Cooper & Reed on NFL Top 100, Home Run Derby, Youth Camp & More | Exciting Mics Szn 2 Ep. 31

Summary

Exciting Mics Szn 2 Ep. 31 – “Cooper & Reed on NFL Top 100, Home Run Derby, Youth Camp & More”

Date: July 16, 2026

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Episode Overview

In this episode, Eagles defensive backs and Super Bowl champs Cooper DeJean and Reed Blankenship return for another session of unfiltered football talk, Philly pride, and summer catch-ups. They riff on the just-released NFL Top 100 rankings, debate the Home Run Derby and MLB All-Star Game, share stories from their youth football camps, welcome fan interaction, and host their signature “Exciting Picks” fast food draft. Throughout, the laid-back locker room energy and mutual ribbing make for another entertaining and authentic hang with two of the NFL’s rising stars adjusting to new life chapters (with Reed recently joining the Houston Texans and becoming a new dad). Bonus: plenty of love for Philly, their fans, and a look ahead to their upcoming live show with Julian Edelman at Fanatics Fest.

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Key Discussion Points & Segments

1. What’s Exciting Us This Week: NFL Top 100 Reactions

Timestamps: 02:25–06:34

• Aziz Al-Shaair at #92: Reed shouts out fellow Conference USA alum, thinks he should be ranked higher.
• Jalen Ramsey drops to #82, A.J. Brown to #80: Both surprised at the drop, especially after seeing A.J. work in practice.
• Disagreement on voting process: “I don’t even know who votes on these, to be honest.” (Cooper, 04:26)
• Travis Kelce’s drop, Lamar Jackson at 69: Both question if rankings are about last season’s injuries or career dominance.
• Personal stakes: “I’m excited to see where you end up. I mean, you made it out of the top, what, 40?” (Reed, 06:04)

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2. Sports Crossover: Saquon’s LeBron to Philly Pitch

Timestamps: 06:34–09:41

• Cooper would “absolutely” recruit LeBron to play in Philly, calling it “the greatest sports town in the world” (06:59).
• Reed jokes LeBron could score free cheesesteaks for life (08:41).
• “Bring a championship to Philadelphia, you’d be remembered forever.” (Cooper, 07:16)
• Both skeptical LeBron will actually come, but love the idea.

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3. Offseason TV: “Quarterback” Returns & Streaming Talk

Timestamps: 09:41–14:41

• Discuss Netflix’s “Quarterback”—Baker Mayfield, Jayden Daniels, Joe Flacco, Cam Ward featured this season.
• Cooper on scouting competitors: “You can almost use Netflix to scout the quarterbacks a little bit.” (11:30)
• Reed still watching “Silo” (Apple TV), makes fun of Cooper for not having Apple TV and encourages him to watch “The Office.”
• Listener interaction possible: fans are asked to say which “Office” character matches the hosts’ personalities.

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4. Soccer Fever: World Cup Chat & U.S. Performance

Timestamps: 15:14–21:26

• Cooper roots for France, Reed shouts out Holland as most fun to watch.
• Agree U.S. loss killed national soccer excitement, analyze missed opportunities and fan reactions.
• “My favorite part about soccer is the shootouts...the shootouts are pretty sick.” (Cooper, 18:40)
• Both marvel at penalty kicks—dimensions, difficulty, and question how many they’d score in a shootout.
• Quick food-for-thought challenge: “If you got six shots on a goalie, how many are you scoring?” Reed says four, Cooper claims five or six (20:00).

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5. Fanatics Fest Teaser & Live Show with Julian Edelman

Timestamps: 21:26–25:47

• Hosts preview their upcoming first-ever live podcast show with former Patriots star Julian Edelman at Fanatics Fest (NYC, July 16–19).
• Mention free T-shirt giveaway—design inspired by their favorite movies.
• “It is the number one sports fan festival in the world…most athletes go to this.” (Cooper, 23:51)
• Invite fans to suggest topics/questions for Edelman interview.

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6. MLB All-Star Week & Home Run Derby Recap

Timestamps: 25:50–28:48

• Cooper attended the Home Run Derby in Philadelphia; describes electric hometown crowd energy.
• “They literally booed every, they were booing for every, every home run every other person hit.” (Cooper on Philly fans, 26:27)
• Shout out to winner Jordan Walker (Cardinals) and Kyle Schwarber’s power.
• Discussion on the “Home Run Derby curse” possibly hurting second-half MLB production.
• Winner receives $1 million and a $250k chain.

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7. Hosting Youth Football Camps: Giving Back

Timestamps: 29:20–32:35

• Reed: “I would have loved to have gone to one of these camps and actually spent time with a player that I idolized” (29:46).
• Both enjoyed interacting and playing 7-on-7 with the kids.
• Cooper jokes about Reed’s quarterback skills, Reed laughs about the kids heckling him.
• “Kids can’t all win!” (Cooper, 31:26)
• Plan to hold more camps, possibly in Houston.

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8. New Chapter: Reed Moves to Houston

Timestamps: 32:37–36:59

• Reed recounts a nightmare flight to Houston with his infant daughter Lucy—numerous diversions, two hours on the tarmac, and lost luggage worries.
• “You don’t want to hear [a pilot say] ‘This day is getting weirder’ on an airplane.” (Reed, 34:16)
• Now settling in and excited to try Houston’s food scene.

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9. Exciting Picks: Fast Food Chain Draft

Timestamps: 36:59–42:45

• Five-round fast food draft featuring Taco Bell, Chick-fil-A, Raising Cane’s, Culver’s, Shake Shack, In-N-Out, Jimmy John’s, Wendy’s, McDonald’s, Jersey Mike’s.
• Banter over which chains truly count as “fast food.”
• Cooper’s surprise: never had Wendy’s.
• Reed: “Chick-fil-A, man. God’s chicken.” (38:50)
• Encourage fans to share their own lists on socials.

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10. Weekly Honors & Player Shoutout

Timestamps: 43:08–44:40

• Cooper Sharp Player of the Week: Jordan Walker, for his Derby win.
• “Jordan Walker, St. Louis Cardinals right fielder, is my pick…this dude was hitting bombs last night.” (Cooper, 43:33)
• Call for fan nominations for future episodes.

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Fan Q&A – “Get Dialed In” Segment

Timestamps: 45:24–59:45

• Handshake Question: Abby asks if they’ll do their handshake when facing each other. Cooper wants a hug instead (“Probably just gonna run up and give you a big hug, bro.” – 47:10).
• Bucket List Vacations: Reed chooses Italy, Cooper says Japan (for go-karting through Tokyo; “Like you’re in Mario Kart” – 49:01).
• Madden Ratings: Reed wants an 80, Cooper reports a leak at 89, laughs about not playing Madden much anymore.
• Game Day Music: Both are superstitious; Reed’s final warm-up song is “My House” by Flo Rida, Cooper’s is “Good Day” by Forrest Frank. Both suggest fans submit a theme song for the show.
• Anime: Neither host watches it, though many teammates have tried to get them into it.
• Wide Receiver Challenge: Fan requests they line up against each other at WR/DB in their NFL matchup. Both say it would be fun, but unlikely.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Philly Sports Fans:
  “They literally booed…every other person hit [a home run]. That was very, very on brand for Philly.” — Cooper, 26:27

• On Top 100 Rankings:
  “I don't even know who votes on these, to be honest.” — Cooper, 04:26

• On Running Youth Camps:
  “If I could have had that as a kid…bro, I don’t know.” — Reed, 30:21

• On Flight Troubles to Houston:
  “The pilot gets on the intercom, like, ‘This day is getting weird…now we’re going to Austin.’” — Reed, 34:13

• On Fast Food:
  “Chick-fil-A, man. God’s chicken.” — Reed, 38:50
  “I’ve never actually had Wendy’s. Fun fact.” — Cooper, 41:20

• On NFL Friendships:
  “Probably just gonna run up and give you a big hug, bro.” — Cooper, 47:10

• On Their New Lives:
  “H Town till we drown, baby.” — Reed, 61:02
  “Go Birds, dickhead.” — Cooper, 61:07

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Episode Structure & Segment Guide

| Segment | Topics Covered | Timestamp | |----------------------------|---------------------------------------------------------------|-------------| | What’s Exciting Us | NFL Top 100, snubs, rankings | 02:25–06:34 | | LeBron to Philly? | Saquon Barkley’s pitch, benefits of playing in Philly | 06:34–09:41 | | Offseason TV | “Quarterback,” “Silo,” “The Office” discussion | 09:41–14:41 | | World Cup Soccer | USMNT performance, shootouts, predictions | 15:14–21:26 | | Fanatics Fest Preview | Live show, Julian Edelman, T-shirts | 21:26–25:47 | | MLB All-Star/HR Derby | Home Run Derby recap, Philly fans, prize money | 25:50–28:48 | | Youth Camp Reports | Giving back, camp experiences, quarterback trash talk | 29:20–32:35 | | Reed’s Houston Move | Flight drama, settling in Texas, food plans | 32:37–36:59 | | Fast Food Draft | 5 rounds, plenty of foodie banter | 36:59–42:45 | | Player of the Week | Jordan Walker shoutout | 43:08–44:40 | | Get Dialed In (Q&A) | Handshakes, vacations, Madden ratings, music, anime, WR duel | 45:24–59:45 |

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Listener Engagement

• Interaction via call-in Q&A; fans thanked for feedback, asked to submit more questions, fast food drafts, Player of the Week nominations, and to help create an official theme song.
• Details for their live show at Fanatics Fest—code “excitingmics10” for ticket discount.
• Socials: @ExcitingMics on all platforms; also mention for their Instagram “Exciting Chat” broadcast channel for more behind-the-scenes content.

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Tone & Style

Genuine, playful, and candid—Cooper and Reed banter like brothers, hype up each other and their cities, give real talk about the player experience, and constantly include their fans in the conversation. Jokes on rankings, Philly pride, and plenty of food and pop culture talk keep the episode light and relatable.

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Summary for New Listeners

If you missed this week’s episode, you missed two NFL DBs roasting NFL Top 100 rankings, celebrating the Philly sports scene, trading soccer and fast food takes, retelling wild travel stories, hyping up their own youth camp memories, and inviting fans into the show at every turn. Don’t miss their live event with Julian Edelman, and tune in each week for more authentic, entertaining, and interactive NFL content straight from the source.

Transcript

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[Cooper Sharp]

These are actually some crazy drops, dude.

[Reed Blankenship]

I would have loved to have gone to one of these camps and actually spent time with a player that I idolized or just saw on tv. I don't know. I'm excited to see where you end up. I mean, you made it out of the top, what, 40?

[Cooper Sharp]

You're getting old, bro.

[Reed Blankenship]

Hey, Cooper. Hey, Reed, it's Abby.

[Cooper Sharp]

Welcome back to the exciting mics connected with Xfinity.

[Reed Blankenship]

I'm Cooper de Jean and I'm reblingship. And we're back with another great episode.

[Cooper Sharp]

Episode. Make sure you, like, comment, share and subscribe on YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Reed Blankenship]

And be sure to follow us on all socials at Exciting mics.

[Cooper Sharp]

Don't forget, we do have Facebook, by the way, too.

[Reed Blankenship]

So we do. Got confirmation on that.

[Cooper Sharp]

If you're on Facebook, check us out on Facebook too.

[Reed Blankenship]

I'm an avid Facebook video watcher, by the way.

[Cooper Sharp]

We're gonna start this pot. You're getting old, bro. We're gonna start this podcast off how we do every single week, episode, whatever you want to call it, with what's exciting us this week. So let's get into it.

[Reed Blankenship]

Little, little yearly NFL top 100 rankings is coming out and we are at what, the first.

[Cooper Sharp]

I think first 40 for first 40.

[Reed Blankenship]

My first boy, Aziz, coming in at 92 for the first time in his career. I think he'd get a little bit lower because he's a.

[Cooper Sharp]

How you say his last name? Al Shire.

[Reed Blankenship]

Yeah, he's.

[Cooper Sharp]

Yeah.

[Reed Blankenship]

I mean, he's like, you know what's crazy? And I'll speak on this for a little bit before you. Like, I got here. Like, he. He was the one that was just wreaking havoc with all the quarterbacks.

[Cooper Sharp]

Yeah.

[Reed Blankenship]

Eating guys late, whatever. But. And they're just trying to play ball,

[Cooper Sharp]

you know, Bro, I've. I've watched that dude play, and there's no. I don't really think he should be that low. So.

[Reed Blankenship]

Yeah, that's what I'm saying. Alumni from fau, Commerce, USA guy. So shout out.

[Cooper Sharp]

Converse USA Is Middle Tennessee in the Conference usa.

[Reed Blankenship]

They are.

[Cooper Sharp]

Wow.

[Reed Blankenship]

Roll Raiders, baby.

[Cooper Sharp]

And then we got Jalen Ramsey at number 82, down 16 from number 66. First year playing safety, I believe you think.

[Reed Blankenship]

Yeah, I was just say. Oh, yeah.

[Cooper Sharp]

First year playing safety last year.

[Reed Blankenship]

Yeah. So I think he can play a little bit longer than he goes.

[Cooper Sharp]

Yeah, he's. He's been in the top 100 probably every single season in his career. Be my.

[Reed Blankenship]

Out of Florida State, right?

[Cooper Sharp]

Yes.

[Reed Blankenship]

Yeah.

[Cooper Sharp]

Couple Florida guys. First two here. Then we got our boy A.J. brown coming in at number 80. From 29.

[Reed Blankenship]

From 29.

[Cooper Sharp]

I don't know either. I've watched him practice, play for the last two years.

[Reed Blankenship]

I mean, we train together, too, and.

[Cooper Sharp]

Yeah.

[Reed Blankenship]

I don't know. Somebody. I feel like some of these rankings are.

[Cooper Sharp]

Yeah. I don't even know who votes on these, to be honest.

[Reed Blankenship]

Is it players?

[Caller/Listener]

Oh.

[Reed Blankenship]

Or is it players or coaches? I don't know.

[Cooper Sharp]

I think it's a little bit of both. Yeah, I think. I don't even think I filled out my. Because don't. The. Doesn't that.

[Reed Blankenship]

I don't remember getting a sheet.

[Cooper Sharp]

Yeah, I don't think I got a sheet this year either.

[Reed Blankenship]

Yeah, I don't think. I think they cut that out because people just, like, didn't do it. That's probably why.

[Cooper Sharp]

Yeah, No, I. I think I remember. I'm walking around the locker room, but I just remember not grabbing one because, I mean, I don't know. I don't think.

[Reed Blankenship]

Travis Kelsey, newlywed to Taylor Swifty.

[Cooper Sharp]

Travis kelsey at number 79 from 37,

[Reed Blankenship]

I guess last year. Yeah, I thought he was gonna retire last year, though.

[Cooper Sharp]

These are actually some crazy drops. I thought he was, too. He still got some juice left, though, so we'll. We'll see. And then lamar Jackson, number 69.

[Reed Blankenship]

Number two. Number two to 60 to 69.

[Cooper Sharp]

Oh. Oh, no, he was.

[Reed Blankenship]

Yeah, he was hurt. That's what I'm saying. He was hurt. I'm pretty sure he was hurt. Like, majority of the year last year.

[Cooper Sharp]

Yeah. So I guess. I guess this has to be based on what you did the year previous, not, like, how it's gotta be, like, dominant over your whole career, because there's no way Lamar Jackson should be a 69.

[Reed Blankenship]

No, no, I agree. It has to be after what you did last year, but I don't know. I'm excited to see where you end up. I mean, you made it out of the top, what, 40?

[Cooper Sharp]

What?

[Caller/Listener]

All right.

[Reed Blankenship]

I'm sure you're gonna be.

[Cooper Sharp]

Yeah, I mean, I think there's 60 players that are. Or no, 40 players that are out there. They go from 100 all the way down to one.

[Caller/Listener]

Right.

[Reed Blankenship]

That's what I'm saying. Like, the. We'll see where you end up.

[Cooper Sharp]

Yeah, we'll see what happens. Let's see what happens, man. Saquon Barkley is pitching LeBron James to come to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. If LeBron called you, what would you tell him about playing in Philly? That's a great question. I mean, I think it's one of the greatest sports talents in the world. I know Josh Hart said the opposite. I saw that today on Twitter, but I have to disagree with him. But, yeah, I mean, if you want to go out with a bang, I feel like a great spot would be in Philly and bring a championship to Philadelphia. You've been remembered forever. Someone just asked me the same question last night at the mlb, Pennsylvania event that I was at. Literally, word for word, said the exact same thing. One of the biggest topics in sports right now is, where's LeBron James going? Right here. I mean, it's the greatest. Greatest sports town in. In the world, so. And if he's got another year, two more years, come to Philly, go out on top. He'll be a legend forever.

[Reed Blankenship]

Yes. Did somebody give you a piece of paper to say or something?

[Cooper Sharp]

No, bro, but, I mean, what Sake once said, and what I said is I feel like it's true. Like, if you're. I mean, yeah, if you're LeBron, literally, Philadelphia is literally the best sports town you could ever play a sport in.

[Reed Blankenship]

You think. You think.

[Cooper Sharp]

I don't know if he'll go here, but if he wants to be a legend forever in Philly, in the world. I mean, he's already a legend in

[Reed Blankenship]

the world, but, yeah, I was gonna say he don't need you.

[Cooper Sharp]

Come to Philly and. You come to Philly and win a championship here. I mean, it's a. It's a whole different level. Yeah. So but we'll see, though. I don't know if. I don't know if or not.

[Reed Blankenship]

I feel like allegedly a lot.

[Cooper Sharp]

Yeah, I mean, well, he was just in Jersey yesterday playing.

[Reed Blankenship]

He could get. I guess. I guess he could get free cheesesteaks, though, for the rest of his life.

[Cooper Sharp]

Yeah, allegedly. Something I saw today, he said he's got all the information he needs to make a decision.

[Reed Blankenship]

Really.

[Cooper Sharp]

So a decision could be coming soon or it couldn't be. You never know.

[Reed Blankenship]

I know.

[Cooper Sharp]

I feel like training camp's probably coming up for those guys. No, this.

[Reed Blankenship]

I don't know. I'm in a summer league right now.

[Cooper Sharp]

I don't know when. Yeah, summer league right now, but I don't actually know when they start. They might not start till October, so he's probably got some time. But LeBron, if you're watching, if you're watching, if you're watching, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, great place. Great place to play basketball, whatever sport. And you can watch other sports like football and baseball and hockey everywhere that's in Houston. Soccer, whatever you need.

[Reed Blankenship]

Yeah, right. But I mean, we are into the shows right now. Yes, we are into the shows. Off season, off season vibes. We are big show watchers. But quarterback is coming back out, I think.

[Caller/Listener]

What.

[Cooper Sharp]

Who's out today?

[Reed Blankenship]

Is out today? Baker Mayfield. Baker Mayfield's on it.

[Cooper Sharp]

Yes. Jaden Daniels on it.

[Reed Blankenship]

Jaden Daniels.

[Cooper Sharp]

Joe Flacco.

[Reed Blankenship]

Fl.

[Cooper Sharp]

And Cam Ward. Yes. I think they did. They all first round picks this year.

[Reed Blankenship]

Really? Never watched it before. I, I've seen. I guess it was the first year where they had Jared Goff and Mahomes and.

[Cooper Sharp]

Yeah, who else?

[Reed Blankenship]

I didn't like. I watched like a couple seasons and, or a couple episodes and I'm like, I don't know.

[Cooper Sharp]

Yeah. Joe Flacco is the first backup ever to be on the show and it's. It's gonna have some cool clips of him because he went. He got traded within his own division.

[Reed Blankenship]

Yeah.

[Cooper Sharp]

During the, during the season.

[Reed Blankenship]

So from the Browns, he's had a crazy, like, career. I mean, he's what, yeah, 40 years old now.

[Cooper Sharp]

He's been in the league for 18 years.

[Reed Blankenship]

Dude. That's nuts.

[Cooper Sharp]

I believe so. Yeah, it is nuts. But I just tried to watch it or I'm, I'm starting to watch it and get into it. You get to see some, like, cool. Get to pick up some good information from, from these.

[Reed Blankenship]

How they operate and stuff. I might have to. I didn't know Cam Ward was in it. I might have to. To watch it. I Guess just watch it as a whole. Just as a whole. Just to see kind of what they're. What they're. Yeah. You know what I'm saying?

[Cooper Sharp]

Yeah. You can almost use Netflix to scout the quarterbacks a little bit. You just kind of see their mentality, you know, throughout the season, throughout a game. You know, things like that. Which is. Which is cool, I think.

[Caller/Listener]

But.

[Reed Blankenship]

Yeah, I'm also watching Silo still. I didn't know it came out, like, every. I forgot what day it was. Thursday or Friday.

[Caller/Listener]

What is.

[Cooper Sharp]

What is Silo?

[Reed Blankenship]

Silo is legit. What? It sounds like these people. It's like the world ended pretty much, and there's, like, these legit silos in the ground where, like, people live and, like, they're trying to figure out, like, why they can't go outside and why are they stuck or why is there certain. It's. It's actually pretty. It's pretty cool. I think there's books about it, but I don't know.

[Cooper Sharp]

I'm not interesting.

[Caller/Listener]

What.

[Cooper Sharp]

What's it on? What platform?

[Reed Blankenship]

It's on Apple tv.

[Cooper Sharp]

That's it?

[Caller/Listener]

Yeah.

[Reed Blankenship]

What else you wanted on?

[Cooper Sharp]

I don't even think I have Apple tv.

[Reed Blankenship]

Apple TV has some good shows on there, dude. I think Ted Lasso there, too.

[Cooper Sharp]

Is it, like. Is it. Do you have to buy a subscription?

[Reed Blankenship]

Yeah, obviously. I mean, the entertainment business runs on subscriptions now.

[Cooper Sharp]

Yeah, but Apple tv, I feel like everybody's on, like, Prime Video or Netflix or Peacock.

[Reed Blankenship]

Well, then Apple TV is also in the mix. Apple TV's been around for a little bit, though. Apple TV's had, like, the little boxes that you could connect to your tv.

[Cooper Sharp]

Yeah, I never had. I never heard of a good show on Apple tv.

[Reed Blankenship]

You also need to watch the Office, bro. You watch the Office?

[Cooper Sharp]

No Shade on Apple tv. There's, like, the Office five seasons.

[Reed Blankenship]

I know, but, like, I've. I've never liked to watch a show where there was, like, no point to

[Cooper Sharp]

it,

[Reed Blankenship]

but, like, Elsa started to, like, really get me into it. I'm like, what's so good about the Office? Like, it's not even my humor. And I was completely wrong, dude. It's exactly my humor. It's hilarious. It's.

[Cooper Sharp]

Have you finished it?

[Reed Blankenship]

I haven't finished it yet. It's.

[Cooper Sharp]

I don't.

[Reed Blankenship]

There's nothing. It's like a doctor. It's a document. It's like a documentary of what goes on in the Office. But it's the sh. It's. I don't know.

[Cooper Sharp]

I was actually just In Scranton, Pennsylvania. Filmed. I actually went and walked around where they filmed it.

[Reed Blankenship]

Really? Now, for the people watching, and if you.

[Cooper Sharp]

I didn't actually do that.

[Reed Blankenship]

Whatever. For the people watching. If you are an avid. The office watcher, please. I want. I want y' all to tell us what characters we would be.

[Cooper Sharp]

Yeah.

[Reed Blankenship]

Because I have, like, a version in my head of who I would be, but I just want to see who would Coop be? Who would I be?

[Cooper Sharp]

Yeah, who do you think would be?

[Reed Blankenship]

Because that was. That would be hilarious.

[Cooper Sharp]

We should get, like, a. A poll going. Not a poll. We'll get something figured out where we can. Yes.

[Reed Blankenship]

I could be Jim.

[Cooper Sharp]

Who's Jim?

[Reed Blankenship]

Just. I'm Jim. Don't worry about it. Just our. Our list.

[Cooper Sharp]

Fans decide.

[Reed Blankenship]

Yeah.

[Cooper Sharp]

How about that?

[Reed Blankenship]

We will. We will.

[Cooper Sharp]

We will let the fans decide who we are in the office and if we should start our own TV show.

[Reed Blankenship]

Netflix.

[Cooper Sharp]

But on another note, we have the World cup final coming up. It's a semifinals right now. France and Spain are playing as we speak right now, and my pick is France. I believe Spain is up to nothing right now, so France could be in trouble. But we also have England versus Argentina tomorrow. It's crazy how long the World cup goes on for, though.

[Reed Blankenship]

It's insane. I feel like. I feel like when the US Lost, I haven't been seeing, like, any talks anymore.

[Cooper Sharp]

I know.

[Reed Blankenship]

Like, you're so interested, and then all of a sudden, you know, your team loses and you're like, well, yeah, everybody has been catching a lot of.

[Cooper Sharp]

Everybody's throwing shade at the United States of America for the way they played in the last game, which was. It was a little disappointing.

[Reed Blankenship]

Wasn't their best game. Yeah, it wasn't a last game. Yeah.

[Cooper Sharp]

It just.

[Reed Blankenship]

It was. Honestly, you know, I was. I actually sought it out. I'm saying, I told myself, I'm gonna sit here and watch this game, and all of a sudden, I think. I. I don't know.

[Cooper Sharp]

Yeah, I watched the whole game too quick. It just didn't seem like they were attacking.

[Reed Blankenship]

See, here we are talking about. Here we are talking about them.

[Cooper Sharp]

Like, I feel like I'm a. A fan on Twitter right now.

[Reed Blankenship]

I'm just like, there's no. Like, that's hard. Yeah. I have no idea about soccer, but that's hard. It's like I'm sitting here saying, oh, that could have done better.

[Cooper Sharp]

Why don't you get one of the soccer players on here and they can explain it to us a little bit? That might help. We'll see what we can. We can work out, but do you have any favorite moments, any game watched?

[Reed Blankenship]

I wouldn't say, like, I. I would say, like, the favorite parts of the

[Cooper Sharp]

experience, like freaking being in the United States and North America.

[Reed Blankenship]

Yeah, well, yeah. Holland, bro. I don't know what it is, but, like, he was just so cool to. To. To watch. And then their celebration, like, when they won. The row.

[Cooper Sharp]

The row.

[Reed Blankenship]

Tough. It's so tough.

[Cooper Sharp]

But people are starting to do it. Like. Like they got kids doing it at camps and now really, like, it's become, like, a big thing, I think.

[Reed Blankenship]

Well, it's sick. I mean, you get it is.

[Cooper Sharp]

It is sick. The whole.

[Reed Blankenship]

The whole, like, crowd to do it. I mean, it's like, I guess us singing Country Roads, but. Yeah.

[Cooper Sharp]

Oh, yeah. That is sweet. But, yeah, I mean, I. I thought the experience was just cool all around. I mean, I've never watched as much soccer as I did with the World Cup. Being here didn't make it to a game, but it was just such a. I feel like some of the other soccer games, like, the other leagues, it's not as high of a level, but you literally have every team's, you know, best players coming together to put on for their country, which was cool to see. A lot of goals are scored. My favorite part about soccer is the shootouts, though, dude. I think the shootouts are pretty sick.

[Reed Blankenship]

How hard would it be to be a goalie, though?

[Cooper Sharp]

Yeah, I mean, you literally just have to guess, I think, like, you.

[Reed Blankenship]

Because how.

[Cooper Sharp]

How.

[Reed Blankenship]

What's the dimensions of the goal?

[Cooper Sharp]

I have no idea.

[Reed Blankenship]

But, like, I know, I know I'm asking the wrong guy, but it's just.

[Cooper Sharp]

It's a few. Obviously, big goal to cover from that far away. It looks like they're like, 24ft wide.

[Reed Blankenship]

Yes. And 8ft.

[Cooper Sharp]

24ft wide. 8ft tall. I guess.

[Reed Blankenship]

I mean, that's a lot of ground.

[Cooper Sharp]

Yeah. It's not as tall as I thought it was. It's still a lot of four feet wide. Is insane.

[Reed Blankenship]

Yeah. I don't know.

[Cooper Sharp]

I wonder how far away. How far away are they on those penalty kicks, though? It looks like they're like 10 yards away.

[Reed Blankenship]

I know it's very close. 20 is. Would it be 20 yards, you think?

[Cooper Sharp]

I think it's like 10 or 15, to be honest.

[Reed Blankenship]

That's like a split second decision, though. 12 yards. That's 12 yards away.

[Cooper Sharp]

You literally have to guess.

[Reed Blankenship]

No. Yeah. No, that's what I'm saying. Unless. Yeah.

[Cooper Sharp]

All right. If you. If you got six shots on a goalie, in the World cup, from 12 yards away, how many are you scoring?

[Reed Blankenship]

You said six shots?

[Cooper Sharp]

Yes.

[Reed Blankenship]

Four.

[Cooper Sharp]

Yeah, I think I'm scoring five or six.

[Reed Blankenship]

You think you score all of them? There's no way.

[Cooper Sharp]

I think I could.

[Reed Blankenship]

Dude. I'm leaving myself two misses because I kicked it too high.

[Cooper Sharp]

Yeah, I guess.

[Caller/Listener]

Yeah.

[Reed Blankenship]

I'm only giving myself two misses because of that. Other than that, I'm.

[Cooper Sharp]

I didn't think about the operation error.

[Reed Blankenship]

Yeah, there.

[Cooper Sharp]

I want to say five or six. You ever kicked the soccer. Did you ever play soccer growing up?

[Reed Blankenship]

Never played soccer. Did you play. Did you play soccer?

[Cooper Sharp]

Yeah, I played soccer when I was a kid. I just kicked the ball and run as fast as I could and chase it down.

[Reed Blankenship]

I don't think we even.

[Cooper Sharp]

I wasn't too serious.

[Reed Blankenship]

We didn't have that around, like, where I grew up. For real. I don't think maybe we did. I just didn't play it.

[Cooper Sharp]

Do you have any predictions on who might win the World Cup? France, Spain, England or Argentina?

[Reed Blankenship]

I'mma say I'm g. Go France.

[Cooper Sharp]

Yeah. France is down 2 nothing right now, but you can still pick them.

[Reed Blankenship]

You never know.

[Cooper Sharp]

France was my original pick, but if France loses today, I think Argentina wins it.

[Reed Blankenship]

So if we're saying they lose today.

[Cooper Sharp]

Yeah. If France is out today because they're down to nothing right now, it's pretty. I mean, I don't know. I feel like it's hard to come back from two nothing this late.

[Reed Blankenship]

But you never know, though. And Cooper, you know what else is exciting us this week?

[Cooper Sharp]

What's that?

[Reed Blankenship]

Fanatics Fest is going to be on in New York city this week, July 16th through the 19th at the Jarvis

[Cooper Sharp]

center and Javits Center.

[Reed Blankenship]

Oh, I thought it was.

[Cooper Sharp]

I don't know what it's called, but July 16th through the 19th, Fanatics Fest this weekend. Don't miss out because we'll be there.

[Reed Blankenship]

We will be there. We'll be there for our special live show on Saturday with a special guest. Yes, Julian.

[Cooper Sharp]

Mr. Edelman. Julian Edelman. Which will be cool because, I mean, obviously he's one of the greatest receivers to ever do it. Even played some defensive back from Kent State, the Golden Flashes. Fun fact, actually a quarterback in college, so that'll. That'll be cool to talk to him about that, his transition to the NFL, what he was able to accomplish. And obviously playing with. With Tom Brady, one of the best to. To ever do it. And, you know, went in a couple. One of a couple rings with him.

[Reed Blankenship]

Yeah. And, you know, if you're a fan of the podcast. We might have a few T shirts to give away.

[Cooper Sharp]

We got some T shirts. Just so you know. They're going to be sick. Absolutely.

[Reed Blankenship]

They're gonna be sick. I mean, I wouldn't want to miss this, honestly.

[Cooper Sharp]

Kind of mimicking one of me and Reed's favorite movies. Maybe.

[Reed Blankenship]

I might have said it in the podcast before, who knows?

[Cooper Sharp]

But might have.

[Reed Blankenship]

Might have.

[Cooper Sharp]

Might have. But.

[Reed Blankenship]

But you can.

[Cooper Sharp]

But if you're coming to the live show or want to come to the live show and you're trying to find tickets, we have a 10 discount code. When you're purchasing your tickets, you can use code exciting Mike's 10 for 10 off your tickets to Fanatics Fest to watch our live show. I mean, we're just gonna have fun. I mean, this ever live show.

[Reed Blankenship]

Yeah, this. I'm. I'm a rookie to this. You're the vet in this situation because you've been to the Fanatics Fest, right?

[Cooper Sharp]

Yes, I've been to Fanatics Fest. It is the number one sports fan festival in the world.

[Reed Blankenship]

They're crazy.

[Cooper Sharp]

That's what they're saying, bro. It's actually insane. They. They take over this whole, like, convention center. There's like, events, games. You can do different, like sponsorship areas. You can shoot hoops, play football, see your favorite athletes, get autographs. I mean, it's like a. It's literally a zoo in there, but it's actually insane.

[Reed Blankenship]

I'm actually.

[Cooper Sharp]

I had a lot of fun last year when, when I went.

[Reed Blankenship]

Did you get to meet a lot of people? Like a lot of athletes and stuff or just you were.

[Cooper Sharp]

I did actually. I did see a bunch of athletes. Some people even you wouldn't think you. You would see in your life probably, but it was. Yeah, I mean, literally every. Most athletes go to this, so it's. It's gonna be insane. It's gonna be a lot of fun. If you guys have any ideas what we should talk about on the podcast with Julian Edelman, let us know in the comments if you guys give us the questions. Questions. But we're gonna have some. We're gonna have some fun, have a good conversation, talk about his playing career, what he's done after he's got. Done playing. I actually got to shoot a commercial with him this, this last. Last summer, which is pretty cool to. To talk to him and, you know, see what he had to. Had to say and kind of hear about what he's been doing since he left football. So perfect. It'll be sick. This Saturday, July 18, 11am Market. Put it in your calendar.

[Caller/Listener]

Yeah.

[Cooper Sharp]

And we also have the MLB All Star Game in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania right now. Got this hat on. I got it last night, the Home Run Derby. It was kind of sick. Not going to lie being down on the field to. To watch those guys take some hacks. Obviously Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber both competed in it, which was, which was fun to watch. Obviously two of two of the hometown players competing in the Home Run Derby.

[Caller/Listener]

Not.

[Cooper Sharp]

You should have heard these fans, bro. Anytime. It wasn't. It wasn't Bryce Harper or Kyle Schwarber. They literally booed every, they were booing for every, every home run every other person hit. And when they stepped up to the plate and then when they got out, they would start cheering. It was, it was actually, it was very, very on brand for, for Philly. So that's hilarious. It was sick.

[Reed Blankenship]

But there was a winner, obviously. Jordan Walker, the St. Louis Cardinals. First player in franchise history for the Cardinals to win.

[Cooper Sharp]

So this dude was absolutely hammering the ball. Really like he was. Most of his home runs were just like line drives straight to. To left field. It was actually insane. And it's only as. I mean, he came into in the league when he was really young, I think for MLB standards at least. And this is his third season that he's in right now, and he's just, he's going crazy.

[Reed Blankenship]

Amen.

[Cooper Sharp]

Just hitting bombs. They were hammering the ball. I mean, Swarber, Schwarber was sitting like consistently in the second deck. It was insane.

[Reed Blankenship]

But I mean, obviously there's always, I feel like there's always a curse for everything. So there is a Home Run Derby curse. So even if you participate, there seems to be a drop off in homer and distance production in the second half of the season. Maybe that's kind of like. I don't want to bring a curse on any athlete. That's what I'm saying, like a man curse. I don't want to bring on any curse of the athlete, but that's just a fact.

[Cooper Sharp]

I think Jordan Alvarez from the Astros, he's the home run lead home run leader in the al, the American League right now. And he, he didn't even compete in the, in the Home Run Derby, but which is. I mean, he must not want to. He must be thinking about that curse.

[Reed Blankenship]

He's maybe heard about curse. So.

[Cooper Sharp]

Bro. But the winner, Walker, he. His salary right now is like 750,000. You know what he got for winning the Home Run Derby last night?

[Reed Blankenship]

How much?

[Cooper Sharp]

A million. Insane.

[Reed Blankenship]

In one Night.

[Cooper Sharp]

A million dollars. You used to get a car, I think. I don't know if you get a car still. He got a million dollars and a $250,000 chain, which is sick.

[Reed Blankenship]

And just go ahead and give me the $250,000 in cash.

[Cooper Sharp]

Exactly, bro. Schwerber got 500k for coming in second.

[Caller/Listener]

Second.

[Cooper Sharp]

But it was a lot of fun going to the. Going to the all star game tonight, which will be. Be cool to see. So excited.

[Reed Blankenship]

Have fun, bro.

[Cooper Sharp]

Anyways, read blanket ship. I want to hear what's exciting you. Can we, can we hear what you had going on this past. This past week?

[Reed Blankenship]

Well, I flew up to Philly and we, me and you, we both had a couple camps. We have one in what, Delaware and then in Germantown and.

[Cooper Sharp]

Yes. How was the experience for you?

[Reed Blankenship]

Oh, it's great. I love doing camps like that because I always think. I always think back to when I was, I guess in elementary school. Whatever. I. I would. Dude, I would have loved to have gone to one of these camps and actually spent time with a player that I idolized or just saw on tv, you know, and like we. I mean, we ended up playing like 707 with them.

[Cooper Sharp]

Yeah, we were just playing football the whole time.

[Reed Blankenship]

Yeah, we were very interact. Like if I could have had that as a kid. Dude, bro, I don't know.

[Cooper Sharp]

Shout out to flex works though.

[Reed Blankenship]

I'll tell you this. And everybody that helped in that camp made our job so much easier, so easy. We just, we legit had to show up and then just have fun, you know?

[Cooper Sharp]

Yeah. And we had a lot of fun doing that. I had a lot of fun in our camps just because we got to go against each other, both playing quarterback and all.

[Reed Blankenship]

It was fun, friendly competition.

[Cooper Sharp]

You should you guys until. No, bro, you should have seen this dude read trying to play quarterback at the end.

[Reed Blankenship]

No, no, no, no, no.

[Cooper Sharp]

So we did one on ones at the end of the camp. They put this dude Read at quarterback. I mean, you would have thought he'd never threw a football, bro.

[Reed Blankenship]

But you know what? You may tell you me tell the listeners why it's because someone doesn't know when to like, oh. Or you. You're. Majority of the time you're playing normal. You're trying to actually.

[Cooper Sharp]

Kids can't all win.

[Reed Blankenship]

I understand.

[Cooper Sharp]

How are they going to know how to get better and compete if they just. If I just let them catch the ball every single time.

[Reed Blankenship]

I get it. I mean, some of the older ones

[Cooper Sharp]

we had ain't free. Gotta Earn that.

[Reed Blankenship]

But you know what? Hey, they let me know. All the kids there, they let me. They heckled me the whole time, saying I shouldn't be there or shouldn't be the quarterback shouldn't be there. That shouldn't be there, but should, you know, hey, it is.

[Cooper Sharp]

I was dropping some dimes, though.

[Reed Blankenship]

No, you weren't. Actually. Guys wanted to know he wasn't.

[Cooper Sharp]

But hopefully we can do it again soon. Maybe. Maybe we'll shoot down to Houston. Get one in down, man, after the season, so. But yeah, we had camps. Me and Reed did ours Friday, Saturday, I had two more, Sunday and Monday. So I was, I mean, worn out this weekend. But it was a lot of fun, you know, seeing all the kids, seeing. Seeing the smiles on their face. It was pretty hot too.

[Reed Blankenship]

But the kids, it did get a little toasty.

[Cooper Sharp]

But they were rolling. They were rolling. It was a lot of fun.

[Reed Blankenship]

It was great.

[Cooper Sharp]

Reed, you. It appears you have a new setup behind you. Is that true?

[Reed Blankenship]

I do. Little change of scenery, right?

[Cooper Sharp]

Where are you. Where are you currently at right now?

[Reed Blankenship]

I am currently in Houston.

[Cooper Sharp]

Houston. Houston, Texas?

[Reed Blankenship]

Yes.

[Cooper Sharp]

And let me tell you, this dude got a big ass house. Big ass house.

[Reed Blankenship]

We're not talking about it.

[Cooper Sharp]

We got that money.

[Reed Blankenship]

No. Let me tell you about the flight here, Cooper.

[Cooper Sharp]

Oh, boy. Oh, boy. Baby. Is it the first time, the baby.

[Reed Blankenship]

First time she got her wings. So they give us a little pin. It has their little wings, but so get to Nashville. It's only an hour and a half flight, right? So we're like, oh, we leave at 11 o'. Clock. We're gonna get to the house around 1:32. We'll have our target order, get everything set up, be fine. All is well. It took us five and a half hours to get here yesterday, dude, why? It took us five and a half hours. We left, everything was fine. Timed up feedings, whatever. We're getting there. We're getting close to Houston. And the pilot gets on the intercom. It's like, this day is getting weird. We're gonna have to direct. Yeah. So we're gonna have to direct our flight to San Antonio. And I'm like, oh, my gosh, Lucy's doing great. Like, she's. It's tough. She's having her fussiness, whatever. She's doing great, though. So we start flying or going there. He comes back on. He says, well, this day is getting even weirder. I'm like, bro, he said weird at first and weirder. And I'm like, oh, no. What? I mean, that's the la. You don't want to hear that on airplane.

[Cooper Sharp]

Yeah, you don't want to hear that.

[Caller/Listener]

You don't.

[Cooper Sharp]

You don't on a plane.

[Reed Blankenship]

And he comes on, he's like, well, San Antonio's air traffic control tower shut down because there was no air conditioning in there, so they just left. And I'm like, yeah. And he's like, well, now we're going to Austin. So I'm like, in the air. Austin to Houston is like 30 minutes, but I think it's like a couple hours away from Houston. So we land. Houston has bad weather, so that's why we were getting into Austin. We land and we just sit. We sit on the tarmac for, dude, two hours. Me and Elsa haven't. We haven't ate anything. We've ate like a granola bar and like the snacks on the plane. Lucy's getting irritated, as she should. We're trying to feed her. There's people slamming their stuff. They finally ask people on the plane, like, do you all want to get off? And I'm like, yeah, let's go.

[Cooper Sharp]

Yes, we want to go.

[Reed Blankenship]

They said, you can, you can get off, but if you have bags under the plane, then the bags are going to Houston regardless if you get off this plane or not. Dude, I had seven bags.

[Cooper Sharp]

Yeah, that probably would have been good.

[Reed Blankenship]

Dude, we didn't get. We didn't get in Houston. We. We had to fly an hour around to get to Houston because of weather. It wasn't a 30 minute flight. It was an hour. So we sat on the tournament for like two hours.

[Cooper Sharp]

Yeah, that's insane.

[Reed Blankenship]

It was just it. You talking about tired. You're talking about aggravated.

[Cooper Sharp]

We're a wild ride for. For Lucy, though. Hey, first experience, she was a trooper.

[Reed Blankenship]

She got her wings. Now we just got to get her back on schedule and we'll be fine.

[Cooper Sharp]

But she made it to Houston.

[Reed Blankenship]

That's made it to Houston about it. We're good. Ready to get this next chapter of our lives started.

[Cooper Sharp]

So do you have any. Do you have any favorite spots in Houston yet from your OTAS experience?

[Reed Blankenship]

Not yet. I heard there. Heard Houston's big on like, obviously barbecue. Like Tex Mex is like a big thing down here too. So we're super excited to try these restaurants out.

[Cooper Sharp]

Can't wait to come check out the house, bro.

[Reed Blankenship]

I know you'll be here. You'll be here now next week.

[Cooper Sharp]

Be there soon.

[Reed Blankenship]

See all Uncle Coop sees, Lucy.

[Cooper Sharp]

Yes. It's gonna be amazing.

[Reed Blankenship]

That'll be a good video.

[Cooper Sharp]

Welcome back to exciting mics connected with Xfinity. Our next segment on the show today is exciting picks. And today our category is fast food chains. So Reed went first last week. I'm gonna go first this week. So my first pick for fast food chains. Hold on. Fast food chains? Are we, like, does it have to have a drive thru in order to be a fast food chain?

[Reed Blankenship]

Oh, good point. Yes.

[Cooper Sharp]

So, like, are we considering Chipotle fast food? No.

[Reed Blankenship]

Oh, Chipotle has a draft through. I've seen there's one in Tennessee that's draft through. Draft through.

[Cooper Sharp]

We're not considering Chipotle as. As.

[Reed Blankenship]

Okay.

[Cooper Sharp]

Fast food. Okay. So I actually have to think about this. I didn't really have anything planned coming into this.

[Reed Blankenship]

Give me.

[Cooper Sharp]

I do have a pick that's always very consistent and that I love very much. During the day or even if you need, like, a late, late night snack.

[Reed Blankenship]

Spit it out.

[Cooper Sharp]

Late night snack. Late, late. I'm gonna go Taco Bell.

[Reed Blankenship]

What?

[Cooper Sharp]

The Crunch Wrap supreme, bro.

[Reed Blankenship]

Didn't I have to remove undefeated ingredient because of.

[Cooper Sharp]

No. I don't know.

[Reed Blankenship]

Whatever. All right.

[Cooper Sharp]

Still eat it, though. Undefeated Crunchwrap Supreme.

[Caller/Listener]

Is it, though?

[Grainger Announcer]

All right.

[Cooper Sharp]

Oh, my gosh.

[Reed Blankenship]

My turn.

[Cooper Sharp]

And Doritos Locos Tacos.

[Reed Blankenship]

God's chicken. Chick fil A, man. Put that on one.

[Cooper Sharp]

Not a chick fil A guy.

[Reed Blankenship]

What?

[Cooper Sharp]

Hey, Chick fil A, dude.

[Reed Blankenship]

What? Wow.

[Cooper Sharp]

I would take Chick fil A. I would take raising canes over Chick fil a any day of the week. And speaking of raising canes, that is my second overall pick. Raising canes spelled with a C, actually. Thank you very much.

[Reed Blankenship]

All right, My second. I'm gonna have to do Culver's.

[Cooper Sharp]

Culver's. Oh, that's a good poll. That's actually a great Culver's.

[Reed Blankenship]

Yeah, I'm gonna do Culver's.

[Cooper Sharp]

I'm gonna go with my favorite fast food burger, Shake Shack.

[Reed Blankenship]

Oh, Shake Shack.

[Cooper Sharp]

Easy Shake.

[Reed Blankenship]

I haven't had a Shake Shack burger.

[Cooper Sharp]

You get a little milkshake with it, too. Gas.

[Reed Blankenship]

Yeah.

[Caller/Listener]

Oh.

[Reed Blankenship]

Does five guys have a drive through?

[Cooper Sharp]

I don't know if I considered five guys. Fast food spot.

[Reed Blankenship]

Dang. Let's put in and out, then in and out. In and out. Yeah.

[Cooper Sharp]

So you think In n out is better than Shake Shack? Do you think that or.

[Reed Blankenship]

I'm not.

[Caller/Listener]

Did you just pick.

[Reed Blankenship]

You took it.

[Cooper Sharp]

Yeah. Did you just pick it just because I took it?

[Reed Blankenship]

That. Yes. That's. That's why I picked in and out.

[Cooper Sharp]

Okay. My pick is Jimmy. A great place to get A good job. I usually get the number 11 country club, no tomato. If you ever want to check it out. Go check it out. Jimmy John's is not a sponsor of the podcast, but I'm just letting you guys know what I get from Jimmy John's.

[Reed Blankenship]

That was it? No, it was Jersey Mike's.

[Cooper Sharp]

Oh, you gotta get. Bro, you got to get the Jimmy chips with the sandwich. You put the chips on the sandwich gas.

[Reed Blankenship]

I'm going to go Wendy's.

[Cooper Sharp]

You're disgusting.

[Reed Blankenship]

Faux fo.

[Cooper Sharp]

Just kidding. I've never actually had Wendy's. Fun fact. So you should try it. All right.

[Reed Blankenship]

Maybe I will get a Frosty. At least. Frosty.

[Cooper Sharp]

We'll go McDonald's. Oh, french fries, little double cheeseburger. Their breakfast. I usually get the McGriddle. The McGriddle.

[Reed Blankenship]

Yes. McGriddle is undefeated. I ain't gonna lie. I think my fifth. My fifth one. I'm going to go the sub route to and do Jersey Mike's.

[Cooper Sharp]

Jersey Mike. That's a good, good choice.

[Reed Blankenship]

Jersey Mike's. I think that's the place that had went viral for their, like, pregnancy sub. Oh, yeah, because, like, we can't have pregnant women. Can't have deli meat.

[Cooper Sharp]

Really?

[Reed Blankenship]

Yeah.

[Cooper Sharp]

No, that's kind of crazy.

[Reed Blankenship]

I forgot.

[Cooper Sharp]

What, do you get your sub done Mike's way or.

[Reed Blankenship]

No, no.

[Cooper Sharp]

Damn.

[Reed Blankenship]

I sometimes get a cheesesteak from there when I'm obviously, like, in Tennessee.

[Cooper Sharp]

Yeah. Okay, that's interesting.

[Reed Blankenship]

Make sure y' all go over to Exciting Mics on Social and tap the link in our bio to fill out your own drafts and tag exciting mics when you share them. Please share.

[Cooper Sharp]

And if you don't do it, we're going to be really upset. Sorry. You better do it. Don't skip. Go to the link in the description of our Instagram, please. I think it's in our Instagram. Yes. Of our Instagram. And make your picks, please, because I think my picks are better than your picks.

[Reed Blankenship]

I don't think they are.

[Cooper Sharp]

So no, thank you.

[Reed Blankenship]

Violated Chick Fil A your picks.

[Cooper Sharp]

Oh, who's ever watching. Oh, my picks are better than your picks. So see if he can get some better picks than me. Our next segment on the podcast, we are going to choose our Cooper Sharp Player of the Week.

[Reed Blankenship]

Who is it?

[Cooper Sharp]

This week's Cooper Sharp Player of the Week. I mean, after watching this dude hit bombs last night, I think it's pretty easy decision. Jordan Walker, St. Louis Cardinals right fielder, is my pick for Cooper Sharp Player of the Week. Even though guys I still love the Phillies, by the way, just so you guys boo him, but this dude was hitting bombs last night and yeah, it's pretty fun to watch him and him and Schwaber go back and forth. I mean, Jordan Walker got to like eight home runs. Schwerber had 11, and he was down his last swing. And like on the last swing, it's like a different ball. And if you hit it out, you get to keep going. So he was at 8 with one swing to go, hit it out and just kept going. Ended up winning. It was fun to watch though, that last round, Schwaber versus Jordan Walker. So that was pretty sweet.

[Reed Blankenship]

Yeah, I wish I could have seen it. But that's this week's Cooper Sharp Player of the Week. When you're building your own game day lineup, make it Cooper Sharp. Visit CooperCheese.com to learn more for next week. We want your nominations, your nominations for our Cooper Sharp Player of the Week. This could be a professional player, high school player, college athlete that has a skill, smarts, and clutch performance worthy of the spotlight. So submit your standout athlete nominations in the link in our bio, DM or in the comments. Please. We want to see.

[Cooper Sharp]

Please.

[Reed Blankenship]

We want to see. We want to see some baller athletes, man. Come on. Regardless of age, man.

[Cooper Sharp]

Here we go. It's time for our favorite segment on the podcast. This is Get Dialed In, Connected with Xfinity. Let's see if we get some more Texans fans in here this week.

[Reed Blankenship]

We will.

[Cooper Sharp]

Maybe. Maybe. We'll see. Let's hear them.

[Reed Blankenship]

Hey, Cooper. Hey, Reed, it's Abby. I thought I'd let you guys know

[Cooper Sharp]

what I'm excited for.

[Reed Blankenship]

I'm excited to watch you both this season. Cooper, I can't wait to see you and your hard work payoff, especially with the new position. Reed, congrats on baby Lucy. She's adorable. Good luck in Houston and congrats to both of you. Season 2 exciting mics, tune in and ball knowledge. And my question for you guys, are you guys going to hit your handshake when you guys play against each other?

[Cooper Sharp]

That's Abby Brow.

[Reed Blankenship]

Oh, shout out Abby.

[Cooper Sharp]

Someone had to tell her to do that.

[Reed Blankenship]

Maybe you.

[Cooper Sharp]

It wasn't me.

[Reed Blankenship]

She gets to. Actually, she gets to see baby Lucy, too.

[Cooper Sharp]

Yes, but thank you, baby Lucy. Also appreciate it, but yes. Abby, make sure you keep turning in or. Oh, wait.

[Reed Blankenship]

Oh, he's getting flustered.

[Cooper Sharp]

She made me nervous. Abby, make sure you keep tuning in to the podcast so you can learn some more about the game of football. Even though I already know. You know a lot.

[Reed Blankenship]

But we will not be doing any handshakes.

[Cooper Sharp]

Yes, we are, bro.

[Caller/Listener]

Are we?

[Reed Blankenship]

Dude, I forgot all of ours. I think.

[Cooper Sharp]

Yeah, I'm probably just gonna give you. Probably just gonna run up and give you a big hug, bro.

[Reed Blankenship]

Yeah, I'll take that.

[Cooper Sharp]

Lift you off the ground and then run and tackle you when I'm on the field.

[Reed Blankenship]

Just randomly.

[Cooper Sharp]

Yeah, randomly. Just run on the field and tackle us. Abby, thank you so much.

[Reed Blankenship]

Yeah, thank you.

[Cooper Sharp]

Message.

[Caller/Listener]

Yo, Coop. Yo, Reed. Yeah, I wish you guys both a congratulations on season two of Exciting Mics. Long time Westerner, always happy to see you guys every Thursday. Quick question for you guys since we are in the midst of the off season. While I know you guys are still obligated to, you know, practices here and there, since we are in the summer now. What's your guys dream vacations you guys haven't got to yet? Something on the bucket list.

[Reed Blankenship]

Oh, I got one right now, you guys.

[Caller/Listener]

Christmas Eve at the Link. Go Birds. And for you to read. Go tacting. And I will see you guys soon.

[Reed Blankenship]

Appreciate you, I think.

[Cooper Sharp]

Thanks, bro.

[Reed Blankenship]

Yeah, I think I want to go to Italy. I do want to go to Italy.

[Cooper Sharp]

Italy. I would love to go to Italy also, but Japan probably.

[Reed Blankenship]

Really?

[Cooper Sharp]

Everybody's been loving Japan, so I think I have to go.

[Reed Blankenship]

Why not?

[Cooper Sharp]

You get a. You can ride.

[Reed Blankenship]

Why? What can you ride?

[Cooper Sharp]

Go karts around Tokyo. Like actual Go karts on the street of Tokyo.

[Reed Blankenship]

Oh, that's dangerous.

[Cooper Sharp]

Like you're in Mario Kart.

[Reed Blankenship]

I love it.

[Cooper Sharp]

Kind of sick.

[Reed Blankenship]

I would love to do that actually.

[Cooper Sharp]

Maybe we should take exciting. Oh, and we're gonna take it. We're gonna take it worldwide.

[Reed Blankenship]

Proceed.

[Cooper Sharp]

Film, film, a podcast in some different countries.

[Reed Blankenship]

We can get on a sailboat, do a whole music video, do the whole shebang. Shebang.

[Cooper Sharp]

Yeah, bro. Sure. Sounds like a great idea.

[Reed Blankenship]

You don't understand it, do you?

[Caller/Listener]

Hey, Cooper, I just want to thank you. My son just attended your football camp in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania and he had an awesome and memorable time. Dude, thanks so much for being here, dude. Love you. Bye.

[Cooper Sharp]

Love you. Thank you. Thank you for bringing your son to my football camp. I had a blast also.

[Reed Blankenship]

It was worth it.

[Cooper Sharp]

He had a great time. So we'll see you guys again next summer. Hopefully we'll get some more camps rolling.

[Caller/Listener]

What's up, Coop? What's up, Reed?

[Cooper Sharp]

Yo, what's up?

[Caller/Listener]

My question for both of you. What do y' all think your Madden rating is gonna be? I feel like for Madden 26, your ratings both of your ratings are kind of low, but. Yeah.

But.

[Cooper Sharp]

Yeah.

[Reed Blankenship]

Okay, give me 80.

[Caller/Listener]

Excuse me? 80.

[Reed Blankenship]

I just call it a day.

[Cooper Sharp]

You got to be an 80 at least.

[Reed Blankenship]

Just give me an 80, man.

[Cooper Sharp]

I actually saw a leak.

[Reed Blankenship]

Yeah, you're like 80. Are you 89?

[Cooper Sharp]

Yeah. Someone said I was an 89 in the New game, which is kind of insane.

[Reed Blankenship]

It really is not. She liked that.

[Cooper Sharp]

I don't even know what my rating was in the last Madden, so.

[Reed Blankenship]

Yeah, I don't. I don't really.

[Cooper Sharp]

That shows you how much I play mad.

[Reed Blankenship]

Yeah, I don't. I don't think I've owned a Madden game in years.

[Caller/Listener]

Hey, Cooper. Hey, Reed. Just wanted to. My name's Maggie. I am from South Carolina. Just wanted to say, love what we've seen so far. Can't wait to see what you guys have coming up this season. Reed, can't wait to see what you do in Houston. You're gonna kill it. We already know.

[Cooper Sharp]

Thank you, Hurston.

[Caller/Listener]

We love you. Go, Birds. Go Birds. Always Go Birds. Go Birds, Go Birds. Just want to be okay Go, Birds

[Reed Blankenship]

in the south okay.

[Caller/Listener]

We still love you from afar. God bless you for not going to Dallas. Thank God every day for that look. Love you. Can't wait to see y' all play this season.

[Reed Blankenship]

We can all agree, we can all agree that we always hate, we always will hate one team in Texas. Dallas.

[Cooper Sharp]

Yes, sir. So we are in agreement on that one.

[Caller/Listener]

Hey, group. Hey, Reed. My name is Reagan and I'm a huge IR fan and our student. This is a question for Coop. I was wondering what your thoughts were this football season in 2025 when Jaden Legion was able to run back touchdown against the Golden Gophers after your unfortunate touchdown situation a couple years ago. Probably the most pressed I've ever seen. Kinnick, Most confused I've ever seen Kinnick in a great, great injustice. But, yes. What are your thoughts on Kaden and just your thoughts on all the Hawks going to the league this year and looking forward to watching y' all and hope you all have a great season.

[Reed Blankenship]

Thank you.

[Cooper Sharp]

Yes. So for context, my junior year against Minnesota, we were down late in. I think it was in the fourth quarter, and we had them backed up. They punted it, and I was running and pointing, as you do when you're not catching the ball out of the air as a partner. Turner. I ended up picking it up off the ground, running the ball back for a touchdown. And they went to review to see if I stepped out of bounds on the sideline because I was pretty close to the sideline, and the people from the review booth back in somewhere else said me running like this and my arms moving like side to side was an invalid fair catch signal. So the play was blown dead at the spot. I caught the ball, which was insane. It's the most insane call I've ever seen in sports.

[Reed Blankenship]

That's nuts.

[Cooper Sharp]

And it's still.

[Reed Blankenship]

I don't see how. How can they even call that back after that they didn't review.

[Cooper Sharp]

I don't know. I have no clue. It doesn't really make sense. But this year we had a great punt returner the last two years, actually, in Kaden Legion, and he was able to avenge me, I guess, if you might say. And he took back a punt return against the University of Minnesota to bring home the Floyd of Rosedale, which was awesome to watch. And as far as the other Iowa guys going to the league this year, I'm excited for them. A lot of them I came in with. We were all freshmen together, grinding away at our at Iowa, so it'll be fun to watch. Go Hawks, baby.

[Caller/Listener]

Coop, Reed, what's going on, guys? This is Kane. I live in Los Angeles. I'm a huge Eagle fan. Philly native, but move out to the west coast not too long ago. Question for both of y'. All. So when it comes to game day, I mean, this may have changed every year, every week. I don't know. What is your go to game day Music to get locked in, Whether it be a song or an artist or a genre or what. I'm a musician myself, and I'm always, like, trying to keep up with what's trending, what's good, what. What makes people feel good, you know, what's. What's really trending, you know? So, yeah, for the season, good luck to both of y'. All. Obviously, Go Birds. But, Reed, I want you to kill it in Houston. Seriously. That. That defense is really good, too.

[Reed Blankenship]

Thanks, bro.

[Caller/Listener]

Yeah, that's all. Appreciate y'. All.

[Reed Blankenship]

The funny thing about that is I listened to the same two songs at the end of my warm up.

[Cooper Sharp]

So do I.

[Reed Blankenship]

Since high school, bro.

[Cooper Sharp]

So do I, actually.

[Reed Blankenship]

And it's not that I want to listen to him, but it's like a superstition that if I don't listen to him, then I'm not locked in enough,

[Cooper Sharp]

you know, Bro, my. Yeah, I'm the same way I listen to my last song I always listen to is Good Day by Forest Frank Banger.

[Reed Blankenship]

Check it out, dude. I listened to My House by Florada

[Cooper Sharp]

welcome to my house. That's kind of sick. But I recently switched my pregame songs, like mid season actually. Like, I used to listen to like old school music, like classical, but I switched to Ghana because kind of gets me in that mode.

[Reed Blankenship]

Kind of crazy future dude. You're all wrapped like, not all rap. I throw in some like heavy metal, like rage against the machines. Yeah, but I mean, speaking of songs, dude, why don't do we need a theme song? We should have a theme song.

[Cooper Sharp]

We should have a theme song.

[Reed Blankenship]

The exciting mic should have a theme song.

[Cooper Sharp]

But like, maybe we'll hop in this

[Reed Blankenship]

stew and either we hop in the

[Cooper Sharp]

studio, put some tunes together.

[Reed Blankenship]

Yeah, I don't know. Or somebody gives us like a cool like.

[Cooper Sharp]

Or if someone wants to make an exciting mic song, that's what we can do, fan.

[Reed Blankenship]

Look, we get. We could get people to submit their. Their beats and maybe we maybe do

[Cooper Sharp]

singing behind it too.

[Reed Blankenship]

Hey, maybe we figure it out and maybe it could be like our. Our theme song.

[Caller/Listener]

I don't know.

[Cooper Sharp]

If there's any musicians out there and you want to create an exciting Mike's theme song for us to play every single episode, then please, please submit. Send on Instagram, Facebook.

[Reed Blankenship]

There's a link. There's always a link to send stuff. So please, hey, just send. Let's do it. Let's. Let's hear it. Yeah.

[Cooper Sharp]

Make sure it's good though. It can't be like. Can't be trash. We need a good song.

[Reed Blankenship]

Like legit, like, come on,

[Cooper Sharp]

recoup.

[Caller/Listener]

What up, boys?

[Cooper Sharp]

Wish you guys a great season coming up. And my question is, what is your guys's favorite anime?

[Caller/Listener]

If you have one?

[Cooper Sharp]

Go Birds.

[Reed Blankenship]

Not an anime.

[Cooper Sharp]

Go Birds. I am not an anime guy either.

[Reed Blankenship]

Not an anime. But I've been played. I mean, a lot of the people I've played with have had or have watched anime, but I just never got into it, so.

[Cooper Sharp]

Yeah, so appreciate you neither. Thanks though.

[Caller/Listener]

What's up, guys? My name is Anish. I'm a huge Eagles fan. But Reed, I'm a big fan of you.

[Reed Blankenship]

Thanks, bro.

[Caller/Listener]

My question was, when you guys play each other this year, can you please, please, please beg your ocs to let you each get a rep at wide receiver against each other? I think that'd be pretty awesome. Go Bird.

[Reed Blankenship]

That would be.

[Cooper Sharp]

That would be sick. Would not want that to happen.

[Reed Blankenship]

Who knows? Oh my gosh, who knows? They. They might use you for some tricky stuff. You know, something that we don't.

[Cooper Sharp]

You saw me. You saw me slinging that rock out there.

[Reed Blankenship]

Yeah, that's exactly what it was.

[Cooper Sharp]

Right now it's got you coming up with ideas. Yeah, but that'd be sick. I don't think Reed would want that to happen. Just saying. Anyways, you want to help us get dialed in? Call 347491, 3774 and your message could be featured on a future episode of Exciting Mics Connected with Xfinity.

[Reed Blankenship]

And with Xfinity, Get Fiber Power Gig WI Fi to watch every goal of the beautiful game this summer and lock in your price for five years. Visit xfinity.com soccer to learn more. Restrictions apply. Select plans only Use of Fiber coaxial cable.

[Cooper Sharp]

That is it for this episode of Exciting Mics Connected with Xfinity.

[Reed Blankenship]

Make sure you like, comment, share and subscribe on YouTube wherever you get your podcast. And we have a broadcast channel on Instagram called the Exciting Chat where you get to see some behind the scenes of me and Coupe and just see what we do sometimes in our daily lives, you know. So check it out.

[Cooper Sharp]

Yeah, come chop it up with us. We have some. We can have some good conversations on there. You guys can see what's what's going on in our lives. But also, don't Forget this Saturday, July 18, 11am Live at Fanatics Fest with Julian Edelman, the Exciting Mics. Don't miss it. Exciting mics 10 for 10% off your tickets and be sure to follow us on all socials at Exciting Mikes.

[Reed Blankenship]

And as always, we appreciate your love and support. H Town Till we drown baby.

[Cooper Sharp]

Go Birds. Dickhead.

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[Reed Blankenship]

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[Cooper Sharp]

Who knew ice cold drinks could be so fire six? All new drinks are here now at McDonald's. Refreshers contain caffeine.