[A]

No way. Yikes.

[D]

Oh, yikes.

[C]

It goes Ethleck, Damon, Nolan Burr.

[A]

Yikes. Oh, I'm nervous. Yikes. So anyway, that's out this weekend. Watch the Ryder Cup. Call your dad if you can. And Isabella, good luck with your fantasy team.

[E]

Thank you.

[A]

All right. Love you. Mean it. We'll see you guys on Tuesday. Bye.

[G]

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